2024 Ranked (Part 1)
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About halfway through the first song of 2024, I knew that 2024 was going to be special. And in these special years, I tend to nerd out. I started the process of keeping scores early, because I knew it was going to be a busy year, and I wanted to be able to share my thoughts on it sometime before mid-May 2025. So with that in mind, I think I did a pretty good job!
The first time I did a "full year ranking" was 1999. I scored every show from 1 to 5, as I listened, and then when it came time to order them I mainly shot from the hip. Considering the haphazard system, I think that ranking came out pretty well! But it was very difficult to do. And I was very familiar with all of those shows.
When I decided to rank 2001, a year with which I was much less familiar, I decided to implement a more scientific system. I broke down a show into sections (roughly 10-15 minutes) and scored them based on the quality of the jam. This scoring system only rewards jams. Large sections of composition drag a score down, bustouts and flubs don't really have any effect.
This system is easier for me, but it's obviously not flawless. At the end of the day, scoring is subjective. A jam that moves me considerably one day might have no effect another day. In the process of making this list, I went back to several sets, many of which had their scores changed (some drastically). I used this system to rank the 2022 sets, and there are many points of disagreement between my tastes today and what they were when I made the list.
So as always, take these opinions for what they are. This is not meant to be definitive in any way, it's just the efforts of a supernerd to entertain and amuse (himself, but others are always a plus). I hope you enjoy the list.
Part 1: the bottom half (sets 154-78)
154. 2/3/24 - Gem & Jam Festival - Set I
Caterpillar > The Deal > Gamma Goblins > Above The Waves (><) > Lake Shore Drive > Dino Baby > No Recollection > Caterpillar
One-off festival sets rarely crack the top of any year, and 2024 is no exception. It is not as if this set (or any of the others) is truly bad in the traditional sense—the playing is very polished and the setlist flows extremely smoothly, as is the case for just about all of 2024. But the jams are decidedly more newbie-friendly, and there is a dearth of deep improvisation. Here, the most meaningful highlight can be found in the jam (out of/in) Dino Baby, and the Gamma > Waves, which starts to heat up in the back half.
153. 12/28/24 - Fillmore Silver Spring - Set I
Spacebirdmatingcall > Sirens Sing > Confrontation > BOOM > Rock Candy
It's no secret that I prefer the first half of 2024 to the latter half. One of the more frustrating elements of the late 2024 setlist construction is the tendency to try to fit in more songs than the set needs. You will often see two 20+ minute tracks followed by three or four tracks in the ~10 minute range. I (begrudgingly) see the value of such setlists, but for those fans who are after big jams it puts a lot of pressure on the first half of the set to deliver the goods.
This is a prime example of this style falling short. Spacebird is all type one, the outro is pretty brief, and the reworked Champions is still being fleshed out, so its time-stamp is pretty much all composition. The Champions outro is pretty much the only jam I would revisit.
152. 7/15/24 - The Windjammer - Set I
Spy, Kamaole Sands > Air Song > The Wormhole > Leavemealone > Kamaole Sands
The standalone Spy followed by Kamaole Sands to start this one off put it at a pretty significant disadvantage right off the bat. Things don't really start to get going until the Air Song jam, and they never really achieve liftoff status.
151. 11/14/24 - District Music Hall - Set I
Jam > Minions > Pilin' It High (><) > Neck Romancer > Spraypaint > Trap Door
Another late 2024 set where the "jam heavy" half just doesn't deliver. The Minions intro jam is pretty plain, and the Pilin jam is light on thematic playing and heavy on shred. Minions > Pilin is a great jam (and the first inverted Pilin is executed very well) but there isn't a lot else there.
150. 3/29/24 - Webster Hall - Set II
Tourists (Rocket Ship) > Spaga's Last Stand, Who's in Charge > Space Train > The Deal > One Chance To Save The World > Why We Dance, To Be Continued
The issue here should be fairly obvious: even with the longer-than-usual set, the band had no room to breathe. There's some cool stuff going on in Space Train and The Deal, but this set is downright claustrophobic.
149. 2/9/24 - Boulder Theater - Set II
Mindless Dribble > Helicopters > Cyclone > Buy The Time > Tamarin Alley > Helicopters
The Boulder shows were a mixed bag after the jaw-dropping Aspen run. Buy the Time is a risky set two choice, and it doesn't pay off here. The rest of the setlist is solid. Dribble is a highlight, but nowhere near the level of some of the others this year, and the dub jam out of Cyclone is interesting.
148. 5/26/24 - Solshine Music and Arts Reverie
Caterpillar > Who's in Charge > The Wormhole > Confrontation > No Recollection > Dino Baby > Confrontation
This festival set is lifted above Gem & Jam solely on the strength of the Who's in Charge, which features some excellent Tractorbeam jamming.
147. 3/9/24 - Stage AE - Set II
Shelby Rose > Munchkin Invasion > M1 > The Deal > Orch Theme > Shelby Rose
The M1 is the major highlight of the set. The Boom mashup beefs up the composition length, but the jams in and out are both solid.
146. 4/6/24 - Longhorn Ballroom - Set II
Spraypaint > Dino Baby > Astronaut (><) > The Wormhole > Falling > Monster > Spraypaint
The set gets off to a promising start, but falls off after Astronaut. Lots of composition in the back half.
145. 3/16/24 - House of Blues - Set I
Caves of the East > Shelby Rose (><) > Tourists (Rocket Ship) > No Recollection (><) > Tempest > Sabre Dance
After a very promising and fun Caves opener into inverted Shelby, the set loses steam on a plodding Tourists.
144. 9/6/24 - Dillon Amphitheater - Set I
Crickets > Dino Baby > In The End We Have Forever > Orch Theme > Country Royale
Biscuits sets while the sun is still up have a weird vibe. As an attendee this was a very fun one, but with the long stretches of type one and the INXS jam into Orch, there isn't a lot of meat on them bones.
143. 7/11/24 - Freeman Arts Pavilion - Set I
Twisted in the Road > And the Ladies Were the Rest of the Night (><) > Times Square > Confrontation (><) > Twisted in the Road
There wasn't really anything wrong with this set, but almost nothing moved the needle very much.
142. 11/7/24 - Penn's Peak - Set I
Hope > Buy The Time > Crickets (><) > Better In Doses > I-Man
Some very cool moments in the Hope jam (and I am a sucker for these 2024 I-Man intro jams), but the condensed inverted Crickets and I-Man ate up a lot of the set.
141. 12/27/24 - Fillmore Silver Spring - Set II
Mulberry's Dream > Shadow > Better In Doses > Shelby Rose > House Dog Party Favor (><) > Shelby Rose
I thought this got off to a promising start. Dyslexic Mulberry's was an adventurous way to open the set, the jam into Shadow was solid, and the Better in Doses/Widow mashup was cool. The jam into Shelby had some moments but the segue took a while to stick, and the rest of the set had absolutely no breathing room.
140. 7/13/24 - The National - Set II
Who's in Charge > Boom > Another Spin > Mindless Dribble > Fire Will Exchange > Tribulations > To Be Continued
Some extremely composition-heavy songs weigh this one down. Nothing really has room to breathe.
139. 2/10/24 - Boulder Theater - Set I
Rockafella > Twisted in the Road (><) > And the Ladies Were the Rest of the Night (><) > To Be Continued > Fire Will Exchange > Sabre Dance
The Rockafella is definitely the best part, but the Teardrop sample doesn't hit as hard as it did the first time. The Waves/Sabre Dance mashup was surely exciting at the time but doesn't hold up well on tape.
138. 7/20/24 - Great South Bay Music Festival - Set I
Astronaut > Rock Candy, Twisted in the Road > Escape > Why We Dance > In The End We Have Forever > Helicopters > Another Spin > Helicopters
The bulk of this set suffers, not from guest appearances, but by the unfortunate festival inclination to play as many songs as possible. This was a popular candidate for least popular set of the year (at least until Buffalo), but I think people are ignoring the strength of the Astronaut > Rock Candy, which is a better segment than anything in any of the sets ranked lower.
137. 3/8/24 - Fillmore Silver Spring - Set I
Shem-Rah Boo > Voices Insane > Buy The Time > Svenghali
The jams into and out of Voices are the best parts of the show, but don't live up to stronger versions from the year.
136. 8/29/24 - Thalia Hall - Set I
We Like To Party > Freeze > And the Ladies Were the Rest of the Night (><) > Country Royale > We Like To Party
We Like to Party and the middle of Freeze are both solid.
135. 7/15/24 - The Windjammer - Set II
7-11 > Munchkin Invasion > Another Spin > No Recollection > Sandstorm > In The End We Have Forever > Munchkin Invasion
Like many 2024 sets, this one begins strong and fizzles out quickly. This one holds a pretty ignominious distinction for having my absolute least favorite use of samples—the Eminem samples in Another Spin are difficult to listen to and tank the momentum of the set—but I would contend it also is the reason why the samples were so much less prevalent in the next months.
134. 3/8/24 - Fillmore Silver Spring - Set II
And the Ladies Were the Rest of the Night > Above The Waves (><) > Shadow > Fire Will Exchange > And the Ladies Were the Rest of the Night
A strong middle is bookended by weaker segments. Waves > Shadow > FWE is the clear highlight. Also minor attendance bias for my first time hearing FWE live—man is that song good.
133. 4/7/24 - Texas Eclipse Festival - Set I
Confrontation > Another Plan of Attack > The Deal > Fire Will Exchange > Ring the Doorbell Twice > Confrontation
Playing this festival and executing the set so well was an absolute coup for the band. It holds up as an enjoyable relisten even if nothing in the set hits that next level.
132. 8/28/24 - The Intersection - Set II
Floodlights > Losing It > Space Train > Monster > Above The Waves (><) > Floodlights
The opening Floodlights is a strong entry, with multiple themes exploring different moods, and the Space Train > Monster revisits the winter tour "dub" jam before bringing it up to a Crickets-esque fakeout.
131. 8/11/24 - Elements Festival - Set I
Run Like Hell > Ring the Doorbell Twice > The Great Abyss > Leavemealone > Crickets (><) > Photograph > Run Like Hell
Some choices fairly typical of Biscuits festival sets (such as perhaps the shortest Crickets ever) and some genuinely impressive moments (such as the Doorbell main jam and the > Leavemealone > Commercial Amen/dub jam).
130. 3/15/24 - State Theater - Set II
Basis For A Day > The Wormhole > Times Square > Rock Candy (><) > Basis For A Day
This show has gotten some "best of the year" buzz, but it never resonated that strongly with me. The opening Basis doesn't get really good until the main jam, the mid-set Wormhole turns into a bit of an energy sink, the Times Square intro drags on forever. The Basis main jam and ending are the clear highlights.
129. 4/11/24 - The Orange Peel - Set I
House Dog Party Favor > Who's in Charge > Pat And Dex > Spacebirdmatingcall
The unique combinations of old-school songs are intriguing and generally well-executed. The House Dog and Pat & Dex outros carry.
128. 3/13/24 - Empire Live - Set I
Morph Dusseldorf, Triumph > Save The Robots > Astronaut (><) > Save The Robots
I don't care what anyone thinks—Jolene Morph was awesome.
127. 11/21/24 - Infinity Music Hall - Set I
Vassillios > 42 > Another Spin > Crickets (><) > Konkrete x Floodlights > 42
The Vassilios jam and the segue into the Konkrete x Floodlights are both great, but there's not much in the way of standout moments.
126. 11/6/24 - Rams Head Live! - Set II
Vassillios > Ring the Doorbell Twice > Leavemealone > One Chance To Save The World > Munchkin Invasion > Country Royale
The jams into and out of Leavemealone are the highlights, the intro a dark womp romp and the outro a fun, bouncy groove.
125. 9/15/24 - Pine Creek Lodge - Set II
Save The Robots > The Deal > The Great Abyss (><) > Photograph > Ring the Doorbell Twice > Save The Robots
For my tastes, Save the Robots > Deal is the easy highlight.
124. 11/20/24 - Infinity Music Hall - Set II
7-11 > Basis For A Day > Space Train > Basis For A Day > I-Man > Basis For A Day
The I-Man, long even for 2024, is mostly just long. The middle jam is the highlight, along with Basis > Space Train > Basis.
123. 7/18/24 - Secret Dreams - Set I
Digital Buddha > To Be Continued > Fire Will Exchange > Dino Baby > Losing It > Better In Doses > Digital Buddha
The Secret Dreams weekend featured two sets per night, so it wasn't a true one-off festival, but it's still among the highlights of festival season. Some fun moments throughout.
122. 12/30/24 - Fillmore Philadelphia - Set II
Crickets > Dance Of The Sugarplum Fairies > Crickets > Risky Business > Photograph > Also Sprach Zarathustra
Crickets > Sugar Plum > Crickets is all type one, even though it's well executed. The Crickets outro finds a nice pocket quickly. Risky Business and Photograph both have solid type one main jams. Overall, lots of type one in the set, though a lot of it is more enjoyable than that might suggest.
121. 2/1/24 - Fonda Theatre - Set II
Digital Buddha > Munchkin Invasion > Miracles (><) > Tempest > The Great Abyss > Digital Buddha
A very tight second set after a very loose first. The opening jams and set closing Buddha ending are the highlights.
120. 9/14/24 - Pine Creek Lodge - Set II
Stars in the Sky > Country Royale > Mindless Dribble > And the Ladies Were the Rest of the Night (><) > To Be Continued
The jam out of Stars into Country Royale is pretty cool, but the real highlight is the main jam in Dribble, which stands out even in an overall strong year for them.
119. 4/5/24 - The Heights Theater - Set I
Stars in the Sky > Reactor > Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (><) > Photograph > Crickets (><) > No Recollection
When this show started getting best of the year nods, I figured it had to be based on the strength of the second set alone. I was wrong. Don't get me wrong, the Humu > Photograph > Crickets is great, but I don't put it on nearly the pedestal that I've seen others place it.
118. 7/6/24 - Biscoland - Set II
House Dog Party Favor > Trap Door > Cyclone > Above The Waves (><) > Trap Door > Digital Buddha
The last set of Biscoland was also the weakest, but there's plenty to enjoy. The Party Favor jam is one of the best iterations of that section I've heard, and (part of) the Cyclone jam and Waves > Trap Door is excellent. However, there are also head scratchers. Trap Door is still kind of rough around the edges, and the second "So Fresh And So Clean" jam highlighted the weaknesses of the excessive samples more than the first did.
117. 11/9/24 - Brooklyn Steel - Set II
To Be Continued > Little Shimmy In A Conga Line (><) > Floes > Country Royale > Hot Air Balloon
Yes, the TBC > Shimmy really is fantastic, but man, this one is composition heavy. Particularly the back half, which pairs up a full Floes and Country Royale with a HAB ending complete with flight section.
116. 7/14/24 - Greenfield Lake Amphitheater - Set II
Caves of the East > Reactor (><) > Tourists (Rocket Ship) > Gangster > Rock Candy > Falling > Another Spin > Rock Candy
Another strong start that fizzles. The Caves > Reactor and (especially) Reactor > Tourists are both great.
115. 11/8/24 - Brooklyn Steel - Set I
Helicopters > Trap Door > Down To The Bottom > Park Ave > Fire Will Exchange > Down To The Bottom
The Trap Door > Down to the Bottom is the best part, with the rare segue into the beginning of DttB executed with aplomb. The jam into Park Ave is great too.
114. 8/29/24 - Thalia Hall - Set II
Jigsaw Earth, Rock Candy > Hot Air Balloon > Tempest > To Be Continued > Hot Air Balloon
There's some cool stuff in the Jigsaw (how awesome is it that a standalone of any song is such a rarity this year?) as well as Rock Candy and To Be Continued.
113. 11/8/24 - Brooklyn Steel - Set II
Times Square > Rock Candy (><) > The Deal > Hot Air Balloon > Dino Baby > Helicopters
Narrowly edges out the first set. The Times Square and Rock Candy contain some thumping trance vehicles, and The Deal briefly sounds like it might escape type one in the main jam. After this the set drops off pretty quickly.
112. 3/31/24 - Town Ballroom - Set II
Jam > Voices Insane > Ring the Doorbell Twice > And the Ladies Were the Rest of the Night (><) > M1 > Cyclone > Spacebirdmatingcall
Jam > Voices > Doorbell is the clear highlight, combining two songs that both had a very strong 2024 in very different ways for some interesting results. The mid-set untz fest loses me a bit, but the Cyclone > Spacebird is a strong ending.
111. 1/28/24 - The Catalyst - Set II
Helicopters > And the Ladies Were the Rest of the Night > To Be Continued > Dino Baby > To Be Continued > And the Ladies Were the Rest of the Night > Helicopters
This one had a lot of adherents early on, but I think people have cooled on it. Palindromes often tend to be strongest in the middle, and this one is no exception: TBC > Dino Baby > TBC is the highlight.
110. 11/3/24 - Terminal West - Set II
Neck Romancer > Portal To An Empty Head (><) > Catalyst > Neck Romancer, We Like To Party > Lunar Pursuit > We Like To Party
The caliber of both the first set and some of the other Catalysts of the year made me very excited to hear this Portal jam, but it's really just okay. The Catalyst and We Like To Party were both solid as well, but the first set of this show is where it's at.
109. 11/24/24 - Town Ballroom - Set II
The Wormhole > Twisted in the Road (><) > Dino Baby > Another Plan of Attack > One Chance To Save The World > Photograph > To Be Continued
This show had an absolute roller coaster of a hype pendulum, with people review bombing based on the setlist followed by people insisting that it was an incredible show. The truth is somewhere in the middle, of course; it's fairly run-of-the-mill for the strong fall tour, and the second set is the weaker. Like many sets from this year, there is a compulsion towards the end of the set to fit in as many songs as possible, and here much of the jam-heavy first half is eaten up by a terribly boring Wormhole intro. The jam out of Twisted is absolutely fantastic, but it has a lot of heavy lifting to do.
108. 4/12/24 - Brooklyn Bowl Nashville - Set I
Stars in the Sky > No Recollection (><) > Tricycle > Orch Theme > To Be Continued
Fairly consistent throughout without any huge must-hear moments. Brownie singled this one out as his personal favorite set of the year, so it's worth hearing for that alone.
107. 3/28/24 - F.M. Kirby Center - Set II
Shem-Rah Boo > Falling > Above The Waves (><) > Tamarin Alley > Shem-Rah Boo
This set is absolutely carried by hands down the best Falling ever played.
106. 3/13/24 - Empire Live - Set II
M.E.M.P.H.I.S. > Naeba > Dino Baby > Another Plan of Attack > I-Man
The jam out of Naeba is an excellent example of digital jamming that doesn't rely on untz or Moog bass. Some cool stuff in the Dino Baby and I-Man middle.
105. 12/31/24 - Fillmore Philadelphia - Set III
Sister Judy's Soul Shack > The Deal > Dino Baby > Run Like Hell > Sister Judy's Soul Shack
I found myself enjoying the jam out of Judy's a lot. Surprisingly deep for a NYE set three. The jam back into Judy's had its moments too, but there wasn't much breathing room in the middle of this (very short) set.
104. 12/31/24 - Fillmore Philadelphia - Set II
Tourists (Rocket Ship) > Floes > Freeze > Kamaole Sands > Game Of Thrones Theme > Philly Fire And Ice > Helicopters
The Tourists and Floes outros are both really cool (some seriously beautiful playing in the Floes particularly), but the highlight to me is the short but very punchy Helicopters. The countdown stuff is still fun and well-executed, but not much replay value.
103. 11/16/24 - State Theater - Set I
Nughuffer > Portal To An Empty Head (><) > Falling 303 > Nughuffer > Risky Business > Spraypaint
The Nughuffer > Portal (><) > Falling is some excellent digital jamming. Second half is a bit medley heavy.
102. 1/28/24 - The Catalyst - Set I
Spaga's Last Stand, Save The Robots > Falling > Down To The Bottom (><) > Tamarin Alley
I remember there being some good-natured grumblings when this set didn't begin with a massive time-stamp. It really reinforces how incredible that first run was. The Robots is one of the best versions ever, with each jam being better than the last.
101. 6/20/24 - Electric Forest - Set I
Hide And Seek > The Deal > I-Man > Orch Theme > Boom > Ring the Doorbell Twice > Dino Baby > In The End We Have Forever > Fire Will Exchange (><) > Hide And Seek
The best one-off festival appearance of the year. Just consistently enjoyable throughout. Using Hide and Seek as the bookend is fantastic, and the stretch from The Deal through Boom is really strong. O Fortuna samples in Orch Theme is still one of the best usages.
100. 1/27/24 - Fillmore San Francisco - Set I
Caves of the East > Who's in Charge > Bernstein and Chasnoff (><) > Photograph > Run Like Hell
The opening Caves signifies a strong year for the song, with lots of great midtempo crunk jamming. The Who's in Charge outro features a lovely bliss theme going into B&C. The set falls off a bit after that, and there's a lot of composition.
99. 11/17/24 - Paramount Theater - Set I
Little Shimmy In A Conga Line > The Great Abyss > Who's in Charge > Voices Insane > Leavemealone > Voices Insane
The Shimmy and Abyss get things off to a great start, but the momentum grinds to a halt afterwards.
98. 7/5/24 - Biscoland - Set I
Vassillios > Dino Baby > Crickets (><) > In The End We Have Forever > No Recollection
The Vasillios jam and the reworked Dino Baby are both strong, but the rest of the set is pretty compressed.
97. 2/11/24 - Fox Theater - Set I (TRACTORBEAM)
Hide And Seek > Orch Theme > Another Plan of Attack > M1 > I-Man > Dino Baby > Times Square > The Great Abyss > Svenghali
The Tractorbeam sets are absolutely brutal to try to rank alongside traditional Biscuits sets, and I don't think I was ever able to come up with a satisfying way to do so.
With that said, I think the first Tractorbeam experiment was probably the weakest of the three. The highlight was obviously the Boom/M1 mashup, but I think that it needed to be shortened down significantly for use in Biscuits sets. The Hella Good Attack is in a similar category.
96. 7/4/24 - Biscoland - Set I (TRACTORBEAM)
Language > Confrontation > Losing It > The Great Abyss > Sandstorm > Lake Shore Drive > Leavemealone > Monster > Uber Glue > Photograph > Escape > Firework
Based on feedback I heard after this set, I'm sure this will be an unpopular placement, but I thought the Biscoland Tractorbeam was a bit better than the Boulder set (it was also the only one of the three I attended, and attendance bias definitely hits harder with Tractorbeam sets). Leavemealone is the best thing to come out of Tractorbeam and should be played more often in regular Biscuits sets, and if you disagree you're just wrong.
95. 7/19/24 - Secret Dreams - Set I
Bombs > The Deal (><) > Ring the Doorbell Twice > Cyclone > Leavemealone > Trap Door > Spacebirdmatingcall
A sneaky contender for the best Doorbell, with an unconventionally blissed out peak and ending section. The Bombs jam is also great.
94. 9/7/24 - Mishawaka Amphitheater - Set II
7-11 > Home Again (><) > Trap Door > Risky Business > Leavemealone > Minions > 7-11
The 7-11 > Home Again absolutely crushes, and gets the set off to a promising start. The Trap Door and Risky Business are both lengthy type one jams in addition to short outros, and after Risky Business there isn't much worth mentioning.
93. 11/2/24 - The Caverns - Set II
Another Spin > Above The Waves (><) > Grass Is Green (><) > Orch Theme > Ring the Doorbell Twice > Also Sprach Zarathustra
Everything Waves > onward is really strong, but Another Spin is so damn long and eats up most of the beginning of the set. The Waves jam is the most interesting of the set, with some unique tempo changes and a weird breakdown.
92. 7/11/24 - Freeman Arts Pavilion - Set II
Caterpillar > Better In Doses > One Chance To Save The World > Leavemealone > M1 > Orch Theme > Caterpillar
Better In Doses makes another strong case for the most underhyped song of 2024 in its sophomore appearance, with a an electrifying outro that doesn't rely too heavily on synth bass. Leavemealone has a cool dubbed out Caves-style outro
91. 11/23/24 - Town Ballroom - Set II
M.E.M.P.H.I.S. > Trap Door (><) > Pimp Blue Rikki > Munchkin Invasion (><) > Floes
MEMPHIS > Inverted Trap Door looked like it would be my highlight, but it wound up being the only part that I didn't really connect with. The MEMPHIS and Floes both are decent type 1 versions, and > PBR through Munchkin > is a solid stretch.
90. 4/2/24 - Mercury Ballroom - Set II
Rock Candy > Shadow > Hot Air Balloon > Another Plan of Attack > Hot Air Balloon
The Shadow > HAB is supposedly the basis for Trap Door (though I had to look it up—I can't keep all of the 2024 jamception origins straight), and it's pretty good, but the Rock Candy > Shadow is the real meat of the set.
89. 3/7/24 - Fillmore Silver Spring - Set II
Little Shimmy In A Conga Line > The Great Abyss > Pimp Blue Rikki > Crickets (><) > Little Shimmy In A Conga Line
The Shimmy > Abyss is drawn out and interesting, building on a poppy and blissful theme before dropping into a strong Abyss intro. Abyss > PBR is a very cool segue, even if it drags. The rest of the set is pretty type one, but the Crix peak is strong.
88. 3/30/24 - Town Ballroom - Set I
Buy The Time > Orch Theme > Helicopters > Dino Baby > Rock Candy
Back when the band wasn't notating Boom as a cover, for some reason! Buy The Time has a really strong main jam for the first time and I believe only time, and the jam out of Boom is also strong.
87. 3/14/24 - College Street Music Hall - Set I
Magellan, Twisted in the Road > Photograph > Confrontation
Magellan is surprisingly interesting. Both the main jam and the "reprise" section with the dubby UB40 samples have a bit more sauce than usual. The Twisted > Photograph is the strongest jam of the set, but the whole thing is pretty consistent.
86. 2/2/24 - Observatory North Park - Set I
Basis For A Day > Boom Shanker > Nughuffer > Orch Theme > Vibes > Nughuffer
The setlist is absolutely STUNNING, but the playing hasn't held up as strongly as I originally found it. I'm a sucker for the Nughuffer jam, and the Basis > Shanker > Nughuffer has some great moments of clever playing, but there are much higher highs throughout the tour.
85. 11/6/24 - Rams Head Live! - Set I
The Overture > In The End We Have Forever > M1 > Falling > Munchkin Invasion > The Overture
Overture > ITEWHF is a bit samey, but ITEWHF has a really chill dub jam that is a nice change of pace. The highlights are the M1 > Falling, which is very interesting, and the Falling > Munchkin, which is an absolute rager.
84. 11/13/24 - Bearsville Theatre - Set I
Stars in the Sky > Spaga > Why We Dance > In The End We Have Forever > And the Ladies Were the Rest of the Night
All about the outros. The Stars outro, despite being short, is the most interesting, simultaneously haunting and fun with an excellent segue into Spaga. Spaga and Why We Dance have strong Magner performances, and the main jams have enough going on in the type one to lift it up.
83. 11/22/24 - Rome Capitol Theater - Set I
Magellan > Cyclone > Times Square > Bombs > Shelby Rose
The Magellan outro takes some time to develop organically, which is not always a given in this era. Cyclone and Times Square are both solid, but I found myself enjoying the Bombs jam and the impressive segue into Shelby Rose the most.
82. 11/13/24 - Bearsville Theater - Set II
And the Ladies Were the Rest of the Night > Reactor (><) > Home Again (><) > Orch Theme > Story of the World > Morph Dusseldorf
The Reactor > Home Again is a very pretty (though short lived) bliss theme, and the Ladies has some cool moments as well.
81. 3/28/24 - F.M. Kirby Center - Set I
Sabre Dance, Caterpillar > Strobelights and Martinis (><) > Photograph > Crickets (><) > Caterpillar
The massive Caterpillar is enough to boost this one up. It spends a decent amount of time in type one, but settles into a very pretty theme around 13 minutes in. The build up to Strobelights is very patient, and the segue is well-executed. The jam into Photograph isn't bad either.
80. 12/27/24 - Fillmore Silver Spring - Set I
Caterpillar > Orch Theme > Another Plan of Attack > Falling 303 > Mulberry's Dream
The Caterpillar outro to Orch is fantastic. I enjoyed bits and pieces of the Caterpillar main jam and Orch > Attack, but the Caterpillar outro really carries this one.
79. 10/31/24 - The Caverns - Set I
Caterpillar > Run Like Hell > Digital Buddha (><) > Dino Baby > Caterpillar
The Caterpillar jam is long, and there is a nice theme in the middle, but it's mostly type one. The Run Like Hell > Buddha is fantastic. An excellent use of the Moog bass synth, one of the best post-spring tour.
78. 8/28/24 - The Intersection - Set I
The Very Moon > Catalyst > Shelby Rose (><) > Better In Doses
The Very Moon outro through the inverted Shelby is a string of very solid playing. Nothing really reaches that next level, and the very type one Better in Doses closer is a sour note to end on.