Was it some of the most *original* stuff Phish has ever done? Far and away of course not. Was it still extremely silly, thought out, entertaining, and overall well executed? Undoubtedly.

I’ve seen it mentioned a few times... but you cannot possibly group all of these songs in to the bad batch category. It’s just blasphemy. You might not like all of them or really any of them, but that doesn’t mean that they’re bad songs. And the jams that were discovered throughout the evening tied all of what we’ve heard for the last two years together, so that in itself is a win.

If and when they play any of these tunes again (and they will), they will receive an abundance of cheers and an abundance of groans. That’s how it goes. Remember Soul Planet? Now look at it. It’s one of their best jam vehicles. Lyrics mean nothing. Ideas mean nothing. Phish is and always has been simply about compositional, improvisational, off the wall music.

Now onto bigger matters:

They “came down” from colored tractor beams dressed as space soldiers. What is not to love about that?! 4 grown ass men got to play dress up for Halloween and do some funny shit. I’m on board.

Knuckle Bone Broth Avenue: proggy, jammy track. Sounds pretty much like DDHVL2 with some mindless lyrics and Phish references scattered in it. I thought it opened up the show wonderfully. And I’ll be looking forward to the next time they play it. For sure. B+

Get More Down: this one is the most prog of all the songs they played, I think. Super DEVO vibes. I definitely was grooving to this one and I did exactly as instructed and got more down with it. The samples within are funny, but if you hate the samples, I get why you might not like a track like this. I was buckled in for a fun ride after these first two tracks though. So far, so good. B

Egg in a Hole: my favorite song of the bunch. So evil. So space. So very obviously Phish. I want this to come out of a Tweezer. I want this to come out of a Carini. I want this to come out of some filthy Mike’s Song. I just want this song in regular rotation and I’m sure it will be. What a groove. A+

Thanksgiving: our first real breather of a song for the evening. Very obvious vibes from the last couple of years and that’s about all I’ve got to say about it. I enjoyed it, but wouldn’t put it on my list of songs I’m chasing any time soon. C

Clear Your Mind: pretty similar vibes to Thanksgiving. Very much a culmination of the space jams we’ve heard on this tour. I’d rate it higher than Thanksgiving and would gladly welcome it, but I think I’d rather hear this song be a jam than an actual track, but that doesn’t mean it was bad. C+

The 9th Cube: prog out of the gate. Just sticks to a short and sweet little synth groove and that’s about it. And that’s all it had to do. It was another little cool down. The lights made it a lot better, for sure. I’ll say that at the very least. C

The Inner Reaches the Outer: Page driven tune. Weird lyrics. Very prog rock. Heavy synths throughout the entire song. Thought it was neat... wouldn’t rate it very high out of the 12 new tracks we got, though. C-

Don’t Doubt Me: comes out with a super good guitar riff. Immediately jumps into Page playing with his synth to bring the whole picture together. Very similar to Egg in a Hole and Knuckle Bone Broth Avenue in terms of the rock and roll. Gritty. Silly lyrics. Definitely going into the rotation. If you don’t like this one, you’re a genuine asshole. A+

Unwinding: very Sigma Oasis/GoTF vibes from this one. I would imagine these were all mostly penned during quarantine, but this one is obviously a quarantine Trey song if any of them were. I really liked it, but I’m usually a sucker for a few good cool down, slow songs in my Phish. I can only dance and hold my piss in for so long. Lmao. Would go well paired with Drift While You’re Sleeping, Beneath a Sea of Stars, or I Miss You IMO. Very similar vibes throughout all those songs.
B+

Something Living Here: very space, cowboy funk. Sounds like a Back on the Train-esque jam. I really liked the lyrics in this one. Probably my favorite track lyrically of the night. Will be revisiting this track for sure. I’d give it the green light for rotation in the same way Cool Amber and Mercury gets played. B

The Howling: SO. MUCH. SYNTH. SO. MUCH. PROG. This one was probably the single funkiest, weirdest track of the bunch. I loved every second of this one. Please please bring this one into rotation like the other Halloween songs. Not played as often as Martian Monster, but maybe on par with Your Pet Cat or DDHVL. I will definitely be singing The Howling for awhile lol. A

I Am In Miami: we were all patiently waiting to find out what the acoustic guitar was all about. And boy did they deliver. What a silly, NICU-style play on words and it’s just another goofy addition to the a cappella repertoire. I liked it. Would love to see it again as a bust out in the future. And hopefully that means they’ll be in Miami for NYE in a few years. A-

I’ll give the costume an overall B-. Certainly above average. Definitely not one of the best original Halloween costumes, though. I did thoroughly enjoy it however.