12/30 doesn't miss. Never has, never will.

Right off the bat, the band opens with a killer David Bowie. Though less exploratory than some of the super jams produced in August, song's the final performance of '93 launches the jam section with a full-band Dream On excerpt, works in some nice DEG teases, and maintains tension excellently from start to finish. Fishman and Mike crush this one, and I REALLY love Trey's re-visit to the Dream On theme in the final measures of his solo. We get a fun Forbin's->Mockingbird narration and a tight Rift before hitting another highlight on Bathtub Gin. A nice Type I jam lasts a while, but the fun really begins around 6:45 when Fishman kicks things into 5th gear and drives the band to a speedy Antelope-esque section for a minute. The transition back to Gin is smooth as butter.

Set 2 has a few great moments, but starts off immediately with one of my all-time favorite Mike's Song performances. As the jam chart description points out, this version was far ahead of its time: though there are several excellent Mike's from '92 to '93, many of them dig deep into dissonant or arrhythmic motifs for their character. On 12/30/93, the first jam sees some really spirited and tight Type I jamming with plenty of Trey/Mike riffing, but the second jam is song-defining. The band soars through a peaking F major jam full of rich harmonic triumph. The slow, growling transition to A minor is a welcome departure from the typical form and serves up some Tweezer-like rocking and an awesome -> The Horse. Silent, PYITE, and McGrupp (with tasty, tasty Page) fill the Mike's sandwich before a ripping Weekapaug closes the groove with a nice VJ. Slave is played for the people, and the people love it! Strong GTBT, too.

Mike's Song takes the cake, though--this is a beast.