A genuinely impressive show from Summer '94. Set 1 is perfectly fine until they get to Reba, which starts off as plain old Reba before Mike and Fish combine to give us a really nifty and powerful groove that enriches our lives for a few glorious minutes until the band drops right back into the...
(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)
There's nothing like your first Phish show. And there's nothing like a Phish show in your hometown. I was lucky enough to have both happen to me back in Summer `94. I was thirteen at the...
This is a great, great show with many highlights. A top 5 Reba of all time, the best Tweezer of Summer 1994, a solid David Bowie, and a tremendous Hood. If you like Reba or Hood, definitely check these versions out. If you like goofiness and seguefests, check out the second set, where songs like...
This is a really good show. This is also a really odd show. Who ever heard of a Chalkdust -> BBFCFM -> Sample -> BBFCFM segment smack dab in the middle of set II? What about a Julius in slot three? Setlist wise this show just doesn't seem to make all the much sense to me, but it totally...
A ripping Llama to start, this 1st set crushes particularly for my favorite Reba ever. These shows in Canada from Summer 94 are in my rotation of go to Phish shows. The Reba jam goes into some dark territory leaving the Eb-F progression for what sounds like a jam in Cm (eb's relative minor). It...
[i][b]I Didn’t Know[/b][/i]
I was driving down St Urbain a few days ago, on the way to Old Montreal to run an errand. I thought waiting until 10pm or so would help me avoid traffic, but neglected to note that it was a Friday night in July, and the Montreal International Jazz Fest was still...
This wonderful Reba bubbles and sparkles before soaring into a most satisfying climax. 70s arena-rock style jam > Reba jam proper--that transition is spooky good.
(That's really all I have to say...
...however, .net will not let me post this as it is too brief for a show review. In the...
Classic version featuring an incredible groove. Mike and Fish lay the foundation as Page becomes more prominent and then Trey just slays. After Trey develops and works through a fantastic theme, full-band play becomes more direct and straight-forward, with a "Paradise City" - or, circa 2014, that "REO Speedwagon" - sound, before the band builds to a powerful, fist-pumping peak.
Mike rules! Another super and dynamic '94, this one isn't blemish free, but also has so much to offer that to pass over it for a couple of rough spots seems unfair. Mike is so solid and present throughout, while cohort Fish fills the tail gunner slot with martial ferocity. The twisted gyrations of Bundle of Joy resolve into a spellbinding whallop of an Arrival.
Patient, provocative, and playful jamming emerges near the 6:00 mark, a vestige from the intro, which features manic teasing. Truly cool improv follows, notable for hushed, eerie, thematic "non"-play , which, like a powerfully "weak" pulse, all but flat-lines - in the best possible way. Trey literally cycles through ideas, the band full of life and support, as the version builds and builds, before, while hinting at "DEG," comes to a classic, crashing, close.