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R7/W02: 12-01-1996 Pauley Pavillion, Los Angeles, CA

Started by khalpin, June 28, 2009, 10:15:55 PM

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PIE-GUY

Phish
12/1/96
Pauley Pavilion
Los Angeles, CA


-Set I-
01. Peaches en Regalia – Love it. One of the best covers Phish ever played, and they always played it better in the 93-99 era than they had 80's, imo. Perhaps a perfect opener.

02. Poor Heart – Fun.

03. Cavern – Also fun.

04. Cars, Trucks and Buses – OK, this first set is just swimming along with tunes. I would have enjoyed it to this point for sure, but nothing out of the ordinary. Fun is fun, though, and I love CTB... always have. Page makes me smile.

05. Character Zero – more fun – nothing out of the ordinary. I like the a capella ending.  Been a while since I heard that.

Then some Trey banter afterwards about "Hometown boy" Frank Zappa. Phish in LA seems as incongruous as Zappa being from LA. I always forget that! Cucamunga, I think.

06. The Curtain – Love it. Again, this "standard" first set is all crowd pleasers. I would have loved it. Drops nicely into...

07. Down With Disease – love the energy of this one – nothing too risky, but the energy never lets up. By the time Trey brings in the DwD lick again that place had to be jumpin'!

08. Train Song – like it

09. The Horse >
10. Silent in the Morning – standard – again, nothing I don't like about this set so far, though it certainly doesn't blow me away

11. Sample in a Jar – yawn – they finally lost me.

12. Run Like an Antelope – sneaks out of the ending of Sample nicely. Not quite a ">" but I like how it sneaks out of there. Great jam – gets really intense about 7 min in. I like this a lot. And then, of course, "Norton Charlton Heston." 

This first set on the whole would have been fun, but this is sorta why 96 gets a bad rap. There's just nothing too interesting going on here.

Disc II:

-Set II-
01. Tweezer > and with great predictability they open the second set with Tweezer – as if to say "and now it's time for the meat and potatoes course." Not that they disappoint, but this level of predictability is again why this era is not my favorite.

So, let's talk about this Tweezer. I like it! The jam starts out a bit funky (though nothing like the funk just around the proverbial corner). It goes through several interesting peaks and never really loses steam. Trey occasionally adds some strange verbalizations to the jam. Even at 12:30 when Fish breaks loose with the beat until it's almost gone, the thing never loses steam. They keep chugging into some interesting sound-scapes. Then at about 15 minutes in, it sounds like they are going into the "closing segment" but Trey latches onto a chunky little riff that keeps it chugging some more with some choice "huh" grunts from Fish along the way. Finally, the pace slows with this heavy chugging riff at 17 or so. Wow. This band is so tight in 1996 – they listen to each other so well – it's no surprise that the next year would bring huge changes in sound with no loss in tightness. A great Tweezer, for sure!

02. Sparkle – more fun. Starts really quietly... hmm... that's different.

03. Simple – this song was the savior of many a 96 show. I simply love the jams they played every time with this one. So gorgeous!! Pure gold, Jerry!

04. A Day in the Life – short and sweet version mid-set. I like it like that. It's always a bit disappointing as the only encore song (like we've seen lately) but mid set it's a lot of fun.

05. Reba – mmmm... 2nd set Reba's make me happy. I like the beginning of the jam – Trey is playing chords for a while instead of soloing. Funky! The rest of the jam – while not earth-shattering is another great example of the band listening so well to each other. The peak is almost perfect. Typically great Reba? Sure. Perhaps my favorite Phish song, and it's played so well here!

01. Swept Away >
02. Steep > never saw this live... can't say that upsets me much. Yawn.

03. Tweezer Reprise > bustles with energy (as usual)

04. Johnny B. Goode – more crazy energy. Love it. The only song I've seen both my dad and Phish cover!

05. Slave to the Traffic Light – I would have been genuinely surprised and thrilled to hear this after what I would have assumed was the set closing tweeprise>JBG. Nice! Beautiful slow build. Hell of a way to end the show

-Encore-
06. Highway to Hell – Love it!


Overall, I'd have enjoyed the show, but it wouldn't have been a favorite. The Tweezer is nice. I give the show solid B.

I've been coming to where I am from the get go
Find that I can groove with the beat when I let go
So put your worries on hold
Get up and groove with the rhythm in your soul

rowjimmy

Quote from: rowjimmy on June 29, 2009, 03:47:29 PM
12-01-96

As a general rule, I believe that any show on 12-1 will rule your face. Lets see if this one bears out the theory.


BTW, this show does not contradict my theory by sucking therefore:

12/1 FTW!

Bobafett

The events in our lives happen in a sequence in time, but in their significance to ourselves they find their own order; the continuous thread of revelation.

MiamiPhish

#18
12-01-1996

Phish

Mr. Bill Walton in attendance for this one, folks.


Set I: (blind)

Peaches en Regalia – Always a great way to start a show.  Not perfect, but who cares.

Poor Heart – Two high energy songs to start the night off right.

>Cavern – Wasn't expecting it this early, but I like it. Third high energy song of the set, and I didn't hear any lyrical flubs.. nice!

CTB – I like Trey's muted/staccato picking.  I'm a fan of this tune, so it's nice to hear.

Character Zero – two set closers early in this first set has made for a kind of odd flow so far, more like a "regular" rock band concert.  Play song (hit).  Stop.  Pause a while.  Play another song.  Repeat.  AKA no jamming yet, which I'm fine with only 5 songs in.  The guys are playing well too, with a lot of energy, so that's all you can really ask for.  Tight and rocking, how a 0 should be.  Trey thanks the crowd.

The Curtain – Wow, would I looove to hear this one live.  This curtain comes off a little flat, imo.

Down with Disease – I think this disease is right on the brink of being played too fast, at times definitely feeling a little rushed, maybe it's the adrenaline.  This jam really flows well, definitely not rushed, with Trey toying with themes that he finds along the way, great backing from Fish, Page (especially!) and Mike, too, though Mike is really tough to hear in this mix.  Great full band interplay here, everyone's an equal part of this jam right now, which is starting to soar, thanks to machine-gun Trey.  I love being able to hear both the leslie organ and the baby grand piano at the same time, only with Phish and Page!  Maybe not the most focused of DWDs, but certainly a valiant effort – you could give this to someone who's never heard DWD or Phish as a good example of their sound and jamming prowess.

Train Song – Always liked this tune, but not feeling this one at all, zzz.

The Horse –  Yup. Guess where this one's going?

->Silent in the Morning – Uhhuh.

Sample in a Jar – Smokin'

>Run Like an Antelope – Pumped for this (assumed) closer!  Playful intro, woodblocks, very quiet, lovely.  Fish starts the jam with purpose, good.  Trey noodling and now searching for something to grasp onto, but it's all very beautiful and Page, especially, is filling in any holes quite nicely.  Trey's noodling is especially melodious and beautiful I would say, he and Page are feeding off each other quite strongly, very in synch.  Pretty, but I do wish Trey would wind up and release us off the 'normal' groove.  It's a shame I can't really hear what Mike is doing, just that he seems quite active.  Now Trey has found a darker theme that Page quickly picks up, and this has gotten evil and awesome, just a total mind fuck jam right now, like a good SOAMelt.  Niiiiiiiiiice release, holy cowww!  That's what I'm talking about!  Trey winding up again, just fierce craziness from everybody, a Stash jam on SPEEEEEED!!!  Cacophonous, at the very least, this Antelope absolutely rages into the stratosphere before coming to a halt on a dime!  That was F***** Awesome!  Norton Charleton Heston?  I dunno.  Short, absolutely raging antelope.

End Set I

..and set II, after these messages.

Set II


Tweezer – some idiot on the tape is freaking out "oh my god, oh my god!!" sarcastically, but still straight up annoying.  I can hear Mike, that is nice.  Nice synth work from Page.  A relaxed start to the jam, the guys clearly in no rush.   Trey once again is noodling beautifully, and he and Fish are synched well, as are Mike and Page.  Fish is kicking out a great classic tweezer groove, sounds awesome.  Some dissonance now, though not sustained long.  Things are getting a little different now, more a-tonal and some verbal scatting here and there.  Nice jamming here, not really groundbreaking or anything (yet, anyhow) but with plenty of energy and tightness.  This jam now teeters on the line of wacky-dissonant-nastiness and regular major chord jamming, at times fluxuating between both and seemingly at the same time a number of times.  Flight of the bumblebees practically going on for trey for a few seconds there – this is one of those jams where it sounds like Trey could've lit his guitar on fire and it would've fit pretty well with what was going on.  Things have gotten quite alien like now, with chirps coming, clav work from Page, a man in the background screaming "we're going to die!"  Type II to say the least.  Oh wow, Fish comes back to a tweezer like groove under all the craziness and it sounds awesome, but he lets it go, why, Fish, why?  Ok they're back now to sick Tweezer jamming, Type I (reminds me of 10/30/98) just straight ripping.  Heavy Metal type jamming now, not quite the Immigrant Song, but close enough.  Still going strong with the Metal jamming, though it's been pretty redundant so far.. slows down, but still on same boring metal theme – these guys need to give a listen to dimebag Darrell or something before trying to jam out on metal.  Pretty entertaining drawn out ending... very drawn out, haha.

>Sparkle – Love it, love the placement.  

>Simple – Cool!  I actually haven't heard many of the '96 Simples, so I am looking forward to this for sure.  Lots of energy!  Very pretty so far, nice Simple jamming.  I zoned out for a little bit, but there's very nice quiet jamming going on, ala the outro to Fee, some cool percussion underneath too.  Neat It's Ice like jam, almost.
A Day in the Life – Everyone likes this one!!

Reba – Yay, one of my most favorite tunes.  Nice composed section, well paced and well played.  Always looking for them to do something creative at the beginning of this jam, and this one does nicely, awesome little descending thingy from Trey.  I'm not going into too much detail, but this Reba really gets going, well worth a listen or three.  B+ Reba.

>Swept Away -  that was short.

>(had to look at setlist)Steep – weird, reminds me of billy breathes, for some reason.  

>Tweezer Reprise – lots o' energy!

>JGB – Rockin'!

Slave to the Traffic Light – awesome peaks, nice Slave to end the second set.

Encore

Highway to Hell – not my favorite tune, but fun.


Kinda got lazy at the end of this review, but this show was solid all around, few chances taken, save a lengthy and experimental Tweezer.  As everyone before mentioned, a fine example of Fall '96 (of which I haven't heard as much as I should!) Solid B/B+ for me, whatever that means.

Thanks for the good pick, Kev!

khalpin

Peaches - Great way to open a show, with a burst of energy (and prog) right off the bat.

Poor Heart - The lone bluegrass tune in this show. With lots of hootin' and hollerin'.

Cavern - Strange placement for this, which is somewhat of a theme for tonight's show. Something about this tune not being a set closer seems to give it more energy. Not quite on the level it was in '92 per se, but more so than it usually has.

CTB - Page gets the spotlight. I love this tune and would like it to get into the rotation more. Page sounds great, as usual.

C0 - Back then, this one was fresh and had more energy than it does today, or even 10 years ago. Also, the vocals here sound great during the chorus. Although, that could also be the muddy recording hiding the flaws. I'd love for another source to show up for this show.

Curtain - A welcome addition to the set (Woohoo! More prog!). Played pretty much perfectly. Vocal harmonies are spot on...tight...great version. Great mid-set boost and then into:

DWD - The first opportunity for any real improv so far, although they don't go too crazy, it's a solid jam with a sweet return to the DWD theme at the end.

Trainsong - Not the way to capitalize on the energy they just built up during that DWD. They go with a little breather instead (cue the scene from Airplane with Tattoo). Still, I like the song and the vocals are done well.

Horse>Silent - Not my first choice, but played well, nonetheless.

Sample - Ugh. This set is starting to go a little south. Standard.

Antelope - Exactly what this set needed. They start this one out real soft and bring it up and down before opening it up. Goes on it's way for a while and starts to get out there around 7:00 and builds some quality tension which leads to a nice little peak ~7:45. Would've liked if it went a little longer before the peak, but instead it leads to another round of tension building that leads to the final, big peak and into rye, rye rocco and Fall 96's resident celebrity: Norton Charleton Heston.

A well-played, tight set without any real notable jams. Nothing really out of the ordinary.


Tweezer - Wasting no time and starting off with a jam vehicle. The jam starts off as a mellow, laid back jam with a couple "accents" where it gets loud for a measure. Mike throws in a key change here and there but not making a new chord progression. Then it gets a little dark with Trey (I think) doing some shouting and such. Tasty dissonance ensues and a good time is had by all. Where are the vids for this one? Me wants to see the light show. Diabolical laughter and general craziness. Around 13:00 it dies down and I have no idea what that noise is.  :? Then it sounds like they're going to end it, but they extend the outro with some "HUH"s from Fishman and more craziness. The song that wouldn't die! Takes about 3 minutes to actually end...and with a bit of a comic twist.

Sparkle - Starts off a bit odd....quietly and very fast. Not too often you get a non-standard Sparkle. Possibly the shortest version ever, just because of how fast it's played. Some more whoops and woo's also make this one a unique version. They're definitely having fun out there. "Two times! Three Times! Four Times!" Greatest Sparkle ever?

Simple - Much better as a standalone tune than in the middle of a Mike's groove, and that's fall '96 for you. This one doesn't jam out too much, although they do the "quiet" jam out of it for a while. Kind of a standard Simple. Then into:

ADitL - The crowd is eating it up here. Good version and a nice climax which is a crowd pleaser.

Reba - Nice and fast version that's played real tight. I love it when they nail the composed section when it's played fast. Some more "uh"s and "ah"s from the band. They're having fun tonight.  Real solid jam section.  Nothing out of the ordinary, but very well played.  No whistling.  Instead right into:

Swept Away > Steep - I always liked this combo.  It goes from melodic, quiet, peaceful and serene > a little strange > WTF?  I suppose the band wrote this for the sole purpose of fucking with the audience.  Love the transition from the screaming into:

Tweeprise - Awesome, as always.  This never dissapoints.  Goes right into:

Johnny B. Goode - Hot and rockin'.  Energy galore!  Fishman shows his enthusiasm with some shouts.  Feels like a sweet closer but they instead go into:

Slave - It's all gravy at this point.  Much like many of the songs tonight, this one is straightforward and solid.  Not a top 5 version or anything, but well-played and really enjoyable.  That section from 2:50 - 3:10 almost sounds like Trey is playing a mixed up version of Eddie Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" guitar solo.  The jam is done really well.  The smooth, gradual build is executed wonderfully and culminates with 2 gorgeous peaks.

Highway to Hell - I'll take this as an encore anyday, despite not being an AC/DC fan.  Nice way to cap off the show.


So this is probably my 2nd favorite Fall '96 show behind Vegas.  The first set comes up a little short but the second set more than makes up for it.  When A Day in the Life is the low point in the set, you're in good shape.  As far as performance goes, there's maybe a couple minor flubs throughout the entire show.  It's a really tight show and while it's not overflowing with improv, all of the jam songs are solid and well-played and many of the tunes that would normally be filler are above average versions.  Add a dirty Tweezer to the mix, plus the band obviously having a lot of fun and you get a really special show.  I give it a solid A.