Def has slowed down through the years. I downloaded a bunch of 03 tunes and although there are a ton of long songs in 03, it seems like Trey spends most of the time just noodling about, messing around with effects. The solos almost sound Grateful Dead like.
Even now it seems like the longer jammed tunes aren’t as much of Trey shredding as they are him playing chords or doing that two string solo thing.
I just went back and watched those youtube Alpine 04’ videos and I got slightly ill watching Trey all fucked up screwing around with pedals…Don’t get me wrong, I love some of those PH shows and think they did some amazing Ambient work in those years, but Trey used those pedals as a crutch I think…
Trey is adapting to his new sound pretty nicely I think…And it will only continue to get better…
I can hear him reaching back to some 97’ moments here and there…After Hampton that was the only year I was listening to till Fenway…
Yes, I completely agree. Trey was really moving slowly there for a while. You can for SURE hear him coming around in these recent shows. I don’t think we’ll quite get the full on Trey shred fests that we had back in the 90’s, but for sure he’s ALOT more active than we saw in 2.0. Although, I do hear those trademark fast Trey licks coming around more and more, so I could be wrong. Bring it!
The Jedi has returned. Before long he’ll be shredding Reba climaxes like its nobodys buisness. 
Trey’s approach is very intentional… He is a different player than he was 16 years ago. He has matured like a fine RED WINE with age. 
This is exactly what I have been saying. I think it’s intentional too. Also, anyone who doubts that the man call still shred, go listen to the Knoxville Bowie and then see what you think. He still CAN play the fast stuff, he just chooses not to more often now than he used to.
Also, one really awesome thing about the way he plays now is those really high notes he uses when the songs hit a climax. He just nails it, and that guitar shrieks and the white lights come on, and it’s just the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I CAN’T WAIT to hear what this band sounds like one year from now.
Also give Asheville Maze a listen. Sounds like a tighter 97 version of the song in my opinion. Some SERIOUS Shreddage.
didn’t Mike admonish Trey for playing “too many notes” in BSM? haha…i thought that was great. i LOVED the wide-open, more minimal chunk/phunk guitar style that he picked up in 97. less notes altogether, so when he’d go off, it really counted. he seems to be enjoying a ‘‘busier’’ playing style right now (lots and lots of notes) and that’s fine with me too. but i hope they don’t completely leave behind the ‘‘less is more’’ type of playing that dominated 97-00.
^ “12,000 motherf***er!!!”
Yes, it does seem like they’ve become a bit more of a band instead of Trey trying to take the lead all the time. I like it. I like it A LOT. Trey is much more…respectfully playing (?) these days is what I think I’m trying to say.
his opiate style of play has changed. i like that you can hear his sobriety through the notes he chooses to play…if that makes sense…
^makes perfect sense…i really feel that way too about his playing
I like that he’s brought out the shredding more. No, I love it.
His improv has been so much more intentional than it’s been since the mid nineties or even earlier. So purposeful, and so clever and considered. I love a short jam. I love a show that’s packed with songs.
I think I’m one that digs the variety. I hear people say that A Picture Of Nectar is overkill on the variety, too many differnt shifts and no flow … but I do not understand. I love that about their early records.
So when it comes to shows, I love to hear them run the gamut, play a billion wacked out tunes that are not only unique and interesting on their own, but also combine to form a backdrop that’s so strange and colorful.
When they’d play shows with five song sets, or when I saw that show where they played Jim for 58 minutes, I just feel that the jam element of what Phish is becomes too prominent in the balance, and there’s not as much time for all that color, all those intricate passages in all those songs …
For me, and for what I love about Phish, the shows with 25 tunes from 1991 have plenty of jamming.
And those shows, as well as the five or six 2009 shows I’ve heard … (i LOVE that I was just able to type “2009 shows”! Freaking Yee Haw dudes!) … have jams that are purposeful, intentional, … it’s as if Trey always had things to say with his solos, and then he just had nothing to say for a long time, so he just meandered about. And now, he’s saying things again, and he says so much more in 5 minutes than he used to in 15.
It’s back, man. That crazy smart quirky genius from VT is free once again.
Solo like crazy Trey, I’m loving it. Welcome back.
I have both compliments and criticisms on Trey’s and Phish’s playing in 3.0 now that the first portion of summer tour is under wraps…
Like many of you in this thread, I completely agree that Trey’s more succinct and purposeful style to jams and solos this tour has been absolutely outstanding. Hosemasterflex mentions ‘he says more in 5 minutes than he used to in 15’. Couldn’t agree more! And Ship of Fools mentions the Bowie from Knoxville. It was probably the best Bowie (imo) since the 1.0 era… not too long, intense build, incredible finish. Trey has certainly re-learned much of how to master his guitar now that his head is clear.
Now for my criticism, and it’s not really directed toward Trey but to the band overall. 2 things, actually, that I’ve noticed in this first tour back. First, the overall tempo of many of the songs has slowed. Listening to some of the more ‘uppity’ material, it just doesn’t move as fast as what it used to. Maybe this is to give them all more room to breathe musically, but there are certain jams that I feel lose a little magic if they start to slow down to much. Some good examples are AC/DC Bag and Bathtub Gin… I swear they used to play them a little quicker.
The second critique would be that almost every jam begins very quietly, or at least more relaxed, and then proceeds to grow from there. Now I realize that this has been a formula if you will in many of the Phish songs all along, but sometimes I feel that I just want to hear them absolutely tear into a jam at 110% and try to go up from there (thinking of some of the Chalkdusts and Antelopes from early to mid-nineties… went from crazy faced past to OMFG-insanely-melt-your-fucking-face-off-two-times-over pace). To me it would be more exciting in certain songs to try to maintain a frantic fell for it’s entirety, even if it lasts only a few minutes.
Ultimately, I’m so fucking happy at the way 3.0 is turning out so far, and it’s better than I could have hoped for since the end of 2.0. Love the fact they’re playing more tunes per night and using their jams to say something meaningful or explore new sonic space. I’m really thrilled with the direction they’re taking, just would love to see them push the envelope a little more in the 2nd half of summer tour.
^The slowing down of the songs like Bag, Gin & Tweezer is not a 3.0 thing… If you read the “Phish” book, all that stuff is intentional AND way harder and challenging to execute. Slowing the funk down makes it funkier. They’ve been doing the slow thing since 97… That’s why 97 is EPIC!
To my ears, the songs that are slowed down sound like corrections! I’ve always felt they rushed lots of songs. Cavern in particular.
^^Well put, Dave. One loves this.
I’m glad to hear Machine Gun Trey is in full force. He was ripping all his solos.
Whale-call Trey FTW!
^LOL