Lawn Boy vs. Reba
One of the tougher 1st round matchups, Lawn Boy vs. Reba is sure to cause some melts against fans. Last year though Reba made it all the way to Number 2 before losing to You Enjoy Myself. The outlook isn’t very good for Lawn Boy, even if using the epic Baker’s Dozen version, I don’t see Reba losing in the first round.
Prediction: Reba 70% Lawn Boy 30%
Suzy Greenberg vs. Guelah Papyrus
An interesting matchup for sure, there isn’t really a scenario for a Guelah upset. Suzy is just too strong of a contender. The bad news for Suzy fans is that after this matchup they go up against Reba, which all but guarantees a second-round exit for Suzy.
Prediction: Suzy 65% Guelah Papyrus 35%
Meat vs. Slave to the Traffic Light
This is probably the most one-sided matchup in the MSG region. If Meat is able to pull away with more than 25% of the vote here, it has to be a moral victory.
Prediction: Slave to the Traffic Light 85% Meat 15%
Fuego vs. NICU
Our first 3.0 song to enter the bracket, Fuego has a winnable matchup against NICU. It will take a fan push to propel Fuego over NICU. Will there be that sort of engagement early enough in the bracket to help Fuego pull off the upset? Probably not.
Prediction: NICU 55% Fuego 45%
The Squirming Coil vs. Buried Alive
The Squirming Coil should win this matchup easily but will need to gather a big fanbase if it wants to make it past round two. This is the matchup for Squirming Coil fans to start making a case for before moving on to round 2. If Buried Alive can pull more than 15% of the votes then this is just a battle for who will lose in round two.
Prediction: The Squirming Coil 80% Buried Alive 20%
AC/DC Bag vs. Camel Walk
The only Jeff Holdsworth song in the Bracket, Camel Walk got a tough draw against the Gamehendge favorite. While I don’t see a runaway for AC/DC Bag, I do believe that it wins pretty handily.
Prediction: AC/DC Bag 68% Camel Walk 32%
The Curtain With vs. My Sweet One
This is really unfair to one of Fishman’s greatest compositions, but the weight of the Curtain alone, and then combined with Phish’s most complex piece of music leaves this another lopsided first-round match-up. Prediction: Curtain With 73% MSO 27%
The Mango Song vs. Esther
A tough one to call being Esther has a sleeper contingent of Stans in the larger Phish community. Esther is a classic Phish attempt at invoking Prog Rock themes musically and lyrically, but Mango song is really one of Trey’s greatest solo achievements and remains a vital song, appearing at least once a tour. Prediction: Mango Song 61% Esther 39%