REVIEW: 8/10/96 Alpine Valley (very long)
Posterkid
Hi all-
Thought i'd go ahead and write the review right now, i can always be
late to work. okay, here's the setlist again if you didn't see it.
I: My Friend My Friend, Poor Heart, AC/DC Bag, Fee, Reba, I Didn't Know,
The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Rift, Bathtub Gin, Cavern. (73min)
II: Wilson > Down with Disease > Scent of a Mule, Free, Fluffhead,
Whipping Post, Harry Hood > A Day in the Life. (85min)
E: Contact > Fire
okay, well a little introduction first. this was my first phish show in
person. however, i have 70+ tapes and have a pretty good knowledge of the
band and their shows. so, just a little disclaimer, on with the review!
allright, well first of all, i had hoped to get their nice and early in
order to have some time to just hang out, but i underestimated the travel
time (i live outside of chicago) and got caught in the mother of all
traffic jams, so my friend and i got parked about a quarter after seven.
there were many ticketless roaming the streets, not something i was too
happy about considering recent events, but they seemed pretty peaceful.
parking lot security seemed pretty cool, i didn't see any vending busts,
but i did get there kind of late, and i have no idea what went down before
i arrived. well, we got inside the theater, which is a very nice, very
large place. fairly small pavillion area, but a massive lawn that was
absolutely packed with people. thanks to my mail ordering, i managed to
have a decent pavillion seat, nowhere close but a good view. so we sat
down, waited a while and about 7:47, they came on.
My Friend My Friend: an interesting opener, not one i would have
expected. played pretty straightforward, not much jamming.
Poor Heart: a poor heart is a poor heart is a poor heart. always the
same, no exception here.
AC/DC Bag: this one shifted the show into overdrive. the jam was
amazing, trey was really tearing it up. seems to me like this song just
gets better and better with each performance. this definitely supported
my theory. during this song, a guy in one of those fan-powered hangliders
buzzed the lawn crowd a few times. guess he couldn't get a ticket :)
Fee: well, just as the show started moving, the boys cool it off again.
fee isn't a bad song, but it sounds exactly the same as the album. trey
was on the megaphone, which was a nice touch, and there was a nice little
short jam at the end, but pretty much nothing special.
Reba: a pretty tame version. my opinion is that the faster the tempo,
the better the reba is. this one wasn't exactly flying, but it was pretty
upbeat. the jam was well played, and there was a nice little mellow part
in the middle that i hadn't heard before. a pretty long version (15min),
solid, but not exceptional.
I Didn't Know: this was a nice suprise. i'd much rather see this than
one of the true acapella songs. well sang, with a nice fish vacuum solo
in the middle. only downside to this, i thought at the time, was there
wouldn't be a fish song in the second set.
Horse/Silent: i had a psychic premonition they'd go into the horse at the
end of didn't know, and i was right. yet another non-jamming song, and an
addition to what was turning out to be a pretty mellow set.
Rift: okay, i'd have to say that a little disappointment crossed my mind
about here. not that i wasn't having a good time, but it seemed like the
boys weren't pulling out anything real special so far. maybe they were
tired from the red rocks run?
Bathtub Gin: alright here we go finally, i thought. unfortunately, as
gins go, this wasn't one of my favorites. the jam never really broke free
from the original theme until towards the end when mike laid down a fat
new bass line and everyone else got into it. but a couple minutes later
they came right back to the end of the song.
Cavern: not one of my favorites to hear on a tape, but was drastically
improved on stage. great lighting.
First Set: 73 minutes long. pretty ho-hum, but it was still a good time.
my worries that this show would just be a cool-down from the rocks were
greater now, though. set break about 35 minutes.
Wilson: okay, a nice set opener. got the crowd into the wilson
"chanting", which i enjoyed participating in for the first time. very
good jamming, an excellent version. segue into...
Down with Disease: now, despite others opinions, i like this song, and
this version was mind-blowing! i'd heard about the extended version that
was played at the rocks, and was suprised to find that this one was 12
minutes plus as well. very tight jamming, with some percussion work from
trey. the new and improved DWD has arrived! segue into...
Scent of a Mule: hell yeah! one of my favorite phish tunes! the duel
was nuts! page played an outstanding first solo, and i had already
conceded victory to him. then trey pulled out the same old singing the
same notes he was playing gimmick, but he went balls out with it! by the
end of the solo he was screaming at the top of his lungs. then page came
back with another great solo, which inspired mike to pull out the cymbals
for a little accompaniment. funky little dance from trey and mike on the
speeding up part topped off a great version.
Free: no rest for the weary! probably my favorite new song, and a solid,
if unexceptional version. more percussion work from trey, and outstanding
lights.
Fluffhead: i was expecting a throwaway song any time now, but no! a very
well played fluffhead arrived, with excellent jamming throughout.
Whipping Post: okay, here's where the show went from nuts to absolute
chaos. trey runs back to the drum kit, fish brings out the vacuum, and
the HYHU starts. the crowd goes absolutely nuts. fish takes a bow, HYHU
plays again. the crowd goes nuts! fish runs out in front of the monitors
and bows and does his gorilla thing! HYHU keeps on playing! the crowd
keeps on getting louder and louder! fish runs from side to side on the
stage, bowing and bowing. trey keeps on starting the HYHU anew. finally,
by the time fish got back to the mike, HYHU had been played at least ten
times, the longest i've ever heard. fish runs to page and says something,
yells to mike and trey, and...WHIPPING POST! us fanatical setlist
watchers in the crowd go into violent spastic fits of joy. first one
since 4/20/93! fish's vocals were great! not a very good vacuum jam, but
what are you gonna do? another extended HYHU followed, as fish made the
rounds once more! a little jamming off of the main theme occured too.
okay, i thought, the show had to cool down now, it was way to close to
boiling point.
Harry Hood: the band refused to let up though, and produced an
outstanding hood! could this be one of the greatest sets of all time?!
the "hood" chanting was present, something i wholeheartedly supported.
change is good. the jam in the middle was great, they brought it way
down, and very slowly took it to new heights at the finish. i thought the
set was over, but segue into...
A Day in the Life: well, every set has its flaw. i would have preferred
to end it on the hood, but day in the life was nice to hear. same as
every version you've heard.
second set clocked in at a whopping 85 minutes! it was total balls-out
unadulterated greatness! please forgive me for doubting you oh great
ones!
Contact: okay version, not what i would have chosen for an encore, but a
nice little funky part in the middle made it worthwhile. quick segue
to...
Fire: nice to hear, but three covers in the last five songs was a little
much.
overall, i couldn't ask for a finer first show. the first set was nothing
extraordinary, but a good time, and the second set was a classic. from a
tape collectors point of view, i would not hesitate to get this show, it
was thoroughly enjoyable. the highlights were ac/dc bag, dwd, mule, and
of course, whipping post. i was cracking up during fish's whole segment.
well, it was a fun time, and i'm proud to say my companion has been fully
converted to phish obsession by this show. let me know how you like this
review, and i'll see you in three months at U of I.
-rob