Hello friends,
CALL TO ACTION AT THE BOTTOM
The team at KGLW.net has collected a handful of notable versions from the recent first leg of the 2024 North American tour. We took the approach of casting a wide net, which resulted in a significant number of notable versions of songs. We also went with short blurbs for the descriptions as opposed to our typical 2-3 sentence write-up (check out some notable versions from before this tour for typical examples).
This is where we want to involve the community! We would like to better curate the versions from this past leg of the tour in order to trim the notable versions down to a more reasonable number. Some of the versions may have been the result of recency bias, or perhaps a version was notable at the time but has since become the norm. Regardless, we want to review them and make sure the notable versions are the right ones!
Let’s talk about what a notable version is. I don’t mean this to be a definition that is set in stone. It’s a subjective thing, but these are some guidelines.
What makes a notable version?
- Unique guest spots
- Unique instrumentation
- A unique rendition
What does not make a notable version?
- A bust out
- A killer rendition
Let’s start with The Fourth Colour. You’ll notice there are two notable versions from this tour, 8/15 and 9/1.
If you have time in the next couple days, please have a listen to both versions, as well as one or two versions that are NOT notable (as a sort of control version). Gizz Tapes links for convenience: 8/15, 9/1, 2019-08-21 (not a notable version).
Please reply in the comments here with what you think! Is it a notable version? Should it not be a notable version? How come? If so, would you like to contribute a 2-3 sentence description?
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Oh hell yeah. This is a great topic. Notable is definitely a subjective word. What about first instances of something? (Example: The recent O.N.E. is notable for Stu on acoustic - but would we remove it as notable if an acoustic Stu becomes the new normal?)
As for The Fourth Color…
8/15 - This version is wild. I like it, but I’m on the fence as to if it’s notable.
After the first minute it quickly transitions into a blues jam and doesn’t return. This track is barely the named song for 90% of the runtime. My hesitation to name it notable is due to how far it strays from the original song without returning. It’s almost more appropriately: The Fourth Color (incomplete, not notable) → Blues Jam
9/1 - Notable! Before the pause, this version moves into an unexpected boogie-jam with Gila and Mars for the Rich lyrics and transitioning perfectly back to polyrhythmic goodness. Notable particularly due to the boogie-metal-pysch mashup and Stu finishing a later verse with a burp.
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Interesting perspective! I’m curious to hear what others may think about Fourth Colour (incomplete) → Blues Jam. Perhaps the jam would be notable in that case.
Totally agreed on the 9/1 rendition. The transition back into Fourth Colour is really satisfying. Both jams are bluesy and even get a little heavy but the 9/1 one felt a bit more chilled out to me at times.
One thing I’ll point out is they’ve done a Daily Blues jam in The Fourth Colour before in Amsterdam 2024, but obviously that’s not the norm for the song at this point.
i wholeheartedly disagree that Blues Jam should be notated. i’m one of those who think 90% of “Jam” notations are BS, particularly on phish.net. just because the jam left the parameters of the song has nothing to do with it being another song or separately notated jam. plus, that fucks with stats and notation big-time
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in this case i’d say both are notable. 8/15: incomplete, leads right to a daily blues-like blues jam that teases and incorporates Bitter among other brief things, plus a daily blues jam. then goes to a full rock jam at the tempo of, say, Hypertension, for a comparison. rocks incredibly hard with some metal flourishes toward the end, alternating between blues and rock. since this is very far from the norm for this song i’d say it totally counts as notable. the things i’d find not notable are “really good jam”, etc. good doesn’t equal notable but in this case the 8/15 jam is extremely notable for being super improvisational.
for 9/1, it cuts off at the same spot and leads to a somewhat similar blues jam, but more melodic and explorative off the bat, while still driving and rocking. brief Gila jam w/lyrics drives the vibe even further before quieting down with Mars lyrics and a full stop before, unlike 8/15, finishing T4C seamlessly. this jam is much shorter but a mostly similar vibe and i’d say also notable, though less so than 8/15
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My favorite part about the DC version is how the style switches so quickly and the changes in tempo.
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Firmly agree with both being notable. It’s been a big year for the Fourth Colour but both of these versions highlight what they’ve been doing with the song in very different ways. I’d honestly lean 8/15 over 9/1 myself, but I think that’s because 9/1’s is just so tight and I tend to like when the band gets lost in having fun with each other.
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Fully agree on not notating these general “jams” - appreciate you sharing that opinion and those points are all super valid. I’m super sold on keeping it as is and naming it notable. Doubly notable as I’ve rarely seen other instance where they jam away fully without returning.
Thanks for the input everyone! Looks like we’re going to be keeping both versions as notable for now. Before we move on to Gaia, do we have any volunteers to write a 2-3 sentence description for either version? I’m happy to do it myself if nobody is keen. @GizzBootSoup @thefourthcolour @chasebeck
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i’d be happy to write something based on my descriptions above, if i can have it in by tomorrow afternoon? cool!
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Hey everyone! We kept both 8/15 and 9/1 as notable versions of The Fourth Colour. Let’s move on to the next set of versions we’ll review! This time we’ll be listening to Gaia.
We have 2 notable versions from this last tour for Gaia: 8/15 and 8/25. I’ve also selected a non-notable version as a control once again: 2022-10-16.
Please give the a listen and share your thoughts! Are both of these notable? Just one of them? How come? Would you like to contribute a 2-3 sentence description for one or both?
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I realized the tape we have for 2022-10-16 is one track for the entire show, so as an alternate control version of Gaia I’ll suggest 2022-06-17.
I’m about to listen to all 3 myself.
At the DC show, the typical drum solo turns into a jam that gets a little spacey, and features Joey on bass. The jam slowly ramps back up into the end of Gaia. I think it’s definitely notable.
The Newport show version also sees the drum solo morph into a jam, but of a different style. I didn’t find this one quite as notable personally but there are some unusual elements.
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been busy! But should have time to listen tomorrow am and get some feedback over! Can work on some write ups as well
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Dang Gaia is a hard one. The intro/outro remain consistent, and then drum solos can be fairly unique from set to set. Accompaniment is common as well, but never consistent. Hard to pinpoint something as notable without a baseline.
I ended up listening to each from this tour to get a good sense. In the end the best articulation I can find for what felt notable vs not is if the accompaniment helps drive the solo as the focus (normal, less notable) or if the drums and jam mesh into a jam with more interplay (notable!). I only felt that in DC’s.
Notable:
DC - “The drum solo and bass accompaniment from Joey quickly break from norms. This drum solo is soon transformed into a haunting and spacey jam that builds steadily towards the outro and an epic close to the show”
Not notable:
Portland ME - Jam and drum solo sound pretty consistent to many other version. I feel like @InblEric’s notes on Newport match well here too - which helps drive home the point it’s not as notable
Newport - The band definitely jams heavier with Cavs in this version, but it feels like just “more” of normal rather than unique.
Asheville - No jam, just drums. Stu talks over it a lot and puts on a few fan shirts. Uses the phrase stu-tang at one point lol
Milwaukee - This one rules tbh. The guitar in it is driving and provides some heavy tone and they full support the drum solo - which remains the focus. The rest of the band give Cavs plenty of time to build up into Gila Monster. Not notable because unique, but particularly good imo and my personal fave.
Gorge - This one is funny. The drum solo here feels partially like an attempt to slow down the crowd and ensure they don’t take down the whole show. While a lot of the Gaia solos have them sitting down or stepping to the side, this is nearing the end of a marathon set, Joey and Stu start off riffing hard right into Cavs and it feels like more then normal they him. By the end he’s laughing after what feel like a few “finishes” and eventually just stops and points to stu to move on with Great Chain.
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Thanks for the insights! I think I agree with you that we should keep DC as the sole notable version of Gaia from this leg. If you don’t mind I’d love to use your description on the site!
It would be my honor 
also feel free to make any edits/tweaks as you see fit.
xcited to contribute more!
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Added! Next up is Dripping Tap 
I’ll post again about it later today but if anyone wants to skip ahead and listen feel free.
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