phishcrit

7/15/93 - WEEDSPORT, NY

Time to embark upon the legendary Summer ‘93 tour with 7/15/93, Weedsport, NY, Cayuga County Fairgrounds. Yes yes, Weedsport, I know.

7/15/93: Soundcheck - I honestly don’t think I’ve ever heard “Leprechaun” before now. Didn’t realize its riff was an ancestor of “Free.”

7/15/93: Nice, polished jam on The Meters’ “Pungee” in the check. Too bad that never crossed over to a show proper. Like an embryonic Moma.

7/15/93: From phish.com: “This was one of few shows that Phish ever took the stage at the stated showtime, which confused fans and tapers.”

7/15/93: Rift leadoff = the band is still trying to promote the LP in Summer ‘93. Sample 2nd is like pre-promo for the next one.

7/15/93: Pro Tip: A summer Divided Sky is just the thing for a dreary February afternoon. #awwwwwwww

7/15/93: Signs of rust plague the Stash jam, which is kind of a mess until a strange diversion into Little Drummer Boy. Xmas in July?

7/15/93: Nice to hear Foam get a little unexpectedly frisky in the middle. Definitely ready for jams to develop in less predictable places.

7/15/93: First MMGAMOIO (my fave Phish acronym) since The Roxy, which was a whopping 59 shows ago. We’ve come so far, gang.

7/15/93: Here’s the real Leprechaun debut. It’s pretty, sort of a longer TMWSIY, but feels incomplete, like it was excised from an epic.

7/15/93: Trying to recapture some of that spring magic by opening Set II w/ Bowie. Packed full of ideas, but never really flies off course.

7/15/93: After a one-show vacation, The Horse is restored to its introductory duties. Trey still milking it for some acoustic rambling.

7/15/93: Pretty songy stretch here, and then a second set Possum. I don’t think this setlist would go over so well in 3.0.

7/15/93: Although, old Possums are so much more interesting than today’s. Like a blues-rock song with a completely anti-blues solo.

7/15/93: First Faht since 12/11/92, 80 shows. If it means no vacuum solo, I’m totally down.

7/15/93: In another move out of the 3.0 playbook, here’s a stand-alone Walk Away. What year is it again?

7/15/93: I really like Daniel Saw the Stone, which debuts here. Was sorry to miss it by one day at MPP last summer.

7/15/93: And the 1st a capella Freebird. Pretty cool that the crowd immediately responds to Trey’s “What song do you want to hear?” banter.

7/15/93 verdict: Closer in spirit to an average Spring ‘93 show, with some interesting debuts but no memorable improv. Typical tour opener.