R14/W05: 10-25-96 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA

[whatapiper]

Thanks to Aug for bending the rules a bit as the Clifford Ball was technically my first time seeing The Phish.   Hampton 96 however was my first show outside of a festival.  :wink:  I remember this show well and have not seen a Mound or Ha Ha Ha since.

mp3 http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KPUL2T9F
flac part 1 http://www.megaupload.com/?d=O287EZ6W
flac part 2 http://www.megaupload.com/?d=P1GSCIFF

Phish
Hampton Coliseum
Hampton, VA
October 25, 1996

Schoeps MK41's>Reutelhuber>Tascam DA-P1
Recorded By Carrion Crow & Teddy

DAT clone received from Carrion Crow 10 1/2 years ago that shows signs of never having been played by me EVER prior to transfer, so it's in great shape.

Transfer:  Tascam DA-30MKII>Edirol R-4>WL5 (Fades)>CDWAV>FLAC

Schoeps Rig Loan and Transfer by Keith Litzenberger


This is the 48 khz version direct from my DAT Clone of the DAT master. I have decided to no longer resample my recordings for posting as a growing number of people would rather have the original version anyway. Afterall, we are in the 21st century and audio has moved beyond the CD.

if you want to put this on CD, you will have to resample to 44.1khz...plenty of programs will do that for you.



Set I

Ha Ha Ha
Taste
Makisupa Policeman
Maze
Billy Breathes
Mound
Guelah Papyrus
I Didn't Know
Stash
The Squirming Coil

Set II

Tube
Prince Caspian
Timber Ho
The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday->
Avenu Malkenu->
The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday
NICU
Free
Strange Design
Harry Hood
Cavern
The Star Spangled Banner

E: Johnny B. Goode

Notes from the taper:
FWIW the hat wearer this night was Todd ??. Thanks to Slade and M. Logsdon for help w/ blocking and finding a a friend to wear the hat this night. Where you at Slade??
I know of an MK4 sourced FOB for this show too. Might even have it in some box somewhere. See if I can find that one sometime. From what I can recall, tapes sounded darn close the same.
Ok...now its time for the Hampton 97's to come out...heh...all my other tapes from Hampton Phish are out there.

[VA $l!m]

really dig this show for a '96. the setlist is totally my speed. enjoyed these sets much more than the first year.
definitely a few nuggets in this show. might have to pull this one out...used to listen to it every once in awhile.

[khalpin]

Ha Ha Ha - Gotta love this as an opener.  One of only 2 played in '96.
Taste - Trey has a pretty cool solo featuring a bit of a recurring riff.  Short but sweet.
Makisupa - Feels like a cool down.  Albeit tainted by my opinion of this tune.
Maze - A nice pick me up.  Solid version with good solos.  Nice peak.
Billy Breathes - Bathroom break.
Mound - I like the fast version here.  Played well.
Guelah - Standard
I Didn't Know - The vacuum solo section actually had a bit of a kick to it.  Then Trey makes the announcement.
Stash - Pretty average version that's devoid of any quality peaks.  It wasn't bad, but didn't really have anything that stood out.
Squirming Coil - Trey gets lost for a whole section and opts to stay silent.

Tube - Certainly a treat for the Hampton crowd.  This song was awesome long before it got the 97 funk treatment. Great way to start the set.
Caspian - Bummer, kills the energy for me.
Timber - Love this one.  Would've liked it more if it was longer.  Where's my 30 minute Timber?
TMWSIY > Avenu - Another nice treat.
NICU - Some nice playing by Mike in here.
Free - Standard
Strange Design - A short one that given the placement, makes you anticipate what's coming next more than anything.
Harry Hood - Mike with a little evil playfulness prior to the vocal starts.  Solid version.  Although, it wasn't out of the ordinary, it's the best jam of the night.
Cavern - Standard
Star Spangled Banner - Still new at this point.  The crowd loves it!
Johnny B. Goode - Sends 'em out rockin.

I admit, I was a bit negative going in, as I haven't been a fan of this one in the past.  It's not a bad show and there are some nice treats in here.  Just not any standout jams that I really want to revisit after listening.  That's not too uncommon for October '96, though. 

[Augustus]

Ha Ha Ha - 1st time used as an opener.

Taste - Pretty ballsy playing two "new" tunes to open the show. Trey is already super loose, as well as Fish. Short version and a little hurried during the end, but not bad.

Makisupa - Dank! Very high breakdown section. Mike's line starts to get a little evil as they melt into >>>

Maze - Some of my favorite shows have this pairing. Fall '96 was a great time for Maze. Ripping throughout with a super pointy peak.

Billy - Good placement. Played rather well with a note-for-note album solo.

Mound - Never caught one... :cry:

Guelah - Little slips during some of the vocals and the Asse.

IDK - That guy plays the vacuum! Trey starts hinting at Stash afterward with some volume swells. Tells the crowd of his love of the room.

Stash - Jam gets right to it. Typical Stash jam for a bit until they hit a great peak at 11 minutes in. Dark plateau @12:30 before they head into the ending theme.

Coil - Trey gets really lost. Then really lost again! Then pretty much doesn't play ANY of the composed sections. RUFF. Really sweet Page solo, however.

WHOA! Dead filler!

Tube - 1 of 3 from all of '96. Some mini-kit. Trey mimics Page's grand solo for a minute. Super short.

Caspian - Artist formally known as.

Timber - Ferocious Fish! Fantastic tension ~4:30.

MWS/Avenu/MWS - Killer Mike during his Avenu solo spots.

NICU - Surprisingly, 1 of only 6 from the year.

Free - Said it a yillion times, but I *LUV* '95/'96 versions of Free. Some vocals heard during the jam.

Design - Set is kind of up and down. Vocals sound good, tho.

Hood - Another tune that flourished during this Tour. Very energetic composed sections, especially the Mr. Minor part. Trey is playing tons of notes, yet never comes of as noodly. Really nice version.

Cavern - Forgets some lyrics.

SSB - ::no notes::

JBG - '96 was great for John. Nice climax.

Solid show for your first.
Would give it an A for a first timer and a B+/B for the Tour.

[Buffalo Budd]

Set 1:
Ha Ha Ha – Great opener, nice kickdown.  Short and sweet into >

Taste – I like this tune a lot more after they rearranged it to this format.  Trey jumps into his solo right away and finds a great lick that he plays off for a bit, then quickly shuffles into the refrain.

Makisupa – Phishy fun, keyword is dank.  I find this version kinda groovy and would have had me dancing.  Kinda spacey as it rolls right into >

Maze – Cool intro.  Really tight playing, decent organ solo, soaring guitar lead, crazy tension builds to a frenzy and finally the release.  Great version.

Billy Breathes – Nice breather after that mayhem, played very well.

Mound – Pretty cool song selection so far to start this show.  Pretty much perfect version, I'm always amazed at how they all keep time with all the change-ups. 

Guelah Papyrus – Possibly my favourite tune in their repertoire and this set just gets better.  Another stellar version.

I Didn't Know – Just rounding out the setlist.  Cool vacuum solo by Charleton Heston.  Trey tells the crowd it's his favourite room to play in.

Stash – And the hits keep coming, this show has the makings of an allstar show in so far in my books.  Trey letting Page lead the jam early on, then Trey gets kinda hooked on a theme that doesn't really take off.  Typical soloing from Trey, nothing to write home about.  They tease the outtro for a second and then try to build another peak, which gets dissonant as Trey holds his note as the actual refrain starts. 

Squirming Coil – Trey gets completely lost for a large portion of the song and doesn't play a note.  Surprising at this point in the night seeing as he's been pretty much spot on the rest of the time.  Beautiful ending with Trey and Page playing off eachother, then Page with a sublime ending.  Perfect end to a great set (minus the Trey flubs in Coil).

Set 2:
Tube – Now this is the way to start a 2nd set, gets the crowd grooving. 

Caspian – Kind of a let down, but you have to get one or 2 of these songs per set.  Not to mention, I kind of like this version and was definitely a huge fan of the song back in 1996 (noob).

Timber – Oh yeah!!!  This show is loaded with goodness.  Fish is just rolling this train along, Trey starts to take it out there around the 3:00 mark, gets psychedelic, then rolls back into the verse.

TMWSIY > Avenu Malkenu > TMWSIY - Another nice treat, Mike throws in a solo with some modulation during Malkenu, sounds awesome.

NICU – Small hiccup from Trey early on.  Page sounding pretty funky on the solo, nothing mind-blowing.  Pretty standard version >

Free – Quick start to the 1st verse by Trey, I miss Mike's bombs to start the jam.  It makes this tune for me.  Nothing really happens in the jam other than a few runs from Page.

Strange Design – Personally, I would never complain with a SD anywhere in the set, I love this tune.

Harry Hood – Nice quiet intro with Mike fooling around, Trey having some fun with his lines.  Composed section solid, Mike dropping serious bombs in the Mr Minor section, love it!!!  The jam is nothing that takes off but is steady and well played.  They all seemed pretty locked into what eachother was playing but keep it in the framework of the song.  Trey creates a slow and steady build to the refrain.  Very well played version.

Cavern – Nice rockin' way to end the set.

Encore:
Star Spangled Banner – Sounds great.

Johnny B. Goode – Super fast tempo and great soloing from Trey.  Fantastic finish to the show.

I may get some flack for this but I'm giving this an A due to song selection and precision playing.  I know there were no face-melting jamz, but it would have been the perfect 1st show in my books. 

[Pholy M. Pia]

First set:

Ha Ha Ha - Pedal to the floor!

Taste - Nice, I like the lyrical build of this song a little more than the jam, but overall a cool one, and they do this one up real well.

Makisupa - Getting irie up in here. Nice minor shift at the end to blend into>

Maze - Freaking perfection transition, from totally happy, spacey to badass danger build.  Trey's bends this night have been off the hook so far. Everyone sounds super dextrous.
Page's solo is darkly tinged and constructed. Trey's solo is a melter of faces. Choice!

Billy Breathes - Appropriate Cool Down.  A little shaky on the beginning vocals, but they get it. I like the quiet break before Treys solo best.

Mound - Awesome! This show is making me happy! Excellent fast and driving rendition.

Guelah Papyrus - Keeping it coming! Page and Mike just sound swampy! I love hearing them move the energy in the room. Pretty perfect.

I Didn't Know - A peppy little ditty and a formal intro to a stand-out, hot vacuum solo.
Followed by some endearing words from Trey about the coliseum. Musta' been a fine ole' time there that night.

Stash - Good composed section, jam gets off to a quiet start, and really just keeps rolling in a tranced out sort of way.  Nice, brief variation at 10 min. by MIke and Page. Couple of good peaks and some more trance thrummage. Trey winds way, way up to the last peak,and they kind of let it hang shattered before letting it flutter down to the closing lyrics. I liked it!

Coil - Trey meltdown on the composed section notwithstanding,  he pulls it together and it winds up an enjoyable Coil. The outro has to be my favorite way to close a set. Page had me off in dreamland. So Savory.

Second set:

Tube - Boom. Page with the boogie, then the crazy funky organ. Short and ripping>

Caspian - I like the part after they sing pretty well. Especially the return.

Timber - Frenetic Fishman in control. This is nice and evil sounding.   

TMWSIY>AvenuMalkenu>TMWSIY - This combo is a special favorite of mine. Mike gets his spotlight and puts on the distortion. Fish is a percussive beast. Love it! Kinda wish they would've either forgone or shortened the return to TMWSIY (I mean this in general. It's pretty, but it loses too much momentum imo).

NICU - Dig this one too. Kind of slow to build back the oomph, though. Page sounds good, but this one was a bit rough.

Free - Hypnojamming. This one makes me space out. I think I like this one in an earlier slot a little more.

Strange Design -  They play this.

Harry Hood - Good lurking hood intro. Very sweet sounding composed section, with Trey really underwatery at times. Mike hitting the wrecking ball distortion just right during the Mr. MInor segment. The jam is  smooth climbing and pleasant listening.

Cavern - Super dank intro to a suitable closer to this super, dank show.

SSB - They can do it.

JBG - Party out the door.

This was a very entertaining show, especially the first set. What a show to kick Things off for you! Thanks for sharing!

[Caravan2001]

I'd never heard this show before I listened to it on Sunday and Monday:

Set I

Ha Ha Ha-- Great opener and almost zero botches....They normally screw this one up at some point in most versions.  This is a top version and a great way to start a show.
Taste--  Like the Fog That Surrounds from Hampton 95, this is a good version.  Good placement and energy.
Makisupa Policeman-- Odd placement and a little bring down of the energy, but still "dank"
Maze-- Good version, typical placement but gets the energy up
Billy Breathes--  Not as good as the Hampton 95 version IMO, but I love this song.
Mound-- OK
Guelah Papyrus-- OK
I Didn't Know-- Great placement and one I always like to hear
Stash-- Highlight of the set for me.  I don;t normally like Stash but this one gets out there pretty deep and I really dug it...
The Squirming Coil- modulation nation....

Set II

Tube- Boom goes the dynamite!  I love this as an opener and I like the short and sweet versions.  Great start
Prince Caspian-- This one actually gets pretty darn jammy at the end.  Not Japan 99 but very good version
Timber Ho-- Fishman is pounding on this, just like the 95 show...set is cranking
The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday->
Avenu Malkenu->
The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday-- Good version here with almost no flubs...Nice placement, well played.
NICU-  OK..decent version....I like this track better in the first set
Free- Solid version
Strange Design- Another repeat from Hampton 95...Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't.  Nothing bad about this version
Harry Hood-  Starts to go somewhere new in the jam but they pull it back into familiar territory before they get too far
Cavern- take care of your shoes....
The Star Spangled Banner- Saw this the week before at MSG.  I like acapella set closers personally.

E: Johnny B. Goode-- Good version.  not as raw as MSG 95 or raging as Denver 97 but a good version.  Don't know why Trey uses the vibe pedal on this though...

All in all a really solid show from a tour I don;t know too well.  Lot of repeats from the Hampton 95 show and in most cases, I prefer the 95 versions.  Still this is a solid show, if a little uneven.  Never heard it before, so I was psyched to.  Solid B, B+.....

[whatapiper]

10-25-96

Ha Ha Ha - wait what? Jokes on me. My one and only.   

Taste - it works nicely here and a slight nod to their first set the previous year.   Trey sounds quite amazing and how I miss the sound of his old tone, so soft and fluid to the ears.  Compact version that rolls into...

Makisupa - back in the days of "dank", long drawn out reggae section and I still remember the transition to >

Maze - not sure how many better combos are out there! Not as blistering as years past but tight overall.  Great build by Trey before the end peak.

Billy Breaths - another nod to the year before.  Heartfelt and purdy. Sets up some meat nicely >

Mound - another one and done for me.  I've missed this song by 1 show 3-4 times since then.  Not the tightest version but I'll take it.  Rift was my favorite album at that point so this a huge treat.

Guelah - the treats keep coming.  Sounds like fish wanted to jump into Hood early.   

I Didn't Know - great placement and fun factor to the set. Then "The Announcement" that made all our spines tingle.

Stash- jam starts off quite melodic with Trey using the rooms acoustics nicely.   Sometimes stash is lost on me but this one is beautiful with a hint of darkness.  Page adds nicely to the jam just before the finish.

Coil - great way to close the set despite Trey's inability to play the song. recovery is made however and no jokes taboot.  Page then deliveries what Trey could not.  Great interplay between the two before leaving the stage.  A little extra with that solo?

Tube - unexpected way to start the set.  Quick, funky and all Page

Caspian - let down after a Tube opener I know.   Played with purpose nonetheless.

Timber - more meat. Fish seems ready to get down to business but this Timber goes where many have gone before.

Alvenu>TMWSIY>Alvenu -  huge kickdown and I just remember being mesmerized by getting to catch this. Would not catch another until Worcester 97. 

NICU - yes sir

Free - dig these psychedelic 95/96 versions a lot with Trey on the mini.

Strange Design - set lacking a little flow. 

Hood - another of many nods to Hampton 95.  Hood will remain a Hampton staple.  Solid version that I've played many times over the years.  Love the strong finish and into >

Cavern - I guess it's that time in the show.  High energy version, despite some vocal flubs, adding to a very fun and playful show.

SSB - my third "one and done" from this show! I'll take it.

Johnny B Goode. - my real namesake song.  Rawk that filled my head with anticipation for Charlotte the next night.

Overall not as perfect as I remember.  Great song selection and first set.  Hood remains my highlight with the 2nd set being a little disjointed.

[Caravan2001]

10-25-96

Ha Ha Ha - wait what? Jokes on me. My one and only.   

Taste - it works nicely here and a slight nod to their first set the previous year.   Trey sounds quite amazing and how I miss the sound of his old tone, so soft and fluid to the ears.  Compact version that rolls into...

Makisupa - back in the days of "dank", long drawn out reggae section and I still remember the transition to >

Maze - not sure how many better combos are out there! Not as blistering as years past but tight overall.  Great build by Trey before the end peak.

Billy Breaths - another nod to the year before.  Heartfelt and purdy. Sets up some meat nicely >

Mound - another one and done for me.  I've missed this song by 1 show 3-4 times since then.  Not the tightest version but I'll take it.  Rift was my favorite album at that point so this a huge treat.

Guelah - the treats keep coming.  Sounds like fish wanted to jump into Hood early.   

I Didn't Know - great placement and fun factor to the set. Then "The Announcement" that made all our spines tingle.

Stash- jam starts off quite melodic with Trey using the rooms acoustics nicely.   Sometimes stash is lost on me but this one is beautiful with a hint of darkness.  Page adds nicely to the jam just before the finish.

Coil - great way to close the set despite Trey's inability to play the song. recovery is made however and no jokes taboot.  Page then deliveries what Trey could not.  Great interplay between the two before leaving the stage.  A little extra with that solo?

Tube - unexpected way to start the set.  Quick, funky and all Page

Caspian - let down after a Tube opener I know.   Played with purpose nonetheless.

Timber - more meat. Fish seems ready to get down to business but this Timber goes where many have gone before.

Alvenu>TMWSIY>Alvenu -  huge kickdown and I just remember being mesmerized by getting to catch this. Would not catch another until Worcester 97. 

NICU - yes sir

Free - dig these psychedelic 95/96 versions a lot with Trey on the mini.

Strange Design - set lacking a little flow. 

Hood - another of many nods to Hampton 95.  Hood will remain a Hampton staple.  Solid version that I've played many times over the years.  Love the strong finish and into >

Caravan - I guess it's that time in the show.  High energy version, despite some vocal flubs, adding to a very fun and playful show.

SSB - my third "one and done" from this show! I'll take it.

Johnny B Goode. - my real namesake song.  Rawk that filled my head with anticipation for Charlotte the next night.

Overall not as perfect as I remember.  Great song selection and first set.  Hood remains my highlight with the 2nd set being a little disjointed.

Wait, they played caravan?  In that case I give this show an A  :-o

[whatapiper]

Whoops!!!  ETA!  :wink: