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…