Jam Chart for Set Your Soul Free (16 entries)
| Date | City | Timing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-07-20 | George, WA | 8:40 | Phish debut |
| 2018-07-25 | San Francisco, CA | 23:33 | Out of the gates, Page teases switching to D bliss and Mike tries to follow. Trey stays in a minor mode until 8:45, where he finally joins the bliss through whale call as Page switches to synth pads. Here, the jam coasts on calm waves of effects-laden happiness; at 14:00, Trey plays a pattern that builds to a whale call peak accompanied by chordal work on piano from Page and a ride cymbal-driven shuffle from Fishman. Before truly peaking Trey switches back to the fast rotary mode on his Leslie, and Mike leads the charge towards a Clavinet-dominated plinko jam. The jam winds down to a quiet and introspective effects dominated space led by bass swirls from Mike > "Twist". |
| 2018-09-01 | Commerce City, CO | 17:10 | Page's synthesizers usher in a characteristically '17-'18 mellow ambience, which Trey pushes to murk with more characteristic-for-2018 fast Leslie rotary. Mike and Page shift the jam to type bliss pastures; Page switches to piano, and a patient build of tension floats this jam towards a bliss peak. Trey accentuates the ascent with reverse delay and octave up effects, and Fishmam with ride-based syncopation. Mike builds up one final heavy and danceable groove to give focus and cohesion to the back half of this jam, which Trey and Mike wind down to quiet effects-laden ambience. |
| 2018-10-17 | Albany, NY | 13:35 | Somewhat dark grooving, with strong Mike emerges from the song proper. The sentiment brightens with a warmer tone, before returning to darker, more rocking place. |
| 2018-12-28 | New York, NY | 15:40 | Synth lord Page pushes the jam to light and airy bliss pastures. Mike teams up with Fish's ride cymbal to create a delicate pad upon which Trey launches layers of whale call on the backs of delay. Mike uses effects to create a reverberant wash that blanket the fray; this leads to a passage marked by heavy rhythmic downbeats. |
| 2019-02-22 | Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo, Mexico | 25:53 | Massive Set 2 opener. Pivots into a gritty and nasty jam at Mike's urging, which gets very heavy (and a tad flubby) as Trey takes control. A gnarled groove emerges, with Page laying on the electric piano extra thick, and then Trey pivots into major-key territory. The jam grows warm and pleasant as Mike moves into the lead, Page throwing in a carnivalesque ambiance, then Trey starts firing off some crunchy solos and we enter the wonderful land of hard rocking. A few "woos" are goosed, then Page hits on some ascending not unlike "Tweezer Reprise" and the jam peaks in wonderful fashion. > into an equally outstanding "Mercury". |
| 2021-09-05 | Commerce City, CO | 18:58 | Pivots to low-boil major key effects-laden jamming out of the usual "SYSF" jam, moves to a more robust zone with Trey taking over with some nice soloing, then finishes with an insistent driving groove, with Fishman outstanding all throughout. |
| 2021-10-17 | San Francisco, CA | 26:02 | The first of two massive jams from a four (!) song second set, which drops into a relaxed late-night groove before turning towards a hearty upbeat jam with some sprightly work from both Trey and Page, enters a darker growling space thanks to Trey's effects and some very strong playing from Mike, and then devolves into strangeness before returning back to "SYSF" proper. |
| 2022-02-26 | Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico | 21:35 | Massive version features a jam that sounds an awful lot like "Under Pressure." As the jam moves along, all the toys get brought out and effects are used aplenty. Fish remains the backbone, as soundscapes are explored. > into a bluesy, must-hear "Simple." |
| 2022-04-22 | New York, NY | 21:28 | Effortless. Path of least resistance. Call it what you will, but few songs of late (and "SYSF" is a cool song, as is) offer more by way of "invitation" to pure, effortless jamming. Tune in around 9:15 for some sonic shimmer so lovely that "Happy Birthday" feels like a natural extension, a before and an after. From here Trey and Fish sync up, the improvisation seemingly calculated, or locked in - a sound, in times, reminiscent of the last big "Taste" explored in the Garden. An organism. Content to let it grow, Trey and Fish (listen to him splash away) team to work through incredibly introspective scattershot play that builds and builds, Page hammering on his piano, Mike in tow, before releasing sound arriving in a cool, whitewashed glow - an outro which, artfully tended, becomes the wonderful groundwork for a > into a magic "Light." |
| 2022-05-31 | Charleston, SC | 22:01 | A jam much more in line with the start of Set 2 than Set 1, boasting some warm and lovely electric piano work from Page, a really nifty minor-key exploration at Trey's urging, and a magnificent double-time finale. |
| 2022-07-23 | Bethel, NY | 21:01 | "Fourth quarter" magic. No two ways about it. A brief straightforward jam follows the song proper, followed by a brief "Crosseyed" tease/jam. The band then proceeds to dive perilously deep into wide-open space. Musical pivots abound everywhere without hesitation. The band members challenge each other both rhythmically and harmonically to deliver a jam that is high energy, dark, complex, and dissonant at times while never becoming disjointed. Imagine the 8/6/21 "Simple" crossed with some of the deepest moments of a Summer '95 "Tweezer" jam. Magnificently intense music, must-hear. " |
| 2022-07-30 | Columbia, MD | 16:14 | > from "Buried Alive", the band treats us to yet another fantastic first set jam. The perfect soundtrack to the sun setting on a summer evening. After a mellow beginning, the tempo kicks into a higher gear as the band locks in together. Heavy effects from Trey slow things down again, which leads to some inspired play from Mike as things wind down. > "Llama". |
| 2023-04-19 | Berkeley, CA | 21:08 | After some standard outro riffing, the jam quickly hones in on a more focused vein as it traverses a few intermediate phases before landing on a fiery psychedelic zone with a recurring descending motif. Around 15:00 the groove thickens with churning bass, synths, and twinkling octave-upped guitar over top a splashy beat and ends > "WTU?". |
| 2023-07-15 | Alpharetta, GA | 14:47 | Major summer highlight that Mike fans would do well to follow. Late, though. When Page lays into his synths. Here, Trey eventually takes control, setting free his soul with such metered control as if aiming past the sun (listen for Floyd this summer) and those such great heights that this Trey-fav song affords. Astounding. |
| 2024-09-01 | Commerce City, CO | 24:40 | Throwing it all against the wall, the last big jam of Summer 2024 kicks off with some relatively quick shifts between echo/delay grooves and blissful arena rocking, before a sludgy, industrial stew takes hold and stays put. Listen for Fishman's subtle rhythmic deconstruction as the music slowly descends into the swamp, and finally emerges > "Tweezer", covered in psychedelic goo. |
Jam chart versions are selected because of improvisational and other characteristics that distinguish these from typical versions of the song.
The jam chart team has highlighted some versions with a yellow background; these are the versions the team believes to be especially improvisational, or otherwise notable.
A purple date indicates that you were in attendance.
The jam chart team has highlighted some versions with a yellow background; these are the versions the team believes to be especially improvisational, or otherwise notable.
A purple date indicates that you were in attendance.
Phish.net
The Mockingbird Foundation