A confession about "Split Open and Melt"

After seeing much praise heaped upon the "Split Open and Melt" from last weekend's Randall's Island Phish shows, I must make a confession:

I do not really enjoy that song anymore, and haven't in a very long time, certainly not in the 3.0 era.

The jams are always interesting, there is no doubt. Sometimes, they hit on textures that are intense, thick and dark. The soundscapes they create can suck you into their vortex and envelop you. So why do I feel unfulfilled?

I have finally figured it out: It feels like those things do not belong in "Melt". If those same sounds were in, say, a "Sand" jam, I would be singing their praises all day. But every "Melt" feels like a missed opportunity to push for high, peaking jams, not thick, horizontal jams. I do not consider myself one of those old fans that longs for the past, but the 1990's "Melts" did it the way I like it - from the early '90s machine-gun soloing by Trey Anastasio to the all-in funky workouts of 1999. The pinnacle was 7/15/99 and, I dare say, I have not been nearly as moved by the song since that day in Holmdel, 15 years ago.

As a phan who first saw Phish in 1993 but has seen almost as many shows in the past five years than I did in 1.0 and 2.0 combined (I am a total 3.0 booster!), it pains me to say it. But the best days of "Melt" are long gone.