Wednesday 08/27/2014 by jwelsh8

RANKING THE JAMS OF SUMMER

With Dick's mere days ahead, we thought we'd give the pot a little stir and provoke some discussion around the finest jams of summer tour proper.

There's an embarrassment of riches to pick from -- from the varied meanderings of the "Randalls Chalk Dust" to the dad-rock majesty of the Northerly "Wedge" to the trifecta of jamming "Fuegos" -- and we encourage you to rank 'em up below the fold and discuss in the comments. We've started you out with the staff's top ten, but please feel free to add your own favorites so people can vote those up as well. Enjoy!

Phishing Poll, Vol. 11: Best Jam of the Summer 2014


(If you do not see your favorite jam listed, please feel free to add it following the existing format: 7/dd - song - city, state)

The phish.net's crew's initial rankings of a Top 15 are as follows (with links courtesy of PhishTracks):

7/13 - Chalk Dust Torture - New York, NY
7/20 - The Wedge - Chicago, Illinois
7/04 - Fuego - Saratoga Springs, New York
7/19 - Harry Hood - Chicago, Illinois
7/30 - Fuego - Portsmouth, Virginia
7/18 - Wombat - Chicago, Illinois
7/08 - Fuego - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7/20 - Ghost - Chicago, Illinois
7/01 - Harry Hood - Mansfield, Massachusetts
7/26 - Ghost - Columbia, Maryland
7/13 - Light - New York, New York
7/13 - Tweezer - New York, New York
7/30 - Piper - Portsmouth, Virginia
7/04 - Down with Disease - Saratoga Springs, New York
7/11 - Down with Disease - New York, New York

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Comments

, comment by Drewbedo420
Drewbedo420 relisten to spac piper, its way better then spac disease
, comment by NoDirection
, comment by totlotkid22
totlotkid22 7/30 Meatstick. It may not be as original as these but damn did they bring the funk!
, comment by bertoletdown
bertoletdown I love that 4 people so far have showed up to "thumbs down" the Randalls CDT.

LOL. Trolls gonna troll.
, comment by Ravinus
Ravinus The MPP Roggae is phenomenal. I'm a little surprised it didn't make the cut. Oh, wait, it isn't over 10 minutes long.
, comment by RoundTheRoom
RoundTheRoom Really great list - pretty much agree with all of it. I would include Randall's Gin and SPAC LxL for Portsmouth Piper and maybe Chicago Ghost. Idk, there are 20 solid jams from this summer tough to cut the next 5.
, comment by ahull13
ahull13 SPAC Piper should be added
, comment by DanWithDisease
DanWithDisease They already got Chicago Ghost, RoundtheRoom, but yeah. I agree there are more.
, comment by jameswalkup
jameswalkup down with disease 8/1/14 orange beach, al
, comment by gtrips
gtrips Somoene is smoking crack. Where is the 7/11 Bathtub Gin? Its friggin 18 min long and supreme.
, comment by RoundTheRoom
RoundTheRoom @DanWithDisease said:
They already got Chicago Ghost, RoundtheRoom, but yeah. I agree there are more.

I meant replace my two with the two they had included. But the list is more than fine...I just like the Randall's Gin and SPAC Limb.

This is the summer of Chalkdust > Light > Tweezer
, comment by TheEmu
TheEmu I just want to reiterate that if there is a jam you feel should be on the list, you can add it.
, comment by Prionace
Prionace All 3 are separately listed, but 7/13 Randall's CDT> Light> Tweezer together form 1 amazing composition. Sure MPP2 was fun, but Randall's 3 was wow.
, comment by TwiceBitten
TwiceBitten There's a lot of stuff that should be on there...but at the moment I am unable to figure out how to add. someone add 7/3 LXL, 7/5 Piper, 7/12 Ghost and Hood, 7/13 Melt, 7/15 DWD, 7/26 Hood, 8/1 DWD, 8/3 Light??? that would rule... honestly every Hood and jammed out CDT should be on there as contenders
, comment by TwiceBitten
TwiceBitten sorry... i messed something up. what's up with this list program...not working for me. mistakenly added "Day 7: 3:00 A.M.-4:00 A.M." but can't put any jams on there. what gives?
, comment by TwiceBitten
TwiceBitten never mind my stupid posts above. I had to go to the ranker site to add the jams. also removed my mistaken addition. Keep voting folks!
, comment by jarpua
jarpua I am surprised that 7/26 Ghost is on there and 7/26 Steam isn't...I thought the Steam jam was better...but it won't let me login to add it.
, comment by GreatWent19
GreatWent19 Twist> Circus from Charlotte was one of my favorite moments of the tour, or at a minimum, my favorite segue from a strong roster of segues this summer...
, comment by The_Line
The_Line I would've thought the Philly Chalkdust would have gotten more love. Sure it's overshadowed by the Randall's Cdt a few days later but it was still a mighty fine jam.
, comment by ThingsOnMyMind
ThingsOnMyMind No 7/30 Meatstick?
, comment by ThingsOnMyMind
ThingsOnMyMind @ThingsOnMyMind said:
No 7/30 Meatstick?
Not sure how to add it
, comment by CameToPlay
CameToPlay @ThingsOnMyMind said:
@ThingsOnMyMind said:
No 7/30 Meatstick?
Not sure how to add it
Click on this and it is easy from there

http://www.ranker.com/list/phishing-poll-vol-11-best-jam-of-the-summer-2014/phishingpoll
, comment by JMart
JMart @bertoletdown said:
I love that 4 people so far have showed up to "thumbs down" the Randalls CDT.

LOL. Trolls gonna troll.
bullshit. that jam was really aimless. just because it goes on for a long time doesn't mean it's good.
, comment by JMart
JMart the boogie on-> antelope from 8/1/14 was one of the slickest segues i've heard in a good while.
, comment by light_above_n_blue_below
light_above_n_blue_below 8/1 DwD deserves to be up there.

lol at this list.
, comment by tmwsiy
tmwsiy @bertoletdown said:
I love that 4 people so far have showed up to "thumbs down" the Randalls CDT.

LOL. Trolls gonna troll.
Make it 40 LOL.

I didn't thumb it down but I don't necessarily think it is a troll. It could be someone that is passionate on another jam in a high slot and wants to thumb that up, whilst simultaneously thumbing down whatever is "ahead" of it to see it jump up in positioning. I don't really think 40 people think it is a bad jam, but it could be that 40 don't feel it is the #1 jam of summer.
, comment by FACTSAREUSELESS
FACTSAREUSELESS @bertoletdown said:
I love that 4 people so far have showed up to "thumbs down" the Randalls CDT.

LOL. Trolls gonna troll.
I thumbs down lots of 'em just to mix things up and make it more interesting. Not a big fan of the Ranker system but it is fun to read and play with.
, comment by FACTSAREUSELESS
FACTSAREUSELESS I'm going to cut and paste the Mansfield Hood to the top. Thank you for coming.
, comment by Prionace
Prionace Glad to see we all have kept the Moma Dance in its rightful place...totally irrelevant.
, comment by mkaz45
mkaz45 I'm surprised that the gumbo from Alpharetta isn't on the list. Wasn't massive but was very tasteful and surprising
, comment by CameToPlay
CameToPlay Amused at The Wedge being #1 or #2. Not even in the top 10. I guess you if you jam out a song that isn't normally jammed out, and play Paradise City for a couple minutes, it is the best of the year.
, comment by chieferton
chieferton Gotta say, the staff nailed it with including Northerly Wedge, Wombat, AND Hood! Hood waaaay underrated by most, and quit hatin on that wedge. Shit was epic as it was happening...and it holds up. Shit's barely GNR, but kicks just as much ass!
, comment by funkbeard
funkbeard 7/25/14 at Charlotte has Fuego-> Twist-> When the Circus Comes. From the way these segues made me feel, this deserves to be on the list!
, comment by n00b100
n00b100 Not too surprised the Chicago Wedge being that high up - it's a quite nice piece of business, if maybe not as complex as other jams from the tour (then again, neither is the SPAC Fuego...), and really does peak well. I'd say @CameToPlay is being harsh with his analysis; it's not like the Reading 20YL has gotten this much love, and I think they arrived at that segment quite organically. It's probably somewhere in my top 10, but if it's not top 5 material, that's just a measure of the tour's strength.

Now, the 7/20 Ghost being this low? That's something I'm ready to bust heads over.
, comment by n00b100
n00b100 @JMart said:
@bertoletdown said:
I love that 4 people so far have showed up to "thumbs down" the Randalls CDT.

LOL. Trolls gonna troll.
bullshit. that jam was really aimless. just because it goes on for a long time doesn't mean it's good.
If you saying a jam is "aimless" means "a jam has to peak", then I can see why you feel that way. Otherwise, I disagree as strongly as I can, and I'm as big a "length isn't everything" guy as you can find on this wretched hive of scum and villainy.
, comment by TheEmu
TheEmu @light_above_n_blue_below said:
8/1 DwD deserves to be up there.

lol at this list.
You can add it to the list if you would like.
, comment by phoenixphish
phoenixphish Chicago Golden Age no love
, comment by tennesseejac
tennesseejac 8/02 - Wingsuit - Pelham, AL
, comment by FACTSAREUSELESS
FACTSAREUSELESS @phoenixphish said:
Chicago Golden Age no love
Nor does it deserve it. That was a mess except for about 3 minutes.
, comment by CameToPlay
CameToPlay @n00b100 said:
Not too surprised the Chicago Wedge being that high up - it's a quite nice piece of business, if maybe not as complex as other jams from the tour (then again, neither is the SPAC Fuego...), and really does peak well. I'd say @CameToPlay is being harsh with his analysis; it's not like the Reading 20YL has gotten this much love, and I think they arrived at that segment quite organically. It's probably somewhere in my top 10, but if it's not top 5 material, that's just a measure of the tour's strength.

Now, the 7/20 Ghost being this low? That's something I'm ready to bust heads over.
I was being provocative. It deserves kudos for the neat/nifty/cool/surprising/fun/orginality factor (hmmm, maybe it is a top 10 jam). Plus it was a pivotal jam. The show could have gone in a different direction and The Wedge was getting stale in general. I thought the 2 versions played after this actually had a little more spark, perhaps because they took this one out for a ride. That said, I mostly prefer the great big jams from this summer more. Last night I listened to 7/30 Fuego, and 8/1 DWD for the 1st time, and man are those great. And there are a host of others, of course, most of which I have heard already. Curious whether 7/27 Tweezer would be #3 if it had gotten the same head start as the original 15. Looks like that and 7/11 Gin have made the most progression up the chain of the later entry jams.
, comment by phootyjon
phootyjon SOaM from Portsmouth N1 was an absolute scorcher imho....
, comment by bertoletdown
bertoletdown @JMart said:
@bertoletdown said:
I love that 4 people so far have showed up to "thumbs down" the Randalls CDT.

LOL. Trolls gonna troll.
bullshit. that jam was really aimless. just because it goes on for a long time doesn't mean it's good.
I completely agree that length does not imply high quality. Couldn't agree more.

I completely disagree that aimless implies low quality. All who wander are not lost.
, comment by nothingburned
nothingburned @totlotkid22 said:
7/30 Meatstick. It may not be as original as these but damn did they bring the funk!

7/30 Meatstick-> Piper is amazing, total whole band synchronicity for 20-25 minutes, funk, groove, space, has it all. Needs to be listed as one jam imo. Trey barely plays any solos, hanging back with funk riffs and delay loops, a breath of fresh air versus the infamous "whale" jams.
, comment by FACTSAREUSELESS
FACTSAREUSELESS I completely disagree that aimless implies low quality. All who wander are not lost.[/quote]

Love this.
, comment by HortensetheMuleFacedDoll
HortensetheMuleFacedDoll @n00b100 said:
Not too surprised the Chicago Wedge being that high up - it's a quite nice piece of business, if maybe not as complex as other jams from the tour (then again, neither is the SPAC Fuego...), and really does peak well. I'd say @CameToPlay is being harsh with his analysis; it's not like the Reading 20YL has gotten this much love, and I think they arrived at that segment quite organically. It's probably somewhere in my top 10, but if it's not top 5 material, that's just a measure of the tour's strength.

Now, the 7/20 Ghost being this low? That's something I'm ready to bust heads over.
Couldn't agree more. That 7/20 Ghost was the top jam of that weekend and one of the best of the summer, in my humble opinion. Very unique and creative both as far as Ghost jams typically go and relative to the general style of Phish's 2014 jamming.
, comment by JMart
JMart @n00b100 said:
@JMart said:
@bertoletdown said:
I love that 4 people so far have showed up to "thumbs down" the Randalls CDT.

LOL. Trolls gonna troll.
bullshit. that jam was really aimless. just because it goes on for a long time doesn't mean it's good.
If you saying a jam is "aimless" means "a jam has to peak", then I can see why you feel that way. Otherwise, I disagree as strongly as I can, and I'm as big a "length isn't everything" guy as you can find on this wretched hive of scum and villainy.
I'll play along... Nah, I don't mean a jam necessarily has to have a peak to be good (e.g. cities from Berkeley- that shit was focused and everyone knew it. As soon as they locked in hard the crowd went nuts), but there does need to be evidence of communication, group thought, whatever. That chalkdust jam was sloppy, and, in my mind at least, notable only for the fact that it was long. I commend them for sticking with it to see if anything clicked (which is admirable, given everyone's mutual distaste for the ripcord), but sometimes they just need to admit that it isn't working and move on.
, comment by shamoo
shamoo Back on the train Randall's 7 12 14
, comment by moonshinefunk
moonshinefunk Can we do one of these for all Phish songs so people can vote on the best versions of each song. They have a site of this for Dead songs but I think it would be interesting for Phish songs as well?
, comment by camoser19
camoser19 @moonshinefunk said:
Can we do one of these for all Phish songs so people can vote on the best versions of each song. They have a site of this for Dead songs but I think it would be interesting for Phish songs as well?
Link please?
, comment by munrosa
munrosa @JMart said:
@n00b100 said:
@JMart said:
@bertoletdown said:
I love that 4 people so far have showed up to "thumbs down" the Randalls CDT.

LOL. Trolls gonna troll.
bullshit. that jam was really aimless. just because it goes on for a long time doesn't mean it's good.
If you saying a jam is "aimless" means "a jam has to peak", then I can see why you feel that way. Otherwise, I disagree as strongly as I can, and I'm as big a "length isn't everything" guy as you can find on this wretched hive of scum and villainy.
I'll play along... Nah, I don't mean a jam necessarily has to have a peak to be good (e.g. cities from Berkeley- that shit was focused and everyone knew it. As soon as they locked in hard the crowd went nuts), but there does need to be evidence of communication, group thought, whatever. That chalkdust jam was sloppy, and, in my mind at least, notable only for the fact that it was long. I commend them for sticking with it to see if anything clicked (which is admirable, given everyone's mutual distaste for the ripcord), but sometimes they just need to admit that it isn't working and move on.
, comment by munrosa
munrosa That Chalkdust was focused and another example of the magic of Phish. I actually found there to be all of the components that you thought they lacked - communication and group thought - and found all of the jams imaginative, creative, interesting, and fun to listen to. The rhythm section (Mike in particular, who was really led the entire jam) crushed it. Every segue from one suite to the next was seamless and made perfect sense.

I did, however, find the Light and Tweezer that followed to be sloppy and unfocused. But I'm not complaining. They had nothing left to prove at that point.
, comment by CameToPlay
CameToPlay oh well...someone spammed/manipulated the rankings with negative votes...This is why we can't have nice things....Thanks for trying OP....It was fun while it lasted
, comment by skibumhead
skibumhead How is no one talking about the MPP2 Tweezer?
, comment by FACTSAREUSELESS
FACTSAREUSELESS @CameToPlay said:
oh well...someone spammed/manipulated the rankings with negative votes...This is why we can't have nice things....Thanks for trying OP....It was fun while it lasted
Am I missing something here? Isn't the point of the thumbs-down feature not to say you didn't like the entry, but rather that you don't like it's ranking?

Is it not obvious to all that you are supposed to give a down-vote if you don't agree with where a song is on the list? Why do folks continue to get miffed at this?
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