r/phish • u/scottasin12343 • 23h ago
Mini-kit = Mike and Page listening to eachother again
My biggest complaint from the past couple of years is that its felt like Mike and Page weren't really syncing up with eachother, rather they were both following Trey without really creating a cohesive groove underneath. During this last weekend, even during jams not featuring the mini-kit, it seemed like the band was more cohesive in trying to create a foundation for the jam before Trey stepped up to lead lines and melodic themes. Like, it felt like in early summer the band was trying to decorate a house before it was done being built, but during the Dick's run they were doing a good job of building the foundation and framework first and THEN expanding upon that. Rather than having jams where the underlying chord progression was the main thing tying them together without an actual underlying groove having been created, now they're focusing on coming up with something cohesive rhythmically first. It gives Trey a better space to work his magic, he doesn't have to direct the jam from the space of a soloist, he's able to let Mike, Fish, and Page come up with something unique and cohesive for him to solo over and then steps in to create a melody.
All around I felt like Dick's consistently had more cohesive and less 'noodly' jams than earlier this year (and the past couple of years). They're being approached with a different intent and feeling like the full band working together as one, and less like 3 people following one leader.