Loved S1 last night but S2 was pretty up and down. And overall last night just doesn’t have the firepower of N1
Visuals
N2
<big gap>
N1
Ranking the visuals from the couch is akin to ranking restaurant dishes from Instagram photos. Still, seemed like they used the Sphere better last night than N1. Given that these are planned shows, N1 wasn’t a learning experience. So assume N3 will be better than N2 and N4 > N3.
Not a bad show by any means, but both sets and the encore felt a step back from Friday.
Visuals
N2
<gap>
N3
<big gap>
N1
Ranking visuals from the couch is so dumb, but here we are. I thought Pillow Jets had the coolest shit of the run. Taste was up there, too. But overall, Friday seemed to be a notch above with some stuff last night seeming repetitive and underwhelming -- at least in comparison to what we've seen the Sphere do.
Sure, there were a few exciting moments and the make-up (quickie) sex of the last four songs. But overall a fairly uninspired set with fairly uninspired play. The good news is this is par for the course when the band tries to play a single-set show, and the next 3 nights are all standard two-setters.
The only question about last night’s ranking is best show since ___? This assumes you put an asterisk on NYE.
Add up the improv, factor in the quality of the WoH, throw in no S2 downtime & I’m putting it ahead of anything from 2023. This includes the Greek Tweezer->Simple show and all the MSGs. It’s probably better than anything from 2022 though I’ve blocked most memories from those tours. Maybe Shoreline21? A masterpiece.
I need to relisten to a few versions, but I’d be shocked if last night isn’t the 🐐 CDT—which is incredible given how many legendary versions there are.
Best back-to-back shows since Shoreline 21, and I bet that band sounds like ass vs this one.
One of the best shows of 4.0, and it pains me to put it below a <gap>, but it just doesn’t have the horsepower to keep up with Thursday despite the superior Q1.
Feels weird to put a show with an elite Simple, 15+ min Wolfmans & one of the best Gins of the last 15 years—all in the first set—below two gaps. But last night’s second set was a pretty big step down from the previous two nights. Despite pushing at several junctures, the band’s collective gas tank appeared low after the Herculean improv of Thursday and Friday.
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Every Iron Maiden Song Ranked From Worst to Best
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New York Classic
Detroit
<gap>
Chicago Tavern
New Haven (sorry, CT. your pizza is overrated and no one wants to admit it)
<gap>
New York Sicilian
<gap>
Chicago Deep Dish
New England Greek
<gap>
Colorado (yes, we have a pizza style. Bring laxatives)
No tentpole jam, but so much great improv and fun playing throughout the night. Puts the lack of good improv on night 1 in perspective. Plus, another encore worth staying for (hope that trend keeps up). Even the Antelope seemed like it had one of the better peaks in recent memory.
Great setlist. And while you can quibble that Ghost never quite got there and the first half of Ruby Waves wasn’t great, you’d have to contend with the second half of Ruby Waves, probably the 🐐 Myfe, top 3ish Tube since 2004, great NMINML, and a surprisingly exciting Caspian.
Ps - Another mid-second set debut. Could tonight be the night Perseid (aka Forward People) makes an appearance?
More up and down and flubbier than the previous two nights with some questionable setlist calls. But if you choose to rank this one higher on the back of the massive Tweezer, no argument.
Switching to tiers bc there isn’t much differentiation. Phish has gotten very good in 4.0 at consistently delivering solid shows via a little of this & a little of that. The difference between the hits, the average, and the clunkers is not nearly as stark as it used to be.
Flubby and at times low energy night with a fairly forgettable 1st set, but then a largely dream setlist 2nd w/ great jams in Carini & Sand.
A brilliant ASIHTOS (🐐 candidate) complete with some mesmerizing drumming kept it off the level of Charleston3, Grand Prairie, and Hampton1 99.
Still, between the tepid first set, everything post-Light in the second, and some out-of-control Trey vocal stylings, it’s one of the weakest shows of 4.0, and I have no doubt it will be joked about for years to come.
Solid show with 3 nice jams and room for more until god—in an unprecedented move—made sure there wouldn’t be a repeat of the previous night’s fourth quarter by forcing the band to pull a Costanza and leave on the high note of Q3.
Hard show to rank. No true tentpole jam, but a lot of “a little of this and and a little of that.” Not a classically great setlist, but it was interesting and unpredictable.
Special shout-out to one of the few interesting Bowies since 2009. It almost crossed over in to need-to-hear territory, but unfortunately the 3.0 and 4.0 kids still have giant goooose eggs next to their stats for Bowies seen.
Took a step back & reworked this a bit. The consistency of clear highlights each show combined with the consistency of not putting it all together each show is making this tour brutal to rank. All-time ER last night & rocking (if light on improv) Q4 but mostly lame S1 until Ass-handed. And while Tube & Ghost in the encore are exciting, each might be the weakest version of 4.0.
GA1 has the better S1. Cuse has the best S1 jam (KDF). Ruby Waves & Tweezer are close but one is Tweezer. Encores are even (though I’d take If I Could). GA1 doesn’t have Miss You so points there. That leaves Ghost, Flew Away, 🐐 Myfe & First Tube vs Suzy, 🐐 Oblivion, Wolfman’s & Possum. Probably give GA1 the edge there.
Going with Cuse #1 for now, but thinking it flips over time.
Gin covered a ton of ground quickly. Otherwise, lot of cringe (especially vocals) & not a lot of improv in S1.
Nothing in S2 got “there” except The Well which had a jam as good as the song is bad. More cringe vocals and several jams cut off as soon as they got going. Still, it’s hard to deny the blazing tempos and raucous energy as the band soared from ripcord to ripcord.
Billie Holiday
Billie Jean King
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Billy Dee Williams
Billie Jean (The Legend of)
Billie Jean (not my lover)
Billy Bob Thornton (Slingblade)
<gap>
Billy Kreutzman
Billy Strings (electric)
Billy Idol
<gap>
Billy Ocean
Billy Crystal
Superstar Billy Graham
Billy Martin (the bad driving one)
Billie Jo Armstrong
Billy Bob Thornton (other)
<gap>
Billy Strings <jamgrass)
<gap>
Billy Joel