IMO

I'll give 2010 the slightest edge possible over 2011, and I don't think 2009 comes close to either.

2010 had the best funk with the 2nd nite camden in 2001 > micheal jackson jam > 2001....
2011 had SBIX and that was out of the world...

2012

Dick's, UIC, Charlotte, Blossom and freakin SUPERBALL say 2011.

@bostonron said:

2012

Not sure why some idiot gave you a negative vote. I like your way of thinking here! Let's here it for 2012!

But as of music actually played so far I have to give it 2011 personally. It is true that I listened to more 2011 than the other years of 3.0 but god damn there is some great stuff. 2011 also marked my personal return to Phish after not seeing them for 11 years. I missed them, and am so grateful to have them back in my life!

I would give '11 a slight edge over '10. UICN1 2nd set, IMO, stands as not only the best run they've had in 3.0, but I really think that will stand up in the long run. Throw in Dicks, SB, Charlotte, Gorge, Bethel, Pine Knob, etc, etc, etc. '10 was great, but a so-so leg 1 doesn't give that year the weight, again, IMO. It's close, but I really loved the direction the band was going in last summer. With that said, I think this year will blow it all out of the water. UIC'd and Dick'd all summer (did I just make this dirty?)

totally agree with @bostonron

Superball being the main reason. What a solid, solid three days. Awesome.

Also Bethel - Waves was in in 2011

In my opinion, each year since the reformation has been a steady improvement.

@Harrynuggs said:

Was set 2 of 12/31/10 the best set of 3.0?

See UIC 1 set 2.

1993.0

I say 2012 because I would like to think that the best of 3.0 is yet to come. However, for what they already have played I would agree that 2010 has a slight edge over 2011

I agree with 2012 if only because it reminds me of that famous quote by Richard Seymour (I think) about which Super Bowl win was his favorite: "The next one." Plus, it's always tough to gauge these things in midstream - it'd be like asking "what's the best year of Phish?" in December 1996.

i would rate it 09 Miami, 10 NYC MSG and this years last

@conradjohansen said:

@Quinn_the_Eskimo said:

@bostonron said:

2012

I like this answer best

Seriously. Who voted it down?

I think 2010 will stand the test of time as being better, but only because of the Fall tour. If 2011 had a Fall tour that probably would've pushed it over the top.

This is very true. Summer 2011 beats Summer 2010. Fall/Holiday run 2010 was when shit really came together. That Fall run had something special going on.

IMO

2010 by a very slight margin. Not much at all.

I feel like in 2009 they were holding back setlist wise, overplaying the Joy album, and finding their 3.0 direction, if you will. The playing in 2011 is just as tight as 2010 and they both have good, unique setlists that keep us guessing.

That being said, what gives the edge to 2010 is the stronger and multi venue New Year's Eve, and more importantly.... FALL TOUR!

I know Guyutica gets raved over and all that shit, but one show that doesn't get enough recognition around here is Manchester. Amherst N2> Manchester are some solid shows. Especially Manchester! Amherst N2 I went to on a whim. And was so blown away away I couldn't turn down the cheap pair of PTBM's to Manchester I was offered on the way out. Had no plan. But after Amherst N2, I HAD to see the next show.

October 24, 2010

Mullins Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Set 1: AC/DC Bag > Camel Walk, Divided Sky, Ride Captain Ride, Stash^[1], Fee^[2] -> Time Turns Elastic, Cavern > Run Like an Antelope

Set 2: Seven Below > Wolfman's Brother, Backwards Down the Number Line > Alaska > Free > The Lizards, Brother, Roggae -> Taste > Waste > David Bowie

Encore: Quinn the Eskimo > Chalk Dust Torture

[1] DEG tease from Trey.
[2] Trey sang verses through megaphone.

Notes: Ride Captain Ride was played for the first time since December 10, 1999 (214 shows). Stash contained a brief Dave's Energy Guide tease from Trey. Trey sang verses of Fee through a megaphone.

I mean look at how unique the setlist is. Not a huge jammed out fest but there was a nice jam during wolfman's. Seven Below was strong, and so was Stash. But this show stands out for me because of song selection. It's great. This was my lucky #7th show... and sure was it lucky.
Think about this... my SEVENTH show, and I had so many firsts. And I don't mean Lizards, Fee, and Ride Captain, I mean songs you'd think you would have heard already in 7 shows.

Firsts:
Camel Walk
Divided Sky
Ride Captain Ride
Stash
Fee
TTE
Free
Lizards
Taste (Still my only)
Waste
Quinn

Now I know 7th show is early. But that's a LOT of firsts. And my show prior to that was Jones Beach where I only heard like one first. And was somewhat disappointed.

And then Manchester

October 26, 2010

Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, NH

Set 1: After Midnight, The Sloth, Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues^[1], Mellow Mood, Access Me, Llama, All of These Dreams, The Curtain With > Scent of a Mule, A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing, It's Ice > Walls of the Cave

Set 2: Possum > Light > Mike's Song > Simple^[2] > Makisupa Policeman^[3] -> Night Nurse^[4] -> Makisupa Policeman > The Wedge, Ghost -> The Mango Song^[5] > Weekapaug Groove^[6] -> Llama Reprise

Encore: Show of Life

[1] "From Goddard College" added to lyrics.
[2] Magilla tease from Page.
[3] "Woke up this morning with a policeman at my door all I could do was shrug, and go back in my bedroom and smoke another nug" lyrics.
[4] Phish debut.
[5] Heavy Weekapaug teases from Trey.
[6] Can't You Hear Me Knocking jam with Ghost and Night Nurse lyrics. Unfinished.

Notes: After Midnight was played for the first time since December 31, 1999 (206 shows). In Alumni, Trey added "from Goddard College" after the final "'cause I got a degree" lyric. Simple contained a Magilla tease from Page. Makisupa included the lyrics "Woke up this morning with a policeman at my door all I could do was shrug, and go back in my bedroom and smoke another nug." This show featured the Phish debut of Night Nurse; original artist Gregory Isaacs passed away the night before, October 25, 2010. Weekapaug was heavily teased by Trey in Mango before the segue into Weekapaug itself. Weekapaug subsequently contained a Can't You Hear Me Knocking jam, which featured lyrics from Ghost and Night Nurse, and was unfinished.

And we all know about this show.
But I want to tell you...
That was my first Mike's song/Groove
And what a good Mike's groove it was.
8th show first Mike's and it was practically the whole second set.
Ahhhh Fall tour. I miss it. Right when I had semi-thought I was getting bored of Phish after my 6th show because of the lack of new material I was hearing... they remind me what's out there.

I mean Manchester has it all, song selection, AND jamming. Check out that Light jam. Nice funky beats there. I dk, I'll stop ramblin'

I just love those 2 shows, ya don't hear about em anymore

Fall tour is what makes 2010 for me though. Fall tour is the best. I feel like it's more relaxed and easier to score tickets for as well. Then again I have hit 2 fall tour shows. But it's a really different vibe. And I like it. I like it more than summer.

well, i only went to one show in 2010 and one show in 2011, both in charlotte. performance-wise, i'd say they were equal. jamming-wise, 2011 gets the edge 'cuz i felt they (jams) ended more naturally. but the "holy batshit" award for an individual highlight goes to 2010, for a "carini"> "f*** your face" that was performed as if they played those two songs together for years....

I'd have to say that 2010 topped 2011 for me by a little, but largely in terms of Fall tour and NYE. Yes, there were some amazingly hot shows in 2011, but I think that had the band hazarded a Fall tour last year, it would have been the best yet, and NYE would likely have been significantly stronger.

Look, I agree with almost everyone else that I'm glad to have the band back, and I'd rather they toured less regularly and stayed healthy and happy. I'm cool with that. I'll even say that I was amazed at how strongly the band came out of the gate last summer after six months off. But if their plans for the immediate future entail a two summer legs and an NYE run per year, with no Fall (or, g-d help us, Spring) tour, then the improvements imho are going to be slow, and there will be precious little of the improvisational looseness for which a lot of us pine. It's all about Fall tour, so far as I'm concerned. That's when all the hard work of summer pays off and sets up the expectations for NYE.

All of which is to say that I'd love for 2012 to be the best year of of 3.0 yet, I'm not convinced it will be if the routine is to be one tour per year with six months off on either side. Just my rather pessimistic opinion . . .

Heres my breakdown-

2011 Leg 2/SBIX> 2010> 2011 overall> 2009
leg 2 represents a new direction and I think is the beginning of the definition of the 3.0 era.

@TheEmperorJoker said:

@art_vandelay

I also attended both Charlotte shows as I live there but I thought 2011 was wildly superior than 2010

actually, i agree. when i posted both shows were equal "performance-wise", i was referring to the level of sharpness & preparation. in that regard, there was little fault to find with either show IMO. if you ever stumble across my reviews for both shows, you could tell i definitely favored 2011 overall too.... but the 2010 carini> FYF is my personal fave highlight between the two....

Not enough years in 3.0 yet. Best out of 3 is kinda hard...and "best of" lists are iffy anyhow. 2010/2011 overlap in quality here and there. 2009 can't be counted, it's not fair. So it's almost of a best out of 2. The trend over the past three years is positive though. I'm extremely hopeful about 2012 summer tour and...dare I even mention it...a Fall 2012 tour. Summer tour is a blast but Fall tour has a magical energy, it's quite consistent over the years.

For some reason I really like 2009 shows. I love the Red Rocks run, Gorge shows, Hampton: Best come back ever!

my favorite tours of 3.0

aug '09
fall '09
fall '10
summer '11

2009 had some amazing jams. the Albany 11/28 Seven Below > Ghost is definitely in my top 3 type II jams of 3.0. I can't decide between that jam and 6/3 DWD > Fluff, maybe just because of the actual songs. Not a huge fluff fan. As far as overall consistency in execution, I gotta hand it to 2010. Amherst Night 2 was some of the tightest Phish I ever saw.

obviously I wasn't around in 93.

Funny... I came in to say 2011, but only because 1/1/11 is technically part of 2011, not 2010....

@JTodd said:

Does 1/1/11 Count as the beginning of '11 or the end of '10?

I count it as part of '10. One's opinion on this matter could be the deciding point.

2011