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Phishcrit Compilation #2: March 1993

March 1993 found the band covering the south and west regions of the country, areas that rarely see shows these days. But unlike February, where the band played through early-tour jitters and Intro to Phish setlists in new locales, the band was clearly a lot more comfortable in March. Despite what must have been some long rides in the van, shows in Texas, California, and especially the band’s West Coast home base of Colorado showcased a looser band more willing to push their boundaries. While nothing approaches the insanity of the Roxy, creative teases and inside jokes make regular appearances, and the foursome’s communication is razor-sharp after playing together night after night. By the end of the month, some jams even broke the 15-minute barrier, a freedom rarely touched in the years prior.

The same rules as last time still apply: one song or suite per show, no repeats, no hall of fame jams. I broke the rules to include a second Weekapaug (which really was the MVP of the tour) and the Gunnison jam, the centerpiece of one of my first favorite tapes. RapidShare killed my link in less than week on the last compilation, so I’m using a different host this time. Please let me know if it does or doesn’t work via @phishcrit. Thanks again for reading and listening.

Here’s the link: March ‘93 Highlights

3/2/93: Buried Alive

3/2/93: Sign o’ the times - someone gives a bland introduction before the first song, “give it up for Elektra recording artists, Phish!”

3/3/93: Weekapaug Groove

3/3/93: Crowd shushed by a 10-min Weekapaug thrilla. Searing lines breaks down to speed-freak-funk. Way exploratory for ‘93, best ‘paug yet.

3/5/93: Stash

3/5/93: Stash contains Sloth teases in the mixture of 5-letter Phish songs that start with S and end with H that fans have forever craved.

3/6/93: Tweezer

3/6/93: Evil Tweezer jam finds Trey doing manual proto-digiloops, sustain alternating with feedback waves. Noisy threads throughout.

3/9/93: Reba

3/9/93: Trey goes psycho on Reba vocals; but jam features a *much* more patient buildup than normal, capped w/ a gorgeous, loooong sustain.

3/9/93: Screwed up by more mp3 glitches at the end, but holy crap that was a good Reba. Gotta find a clean version.

3/12/93: My Friend My Friend

3/12/93: EXCLUSIVE: My Friend My Friend has a vocal jam that contains Careful With That Axe, Eugene teases!#phishnetgotserved

3/13/93: Wilson

3/13/93: Chantless Wilson intro has a subdued, dramatic mini-jam, kinda sounds like the score to Top Gun.

3/13/93: This Wilson is actually quite awesome and unique. Hey #phish community, let’s try to end the Wilson chanting in 2010, eh?4:44 PM Mar 10th via TweetDeck

3/14/93: You Enjoy Myself

3/14/93: One of my favorite YEMs, haven’t listened in years. Love when the band stumbles into Owner of a Lonely Heart jam.

3/14/93: YEM super-medley, with Low Rider, Spooky, and now Oye Como Va. Is OCV the most-teased song in #phishhistory?4:08 PM Mar 18th via TweetDeck

3/16/93: McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters

3/16/93: And hey! First McGrupp of the tour, first one in 49 shows, citing phish.net. No dust on it here, gorgeous Page solo as always.

3/17/93: Oh Kee Pa > Suzy Greenberg

3/17/93: First Oh Kee Pa > Suzy of this tour, believe it or not. The combo that encapsulates old-school Phish for me, already growing rare.

3/18/93: Split Open and Melt

3/18/93: Split jam kicks off with Trey riding the Stayin’ Alive riff, then cuts a spiraling groove that builds & bursts. It’s getting there.

3/19/93: Misty Mountain Hop (soundcheck)

3/19/93: Snagged the soundcheck for this one - slow, loping Dog Log, then a 2x Get the Led Out w/ a T. Rex chaser. More #phish Bolan please.

3/22/93: It’s Ice

3/22/93: I love that this one starts in the middle of It’s Ice - not typically part of the TMWSIY song cycle. Improvisational storytelling.

3/24/93: Squirming Coil

3/24/93: Lot of evil spirits in this show, but at least they sent people home with a calmly ruminating Page Coil solo.

3/26/93: Runaway Jim

3/26/93: Some cool things happening in Runaway Jim, which has been pretty narrow all tour. Trey stabs and trills over drum clatter.

3/27/93: David Bowie

3/27/93: Monster set-closing Bowie, 15+ minutes when that was rare. Page sets an unsettled pace, good rhythm/lead alternation from Trey.

3/28/93: Run Like an Antelope

3/28/93: Antelope has goofy Andy Griffith and Beverly Hills Cop themes, then gets scary/modern in the middle stretch. Era-straddler.

3/30/93: Weekapaug > Psycho Killer > Weekapaug

3/30/93: Gonzo new-wave Weekapaug with Is She Really Going Out With Him teases and a slide in and out of the first ever Psycho Killer!

3/31/93: Harpua

3/31/93: When the jams underwhelm, tell a story - “Harpua” takes over, with Beverly Hills Cop and “She’s So Cold” themes.

1 day ago

January 29, 2012
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Phishcrit Compilation #1: February 1993

Another new feature I’m starting is to compile an mp3 digest of each month covered by the big project, beginning with February 1993. I’ve set myself a few simple ground rules for putting these collections together, parameters that I fully expect to violate when it feels appropriate. But here are the basic guidelines.

1) One song or “suite” (i.e. Forbin’s > Mockingbird) per show.

2) No songs repeated within one month, within reason. (Already broke this one with two Stashs)

3) Try to accurately represent the tone of the month’s shows: don’t just pick all the big jam vehicles, but include some of the songier moments that reflect the rotation of the time. (For this outing, I’ve included a Suzy > Buried Alive > Poor Heart opening sequence and a Guelah with secret language instructions.)

4) Avoid the well-known Hall of Fame jams when possible. (No 2/20/93 Tweezer or Mike’s)

I was all set on using Megaupload for these comps before The Law intervened, so I’m going to use RapidShare initially. If you have any problems downloading this .rar file, contact me on twitter @phishcrit.

Here’s the link: February ‘93 Highlights (download link fixed)

And the track listing with descriptive tweets from my reviews:

2/3/93 – Loving Cup

First on the #phish docket: 2/3/93 Portland Expo, Portland, ME. Page calls fans to the post on his new piano, before the first Loving Cup.

2/4/93 – Stash

2/4/93: Started to think this summer that “Stash” was one of the more consistent jams, this 12-min one shows it was already freaky in 2/93.

2/5/93 – David Bowie

2/5/93: crazy 4-min Bowie intro sounds a bit like “Everything In Its Right Place,” contains Vibration of Life, secret language.

2/6/93 – Wilson

2/6/93: Wow, Wilson was way more interesting pre-chant; quiet little spooky jam over the duh-nuh riff in the middle.

2/7/93 – Suzy Greenberg > Buried Alive > Poor Heart

2/7/93: Suzy > Buried Alive > Poor Heart, Ice. That’s the way to start an old-school show. 

2/9/93 – Esther

2/9/93: First set is pretty blah here. “Wedge” is losing its stretched-out Page intro, “Esther” has tons of secret language cues.

2/10/93 – Reba

2/10/93: great stuff from trey in this Reba jam. More rhythm-style playing at the start than he usually did back in the old days.

2/11/93 – Weekapaug Groove

2/11/93: Fantastic Trey leads on this Weekapaug. Some of it almost sounds like his controversial “whale sound” effects from this summer.

2/12/93 – The Wedge

2/12/93: I haven’t said this for a couple shows, but let’s start a petition to bring back the old, Page-heavy intro to The Wedge.

2/13/93 – Tweezer

2/13/93: This Tweezer is getting farther afield than any I’ve heard thus far in ‘93 - Page’s piano keeping Trey out of his comfort zone.

2/15/93 – Fee > Llama

2/15/93: Interesting jam out of Fee abruptly cut off by segue into Llama. Fee > Llama to close Set 2? Also an odd choice.

2/17/93 – You Enjoy Myself

2/17/93: The ambient section YEM is really strong, even this early; it’s a wonder it didn’t become a part of the improv arsenal until 98ish.

2/17/93: Teases galore in rad YEM jam: Mission Impossible from Page, Sunshine of Yr Love from everyone. Also: sneeze-based vocal jam.

2/18/93 – Mike’s Song

2/18/93: Mike’s is tease-heavy, foreshadowing 2/20 madness to come. Another One Bites the Dust and Page w/ In the Hall of the Mountain King.

2/19/93 – Ya Mar > You Can Call Me Al > Ya Mar

2/19/93: Soundcheck (d/l from bit.ly/b9YGI) features Ya Mar with different lyrics and a “You Can Call Me Al” jam. Bodes well.

2/19/93: Also, hilarious that Trey shouts for a “Leo” solo even in soundcheck.

2/20/93 – Harry Hood

2/20/93: Wow, forgot how great this Hood is…long, drippy intro & really pleasurable, patient build after the ADD insanity of earlier.

2/20/93: The way this Hood jam keeps fluttering off into silence is really beautiful, and requires some insane band communication.

2/21/93 – Good Times Bad Times > Paul & Silas > Pig in a Pen

2/21/93: And then there was the time #phish played an impromptu bluegrass version of Good Times Bad Times…very Jon Brionish.

2/21/93: Turns into bluegrass medley encore with Rev. Jeff Mosier; I like Phish bluegrass, maybe because it barely resembles real thing.

2/22/93 – Guelah Papyrus (w/ secret language)

2/22/93: Secret language instructions in “Guelah” for the first ever Phish show in Florida. How timely, given NYE in Miami next week!

2/23/93 – Run Like an Antelope

2/23/93: Trey and Mike darting around each other throughout Antelope as if they know my mix is muddy. Thanks, dudes.

2/23/93: Interesting tease in the 3rd section of Antelope, but I can’t place it because of @phishnet blackout. #ObligatorySOPAtweet

2/25/93 – Forbin > Mockingbird

2/25/93: Forbin cues a tutorial for FL crowds on Phish mythology - “I know it’s a confusing song if you don’t know what it’s about.”

2/25/93: Forbin narration has venue turned up-side down and swept away by wave to Gamehendge. Gilligan’s Island jam as background.

2/26/93 – Split Open and Melt

2/26/93: Actually this Melt is really awesome, percussive playing from Trey through the first couple min, followed by atonal runs. Best yet.

2/27/93 – Curtain > Stash

2/27/93: Momentum carries into Set 2 opening Curtain > Stash, latter of which goes dark in long, drum-less segment with Fish on the crashes.

All files from Phishows. Roseland ‘93 poster from the Phish Poster Archive.

1 week ago

January 20, 2012
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Plays: 10

2/23/93 - ORLANDO, FL

OK, breaking in the new home with 2/23/93, Orlando, FL, The Edge Night Club. Wasn’t in circulation in 2010. phishcrit.tumblr.com/post/356812397…

2/23/93: Glad that this show is no longer lost, but the sound quality is…colorful, to say the least. Like the GBV filter is on.

2/23/93: Forgot how intro-level the band’s first swing through FL was. The first 4 songs are like The Phish Singles Collection.

2/23/93: The over-saturation on this recording really gives Melt a nice, caustic edge. #AUDperks

2/23/93: A fuzzy recording might enhance a gnarled Melt; the Reba jam…not so much. Booming Mike bass bleeding all over any delicacy.

2/23/93: One perk of going back in time momentarily is another chance to hear the looser, jazzier arrangement of The Wedge.

2/23/93: Trey and Mike darting around each other throughout Antelope as if they know my mix is muddy. Thanks, dudes.

2/23/93: Interesting tease in the 3rd section of Antelope, but I can’t place it because of @phishnet blackout. #ObligatorySOPAtweet

2/23/93: Starting up Set II with Axilla. Oh, for the days when the entire band remembered what key this song is in… #cheapshot

2/23/93: What is it about Orlando and Stash? The last two minutes of this one are pretty next-level, before ripcording into Lizards.

2/23/93: Stash went into Lizards five times in February ‘93. Welcome back @phishnet. #funfacts

2/23/93: After a goofy prog-jazz interlude (PYITE > ATR), Mike’s sounds especially menacing. RIP second jam.

2/23/93: Weekapaug interrupted for the first ever Nellie Kane. Lots of bluegrass in this show, must be the influence of Rev. Jeff on 2/21.

2/23/93: The first Nellie Kane retains the Weekapaug tempo, making it a little peppier than subsequent versions. [Sorry, baby break]

2/23/93: Only about 4min of Weekapaug wrapped around Nellie and before >ing to HYHU. Lots of ideas packed in there though.

2/23/93: Paul Languedoc snags the only introduction in Terrapin.

2/23/93: Trey thanks crowd for “these wonderful mongrammed ears.” Guessing it’s a Disney thing.

2/23/93 verdict: Happy this show resurfaced, despite the spotty quality. No lost canonical jams, alas, but strong Antelope, Stash, ‘Paug.

1 week ago

January 19, 2012
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Changes Afoot at Phishcrit/#phishproject

Since I’ve reached a good transition point in this epic and foolish quest, I’ve decided to make a few format changes to #phishproject. The main news is that I will henceforth be tweeting shows from the Twitter account @phishcrit, rather than @robmitchum. I’ve thought about this move for a while, and here are a few reasons why I decided to pull the trigger and further fractionate my social media presence.

1) I’ve Made My Point - One of my motivations for unleashing slobbery Phish fandom on my followers was to demonstrate that it was okay for someone who writes for Pitchfork to like this wacky jamband with a terrible name. Whatever limited novelty that notion held, it’s long worn off, to the point that I may have permanently branded myself as the Pitchfork Guy Who Likes Phish to the expense of any other reputation I previously held. While I’m still very interested in bridging the indie and jamband worlds, there’s less of a need to rub people’s noses in it.

2) Spamming Timelines - While I’m pretty sure a healthy contingent, maybe even a majority, of the followers at my main account came originally for the Phish chatter, I imagine there’s another significant demographic that winces whenever I start a new show. While occasionally ignoring someone’s account is a basic survival skill on Twitter, I’d rather not put my civilian non-Phish followers through that too often, lest they tune me out forever. I think it’s a little crazy and perhaps mentally unhealthy to split one’s personality into too many social media tributaries, but I think it’s wise to spin this project off into its own domain.

3) Work - When I started the Phish project, nobody in my office cared about Twitter or what I was doing on it. Two years later, that’s no longer the case. A main contributor to the decline in frequency of shows over the past 9 months is my paranoia that my account is being watched by people who don’t trust me (perhaps with good reason) to multitask the day job and online musical commentary. So moving this process to an account that is (hopefully) not on the radar of my supervisors and co-workers seems like a wise move, and should allow me to kick the frequency back up.

4) A Broader Approach - I’m not about to ban myself from talking about Phish on the main account, but having a separate account for Phish ramblings will allow me to do a little more than just the show reviews without worrying about #s 1-3 above. I’ll likely move any future live/webcast/#couchtour ramblings there, for instance, and will try to conduct all internet beef with fellow Phish pundits in the future from that locale. I’m also working on some downloadable compilations from the shows covered so far, and can better provide frequent links and commentary for those comps from the new account.

That said, there will be some simulcasted tweeting for a while so that people have a chance to make the move. I hope that if you follow @robmitchum, you will come over to @phishcrit, and hopefully not un-follow the former once you’ve made the transition. I will try to meet your high standards of 140-character entertainment at both accounts. Thanks for reading, now let’s listen to some more music.

COMING SOON: A lost Spring ‘93 show, the Laguna Seca Daze shows, a batch of Spring ‘93 mp3 compilations, and the legendary Summer ‘93 tour.

1 week ago

January 18, 2012
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5/8/93 - DURHAM, NE

Here goes the Black Friday special - 5/8/93, Durham, NH, UNH Field House. The last show of Spring Tour ‘93 proper*. #phishproject

5/8/93: (* - not counting Laguna Seca Daze as Spring Tour)

5/8/93: If you are unfamiliar with #phishproject due to its dormancy, here’s my (nearly 2-year-old!) summary: bit.ly/9FLDYB

5/8/93: Opening quartet infused with some last-show pep while remaining standard. Some nice off-script jazz-chording in the Guelah intro.

5/8/93: Nice bit of SBD (cop it at LivePhish.com) under-the-hood insight - Trey scatting a counter-rhythm to the Mound drums intro off mic.

5/8/93: Annals of Phish fan behavior - instead of clapping during the Stash pauses, there is a coordinated high-pitched yelp.

5/8/93: Stash jam deftly poised on the border between type I and II - keeps returning to chord progression then darting back to freedom.

5/8/93: Especially like the pointillist > drone segment pre-Kung. The return into Stash isn’t quite as triumphant as 4/14/93 though.

5/8/93: Beautiful, quiet riff by Trey for 1min starting around 7:50 of this Reba. Love hearing the other 3 color in the space around it.

5/8/93: Wouldn’t be a tour closer without the traditional crew thank you speech. No music other than one Page “Charge!” tease.

5/8/93: “The guy who throws the big balls out, Brad, sitting over there. Big ball thrower.” cc @trey_talks

5/8/93: Say goodbye to Ellington’s Satin Doll, last performance ever. Would be really surprised to see it come back.

5/8/93: OK into Set II, which starts off with a Hall of Famer. First time Bowie opened a second set on this tour.

RT @GuyForgetOPT @robmitchum Interesting how Bowie used to appear mostly in 1st sets. 5/8/93 was really the start of the 2nd set Bowie trend.

5/8/93: Ironic how Page takes most of the Jessica teases (and boy do they sound creepy). Also, “Get Back” secret language!

5/8/93: Both Stash and Bowie dropped immediately into free jamming out of the composed segments, a rarity at the start of this tour.

5/8/93: The gradually accelerating tempos in this Bowie before and after Have Mercy are just the most exciting damn thing.

5/8/93: According to my records, this is the 2nd-longest “Horse” of tour (3:03) after 4/18/93. Pretty nice.

5/8/93: Nicely extended “metronome” section in It’s Ice, with the King Crimson riff that inspired Dave’s Energy Guide.

5/8/93: 6 minutes of full band jamming after Page’s Coil solo is a pleasant surprise, though it’s a bit standard-bluesy for my taste.

5/8/93: Dug the transition from Mike’s > Crossroads much more than the actual cover. I liked hearing the riff ping around the instruments.

5/8/93: 4.5 minute Weekapaug to close out a tour full of great ones is kind of a bummer, but Amazing Grace jam over the drums is v. neat.

5/8/93: And AC/DC Bag closes out a run of 71 shows over 3 months, 5 days in 60 cities and 32 states. (Took me 2 yrs, 3 mos to cover).

5/8/93 verdict: The classic Bowie (+ lesser-known Stash, Reba) nicely sum up what was learned in early ‘93 and preview the summer to come…

1 month ago

December 2, 2011
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5/7/93 - BANGOR, ME

Hoping to make Friday afternoon go faster w/ #phishproject show 67: 5/7/93, Bangor, ME, Bangor Auditorium. Maybe Stephen King was there.

5/7/93: This is the 13th time I’ve heard Buried Alive > Poor Heart on this tour. “Predictable setlist” complaints in 3.0 are absurd.

5/7/93: Last Melt of a tour where it became a very significant vehicle. Takes bow in style - rager jam clings by fingernails to structure.

5/7/93: I really enjoyed that Caravan, and would not be opposed to seeing some of the old jazz covers dusted off. #unlikely

5/7/93: That was some of the most off-rhythm audience clapping I’ve ever heard in the quiet section of this Lizards. Shame on you, Bangor.

5/7/93: Got called into a meeting right in the middle of the DivSky pause.

5/7/93: Trey toying with an embryonic version of the “Meatstick” melody in Antelope - another one that evolved from lick to song?

5/7/93: Second set opens with the band playing the radio hits (Rift, Bouncin’) for the media talent scouts of Bangor.

5/7/93: The little harmonic mini-jam at the end of Fee never goes on long enough, except for the few times that it did.

5/7/93: The Mission: Impossible theme was practically a permanent part of YEM in 1993. Learn some new teases, Page, sheesh.

5/7/93: YEM jam seems to settle on a blues riff before deconstructing into near-silence, building back to a sprint, Mike at the wheel.

5/7/93: Rare find - a Fish song (Great Gig) without a HYHU on either end. Slid out of YEM, faded into Hood.

5/7/93: Harpua narration imagines wrestler Ravishing Rick Rude as a lumberjack dog owner concerned about suburban sprawl, for some reason.

5/7/93: Oh nice, I love the “Jimmy was listening to ___” excuse for a tease. This time it’s “Crossroads,” though it sounds a bit off.

5/7/93: Guys, Phish is a pretty weird band - this show contains Duke Ellington, Pink Floyd, and AC/DC covers. Oh and “Amazing Grace.”

2 months ago

November 18, 2011
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5/6/93 - ALBANY, NY

Going to try a mobile #phishproject experiment this morning w/ show 66: 5/6/93, Albany, NY, Palace Theatre. Say hi to me on the #CTA.

5/6/93: I feel like there’s some potential for a Mound/Game of Thrones lot shirt.

5/6/93: Melt jam is pretty legit for this early in the show. Precise, focused, seething - everything that godawful ARU jam from 5/5 wasn’t.

5/6/93: Little Dracula laugh from Trey at the end of that Melt well deserved. #CHUDjam

5/6/93: Back up, with an ATR for a personal set re-opener. Nice quiet detour in the middle of a Llama almost too fast for them to sing.

5/6/93: This Possum is super playful, which is kinda what’s missing from most of the frequent 3.0 versions (Blossom Possum excepted)

5/6/93: Crazy storm moving in over Chicago - too bad I’m not hearing anything more threatening than Lawn Boy. yfrog.com/kl493wxj

5/6/93: Violin solo in Lawn Boy from guy they met on vacation in the Virgin Islands (Dick Solberg acc to @phishnet: http://bit.ly/oAuJkU)

RT @bourgwick @robmitchum 5/6 = my 1st tapes, bought (!) later in ‘93 from bootleg cassette vendor on st. mark’s place along with VU ‘68 boot.

5/6/93: Okay, old-timey bluegrass/country mini-set going well with the sheets of rain coming down outside, even if vox are a little cheese.

5/6/93: Trying to get over the “long songs = good jams” bias, but won’t deny being psyched to see “Tweezer - 19:44” pop up.

5/6/93: Couple moments (around 8min and 10min) that could have gone into the old “slowdown” ending, but pushed thru into some weirdness.

5/6/93: More distinct segments to this Tweezer jam than any I’ve heard in ‘93. Very predictive of 1994 style (and v. pretty around 16min)

5/6/93: Just peeked at the @phishnet setlist and saw that the Tweezer contained a “Crimes of the Mind” jam. Sorry, not a Dude of Life fan.

5/6/93: Another big jam in Mike’s - starts in a Wilsony place, flirts with Frankenstein, headbangs some more, than lands in…Obladi Oblada?

5/6/93: This is the kind of genre whirlwind they do better than anyone else - hard rock to Beatles-ska to hoedown in less than 5min.

5/6/93: I don’t think the violin guy knows how to play “Cracklin’ Rosie.” #bababababa

5/6/93: Only performance ever of “That’s Alright Mama” w/ guest dude on vox. Don’t remember the organ solo in the Elvis version.

5/6/93 verdict: 2 killer jams that hint at the future (Tweezer) & capture the present (Mike’s teasefest). Bluegrass guests OK, but overstay.

3 months ago

October 20, 2011
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5/5/93 - ALBANY, NY

OK, working on the tumblr broke the seal, so here’s #phish project show 65: 5/5/93, Albany, NY, Palace Theatre. Final Four of Spring ‘93.

5/5/93: Rift, Guelah, Foam - feels like the band is saying goodbye to their default Spring ‘93 setlist after three months.

5/5/93: First jam of the night, in Stash, is noisy without being particularly interesting. Shaking the cobwebs after the final off day.

5/5/93: Longer space than usual in the middle of It’s Ice - broken music-boxes and frayed-cord feedback. Good to see it maturing.

RT @neddyo @robmitchum awesome, here’s my reminisces from those last shows: weeklyned.blogspot.com/2008/05/nedsta…

5/5/93: A good run of old-fashioned Phishy evil (Ice > Glide > Maze), ends with a strong, M:I tease-laced Maze, long for its age.

5/5/93: Humorous premature “woah-oh!” by Trey in this Jim prompts some extra mustard in the jam, including a crazy long note and hot drums.

5/5/93: …and a surprisingly fluid Jim > MFMF segue complete with electric-to-acoustic guitar swap. Dang guys.

5/5/93: The “he’s got a knife” outro to MFMF is a pretty weird place to find a Manteca jam. I like it though, I like pretty weird.

5/5/93: Kind of early for a Big Ball Jam, ain’t it? This show has a “racing to beat the curfew” smell to it.

5/5/93: Nothing says 1993 like a Spin Doctors tease (Two Princes in Ya Mar). Trey dedicated song to his future wife Sue, so I’ll blame her.

5/5/93: This YEM is 32 minutes long?! Better take a bathroom break.

5/5/93: Ohhh, this is a superjam with Aquarium Rescue Unit (“nothing says 1993” Pt. 2). Was never a fan, and the mega-noodling here is why.

5/5/93: I do not enjoy this. Just when I thought two jambands jamming together couldn’t get any worse…out comes the vacuum.

5/5/93: This awful jam is what I imagine Phish sounds like to normal people when I make them listen to Phish.

5/5/93: OK, random “Take the A-Train” in the middle of Cavern, you have helped me forgive some of the previous 32 minutes.

5/5/93 verdict: A flashback to early HORDE days, for worse or even worse. Before that mess, scarce highlights in Maze, Jim, MFMF. Sorry :(

3 months ago

October 19, 2011
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5/3/93 - NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ

Time for #phish project show 64: 5/3/93, New Brunswick, NJ, State Theatre. Not the basement from the Titus video: http://bit.ly/loygvE

5/3/93: Scary piano rumble from Page before Buried Alive proper starts up. And he’s really belting out his Rift vocals. I like it.

5/3/93: ‘Why weigh on a sunny day?’ a little painfully on-the-nose for trying to get work done in Chicago today.

5/3/93: Chalkdust does what Chalkdust do, shifted this set into a higher gear. Good to be back in AUD, feels more urgent than the last 2.

5/3/93: Kind of wish a big flubby slab of Esther hadn’t slowed things down between Chalkdust & Melt, but digging the Page-heavy mix here.

5/3/93: There’s like a solid minute of drumlessness in this Melt jam - weird.

5/3/93: Forbin’s narration - Paul releases experimental gas over crowd, band plays Vibration of Life, “I THINK I FEEL IT,” some wook yells.

5/3/93: Rest of narration is generic “floating thru space” stuff, with quick, quiet Star Trek teases by Page (cc: @bizarchive).

5/3/93: Little Mockingbird jam in the build-up to Possum, pretty typical Trey-wank the rest of the way. Still so sick of this song.

5/3/93: An AC/DC Bag more interesting than most this tour. Might be the band learning to play at less than full throttle. Very mid-throttle.

5/3/93: Crunchy jam in Tweezer reveals itself to be “I Feel the Earth Move.” Really like the patient approach here, more melodic than usual.

5/3/93: Yeah, this is the best 93 Tweezer in a long time. Band is finding riffs/teases and exploring/trading, instead of rushing to a peak.

5/3/93: Page’s voice sounds like Fish’s voice on this It’s Ice. Them’s some strange acoustics.

5/3/93: Ice > McGrupp is a silky smooth segue, surprised they haven’t used it more often. Kind of in a whimsical, composed stretch here.

5/3/93: Runaway Jim in the late second-set jam vehicle slot - highly unusual. Still doesn’t deviate from its normal track.

5/3/93: Rare double shot of acapella in the encore, sounds like the crowd is behaving itself. Nice job, Jersey.

5/3/93 verdict: So good to hear a quality Tweezer again, even if it hogged all the jam mojo for this show. Unusual setlist kept it afloat.

6 months ago

July 14, 2011
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5/2/93 - UPPER DARBY, PA

Rainy day, work to be done - let’s do a special Sunday #phish project. Show 63: 5/2/93, Upper Darby, PA, Tower Theater. Night 2 of 2.

5/2/93: One of the final appearances of original Axilla lyrics before their hibernation. Are the II lyrics really any more normal than I?

5/2/93: So far, a ho-hum show for a lazy Sunday. A competent DivSky, a Mound from when Mound was not terribly exciting, a flubby Stash.

5/2/93: Stash jam finds a few squalls, but seems formulaic for the era. Peaks a little too early, fizzles out. Set retreats to songy-ness.

5/2/93: A frustrating thing about early set architecture - dark moments (Maze) are often followed up with comic relief (I Didn’t Know).

5/2/93: In other words, it’s hard to establish a proper set flow when you’re trying to avoid scaring off casual fans.

5/2/93: Pretty unhinged, energetic Llama to start 2nd set. Not sure energy has been the problem thus far though…

5/2/93: Trey picks a subdued, liquid line to kick off this YEM jam, letting Page lead. First exploration of unfamiliar ground all night.

5/2/93: mmm yeah really nice patience here. Trey slowly unwinding a riff, no speed-jazz to be found. Almost 97-like.

5/2/93: Wow, some deranged repetition in the middle section of this ‘Lope. First crunchy chords, then a strangled riff. #itselectrifyin

5/2/93: And some rare secret language in the 3rd section as well - key change and slow-tempo signals.

5/2/93: Fish before “Cracklin Rosie”: “Sometimes it takes great a deal of effort to figure out which one of the five songs I’m gonna sing.”

5/2/93: First BBFCFM since the Michigan Theater debacle - Fish doesn’t want a repeat: “Not this microphone shit again…”

5/2/93: Trey forgets the first line to “Sleeping Monkey,” with Tom Marshall in the audience. How dare he besmirch such fine poetry, heh.

5/2/93 verdict: Really great YEM and Antelope, but too little too late to save an unusually drab two-night run. Strangely, no Tweezer.

6 months ago

July 13, 2011