phishcrit

4/10/93 - CHICAGO, IL

With fall tour squared away, time to reboot #phish project! Show 46: 4/10/93, Chicago, IL, Aragon Ballroom. The worst Chicago venue.

4/10/93: Happily, this is a SBD recording, so it lacks the muddy, echo-filled “atmosphere” of the Aragon Brawlroom.

4/10/93: Rote Jim > Foam opener temptation is avoided in favor of Jim > Weigh. Trey plays an unusual solo to celebrate.

4/10/93: Countdown to the “Demand” Melt is almost over, but this one is pretty great too. Contained, but tiptoes along the edge.

4/10/93: Been listening to so much Keith Jarrett that this Coil solo sounds like a commercial jingle.

4/10/93: There’s been a lot of secret language on this tour, but I think this is the first one to pop up in a Chalkdust.

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.

4/10/93: The horrible acoustics of the Aragon Ballroom lend an almost Gregorian chant quality to this Bouncin’.

4/10/93: Building off that awesome 4/9 soundcheck (available at phishcrit.tumblr.com), there’s a Miss You jam in this here Mike’s.

4/10/93: Mike’s > Great Gig > Weekapaug, a rare off-script Groove for ‘93. Pretty sick of vacuum by now, but still chuckle at Great Gig.

4/10/93: And now for the obligatory Chicago blues segment with Sugar Blue on harmonica. Just like 8/8/97, by far the worst show I’ve seen.

4/10/93 verdict: whuzah, sorry, fell asleep during blues segment. A weak ending to a pretty good show, with Bowie towering over the rest.