*NYE Run Thoughts*
Charles Dirksen
You're probably sick to death of reading/skimming NYE run reviews by
now in the Eigest, so I will try to keep my comments reasonably brief
(yeah, sure, charlie). It was wonderful meeting so many folks at the
Mustang Sally's gathering on 12/30. For those interested, the
arm-wrestling match between CLF and myself did not occur, primarily
because my non-net girlfriend wasn't at all amused by the prospect
(and presumably didn't want me -- intoxicated as I was by the time
Corey showed up -- to humiliate myself (she's not entirely privy to
the truth that I regularly humiliate myself in front of you folks)).
I hereby dub CLF "KingMoron of Lamehendge" by default (there will
always be only one KingMoron420, however). Strangely, I have no
difficulty conceding said title to Corey, worthy 6'5" bitch that he
is. He would have beat my drunk old ass, anyway!
It seems to be in vogue these days to MOCK the articulation (in the
form of a DISCLAIMER) of one's Phish experience prior to one's two
cents on a particular gig. Far from being "irrelevant," though, a
sentence explaining your Phish experience in general terms before you
review something helps provide a context for your comments (such as
that "the [Name of Song] was Excellent"). At least give references to
other versions (!). I'm thrilled that so many folks are reviewing shows
these days (makes for meaty Eigests), but I think that a review
without a serious preface contextualizing the two cents is *arguably*
a waste of bandwith. (I say *arguably* because there are plenty of
examples of enjoyable, thoughtful, helpful and intelligent reviews
that are NOT contextualized by the experience of the author)
ANYWAY, I'm a jaded fan who has only seen around 60 shows since
10/6/89 (which I still haven't found on tape, btw). I have heard most
of the Helping Friendly Book (which is not to say that I'm better than
you (of course I am), but simply to contextualize my TWO cents).
I didn't take notes at any of these shows, so please forgive my lame
memory.
12/28/97 USAir Arena, Landover MD
I was born and raised in D.C., and have always loathed the Crap
Center. Terrible sound and annoying security, I was never fond of
seeing shows there (I've seen many -- Van Halen, Rush, Dead, Jerry,
etc. -- shows there). The security on this evening didn't bother me,
though, at any time. I had to strain to hear Page all night, though,
from my seat off the floor, Fishman-side, about as far back as the
taper's section.
The first set contained a botched-in-parts Curtain, and typical
versions of Sample, MOHP, Farmhouse and Bouncin. The Julius to open
and the Zero to close were fine, but nothing unusually inspiring,
imo. Cities was exceptionally fun to hear (my first *live*), but this
version was spectacularly uninspiring in light of Deer Creek from last
summer, and even the version on SSP. There was a Mike-driven groove
in this Cities, though, that reminded me of the segue into Seen out of
Houses from the 10/31/96 RiL set. I enjoyed it. I *really* enjoyed
the Runaway Jim jam segment, until it basically fizzled out in the
final few minutes (just fell apart). Funky Bitch was very
well-played, but not anything spectacular (like Julius, it is a tune
that -- when seen *live* -- readily convinces the hearer that it is
the best version the hearer ever heard). A fine set of Phish to open
the tour, but not a typically great one, in my opinion. I don't plan
to hear this set again.
The second set opened with Axilla I, which had a **VERY** drawn out
Axilla II ending jam (easily the longest one I've heard to date).
Unfortunately, though, this jam -- which had the potential to truly
soar and incite -- basically meandered and sunk. The Simple which
followed contained excellent work from FISHMAN in particular -- he
ripped out a jazzy groove that could have provided the base for
something Remarkable. Though Mike and Page seemed to complement
Fishman's unique rhythm well, Trey did absolutely nothing of merit and
this Simple was a huge disappointment as a result. Ghost was very
good, with a mesmerizing groove, but it wasn't anything special in
light of most if not all of the summer '97 versions, in my opinion
(see 7/3/97, 7/23/97 and 8/6/97 in particular). Drowned was ok (a
joke in light of 12/31/95), and like Simple didn't do much. I'm tired
of Scent, but the duel featured Trey and Page mimicking/imitating each
other and not the usual, separate solos. Trey also soundly teased
Yes' "Roundabout" a bit, and eventually took an extremely Floyd-like
solo. It wasn't exciting, but it was far from boring, imo. Halley's
was fun to hear, as always, but again, didn't worm anywhere unusual.
Slave was -- I disagree completely, Saul -- one of the lamest versions
I've ever heard. I encourage Slave fans to check it out if only to
hear a worthless, boring version. RockyCavern to close was unnecessary.
The Bold As Love encore was botched in the opening composed section,
and I left early to beat the traffic, very excited by the notion
that the rest of the shows on the run would be considerably better.
And all of them were.
Rating: 4.0 (a typically great, awesome Phish show is a 5.0, in
theory, but people are abusing this rating system left and right imo,
so it is basically useless as a gauge, most of the time) I would not
recommend getting tapes of this show unless you have blanks to burn.
There are dozens of other 1997 shows that are faaaar more interesting
musically, as I hear them.
12/29/97 Madison Square Garden, New York NY
The show opened in a rather straightfoward fashion with an avg. NICU
and somewhat sloppy Golgi. The crowd went gah-gah over Golgi. The
show really started with Crossroads, which is the best version of this
song I've heard Phish perform. It was *FAAAR* better than the October
'95 versions, and modestly better than the sporadic versions since
then (including the one from Alpine last summer). Very inspired with
The Jam That Wouldn't Quit. CTB and Trainsong were fine. Theme was
an excellent version, without question, but still didn't top my
personal favorite (11/27/96 Seattle). Trey melodiously solo'ed but
not to the extent I had hoped he would. Fluffhead simply wasn't
nearly as good as everyone says, in my opinion. I think people need
to revisit older versions, like those from 1993 (8/17/93 is still my
personal fave). The closing jam of this Fluffhead was great, but for
Icculus' sake, it is SUPPOSED TO BE AWESOME, and it USUALLY is (over
the course of Phishtory). Dirt was cute (I enjoy this new tune).
Antelope **RAGED**. An excellent close to the set, and a
well-above-average version, even for 1994-7. A great set, but again,
if you are looking to get no more than around 40 1997 tapes, there are
plenty of better '97 sets of Phish out there, imo. Phish usually plays
great sets.
The second set was WONDERFUL!!!! Musically, it wasn't enormously
PROFOUND or anything, but what a VIBE! The room just EXPLODED when
Possum kicked in out of Bowie (it appeared to surprise everyone
present). The DWD jam segment was fairly blah for the first ten or so
minutes, but I enjoyed the closing 5-10 minutes quite a lot --
gorgeous improv. Bowie was a great version (given versions of the
last few years in general), but it wasn't quite a "monster" like
11/26/94 or 12/29/94. Possum contained a serious setlist-worthy jam
on the Blues Brothers tune "Can't Turn Me Loose" (or whatever the song
is called, I can't remember; it is the song that used to open Blues
Brothers shows). Excellent, well-jammed Possum!! Tube was PHAAAAT and
funky and awesome, though arguably not quite as good as the Dayton
version earlier in the month. You Enjoy Myself was very good, but the
Mike-driven jam segment wasn't too exciting (a typically awesome "B"
version at best, as I heard it). Loved to hear it, though! What a
setlist! One jamming tune after another!! The Good Times encore was,
like the second set, very well-jammed and fun. I'd highly recommend
picking up at least the second set of this show. Show Rating: 6.5
(by the way, I just took a look at the setlists sent out by Mikey, and
I have to laugh at the references to a "Loving Cup jam" during DWD and
"James Bond and Antelope jams" during Bowie -- give me a fucking
break, guys.. people are hearing certain chord progressions and
massively mischaracterizing them, imo.. it is as if the need to label
or classify or analyze a JAM is taking priority over the god damn
original improvisation itself.. there may have been some Bond theme
teasing from Mike in that Bowie, if memory serves.. but a JAM!?
bwaHAHAAHahahwhHahah)
CONGRATULATIONS to DAN SEIDEMAN for winning the Pharmer's Almanac's
"Name that Phish Jam" contest post-show at the Wetlands Krewe show
(and thanks to Andy Bernstein, Lock Steele and other Almanac folks for
sponsoring the contest in the first place). Dan Seideman won a pair
of tickets for the NYE show, courtesy of the Almanac and thanks to his
own Jam-prowess (one of his competitors, for those that haven't heard,
was Dom Deluca, one of the "Worst Traders Ever" by many accounts).
Dan Seideman -- along with Jim Raras -- is working on the Show Reviews
section of the Mockingbird Foundation book. (evil Jabba the Hut
laughter)
12/30/97 Madison Square Garden, NYC, NY
You've seen the reviews. This show really was an incredible
spectacle, with a magnificent setlist that even a jaded oldbie could
love. I'm sure this show has been reviewed to death, so I'll keep my
comments short (or try to). I love the Sally > Taste opener, but
otherwise, the first set was fairly straightforward. Stash contained
a dark, eerie, evil, sinister, wicked groove, but ended with a WHIMPER
so enormous that it trivialized the version imo (it isn't nearly as
good a version as 12/29/95, in case you were wondering).
The Bag opener contained a huge JAM that >segued into McGrupp's. This
jam was, at the time, the highlight of the run for me, but having
since heard it again on tape it is Just Another Beautiful Piece of
Improvisation from Phish and isn't even close to being One of the Most
Awe-Inspiring Phish Jams Ever, as I hear it. Still, loved it at the
show. To say that there is a "Crosseyed and Painless Jam" in this JAM
out of Bag is, again, bullshit, in my opinion. There is perhaps a
small tease, but no major C&P jamming. At all. Sorry. McGrupp's
actually JAMS, for a change, and is easily the most unusual version
I've ever heard. Harpua has to be heard to be believed, and 500 Miles
was hysterical (thanks for keeping the tradition alive, Tom). Izabella
was wonderful (my first to hear *live*). Harry featured a glow-stick
war, which won't translate to tape (and which was the highlight of the
version for me). Although I do NOT think that Harry Hood "peaked" at
any particular time in Phishtory (I think the whole surmise that it
"peaked" at any time is LUDICROUS, given the nature of the song), 1994
versions of Harry -- generally speaking -- are more consistently
inspiring than the versions of today (ditto with Slave, though, imo).
I think Phish should play Slave and Harry more rarely in 1998, even
though I love these songs. I'd love, for example, to hear Sally come
back more often, not to mention Brother, with more of DA FUNK. My Soul
and Monkey were ok versions (I enjoyed them, but I was surprised that
they were played.. the 12/29 show's encore had ended at 11:30pm, and I
think Phish STARTED My Soul around 11:20 or so). Guyute was easily the
worst version I have ever heard. Nearly every section was botched.
Just a sloppy mess.
The 12/30/97 encore was a hell of a lot of fun at the show, and I
REALLLLLY enjoyed it. I was hoping to hear a more funked out BEK on
12/31, but this version was fine. The Carini, and the return to
Sally, were HUUUUGE surprises, not to mention the vacuum solo (and
more glowstick warring) during Frankenstein. This encore is faaaar
more interesting musically than the 12/6/96 Vegas encore, but isn't
perhaps as pretty as the setlist may suggest. Still, one hell of a
show. Get it. 8.0 rating. The best all-around show I'd seen Phish
perform since 7/31/97 Shoreline. Certainly one of the most intense
shows of the year to have been at, I'd bet (musically it was excellent
in parts and ok in parts -- it wasn't as consistently awesome as
Shoreline 7/30, imo, and several other 1997 shows).
12/31/97 Madison Square Garden, New York NY
Emotional Rescue opened the show quite well, although I'm
partial to the Hampton version. Ya Mar, like numerous versions since
7/30 Shoreline, was jammed out but not exceptionally so, imo. MSO was
an interesting choice (first one in a long time) and standard. Beauty
and Horse Silent were as you've heard them before. Wolfman's Brother
was very good, but not nearly as enchanting as most summer versions
(and not even as enjoyable as the Hamburg version on SSP, imo). Limb
by Limb was excellent -- I love this new tune -- but didn't match the
majesty of the 7/30 Shoreline version (still my fave). Sloth was
another interesting choice and fun to hear. The Fire closer was
wonderful, and I can't think of a more ferocious version, although one
might exist.
The second set was short but FIRED UP!!! Timber Ho was fairly
standard (great), but the Mike's Song was quite good (no closing of the
tramps segment chords, fwiw.. just a > into Piper). Piper was good
but not as good as Hampton (or was it Champaign?). I thought Piper
would ->segue into Weekapaug (since it could easily do so AT ANY TIME
at any show). Circus was Circus. Roses Are Free is a waste of a
cover, in my opinion. Ween? Is this a joke? Weekapaug was
magnificent to behold *live*, but I'm not so sure you will find it
that great on tape. It isn't at all typical. Trey chords heavily and
doesn't melodiously wail as he usually does during 'paug. This is
nevertheless one of the Sickest versions of 'Paug out there, in a
non-melodious, kickass sense of "Sick." I still prefer the more
melodious 12/31/95 and 12/30/93 (and many other) 'paugs to this
version. Strong second set, though!
The third set was a Very Mixed Bag, imo. I enjoyed the Also Sprach
opener, and about the first ten or so minutes of Tweezer, but Trey's
guitar may have gone flat thanks to his balloon-popping... and the
post-NYE music suffered. Maze featured a brilliant Page solo, but was
otherwise one of the nastiest, lamest versions I've ever heard.
Fuckerpants went absolutely nowhere, although Trey did let loose a
single Kind Phaaty Lick at one point. I thought Loving Cup was a
fantastic closer, even though it was sloppy in the opening
(appropriate, though). New York New York was amusing, and Page sang
it quite well (under the circumstances). It wasn't played as well as
it could have been, but I'm sure the band was totally exhausted by
that point. I sure as hell was.
All and all, a typically great, fun NYE show. I can't give a three set
show anything less than a 7.0 (yes, I thought 12/30 as a whole show
was 1.0 better than 12/31). The run as a whole was definitely worth
the trouble, but it wasn't nearly as good musically as the '95 NYE
run, as I heard it. I'd recommend checking out 12/29-12/31, though,
if you can spare the blanks. There are many 1997 shows I'd recommend
hearing sooner, though. I've enjoyed listening to Detroit 12/6/97's
second set (THANKS GREG!!!) a lot lately, for example.
Thanks to Mike, Jon, Page and Trey for yet another great NYE run!!
(and money well spent!)
two cents
charlie
p.s. The most amusing thing I overheard on tour was definitely Mark
Toscano's remark, several hours after NYE, to Dan Nooter: "Dan, you
know, over the course of this entire trip, I haven't heard you use
'Ass' as an adjective?!"
Geoff Gardner
On 5 Jan 1998, Charles Dirksen wrote:
> 11/26/94 or 12/29/94. Possum contained a serious setlist-worthy jam on
> the Blues Brothers tune "Can't Turn Me Loose" (or whatever the song is
> called, I can't remember; it is the song that used to open Blues
> Brothers shows). Excellent, well-jammed Possum!! Tube was PHAAAAT and
This tune, "Can't turn me loose", is by Otis Redding. Blues Brothers were
nothing but a blues cover band. Yes, they used in to open an close their
shows, but it should be attributed to the original artist ;)
>
> (by the way, I just took a look at the setlists sent out by Mikey, and I
> have to laugh at the references to a "Loving Cup jam" during DWD and
> "James Bond and Antelope jams" during Bowie -- give me a fucking break,
> guys.. people are hearing certain chord progressions and massively
> mischaracterizing them, imo.. it is as if the need to label or classify
> or analyze a JAM is taking priority over the god damn original
> improvisation itself.. there may have been some Bond theme teasing from
> Mike in that Bowie, if memory serves.. but a JAM!? bwaHAHAAHahahwhHahah)
It gets confusing. You could mark it as a tease, but I like to keep my
setlists clean ;)
-geoff
Strfunk
>This tune, "Can't turn me loose", is by Otis Redding. Blues Brothers were
>nothing but a blues cover band. Yes, they used in to open an close their
>shows, but it should be attributed to the original artist ;)
As shoul the song '500 Miles' which I've seen attributed to The Proclaimers who
actually covered it. The song was originally done in the 60's as a folk tune.