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On Stage: Music and Sharing Forums => General Topic Discussion => The Ophishial Week4paug.net Show Club => Topic started by: Hicks on July 03, 2006, 04:46:16 AM

Title: R1/W08: 10-31-1986 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: Hicks on July 03, 2006, 04:46:16 AM
Alright so as promised, I'm bringing some old school '80s back in the mix for everyone, which I think is good.  Because I love this stuff, but I haven't been rocking any '80s shows for a while now, and what better time than the Summer to start back up?  They have that good times summer vibe, that's for sure.   
:phish: :beers:

Anyway I tossed and turned a bit over this one, my first instinct was to do 8-21-87, but with last week's show being a three setter I thought that may be a bit much.  Then I was thinking about 9-8-88 which is a solid little show with one of the trippest YEM vocal jams I've ever heard and a stellar On Your Way, Whipping Post combo, but it just wasn't epic enough and didn't seem likely to make any converts or really turn people's heads.  Plus there was some wicked feedback at the end of the first set.

So I ended up with a compromise between the two in terms of sheer magnitude, which also happened to be the oldest show of the three.  But this one is a stone cold classic, no doubt.  Just remember this was a party so there's constant talking by the "audience" during the whole show, but I think the music shines through pretty clearly! 

I'll give my thoughts later in the week, everyone else enjoy!

The torrent:
http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=26775
http://db.etree.org/shninfo_detail.php?shnid=383

Sendspace Set I:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/chjw4f

Senspace Set II:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/8o22ps

10-31-86
Sculpture Room at Goddard College
Plainfield, VT
SBD?> Cass(x) > DAT > CDR
Transferred by Travis from Miha's DAT

Disc 1:
   set 1
1.   Intro/Tuning   1:36
2.   Mustang Sally   5:38
3.   Camel Walk   6:28
4.   Golgi Apparatus   5:00
5.   Slave to the Traffic Light   6:44
6.   Melt the Guns>   3:23
7.   Dave's Energy Guide>   6:20
8.   Sneaking Sally Through the Alley   8:21
9.   Halley's Comet>   4:42
10.   Back Porch>   4:25
11.   Shaggy Dog   4:21
12.   Fluffhead   9:34
Total time: 66:38

Disc 2:
   set 2
1.   Jam>   5:46
2.   AC/DC Bag   5:55
3.   Swing Low Sweet Chariot Jam   2:14
4.   Peaches en Regalia   3:32
5.   David Bowie   10:19
6.   Have Mercy*->   11:48
7.   Harry Hood   9:10
8.   Sanity   4:56
9.   Skin It Back->   5:57
10.   Icculus   3:24
11.   Alumni Blues   6:11
Total time: 69:17

* with Matisyahu's dad on vocals. 

   There were"cuts" between several of the tracks, probably someones crowd
noise edits and/or tape flips. I cross-faded them best I could. There is
one in the jam on Harry, cross faded it too, doesn't sound too bad. There
are a few points where one channel gets choppy. The worst was at the end of
Halleys where I mixed it to mono for a short section, it was that bad.
Finaly, to normalize I boosted the first set 2.5 db, and the second set 4.5
db.
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: jedifunk on July 03, 2006, 09:24:33 AM
mmm, too old for my tastes... luckily i love this club and am willing to give it a try because of it...  perhaps i will change my tune after listening to it... just not the era i enjoy, but who knows, perhaps this is all i needed....

thanks for the pick in advance, :clap:
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: katzie on July 03, 2006, 09:43:01 AM
Was Jeff still in the band at this time?
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: Hicks on July 03, 2006, 10:08:00 AM
Nope, Jeff had left a couple months earlier. 

And Jedi, even if you don't like it, at least you gave something different a shot.  That's what this club is all about!
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: flow00 on July 03, 2006, 12:21:23 PM
I'm not a big fan of the 80s either, but this is a great show. I won't spoil what I think is a real gem of a jam that reminds me of Trey's emotional ambience of the late 90s. For whatever reason, no one ever talks about it. More on this show when I give it another listen. Nice pick!
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: Alumni on July 05, 2006, 09:41:04 AM
Ladies and Gentlemen . . . Mr. John Fishman on the drums[/marlon brando]

Mustang Sally: 5 years before 'The Commitments' brought this one back into brief popularity. Nice cover.

Camel Walk: ok. A couple millions later and some new equipment and this one might sound great ;)

Golgi: The name of this song is not "I saw you with a pistol in your hand"

Slave: I wasn't holding my breath. The performance seemed a little, umm, raw up to this point. And this is a song where even the 'jam' is still pretty much composed. But they nailed it. This is when you know you're not listening to another anonymous bar band. nice

Melt the Guns, DEG: Opens with F-Y-Face calls and extended hi-hat intro (would've thought Bowie was on tap). Instead its a Zenyetta-Mondatta-ish / white-boy-reggae-ish rap about (presumably?) nonviolence. I can see why this one got shelved. But then . . . the jam. This stunner comes out of nowhere. Derivative is an understatement. Trey's got Jerry's tone nailed here, and he's getting serious mileage out of it. Great segue (somehow) into

Sneakin Sally: Let's just say this one got more polished.

Halley's: People clapped. But seriously, this is appalling. I love (what) Halley's (became) and I want to cry. I assume that was Richard Wright/Nancy on vocals? Partially redeemed by the late noodle jam toward the end that sounds like the Allmans covering uncle pen.

Shaggy dog: nice

Fluff: Even though this is quintessential early phish, for me it's got an amphitheater/arena-rock vibe (esp. the final 'Fluffhead' chorus). I can only imagine what this looked like at a bar or college hall. :)

Set II & closing thoughts later
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: Alumni on July 05, 2006, 04:21:52 PM
Oops. Looks like my unidentified Allmans-cover-uncle-pen tune from set I was Back Porch. That's what I get for not checking the setlist. Also, probably wouldn't have called "Bowie" during that first set 'hi-hat' business, given that Bowie's debut was not until set II of this show. This is what heppens when the show club goes old school.

Set II:
Like the jam into AC/DC. More interesting than the standard Oh Kee Pah > AC/DC or Suzy. Trey: "How you doin' out there? Are you ready for us?" Prophetic words.

Swing Low jam: how many bands could play this and have it not come off like a bad joke? File under: "only Phish"

Peaches: Zappa purists be damned. I've always liked Phish's arrangement of this one.

Bowie: I got a kick out of the bluegrassy arrangement of the bit between the "bowie" and "ub40" verses :-D Jam segment starts off almost exaggerated-ly slow. Impressed with the level of "freak-out" they reach even in this debut version. The jam is really flying along toward the end.

Mercy: Honestly, I was praying for mercy when I realized this wasn't going to be one of those short & sweet, 3-4min mercys. Nice, eerie jam. Still a bit long, maybe, but better than I expected.

Hood: Interesting contrast with Slave, which seemed much more polished at this point. This one has its moments, and you can see the potential. But its not quite there. yet.

Skin it: Seemed like a nice excuse for a guitar solo

Icculus: A "religious" hymn to Ikki - a great and honored person born in 1948 in ancient Greece - played (very) roughly to the tune of Skynyrd's "simple kind of man" Again . . . only Phish.

[E] Alumni: Oh hell yeah - gotta do it . . . :banana: Definitely one of those "simple framework for jamming live" tunes. I like this one w/ letter to jimmy page, and it's nice w/ horns . . .but this one's still fun.

Well? I don't usually dig this far back into the catalogue. But it is fun to do now and then. I won't be patronizing and lie about being completely converted to old school Phish. It's not my first choice. But it is cool to hear how it all began. Nice choice.  :beers: Apologies for the cop-out rating: N/R

Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: Hicks on July 05, 2006, 07:45:09 PM
Karma to alumni for the first review, how 'bout the rest of you?  Tell me what you don't like about it, I can take it!

And yes it's true I was born in ancient Greece in 1948, read the book!
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: cactusfan on July 05, 2006, 09:27:36 PM
a very curious tape of a bar band you've put up here.
there's the typical bar band cover songs like mustang sally and sneakin' sally, neither of which are any good at all, and include way too much obnoxious guitar.
yet there's also a number of very curious originals such as Camel Walk, Golgi Apparatus and David Bowie. curious in that even though none of them really work, they're unique and very carefully composed in a way i've never heard a bar band compose music.
as though the musicians' knowledge of what they wanted to do with the music far outweighed their ability to play it.
one could imagine this band going nowhere but to other bars, until they got bored and found real jobs, yet one could just as easily see them blossoming into something entirely different and exciting.

i understand these boys actually did go on to a certain amount of fame in later life?   :wink:


but seriously, thanks for the show. i've never gotten around to listening to one this old before. it's a trip to hear these songs at what is virtually their birth. everything's so slow! it really is weird to hear trey composing these weird-ass songs so long before he really knows how to play them. Golgi just doesn't do anything played like this, but basically everything that makes it the song it became is there, waiting to be exploited. trey knew the musical effect he was going for, even if he didn't yet know how to realize it.
Slave is sure a dud. but there it is, the same form, just not working at all.
Bowie actually worked better for me. the jam is kind of groovy for awhile.
i really hated mustang sally. terribly played.
and Halleys-- oh lord. even in modern times the vocals are a bit of a drag, but this is like fingernails on a chalkboard.
i don't have the setlist in front of me, but i really like the jam that goes into Sneakin' Sally.

but so anyway, that's all in comparison to the FUTURE.
as far as a bar band in '86 goes, this band is fucking weird. if i lived in vermont and this was the local band, damn straight i would have gone all the time.

thanks for the pick.   :beers:
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: sophist on July 05, 2006, 10:26:44 PM
I'm still DL
I got back logged due to project 72.  (its a gift and a curse  :wink: )
Almost done DL..........3 hours left
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: jephrey on July 06, 2006, 12:57:50 PM
Mustang Sally - good cover
Camel Walk - I like the complete lyrics.  The key changes are more defined in the future, and I like them that way, but this song was still good back then.  I find it enjoyable even though it may be considered unrefined by some.  Not as funky, but I like the version.
I Saw You With a Pistol in Your Hand - At this point, I'm thinking I shouldn't have read Alumni's review first.  My opinion my be the exact opposite.  I liked this version as well.  It's slower and older, but seems fairly polished.  Not as many Trey notes as future versions, but you can't expect it to not evolve.  I think it started off very well.
Slave - A high quality rendition.  I may even like this song more as an older version.
FYF-Minkink-MTG - This is one of those old tunes that I wish got revamped for the future, maybe even taking out some of the chorus and a lot of the lyrics.  I like the music though.  I find that MTG is a treat to hear.  An almost invisible segue into >
DEG - I love this one too.  This entire jam is sweet.  This part of the show is making me want some more stuff from 86.  I was 10 years old!
Sneakin' Sally - I recently got the original and I like the way Phish plays it.  I think this is a great selection.  the more I listen, the more impressed I am with this set.  Good jamming for early Trey and a nice little vocal jam.
Halley's - Pretty bad, but I think by design.  I won't knock it just because it's so bad.  I think it's Fish that's making it so much worse that it needed to be.  Still, the music is good and I like the extendedness of it. which turns out to be
Back Porch - I dig this.
Shaggy Dog - Pre-cursor to Jim?  Nice little organ groove in there and some fast guitar (that I like)
Fluff - Good also.

This set was a treat for me.  I really liked it.  No huge jamming or anything, but I thought it was well played.  80s shows will get more random play.  The thought that there's no intense jamming or funk is a turn-off, but I need to remember that there are other aspects of the old stuff that I really like.  Especially songs that went away.  Anyhow, set 2 this afternoon hopefully and I'll be back on track.

Jephrey
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: Alumni on July 06, 2006, 02:25:56 PM
Quote from: jephrey on July 06, 2006, 12:57:50 PM
I Saw You With a Pistol in Your Hand - At this point, I'm thinking I shouldn't have read Alumni's review first.  My opinion my be the exact opposite.  I liked this version as well.  It's slower and older, but seems fairly polished.  Not as many Trey notes as future versions, but you can't expect it to not evolve.  I think it started off very well.
Slave - A high quality rendition.  I may even like this song more as an older version.

Not sure what you mean. I didn't have much of a reaction to Golgi, so I just posted some stage banter. The stage chatter is one of the best things bout this recording - funny stuff  :-D

I'll agree on Slave. I think cactusfan went overboard in criticizing this slave. Sure, its not as smooth as, say, 11.26.94. But I thought it was surprisingly polished.
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: August on July 06, 2006, 03:01:18 PM
i love me some old stuff.
trey is obviously rocking a strat for this gig,
and for those guitar players, you can hear he plays ALOT of tunes using
the 4th pickup selector.which is strange....

Mustang- cool lead stuff bt trey.nobody wants to shut the lightswitch for them.enter kuroda........
Camel- cool version.the only part i didnt like was when trey missed the "Got funk?" line.then mike missed his 'Funk" line.which is the best part of the song!
Golgi-Slave-Both were nice versions
MTG-Minkin-DEG really cool jam out of this.very solid for the earlier half then turned into something that could almost be found in a 94 fall jam or summer 95 jam....awesom3e segue into>
Sally- i like the little vocal section in the middle, then BAM! right back into it.dope.
Halley's-Porch-Shaggy- all nice.the back porch was a treat.trey was on fire.fuego!
Fluff- i called this!.....i really dont like the old arrangement (or this incarnation,at least) of this.this one has really come a long way.

Jam>ACDC- the jam was kinda "waiting for mike anfd page to get out of the bathroom-esque"i have had many of these pre-set II jams.they rule!ACDC was more ripping by Triz.
swingLow- coo
Peaches- they kick this tune's ass.eighties.nineties.whatev.......this one really had a laid back feel.like....extra.
Bowie- now, this one, i like the earlier arrangment.not that i am not happy with how it is, but both are really solid.nice,early style jamming going on.
Have Mercy- i like this song alot, but didnt like this version.just way too long for me.and although the singer was good, i hate when random people try and steal the show.that killed it for me.
Hood- nice......
Sanity- real early.i really enjoy the sped-up versions from a few years later.
Skin it- any mike tune is cool in my book.more rippage.
Icculus-really short...
Alumni-strange with out the Letter section.nice tune.

i give this one a B.
it is weird how the 80's get grouped together.
if you listen to 89 or 88 even, it is entirely different than how they were playing around this time.
nice pick, ik!

a
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: jephrey on July 06, 2006, 03:56:07 PM
I was generalizing Alumni, from reading what you wrote, I took it that you weren't impressed after the first few songs, and I was.  I didn't mean to relate my statement to Golgi either, I meant it overall and based it on this statement...

QuoteI wasn't holding my breath. The performance seemed a little, umm, raw up to this point

That's all, I thought it was good up to that point, not "umm, raw".  Anyway, I was just poking fun at the banter too.

Jam - This is a really cool little jam into
Bag - A tune that up and down the years continues to impress.  Jedi can't say that he doesn't like this one.  It's good stuff.
Swing Low - Cool little groove, this type of thing is what makes Phish Phish.
Peaches - I also think Phish rocks this tune.  This version is slow and could use louder keys.  It's played OK.
Bowie -  A little messy at the start and all over the speed scale.  The little bluegrass ditty is nice, and the jam is super slow.  Fun to listen to for a change from later Bowies.  It does speed up for the end.  I think the end to bowie is one of my favorite endings to any song although this one isn't as fierce as I'd like.
Have Mercy - Jah!  roll up a big fat one and smoke it.  I wish this got more rotation in later years.  It has always been good as part of a jam like in Tweezer fests etc.  by itself, it's aight, but I liked the length and it went well into a reggae intro to...
Hood - Cool
Sanity - Don't love the tune, but it's OK
Skin it Back - Love the tune.  This one's OK.
Icculus - OK
Alumni - I was lucky to witness the return of this tune by both TAB and then by Phish.  I've always liked it, and the alternate lyrics are sweet.  Good ending.

I liked this show a lot.  Gives my opinion of the 80s a boost even though they weren't that low to begin with.  I just never paid much attention because I was too busy with the later 90s.

Thanks for the show.  My rating is a 3.49876 out of 5.

Jephrey
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: shoreline99 on July 06, 2006, 04:29:00 PM
I have an old ogg copy of this one. gonna download this version and compare.

nice bar band vibe...  :banana:  :beers:  :banana:
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: katzie on July 06, 2006, 05:54:45 PM
I don't wanna set this thread alight, but that Hood is one of my all-time favourite versions.

bite me.
dk
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: Alumni on July 06, 2006, 06:33:27 PM
You'll have to do better than that to set a thread on fire on this board. Not encouraging . . . just sayin'

Honestly, I can't imagine choosing this Hood over MSG 95 or Stanford, but that's only me. So what is it about this one that moves ya?
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: katzie on July 06, 2006, 06:38:46 PM
Sorry I've just seen threads set alight with stuff like this, for example in the Darien 93 thread when someone proclaimed it the best of the summer.

Basically, I think the jam just sounds really clean. It peaks in a way that post 96 versions struggle to do. You cannot say that it wasn't divinely melodious at least, if not ragged and charming as I found it. I also have similar feelings about the Slave at this show. Hmm, maybe I'm just partial to earlier Hoods, the 11/4/90 is another all time fave. There is a certain melodic quality to Trey's noodling that isn't even present in 94 versions maybe.

two cents - lovin' the club, downloaded every show so far, but seeing as I'll be away for a month in Israel, I'll miss four whole weeks of goodness!
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: susep on July 06, 2006, 06:55:47 PM
Quote from: katzie on July 06, 2006, 06:38:46 PM
Hmm, maybe I'm just partial to earlier Hoods, the 11/4/90 is another all time fave. There is a certain melodic quality to Trey's noodling that isn't even present in 94 versions maybe.

two cents - lovin' the club, downloaded every show so far, but seeing as I'll be away for a month in Israel, I'll miss four whole weeks of goodness!

Great early version>another good Hood is 3Dec.99 :wink:

Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: jedifunk on July 06, 2006, 06:57:03 PM
ok, so i'm not gonna go thru a full song by song entry on this one... just a summary of my thoughts (writing this from memory).

1st set: actually i'll have to review this set later cuz i listened to this one a few days ago..
2nd set: gave this another listen this morning, and i gotta say, i was fairly impressed and unimpressed at the same time....  definitely not up to the standards of later years (duh) but you can see it coming from a mile away...  reminded me of some of the crappy bands i used to see at bars in college...

overall, a pretty fun set.
- enjoy the jam>bag... bag was the same then & now... rockin!
- peaches, a very appropriate cover for the boys
- bowie... can you say highlight?  shit is deep!  really did enjoy this... fun to hear them working it out in front of our ears... you can hear them searching for "it" and while they dont necessarily find it on this night, again, you can feel that its coming... the feeling is much different than other shitty bar bands over the years.
- hood, nice rendition...
- alumni, was sick, trey really had it going on.

without another listen to the 1st set, i'm gonna give this a B... based on the fact that its earlier and doesnt fit my ears as much, but that i could hear the "it" being searched for... not many bands even know what "it" is, let alone know what to do to get "it"... so for that alone Phish rules....

nice pick ikki, thanks for making me stretch out and grow!
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: Hicks on July 07, 2006, 03:55:16 AM
Quote from: katzie on July 06, 2006, 06:38:46 PM
Hmm, maybe I'm just partial to earlier Hoods, the 11/4/90 is another all time fave. There is a certain melodic quality to Trey's noodling that isn't even present in 94 versions maybe.


11/4/90 is a top Hood, no doubt. 

I've always been partial to 4/22/90 as far as early Hoods go too.   
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: thelot on July 07, 2006, 01:45:02 PM
Quote from: august on July 06, 2006, 03:01:18 PM
i love me some old stuff.
trey is obviously rocking a strat for this gig,
and for those guitar players, you can hear he plays ALOT of tunes using
the 4th pickup selector.which is strange....

(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f295/thelot01/167571236_97797e5f31.jpg)

nice pick ikki, this one has always been a favorite of mine.

Set I:
Mustang Sally - nice version
Camel Walk - always a treat
Golgi>Slave - awesome
Melt the Guns>Sneakin' Sally - set highlight for me, always wanted to see MTG.
Halley's>Back Porch>Shaggy Dog - good stuff
Fluffhead - raw

Set II:
Jam>Ac/Dc - opening jam segment is hot...for '86
Swing Low - love this tune
Peaches - raw
Bowie - set highlight for me, you gotta love these early versions! :beers:
Have Mercy>Hood - excellent
Sanity- always welcome
Skin it Back>Icculus - awesome
Alumni - :banana:

Great early show. I give it a 4.0 out of 5.0 for '86.
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: Hicks on July 07, 2006, 05:40:56 PM
Glad everyone is enjoying this one, it's actually going over better than I had expected.  I guess you guys really do like Phish after all!    :wink:

Here's my thoughts on Set I

Mustang Sally:  Fun opener, and not too shabby either, on the highway ramp approaching funky.

Camel Walk:  Personally I think that this is what Camel Walk is supposed to sound like, the '90s versions, in my mind, are covers of this, the original version.  Which isn't to say that one is better than the other, but I prefer the old school take on the tune. 

Golgi:  I love the slow and funky of pre '88 Golgis, it's almost an entirely different song from what it became and I just love the looseness of these versions, plus I'm not sick of it!   :wink:

Slave:  Nice and tight, I think that this one rages and could be considered among the best versions of the song, Trey wails throughout it.

Melt the Guns:  You gotta love the Fuck Your Face and Minkin call outs at the beginning, some classic Phish inside jokes, even if at this point only the band was on the inside.  If they come back they should really think about resurrecting this one, such an odd tune that it seems to just fit perfectly within the Phish asthetic, and the jam out of it is GORGEOUS!  Sure it's very Dead-ish but Trey brings more of a pure rock style where Jerry was more of a rootsy player, and he also gets dissonant way quicker than Jerry tended to.  But my interest in the Dead has been growing as of late, after years of purposefully not opening that musical can of worms, so this jam hit the spot for me.  Highlight of the set, possibly the entire show.

I wouldn't really call what follows a true Dave's Energy Guide, but more of a jam with DEG teases.  Anyway like I said it really is beautiful and the segue into Sneakin' Sally is pretty slick IMO.

Sneakin' Sally:  Pretty good singing by the boys and Trey just rages this one going nuts all up down the neck, machine gun Trey is born!  You've got to wonder at this point, how long did it take Trey from picking up the guitar for the first time until he was able to shred like this?  Maybe two weeks?  :-D   The vocal jam was a lot of fun too, another reason I love eighties tapes is that these sorts of antics could pop up in any song not just in predesignated ones like YEM. 

Halley's:  Yes it's awful, but I've actually heard worse, specifically the last ever '80s version from 8/17/89 where the band actually seems to display contempt for the tune. 

Back Porch:  Some great noodlin' by Trey, again a bit like you know who, but still very satisfying jam.   Plus a bonus tasty solo by Page.   

Shaggy Dog:  It's never been my favorite but I don't remember remember Page and Trey ripping up the outro jam like they do on this one, kickdown!

Fluffhead:  Always fun, even if it's still embryonic at this point. 

Sure they are still a bar band, but man they don't sound like any bar band I've ever seen!  If these guys played around my town I'd be there every night!  With great versions of Slave, Sally, Golgi and Camel Walk in their original form, and an amazing jam in Melt the Guns I gotta give the set an A-.  Definitely up there with the other great sets from the decade. 
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: jedifunk on July 08, 2006, 01:33:45 PM
ok, so i'm getting around to another listen of set 1...  and i'm really enjoying it!  its fun, its loose, its unpretentious....  really enjoying it!

i'm at halleys now, and yes the vocals are bad, but i'm still really enjoying it... 

mustang- nice, but glad it didnt stay in the rotation
camel walk - old skool, yes, this one is great, love the additional lyrics
golgi - fun, love treys comments before they play
slave- great work by everyone here, and trey is great... not my favorite style of playing but still you can get the feel that they are gonna be great...
melt the guns>sneakin- this shit was hot!  obviously they arent as tight as 1997, but this is amazing work for guys still trying ot get it together... set highlight right here.  vocal jam is really fun
halleys>porch>shaggy- fun fun fun... nice bluegrass feel, but a little to GD for my taste.. .but am enjoying it non-the-less.

once again, you easily get the idea of what the band wants to accomplish, which makes years like 95, 97, 99 even better cuz at that point they have "it" and it all started here...

i really got to say, i didnt think i'd enjoy this one.  but once i got past my predefined notions i found it to be a really enjoyable listen... this one will probably stick around in itunes, and find a niche in my rotation... its a perfect for around the house doing work...  its light fun entertaining.

thanks. :clap:
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: birdman on July 09, 2006, 01:14:05 PM
Been a long week for me and I finially got through the show. Its been years since I've listened to this one and theres probably a good reason for this. Obviously I wasn't expecting to find heart stopping renditions of many of the songs. However, I do love hearing primal Phish.
   Highlights for me included the MTG>Sneaking Sally, a quite impressive Slave, and Shaggy Dog (one of the songs I wanted to hear for years and finally caught on 10/29/95...one of the bigest breakouts for me ever)
    Peaches, Bowie, Mercy, and Hood would have drawn me back to see this strange band again,if only to make sure that what I had witnessed was actually real. Afterall, I've seen plenty of bar bands in my day but none that played anaything close to what these odd fellas brought to the stage.  Again, the Slave and Hood were the closest things to sounding like modern Phish and its no surprise that word spread about these guys...like wildfire it spread.
  Thanks for the pick Ikki....nice to go back to the roots. :beers:
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: Gumbo72203 on July 09, 2006, 02:30:41 PM
this is cool to see so many people digging Phish's realllll early stuff.  I havent gotten a chance to sit down and listen to the whole show yet, but i would like to add a comment that if you like this show even a little bit, then you really oughta check out 10/16/86 which i think is smokin'.  there isnt that much, but i think the playing is amazing.  Golgi, Slave, Wilson, Halley's, Possum, Sneakin' Sally, and Makisupa.  great great early stuff.
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: Hicks on July 09, 2006, 03:54:52 PM
Quote from: Gumbo72203 on July 09, 2006, 02:30:41 PM
this is cool to see so many people digging Phish's realllll early stuff.  I havent gotten a chance to sit down and listen to the whole show yet, but i would like to add a comment that if you like this show even a little bit, then you really oughta check out 10/16/86 which i think is smokin'.  there isnt that much, but i think the playing is amazing.  Golgi, Slave, Wilson, Halley's, Possum, Sneakin' Sally, and Makisupa.  great great early stuff.

You mean 10/15/86 Gumbo? 

Yeah that's a great one, I think it may have been the first eighties show I ever got.

Another great early Have Mercy>Hood combo on that one as well, but nothing that can match up to the MTG jam and Bowie from this show, IMO.
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: Gumbo72203 on July 09, 2006, 06:08:30 PM
actually no im completely stupid, its actually 10/12/86.  i actually picked up the beat CD copy of that show that i still have sitting randomly on my computer desk when i originally typed that...  i have no idea why i said 10/16..... lol
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: lexslamman on July 09, 2006, 07:09:57 PM
Quote from: shoreline99 on July 06, 2006, 04:29:00 PM
I have an old ogg copy of this one. gonna download this version and compare.

nice bar band vibe...  :banana:  :beers:  :banana:

Love this show - must have been fun seeing Phish when they were rockin' the dives.
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: Hicks on July 09, 2006, 09:50:47 PM
Quote from: Gumbo72203 on July 09, 2006, 06:08:30 PM
actually no im completely stupid, its actually 10/12/86.  i actually picked up the beat CD copy of that show that i still have sitting randomly on my computer desk when i originally typed that...  i have no idea why i said 10/16..... lol

I still think you're talking about this show Gumbo  :-D

10-15-86 Hunt's, Burlington, VT

1: Alumni Blues, Makisupa Policeman, Skin It Back > Cities, I Am Hydrogen, McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, AC/DC Bag, Jazz Interlude*, You Enjoy Myself, Lushington (1:04)

2: Peaches En Regalia, Golgi Apparatus, Swing Low Sweet Chariot Jam, Camel Walk, Shaggy Dog, Mustang Sally, Fluffhead, Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley, Wilson, Slave to the Traffic Light, Quinn the Eskimo, Mike's Song, Have Mercy, Harry Hood (1:23)

3: Run Like an Antelope**, Sanity, Anarchy (0:23)

E: Clod

There are no shows listed between 5/4/86 and this one, which is probably due to Jeff Holdsworth leaving the group during this time.

But yeah it's a sick show!
Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: thelot on July 09, 2006, 11:03:13 PM
10-12-86 Haybarn Theatre, Goddard College, Plainfield, VT

01. Golgi Apparatus* >
02. Slave to the Traffic Light
03. Wilson*
04. Haley's Comet^
05. Possum
06. Sneakin Sally
07. Makisupa Policeman

* earliest known versions
^ w/Nancy on vocals

*notes*
While not an exceptional recording by any means, this is surely some great early Phish captured on tape. Despite the distant sound, the overall sound of the tape was quite good considering the age. While the source info is not "nailed", below is the email that led me to the tape:

An etree friend has come across a cassette that he believes to be from this show.

If in fact this show is from this date, it would definitely be the first Wilson and Golgi known (supplanting the current first known for those 2 which is 10/15/1986). My friend has actually not listened to this show, but he lives in San Diego and got it from a guy he works with who was at Goddard College in 1986 (kind of an odd coincidence I would say) since his coworker approached him knowing my friend was into Phish.

Rather than paraphrase everything told to me, here is exactly what my friend told me about this tape/show:
Tom [his coworker] told me he wasn't sure of the exact date, but that he did go to the show. He said that it was in a barn. Actually, he said when he went there opened up the wrong door and was on or near the stage and was looking at the whole crowd staring back at him before he went around to the entrance. Anyway, he tells me that it was in October 1986 at Goddard College so I can only assume it is the October 12,1986 Haybarn Theater, Goddard College, Plainfield, VT show. Tom got it from
Del Martin and the only information that I have is that Del gave him a copy of the tape (which was taped off of Del's recording). I have a copy of Tom's tape. Tom said he is pretty sure that Del had a 4-track and was recording with 2 mics. Other than that I don't know any other info except a setlist or partial setlist he gave me which is: Golgi-(first time?)> Slave to the Traffic Light, Wilson (first time?), Haley's Comet w/ Nancy, Possum, Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley, Makisupa Policeman. Since I don't have a good tape player and I don't want to jack it up by listening to it. Can you or do you know anybody that can put it in flac or shn format for digital transfer? I really don't want to get hopes up too high because I haven't listened to it, but I think that it should be okay. I didn't ask what type of precautions he took with this tape over the last 20 years.

Title: Re: Week 8: 10/31/86 Sculpture Room, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
Post by: Hicks on July 09, 2006, 11:57:24 PM
Well slap me and call me Susan!  I guess I should have looked in the db instead of phish.net, oh wait I can't!   :|

Anyway set II wrap up. 

Jam: was cool, definitely not the "must hear" that the mockingbird site calls it though.  I really thought they nailed the segue into . . .

AC/DC Bag:  I actually kind of dig Page on the electric for this instead of grand, gives it more of a funky feel.  I really liked the way they stretched the end out and then repeated it a few times, I can imagine them doing that with a later, "bigger" sound to grand effect. 

Swing Low Sweet Chariot:  I love Phish in jazz mode, and I would file that in this category.  I wish they would of busted out a few jazz tunes (other than Magilla) in later years from time to time just for fun.   It worked on 10/30/98 and I think it could've worked a few other times as well, but I'm just a guy, what do I know.  But anyway, big ups to the Johhny B. Fishman Jazz Ensemble!

Peaches:  A great excuse for Trey to tear it up, I though this version raged pretty hard.

Bowie:  Alright, I've made up my mind and MTG is the top jam of the show, but this is no slouch of a Bowie either.  I really dig hearing the extra composed part, it really doesn't work and Trey was wise to ax it.  But for those of us that have heard this song hundreds if not thousands of times it's a very cool change up.  I really dig Trey's shredding and squealing at the end of this.  First time played and already it's a monster, amazing! 

Have Mercy:  You guys really don't dig the outro jam on this before whoever it is starts babbling?  I think it's a perfect chill summertime groove, even if it is pretty Dead-ish once again.  I was also impressed by Fish's decent reggae style drumming on this one.  The guy on vocals I thought was alright, he kind of reminded me of Matisyahu!   :-D  I guess this guy was born in the wrong decade, he could've been a star!  Anyway it didn't go on that long and certainly wasn't as monotonous as Jah Roy on Ya Mar from 5-25-88. 

Hood: Was good, Fish kind of botched the Mr. Miner part IMO, but from here on out it was like butter, with the exception of the tape flip.  :wink:  Exceptional version, it doesn't sound like we missed too much of the jam here, but who knows though. 

Sanity: cool, but I missed my favorite riff. 

Skin It Back:  I love this tune, it kind of sounds like Trey is teasing DEG again at the end and then it promptly falls apart, oh well.

Icculus:  :banana:

Alumni:  I dug without the Letter to Jimmy Page segment, it gave Trey a little room to improvise some nice and tasty blues licks. 

I'll give the set a B+, great Bowie and Hood, a beautiful laid back jam in Have Mercy and solid versions of the other tunes.  Overall I give the show an A-, but if handicapped by taking into account that these guys were still college students I'd probably give it an A+.  Either way a classic IMO. (duh!) 

Like I said before there's something about the laid back vibe and slow tempos of these early shows that makes for perfect listening on those days where it's so hot you can barely move, and there's certainly been no shortage of those in NW lately.  Pop one of these on, grab you're favorite frosty beverage and you're ready for a prime chill session!

I also really dig listening to shows like this from a historical perspective, the feeling of traveling back in time and seeing the birth of ideas that would later come to fruition is the coolest!

Anyway, glad you guys enjoyed it, especially Jedi and the rest of you guys that listen to shows from this era infrequently. 

Thanks to everybody involved in this kick ass club, especially birdman for the idea!    :clap: