phishcrit

Phishcrit Compilation #3: April 1993

I think it’s fair to say that Phish hit the wall in the third month of this gargantuan cross-country tour. After making the turn in California, the band made its way back towards home via the northern U.S. and Canada, with a dip down into the Midwest. Some of these shows were as close to auto-pilot as you’ll hear from them in their hungry rising days, and the month doesn’t really hold a top-to-bottom classic set in the league of 2/20 or 3/14. But there is, of course, plenty to remember. Things got a little slap-happy in some stops, most notably the Michigan Theater two-fer excerpted here, and a few deep rarities were pulled back into rotation to freshen up the setlist (Gumbo, Tube, Makisupa, Whipping Post). Meanwhile, hundreds of hours of playing together started to bear fruit in the form of richer, less gimmicky jams, from the nearly half-hour YEM at the start of the month through the Melt that would be immortalized on Hoist through some Weekapaugs that are absolutely bursting with ideas. Seeds were planted that wouldn’t fully mature until the Summer Tour, but if you look closely, you can see the first buds starting to form.

For the first time, there were a handful of shows here where I really struggled to find a stand-out excerpt, so the track list this time around is a little strange in places. The BBFCFM/I Didn’t Know pairing in the middle also might not bear repeated listening, but it contains historical hijinks that any fan should hear once. I stretched the rules this time to include two Weekapaugs played only six days apart, because that song was truly the MVP of the tour’s back half, and the 4/21/93 Melt, which is an unavoidable milestone.

Download the mix here: April ‘93 Highlights

4/1/93 – Run Like an Antelope

4/1/93: Really clumsy transition on Antelope begets an INTENSE second section - very modern tension-release patterns. Barracuda jam in 3rd.

4/2/93 – Maze

4/2/93: So I guess Maze is the best we’re gonna get from this set, improv-wise. Hot version all the same, Trey doing a solid air raid siren.

4/3/93 – You Enjoy Myself

4/3/93: Wow, the little ambient jam at the start of YEM gets a nice dark expansion here. Altered Zones style, y’all.

4/3/93: This 27-min (!) YEM may be the best of the year so far; sounds like ‘95 Phish teleported back to ‘93 for a song. #scottbakula

4/5/93 – Caravan

4/5/93: First set tease blooms into second set bustout of Ellington’s “Caravan,” the first since ‘91 tour w/ horns (224 shows). It’s great!

4/9/93 – Psycho Killer/Miss You mashup

4/9/93: SOUNDCHECK BONUS - Crazy Stones/Talking Heads medley/mashup, highlighted by Psycho Killer riff over Miss You bass.

4/10/93 – David Bowie

4/10/93: Woah - the band reprises practically the entire preceding set with teases in the Bowie intro. Killer move.

4/10/93: This Bowie is a solid marker of their improvisational transition from teasefest wackiness to exploratory, free jamming. Hear it.

4/12/93 – Tube

4/12/93: Speaking of a long tour, Golgi is fiercely bungled. But they follow up with the only Tube of 93! Jam is a Suzy-esque Page solo.

4/13/93 – Possum

4/13/93: Bit of a letdown that a shredfest Possum is the only significant jam of this set, but crowd sounds chatty and distracted.

4/14/93 – Stash > Kung > Stash

4/14/93: Can tell from the first note that the Stash jam is going somewhere special (of course, I peeked…). Leaps right into the darkness.

4/14/93: The busy little jam under “Kung” is really nice, almost gives the chant a melody. Gets progressively more deranged, as it should.

4/14/93: Love the guy going “WOO-HOO-HOO-HOO” as they whip back into Stash. The advantages of an AUD.

4/16/93 – Gumbo

4/16/93: First full Gumbo since ‘91 GCH tour, 228 shows ago - “we haven’t played this one in a while, so bear with us.” Freebird ending?!

4/17/93 – BBFCFM

4/17/93: Crazy BBFCFM encore. Spun kid in crowd yells “I can taste myself running!,” Fish’s Count impression, long patches of silence.

4/18/93 – I Didn’t Know

4/18/93: A 10-min I Didn’t Know? With fans reciting what they were thinking during the BBFCFM pauses the previous night. Lotta wooks.

4/18/93: Sample fan response: “I was tripping last night and I thought it was pretty fucking coooool.” #facepalm (cc @WookBuster)

4/18/93: Haha, Paul plays a snippet of Sex Pistols, Trey squeezes in a Fab Five dis, and Mike has the best answer of course. #BABYRACCOONS

4/20/93 – Whipping Post

4/20/93: Fishman breaks out the only Whipping Post of the year for his song. Got a soft spot for this one, since I saw it at my 1st show.

4/21/93 – Split Open and Melt

4/21/93: OK here we go - the “Demand” Melt that appears at the end of Hoist. A rare 2nd setter, only the 4th of this looong tour.

4/21/93: Again, the golden sign that a strong jam is forming - Trey is already spitting out ideas before they leave the vocals.

4/21/93: This Melt is very un-‘93 - band fitting together like puzzle pieces, slowly evolving, instead of raging at high speed.

4/21/93: Everyone knows their role - Trey gradually unravels as Mike tightens up, Page is subliminally effective, Fish is the reference pt.

4/21/93: And damn if it doesn’t know just when to end. At only 12min, it’s not unusually long for ‘93. Big ovation follows.

4/21/93: So yeah, a great Melt, easy to see why it is band-approved. Really quickens the pulse. #betterthancoffee

4/22/93 – Tweezer

4/22/93: Lot of playfulness in the composed portion of this Tweezer, more like a late-90s version. But jam is old-school atonality/slowdown.

4/23/93 – Weekapaug Groove

4/23/93: Trey steers the band on to a side-path right from the start of the Paug jam, hijacking tempo into a more delicate space. Niiice.

4/23/93: This Weekapaug is v. impressive - uses the same quiet jamming trick, but finds interesting microfunk & melodic curlicues there.

4/24/93 – Harry Hood

4/24/93: Nice patience on this Harry Hood, and a solid machine-gunning climax. Sneak preview of its 94 heights?

4/25/93 – Runaway Jim

4/25/93: Experimental-for-the-era Jim, frantic and interlocking. About a minute where everything clicks, 4/21 Melt-style. #good

4/27/93 – All Things Reconsidered

4/27/93: All Things Reconsidered is in my “best left un-busted-out” pile. Can’t imagine the 3.0 form would do it justice.

4/29/93 – Mike’s > Hydrogen > Weekapaug > Makisupa > Weekapaug

4/29/93: Interesting variant on the usual Mike’s riff in the jam, might be a tease, don’t want to peek at phish.net…

4/29/93: Was not aware that Hydrogen could be played in a Gene Autry country ballad style…until NOW.

4/29/93: Weekapaug is ADD like woah - Irish jig, sudden drop into Makisupa (first since ‘90!), speed-up jam, funk, start-stop, CYHMK teases.

4/29/93: That Weekapaug was like a Fiery Furnaces medley - here’s 10 genres of music in 10 minutes.

4/30/93 – Wilson

4/30/93: Another great pre-chanting Wilson intro - feedback bombs, Morricone references. #endthechant

[Music gathered from hoydog23’s spreadsheet, poster from Phish Poster Archive. Endless thanks for what you guys do for the community.]