R15/W02: 11-18-1994 MSU Auditorium, East Lansing, MI

[runawayjimbo]

Killer pick and now I'm looking at all those fall 94 shows with more than peaked curiosity.  It's been too long since I've dived into this era with both feet, thanks for the reminder.

Yeah, Fall '94 is required listening IMO. I was predominantly a '95-'00 guy myself for a long time (although I still avoid '96 like the plague for some reason). Then I heard the 10-18-1994 Reba and I was hooked.

ETA: after I typed that I was cued up that Reba and I was reminded why it is probably my favorite jam ever.

I'll spin that Reba today.

I'm debating a pick from 96 so you may have pull out the rat traps.

Everyone knows that 10-18 bit off of 07-06-1994 all hard-like.
Right?

I haven't listened to 07-06 in a while (to do when I get home tonight), but I don't remember 07-06 having the evilness of 10-18. That's what separates 10-18 for me - it's kinda of a fairly typical Reba jam and then all of a sudden you're balls deep in some scary shit. The way they turn on a dime together into that darkness is just insane to me. And that whole section makes the release that much sweeter.

[Augustus]

They're both Top versions, but TN definitely contains a large chunk of what made 07-06 so unique.

[Augustus]

Smack dab in the middle of Rev. Jeff week with teh Fish.
Vid of this day/night starts at 0:30, including the classic Page "Hot Pocket", high-as-fuck line.



Sweet size for an auditorium. You can see more of it in the vids.




Rift - Crowd is stoked. Mike is extra active throughout. It causes a slight misstep at one point, tho. Otherwise, tight version.

ACDC - Meaty start to jam with Trey laying low. That doesn't last long, however.  :-D One extra peak at the end where they would normally end it.

Julius - Nice flow thus-far. *LUV* '94/'95 versions of Julius. Not sure if I've mentioned this before or not. Fish screaming during jam with Trey unleashing the Clapton-esque WMGGW bends.

H/S - Little cool down after that blistering opening trio. Band having fun with The Horse intro. Page a little ruff on the vox during the early portions of Silent.

Ice - You can really get a feel for the room during this one. Composed section is virtually airtight. Fall saw them start to stray from the ultra funky breakdown section that was found in almost every Spring version of Ice. Spacious breakdown with Page taking charge. Nice return to main theme, too.

Tela - Weird. The first 3 tunes had a nice, rocking flow going and then they've mellowed it out with these last 3/4 songs. Again, Page having a little trouble with some higher notes. Tasteful Trey solo. Miss that tone and reverb....Trey kills the last 32nd note section.

Split - Bringing it back up with some meat. Trey starts the jam immediately with some low-tone staccato. Starts throwing in some long runs as the band follows. Starts with some dissonance ~7:30 in. They draw out the peak a bit, but doesn't really save this version. Just OK, much like Toy Story 2. As soon as the band serves up some meat, the band taketh away with some snoozegrass.

Biscuits - I guess the only redeeming aspect of this song is that it was only played 4 times so I guess that looks cool on your stats?

Homeplace - Only cool as a show opener, obv.

Journey - Make your front row sign for this one, kiddies. Kinda deflating when they end a set with a low-energy guest, a la BB King. Would have been cool if they came back and closed with a Llama or something.

Llama - Was just thinking of this song! Starting off with some good energy like the way the first set did. Nice, trippy turn at 3:30 which leads to a small peak. Gets rather noisy after that for a bit. Wow, super sloppy return to the vocals.  :|

Gin - Not the biggest fan of pre-'96 versions. Murat '93 was so good 'cause the earlier versions didn't really do all that much with the jam. This one is pretty much how much of these early versions go. They try and lose time and pick it up every measure. This one, however, has a dark and sped up section that starts at the 8 minute mark with does make this version unique to most other Gins from this time period. Great slowdown, return to theme and speed up, but some miscommunication on the ending.

Lifeboy - I like Lifeboy. Not sure if a huge breather is what this set needs atm, but whatevs. Sweet Page flourish before "thoughts and memories" line. He's actually quite tasteful throughout the entire tune.

Heart - Page wins.

Tweezer - Somewhat common pairing in '94. Really pulling for some chunk right about now. Standard start to jam. They hit on a riff at 5:50. One of two non-noteworthy Tweezers from Nov./Dec. '94. Just seems like they have trouble linking up on any one idea, whereas versions like Bozeman, St. Louis and Bangor take time to let ideas develop. A few cool portions throughout, tho. Peak at 12 minutes in. Another follows shortly thereafter. Classic ending with a Twist as Page and Trey play off one another. Kind of a segue into >>>

Contact - Trippy intro. Reminds me of 06-16-1994 Disease > Contact segue.

Possum - Simpsons SL. Fast tempo. Bathtub Gin tease during intro. Pretty good mix of tension and release. Really awkward peak at 8:20. Read: bad note. A true peak at 8:55 followed by two more big ones. Pretty good version to cap the set.

Sweet Baby - (I threw on the vids for the encore) First and only time played. Speaking of sweet arms, check out Trey's. Mike solo! Ut oh! It's a Trey and (fat) Jeff (Tweedy) face off! Cool double ending.

Jim - In the rare encore slot. Some pretty serious Mike bombadierres. Jam quiets down to let Jeff do something? I like the muted Trey and Jeff interplay. Slick return to outro.

Anyway, not much meet to this one. I really don't even have much of a highlight contender, either.
Despite the tight playing, this one doesn't really represent late Fall all that well.
Gonna give it a B-.

[emay]

Thanks for the vids, havent watched these in a while.

[phil]

1994-11-18

Set I:

Rift - Sets the tone for the show, this is one of my favorites and I dig it in the opening slot because it gets everyone moving.

AC/DC Bag - Short (ish) and sweet. Trey rips (but then again this is '94 we're talking about so he pretty much always rips)

Julius - fun, though I question the placement 

Horse > Silent -  I like it, at first I was pissed b/c I felt the horse killed some of the energy but this is a solid SITM and it makes up for it

It's Ice - Good stuff, super tight and then like aug said there's a bit of funk to the breakdown. Fun tune, good placement, well played, all around win

Tela - jew of wilson's Falto, Maine (a lullaby the brie says whisper)

Split - Cool and dark, with Mike all in your face. Thought I heard some kind of weird tease at about 8 min but on second and third listens I decided it was nothing. Thoughts?

Biscuits - was played

Old home place - OMG THEY SING ABOUT CVILLE I LIVE THERE

Long Journey Home -  I like this tune, disagree with the placement but certainly not complaining

Set II:

Llama - the loudest thing I'd ever heard. Great way to start a set.

Gin - I like that the energy builds steadily throughout the intro and verse. They build some good tension, but not quite long enough before releasing,. They seem to do this several times. Definitely having fun with it but could have been tighter

Lifeboy - they're pacing themselves. Great song, dece version

Poor Heart - page kills.

Tweezer - Here we go, the meat of this set imo. Page's keys seem a bit understated, they have a hard time getting on the same page and as a result I don't feel like it goes anywhere that exciting. That said, I think this blows away many other Tweezers and goes to show that something average in the context of fall 94 would be considered excellent in the grand scheme of things.

Contact - I like it

Possum - Well-executed. Much like the tweezer, it's pretty average given the context but overall a good possum. Gin tease is fun. 

Roll in my...arms - sure, why not

Jim - BOOM! Phish's way of reminded everyone never to leave before the encore.

This show is pretty up and down. The highs are high and the lows are still pretty high. Fun show, the Jim is definitely the standout in my book. Overall: B

[Caravan2001]

Never heard this before. Listening in line at record store day. So far it rocks.

[Caravan2001]

So.....My favorite part about the show club is being turned on to shows I have never heard.  Apparently this is a pretty well known show, but it has escaped me for some reason.  Mostly because '94 is a year I am not too familiar with and is one of my least attended years (97 was my least attended year).  So...


Set 1:
01: Rift-- Nice high energy way to start the show.  Crowd sounds pumped.  Wish they could still play Rift this way.
02. AC/DC Bag-- energy continues, good version.  Nice bouncy pace.  The band is giving it a little extra as was usual back then.  Nice.
03. Julius- great version, great placement.  This show is energetic from the get.  Not a fan of clapping though!  Love the Clapton hold overs from Halloween and they are throughout this show.  Yeeehaw says Fish!  They pump this one out.  Top shelf version.
04. The Horse >
05. Silent in the Morning- Some folks were stoked on this combo.  I probably would have been going for a drink or pee or something...
06. It's Ice- Not a song I really like and was kinda drifting away until the breakdown when I said to myself "what the fuck song is this?"  That's when you know it's good.  I think this was the set highlight for me actually!
07. Tela- kick down for the kaeds.....solid version
08. Split Open and Melt- This one starts hot and is pretty solid.  Has a little extra oomph and goes off into the zone for a good long while.  Kinda lost me there for a second with the dissonance but it's a meaty first set version.  I dug it.
09. Butter Them Biscuits*#-- blue
10. My Old Home Place*-- grass
11. Two Dollar Bill*-- This one is my fave, I always liked it.  According to ihoz, I haven't seen it, but I could have sworn I have?


DISC 2:

Set 2:
01. Llama- I have always liked this as an opener and I do hear as well.  Love the spacy opening.
02. Bathtub Gin- leads us back into the same zone as Split and I like it.  Plodding and funky.  Love the drop into Lifeboy.  I thought it was going to be Lizards.
03. Lifeboy- good version.  Love the crowd ambiance here.
04. Poor Heart- sure.
05. Tweezer >--solid Tweezer here from the start.  Love the Fish yelp when they enter the jam. A great Tweezer and possibly my set highlight.
06. Contact- what is there to dislike about a Tweezer>Contact?  Nothing!  This rulez.  LOVE the placement and the playing.  Cannot get enough of this track.
07. Possum- rocking version and no slowing down at the end of the show.  Burning version.
Encore:
08. Sweet Baby's Arms*#- more grass, man.
09. Runaway Jim*--I don;t really care for this in the encore slot, but this is a good version.

Great show, thanks for picking it.  Sounds small and intimate with lots of energy.  The band seems pretty pumped and I like that I can hear stuff that they picked up while learning the White Album.  I need to dig into this tour more.  Stat.  A little up and down but I am giving it a solid B (almost +), it's all good imo....

[Caravan2001]

Actually, re-listening now and the Poor Heart is BURNING.

[Pholy M. Pia]

Hot show!

Rift - Gets this show off to a hot start. Well played, the vocal harmonies are on and sweet. Nice balance on the recording. Ripping interplay w/ mike during Page's solo. Crowd is into it.

Bag - Sweet funky goodness. Mike is dropping bowling balls on bedrock during the intro. Jam loose and slow to start. Mike, Mike, Mike. Trey pretty creative with the licks. Tight bag. Room is rocking'. Need a cool down?

Julius - Nope. More rawk, please. Crowd is into it. Trey wails (not whales) it . The band sounds like a machine. Again with the tight vocals, they really sounded good this year.

Horse>Silent - Nifty horse noodles. Page at the low keys. Crowd is into it. Sweetly rendered combo. Makes a good semi-breather.

It's Ice - Back to the action, this Ice is chunky purple-green. Awesome Page-a-rage I could spend many hours listening to '94 Ice jams. This is nicely different and shows everyone hanging on the incredible improvising of the Chairman. Pholy likes it.

Tela - Ah, yeah. What a treat. Page sounds dry singing about sand and wind. I love this song. Real soulful. Beautiful playing by Page and Trey in the middle solos, and Trey hits the end crescendo in style.

Split - Here we go. Punchy intro w/ Mike firmly in control. Effortless journey to a nice tumbling percussive break before Breath Deep. Vocals still sound great. High energy lead into the jam. Page immediately veering, pulling the vibe. Cruising syncopated drive until at 5:23 Trey begins with the skyshot trills. Band pulls in behind him and gets blustery. Lots o' tension, slam to theme around 8:30 and back to stretching noise with full resolve chain building to end peaks following. Yes, I'd say melting has been achieved.

LTBB - S'cool. Definitely ready for a cool down. But part of me is always waiting for the acoustic gear (and guests) to leave the stage. Crowd is into it.

OHP - Nice. But kind of losing the steam here, guys.

MLJH - Good. But Jeez, to end the set? Crowd is into it.(?)

First set was fire that left bluegrass ashes.

Set 2

Llama - A preferred set opener. Mike an Fish having some jerky sounding fun during Page's solo, Trey dissonant right off. Trey's solo leads almost immediately into a quiet hi-lo, and then back to noise. Quiet end vocals showcase flub-covering skills. Very deconstructed. Was interesting, but not amazing.

Gin - Quiet, bumping, mellow intro and vocals, Page banging it up. The jam takes on a swinging quality, with nice interaction before the strangeness starts peeling the members away from each other only to snap back to the theme like rubber bands. Good range of variety in digressions. Real intense build around 8 to a fast / slow theme reprise section. Tripped out, methodically manic Gin.

Lifeboy - Sounded like Lizards for a sec. Sweet version. Def a cooldown song.

Poor Heart - Drifted off there for a minute, this brought me right back. Cactusss!
Ripping.

Tweezer - Sweet turn to a good tune for this era. Page letting the vocal chords flap. Ch-ch.
Little loop from Trey pre-eb. Post-eb strange ramblings. Crowd is into it. Trey has a definite idea to begin things. The band works up the framework and T starts some fills  pretty cool, Wedge tease at ~5:45. They get quiet and let it bake a bit. All are waiting for a lead to form, T starts a repeating escalating run quickly picked up by Page. They circle one another while Mike sprouts alien growths, Fishman keeping a tight line. Trey pulls a little funk rhythm and gets syncopated (would that be proto-plinko?). Some hollow, metallic tribal pounding. Crunch back to Tweezerland for the triumphant, then drawn out wandering outro. >

Cool transition>

Contact - Crowd is into it. Trippy, wrong key intro is trippy and wrong. Then all is forgiven, as the happy core message is delivered. Page is quite generous in his embellishments. Trey is fresh and peppy. The funk jamicle takes us on a bouncy ride downtown. Page and Mike blowing the top back.

Possum - Super playful possum with Simpsons signal and the super-crafty Gin tease from Trey. Awesome rolls from Fishman!  T's quiet solo section is pleasantly boodily-boodily-boodily, and spins up into the rollick without flub. Lots of variety of chaotic builds to the middle crescendos  and then T misses a peak with an intensity that is astonishing. They recover after some particularly atonal tensioning, and bring the ending. Goofed up fun.

RSBA - Pretty snazy.

Jim - Very awesome in the encore slot, I like the long smooth stretch of the jam, but I can't say that the Rev.'s contributions seemed worth the trouble as his sound was a little lost.

I have enjoyed this show a lot during the last couple of weeks, as has my wife. As a result I feel like I got to know it some. I'm finding it really takes me a bit to do so. Very enjoyable, but slow. Practice makes perfect I guess.

Overall great playing, some cool highlights, for me being the Ice, Melt and Gin (sounds delicious!) A little bumpy in the setlist, but a keeper fo-sho.