Phish – Ventura Theatre – Ventura, CA 03.21.1993

I  Maze, Sparkle, Sloth, Divided, Esther>ATR, Melt, Poor Heart, PYITE, Lawn Boy>Possum

II  Cup, MFMF>Rift>Tweezer>Ya Mar, Llama, YEM, MSO>BBJ, HYHU>Rosie>HYHU, Hood, Cavern

E  Monkey, Adeline, Reprise

So after a day off learning to surf (more on this later) and probably celebrating the vernal equinox with buxom blissed out hippie fairy nymphs in various states of undress and consciousness, the band was back at it in Ventura for a one night stand as they started to head north-ish during this run out west. Losing none of the momentum that got them here, the band seems almost re-energized by the increased amounts of vitamin D coursing through their bodies as they have now been exposed to the real live sun for more than a few fleeting moments here in what some will tell you is paradise comparatively. So yeah, the show.

First set gets going with one of my favorite atypical openers, Maze. Not one you are going to slot in there when you submit your picks to PT very often, is it? Well, it works quite well here particularly considering they nail it and give it the business a bit in doing so. Sparkle does what it does next followed by a dirty Sloth that feels like something is afoot. What these people don’t know is that this is kind of practice for the next night’s goings on but let’s keep that our secret, okay? Divided comes in next with a fairly clean version where Trey shines through clearly in charge of the largely composed number and Page throws in a Jeopardy tease along the way. A somewhat shaky though always welcome Esther is next (with Random Note SL) followed by a nice ATR. Now here’s where things get interesting as we get a Melt that is almost-but-not-quite-where-we-want-it-to-get-to version. By that I mean you can definitely hear them pushing it outside the box (and they go out there for a bit) but it still doesn’t quite hit the mark when put up next to that one we’ll hear a month from now. I like this version and it is worth your time but this is still a formative version in all truth. Poor Heart gets us to an almost nailed PYITE (they are getting there with this one by now) and then we get a little dedication from Trey to the guy who gave him some pointers while he was out learning to surf for the first time on their off day. So what song does the guy get? Lawn Boy. Woo. After that they rip up a rocking Possum closer and we are off to the beer line to chat about the set.

Second set they come out with energy, bringing the Cup out first for a very high octane version. Then Trey picks up the acoustic for the MFMF intro and eventually this one heads into a very melodic outro jam that (dare I say) has an almost ‘Doors-ish’ feel to it. Interesting version for certain with no Myfe ending (kinda like that last one from The Forum). This precedes Rift where you can tell they are really going for it as Trey nails his part and the rest of the band follows along quite nicely. This energy follows forthwith into Tweezer which doesn’t go anywhere new but is what I’ll call ‘power type I’ jamming in that they are staying in the box but gunning for it the whole time. That said, there is some tinkling around what could be considered ‘Walk this Way’ by Trey and a brief return to that ‘Sweet Emotion’ theme they hit at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix as they rock through this one. They bring it down slightly for a fun Ya Mar with Mike taking the vocal scat thing at the end and then go right back up again for a shreddy Llama. The apparent theme to this set is to see how much they can make everyone dance to the shred tunes, I suppose. So then they get into YEM which in this case is just an okay version considering the competition. Not bad at all, no sir. But it doesn’t really do much in all honesty. Next we have the schtick portion of the show with MSO>BBJ and then Fish Fun Time for Rosie this time out. After that you have to figure they are starting to make plans for the end of the night but they have one more biggish jam up their sleeves (or eyeball dresses as the case may be). Hood starts up innocently enough and seems like it is going true to form before Trey gets a bit of growl to his tone that he carries forward throughout the jam. This version is not like most of your peaky major key Hoods (which is not to say that it doesn’t peak out). Definitely one to go spin. I won’t over analyze it here. Cavern caps the set and then we have Monkey, Adeline, Reprise for the encores to get us moving up to “central” California and the capital city.

This is your prototypical energy show. Heck, it’s also a Sunday show and we know the mantra there. Being a Spring ’93 affair you don’t have big hetty jamz (yo) but it does have some meat to chew on and the playing overall is what you want out of the band at this stage. The takeaways from this one are the Melt (easily), MFMF, maybe Tweezer, and definitely the Hood. Not a bad Sunday night! Next up is a rather famous show from Sactown. Maybe you’ve heard of The Crest Theatre show? If not, what the heck are you doing with your life? Go spin it so you will be ready to discuss. Geez.

Phish – Greek Theatre – University of the Redlands, Redlands, CA 03.19.1993

I  Suzy>Llama, Foam, Bouncin’, Rift, Stash, Fluffhead>Cavern, Antelope

II  Jim, Ice, Uncle Pen, Sample, Lizards, Mike’s>H2>Weekapaug->HYHU>Love You>HYHU, Golgi

E  Grace, CDT

And so, one day prior to the vernal equinox which would then allow this tour to accurately be called The Spring Tour, Phish would take the stage for their first outdoor performance of the year at a smallish independent college in the eastern part of the LA market, ending a four night run of shows at the start of their California run (but which includes the one show in Arizona. Don’t want to foster any confusion with that poorly worded sentence there). This night would have some interesting issues for the band to contend with, as the overzealous campus security didn’t appreciate the volume of the music and repeatedly indicated as much to Paul at the soundboard. This caused the band to produce some rather unusual jams in response, playing sparser lines rather than filling the air with shred and cacophony.

But before all of that they got the crowd moving first with Suzy. A bouncy version, this one heads right into a rather shreddy Llama that might have perked up the ears of those white shirts for the first time. Foam kept things energetic with a straight forward but punchy version that would surely get even the most crotchety jaded phanner at least head bobbing. Bouncin’ and Rift are up next as we make our way to Stash where we have our first hints that things are a bit… different tonight. First Trey gets a bit bendy with his notes in the early part of the jam before the majority of the band drops out for a Fish drum/silent jam segment. It’s a bit odd, honestly. But then they take it up a few notches for Fluffhead>Cavern  and  it seems everything is back to normal, particularly by the time they take on the set-closing shred-ahead Antelope. In toto, this set is a lot of table setting with the band seemingly feeling things out a bit. The playing is fine enough but nothing really stands out here.

So it is with a little bit of surprise that when they come out for the second set and get into Jim things take a sideways turn once again, heading into somewhat open waters for perhaps the first time in that song’s somewhat lengthy history. This is not to say it was anywhere near the big time Fall ’95 versions or (obviously) Worcester ’97 but they go away from form here for a bit, finding a bit of <em>almost</em> ambient space (not the right word, particularly for the time period, but you will understand if you listen here). This pairs up nicely with the subsequent Ice which also heads into darker, sparser waters as they include a breakdown jam where Page throws in a Rhapsody in Blue (or Gin if you prefer) tease for good measure. Again, this is one of the first examples for <em>this</em> song that strays from the formula. After these two brief departures to open the set they hit the third song bluegrass slot for Uncle Pen and Fish is feeling feisty, throwing in barker comments like “hoedown!”, “grab your partner!” and “here we go now!” as he is apparently watching the dancing in the pit/moat in front. Trey even comments on the quality of dancing at the end of this one. Then they play the <b>sixth ever!</b> Sample before a lovely Lizards – which also includes a rather sparse take on the outro instrumental section. You have to wonder if these coincide with the appearance of security at the board, as each time they happen the band then brings out a bigger gun to follow. So that gets us to Mike’s for a fairly straight forward version that slides right into H2 and then a very interesting Paug that AGAIN has that minimalist breakdown jamming which in this case ends up being mainly Page and Fish with Mike and trey dropping out completely but not before Mike throws in a quick ‘Boulevard’ tease (the Jackson Browne song). They eventually get to a VJ that has some inklings of the moe. song ‘Yodelittle’ before it transitions fully into HYHU for Fish Fun Time and Love You. This one includes some extended banter (including Fish apologizing to Paul, perhaps about the continued security issues?) before they bring it back and on home for the set closing Golgi. Grace (with mics!) and a fiery CDT are your encores on this night and we have a night off to catch our breath before taking it up the coast to Ventura on Sunday.

Overall, this is a bit of an odd show that is helped by understanding the context of what was happening that night. For highlights I’d check out the Stash, Jim, Ice, and Paug if nothing else for their uniqueness and the Pen because it is pretty hilarious. Also, if you can grab a good source off of etree with the soundcheck, this one is high quality considering they do Dog Log->Heartbreaker, Misty Mountain Hop, Bang a Gong, and a Jam. It’s a good listen and was captured by tapers since it was an outdoor venue without much of a fence going prior to show time.

Phish — The Palace — Hollywood, CA 03.18.1993

I  CDT, Guelah, Rift, Fee->Maze, Forbin>Mockingbird>Sparkle>Horn, IDK>Bowie

II  MFMF, Poor Heart>Melt, Tela>YEM, Uncle Pen, BBJ, HYHU>IIOHAB>HYHU, Coil, Cavern

E  GTBT

And then there’s the second night in Hollywood for a show that was only added after the first night sold out (good job, phans!). After a night plagued by sound problems, the band was back for another round on Thursday, bringing the energy to the crowd as much as they were getting it in return. This being the third show of four in a row the band was definitely in rhythm and the hijinks would be on display for this one as we will soon see.

CDT would kick off the night with a rocking version before Guelah filled its typical second slot role. Rift then gets the nod for the third slot and in this one you can really hear Fish pounding away with intent on an otherwise standard version. Fee is up next with Trey back on the megaphone this time and again it heads into Maze. The whole band is hitting it here but in particular Trey really goes off and Fish seems to be killing it which is always nice to hear. The fifth Forbin’s of tour comes next and this one provides a cool story about how the whole crowd is part of the first holographic phish show (you really need to hear it to understand…) amongst other items in a somewhat extended Storytime with Trey segment before a pretty well nailed Mockingbird. This precedes Sparkle and Horn which are both perfectly fine though not really notable at all as the FMS still eludes us. IDK brings out Trombone Greasy for a somewhat lengthy solo (and a bunch of nicknames from Trey) before we get the set ending Bowie. This one is worth the listen, starting with some SL (All Fall Down, Simpsons) in the intro and then it heads into some frenzied DEG territory during the jam before resolving in the Bowie fashion. Solid version for the time to be certain and a nice energetic cap to a pretty straight forward but entertaining set.

The second set would take things off in a different direction entirely as the band was definitely feeling their strange this evening. First up, Mike and Fish throw a little ‘Staying Alive’ tease out there and Page plays a bit of ‘Jimmy Olson’s Blues’ before the band gets into MFMF which ends up in a Drummer Boy theme (seemingly initiated by Mike here) that has the band chanting the Myfe section of the lyrics over the melody to Drummer Boy providing a sufficiently creepy resolution to the song. Notably, this was the first time they had broken into Drummer Boy since 12.06.1986 though it was teased on 05.23.1990 at the start of the first set. This is followed by Poor Heart where Trey throws in a MFMF quote and gets pretty amped on the “Cactus” callouts for good measure. Then we get to where things really start to get interesting. Second set Melts can be of many flavors and this one goes plaid in a hurry when Trey starts playing Staying Alive mid jam, throws in some Drummer Boy, and then cranks up the SHRED just to keep everyone honest. It might not be the mindfunker you expect of later versions but it’s memorable, that’s for certain… They come down from this with the second Tela of tour which is probably most notable for what will come just four days later in Sacramento (but let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we 😉 ). Actually, it is also notable for a quite lovely transition into YEM (and the last time the two songs have been paired as such). This YEM is pretty spirited, particularly with Mike leading the movement of the jam that evolves here that Trey then elevates which eventually gets to a quite energetic VJ. Uncle Pen, BBJ and Fish Fun Time for If I Only Had A Brain fill time before a quite beautifully played Coil takes the penultimate position in the set (seriously, this is a top notch one from Page) before Cavern closes things out. GTBT rocks the house in the encore and the band is ready to head east for their Friday night date in Redlands.

So of the two night stand here in Hollywood this is the more complete show, partially due to the lack of sound problems that persisted on that first night. The playing is loose yet tight in that ’93 way and the energy is high as the band runs through everything with ease and dexterity. Definitely check out the Forbin storytime, Bowie, MFMF, Melt, YEM, and perhaps the Coil here.

Next up is the one time the band played The Greek Theatre at the University of The Redlands in Redlands, CA. Cool looking little venue right there. And one where the band opened up a couple of tunes for the first time…

Phish — The Palace — Hollywood, CA 03.17.1993

I  Landlady>Jim, Foam, Bouncin’, Stash, Grace, Paul & Silas>Ice>Oh Kee Pa>Suzy, Antelope

II  Axilla>Glide, Reba, JJLC, Mound, Mike’s>H2>Paug, Horse>Silent, HYHU>GGITS>HYHU, Golgi

E  Adeline, Rocky Top

Fresh off their Colorado run and the one off Tuesday night affair in Phoenix, Phish hopped over to Hollywood for a pair of shows at the Palace. These would be the only two times the band would play the venue (now named The Avalon Hollywood) and judging from the sound issues apparent the first night perhaps they decided to go elsewhere after this pair of shows. It would also be the first two-night run by the band at a West Coast venue, something that becomes more prevalent as the years progress. This spring run in California would produce some very memorable stuff out of the band which we will get to with this first show serving mainly  as table setting, though it does have its moments.

The show opens with a well played take on Landlady where the band shows up early as being ready to go. This carries over into Jim where Trey takes over for a trill-heavy solo as Mike and Fish thump along behind. The Mike bit is notable because it seems like he is higher in the mix in several of these Cali tapes — not too unlike the classic Spring ’92 shows which are so Mike forward it is almost jarring in its awesomeness with the best example being that oft traded tape from 04.16.1992 in Isla Vista — which is nice considering he is generally the lowest/missing element on older tapes. Foam takes the third spot here and it is a punchy and bright version where Page uses the baby grand to good effect and everyone contributes for an engaging version. The sound issues start to flare up here as it is apparent there is something not quite right between the board and the band. Bouncin gets us to Stash and this one is relatively straight forward but still highly energetic and on point, even with the sound issues impacting the early, composed section of the song at points. At the end of this they take a break from the electric stuff to give Paul the chance to address some of the sound issues and do a mid-set a cappella Grace to the delight of the crowd. Paul & Silas punches things up a bit and goes right into Ice which (while still straight ahead) has a nice little jam tacked on before they wrap it up and head into the third Oh Kee Pa of the tour. This precedes one of its typical dance partners, Suzy, who brings her boogie shoes out for a spirited version that surely got the crowd moving as she can. Then Antelope closes the frame with a not-especially-out-there but peaky version. Listen for a couple of teases here (Yakety Sax, Nellie — not to mention one section that really feels like it is headed into the theme from ‘The Munsters’ tv show). The band seems ready to rock on this Wednesday night but dealing with the sound issues may be impacting things a tad as this set is somewhat short in comparison to others of this time period.

So once setbreak is over they come out with fire in Axilla>Glide, where the more pronounced Mike can be heard making some nice contributions to Glide. Reba steps in for a visit and this one is okay at best with a fairly abbreviated jam section before they seem to abruptly end it, sans whistling. JJLC is next for its second time this tour and Page shines brightest here on both vocal and organ/piano, which is not to say Trey doesn’t do his thing too. Mound does what it does with some hot Mike action before we get that Mike’s Groove we knew would be coming tonight. Mike’s gets a little dirty for a bit but stays mainly contained — this song was just starting to really take off jamming-wise around this time where up to then it was Paug that was the primary focus on the Groove in getting weird — though the transition to H2 is a nice alteration on the norm. So it is no surprise then that the Paug is where the fun lies in this Groove as Trey folds in ‘Heartbreaker’ and ‘Living Loving Maid’ teases amidst a frenetic full band jam and then the band all latches on for a full Lively Up Yourself jam with Trey ‘leading’ the vocal lines. It’s quality. I recommend it. Horse>Silent (with acoustic Horse, of course) provides the breather next and then it is Fish Fun Time once again for “An Okay Gig in the Sky” before the Golgi closer. Encores are Adeline and Rocky Top here sending everyone off into the early spring night.

Overall this is a bit of an all-over-the-place show though the playing is pretty well good on all fronts, a few flubs here and there notwithstanding. Check out the Jim for a little extra stank (notable considering the very next one would be one of the first to really go for a longer walk) and the Mike’s Groove (especially Paug!). Tomorrow night’s show here once they have the sound more dialed and it is not a distraction provides a lot more heat to hear…

Phish — Celebrity Theatre — Phoenix, AZ 03.16.1993

I  Adeline, Buried Alive>Poor Heart>Ice, Fee>Maze, IDK, Divided, HYHU>You Gotta See Mama Every Night, McGrupp, Cavern

II  MFMF, Curtain>Tweezer->Sweet Emotion Jam->Tweezer->Gin, Esther>Secret Language Instructions>Esther>CDT, YEM, HYHU>Bike, Lengthwise>Bike, HYHU, Lawn Boy>Llama, Grace

E  Sparkle>Reprise

After a night off for a little rest and travel the band is in Arizona for one night only as the tour rolls on its merry way. After the crispy sbd from the last set this show is a little jarring to hear, but there’s some quality to be found here amidst the hiss and crackle of tape generations gone by. Plus, this show was at a “theatre in the round” which is something I’ve always wanted to experience for Phish as no matter where you sit in this type of room you eventually get a great view of the band… or their backs as the case may be.

First set starts with the then-not-too-uncommon a cappella (un-mic’d) opener Adeline (in this instance so that the band could capitalize on the intimate room and the great acoustics therein) before Buried Alive storms in to get things going properly. This heads into a quickly paced Poor Heart and a pretty stock (though well played) Ice before we get our first left turn of the evening. Fee starts up and it seems normal enough until you realize Trey <em>isn’t</em> using the microphone, in fact he’s singing through the megaphone un-mic’d. The band backs off so that he can be heard here in a somewhat unique though otherwise straight forward version. This leads to a white hot Maze that stays in the box but definitely will get you doing that Maze thing, checking left and right to make sure you are still in the room and not in fact stuck in a maze. Don’t worry you are in the room. The maze is a macguffin. Phew. A brief IDK with an un-mic’d solo of some sort gets us to a real purty like Divided that the crowd gives great appreciation for at the end. Trey then mentions his grandmother being there in the crowd and we get some HYHU tinklings from Page as Trey’s grandfather takes the stage to lead the band through the Dixieland standard ‘You Gotta See Mama Every Night’ in honor of grandma. Everybody say “awwwwwwww”. Next up is Poss… hang on, Trey shuts down Fish on that intro to get the first McGrupp of the tour going (in honor of Page according to Trey but could have been a ) which, while a tad sloppy, is nice to hear as always before Cavern takes us to the break to discuss the merits of viewing Fish’s backside as part of the total experience.

Second set begins with MFMF and this one is getting darker and darker the more they play it. There’s no Eugene here but they are leaning that way before dropping into The Curtain>Tweezer (an always welcome pairing). The Curtain is fine enough but the Tweezer is where the meat lies in this pairing (naturally) as after a few minutes of chugging through the main theme they hit on ‘Sweet Emotion’ and take it in fully, including lyrics for a bit before returning to Tweezer for a slowed down end jam that never fully resolves before we are hit with Gin on the back end. This is a pre-open style Gin so it is largely straight forward though there are hints of what might be with this song here. It is interesting to note that they only played the song infrequently that year with 15 show gaps being the norm. In fact, after two more showings from this one it would be shelved for almost 30 shows before coming back in a big way in August with two consecutive versions that are worthy, notably including The Murat Gin which seems to have been the tipping point for the song in a lot of ways. But I digress… After this they get into Esther and as they typically throw SL here, Trey decides to lay out some instructions for the Random Note, Simpsons, and All Fall Down signals. This is actually the last known time he has done this so if you don’t know them by then, good luck I suppose. After taking us through the twisted tale of that poor poor lass, we get a rocking CDT that precedes a rather in-the-box YEM. Granted, we are comparing that somewhat to the one the show previous but still. Heck, they didn’t even VJ this one instead heading into HYHU. Fish Fun Time is next on the bill and here we get Bike and a crowd-initiated Lengthwise (briefly) before the Bike resolution. Then there’s a Lawn Boy with Page taking a solo on vocals before a shreddy Llama and a Grace closer just to bookend this one with a cappella tunes. Your encores are Sparkle and Reprise which is a nice pairing for getting people amped up before sending them off into the night.

Overall, this is a decent show with a few memorable highlights and what seems to be great band/crowd interaction on several levels. Definitely a loose feel here as they are clearly in the road way by now and closing in on the midpoint of this 71 show tour. I’d listen to the Tweezer->Sweet Emotion->Tweezer->Gin segment, maybe the YEM for the end jam, and Lawn Boy for the hilarity of it. Now we are off to California for a ten show run up to the Northwest for six shows and the end of this leg of the tour.

Phish — Balch Fieldhouse, CU — Boulder, CO 03.13.1993

Up the mountain, down the mountain. Friday night with the apres ski crowd, Saturday night with the apres school crowd. After a few days off here we have the middle night of a three night run zig zagging hither and yon across a quite windy state what with all the topography one encounters there. Not sure who planned that routing but some would say that person should be shot. But the band persevered and here on the middle night they again brought their brand of youthful energy and dexterous playing to the faithful, the willing-to-be-converted, the partiers, the hangers on, and the other assorted riff raff willing to pay the fare that evening.

The first set begins in fine fashion with a quite punchy (ha) Landlady before the second Funky Bitch of the tour pops in to rock the masses before Bouncin out of there. Maze comes in flying with a few twists and turns but nothing we haven’t seen before or wouldn’t expect. Fee>ATR fills time next and let me just say I really miss ATR, particularly a cleanly played version such as this one.  Next up is a mini mind Melt(er) that <em>almost</em> goes somewhere before a rather oddly placed mid set Contact which is undoubtedly a dig at the routing for this little Colorado run. Llama rips par usual before we get a quite unique Wilson that begets our first true highlight of the night. The entire thing is slower than normal (even for this time) and the massive power chords are switched out for a much more subdued vibe that just seems to work somehow. Along with a Simpsons signal there’s a bit of Who (Getting’ In Tune) flavoring from Mike to be found here which is nice. Towards the end it almost feels like they are about to go into Hydrogen before they finally get to the “blap boom” bit. This leads right into a hot Lope with a decent jam (and another Simpsons SL signal) that doesn’t exactly take off but provides a nice capper for the set, after which Trey tells that really funny joke about the band coming back in about fifteen minutes. Right. I’ll set my alarm for that, Trza.

Fun time Suzy is hot to trot at the start of the second set, getting those crazy kids dancing once more. She leads us to Tweezer and you’d think we are now off to the races but nothing really materializes as it stays in bounds the whole way, darn it. A fine and dandy Lizards then precedes a fairly standard Ice>Glide segment, getting us to Pen, BBJ which is nice to get out of the way. Honestly, I think after the first time I saw BBJ I realized it only works as a gag a couple of times before most people say, “okay, we get it. this is a direct nod to the band/crowd interaction that is so integral to your shows. Let’s just move on to the real connection to be found within the wonderful music y’all play, mm’kay?” The fun now starts as Mike’s cranks up and Mike spouts off about it being “his song” and gives a dedication to Cilla. The band takes a nice short jam here before the requisite drop into H2 but then the fireworks are on display for a very fine Paug with an extended jam, some My Girl inklings, and a rather large finish. As a bit of an aside here, this tune has become one of the more reliable vehicles on this tour, consistently providing an opportunity for the band to flex a bit both inside and outside of the structure. Here in 3.0 the song has become more of a punctuation mark than a vehicle so it is interesting to hear the evolution of the song as compares to others that went from straightforward tunes to more open vehicles (like Gin, DWD, and others). Paug’s evolution has gone the opposite direction which is not necessarily a bad thing considering the plethora of options they now have to stretch things on on a nightly basis while back in this era they had a relatively smaller repertoire and were really just starting to open things up in that way that we have become accustomed to and crave so mightily. I think you understand my meaning there. Anyway, after that FEFY tugs at the strings of our proverbial hearts next before the Fish Fun Time for Love You and then a rousing Reprise closer. MSO, Grace, BBFCFM encores and it is back up the mountain to Gunnison we go for one of those Sunday shows people seem to talk about not skipping.

As with most of these, we again have a rocking energy show light on the big takeaway jams but another good representation of where the band stood at this stage of the tour. And I didn’t even point out that Fish wore a coat and tie for this show for some reason. Well, I guess I just did. Anyway, from this one I would spin the Melt, Wilson>Lope, and the Mike’s>H2>Paug. Now get ready for a show with some serious jam highlights.