2024 Ranked (Part 3)

25. 3/10/24 - Jefferson Theater - Set I

Who's in Charge > Tricycle > Freeze > Run Like Hell

Remarkably consistent. Excluding the bookends (Who's in Charge composition and RLH jam), pretty much everything is a highlight. The Macina Verde jam going into Freeze is fantastic.

24. 11/24/24 - Town Ballroom - Set I

To Be Continued > Ring the Doorbell Twice > Country Royale (><) > One Chance To Save The World > Risky Business (><) > Another Plan of Attack

The much stronger set of the Joeyfest. It too suffers from too-many-songs-itis, but the first half is strong enough to carry it. The jams into and out of Doorbell are excellent.

23. 7/12/24 - Bourbon Room - Set I

Svenghali > Spacebirdmatingcall > Buy The Time > Losing It > Svenghali

The strongest set of the summer (as long as we exclude September). The Svenghali jam is the highlight, and is absolutely in long-list contention for best jams of the year.

22. 2/7/24 - Belly Up - Set II

Caves of the East > Digital Buddha > Boom Shanker > Moshi-Fameus Jam > Portal To An Empty Head (><) > Monster > Digital Buddha

An excellent conclusion to the excellent Aspen run. The Caves is one of the best versions ever, and Shanker > Moshi Fameus is such a treat.

21. 9/6/24 - Dillon Amphitheater - Set II

Reactor > Ring the Doorbell Twice (><) > Another Spin > Spacebirdmatingcall (><) > The Deal > Reactor

I left the show thinking this was the best set I had seen all year. I no longer feel that way, but it is undeniably compelling. The Reactor > Doorbell is another member of a very long JOTY shortlist, and the Another Spin is another strong version of a song I am still not sold on.

20. 11/22/24 - Rome Capitol Theater - Set II

Fire Will Exchange > Shem-Rah Boo > Also Sprach Zarathustra > No Recollection > Catalyst > Also Sprach Zarathustra

The set gets off to a phenomenal start with Fire Will Exchange > Shem-Rah Boo. It does suffer from a song-heavy second half, but there are highlights there, particularly in the No Recollection jam.

19. 1/27/24 - Fillmore San Francisco - Set II

Mindless Dribble > Ring the Doorbell Twice > The Deal > Crickets (><) > Confrontation

In contrast to the composition-heavy first set, this one doesn't hit song number three until after the hour mark. Excluding one-setters, this is the longest set of the year, beating out both of the 3/29 sets and its closest competition by ten minutes. The Dribble makes it clear that the song's golden age will continue with THREE strong jams. The Crickets is one of very few from this year that actually interest me, particularly with the strong outro jam into Confrontation, the beginning of that song's renaissance.

18. 1/26/24 - Crystal Bay Club Casino - Set II

Jam > I-Man > Freeze > Shelby Rose (><) > Buy The Time > I-Man

Beginning of a new era for I-Man. The intro jam is the best part, despite being on the shorter side compared to other versions. The Freeze middle jam is a monster. You think it's about to end and it just keeps going. Shelby > BTT gets into some tense, moody jamming and some dissonant weirdness.

17. 9/7/24 - Mishawaka Amphitheater - Set I

Hot Air Balloon > Shem-Rah Boo > Aceetobee > Hot Air Balloon

When I saw Max's from-the-venue post containing the setlist, I knew that we would be dealing with a hype monster. The results of the end-of-year poll confirmed the popularity of this show (largely based, in my opinion, on the strength of this set). It's definitely overhyped, but it is still a very strong set. The Hot Air Balloon and Shem-Rah are disproportionately strong, but the Aceetobee and Hot Air Balloon ending don't do much. The Shem-Rah is a beautiful jam and easily my highlight of the set (Changes progression notwithstanding).

16. 1/25/24 - Crystal Bay Club Casino - Set I

Why We Dance, Caterpillar > Fire Will Exchange > Shadow > Caterpillar

John Poulides made a bold claim after this show that is 100% true: there has never been a stronger "first jam of the year" than this Why We Dance. The jam still holds up as one of the best of the year, and set the stage for the incredible winter tour, which was sadly not topped. There's plenty to love in the rest of the set, however. The Caterpillar has a beautiful uncomposed peak before breaking down into FWE and the Shadow > Caterpillar is somber and atmospheric.

15. 3/31/24 - Town Ballroom - Set I

We Like To Party > Spacebirdmatingcall > No Recollection > Pilin' It High > We Like To Party

The highlights are focused around the No Recollection—the jams into and out of it, as well as the main jam—which remains the strongest version of this song. This No Recollection is the equivalent of the 3/28 Falling, so much stronger than its other competitors so as to absolutely tower over the field.

14. 11/15/24 - Palladium - Set I

Plan B, Above The Waves > Shadow > Ring the Doorbell Twice > Above The Waves

The Plan B aside, this is a superbly crafted set. The Waves and Shadow are both absolute ragers. By the standards of fall 2024 especially, this is a very composition-light and jam-heavy set.

13. 11/3/24 - Terminal West - Set I

Jam > The Great Abyss > Spraypaint > Feeling Twisted > Bombs > Spraypaint

The forced rescheduling of the Asheville shows led to only one of two shows where the setlist was known in advance. There was some grumbling about this, but the result was the all-segued style that the band was going for led to some interesting segues and setlist conventions (such as a fantastic cold-start Abyss). The musical highlight of the set (and show—sorry Portal) is the Spraypaint > Twisted, which is probably the best jam of the fall tour.

12. 4/4/24 - House of Blues New Orleans - Set II

Little Shimmy In A Conga Line > Who's in Charge > Little Betty Boop > Fire Will Exchange > To Be Continued

The Shimmy jam, the easy highlight of the set, is such a good example of the super patient Moog bass jams that I feel have become something more of an endangered species after the spring tour. Phenomenal atmosphere, tremendous patience, and silky transition into Who's in Charge. Boop and Fire Will Exchange both have great moments as well. This is probably still the strongest Fire Will Exchange main jam.

11. 11/9/24 - Brooklyn Steel - Set I

Konkrete x Floodlights > Lunar Pursuit > Risky Business > Aceetobee > Catalyst > Aceetobee

Though the TBC > Shimmy got most of the hype from this one, the first set overall is decidedly stronger, even with the (on paper) time-sink Aceetobee > Catalyst > Aceetobee. The Konkrete/Floodlights remix is awesome, and the jam into Lunar is patient and satisfying. The real highlight is the Risky > Aceetobee, a gorgeous jam with a somewhat sudden drop.

10. 9/5/24 - Washington's - Set II

Vassillios > Why We Dance (><) > Munchkin Invasion > Who's in Charge > Confrontation

A spectacular set, with a jam of the year shortlist contender in Why We Dance > Munchkin, and the best Vassilios in years.

9. 2/2/24 - Observatory North Park - Set II

42 > Grass Is Green (><) > Cyclone > Munchkin Invasion > Monster > 42

We all know why this one is up as high as it is. Yeah, the Monster > 42 is an era-defining jam, easily the best of the year and best since. The rest of the set is fine, but very little moves the needle.

8. 3/10/24 - Jefferson Theater - Set II

Mindless Dribble > Spacebirdmatingcall > Cyclone > Spacebirdmatingcall

Overall, the clear winner for best Dribble of the year, and a contender for the best version with Allen. The outro jam into Spacebird is a jam of the year, and the rest of the set maintains a comparable level of quality.

7. 11/14/24 - District Music Hall - Set II

House Dog Party Favor > Confrontation > No Recollection > Photograph > Confrontation

House Dog really became a monster towards the end of the year. The first jam is standard, but the second is a cut above and the outro is brilliant. Although the outro received the nomination for the Touchdowns All Day jam of the year contest, I thought the Confrontation > No Recollection was the easy star of the set.

6. 4/5/24 - The Heights Theater - Set II

Above The Waves > Ring the Doorbell Twice > Reactor > Catalyst > Nughuffer

This show overall got a tremendous amount of end of year love, and to my ears this set is the reason why. Waves > Doorbell is just a bit playful with tempo to feel loose without veering too far off the map, and provides a great Doorbell intro that is not overly reliant on Moog bass. The Doorbell > Reactor is a journey. A huge Moog bass jam followed by the trademark winter/spring dub breakdown, followed by an almost Bazaar Escape-esque dnb venture that culminates in a Reactor ending. Some of these stylistic choices didn't hit with everybody, but they absolutely still hit with me, and this one holds up big time. (Oh yeah, and maybe best Catalyst ever).

5. 2/5/24 - Belly Up - Set II

The Wormhole > Confrontation > Electric Avenue > Confrontation > Fire Will Exchange > Another Plan of Attack

Apparently the Wormhole > Confro was the band's attempt to rebottle the lightning of the 2/2 Monster > 42. In my opinion it doesn't quite reach that level, but it is definitely close enough to merit discussion. This is a close second for jam of the year, but where 2/2 doesn't have much else going for it, this set has a number of significant moments that would shape the rest of the year—specifically and most significantly, the Mind Left Body jam > Techno Confrontation beginning and the dirty dub breakdown in Fire Will Exchange. Though it's not my #1 favorite, I think it's hard to deny that this was the most important set of the year.

4. 1/26/24 - Crystal Bay Club Casino - Set I

The Very Moon > Spacebirdmatingcall > No Recollection > Spacebirdmatingcall > Rock Candy

Patient, drawn-out jams abound. There is a remarkably high level of consistency until the Spacebird outro, where the band dishes up something truly next-level. Nowhere else was the promise of the winter tour so brightly shining. There is a distinct lack of Moog jamming and space opera songs present in this set; to me, this set (and not the overhyped 9/7 I) should be the go-to for any jaded vets skeptical of the 2024 style.

3. 11/20/24 - Infinity Music Hall - Set II

Safety Dance > Miracles (><) > Run Like Hell > Aquatic Ape (><) > Shocked > Run Like Hell

This set, the middle especially, demonstrates a glorious patience and creativity reminiscent of the winter and spring tours that I had found missing in the fall. The Safety Dance quickly becomes an energetic fist-pumping trance vehicle. The Miracles jam is grimy digital trance, and works as a great contrast to the triumphant Run Like Hell progression. The Run Like Hell jam contains some great weird and dissonant playing. But it's the Ape jam that strikes me as the highlight. The jam leaves the dnb style behind for a hypnotic march that picks up in tempo, then breaks down and builds back up again. It's all over the place and wonderfully experimental.

2. 3/7/24 - Fillmore Silver Spring - Set I

Shocked > Ring The Doorbell Twice > Helicopters

I was in attendance, but I don't think I'm biased. This is the epitome of the free-form without-a-net jamming of the winter tour. After three weeks off the band returned with a bang. The opening Shocked intro is the perfect example of the patient intro jams the band was cultivating (in 2/5 Voices, for example) where they start in obvious type one territory, wade into deeper waters, and bring you back. The main jam in Shocked is truncated, but that's all in service of its massive outro. Brownstein takes his time migrating to the synth bass, and when he does, the jam still doesn't enter Doorbell for several minutes. The jam out of Doorbell into Helicopters isn't as exciting, but the Helicopters is a contender for GOAT non-split version (yes, in 2024). There is a long passage of dissonant percussive weirdness that makes the payoff of the ending that much stronger.

1. 2/6/24 - Belly Up - Set II

Jam > I-Man > No Recollection > Astronaut

The I-Man intro jam is a full 20 minutes of godly playing. The middle jam is decent and the main jam is standard, but after this we are treated to another 20 minute elite improv suite in the outro. All told, this is an hour-long I-Man, the perfect encapsulation of the band's style in the winter tour and considerably stronger than similar "epic" I-Men (1/19/08 and 1/2/16 come to mind). But the I-Man is not carrying this set alone. After the outro jam the band masterfully segues into their newest song, No Recollection, only its fourth appearance total in less than two weeks since its debut. This version is a tremendous step up from the previous versions, with a surprisingly mature main jam that wouldn't be topped until 3/31, blissful (almost SITA-esque) with a strong conclusion. The outro and the following Astronaut are both pretty standard, but just think of them as victory laps: this set already earned its best of the year laurels.