Another Halloween review
John J. Wood
10/31/94 - Phish @ Glens Falls Civic Center, Glens Falls, NY
------------------------------------------------------------
I: Frankenstein->Sparkle, Simple->Divided Sky, Harpua, Julius,
The Horse/Silent In The Morning, Reba, Golgi Apparatus
II: THE BEATLES - Back In The USSR, Dear Prudence, Glass Onion,
Ob-la-di Ob-la-da, Wild Honey Pie, The Continuing Story
Of Bungalow Bill, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Happiness
Is a Warm Gun, Martha My Dear, I'm So Tired, Blackbird, Piggies,
Rocky Raccoon, Don't Pass Me By, Why Don't We Do It In The Road,
I Will, Julia, Yer Blues, Mother Nature's Son, Everybody's
Got Something To Hide Except For Me & My Monkey, Sexy Sadie,
Helter Skelter, Long Long Long, Revolution No. 1, Honey Pie,
Savoy Truffle, Cry Baby Cry, Revolution No. 9
III: David Bowie, Bouncing Around The Room->Slave To The Traffic Light,
Rift, Sleeping Monkey, Poor Heart, Run Like An Antelope
ENCORE: Amazing Grace, costume contest, Squirming Coil
I usually prefer my own words when I write a review, but upon
reading the Well this morning, Jeff Gorlechan summed up Monday
night perfectly, "a night in musical masturbation." Personally,
I had the time of my life, and I don't know if I can write
a fair, unbiased review...so if I get too gabby, please understand.:-}
First, I ended up showing up very late at Kim Hannula's net.gathering
at the Downtown Emporium, as I was waiting for a few folks; so between
waiting and helping out a few friend with a ticket, it was 8:45
by the time I arrived at the Emporium. To Kim Hannula, my
humblest apologies -- I had wanted to get there earlier, but
things just didn't work out for me. Off to the Civic Center...
While there was a police presence on the outside, it was clear they
were here to do their job and to maintain an orderly presence. Inside,
security was non-existant, to the point floor crashing was a formality
for the young ones. The lights went down 45 minutes later than scheduled,
generally to allow all those outside the extra leeway to get in so
not a note would be missed by anyone. Hey, there's no curfew, and
Trey didn't break his ankle a la Buffalo, so I could patiently wait.;-)
When the lights were shut off, Trey wore a large, fluffy white beard,
a neat little costume of a certain guitarist from another band.
Vermont's Phinest certainly cared about this night, and that message was
immediately stamped by its show opener: a playful romp through
Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein," and what a *perfect* choice! Any thoughts
I had of the band possibly skimping on their material to pay attention
to the Halloween album was put to rest by the powerful "Simple", and
by another euphoric "Divided Sky." The centerpiece of the set was
clearly a riotous "Harpua," where Jimmy listened to Black Sabbath's
"War Pigs" (the first verse sung zanily by Fishman), and Trey took
us to Gamehendge through the vibrations of life *and* death.
The remainder of the set wasn't in cruise control either. "Julius"
was infectuous, filled to the brim with kinetic energy, and "The
Horse/Silent In The Morning" not only contained an inflective tone,
but was just the right thing to catch my breath. I'm glad I did,
as the quartet followed with a piledriving "Reba" whose big jam contained
a wealth of interplay and multi-colored passages. Even the set-closing
"Golgi Apparatus," a song where the band can go into auto-pilot, hurled
anthemically into the cosmos.
Of course, the anticipation built up for the big Halloween album,
but the band provided a cool tease, as the set started with the heartbeats
you hear on Pink Floyd's "Breathe" from Dark Side Of The Moon; then
blared a most infamous intro, "And now...here they are...THE BEATLES!"
and out blasted a rocking "Back In The U.S.S.R.". Yes...The White
Album!
I could fill three reviews' worth in describing the White Album set,
but instead, I'll try to stick to the basics. First, almost the
whole thing was played, with the songs *not* performed being
"Birthday" (instead, it was a birthday of Brad Sands, one of the band's roadies,
and Fishman presented a cake to him), and "Goodnight", which blared
over the PA instead, with a Lawrence Welk-styled overtone, as many
bubbles floated over the stage.
While all the performances weren't perfect, Phish truly gave a
monumental effort, and batted a high percentage in the 95-minute set.
The first highlight for me was a scorching workout of "While My
Guitar Gently Weeps", with Trey taking his solo over the top.
Another personal favorite was a *way* cool hyper-drive-bluegrass
blastoff of "Don't Pass Me By," handled by Mike. When it came
to songs that required sparse instrumentation and pure emotion,
the band handled those chores well: Mike sang "Julia" with
a Syd Barrett-like monotone, and Page & Trey often harmonized
on pleasures like "I Will." "Mother Nature's Son" had
me in a special plane, but "Helter Skelter" was so *insane* that
at one point, I was literally ready to register myself in the R-wing!
"Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me & My Monkey"
also shredded some rock & roll lava, as did "Revolution No. 1."
The Phish brand of humor was in place, though, particularly on
Fishman's hysterical pelvis-thrusts during his hysterical
(ahem!) reading of "Why Don't We Do It In The Road."
If there was one disappointment I noticed, it was the reaction
of the younger folks in the audience who clearly didn't connect
with The Beatles. For me, I was in complete unadultered ecstasy!
Now...how was the band going to pull off "Revolution No. 9?" First,
Fish pulls out his vacuum, and Trey seats himself at Fishman's
drum kit, while Mike pulled out a few cymbals for further
effect. Of course, the various wordplay found took prominence
in Fishman's blurting -- "Number nine...Number nine..." and etc. --
but when the words "You go naked" were shouted, off flung Fishman's
dress, and there he was, standing stark naked!! Fishman *then* pranced around
on stage as if he was part of a free-for-all nudist colony! I completely
lost myself in laughter while Fishman took Jim Morrison's
infamous Miami incident and made *that* look like a Eddie Haskell episode
of Leave It To Beaver! Trust me...you had to be there, as nothing
I can write could adequately describe this looniness!
When the lights came up, I staggered to the men's room...and I
didn't have to go *at* *all*! I was so blown out that I needed to walk
just to recover and absorb everything until I drifted back to
the stratosphere. "What could they do in the third set? How
can they follow *that*?" I blissfully wondered. I didn't care!
I was so sated and in a state of bliss that I turned to Jens,
and smiled, "the rest is gravy!"
And what gravy it was! "David Bowie" was so deliciously twisted and powerful
that I was still merrily dancing my socks off -- I realized that a good
chunk of the audience was physically whipped and seated. I didn't care!
I was out THERE again and wanted to stay, and I danced with
total euphoria overwhelming me. "Bouncing Around The Room"
retained my smile, but then came the *wonderful* placement
of "Slave To The Traffic Light," which featured stunning, lush passages
by Page and Trey, with a heavenly buildup to its gregarious climax.
For me, the show could have ended right there!
Instead, the band continued playing their hearts out, with a relentless "Rift"
where Trey play a half-beat off everyone else. Next up was "Sleeping
Monkey," the perfect opportunity for Fishman to reflect his
state of mind at the end of the White Album set.;-) Even
"Poor Heart," a throwaway to numerous Phish pholks, contained
a tasty, soft passage by Trey. The band brought the whole schmeer home
with a powerful "Run Like An Antelope" that had me out of control: during
its final builtup, I muttered silently to myself, "This is totally
completely, phucking-out-of-my-mind IT!!!!"
The encore was a blast as well, with a straightforward "Amazing
Grace" (a capella, of course), then the costume contest, with
some cool costumes of Harry Hood, the AC/DC Bag, the Mounds
candy bar (way cool!), and Tela among the 9 finalists. The
last song of the night was *choice* for me, a "Squirming
Coil" where the band gamely fought their way through fatigue, then
closed with a gorgeous final solo from the magical fingers
of Page McConnell, placing a loving lid on a most unforgettably
fantastic evening.
I don't know what else to say that wouldn't require unbias.
Oh, the hell with it -- this cliche has been used before, and
I'm going to say it right now! Monday night was one of the greatest
concerts I have *ever* seen in my life -- if not THE!! When the day
comes that I step down from this ever-going hobby of live music, I know I will
look back on Halloween 1994 as a night that shredded my expectations,
and took me to a new place all its own.
To Trey Anastasio, Page McConnell, Michael Gordon, and Jonathan
Fishman, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and all I
have to give. Thank you for one of the greatest nights of my life!:-)
Thoroughly blissed...and then some!
John J. Wood
jo...@uhura.cc.rochester.edu
jo...@troi.cc.rochester.edu
catp...@well.sf.ca.us
ssjo...@utxvms.cc.utexas.edu
>
> I could fill three reviews' worth in describing the White Album set,
> but instead, I'll try to stick to the basics. First, almost the
> whole thing was played, with the songs *not* performed being
> "Birthday" (instead, it was a birthday of Brad Sands, one of the band's roadies,
Perhaps this has been mentioned already (I'm still wading through 10 days worth
of postings), but "Birthday" *was* played in a sense. If you listen to the
music being played while the cake was brought out, it's actually the riff from
Birthday (perhaps slightly corrupted), played in a very ominous, creepy style.
It was another one of those cool twists that the boys took with the
album...what an amazing performance.
> I was so sated and in a state of bliss that I turned to Jens,
> and smiled, "the rest is gravy!"
I was thinking the very same thing. At most shows, no matter how good it was, I
always leave wishing I could see a few more songs. I would have left this show
completely elated and satisfied if they hadn't played another tune. I remember
standing around thinking "My god, we've still got another set to go"
>
> And what gravy it was! "David Bowie" was so deliciously twisted and powerful
> a tasty, soft passage by Trey. The band brought the whole schmeer home
> with a powerful "Run Like An Antelope" that had me out of control: during
> its final builtup, I muttered silently to myself, "This is totally
> completely, phucking-out-of-my-mind IT!!!!"
Again, I agree entirely. This set was just one big orgy. Despite the fact that
it was around 3 AM, the band was actually just peaking in this set. Not only
did they play Bowie, Slave, and Antelope, but they played *INCREDIBLE* versions
of them. I hope Paul had the DATs rolling for these, cause it would be a shame
if these three didn't end up on the live album. They should problem consider
Squirming Coil too...the perfect closer for The Miracle in Glens Falls and
another exceptional rendition. I really can't imagine seeing a better show than
this in my lifetime.
Without hyperbole,
Scott