@AlbanyYEM said:

@n00b100 , while I agree with most of what you say in terms of jams in the first set, I just think the quality of playing was particularly sharp in the pre-97 days. Now I'm not going to idealize that era as some kind of magical and pure utopian auditory gold, but for the most part the band was incredibly tight, emphasizing dynamics which to me is the heart of the feeling evoked by the standard songs. Knowing when to wail and when to step back, perfectly on the beat. I guess the point is that even without a big jam, just plain phish songs were played in a much tighter fashion than 3.0.

Now I'm not saying phish can no longer play like that, just that they do it far less consistently these days. So necessarily there is more emphasis placed on jamming in the first set because beyond playing well, what else is there that makes a set stand out? Bustouts I suppose. Personally, I don't require a big jam in the first set to make it work, just solid playing. Finally, song choice matters. With a more limited rotation, *when* the songs are played matters even more. Some of the unevenness of the first sets this year are not mainly due to lack of jams, but rather somewhat unimaginative or uncohesive set flow combined with lackluster playing. With the strides made the past couple of years in making truly cohesive second halves, this just seems like the last hurdle to get past on the way to consistently great entire shows. Which again, I'm not saying the band did every single time out in past years, just a standard more frequently met.

I agree with you and again, we're back to the subject of tour schedule, aren't we? Alas, the problem may not be rectifiable in the current tour environment.