In retrospect, I kinda wish that I hadn't tried to summarize the Magnaball soundcheck, because offering a PBP or trying to describe the many movements of that fine piece of improv come off rather flat on the page unless you know exactly what I'm talking about (I trust everyone knows what I was going for with "crazed outer-space insanity hose", for instance). So I'm not going to make that mistake here.

Instead, let me say this - one of the main drawing points for 2.0 jams (at least for me) is how thick and gruesome they can get, where the band seems to be exorcising some kind of disturbing beast out of a fetid swamp every time they go on stage, and one of the main demerits for 2.0 jams (at least for me) is that sometimes it got *too* gruesome, or soporific, or they'd lose the thread and just make noise until somebody decides "well, I guess it's *my* turn to go into something else this time" and the jam comes to a close. And the reason I bring all this up is because I think of the Drive-In Jam, the more I listen to it (and I've listened to it a bunch, even in a mere two months), as the best 2.0 jam never played in 2.0 jam. I described the 9/5/15 Light, a very close relative to this behemoth, as "material jamming", and that is the Drive-In Jam to a tee - a roiling, pulsating beast that never lets up in intensity from start to finish, but also never feels like they're wasting time or hoping for a spark of inspiration to pop up out of nowhere or anything like that. It's one of their finest pieces of longform improv, maybe one of the finest pieces of music they've ever devised. There are segments of the jam I will have pop into my head unbidden, and it will probably stay that way forever. It's the true highlight of Magnaball, one of the highest peaks in the history of this band.

Also, it's part of 8/22/15. Come on, now.

This Boogie On's gonna fuck your face 'cause it knows how to scream.

God, I love this jam. A superb combination of the kind of burbling funk we often get in Boogie On and just extraordinary fire-breathing hose jamming, with that odd 2.0 guitar tone really adding an extra edge to the proceedings. 6/26/04 II is a sleeper great set, and this -> Ghost is one of the reasons why 2004 deserves a second chance if you've dismissed it outright.

One of my all-time favorite jams, and probably the one I've listened to the most over the years. I always liked the apparent delineation between the Type 1 jam and Type 2 jam, which occurs at the false ending. The way the jam takes off causes me to imagine the entire crowd lifting off the ground in "mass levitation", a term I specifically relate to Phish jams from 1999-2000. Trey doesn't nail the peak like he does during the 7/10/99 Chalkdust or the 9/14/99 AC/DC Bag, but it still works for me. And the funky breakdown jams at the end top it all off like a nice glass of wine after a delicious meal.

This shit is fire on its comeback!!