@J_D_G said:

Though I wrote one of the blurbs, I did not in fact vote on the rankings, just for the record.

But while MPP1 has all the cool setlist stuff and wonderful flow, it simply lacks a top shelf jam from the tour. Right away, that handicaps it massively versus the other top ten contenders. There's no amount of "check out the fun Antelope, plus a cool McGrupp" etc etc etc that can overpower the Tier 1 jams found in other shows...imo.

Unsurprisingly, I think a lot of commentators on the boards disagree with this summary of the show.

As we're heading into March Madness season, I'll offer this cute analogy:

"The Selection Committee looked at MPP1's 23-7 record (12-6 in conference play) and thought, well, MPP1 doesn't have any marquee wins against a Top 10 opponent. Nevermind that its RPI is 29 and its strength of schedule 25. Nevermind that it went 11-3 against the RPI Top 100 and 4-3 against the RPI Top 50. NO TOP TEN WINS!

Instead, we're going to give an #11 seed to MSG1, which went 19-12 (9-9 in conference play). Its RPI is a middling 50 and its strength of schedule 42, but it features three marquee victories over RPI Top 20 opponents and that alone justifies its tournament selection over MPP1."

For the record, MSG1 Set 2 was one of my favorite sets of the year, but my opinion is that the show as a body of work doesn't belong in the Top 10, especially over a complete show like MPP1.