One of the better '92 shows for sure, 12/12 at the Spectrum sees the band shine as they ease their way into the tight, consistent jamming of later greatness. Like the rest of the official releases from this year, this show throws out a relatively high number of tunes from all over the catalog, all of which are delivered with exceptional prowess on the part of the individual. The tunes where I hear the band excelling beyond the greatness threshold as a cohesive unit are scattered across both sets: Reba, Split Open and Melt, Tweezer, and YEM.

Reba's jam section has wonderful call-and-response interactions between Fishman and Trey, and Page and Mike follow Trey's lead up the energy ladder very well, careful not to spend it all in one place. SOaM features a fun Trey swelling tremolo motif, onto which Fishman latches, forcing a full band synchronization that doesn't end through the remainder of the solo. In the second set, Tweezer settles into a fun pattern of full-band oscillation between blissful major-key measures and absolute face-melting chaos and dissonance. The following jam contains lots of meaty grooving, some '93-esque fragmentation, and a well-executed dissolution a la the studio track. This is probably my second-favorite '92 Tweezer after 4/21. Finally, the Davy Crockett YEM makes for a super fun iteration of the tune that only continues to pay off the more you listen for the thematic motif, and which pays off cathartically with a direct quote in the VJ.

Some extra nice fodder tunes in this show are the Ride Captain Ride bust-out and an immaculately pristine Rift--a song which I love but admit rarely stands out in a set. 12/12/92 Rift is a damn fine specimen, though.

Overall, very solid show and I'm happy to have it in the collection. This is the 10th '92 show I've listened to in the last couple of weeks, and I think the year as a whole has a hard time living up to some of its neighbors. I won't say its completely missing any essential listening, but it's one of the lower-rated periods for a reason. As I work through a close, chronological listen through the catalog highlights, I'm excited to step into '93.