Welcome back to From the Tapers’ Section! As in previous editions of FTTS, I've pulled some choice Phish performances from my catalog of tapes and performed some tasteful post-production work on the recordings to optimize the listening experience. But unlike previous editions of FTTS, instead of working on and sharing an entire show, I've followed the Live Bait model and am sharing a compilation of jams that @ucpete lovingly calls Stash the Wumbo. Like the jams featured in Kevin Shapiro's series, these jams were played in the same venues and locations the band will play during the upcoming Fall Tour, but unlike Live Bait, all the recordings featured in this compilation come from high quality, fan-made audience ("AUD") recordings. There’s a lot to digest here, so let’s dig in:

Albany, NY: 10/9/99 "Ghost," 12/1/03 "Tweezer"

Phish has a history of throwing down at Times Union Center (née Kickerbocker Arena, later known as the Pepsi Arena): the monstrous "Seven Below" -> "Ghost" from 11/28/09, the famous "You Enjoy Myself" with silent jam from 12/9/95, the culmination of cow funk from Fall Tour ’97. As this series is as much about embracing AUD culture as it is discovering the recesses of Phish’s catalog, I present to you two gems I never see discussed. Fall ’99 follows hot on the heels of a stellar summer tour; instead of the intense and fiery grooves of Summer ’99, the band patiently explores quieter ambient pastures in October ’99. The back half of this "Ghost" jam is a perfect example, as the band jumps into the deep end and propels us through a cloudy haze. To contrast this soft blanket of oozing warmth, I have yang’d the yin with the throaty 12/1/03 "Tweezer." This "Tweezer" has tense, aggressive bark throughout as waves upon waves of psychedelic teeth match Trey’s unabashed and compressor-free tone.

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