@hdorne said:

Great recap of an excellent show. I will say that I'm probably in the minority here, but I can't stand the Haunted House material. Martian Monster is one of the most generic pieces of music I've ever heard, and the incessant "Because of the because of the because of the incredible speed because of the incredible speed because of the because of the because of the incredible speed of your rocket, your trip, your trip, your trip, your trip is short, your trip is short, your trip is short" drives me nuts. It's even worse when Fishman is on bass and not even remotely in the right key. I guess you had to be there. I just don't understand why people are so excited about those tunes. It worked in the context of the amazing theatrics of the Halloween set, but they're not songs. They're barely interesting as jams. In my opinion, the sooner they drop them from the rotation, the better.

On a more positive note, this "Twist" is absolutely gorgeous. Not as far-out as the Shoreline version, but very sweet and melodic. The first set "Ghost" is also excellent.

I'll take up your cause here. Martian Monster was the bomb on Halloween...the gag, the vibe, the outfits, the stage, the music all matched. Plus they played it much better than here, IMO.
If you cue up KDF> Twist (skipping MM), it flows seamlessly. The MM seems like an intrusion on an otherwise brilliant segment of music. MM, while great fun, really didn't fit.

That all being said, Phish has always:
- done the unexpected
- kept it fun

So, in the end, while I am sympathetic to your opinion, I say leave 'em all in the mix. Honestly, I'd like to see them add more of the Halloween music to the rotation, but lose the sound effects.

Don't agree that they are "barely songs". They are, in fact, just as much qualified as "songs" as 2001, Hydrogen, Black-Eyed Katy, or any other instrumental.