2025 Late Summer (EARLY FALL) Tour Recaps: Hampton

Summary

Helping Friendly Podcast – 2025 Late Summer (Early Fall) Tour Recaps: Hampton

Host: Osiris Media
Date: September 25, 2025

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Episode Overview

The HFPod team gathers to recap Phish’s highly-anticipated three-night run at Hampton Coliseum during the late summer / early fall 2025 tour. The hosts—Brian, RJ, and Megan—dig deep into the performances, tour themes, venue lore, setlist construction, memorable jams, and some broader reflections on Phish's ever-evolving improvisational approach. The episode also features spirited debate around Hampton’s legendary status, discussion of best and worst tour stops, and personal highlights, providing both context and thoughtful critique.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Defining the Season: Tour Naming Banter

[01:26–04:33]

• Lighthearted debate about what to call this tour: late summer, early fall, or simply "fall."
• The naming conventions reflect ongoing fan feuds; Brian, notably, appreciates naming accuracy.
• Small talk around weather, tour logistics, and reference to fan community conventions.

The Importance (and Overhype) of Hampton

[10:32–35:13]

• Return to Hampton for the first time since 2018 stirs up nostalgia and rumors the venue may be demolished soon.
• Entry to the venue reportedly difficult, which triggers some light lamenting.

Hampton’s Reputation Examined

• Brian challenges Hampton’s status: “I think Hampton is a very overhyped Fish venue.” [21:36]
  • Cites its revered legacy based mainly on vibes and historical context rather than consistent musical excellence.
  • Detailed recaps of past Hampton shows: 1995–2025, emphasizing that only a handful are musically elite.
• RJ agrees, connecting the Dead’s historic runs at Hampton as a root of the venue’s mystique, remarking:

  “The whole, like, jam band kind of lore of Hampton is a much bigger deal than even Fish's time there.” [29:23]

• Megan adds: “It's a venue that both suffers from and is given credit for a lot of nostalgia and a lot of lure.” [28:18]
• Ultimately, the consensus is that the room “has vibe shows,” but few meet its enormous expectations.

2025 Jamming Styles: Shifts from Summer

[13:02–20:06]

• RJ observes a shift in jamming style:
  • “...fewer kind of big, huge peaks than this three night run... there’s a lot of soft peaks.” [13:13]
  • The atmospheric, contemplative, and melodic approach replaces the high-energy, climactic jams of summer.
• Megan elaborates:
  • “...the highlights to me were really the patient, super melodic, really sophisticated, really contemplated jams and most of them did not peak. And I think that is a huge change from the summer.” [14:23]
  • Points to jams like Carini > Light > Sand in Alpharetta and the Sense from Hampton as strong examples.
• Brian agrees, noting the “focus of the jams become...strategically about exploring melody and interplay rather than building to massive peaks.” [17:04]
• All three agree the changes represent Phish’s willingness to push boundaries and avoid complacency.

Setlist Construction and Song Placement

[35:30–37:12]

• Megan praises setlist construction: “Their set list construction has been way better than average on this tour in general and definitely in Hampton as well.” [35:30]
  • Noted improvement in “fourth quarters” (the show’s ending segments).
  • Effective integration of new songs as improv springboards—Life Saving Gun, What’s Going Through Your Mind, Ether Edge.
• There is acknowledgment that while not every closing sequence soared, variety and inventive segues (see: Beneath a Sea of Stars > Gotta Jibboo) outshone formulaic endings.

Tour Highlights: Jam and Song Segments

[42:03–54:40]

• Megan spotlights the Sunday, Night 3 sequence “What’s Going Through Your Mind” > “Sense and Subtle Sounds” as the run’s crowning achievement:
  • “...contains my favorite minute of fish I've heard since the Woodlands jam...the segue to Sense...is one of the most organic and interesting segues. I was like jaw on the floor.” [42:03]
• RJ echoes: “The landing after the sense and subtle sounds in a lonely, lonely trip, also just like perfect, like the kind of like underwater weirdness from what's going through your mind into sense and then like the lonely trip landing after. That's a good, good segment...” [47:18]
• Brian highlights the exploratory “Simple” in Set 2 (Night 2) [49:36], noting its return as a true jam vehicle in the 4.0 era.
• Gumbo (Night 1), the Tweezer > Ruby Waves > No Men > Tweezer sandwich (Night 1), and the Beneath a Sea of Stars (Night 2) are also celebrated for their unique atmospherics, segues, and funk.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Hampton’s Reputation:

  "I think Hampton is a very overhyped Fish venue... We amplify this venue based on the vibe versus the music."
  —Brian [21:36]

• On the New Jamming Style:

  “...the highlights...were really the patient, super melodic, really sophisticated, really contemplated jams and most of them did not peak...a huge change.”
  —Megan [14:23]

• On Fan Nostalgia:

  “Fish fans are uber nostalgic, and so I think that, you know, they want to buy into that...”
  —Megan [30:50]

• On Musical Evolution:

  "I think Fish is still pushing to evolve even in this just short little eight tour run... they're doing something different than they did this summer when this summer worked really well."
  —Megan [59:29]

• On Critical Perspective:

  “We're definitely being more critical of this run than I think we would have been had this run been played in 2022 or 2016...it’s almost like a good problem right now how good Fish is playing because you just have to end up being critical of, like, good just to put it in proper context.”
  —Brian [53:36]

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Tour Rankings & Final Takeaways

[54:59–59:56]

• Brian delivers a comprehensive ranking of 2025’s three-night stands:
  • Lowest: Boulder (“unquestionably the worst three-night run of the year”)
  • Middle: Hollywood Bowl, Hampton, Chicago, Charleston
  • Top: Manchester (rave reviews for Life Saving Gun, Twist, tweezer sandwich), SPAC (clear #1—“probably the best three-night run that we've heard the band play since Dick's 2012”)
• Megan and all agree:

  “I think Phish is still pushing to evolve...even when it's working, they're always evolving.” [59:29]

• RJ sums it up:

  “They could have just continued to do exactly what they were doing this summer...but they didn't. They're amazing.” [60:24]

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Notable Timestamps

• 01:26–04:33 – Tour naming banter; jam-band community quirks
• 10:32–13:02 – Hampton’s return, venue rumors, and ticket entry issues
• 21:36–35:13 – Brian’s critique on Hampton’s legendary status
• 13:02–20:06 – Analysis: Jamming style shift from summer to fall
• 35:30–37:12 – Improvements in setlist construction and “fourth quarter” planning
• 42:03–54:40 – Breakdown of standout jams and improvisational highlights
• 54:59–59:56 – Brian’s three-night run ranking; tour-wide perspective
• 59:29–60:30 – Hosts’ final takeaways on Phish’s continual evolution and willingness to defy expectations

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Overall Tone

• Analytical but playful; the hosts blend deep musical knowledge with the lived experience of dedicated Phish heads.
• There is reverence for both the music and community, but also a willingness to challenge “groupthink” or nostalgia that isn’t backed up by the music itself.
• The discussions are collaborative, welcoming, and critical in the spirit of deepening collective appreciation.

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For Listeners

If you missed the episode (or the shows themselves), this recap gives you insight into not only what happened musically in Hampton but also how these shows fit into the broader 2025 Phish tour narrative, both in terms of setlist strategy and the ever-evolving approach to improvisation. The hosts’ honest critiques and passion for the band shine through, offering both context and companionship for listeners following the tour from afar.

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Next Week:
Mailbag episode—listeners’ questions, reflections, and commentary.
Stay tuned for more analysis and fan perspectives!

Transcript

[Brian]

This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Checking off the boxes on your to.

[Megan]

Do list is a great feeling. And when it comes to checking off coverage, a State Farm agent can help you choose an option that's right for you. Whether you prefer talking in person on the phone or using the award winning.

[Brian]

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[Megan]

Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

[RJ]

When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the secure messaging app that brings the whole group together.

[Brian]

Use polls to settle dinner plans, send.

[RJ]

Event invites and pin messages so no one forgets mom 60th and never miss.

[Brian]

A meme or milestone.

[RJ]

All protected with end to end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone. Learn [e-mail] Osiris what's up everybody? It's the helping friendly podcast. We are back again to talk about Late Summer, Early Fall tour. I labeled this one early fall 2025 to make Brian happy. So Brian, did that work?

[Brian]

It definitely made me happy. I saw it this morning and I was like, all is right in the world. This tour technically ends at the start of fall. So, like, why can't we call it Fall Tour? Brief Insight into HF POD Text feuds. You know, RJ does this great thing. You make a suggestion and he goes, will this actually impact your life? Do you care that much? And you have to then step back and be like, man, my dad is really asking me, like, does it matter that you get like the extra donut that your sister got? Like, does that matter to your life? And you have to like, really be thinking to yourself, like, am I immature? But if you. Like a child.

[RJ]

But if you had said yes, I would have done it. I just wanted to know. I just wanted to know if it, like, how.

[Brian]

I figured the question was the implication that yes, does impact my life. But, like, then you ask me and now I have to like, look in the mirror and be like, well, does it, like, how much does it, like.

[RJ]

Listen, I think it's. I think it's fine. I really was just asking. I just wanted to know, like, I wanted to know, if I change the title of this episode, how much happier will you be?

[Brian]

There's.

[Megan]

There's no shame implied in that question at all.

[Brian]

None.

[Megan]

Totally.

[Brian]

You know, how much happier I'll be. You'll be correct. I'd be very happy. You know what I realized I was going through nugs.net the other day, trying to see If Goose had gotten around to posting their most recent show. Because I guess, you know, we just don't need to have that within five minutes of the show ending. We can just wait. And I stumbled upon Dogs in a Pile has their most recent show up, and they call their tour Summer Tour. So I was thinking maybe rj, his allegiance to Dogs in a Pile is. They call it summer tour, so we call it Summer Tour.

[RJ]

Hey, I'm just going by the calendar. I'm just going by the calendar.

[Megan]

Oh, I thought you were going to say you were going by what Fish calls it.

[RJ]

No. Well, I mean, Fish is going by the calendar too, because it's technically summer.

[Brian]

I mean, Fish is going by Trey, and we all know how accurate Trey is about everything.

[Megan]

Very true. A feeling. Trey has very little to do with naming any tours. But maybe it's true.

[RJ]

It's true.

[Megan]

Trey's like, where are we going? What are we doing?

[RJ]

It is interesting how. How leisurely the Goose shows go up. It's just like, we feel like posting one, like maybe within a week, maybe not. Depends, you know, the. Nobody wants to listen to it.

[Brian]

The amount of crap that band gets for being like a industry ploy, like an inside job and that. Like, they just can't operate like one. Like, they're just.

[RJ]

Yeah, we'll.

[Brian]

We'll throw the show up when we feel like it. Oh, an extra 17 minutes of crowd noise tacked on to a three minute long song. Why not?

[Megan]

Does Peter still do all of that? Is that. Why don't I think they should have someone else doing it now by now, like, he's performing?

[RJ]

Yeah. Yeah, they should. The last. The last show that's up on Nuggs took place on the 19th, which, as far as I know, was like, several weeks ago.

[Megan]

Very long time ago.

[Brian]

Yeah, at least a month ago.

[Megan]

I think the jam band Illuminati needs to get on this.

[RJ]

It is. It is. Happy Fall, everybody. Because it is fall now. So I'm just happy. I'm happy that I'm here with you and we're discussing the tour in the fall.

[Megan]

It's your favorite season.

[RJ]

It is. It is. By a lot. Although it's still humid as hell and like 80 degrees here.

[Megan]

I know what is happening.

[RJ]

What's happening? What is going on.

[Megan]

Every day someone says to me, like, oh, this is probably gonna be the last warm day in New York. And I'm like, and then it continues to not be. But I'm really not going to complain about the weather because we've had probably the best Month of weather New York City has ever had. So I'm just going to go with it. Maybe even month and a half since like the Forest Hill shows, things have been incredible.

[RJ]

Evdude coming in hot on the chat saying, I think the biggest issue is calling this a tour.

[Megan]

Oh, damn. Now we have a whole new controversy to figure out.

[RJ]

It's a run global warming question mark from Forum 777. Yes. The answer is yes.

[Megan]

Yeah.

[RJ]

All right, so we're going to talk about the three Hampton shows and then we're going to talk about some themes and some jams. Next week we have our mailbag episode. Right? Yeah, that's going to be awesome. So keep sending your voicemails. I'm going to compile all the voicemails. I'm going to send them to Brian and Megan. They're going to, we're all going to listen to them, we're going to respond to them, send us emails, send us social media. We'll answer questions, we'll share your thoughts as listeners. It's going to be a collaborative episode. You know, our last mailbag episode, I told you guys was one of our most listened to episodes of the year. So people like to hear, hear us, you know, respond to them. So we're gonna have to do that.

[Brian]

Have to.

[RJ]

Guys ready?

[Brian]

Have to. I'm excited to do it. I think it's, it's a fun thing to do.

[RJ]

It's a fun thing to do.

[Megan]

I love to hear what people are thinking about and have questions for us about. Yeah, hopefully we have answers. We'll see.

[RJ]

We might, we might not. But that's part of the fun of it and we might, we might figure it out as we go. And that's one of, that's one of our specialties, at least some of us. All right, so do you guys want to get straight into it or do we need to do any updates on like what's happening in, in baseball or other sports or whether is. Do we. Do we cover all the basics?

[Brian]

My team is collapsing after being playoffs last week. We've lost five straight games, four in a row to the Reds and one last night we blew a 61 lead to the Mets at. I don't know, man. I got no read for it. We're in the playoffs. I just don't want to have to see us travel to San Diego for a three game series because I don't know, I don't think that we are going to be successful playing inside of a whale's vagina. I'm just not sure that it's going to work out for us.

[RJ]

Wow. That's. That's not what I was expecting that to go, but.

[Brian]

When was the last time you watched Anchorman? I just watched it.

[RJ]

I know, I know it's good, but I'm just sort of. I wasn't ready. Okay, so we have. We have baseball play, it looks like. I'm just looking at the standings here, so. So basically we have. We have the. The brewers are going to get the first seed in the nl, right? I don't think we're gonna catch them. We got three. Three. I think we're three games back. Last night I was watching the Phillies. It was. It was tied in the bottom of the ninth with one out and one man on base. And then they had the rain delay, started in the bottom of the ninth, and then I went to bed, and then we ended up losing six to five to the Marlins in the 10th. So just one. Maybe it's just one of those days.

[Brian]

I think you guys don't have anything to play for. You're just holding out for the second round. Yeah, I don't want to have to travel across the country to play a three game series and watch Manny Machado and Tatis get all hyped up.

[RJ]

God, it's definitely gonna happen.

[Brian]

But then again, I really don't want I' so many depressing Cubs games at Wrigley Field where it gets really quiet in, like the third inning and they find some old lady with a Cub sweatshirt from, like 1975, and she looks all sad and the entire stadium is silent and you just like, watch opposing players celebrate as though like they just won the World Series when they just won a wild card round. I'd really like to avoid that. The last time it happened was 2018. So maybe I do want to go to San Diego. Maybe the move here is to let the Mets in the. In the playoffs. Mets are playing Dodgers. Maybe the Mets upset the Dodgers. Maybe the Cubs have to go to San Diego, too, and we end up upsetting San Diego in San Diego, and then we have to go play the brewers and you get to play the Mets. Maybe that's what happens. I don't know.

[RJ]

I don't want them. I don't want the Mets bad with bad mojo.

[Brian]

The Mets are a bad mojo for you. Anything? Inner well, unless you guys beat the Braves a couple. I don't know. I think. I think you guys are making NLCs. I don't want to jinx you, but I think that you have a good path to that. I don't think that we. I think we'll be very lucky if we win one game in the Wild Card Series with the way we're playing.

[RJ]

Wow. I forgot that it's three games.

[Brian]

It's three games. One venue, two games, and you're out.

[RJ]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Brian]

Shout out to Glenn Russell. His Blue Jays trying to hang on for the division over the Yankees. Heavy anxiety. I can empathize with that anxiety. I have, like, less pressure because my team won a World Series relatively recently. I do love this Blue Jays team. I really would like to see Kevin Gausman pitch deep into the playoffs. I'd love to see that stadium go crazy in the ALCS and in even the World Series. If they can make it, A Blue Jays, Mariners, ALCS would make me very happy.

[RJ]

All right, well, there we.

[Brian]

I don't know if that's possible, but we'll see. We did it.

[RJ]

We, like, really ran. Ran through this. And I appreciate that I could keep going. I know. I know. But Megan. Megan is. You know, I disassociated for a few minutes patiently waiting for us. Okay. So let's. Let's. Okay. Let's go. Let's go to Hampton. Are you guys ready to go to Hampton?

[Brian]

Yeah.

[RJ]

Because we got. We got a lot to talk about. First time at Hampton since 2018, right?

[Megan]

Yeah. Seven years.

[RJ]

Seven years.

[Megan]

We got a few last, too. Apparently, they might be knocking it down. That's what I hear. It's the word on the street.

[RJ]

Wow.

[Megan]

Yeah, I don't know if that's true there.

[Brian]

One more time before they knock it down.

[Megan]

I know.

[RJ]

Yeah. I didn't hear any of this chatter.

[Megan]

Yeah, that's what I've heard. That's what I've been hearing a little bit about. I guess it was really hard getting into the venue.

[RJ]

Yeah.

[Megan]

I did hear that I have to cover the al.

[RJ]

Yeah.

[Megan]

I don't even know what that means, but I appreciate the.

[RJ]

Yeah, you're doing great. You're already covering it. Okay. So let's just go.

[Brian]

That is. I thought Meg would cover the al.

[RJ]

That's true.

[Megan]

See, I knew something. I know. American League. American League.

[RJ]

Really good. Yep. Good job.

[Megan]

Yeah. Okay.

[RJ]

Okay. So we're going to get straight into it. We're going to talk about some themes and we're going to talk about some jams. We'll talk about all three shows, of course. And then next week, we have our mailbag episode. And then after that is a Rushmore. Is that right, Brian?

[Brian]

That's right. We are back to Rushmore and it's our new format for Rushmore. We are deciding collectively before we go live. I'm prepared for you guys answers.

[Megan]

So we have not started. I just. I'm guessing. I don't. I haven't spoken to RJ about this, but I have. I would please wager that RJ and I have not started the Ikyulys work yet. But, yeah, I'm excited Ikyulys is coming next. I'm excited to do it with you guys and to think about it and to think about this song that I've never heard despite seeing this band for 30 years.

[Brian]

I sat on my couch about a week or so ago, two weeks ago, three weeks ago. I don't know how far in advance I get prepared. And I watched baseball and I listened to every single Ikyulyss in a row. It is possible. It's very, very stress free.

[Megan]

Two hours. It took you about two hours.

[Brian]

I mean, it's four minute max. And there's 38 versions. 28 versions. I mean, it's not a lot.

[RJ]

Yeah, I have my four that I want to. That I want to throw in there. So I'm ready. But I. But I will listen to some too.

[Megan]

Okay. Sorry, I didn't even know. You're already down.

[RJ]

No, no, no. I haven't listened. I haven't listened. I haven't listened back. I'm just like from. I'm just ready. I'm ready. Let's do it right now. You guys ready? Let's just do it.

[Brian]

I'm ready. I've got my list. I've got it ready.

[Megan]

All right, I'll fake it. Let's go.

[RJ]

Let's talk about. Let's talk about Hampton first. Okay, so we're going to talk about a couple of themes. Do you guys. I'm going to go first. Can I go first?

[Megan]

Yes, please.

[Brian]

You can go first.

[RJ]

I never go first.

[Brian]

You guys cool if I go first?

[RJ]

I'm going to go first. I always kick it to you guys. So, you know. Okay, so here, here's what I was thinking listening back. I can't think of another run where there are fewer kind of big, huge peaks than this three night run. And I was. I was thinking about this in terms of like, there's a lot of soft peaks of the. In this run. They're slightly lower tempo, kind of less like blowout. Huge kind of rocking peaks. It happened more with some of the shorter songs like with Ghost and Chalk Dust on the. On third night. But these bigger jams are really like kind of soft and atmospheric and really like, like great, you know, but there wasn't a lot of those builds to like huge rock peaks that we're used to. And I. I wonder if that's actually like a positive because they're just pushing into different places and. And not going to like the place where they kind of normally go. But I'm curious if you guys agree with that or if that was anything that you heard based on these three shows.

[Megan]

Yeah, that was actually my first theme and my biggest theme from this tour is just. Or this leg of the tour, I should say, is that I think over the summer they were really, you know, using that melody that Trey was finding a lot to build to these huge peaks. And the first night I thought that's where we're going to go because the Tweezer has that. But the whole rest of the tour, I think the highlights are of this run in Hampton. The highlights to me were really the patient, super melodic, really sophisticated, really contemplated jams and most of them did not peak. And I think that is a huge change from the summer. Absolutely huge change. And I think even if you look at this whole kind of fall tour, the examples of that I think that are the most interesting are like the Carini Light sand from Alpharetta Night two and the Scents from Night three at Hampton. Those are my favorite jams from this whole fall tour. And I think they're really different from anything that we heard this summer in terms of patience especially and intense democracy between them. I think they all. It's kind of like this combination of like the melody that Trey's been working on, Fishman playing so creatively, but also balancing when he needs to be a kind of grounding background force or like a propulsive driver. I think he's really nailing that, especially like in this fall tour. And Paige is just so atmospheric and I think Mike is really taking a lead on those kind of more funky, up tempo, shorter jams in a way that's like balancing so well. I just find it really interesting and I totally agree that the jamming feels different than it did this summer.

[Brian]

Yeah, no real pushback for me. I think the only thing I'll say I. So I immediately dove into reworking my Best of Fish playlist and overall list because why waste time? Dive into fish. That was immediately what I did and the one thing I wanted to do was go through. I haven't done this in years past is go through the jams that were initially on my list and then fell off into the honorable section Just to see what still holds up as a year has gone on. And one thing I noticed listening chronologically is, is especially in spring and especially in summer, the best jams I had logged all had the kind of peak you're talking about, Meg. And immediately once we jumped into the September run, the fall tour, the fall run, the late summer run, however we're describing at this point in time.

[RJ]

Once.

[Brian]

We jump into that, everything mellows out and the focus of the jams become. It's still melodic, driven in a lot of ways. Like my favorite segment of the overall tour is that Sigma Disease, Life Saving Gun Pillow jets that holds up even through this weekend. But even that, it's driven by melody, but it's driven less by how do we kind of all coalesce around a melody and build this up to a shimmering peak and more, how do we kind of like extend this and explore what's within here? I think to your larger point about Hampton, the two strongest segments I heard through the weekend were that middle part of the tweezer, like 15, 16 minutes. There's a lot of really cool synthesizers that Paige is using. There's this loop that Trey keeps going back to and it's kind of building, but it's not really building with intentionality. It's more just like let's jam within this space and just see kind of if we keep doing this over and over again, where it will ultimately lead to. And it leads to probably the most complete multi part jam of the weekend as a result. But then on Sunday night though, what's going through your mind and.

[Megan]

Sense.

[Brian]

Sense and subtle sounds. Thank you. The former has a bit of a peak towards the end, but the latter is all driven by melody and interplay around that. And it's very, very. To RJ's point especially, the Sense is peakless in a way that I'm excited by. And I think who knows what three and a half months off will feel like within this style of music. But I think wherever their heads are when they take the stage at msg, what we keep hearing the band pushing towards in this week long tour, if that is still a part of their jamming style, it should yield even better results going forward.

[Megan]

God, I hope so.

[RJ]

Yeah. And I wonder like the tempos have been kind of different, um, like the, the wave of Hope, you know. Wave of Hope is such an uptempo song just based on how, how it was written, but it's still like it, it's. It was slower, you know, and toward the end, like Trey has Kind of like the trilling kind of peak, but it's. It's. It's kind of understated, you know? You know, which I think is cool. I'm not, like, complaining about it. I just think it was. It's very interesting how much it. How much different it is. Um, we have one. Go. Go ahead, Megan.

[Megan]

I was gonna say, I think that willingness to slow down and to be super patient. I'm always looking for fish to, like, feel settled in sometime in. In space. And I think that they're really finding that in ways that is. It's interesting watching them pull the melody through that, but still feel really open and airy. And I'm really excited to talk about some of these jams because this is some of my favorite stuff I've heard in a long time.

[RJ]

Brian mentioned MSG shows. Those are the next shows we're going to see. Megan, there's some questions in the chat. Anyone going. Anyone going to the msg?

[Megan]

Yeah, I'll be at msg. Yeah, I'll probably be at all the nights except New Year's Eve is my plan, if I can coordinate that with the family. But that's my plan. Yeah.

[RJ]

Nice.

[Megan]

I'm prepared to be on the floor at 12:30 and have, you know, a little bit of heartbreak when the show's just kind of mid. But I'll have the 29th, which is going to be, like, excellent. So I'm excited.

[Brian]

This is the year of returns. This.

[Megan]

I like that there's going to be no fourth quarter 2001, this 12:30. Let's just, like, put that out into the universe. Um, but, yeah, I'm pretty. I was. You know, whenever you wait for that announcement, you're always a little bit relieved when it comes, so I'm excited. I can't wait. I thought the graphics and the stuff were super cool, too. I like the. The art. It's beautiful.

[RJ]

So everyone then. Everyone says 12:30 is coming back this year. I saw one more. One comment in the chat from ECW that he was on the floor all three nights and people were complaining about the 112809 ghost pic. I'm sorry that you were with such noobs at the show. I guess they just let anyone into these days.

[Brian]

Did you receive their book report yet?

[RJ]

Nope, Nope, still waiting.

[Megan]

Oh, wow. Complaints, but not doing the work.

[RJ]

Bunch of noobs. 0%. 0% for participation this quarter, guys. All right, who else has a theme they want to share?

[Brian]

I'll stir the pot.

[Megan]

Let's go.

[Brian]

I got. I got It. I don't think that this is a very new theme, but I do think that it's worth saying because I felt this. Listen to these shows. I try to be as honest as possible about Fish, even if it affects my own experience. So I don't. I don't want to impact negatively other people's experience. But, hey, I'm the one out here speaking from the mountains. That Boulder was an abomination this year.

[RJ]

From.

[Brian]

From a musical standpoint, I think Hampton is a very overhyped Fish venue. And I was looking through history and I was thinking about this run. I was talking to a couple buddies about it, and I was giving our good friend Ryan Storm a ton of shit because he skipped SPAC and yet hit every other show this year.

[Megan]

Yeah, totally.

[Brian]

Including Hampton. Look, if I'd gone to this run, I would have had a great time. It would have been really fun. Virginia is beautiful this time of year. I've always wanted to go to Hampton just because of the historical lineage. You got the dead stuff, you've got all fishes done. The venue looks really cool. The second Fish CD thing I bought was Hampton Comes Alive, and I still think it's, like, one of the best, like, visual CD box sets you could ever buy. Looks amazing. Looked great.

[RJ]

Can I. Can I just interrupt you just. Because I was at those 98 shows and I. I still think going back and maybe we've talked about this on the show, like, the shows are just fine. Completely fine.

[Brian]

Yes. So sorry I went through. No, no, you're right, because Fish has played there in 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 03, 09, 13, 18 and 25. If I miss something in there, someone tell me. 04 missed 04. How could anyone ever miss the 04 show on Jerry's? The day that Jerry passed away, right before the Coventry Festival. Supposed to be super epic. I think we, more than almost any venue in the band's history, amplify this venue based on the vibe versus the music. And I was thinking through it, we've obviously got. 95 is not one of the best shows. It's got some cool moments. It's got a very wild long mic song. 96 pretty forgettable is 19, 96 is 96, 97. No words, no notes. We all know. My God, I mean, freaking. You got a Rushmore ACDC bag. And whenever we do it guaranteed Rushmore ailes like, no questions asked. Rushmore Haley's. I don't think I'm being controversial. 98 aforementioned. It's just okay. Fun vibe, fun time, 99, tons of energy. I think a lot of people complain heavily, rightly so. About 12:17. 12:18 looks great on paper. I don't think that people really want to be returning to that show as like a marker of what was great about December 99. 03. Very rough, very rocky, some cool moments. 46 days. Sorry RJ. Tweezer the frickin Contact is probably the musical highlight because it was like, oh my God, Kaofunk is back. Bofor personally, I think is like a very fascinating show and I'd love to do like an entire undermine season about just that one show, but I accept that it's not like anyone's favorite show and it depresses a lot of people just based on the existence and the set list that was played.09, I'll vouch for the disease, but nobody's going back and listening to anything beyond the crowd noise when Fluff head starts like that. That run is all about the vibes. Yeah, 2013, you got a great Carini and then 102013 set to RJ and Aaron Record about the 10. 2013 tweezer. 2018. Some good stuff, some good moments. I would say that musically, if there's anything you're gonna go back and listen to, it's gonna be either the golden age or the simple. And then here in 2025, I would say say five years from now, if there's anything people are going to go back and listen to, it's going to be the Tweezer and then the Mind into sense and subtle sounds. For a venue that is given the status that a SPAC has, that Dick's has, that MSG has these venues where the band kind of shows up and more often than not delivers at least one classic show for the tour, for the year, for the era. Even Hampton doesn't have a ton to show for it. I think Abdud just said that he's got three elite Hampton shows. I think that's basically where we're at. And I think that this run kind of exemplifies what I thought Spac was going to be going into that run where it was gonna be good. I don't have like a ton of complaints about this overall run. Saturday night was a bit uneven, but Friday night set two really like a ton of heavy hitters, some really cool jams. Sunday night has a great midsection with the mind in the sense, but outside of that, like that, that epic vibe that we got from the Spac run that I kind of based on the way the tour went. I would have assumed a run like this would have ended the summer tour. I feel like something was missing here and I feel like something is missing from the Hampton historical aura that we talk about with this venue. When it really comes down to is a out of the way, inconvenient, outdated, old venue with apparently terrible food, according to the chat. I don't know, really hard to get into. Where the band very occasionally taps into the supposed magic of the venue and delivers something that we can all come together on and say that is, that is Hampton. Fish. Thoughts? Am I being too hard? Am I being too.

[Megan]

No, I think it. It's a venue that both suffers from and is given credit for a lot of nostalgia and a lot of lure. And you know, I think even 1230 suffers from that in a way that when things have high expectations, you know, we expect Fish to meet them there. And the thing for me, I felt like there was like a decent amount of celebration in these shows, a lot of energy, and it seemed like opening with this huge nod to the history there in 2009 was cool and fishy in a way that I love. When they want to nod back to their history and have like a little like, we know what this means to us and we know what this means to you. I think that that's really awesome. But I think that when you have a run that ends the summer tour like Spock, you know, I think that it's pretty hard to then have another three night run that's going to meet those expectations.

[RJ]

You know, I. I think that the only thing I want to add to Brian's Andy Rooney that was a segment is just the like. So the Dead, you know, obviously the lore of the Dead at the venue is a huge part of the lore of the venue. Right. So like, it's almost like, it's almost like if, if the Dead had played Dicks, can you imagine like how much more people love the Dicks? Yeah, just because, like, I mean, so The Dead played 21 times there between 79 and 92, including like the famous shows in 89. So I feel like that's a big part of it, you know, and it's a GA venue. It's kind of like, you know, one of these old, old arenas that's kind of going by the wayside. So I feel like a lot of that stuff is part of it. And I think if you look at the shows, you're right, Brian. Like I. I'm really glad I made that trip in 98. I watched the Ohio State, Michigan game at a Hooters in Hampton. Because, like, that's like. Because, like, that's what you do, you know? Like, that's the kind of place Hampton is. But the shows were, like, fine, you know, So I don't know. I feel like the whole, like, jam band kind of lore of Hampton is. Is a much bigger deal than even Fish's time there. But I do think if you look at the music, I. I pretty much agree with you. I mean, the 97 shows are just, you know, like you said. No, no, there's nothing to say about them because they're just perfect.

[Megan]

But, yeah, well, maybe, you know, to maybe meant that, like, what you're saying about the history and then having, like, one epic run there. I don't know, maybe that's enough, you know, And I think Fish fans are uber nostalgic, and so I think that, you know, they want to buy into that, and I think that I'm sure the energy in that room was, like, amazing. And I think it has so many fun things about it because, yeah, it looks cool. It has, like, a nickname. It's like, you know, it's definitely. It's definitely got. Got a vibe. But these did feel maybe a little bit like vibe shows. You know, I think they're playing so well in 2025 that they can still hit moments that are pretty transcendent, even in, like, a good show, as opposed to, like, an excellent show.

[Brian]

Well, that's something I was thinking about, because that's a very good point. And I was thinking about that this weekend, and when we listen to shows, like, I don't have a ton of knits to pick. Like, I'm. I love having knits to pick. Give me. Give me as many knits that I can pick. I will do it. It's a very fun old pastime. Like, Friday night, second set flowed spectacularly. I thought that the move to open the show with Fluff Head, you know, that the band, like, that's one of those moments where you just realize, like, how quickly and how slow time passes.

[Megan]

Like, yeah, it's awesome.

[Brian]

Take yourself back to March 6, 2009. Everything that has happened since then with this band, like, the. The. The idea that we'd be sitting here. Like, I listened to two podcasts in 2009, this American Life and the Bill Simmons the BS Report. Like, that was it. Like, us sitting here having this conversation 5, 600 episodes into this show, and all the music that we've talked about, it all goes back to the band's decision to open that run with Fluff Head into Divided Sky. And I think the doing their reunion shows at Hampton in 09 was probably the perfect decision because MSG would have been too big. Like it was. It's. It's small, it's cozy, it feels like a jam band legacy run. It's the perfect kind of out of the way place for them to do it, but it's still a destination for the fan base waiting four years and doing the 2013 run on this incredibly special tour where that second set is in some ways elevated because it's in that venue. I totally get it. But as I was thinking about, like, what Hampton is compared to what we feel like Hampton is, I don't know if there's a venue that has more of a chasm between that, like, what it actually produces versus, like, what we want it to produce.

[Megan]

Yeah, I'm trying to think of like the other kind of big, storied venues, you know, if you think about like Deer Creek. Deer Creek has often met expectations musically.

[Brian]

We had 35 minute sand four years ago, three years ago, and we had one of the best shows of still 4.0 in 2021. Yeah, like, that is a venue that continuously. Atlanta. We had that second set on Wednesday night last week. That was probably the best music Fish has played in Atlanta since the Lakewood Ghost. I'm guessing. No, I'm joking. There's been a lot better music played in Atlanta since the Lakewood Ghost. Yeah. Like, it almost is like, the Gorge, where, like, the Gorge is a beautiful venue, but outside of a few shows, has the Gorge ever really produced, like, what we want the Gorge to be for Fish?

[Megan]

Yeah. I mean, it's an interesting argument to think about, like, how much of it people are just okay with what happens there because it's just such a fun place to go to. Or like the Gorge is such a beautiful place to go to. Or, you know, it's interesting.

[RJ]

And I think, like, if people are surprised that Hampton is not a fun place to travel to, then, you know, it just. It's always been like that. It's not a very interesting place. It's not a very interesting little area. It's like there's. It's. It's. It's like there and. And it's like strip malls and kind of bad hotels and. Sorry, that's just how. That's just how it is.

[Brian]

But there's like a Red Roof Inn across the venue that you're supposed to stay at. I remember.

[RJ]

Yeah. Yeah. Stayed at my. I think I stayed at the second worst hotel in my life at Hampton. But we don't need to get into that. Let's talk about more music. Megan, do you have a theme or a jam that you want to share with us?

[Megan]

Well, I definitely want to talk about some jams, but I did want to talk about another theme that I have, and that is that I do think that regardless of what we've just been saying, that I think that their set list construction has been way better than average on this tour in general and definitely in Hampton as well. I think fourth quarters majorly improved. Everybody, you're welcome. The team here at HFPOD will take responsibility for that. I also think they were playing a lot of older stuff. Like, a lot of these set list vintages were pretty low. Most of them are in the 90s. But the new songs, they're placing in really tent pole spots. And most of the time, they raise the improv level of the set. Thinking about Life Saving Gun, what's going through your mind? Ether Edge. All of those have really killer moments in these Hampton shows. And I think that Trey's just doing a really great job placing those songs well and finding where they belong in setlist to kind of like bump the set up, which is great.

[RJ]

Nice. Yeah, good point. There were. Because I just caught up today, which is, I think, surprising for any people who probably listen to Fish besides me there. I think. I think Hampton was one step down on the fourth quarter, but I. But I think it. I think it was still better than a lot of those summer shows. The Friday night fourth quarter was like, I didn't go past the tweezer return.

[Brian]

I think you should listen to the rock and roll. It does have a little bit. It has enough of a bump. But. Yeah, I was going to make a joke here that if you remove Friday, Saturday and Sunday's fourth quarter from the argument, it works. But no, I don't have your tweezers.

[Megan]

I disagree. I think actually that tweezer, Ruby Waves, no Men, Tweezer, Waste and Rock and Roll. That's. I'm not going to complain about that. You have a ballad and then a better set closer. There's no possum. There's no 2001. It's not the same thing they've been doing every time. So I. I'm going to go to bat for that, for that fourth quarter for sure.

[Brian]

And then I do think on Saturday, the segue from Beneath the Sea of Stars and to Goddard Jabu, which is only a carrot right now, it should actually Be a full segue on fish net. I'm going to have to get in touch with my new bosses. That is one of the coolest and most inventive segues I'd heard, which was only surpassed one night later. But I thought that was very, very cool. There was no rhyme or reason that we should be going into Gotta Jabu. And yet it worked perfectly.

[Megan]

It shouldn't have worked. It doesn't make any sense.

[RJ]

It sounded cool. It was cool, but it sounds cool.

[Megan]

And then just some party vibes to send you off.

[Brian]

Susie to Julius is about as fourth quartery garbage time fish that you can.

[Megan]

Okay, I'll give you that for sure. I'll give you that.

[Brian]

That's like, let's just pull the starters. We're putting on the guys who were just in the G league last week, and we're letting them chuck a bunch of threes and we'll see what happens.

[Megan]

Sunday's like, Trey. Trey's like, guys, I did this cool thing where I played Ghost in the fourth quarter. I'm gonna do it again.

[RJ]

Yeah.

[Megan]

I'm like, didn't you just do that?

[RJ]

That part of the Alpharetta. The Alpharetta show that Ghost is. It's amazing.

[Megan]

It's awesome. That's a killer fourth quarter.

[RJ]

Both those fourth quarters in Alpharetta were really good.

[Megan]

Yeah.

[Brian]

I think, to your point, the fourth quarter Ghost was. The previous one was in Birmingham, which was great. That's an amazing version. And that comes out of one of the best third quarters of the year. I mean, I think the challenge is. And I think this is like the broader challenge of this tour. And I think maybe we could talk about this and the music. I don't think anybody expected Friday night at a festival in Louisville to be a great show. No, I don't think anybody was looking at the two night run in Birmingham as like a standout run of the overall year. And I think you get this above average show on Friday night in Louisville that sets.

[RJ]

Whoa.

[Brian]

Oh, man. They really came to play that. Choctaw's torch is super interesting. Night two in Birmingham, I would say is the best show of the overall tour From a flow standpoint. I think that second set is amazing. That full segment just blows me away. Sunday night, little bit of a step down. Tuesday night, kind of a mess. Still don't understand what happened with that Bowie that had real potential. And then Wednesday, oh, my God. Like, you play Bowie in the summer.

[Megan]

I was just like, that was such a Fuck you. Like, I don't know, right There like.

[Brian]

They, I had like 15 texts coming of like, are they actually doing it? Are they really doing it? Oh my God. I think they might do it. Oh my God. Oh no. Trey's just going back into Dave Bowie. But night two in Alpharetta, that second set, I think that's the best set of the run. I, I would, I would say of the tour overall. So you have these like surprising high moments, which reminded me in some cases of the way Spring Tour 2023 started where, you know, I don't know if we were all very high. We had issues with sprint with, with 2022 overall. And I don't think anyone came out and brought to the table in Seattle. 2023. And then obviously first night of the Greek has the 40 minute or 43 minute tweezer into a 20 minute simple. And you had big jams on top of that. And then the tour ended with a really strong Hollywood bowl finale. That run, this tour started to feel that way. And rather than like, I don't think Hampton was a bad three night run, but I don't think it like built off of the great stuff that came before it, which we' seen them do in the past. And so maybe an unfair observation, maybe an unfair expectation, that's kind of where I'm at.

[Megan]

Well, I think anytime, you know, ending a tour, I would say the last two summers, like think about how they ended Dick's last summer and then think about how SPAC ended. You know, they know how to peak a tour at the end. And yeah, I think that ending at Hampton had big expectations because they've been doing it lately, I think.

[RJ]

Yeah. Okay, let's get a few, let's get a few gems from everyone. Who wants to go first?

[Brian]

Maggie?

[Megan]

I'll go first. Okay. Yeah, I want to talk about. We've mentioned it a few times, but this contains my favorite minute of fish I've heard since the Woodlands jam. So I, you know, when I'm watching these shows, I'm streaming them at home and I'm that Sunday night show, I have to get up at 5am and teach third graders. And so I'm sitting there kind of like wanting fish to be great, but also being like, okay, if I can go to sleep and catch up on it in the morning when I'm getting ready. And the what's going through your mind came on and I was like, okay. And that jam is just insanely patient. It's so contemplative. And there has an, there's like an aimless beauty to it and it builds to like a blissy peak, you know, so it doesn't follow a different trajectory. But then it has that like yards after catch jamming that is the melody just completely breaks down and there's like the sheets of synth underneath it. And the segue to Sense, I mean, we were texting about it when it was happening, but it is. I can't think of a better segue that I've heard in a really long time. It is one of the most organic and interesting segues. How it completely. The song, the melody is broken down in the jam and then they find the kind of broken down beginning to sense in it. That is just. I was like jaw on the floor. And then the Sense jam, the section that they get into around 11 minutes, that is just so beautiful. I was last night I took my brother in law to see Hermanes Gutierrez, who I absolutely love and he loves too. And I bought him tickets for his birthday. And we've never seen a show together, even though we have like the most overlapping musical interests in our family. And on the way to the show, I was playing him that minute of the Sense jam and he used to be really into Fish and is kind of like not as into it anymore, but it is so stunningly beautiful. And there are a few moments that Fish finds true beauty and peace and a sound that feels both really rich but also light and airy at the same time. And I just think it was a perfect example of all the melodic work we've heard from Trey just coming through so cleanly and so beautifully, while also retaining a lot of the interesting space and atmospheric work we found around it. And I absolutely love that minute of Sense. And I think that that jam is so unique and interesting and. And I still keep listening to it to get my head around it, but I absolutely loved how it stopped me in my tracks. And it's my favorite minute of Fish in a long time, which is fun. Eczema isn't always obvious, but it's real. And so is the relief from Epglis. After an initial dosing phase, about 4 in 10 people taking EPGLIS achieved itch relief and clear, or almost clear. Clear skin at 16 weeks. And most of those people maintain skin that's still more clear at one year with monthly dosing.

[RJ]

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[Megan]

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[RJ]

This podcast is supported by FX's English Teacher. Last year's critically acclaimed series returns to follow Evan, Gwen and Markie as they vie for their students divided attention. See why Cosmopolitan called its premiere season a masterclass of comedy, while Glamor raved it's the year's funniest and most heartwarming new comedy series. FX's English Teacher returns September 25th on FX, all episodes streaming on Hulu.

[Brian]

Yeah, I think that's the big highlight of the weekend and one of the big highlights of the tour and one of the big highlights of the year for a variety of reasons. The segue itself. How could you separate those two songs when you log a year? This is the argument I've been making for years, people, when that happens, that type of magic between one song and another, they're the same song at that point. It's just one song. So yeah, I was very into that. I'm definitely there with you in terms of trailing, leaning into the beauty versus kind of the weirdness we often hear of late, they'll find that kind of melody, they'll play it for a little bit and then they'll figure out how to distort it and kind of make it ugly and that makes it interesting. And this they were just fully leaning into the melody. It was beautiful. Rj, what do you got? You got fresher years.

[RJ]

I just want to say about that. The, the landing after the sense and subtle sounds in a lonely, lonely trip. Also just like perfect, like the kind of like underwater weirdness from what's going through your mind into sense and then like the lonely trip landing after. That's a good, good segment, I think. Like the, the ruby waves from the first night. Like the same, like I was saying at the beginning very like ethereal for a large part of it. And the peaks are like, very patient but also fun and kind of, I don't know, like soft, you know, but in a really good way. And then like that kind of ambient space before launching into no Man I think is really cool. So it seems like they're really playing with the kind of like. Yeah. The way that the. The jams peak. But also like how they peak and. And when. Which is cool. I like the kind of post. Yeah. The post peak jamming of a lot of these. Like that. That in the. What's going through your mind also. It just. There's. It's really cool. It's nice to have a. They have a kind of simmer into the next song. Like the. Everything's right from night two into simple same thing. Like kind of patiently getting to the end before. Before launching into simple. So I. I think those like transitions and the post peak kind of moments are what are. What are sticking with me the most. Someone mentioned in the chat gumbo from the first night, which was really, really great.

[Megan]

Jamie.

[RJ]

Yeah. Surprisingly awesome.

[Megan]

Yeah. I love that whole segment. The tweezer Ruby Waves no Men back into Tweezer is really killer. And I love how they hold on to the Moutron like dancing in the street stuff during. They don't play it during no man. And then they just unleash it on the tweezer when they go back into it. And it is so satisfying and just so funky. It's great. Good stuff. That's a fun segment.

[RJ]

The only other thing I want to highlight is there's in the. My friend. My friend from the first night, there's this little like, piano riff that Paige has in the jam that's like. It's like this hypnotic but really simple kind of piano line that he just keeps playing. And it works so well in that jam. It's just such a crazy thing that. That is happening so frequently.

[Megan]

He's on the piano a lot on these jams. A lot. It's school.

[RJ]

Yeah.

[Brian]

Which they figured out a way to make that. There used to be like, Paige would get on the piano and Trey would almost follow him to a peak and then that would be it. That'd be all they have to say. And it seems like the piano is starting to serve as kind of a counter to Trey in some ways that still allows them to extend an idea rather than just build it to a rock peak. I don't want to rehash the mindsense. The tweezer 27 minute tweezer on the second set. That's always going to be a special thing. And I thought the middle section where they got into weird synthesizer and looping space was very, very cool. But I just want to shout out Simple. I thought this was a really, really cool Simple. I was just looking through the jam charts. You know, we've had some great, great versions here in the 4.0 era. It was. I don't know how many people remember this, but it came after disease to. To open the second set on the first night of 4.0 in Rogers, Arkansas. And that was a version that, like, there were a lot of weird synthesizers, a lot of weird noises that were emerging. Kuroda was playing with a new light rig where you had the LED bars kind of going up and down in a way that really kind of foreshadowed the jamming of 2021 kind of is like the first great jam of 4.0, obviously. 8.6 from Deer Creek. We had a great version from MSG in April of 2022. Charleston 22 had a big 20 minute version. SPAC 23 has a big version. Obviously the version that comes out of Tweezer in Berkeley, opened the final night of Mexico 2024. Very, very cool, kind of bubbly jam that went to sanity. But we had a version last summer that doesn't get talked about as much, I think because of just the quantity of incredible jams last summer and the fact that four nights later they beat it out time wise. And that was a 40 minute version of simple last year in Alpine Valley. And that version, I don't know if it's. It's definitely not the best jam of the year. It has, you know, some segments that drag a little bit longer and then the band kind of revives things. But it's a very cool exploratory version. And I was thinking about it like, since then, simple has kind of served as kind of a segue and kind of an idea before they get to something else. And this felt like the first version since that Alpine version. So, you know, 14 months later that they really just were like, okay, let's explore what happens within Simple. Let's see what this song means and what this song does. And you get some great Trey leads, you get some really cool effects, you get some great interplay with him and Paige. Meg, you said this earlier. Rj, I think you said this as well. Like the way Fishman's been playing. It means that, you know, as the band starts to explore the inner workings of a jam. Fishman has this kind of space and this ability to come in with just like crazy ideas that elevate a jam to another level. And I think you got that within this simple to a degree. The way it then goes into, you know, fades into a wave of hope and then comes back out of a wave of hope and then it forms where beneath the sea of stars is going to go. It just felt like the meat of that second set. And it felt like, you know, we are definitely being more critical of this run than I think we would have been had this run been played in 2022 or 2016. You know, like you put this run in a different era, Fish, and I think there's a lot more praising. Evdude said it that like it's almost like a good problem right now how good Fish is playing because you just have to end up being critical of like good just to like put it in proper context and you know, that all said, I thought this simple was some of the more interesting music played definitely on Saturday night. And I think on the run overall. And if you haven't respun it and re listened to it, it's definitely something worth checking out.

[Megan]

It was in my top list of jams, like my third favorite jam from this. From this Hampton run. And it's funny that it kind of eclipses the wave of hope, which is like the new shiny toy, but I think it does. It's better. And I think it's a perfect example of Paige leading the peak and Trey getting to add dimension and texture, which I think is really is really fun when they get to do that. The other one from that night is I love this Beneath the Sea of Stars. I love how spacey and eloquent it is. It's just. And we talked about the transition to Jabu, but it's. I love this version. I love when they play like this.

[RJ]

All right, so let's give everyone a final takeaway from this late summer, early fall, post summer pre MSP tour tour run.

[Brian]

Can I do a ranking of three night runs of 2025 as my answer?

[Megan]

Oh yeah, that sounds fun.

[RJ]

Sure.

[Brian]

Do you want me to go top to bottom, bottom to top? What do you want?

[RJ]

How many are there?

[Brian]

Seven.

[Megan]

Bottom to top.

[Brian]

Okay. Number seven. It's a big one. Boulder, Colorado Unquestionably the worst three night run of the year. Probably the worst run of the overall year. Multi night run. Amazing vibes. I had a great time, but it's going to be hard for really anything to be more than an honorable mention by the end of this year. Especially if we have a big MSG run coming in. Number six, Hollywood Bowl. Some cool moments. Ether Edge is officially, fully, completely a jam vehicle. The Fuego Encore was really cool. The you enjoy myself into Twist was very cool. There's a great light from night one, but I think we can all agree that run just doesn't hold up. The puzzle pieces don't connect in the way that we need them to. Hampton, number five. We've talked about this. I think it's a good run. I think everything here to the top is good. But a couple of these are not great. Capital G, number four, Chicago. I briefly considered going to this run. This has one of my favorite jams of the year in the what's going through your mind? Some really cool segments. The second set from night two works in a way that it almost shouldn't. Kind of one of those let's. Let's throw a bunch of ideas at the wall sets. And sometimes those work and sometimes those don't. Night three is a little bit of a mess. Has some really cool moments, but a little bit of a mess also. Go fuck yourself, Jerry Reinstorf, please just sell the team. Get the hell out of here. We don't need you anymore. We don't want you. Nobody likes you. You don't do anything good for this city or for this team. Get out of here. Number three, Charleston. This is the embodiment of solid fish. There's really nothing that you can pick apart about this run. But when you look at this compared to the fact that night one of the man coming right after is going to have one of the biggest jams of the year. Just before you have three huge 20 plus minute jams in Columbus of all places. Columbus, Ohio. What's in Columbus? You tell me, RJ. Charleston's got like two 30 minute jams that are basically like 1.5 type, 1.5 jams. That's a strange thing. It's a little bit of points deduction there. Although I do really enjoy 713. Number two might be a surprise to everyone out there, but we're putting Manchester the opening three night run of the summer tour. Here's my argument. You've got an incredible, incredible life saving gun and twist in set two of night one. Real preview of kind of where they would go. Sonically, this emergence of life saving Gun as we've always wanted it to be one of the big jam vehicles. We have a 19 minute, just killer version on night one of the tour. Night two you've got a solid Karini and a very good wave of hope. And night three is, I would argue, one of the best shows of the year. Classic upon classic set one, followed by a tweezer sandwich in set two that has some of the best music of the year. Really, really sets up summer 2025. And then number one, SPAC. Without question, probably the best three night run that we've heard the band play since Dick's 2012. I can keep gushing, but we're already 11 minutes over our proposed 45 minute podcasting time.

[RJ]

And you answered my one question with an 11 minute answer. So we would otherwise be. Be exactly on time.

[Megan]

I have to go back to Manchester. I remember that twist, but. But I feel like I haven't spent enough time. I remember being pretty floored by that. By that twist and that gun, but I have to go back now. This is inspiring me. This is a hilarious comment. I still don't know what song either. Edges. Sorry. That cracked me up when I saw I was like that. So funny. Well, I have a very short, very positive takeaway. Do you want to hear it?

[RJ]

Yes.

[Megan]

That. I think Vish is still pushing to evolve even in this just short little eight tour run. I think they're doing something different than they did this summer when this summer worked really well. And even at the end of the summer tour proper in Spac, they were still pushing and trying new things and they come back for this eight run tour and they're. They're trying new things and they're jamming and I always want to reward that and I feel really good about that.

[RJ]

Yeah, that's great. And Brian, thank you for. Thank you for, for ranking all the three night runs. Um, that's cool. Yeah, I mean, continuing to. I just to. Just to piggyback on what you said, Meg. I mean just continuing to like evolve the. The sound with like from summer. They could have just continued to do exactly what they were doing this summer, which wouldn't have taken. I mean it's obviously hard what they do no matter what.

[Megan]

That's what I'm saying.

[RJ]

They just kept doing it.

[Brian]

But they did and they changed. They're amazing.

[RJ]

Yeah.

[Megan]

I mean, always evolving. Even when it's working.

[RJ]

Yeah, exactly. Even when it's working. The other thing that's working is you guys all sending us voicemails and comments and other things you want us to talk about on the air. So keep doing that. The number if you want to call and leave a voicemail is 4844160. 4, 8, 8. Give us a call. Leave us a voicemail. We're gonna go through a bunch of them next week. It's gonna be fun and chill. So if you guys like fun, chill stuff, you'll be here next week with us. We'll see you guys then. Thanks for. Thanks for joining. Bye.

[Megan]

Thanks, everybody. Bye.

[Brian]

Thank you, guys. Sam Osiris. For a limited time at McDonald's, get a Big Mac Extra Value meal for $8. That means two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a Sesame street bun, and medium fries and a drink.

[RJ]

We may need to change that jingle.

[Brian]

Prices and participation may vary. Yo, this is important, man.

[RJ]

My favorite Lululemon shorts, the ones you got me back in the day, I think they're called Pace breakers. The ones with all the pockets.

[Brian]

I just got back from vacation and I left them in my hotel room.

[RJ]

And, dude, I need to replace these shorts. I wear them like three times a week. Could you send me the link to.

[Brian]

Where you got them?

[RJ]

Oh, also, my birthday is coming up soon, so. Anyways, thanks, bro. Talk soon. Looking for your newest Go to's Lululemon.

[Megan]

What'S New Gear drops on Tuesdays.

[Brian]

Every Tuesday, head to lululemon.com to shop.

[Megan]

What's New Gear.