How in synch can a band be after not playing together for months?

In boxing it’s called “Ring Rust,” here, I’ll call it “Stage-Dust.” But there was little dust to be found in the jam realm on Wednesday at The Garden.

Only the second song, and just a few minutes in, the Wolfman’s Brother jam was the reassurance we all needed. No worries!

Nearly 4:30 into the song (Phish App time) Trey started to rhythmically press the pedal, launching a spinning whirring loose guitar sound filling MSG.

I actually captured the moment!

They continued with a strong solid uplifting jam, extending the tune over ten minutes, undoubtedly with some rust or dust towards the end. But the tone was set.

They were here to play.

The band added more juice to the all-ready amped crowd with a whipping Maze, but then turned the tables with a beautiful Sigma Oasis. Until that is, Trey decided to use his slick sneakers to start waffling with his pedals again producing sound only he can produce, I believe with the Leslie. Layers of guitar sounds folded over the accompaniment bass, keys and snatching percussion. Exploration has become easy for Phish. We are ready to hear anything new. We trust Trey. And when it happens its an awakening. Ears are perked. And they were again during Oasis, but not for too long - lasting only a dozen-plus minutes.

The jams settled down for a bit before an interesting end to Set One. Stash jams are always special in a way that Trey finds a way to have his guitar almost pierce the air as Fish keeps a cymbal beat. Lightly tapping away as Trey goes off. Page joins with some light strokes added to an elevated and quicker jam which crescendos nicely.

Split Open And Melt closed the long first set, but had a lot to offer. Literally.

Halfway through the jam, it got dark and pretty much a kitchen sink’s worth of sounds were doled out. The jam was clearly all over the place - and I guess that was the idea.

In the second set, Phish jammed A Wave of Hope, making it the longest tune of the night, settling in just under the 20-minute oh-so craved jams. Playing within the framework of the song until a departure 13-minutes in the four-some pick up the pace for a frenetic end, which slowed and then had a slick segue into “It’s Ice.”

Later, we were treated to a Simple jam - but not one too long. At the 7:20 point (Phish App) Trey finds his growl and launches some licks to get going. Mike plucking along to his left. Perfectly blended Fishman’s tapping and Page’s smooth keys are carrying this jam in a neat but different direction. They then begin to tinker and toy with his robotic-like sounding pedal. They stay there. Abstract until the end with plenty of effects.

Phish.

Hood closed the show and it was glorious. I just miss the glow-sticks.

2017. Mexico, Summer shows, Bakers Dozen, Dicks and another four shows at The Garden to closeout the year. Seemed perfect.

Armed with so much music, my early 2018 play-list was bursting. Particularly with the variety and length of tunes played throughout the Bakers Dozen. Lawn Boy, a Mr. Completely return and of course August 6th. I felt like I had tunes to last me forever.

But then the unexpected happened.

Phish started their 2018 Tour, with two shows at Lake Tahoe (Harveys), then were off to The Gorge. The first two shows of the tour were great table-setters, but the seismic shift in jams and sounds to come began to unfold Night One at The Gorge.

The quartet launched the Phish debut of Set Your Soul Free to start the night. Five songs later, it was on!

Simple. Depth. Sound. Cadence. Tones. Particularly from Trey’s Guitar were unleashed like never before. To get the Simple jam started Anastasio filled the Gorge with a whirring, slashing, teasing sound almost whipping around the historic venue (5:45 in, on the Phish App). The jam lasted, but it turned out to be only a tease of what was to come.

Chalk Dust like I never heard before to open Set Two. And when I say never, I mean never! The myriad of sounds exploding from Trey’s amps; the different pedals depressed. You can see and hear it clearly at the 7:10 mark of the video below. Instinctively, Page, Mike and Fish gave Trey the space to explore. I ate it up. We ate it up. It lasts for four or so minutes…

Then somehow after the smorgasbord of sound, Phish found a way to project beauty in the jam. But those early sounds were what got this jam going. And what really sucked me in.

These were guitar sounds that I never heard before. Clapton, Santana, Hendrix. Jerry, Page, Gilmour. Never. And they seemed to flow from Trey fingers and feet with such ease and confidence. Little would I know that this was just the beginning!

The show closed with Light and Tube featuring some more of Trey’s new reverberating genius.

This continued throughout the tour but on Night Two in San Fransisco, only a few nights later, I started to feel like these sounds were here to stay. Trey’s rig had either grown, or he started to utilize more it. Tube was short, but insane.

The second set began with Set Your Soul Free, and as perfect a jam I would ever want; almost orchestral between the four long-time bandmates. This included new sounds that sounded like lightsaber movement combined with a wah wah, but controlled but Treys desired notes (begins at 10:46 below).

This was and still is revolutionary in the jam space.

No other jam-guitarist has or is moving away from their own personal guitar sound during jams like Trey does. Something Anastasio has normalized during his shows, but I cant get enough of!!!

I always wondered how Trey creates those sounds and tones and echos and more. The website and Twitter account of treysguitarrig.com helped, but for the time being I went to shows, mostly GA, close enough to the stage, and waiting for Trey to foot those pedals to tickle my ears with wildly new and dynamically exciting sounds.

Then Trey blessed us with this:

Wow!!!

The pieces started to click. The sounds and actions all started to make sense. That crazy sound I could never identify, feeling like you are being sucked in — Trey explained it. Its his recorded sound sample in reverse!

Slowly and admittedly, only occasionally am I able to understand what Trey is doing in real-time. But whatever he is doing within the confines of that rig, its making music so much better for me — really since that day I first heard those whaling licks launched at The Gorge in 2018.

And so now its my goal to underscore from each show all the wonderful jams, and i’m hoping to spread the ear-tickling joy to others through this newsletter.