Start with the “ Ya Mar” and “ Birds of a Feather” from the opening set. The Meat: This festival is loaded with replay-worthy riches. Enough said.ġ2/31/99, Big Cypress, FL – Set II, complete. X Factors: The 12/31/99 second set went from midnight to sunrise. The Achilles Heel: I guess you can argue that 12/30 was merely spectacular and not the second greatest show that Phish ever played.
#Phish flatbed truck jam plus#
Now imagine getting all of them, plus several more hours of brilliant music, in one single set. Any one of those pieces is enough to make a good show great.
The second set spits out an almost unimaginable collection of Phish’s greatest improvisations ever: 23-minute “ Disease,” 31-minute “ Rock and Roll,” 21-minute “ Crosseyed,” 36-minute “ Sand”-> “ Quadraphonic Toppling,” 25-minute “ Drowned” -> “ After Midnight,” 35-minute “ Roses Are Free,” and so much more. But how else can it be described? The first set contains a top-two version of “ Split,” and that’s just the appetizer. You either know this to be true, or you’re tired of hearing it. The Meat: I’m not sure what even needs to be said here. However, moving between tiers requires a much stronger case. Shows can be shuffled within a tier with minimal argument. Tiers represent hard borders in the rankings.
Now that we’ve laid the ground rules, let’s run the numbers. It’s all about how well the music holds up after the festival is long over. It has nothing to do with the vibe, weather, traffic, your pimp RV, coming of age moments, or any other factors that can't be captured on the recording. I’m basing this list on the replay value of the music alone – announced sets only – so no Storage Jam, Tower Jam, etc. As we know now, I may have made a poor choice: Magnaball was blessed with perfect weather, and the band played three shows for the ages.īut were these three shows simply great for an era when the band members are in their fifties? Or, did Magnaball stack up to the great festivals of the 90s? Now, you may be saying to yourself, “How can someone who didn’t attend Magnaball properly rate it?” My response is that is precisely why I’m well-suited to write this. Along with Star Lake, Dick’s likely has the highest percentage of great shows out of any current venue. I chose Dick’s because of the low risk of impacting rain, zero risk of crippling heat and humidity, preference for Colorado over upstate New York, and Dick’s stellar batting average. Due to other vacations and obligations this summer, I was forced to choose between Magnaball and Dick’s. Just How Good Was the Music at Magnaball?īefore we begin, I want to say upfront that I did not attend Magnaball.
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