(4) Thatch - 06/28/2025 vs. (5) Pancakes - 02/10/2025

Voted for Thatch but love this Pancakes and interestingly enough, its left out that from 19:30 on, this Pancakes loosely follows the same thematic jam composition of the aforementioned Orebolo Thatch from Cap, '24 SPAC Drive, '23 Ryman Madh, '23 Louisville Arrow - the same jams the group is saying MSG Thatch is using - the thematic is amazing to me every time they go to it and we're not talking 10-20x/year...its rare enough to be special even if on back to back special nights (Guilford Rockdale-MSG Thatch).

I am once again disappointed in this result

Thatch, outside JOTY candidate. Slow burn Cincy 2024 style build, not my fave but def holds up among the shorter jams.

Pancakes, they tried. Hard, finally got somewhere but not sure its enough.

This is a tough one...a toss-up for me, so I'm going to give it to Pancakes.
This Thatch is so good, tho. My personal fave Thatch and def a top five is from Bend (attendance bias, in part) but it's so different from this one, I would almost like to see this one move on. But, mmm, Pancakes.

Pancakes is going to lose and that is a shame because it is the superior jam by a decent margin. That said, I do like this Thatch. I just love this Pancakes and believe it is badly underseeded.

Pancakes takes my pick here 🥞

This Pancakes feels like a first born. It’s been in my top 5 since it happened. I love everything about it it and hope it gives AIN Westville a scare next round

Best MSG Thatch jam is still the OG. Cleveland Rockdale ('22). Louisville Arrow ('23) not too far off tho.

I had TOR Pancakes at a 5-seed and MSG Thatch as a 6-seed.

Gave my vote to Pancakes but fully expect this Thatch to sail through... even though they played an arguably superior version of the same jam the night before, and several other instances which were DEFINITELY superior. Recycled jams are fine, an be perfectly enjoyable, but you better be leveling up doing something new and exciting with it or it's getting docked points in the bracket.

I love this Thatch, but seriously, this Pancakes is fucking sensational! Wish they could both make it, but ultimately an easy choice to go cakes here.

@Silver Fox Rising: I hear ya. For clarity, I was very much moved by this Thatch jam's magic when I heard it for the first time in Louisville Arrow 6/22/23. That jam is still an all-timer (and was one of Peter's picks for JOTY IIRC). I was also moved when they played the acoustic version of the same jam during Thatch at N3 of Orebolo's amazing run at the Cap in 2024. I was less moved when I heard it for a third time in SPAC Drive last year, although it was still a fun callback ("oh nice - Louisville Arrow reprise!") When they played it for a fourth time in Rockdale at Gilford this year, I started to lose interest a bit. There's only so many times they can bring back the same jam before my mind wanders. So by the time they played it for the fifth time the very next night at MSG, the initial excitement had worn off.

All that being said, it's definitely a beautiful jam. And who knows - I might feel differently had I been in attendance for any of the shows listed above. Even if I didn't rank MSG Thatch very highly, I don't begrudge those who did.

This Thatch shines as a memorable moment, but is a VERY recycled jam that doesn’t feel unique enough to be in the sweet 16. This Thatch is kinda similar to how I feel about Goontz, it’s very moving in person, but when relistening in the context of JOTY (a bracket that should emphasize and support the more creative and unique jams) it doesn’t do anything unique and different to be a top jam. Not a knock on this jam, I personally enjoy it, I just feel it kinda defeats the point of JOTY to have a jam so recycled this highly seeded.

I feel bad for the people who weren't absolutely moved by this Thatch's magic. Everyone's ears are different though, which is the beauty of music. Just saying for me personally, this one does things to my insides that nothing else from 2025 does, can't really explain it. I will vote for it every round it stays in this thing.

This is the first time I’m legit shocked at vote totals. The pancakes jam is unbelievably good.

Neither of these do a whole lot for me relative to some of the other heavy hitters left in this tournament. Thatch does a little bit more for me, I guess?

I love this Thatch. My number 4 overall. I love this pancakes too and I’ve listened to both a bunch. There’s jams still winning in this bracket not as good as this pancakes but the Thatch gets my vote.

Preface this by saying i like both jams but to me this is a classic example of what is unusual/different vs. what sounds better and is more pleasing to the ears. The voters appear to favor the latter which doesn't really surprise me because it's what i favor as well. Love this Thatch so much.

Thatch is my favorite song and I didn’t even rank this version, kind of bananas to see it ahead of this much more accomplished cakes

Both top 10 jams for me, thatch being number 4 and cakes being number 7. I agree with seanlyng below, the beginning and middle sections of this cakes are awesome but nothing that special, and the bliss at the end does feel unrelated and added on. I absolutely love this bliss at the end but MSG thatch as a whole takes this one for me. Great matchup!

This vote tally so far is shocking. This Pancakes would be considered a top tier jam if it was played at a more well attended venue. The last 5 minutes or so of the jam is one of my favorite segments of the year.

The current vote tally here is shocking - hope it changes, but if it holds going to chalk it up to the massive exposure that the MSG show has versus the Canada shows to the broader fan base.

This Thatch is way more than just a Rick solo. The build from Trevor and Cotter is what makes Ricks solo so special. and the emotion he brought with it and the moment in the Garden... its hard to beat. plus the jam back into thatch proper is electric.

If you like the last 5 min of this Pancakes, go listen to 6/23/23 Red Bird from Louisville

Yeah this shouldn’t be close at all.. pancakes in a landslide. Way more interesting and that’s before getting to the last 5 minutes!

Dang, this appears to be over before I even voted! I have plenty of respect for both jams, but Pancakes gets my vote here and might very well be the most under-appreciated jam of the year. It definitely got lost in the middle of those ridiculous Milwaukee and Grand Rapids shows. If a jam tells a story then this Pancakes definitely tells the more complex and interesting story IMO. This Thatch is quite gorgeous and I was in the room to experience that energy, but I have to go Pancakes here.

Pancakes all the way. If you like this Thatch, you'll *love* the last five minutes of this Pancakes - and that comes after some very unique sections that I've dubbed "Rick Free Jazz."

Time to beat the dead horse: MSG Thatch is really pretty - but it's the fifth time they've played that jam, so it just doesn't excite me the way it did when we first heard it in Louisville Arrow 6/22/23 (and then in Orebolo Thatch 2/10/24, SPAC Drive 9/7/24, etc.)

Sorry to interrupt the pancakes love-fest but...here's the thing about Pancakes (which i enjoyed & had ranked somewhere in the bottom half of my top64)... It's a little repetitive. They stay in that "churning" or whatever we're calling it until ~19mins whereupon the song basically ends. The final 5mins are completely unrelated and don't really flow with what they're doing prior. It's like they just kinda tacked on that extra 5min to the end. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely GOOD but....

But the Thatch meanwhile was my #1 overall. Not exaggerating to say my entire life changed during MSG Thatch. If it's ground they've covered, i hope they cover it again and again -- It's that good. It's beautiful, it's triumphant, it's fantastic. Call it attendance bias, call it LIFE bias, i'll take Thatch every time.

Was at MSG and will never forget this Thatch. The whole floor was dancing in unison lol

What The Principal said below!

Of the two match-ups today, this is the one to watch. I think this Thatch is great, but I have this Pancakes ranked at like number six in my bracket. I put it up there with the one from Nashville in ‘22, and the one from Salt Shed in ‘23. It hits differently than those other two, but that ethereal jam they find in the last five minutes puts this one up there with the best of them (and reminds me of a similar space they found in the Dripfield from Chicago on 9/13/24). I’m pulling for Pancakes here, and with any luck... will be voting for it against All I Need next round too. Not holding my breath or betting my life savings on it winning against AIN… but I do have it ranked higher than anything in the Turbulence Region, so there’s that. Come and get some! 🥞🥞🥞

Pancakes gets my vote and its the way more diverse jam. I appreciate this Thatch but its overseeded in my opinion and should not move on here.

team cakes this round!

This is definitely one of the hardest matchups for me personally. Really, really tough as they are both phenomenal jams. I agree that the last ~5 minutes is absolutely incredible, some of the best playing of 2025.

I will be voting for Thatch though. Before it even gets to the Rick shredfest (which is one of the best Rick shred fests of the year), the jam going to it from Thatch is absolutely stunningly beautiful. It is so delicate and involves the whole band. This Thatch is one of my favorites of the year, in my top 5. So I guess maybe this isn't a hard choice for me, but if the Pancakes takes it I won't complain.

Lovely Thatch but Pancakes wins this one for me. Multi-faceted relentless jam and the final ~5 minutes is just gorgeous.

This is going to be a close one, though I am very firmly team Cakes - Thatch is great and all but is a familiar theme and mostly just a Rick solo throughout.

Cotter absolutely DOMINATES this Pancakes from the beginning, the first really churning/heavier section giving way to great bliss on the second half. Deserving of a Sweet 16 spot imo

If there ever was a 5 seed to go far and compete for JOTY its this Pancakes - love this Thatch, was an incredible 2nd set opener at the MSG show, but let's be real - if you listen to this Pancakes it's a cut above, and truthfully should've been a 2 or 3 seed!

MSG Thatch is really special, buuuuut Team Cakes on this one