I was thinking about ranking the 3.0 tours last night. Of course there is no such thing as a bad Phish tour because seeing Phish is always a treat. But I was thinking that this summer's tour was the best one since they came back in 2009. I began to think that this band has been better every single tour. Last year's tour was also phenomenal and better than the 2010 summer tour. The 2010 fall tour was better than the 2010 summer tour.

Tell me if i am just imagining this.
not counting runs (i.e. Hampton run or any NYE run), are Phish's tours getting better and better?

@ypehmish said:

10> 12> 09> 11 IMO

haha i guess you completely disagree with me then.

2009 summer better then 2011 summer? i've never heard that one before. But your opinion is valid of course.

To be clear, i wasn't talking about years i was talking about tours. So 2010 summer is not the same as 2010 fall.

Summer 11 was not as good as fall 10 in my opinion.

There were a lot of memorable shows that tour.

2010> 2011> 2012> 2009

They sounded really tight in 2010.

Summer 10 is kinda hard to listen to until the Greek shows. Thanks no whammy guy!

@TheEmperorJoker said:

I think summer 11 is way better than fall 10. Fall 10 has highlights like Charleston and AC but summer 11 has classics like the original dicks run, Charlotte, chicago 1

In addition to Charleston and 3 quality AC shows you had a very good providence show, Utica, Manchester, and arguably the best Nye run between Worcester and MSG.

Pretty much at this whole thread

@Chilly said:

@ypehmish said:

10> 12> 09> 11 IMO

Nooo way...

Summer 2012 > Fall 2010 > 2011 > Summer 2010 > 2009

Summer 12 > Fall 10 > Summer 2011 > Summer 2010 > Fall 09 > Summer 09

Fall '10 has some really good shows. None of them, IMO, are as good as either of the best of 2011 or 2012.

It's weird, because I think 2011 is actually better across the board in terms of quality shows; 2012 is pretty uneven, and there are more "scattered moments of brilliance" in the second leg than the first. But the best shows of 2012 - FYF, St. Louis, Dick's 3, BGCA 3, Star Lake, DCU 1 - absolutely blow all but the very best shows of 2009-11 out of the water. The jams are more inspired, the setlists more well-knit (seriously, it astounds me how underrated St. Louis is - the first five songs are segued in and out so fluidly, with some meaty jamming in between, and then the LxL tops the cake), and the peak moments are as good as anything the band's ever done. And that's why I think 2012 is the better year (and, I guess, why I agree with the OP); a run of pretty good shows is one thing, but a few relative "clunkers" in between shows like Long Beach and BGCA 3 is something else altogether.

i just feel they are getting better each tour

Maybe not on a tour-by-tour basis. Certainly on a year-by-year basis.

^ I love all of it, and I love to compare, but we do arrive at the same conclusion

I have been listening through Summer '11 leg two over the last three weeks, and am planning to relisten to the '11 NYE run this week. Each tour has great shows IMO, but I see a general correlation between the number of shows played in 3.0 and the quality of the jamming. The Long Beach R&R was the best single song jam they had played in a show up to that point, and then they bested it at least twice during the Dick's run.

whatever it is - Summer '12 is certainly number one. I don't see how you could pick any of 3.0 over Summer '12

@SconyMack said:

Maybe not on a tour-by-tour basis. Certainly on a year-by-year basis.

Agreed. Also, like it's been said before I think Fall 2010 was better than summer 2011.

Either way 2012 was the shit and I'm so pumped for NYE run

I think 12 has been better than 11, and 10 was better than 11 - so 10/12 better than 11

I haven't listened to enough 2009 to state a thorough opinion, but I have listened to all of 2010, 11, and 12. In my mind, there are a lot of great moments from 2010 and 2011, but not so many great shows from start to finish. 8/6/2010 and 6/25/2010 spring to mind as classic examples of shows that featured exceptional moments (Cities from 8/6, Chalkdust and 2001 from 6/25), but the whole thing didn't come together. In 2012(with some exceptions from 2010 and 11) it seems they remembered how to consistently put on a killer show all the way through. Obviously there were less than steller shows thrown in there, but all and all the tour was amazing. The Crosseyed-> Light-> Sneaking' Sally from Bill Graham is some of my favorite Phish ever, along with the entire Dick's run.

@skillz said:

@helpingfriendlywook said:

Summer 12 > Fall 10 > Summer 2011 > Summer 2010 > Fall 09 > Summer 09

this

Agreed

@TheEmperorJoker said:

Fall tour is terribly overrated despite some solid shows. Vote me down if you must, but Utica is just flat out gimmicky and overrated.

I respect your opinion. What are some 2010 shows that surpass Utica?

Not that it really matters, but Summer '10 has been my least favorite tour since the return. Not counting Berkeley. Fall '10 is great, 2011 had very high highs and very low lows. I'll take leg two over leg one in a heartbeat though. Seriously! How is that even a question? Gorge, Tahoe, UIC...some of my all time favorite stuff! (and I was at Hollywood Bowl, which was enjoyable but unremarkable in the grand scheme of things).

Granted, some shows felt like they really tried to not jam at all, but nothing from this era touches 2012. Especially leg two. Then remember they played Worcester, Star Lake, Cincy, Deer Creek...bam.

Also, please continue to overlook Long Beach. The Rock N' Roll gets a lot of attention but that whole second set is fluid $$$. As you were, gentlemen/ladies.

@ypehmish said:

10> 12> 09> 11 IMO

This

I love that this thread has a variety of opinions, and yet no one has been flamed. @ledzepmaster, thank you for replying to my question, you mentioned some great shows.

Others have posted similar complaints about Utica being "gimmicky". I will agree that the *first* set is gimmicky, and that the band certainly beats the Guyute teases into the ground. Everyone eventually gets tired of jokes (especially jokes on releases that get played over and over). Phish's sense of humor is one of the attributes that got me hooked way back when, but sometimes you gotta know when to stop.

However, I must point out that the band *did* drop the Guyutica gimmick, and played a second set of music that is as solid as any set they played that year. When you add in the fire that the band stoked with the "Vultures, Wolfman's> Cities" combo, you've really got a great show, even without the teases. It's fine to complain about stale jokes, but to imply that 10/20/10 is all fluff and no substance is just incorrect.

Are people not including the NYE run in with fall 10? I feel like they should be. 4/5 of those are well above par.