re: the incredible shrinking songlist...

it's been pointed out that trey obviously likes Number Line more than anyone else in the world, and that he doesn't really need any other reason to call for a song. i think that at *some* level, most fans understand this. they like playing Song XYZ, they're gonna play it, and everyone will have a good time because it's a pleasant song well played by a great band.

but what the 'jam-chasers' seem to overlook, pretty consistently -- i include myself in this indictment -- is that 'trey likes it/they like it' doesn't just refer to the song as such, it's about the jam too. the band obviously loves those 'deep space' moments which were the whole point of turn-of-the-century(!) phish...but they clearly also love the 'type 1' jams that setlist-parsers dismiss as 'standard.' trey gets off on the Mike's Song guitar solo. this is obvious. he likes the way Piper crests, tumbles, hisses as it crashes against the shore. this is obvious. he likes the joke of Kill Devil Falls and the whisper-to-wail trajectory of the jam (which is like a less maniacal Chalkdust). this is obvious.

phish enjoy a conventional tweezer jam as much as you do -- not least because they listen to a lot less phish than you do. one difference is: that's enough for them, because they have the power to just make more phish if they want, and you can't -- you have to rely on your supplier. but you shouldn't begrudge them for privileging one kind of experience (everyone having a good time at the show) over another (tallying up the scoresheet the morning after).

the point is, i'm willing to bet that from the band's perspective, a tightly-played 'type 1' jam (even in a sometimes-'type 2' vehicle) isn't missing anything, no matter what the fans say. a jam that doesn't leave the confines of the song is never a failure or a disappointment except to the fan who thinks his idea of the show is more important than the show.

so...the songlist has shrunk.

i imagine this has something to do with the band enjoying playing the songs on the list, not feeling any strong pressure to play new stuff yet, and feeling (correctly) that there's still plenty of juice left in those old songs. mike, page, trey, and fish aren't sitting around comparing this weeks' shows to jams from 1998, because that's a ridiculous way to spend one's time! it's one thing to study, another thing to go looking for ammo for complaints. 'the songlist is too short' doesn't quite rise to the level of analysis, even if plenty of people are feeling it, even if it's true for you and you and etc.

if you aren't enjoying phish's music right now because the setlists overlap too much, listen to less phish, which doesn't mean 'fuck off,' it just means that refreshing your ears will let you come to the music not as a collector but as a traveller.

there are plenty of reasons to criticize this music, if we want; that's fun too sometimes. but 'the songlist is too short' is a matter of taste. that seems worth remembering.

btw, the theme > weekapaug jam from chicago is a great little in-the-moment variation on the usual weekapaug opening, leading right into a swell version. an unexpected pleasure!