Tag: 1993

I Could Throw My Weight Around — Hollywood, CA 03.17.1993

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…

All Times and Seasons Are the Reasons — Phoenix, AZ 03.16.1993

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.

The Minutes Seem to Last a Lifetime — Gunnison, CO 03.14.1993

Phish — Paul Wright Gym, WSU — Gunnison, CO 03.14.1993

I  Cup>Foam, Guelah, Sparkle, Stash, Paul & Silas>Sample, Reba, PYITE>Jim

II  Halley’s>Bowie, Curtis Loew>YEM->Spooky Jam->YEM, Lifeboy, Rift, BBJ, GGITS>HYHU, Coil

E  Memories, Adeline, Golgi

Here on the back end of a three night run that had the band traipsing back and forth across Colorado we have a Sunday night show, the last Colorado show before they make the jump over to Arizona on the way towards the West Coast. Playing in the midst of a Spring snowstorm, this would be the band’s last time performing in the highest collegiate gym in the world (he he. that works on more than one level) as their next visit to this mountainous state would be for their first performance at Red Rocks during the much ballyhooed August leg of the upcoming summer tour. This is the 30th show of the tour over 39 days that have seen the band play in 14 states. I’ll detail some tour stats towards the end here today since I think they are somewhat telling at this stage of the game but let’s get into it, shall we?

First set kicks off with that new cover Loving Cup and by now they have it down to where the band and crowd are feeling what this song will be. That energy carries over into a spirited Foam where Trey plays some nice leads over the thumping rhythm section. This gives way to Guelah, Sparkle (non-FMS) and four songs in we have gotten the crowd up enough to hear them well on the aud. Notably, Foam and Guelah in the 2/3 holes is pretty common at this point in the tour so I think one could say that for the band these were definitely being used as ‘warm up’ tunes to a certain extent. Now we drop into Stash which stays mainly in the box for the first half before they ratchet things up towards a fierce jam that eventually comes back to the main theme in closing up. Definitely a version worth checking out. P&S>Sample gets us to Reba where things get a little bit loose considering they bring out Cameron McKinney after several callouts to him by Trey earlier in the set (he was their favorite child to have guest with the band, of course). There is a decent little jam here but it gets largely overshadowed by the kid’s inclusion as he does a little Indian War Dance solo on piano (which was also teased earlier on in the song by Trey) right before the whistling section and then joins in for the ending chorus. Check it out but don’t expect this to be a world burning version. PYITE is up next and this is another example of the band having found form on a song that just came back for this tour. Considering they still are rotating it with Landlady it is good to hear that they can shift towards the longer song and hit all the right spots. A rocking Jim closer sends the crowd to the setbreak with high hopes for a big second set as it is clear the band has come to play on this evening.

And with that second set things go big right from the start. First we get a massive bustout for a quite well played (all things reconsidered) Halley’s that had been waiting 474 shows between appearances. This is also the first time the song was ever performed without its writer, Richard “Nancy” Wright. There’s no outro jam or anything, but they get the energy muffin cooking from the start here. This heads straight away into Bowie and having this fill the second slot should be indication enough that things are going swimmingly. The jam here is pure T&R, staying mainly in the box but with Trey playing some evocative leads above the fray along the way. Another quality jam to add to the list here. Oh and next? Yeah, let’s just bust out another one from the way back with Curtis Loew popping in after 302 shows passed by. Again, nothing major here but considering the time between versions it is nice to hear them play it well. So that gets us to the meat of the set which is a major YEM the likes of which were talked about and traded as commodity back in the day. This one starts off well enough with a quite patient and pretty nirvana section before they head off into the jam. After a couple of minutes in the YEM box they go outside first for an ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart’ quote (with Trey throwing in a vocal), then some ‘Low Rider’ action, then a full ‘Spooky’ jam (with Page on vocals), all followed by a seamless run into ‘Oye Como Va’ before the short D&B gets us to the VJ. And we aren’t finished yet! First they drop a tease of the Pretenders’ tune ‘Mystery Achievement’ (you may not recognize the song’s name, but you will know it when you hear it) before getting to a ‘We Will Rock You’ chant and eventually a full quote of ‘Welcome to the Machine’ prior to the breakdown into madness that includes some spirited pirate banter. This was my favorite YEM for quite some time (and the last show one of my brothers hit before a 17 year gap that we closed in 2010… but that’s another story) so I know it very well and I implore you to give the full thing the listen if you don’t know it. You won’t be disappointed. Next we get a much deserved cool down with a beaut of a Lifeboy (only the third of tour and first in 26 shows), then a pretty well shredded Rift. BBJ will then get us to a debut with the first Great Gig in the Sky filling the Fish Fun time slot instead of the normal Syd Barrett and other light fare. This is a nice change of pace and well done in its hilarious fashion on the vac and includes the spoken lyrics before the main section. Page then tickles the ivories nicely for the Coil closer and we have a triple encore of Memories, Adeline, Golgi to take us into the thin, snowy air of the Colorado night.

Look, this isn’t the best show ever and it may not even make the top ten sets of Spring ’93 when it is all said and done but it makes a pretty good case for inclusion. That second set has everything one could hope for and more out of ’93 Phish including on point playing, high energy, antics, open jamming, bustouts, a debut, and more. And to think that they are still easily on the upswing with this tour just makes you shake your head and laugh. For highlights from this one I’ll say you should spin Stash, Reba, possibly PYITE>Jim, and pretty much the whole second set though you could take out the Rift, BBJ section since that is fairly standard. I guess you could leave out Halley’s and Curtis too but being the big bustouts they were, why not just let ‘em run, eh?

Now it is time to follow the lines headed… west… but while we are here let’s talk stats for a bit, okay? After 30 shows on this tour some noticeable patterns have taken shape in terms of song placement and choice. There are some songs that are clearly being played quite frequently as [leaving out HYHU] there are eight songs that have been played in at least half of the shows: BBJ (22), Grace (20), Rift (20), Poor Heart (19), Sparkle (16), Stash (16), YEM (16), and Llama (15). Another 21 songs have been played more than 10 times so it is clear that the rotation is relatively tight which stands to reason considering this tour is essentially supporting the release of Rift which came out the day before the tour began. In total there have been 112 songs played with 12 debuts (I’m not counting ‘jams’ such as the .net identified ‘Spooky Jam’ in this show’s YEM) which is a pretty good rate there. In terms of some of those patterns, the easiest place to look is at openers/closers/encores. For show openers, the songs are fairly evenly spread out with Golgi the leader at only 6 shows opened. For openers it has been more about stringing together 3-4 solid energy songs to get the crowd moving and allow the band to warm up before heading into jammier waters. First set closers are more telling with Antelope (11) and Bowie (9) being very far ahead of everything else. Second set openers are all over the place with Axilla and Jim each having 5 to their name to lead the way. Show closers are a bit surprising with Reprise (7) holding first and Grace in second (5) after which it becomes muddled. And then not surprisingly the a cappella tunes rule the encores with Grace (13) in the lead over Adeline (7). Maybe this minutiae is only interesting to me, but it is telling when you go through an entire tour to start to see these patterns emerge as it all unfolds.

So that’s the story here. One thing to note is that most sources out there for this one have an aud for the first set and then an sbd for the second which is quite nice. Enjoy this one and we’ll be back shortly with more from AZ…

When the Wind Tries to Shove You — Boulder, CO 03.13.1993

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.

I’d Meet You In Between — Vail, CO 03.12.1993

Phish — Dobson Family Arena — Vail, CO 03.12.1993

I  Buried Alive>Poor Heart>Cavern>Possum, Guelah, Rift, Stash, Fluffhead>Horse>Silent>Bowie

II  Bag, MFMF, Sparkle, YEM, Mound, BBJ, CDT, HYHU>Lengthwise>HYHU, Hood, Golgi

E  Adeline, Carolina, Rocky Top

So after a few days off to regain their health, catch their breath, and perhaps get a bit of skiing in (they totally did) the boys are now up in Vail at Dobson Arena. If you have never been to this venue before it is essentially the town skating rink where they have open skate, various hockey leagues, horse shows, all sorts of events, and of course concerts. I never saw the phish there since I got to CO well past the time when they could fit this size room but I enjoyed more than a few shows here. It is a decent place to see a show (with a capacity of around 2,500), particularly in the winter and has the benefit of a wide open floor, being a hockey rink and all. Anyway, on this night phish would take the stage for a show pretty loose and full of teases but clearly high on energy and intent as was the norm on that path in Spring ’93.

The first set kicks off admirably with another Buried Alive opener, our eighth such opener of the tour and ninth overall Buried of the year (can you imagine??). This one is white hot and leads right into a fast-paced Poor Heart that still has that extra lap to the end solo. From here they head right into Cavern and I am shocked to hear myself write it but this one is at least engaging as Trey seems to be starting to work on his ‘jedi speak’ (something we would get to know a lot better later in this year but really in the open psych of ’94 Bowies and such). Again, they head right into another tune, this time Possum which while expected is pretty fiery as well, showing once more the energy the band has brought on this night. Guelah (with Simpsons SL) provides a bit of a breather in a nicely played version (outside of its standard second song of the set slot) that includes a ‘Lively Up Yourself’ tease before Rift gives us what we expect out of the tune in its 19th appearance of the tour — only Poor Heart matches it at this point without also counting HYHU (26) and BBJ (20). This is followed by Stash which stays mainly in the box except for the last minute or so where they essentially devolve the song in bringing it back to the ending. It is a nice departure from the norm. I like it and would subscribe to its newsletter. Then comes Fluffhead and this one is pretty well okay with a few rough patches but somewhat notable in that Trey picks up the acoustic for the end, allowing him to transition right into… Horse! Yay? So, yeah, Horse>Silent gets us to the set closing Bowie which has something to say before it is time to load up on the nachos and beer, you stoner. In the intro there is a bit of SL (Random Note) as well as a slight tease of the end of Silent as they transition into the Fish intro. Then once things get going we get a Popeye tease, a Jeopardy tease, and a nice little action packed shred psych jam packaged up for easy consumption. This is what your typically out there ’93 Bowie sounds like in case you were wondering. Now go get those nachos!

Setbreak ends and apparently (according to the show notes on both .net and .com) there were a bunch of kooky kids up front with brown paper bags over their heads with ‘AC/DC’ written on them in an effort to get the band to play that classic and [then rare] number The AC/DC Bag. Remember, the song had only just been played on this tour once after being on the shelf for over 150 shows and here it had been 14 shows since that one bustout (which is a lot of shows between songs on this tour, quite frankly). The cliché of putting bags on your heads to get a band to play a song based on a bunch of clichés is quite ironic, don’t you think? So they do and it rips (with Page even teasing the old intro a bit) before they head into MFMF (and Trey again picking up the acoustic for the intro here). The notable thing here is that in the end as they are heading towards the “myfe” section they catch on ‘Careful with that Axe, Eugene’ for a bit. The missed opportunity is that they could have capped it with the ending peak to THAT song but instead it fizzles into the MFMF ending instead. Sparkle comes next (still no FMS) and then we get YEM which ends up being a quite nice version. There’s some Low Rider flavorings, the ‘Beehive’ lyrics are referenced by Trey, and an interesting VJ (if that can be said) but really just stick around for Trey’s solo as he goes off for a bit in that way he can. Mound, BBJ gets us to a rocking CDT (are there any other sort at this stage?) before Fish Fun Time for Lengthwise. Then there’s a nice Hood with nothing really special to mention before the Golgi closer. Adeline, Carolina, Rocky Top are your encores and we are off to Boulder.

So overall this one is not bad by any means but definitely suffers in comparison to the shows that surround it. The energy is there, the band is playing well, and the crowd is clearly willing but there just aren’t any jams here that make you want to spin this one time and again. There are a few nuggets that I like and maybe one or two things that would make the first draft of the Spring Tour 93 Highlights Extravaganza Playlist Extraordinaire* but really this show is probably one we won’t talk about much going forward. Takeaways? Spin the Stash (maybe), Bowie, MFMF, YEM.

Next up is a Saturday night special from CU and we all know those kids were probably studying so clearly there wasn’t much energy or a crowd to speak of that night. Heck, maybe some of the band would even wear semi-formal wear to match the prevailing attitudes of the conservative crowd here. I’m sure it will be a quite dull write-up.

—

*yeah, I’ll do it but not until I finish up working through the whole tour

I’m Gonna Go Up to the Mountain — Colorado Springs, CO 03.09.1993

Phish — Pike’s Peak Center — Colorado Springs, CO 03.09.1993

I  Jim, Foam, Bouncin’, Maze, Esther>Divided, Glide, PYITE, IDK, Antelope

II  Axilla>Rift, Tweezer, Reba, Lawn Boy, Mike’s>H2>Weekapaug, Horse>Silent>BBJ, HYHU>Terrapin>HYHU, I Walk the Line, Coil, Reprise

E  Grace, Rocky Top

So after the one (mythical) show in New Mexico the band headed up to Colorado for a small run of shows starting in The Springs. This is the 26th show of the tour (in just 35 days, no less — and now practically 2/3 the way across the country). The band is definitely quite warmed up by now, hitting their stride just in time for the warmer weather of the western climes. But first there are mountains to be conquered.

The first set here starts off with a rather patient Jim where they don’t just dive right into the jam after the lyric section but give it a few more bars. It is a nice change of pace and sets the song up for a deserved payoff in the end. Foam follows with capable version that sticks the ending rather nicely. Bouncin’ gets us to Maze and this one goes to eleven. Both Page and Trey get to work on this one in their respective solo spots. The always welcome (to me, not my wife so much) Esther (with random note SL) is next before a decent Divided, Glide, and PYITE all which are just fine and dandy with the crowd really seeming to enjoy themselves even through the SBD. IDK gives us more of that Fish nickname fun and the trombone solo before a ripping Lope (with Simpsons SL and a little playfulness from Trey in the intro as well as an All Fall Down SL at the breakdown) closes shop for the set. All things told this is a solid affair that would be a better Tuesday than most of us could hope for these days.

The second set kicks off with the Axilla>Rift pairing which really fires things up but hey why not get it higher by throwing Tweezer out there next? Trey is clearly feeling it on this one which I will definitely say you should check out. They take this one out pretty well right away, first playing with the Tweezer theme before Trey just goes ahead and lays down the Julius lick (listen again. It is definitely there at around 6:40 and on for a bit) which Mike picks up on and they deconstruct (a full year plus before the song would be debuted) before heading into more abstract ground and then circling around to the ol’ slow down ending. Nice ride. I recommend. Oh and then they bring our girl Reba out for a quite interesting version. Trey is all over the first half of the jam and then he holds Note for the back half (about 2 and a half minutes) which allows Page and Fish to go nuts for a bit before the whistling. Pretty different than typical with that. Another one to check out here for sure. Then we have a respite for Lawn Boy (Trey gets the solo here) before a nice Mike’s Groove. This is notable because this show once again throws off the standard format of Tweezer/YEM show followed by Mike’s Groove/Junior Vehicle show, much like the 02.20.93 one from The Roxy that is so heavily lauded for obvious reasons. This Groove has some playful bantering in the early Mike’s section before they drop into the jam (which takes a unique turn for a bit before heading into familiar territory and the drop towards H2). H2 does what it does before a rocking Paug gets the joint really going once more. They capture some nice space early on in keeping it slower then ratchet things up for a smoking close. Horse>Silent>BBJ is next, then Fish Fun Time for Terrapin (complete with a Star Trek tease from Page after Fish asks the balcony crowd if it looks like the mothership down there) before a stand alone I Walk the Line aaaaaand the tape is done! WTF! C’mon, man!! Eh, the setlist shows Coil, Reprise to close with Grace, Rocky Top in the encores so maybe nothing to worry about here but STILL. and the show notes on .net mention some ‘tenor’ in the crowd (i.e. a wook) singing The Eleven a capella prior to Grace which would be interesting to here for humor if nothing else, but alas and alack… Oh, and Trey also supposedly told a ‘rowdy member of the audience’ (again, wook) who’d been threatening to stage dive all show to go for it. So that must’ve been fun for him.

Let’s sum it up, shall we? First show in Colorado for the year is a solid affair with a receptive crowd and a band clearly feeling it. Just another example of the band showing their love for Colorado. The playing is overall pretty darn good and we have a couple of solid takeaways here. I definitely recommend that Tweezer, Reba, and the Mike’s Groove. Lope is fun too but nothing too crazy and Jim and Maze are better than decent if you are sticking around for more. I wouldn’t kick this show out of bed for eating caps. If you are looking for a full spin maybe you could do worse than this one.

Next stop is Vail a full three days later (!!!) for a tease-ful affair from Eagle County. Even Phishies need to get their spring skiing in when in ‘Rome’ I suppose…

How Faint the Tune — Santa Fe, NM 03.08.1993

Phish — Sweeney Center — Santa Fe, NM 03.08.1993

I  Golgi, Rift, Guelah, Oh Kee Pa>Llama, Forbin’s>Mockingbird>How High the Moon>Mockingbird, Sparkle>Ice, Glide, Bowie

II  Poor Heart>Cavern, Uncle Pen, Stash, BBJ, MFMF->Kung->YEM, Lizards, Grace

E  Terrapin>HYHU, CDT>BBJ Reprise

Well, this looks like it might’ve been a fun one on paper but until a source surfaces we may never know except by anecdote as there are currently no tapes in circulation. There is a huge bustout in How High the Moon which was played in honor of the Super Moon (the largest/closest such until 2008 — and the next such one will be 11.14.16 if you want to put that on your calendar…) even though it is highly doubtful most people in attendance even knew what that was at the time (or now for that matter). Terrapin might actually be Love You, depending who you ask. There’s also the oddity of the BBJ Reprise at the tail end of the encore but according to Timer that might be overblown. The .com summary for this one provides some solid insight on the night so let’s just go ahead and get that in here because what else can we talk about?

This show took place during a Super Full Moon, at a ballroom inside the former Sweeney Convention Center with a capacity of about 1,200.  Wipe Out was teased during Llama.  Trey’s Gamehendge narration during Fly Famous Mockingbird started with an explanation of a strange growth on Fish’s arm and building a human chain to the moon “until we all are standing on the moon” and included teases of Hold Your Head Up, the 1st performance (albeit partial within the narration) of How High The Moon in nearly three years (since 5/28/90), and an Iron Man tease.  This was the only time the 3-song Ice Sequence of Sparkle > It’s Ice > Glide was ever played.  David Bowie’s intro included another tease of How High The Moon, which was also woven subtly into the jam.  As the band came on stage for set II, Trey asked “did everybody get an apple out there?”  Like most this tour, Big Ball Jam ended with Trey, Mike and Brad creating a human hoop onstage to collect the balls.  After the Ball Jam, Trey introduced Brad Sands as “the third section of the basketball hoop.”  Trey played the beginning of My Friend My Friend on acoustic guitar, which was mashed up and paired with Kung for the first and only time.  The You Enjoy Myself vocal jam included a repeated SuperMoon magic word, “perigee.”  Amazing Grace was performed without microphones.  The encore began with a Dog Log tease into Love You, during which Fish thanked the crowd for coming out on “a beautiful perigee of a night” and introduced the band and himself (“I am a mutant”) before an extended vacuum solo.  During Hold Your Head Up, Fish wished a “happy perigee to you all!”  Chalk Dust had a blues ending giving Trey a chance to say thanks and “go out and enjoy the full moon and we’ll see you this summer at that great outdoor place everybody keeps telling us about.”  This is one of few shows from this era for which no known audience recording circulates.

So maybe there were some fun teases throughout the show, an interesting Forbin’s story leading to that HHTM bustout, a Kungy Myfe mashup, super moon related VJ stylings, and more. I like the note about it being the only time Sparkle>Ice, Glide ever happened which is pretty nerdy for the .com summaries to get. But it is interesting when you consider Sparkle has preceded Ice 20 times and Glide has followed it 12 (out of the 228 total times Ice has been played) yet this is the one time all three combined in this way. Maybe that’s just me. Ahem.

Anyway, on to something we can actually listen to ourselves…

In Fancy Oft Appearing — Austin, TX 03.06.1993

Phish — Liberty Lunch — Austin, TX 03.06.1993

I  Llama, Horn>Curtain>Melt, Mound, PYITE, Bouncin’, Maze, Golgi>Jim

II  Rift>Tweezer>Reba, Paul and Silas>BBJ>FEFY, YEM, HYHU>Cracklin’ Rosie>HYHU, BBFCFM

E  Adeline, Poor Heart>Reprise

Here we have the second show of two in Texas on the run through up towards Colorado and eventually the West Coast on a tour that is really starting to amp up quite nicely. Tonight’s show feels like a bit of a throwback to the bar band days (though this venue held close to 1,000) with a slightly sloppy feel that might have arisen from the patronage or could have just been one of those nights along the course of the tour.

First set kicks off with a rocking Llama (and most tapes out there cut in to this with the sound improving greatly by the end of the song). From there we get a three pack (Horn>Curtain>Melt) and everything is played well, particularly the Melt which is a raging little beast version that goes off the rails for a bit with Trey taking charge from the start. A fine enough Mound comes next followed by an extra stanky PYITE. Nice to see considering this song has been just picked up again this tour and seemingly alternates with Landlady. Bouncin’ gets us to Maze which is pretty fiery yet in the box. Pay particular attention to Page in this one. Golgi>Jim caps the set (nice peak on the Jim in particular) and we are off to setbreak. Nothing major to note in this set really but a good rocking bar-type set that’ll get you moving for sure.

Second set starts off with Rift>Tweezer and this Tweez is fairly straight forward with Trey working his shred out on top of everything. We do get the slow down ending which is always nice. Honestly, the tapes of this one don’t really help as it is kind of hollow and very low on the bass so you lose Mike a lot of the time (and Page to a lesser degree). Anyway, that gets us to Reba which is a nice little version with a good Trey soloing in the jam before an odd P&S>BBJ>FEFY trifecta. I get the bluegrass to big ball jam combo as they often pair BBJ with MSO or another of the speedier, grassy tunes but the drop into FEFY afterwards is always a bit of a head scratcher. Granted, they only did it five times ever out of the 73 times BBJ was performed, but considering that four of these are on this tour it kind of keeps coming up in my mind. There weren’t a whole lot of ballad-y type tunes in the repertoire back then so perhaps it was just a way to slot in the cool down ballad. That leads to a biggish mid-set YEM that really cranks up the energy level in the room before Fish Fun Time kinda robs that as he laments HYHU, forgets the second verse to Rosie, and rants about it all quite hilariously. Trey then fires into BBFCFM and we have our closer for the night. Adeline is funny to listen to for the drunk chick on the tape decrying the ‘god damn barbershop quartet’ before a decent (and somewhat extended) Poor Heart brings us to the expected Reprise and the encores are over and we are on our way to Santa Fe!

You could call this one a Saturday Night Special, if those existed back then. The playing is fine enough but they definitely seemed to be playing a bit to the level of the crowd – and I say that with all due respect. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this show but not a whole lot to take away either. Maybe check out the Melt, Reba, YEM, along with the funny Adeline crowd thing but otherwise save your energy for the Colorado shows to come. There’s a couple of doozies headed our way…

From One End to the Other — Dallas, TX 03.05.1993

Phish — Deep Ellum Live — Dallas, TX 03.05.1993

I Buried Alive>Poor Heart>Cavern, Foam, Sloth, Rift, Stash, Sparkle>Ice>IDK, Possum

II  Landlady, CDT, Guelah, Uncle Pen, Mike’s>H2>Weekapaug, JJLC, MSO, BBJ, HYHU>Love You>HYHU, Coil, Grace

E  GTBT

After another night off for travel between New Orleans and Dallas the band is at Deep Ellum Live for the only time they would play the venue. This was also their first time back to the state since Fall ’91 so their sound had definitely matured a lot in the intervening 16 months or so. It is also notable that their next visit here would be for one of the famed shows in Phishtory, one you only have to mention by venue name to know, The Bomb Factory. That one is another evolution beyond where we are today so we’ll just leave that for the spring ’94 tour recap, okay?

First set kicks off with another Buried Alive opener. I guess I forgot that this tune was fairly standard and not such the once-a-tour-if-that bustout it has become (this is the 8th in just 24 shows). This starts a mini run of runs including Poor Heart (notably, these spring ’93 versions have some extra spark and a slightly longer end solo from Trey than the ‘modern’ version) and Cavern (yay?) before we hit the first meaty tune of the night. Before we get to that though, let’s talk about that three pack a bit. Buried Alive has now opened four shows on this tour with three other times being preceded by Suzy… which opened the show. The outlier is the late set version from the Roseland (02.06.1993) with John Popper on board. Of these eight appearances it has been followed by Poor Heart five times (the other three are Possum twice and PYITE). This night makes the second time that Cavern follows Poor Heart to complete this trifecta but the bigger point to be made here is that they had a well worn habit by now on this tour of using some combination of high energy, relatively straight forward and in the box tunes to open the show. Suzy, Buried Alive, Poor Heart, Rift, Golgi and a couple of others were typically slotted in here with the outlier shows having openers like Bowie or MFMF. The pattern continues that after these opening numbers they would throw down a minor vehicle (Maze, Stash, etc.) or other more complex song like Foam to kick things up another notch. Tonight that would be Foam as it comes through very well played with a quite patient solo from Trey. This song isn’t quite a ‘vehicle’ but they do some interesting things with their individual parts within the structure at times and this is a good example of that. A dirty (the the good way) Sloth comes next and then a nicely executed Rift pops in (obviously, it gets played almost every night this tour so they better have it down by now). Stash fills the jam space midset and in a relatively tightly packed version Trey does well in playing with the T&R around the Stash theme, not to mention a little Sloth tease folded into the outset of the jam. This is followed by some fun banter about Page’s return to his old stomping grounds since he first attended SMU before making that move to Goddard we all know about already. They play Sparkle and then a somewhat darker than normal (for this time) Ice before IDK which has Fish on trombone for a “love solo” in honor of Mike at the Greenpeace table. Possum rocks out for the closer here (with a Simpsons SL that marks the first SL in five shows) in a quite well played though largely not notable first set.

Second set starts off with Landlady that does what she does before yet another raging CDT brings the energy up in spades. This one has some great high speed Oye Como Va phrasing from Trey that is worth your time to check out. It’s only seven minutes so you will be able to get back to that new hammock catalog you have been perusing very shortly. Guelah and Pen get us to Mike’s (woo! every other show! yay!) which is a perfectly serviceable version that precedes a nice enough H2. The Paug is where things take off here though as the band connects on a jam that elevates masterfully after going off the reservation for a bit. Not for nothing, so far this tour it is clear that of the Mike’s Groove suite it is Weekapaug that holds the most promise on a (bi)nightly basis since Mike’s is not quite there yet with the jamming aspect. Then we get a very nice JJLC with Page on top. This is notable as well considering it had been 153 shows since the last one and they nailed it all the same. Perhaps they busted this one out as a nod to their recent New Orleans visit. The common MSO, BBJ pairing precedes Fish Fun Time for Love You then we have a fairly average Coil and the almost ubiquitous Grace (17 times in 24 shows – tops for any song at this stage of tour) to close before a rocking GTBT encore sends everyone out into the night.

Overall this show is spring ’93 in a nutshell. quality playing, lots of energy, a bit of jamming to be found in various places (and some of that of the more compact variety like the CDT), and just a fun time clearly coming through on the tapes. It is somewhat notable that after the Florida run the secret language and teasing seemed to die out for a few shows as noted above but this one has a Simpsons signal in the Possum intro and that Oye Como Va tease which I think is indicative of their comfort level with how things are going. This isn’t to say that shows without such things are better or worse in any way but that the presence of such teases and SL just goes to show they are loose and having a good time which is a great sign. From this one I would check out the Foam, Stash, CDT, Paug, and maybe JJLC if you are a fan of that bluesy thing. Next stop, Austin for a drunken Saturday night crowd!

Steal Away Before the Dawn — New Orleans, LA 03.03.1993

Phish — Tipitina’s — New Orleans, LA 03.03.1993

I  Rift, Foam, Bouncin’, Maze, Guelah, Paul & Silas>Sample, Jim, Lawn Boy, Cavern

II  Axilla, Curtain>Melt, Mound>Mike’s>H2>Weekapaug, Glide, MSO, FEFY, HYHU>Terrapin>HYHU, Coil, Adeline

E  Fire

Here we have the second night of the two night run in New Orleans, the final show Phish would ever play at Tipitina’s as they would graduate on to larger venues such as the State Palace Theatre and McAlister Auditorium over the next two years before their Jazzfest appearance in ’96. This one is a marked improvement over the night previous as the hangovers appear to be gone but the colds remain somewhat, impacting the singing on a few tunes. But the playing is not at risk with that and the band came out with energy and vigor, bringing an old friend out for a couple of tunes as well during a fun if not exploratory show.

The first set kicks off with a well executed Rift that precedes a Foam that continues to bring the energy level up before Bouncin’ gets its turn. This continues the trend of this tour where they would play three-ish crowd pleasing tunes to get the room moving before hitting the first more involved song musically. Tonight that fourth song is Maze and that turns into a shred factory for Trey and at this stage you can tell both band and crowd are feeling it. Guelah, P&S>Sample fills the mid set here with exactly what you expect out of those tunes. Nothing bad but nothing of note either. Jim runs away next with a very spirited version that stays mostly at home but provides another opportunity for Trey to flex the shred muscles for a bit before they wrap it up and bring out a guest for the second night in a row. And who might that be but Gears himself, now residing in New Orleans! He takes the solo turn in Lawn Boy (much more engaging than the small solos Trey has been taking in this tune of late) and then adds his trumpeted flavoring to the set closing Cavern which makes that at least tolerable in its ubiquity. Always nice to have a GCH member join in. Then it is off to the setbreak to catch our breath after that energetic first frame.

The second set gets off to a rocking go with Axilla which leads to a decent Curtain that heads into a very frenetic Melt. We are still not quite to Eureka Moment for this song but it is getting oh so close. Mound bounces in next before the expected Mike’s Groove (remember, we got Tweezer and YEM last night so in this tour that means Mike’s Groove and a junior vehicle – tonight being Melt – gets the call for the second set heavy lifting). Nothing major in the Mike’s or H2 but Paug has some extra sauce on it in a slightly extended version. This is really mostly about what Trey and Page do in a bit of a breakdown section in the middle as well as everything around it as they come back to the peak. Eh, just go listen to it already. It really rages quite nicely. Glide, MSO, FEFY get us to Fish Fun Time time for Terrapin where he once again expresses his great distaste for HYHU and does some band shout outs. Coil is mainly about Page as he takes a bit more of a solo than usual here (and the composed part is a little rough getting there) before an [unmic’d] Adeline closer and a Fire encore take us home.

Your takeaways from this one are the Weekapaug and perhaps the Melt and Maze. But definitely the Paug. Outside of that is is mainly just standard fare for the tour which is not to say it is bad but just not really notable in any particular fashion. As a whole, this is a show you could do worse than to listen to but it won’t jump out as one to spin simply because there aren’t any major highlights to point to here. Of course, you have the sit-in from Carl Gerhardt but being that it is just for Lawn Boy and Cavern there isn’t anything here that you haven’t already heard on a full GCH set such as from the Summer ’91 tour. So I guess we just chalk it up to another solid night along the path and move on to the next thing. And now we get another day off for another 500 mile drive before the band heads into Texas for a pair of shows on their way to Colorado and points further west (by way of New Mexico).