R2/W08: 09-24-1988 Full Moon at The Zoo, Amherst College, Amherst, MA

[Hicks]

Alright dudes, gonna take back it back to old school once again with this one.  Really fun show, hope everyone enjoys it.  Aug has been kind enough to handle the lossless so look for it soon. 

Phish
09-24-88
Humphries House (The Zoo) - Amherst College, Amherst, MA 
Source: Soundboard>cass/0>DAT

Disc I:
Set I:
1.Golgi Apparatus
2.On Your Way Down
3.Alumni Blues
4.You Enjoy Myself->
5.Wilson->
6.Peaches en Regalia
7.La Grange
8.//Take the A-Train
9.The Divided Sky
10.Bold as Love

Disc II:
Set II:
[David Bowie]
1.Lizards
2.Walk Away->
3.Possum
4.Fee->
5.Sparks
6.Whipping Post

Set III:
7.Good Times Bad Times
8.Fluffhead
9.The Curtain
10.AC/DC Bag

Notes: GTBT contains diginoise. Dat was missing david bowie, apparently this is missing or severly cut on all
copies. A-train is also clipped, most likely an analog flip

part 1: http://www.mediafire.com/?0zcnl0jknld
part 2: http://www.mediafire.com/?dwsgvvgjzij
part 3: http://www.mediafire.com/?b2m21ja1ysn

[birdman]

Nice pic.
I'm a bit behind on my reviews, but  look forward to this one.

[G. Augusto]

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=514313

a

[Caravan2001]

on it....thanks for the pick Hicks and the seed Aug....

[Hicks]

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=514313

a

werd, thanks!

[sophist]

looks like a great show, thanks for the pick.  I am also behind on my reviews, but I will finish week 7 tonight. 

[susep]

nice pick, under the radar.  Looks smoking, excited to review.

[Caravan2001]

OK....well, have not heard this one in a while.  Got this on analog in '94 or '95 from Charlie Dirksen in a snail mail trade.  Great show, excellent sound except for the pitch problems on CD 2.

Golgi- nice version, classic old skewl sound...me likey.
On Your Way Down- very raw, wish they played this more often later on. A good version, Trey is starting to shred.
Alumni- now we're talking.  One of my all-time fave songs, and they nail here.  This song is the epitome of 'classic-era' Phish. Sweet.
You Enjoy- I like the older versions, the climax part is AWESOME, and the jam is killer too and I love the transition into:
Wilson- this backdoor Wilson gets my vote. a great version that has the crowd heating up, and into the ultra-classic combo that is-
Peaches- I always like this combo, kinda like the phish version of Me and My Uncle->Big River ( :wink:) I love the acapella intro and this version is well played....
La Grange- back to back cover and this is another rocker- Great stuff, not as long as other La Granges, but I was always psyched to catch this tune.  Is there a bad version out there?
A-Train- back to back to back covers.  A solid A-Train is always welcome.  I like Donna Lee better, but this fits here.
Divided Sky- HOLY SHIT....they bend this one over and bang the shit out of it.  Complete and total Marcus Welby Mental Donkey, if you know what I mean.  The obvious highlight of the 1st set, this must have had the crowd wondering what the fuck had just happened to them.  The goods.
Bold As Love- the boys are on fire now, and can't really do any wrong at this point.  Sounds like the crowd has doubled in size.

So I am blown away by that last set (I'll give it an A- if I am forced to grade) and I pop in CD 2.  Now I don;t know about the lossy version, but I d/l'd the flacs and it sounds sped up to me.  Am I crazy?  I think there needs to be a pitch correction applied to this source, because to my ears, there is a little bit of Alvin and the Chipmunks happening.  I have been wrong before though. I still listened to most of the rest though:
Lizards- great version, again, a classic of the era and always welcome
Walk Away- a scrappy version
Possum- killer version, but this is where I really noticed the high pitch.  Still, great playing by all.
Fee- great early version
Sparks- more excellent playing by all, the crowd is getting treated to some amazing playing, into->
Whipping Post- would you look at this setlist? holy crap!  More shredding ensues.....

I have not heard all set III, but I'll get to it soon enough.  This is a classic, classic show that fires on all cylinders.  Great playing for the time, and killer sound.  I am going to change the speed in Pro Tools and see if I am going crazy, still, it's really only bad during the vocal sections.  During the instrumentals it's hard to tell.  Thanks Hicks, this was an awesome pick! +K

[Caravan2001]

I think I am crazy...On second listen with fresh ears it sounds at the right speed to me.  Maybe I had too much coffee....I just listened to the Fee->Sparks again, and it is so, so good.  Really takes me back.  Maybe I was just not used to hearing their voices so young, 'cause it was really just during Possum that I thought, there is no way they could be singing that high, but on second listen, it didn't seem as bad as me. This is an awesome show that really showcases their original originality.

[G. Augusto]

Coffee, huh?
They sound really young, though.
a

[pnchundi]

great pick, one my first shows on cassette- though i never got the complete show.

Also, is it weird it has taken us until week 8 for the first Divide Sky to emerge? This song is one of the reasons I am huge fan...

review to come soon

[sophist]

Set I:
Golgi Apparatus- great opener, a few flubs in the "chill" section, but overall a great version and fun way to start the show

On Your Way Down- awesome song, and great placement imo.

Alumni Blues- another classic song.  I love hearing Trey in this song, as he does his blues voice.

You Enjoy Myself-> - smoking early version.  I kind of like hearing the composed section at a slow tempo.  Really nice segue into Wilson.  Also I dig the pre-song banter by Trey.

Wilson-> - The 80's versions of this song always remind of how progressive the band was at times.  Really tight and nice abrupt segue into Peaches.

Peaches en Regalia- Solid version.

La Grange- another great cover with smoking guitar work by Trey.  It just shows his talent that he can go from Zappa to ZZ and do a bang up job on the cover.

Take the A-Train-  YES! No classic show is complete without a little yazz guitar.  Always a treat imo.  Solid version, and a sick solo by Page.

The Divided Sky-  =heat.  These early versions really were a window into the future.  As I listened to this version, I envisioned the fans at this show staring blankly at the band, and having that sort of "spiritual" epiphany that one has during transcending moments.

Bold as Love- Personally, they should of called the set after the Div'd Sky, but none the less this showcases Trey again, and he does Jimi justice.

SET BREAK.


SET II

Set II:
[David Bowie]- N/A

Lizards- standard, but none the less fun version.

Walk Away-> - A classic cover imo, and nice segue into possum.

Possum- great early version.

Fee-> - standard, but cool segue into sparks

Sparks -Trey rips a solo in this that is sick.

Whipping Post-  They nail it.  I love how Trey quotes Duane at certain parts of the jam, and the fucking energy on this version is nuts.  I got goosebumps listening to it.

SET BREAK.


Set III:
Good Times Bad Times- Trey rips it up.  Such a good on playing the original solo.   

Fluffhead- Solid.  When they nail it, it is an epic progressive rock number.  They nail it. 

The Curtain- One of my favorite tunes of all time.  I wish they had kept the original arrangement, as I love the feel of the jam section in this song. 

AC/DC Bag-  Nice way to end the set and show.  Great version. 


Overall, I give this show an A- as it has few flubs and a smoking set list with great playing.  Thanks for the pick Ikki. 

[G. Augusto]

Golgi - Sounds like 15 people are at the show...Some minor adjustments in the middle.

Way Down - Always killer. Trey really tears it on this one.

Alumni - I like this intro the way it kinda fades in. Possum tease in there, too.

YEM - For Paluska. I used this and the next two songs in the DD back in Sept. Great version with a killer segue into >>>

Wilson - Short DEG tease. Vocal intro into >>>

Peaches - Goodness.

La Grange - Sweet solo. (Sidenote: 07-26-1998 is so freakin' good. Clocks in at 10 minutes, too)

A Train - Sweet solos by all.

Sky - Beginning was messed up. Nice jam.

Axis - Bold As Love.

Lizards - Hey Everybody! Let's get our clap on!

Walk Away - Always sweet.

Possum - Mike sounds like a pimple faced teenager.

Fee/Sparks - Played 'em.

Post - Cool jam. With some spacey volume sweels by Trey. Missed the big "Sometimes I Feel" chord, though. I like when Trey sings this.

GXBX/Fluff - Solid.

Curtain - Only the 4th Curtain after the last "With". Does that make sense?

ACDC - Lotsa teases and fun.

Cool pick and show.
I give it a B+/B.
a

[susep]

24Sept.88

I.

Golgi - cut/ into, "I saw you!..."  Twangy Trey, Mike reminding of an early Lesh.  Great lead tone from Trey, nice opener, crowd sounds preety tiny. 

On Your Way Down - govt.mule-esque, 6th version played, searing Trey.  Jimmy Page Trey, "It's a high time..."  Page and Trey accompany out of chorus, nice cover.

Alumni Blues - cont. blues, nice beginning w/ Possum tease, great campus tune.  The real Jimmy Page> Trey lighting it up.  More Possum teasing, nice ending, great version, high energy.

YEM - great early Trey composition, interesting chill breakdown before the E>D>A series, more Trey Page.  Trey definitely playing hjis parts very improvisationally, even the non-jamming parts.  Dreamy Page, nice Bach-esque key work.  Fall '97 rythym sounding Trey, droppping in low on the 'doc.  Exploratory Trey, into somewhat linear jamming, pre-Stash sounding a little bit >

Wilson - interesting segue, circus Page, obligatory Trey, neat little jam in the beginning. 

Peaches - nice drop in out of Wilson, good version.

La Grange - cont. the blues/swing vibe, shreddy Trey. 

A-Train - big fan of their jazz covers, this one sounding tasty.  Excellenty variety thus far, Trey shredding his way through this one.  Mike soloing after Page, Trey joins, nice transition back into main theme.

Sky – improvisational beginning, superb early version.

Bold as Love - great cover, would be better if Trey sang lead, I've never really enjoyed
Page singing this tune.  Hendrix Trey, nice outro soloing. Strong version w/ Trey's flange helping out.

II.

missing Bowie(wtf?)

Lizards – reiterating what caravan said there is a chipmunks sound to Trey's vocal in this one.  I remember reading how when the Dead played dosed their singing voices would chime and yodel like.  Could be similar for Trey perhaps?  Nice energy, crowd growing in size with passerbys and friends calling friends(before the cell culture).  Interesting crowd clap during Trey's melodic solo, Page rocking his standup.  Considering its only '88 these guys are burning it up, as good as most later years.  Perfunctory ending.

Walk Away – not a big fan of this one, esp. w/ Page on lead vocals(yikes!).

Possum – love it!  riff reminds me of Big River a little bit, nice chordal playing by Trey here.  Mike sounding Chipmunky as well, everyone is  Nice work by Page and Trey, slight Nashville Trey into great leading.  Very consistent building, fluidity.  Not bad work for a 24 year old.  Nice version.

Fee – audience getting lit up(when did it not?), nice placement. 

Sparks – I didn't realize this cover went this far back.  Another walk away for me.

Whipping Post – great choice, Trey sounding sweet from the outset.  I love the Allmans.  Nice jamming out of first chorus, surreal Trey, nice Duane/Dickey phrasing.  Trey in the zone, Paul must have been equally blown away.  Great execution by all.  More trippyness after second verse/chorus, definite glimpse of the future.  Pink-Floydesque.  Strong jamming here, esp. considering the relatively young age of the band.  Highlight of the show thus far!

GTBT – more classic coverage, Trey showing who's boss.  Trey bringing out his Hendrix side in this one.  Scintillating.

Fluffhead – nice preview of Junta at this how. 

Curtain – great tune w/ or w/out  "...as he saw his life run away from him, thousands ran along, chanting words from a song."

Bag – strong Junta/Gamehendge showing.  Nice ending.

Conclusion:  Excellent all around show(listening to WP Floydian jam as I type).  Great energy, the band playing with a lot of intent/purpose.  Trey lights it up the whole show, with Page matching the intensity as does everyone.  Raw Phish here folks, A-. 

MVP:  Trey

[Hicks]

So I chose this show because I felt like picking a tasty show from the peak era of Phish ('93-'97, IMO) is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, no pun intended.  It's just too easy to find killer shows from that period.  So I was left with old school and more recent shows, some of you may remember I selected 10/31/86 as my first pick last year so if I did go old school I was going to choose something toward the later part of the '80s to change it up a little.  I toyed with picking a 2000 show as I feel like there are some hidden gems there, particularly in the Fall, but I couldn't settle on one that really knocked it out of the park, plus if I went old school I was guaranteed a show without Sparkle and Sample.   :-D  So '80s it was, and this show at Amherst college fit the bill as one that showcased the band during the Junta era, right before they tightened up in late '89 and '90 for the first modern version of the band. 

Golgi: Sure Trey kinda botches the middle section, but this tune had rapidly developed over the last year or so.  '87 versions still sound rather primitive and here we have a fully formed Golgi as it appeared on the Junta album.  As noted it sounds like no one is there, but it must have been early as the crowd increases throughout the show.  How cool would it have been to have The Phish play at your dorm?

On Your Way Down:  Page packs some great feeling into his vocals on this one, which is one of the themes of this show.  Trey is in full on shred mode, providing more evidence that he could wail on the guitar from birth.  Pretty soulful for the boys, and nice harmonizing on the backing vocals by Trey.

Alumni>JP>Alumni:  You ever notice that Possum and Alumni Blues are the same fucking song?  They must've stopped playing Alumni because Holdsworth threatened to sue.   :wink:  Smokin' version.

YEM:  Classic unfinished early YEM IMO.  I really dig the echo effect on Page's organ throughout this show and he is really on fire, he leads the charge until Trey takes over late in the jam.  Nice segue into . . .

Wilson:  More echo-y Page, and he even sneaks in a little mini solo toward the end.  Stops on a dime and slams into. . .

Peaches:  pefectly played. 

La Grange:  Another rager, crowd is starting to fill in and get hyped.

A-Train:  Perfect time for a cool down, after all it's going to be a long night, always a treat to hear Phish in the full on jazz mode that they pretty much abandoned toward the end of their career.  Trey is particularly ripping and some nice tinkly action by Page.

Divided Sky:  Outstanding version, Trey nails it and is in full on machine gun mode by the end, insanity! 

Bold As Love: Page again gets into his vocals, I think he does great job with this one, maybe even better than some of the versions in later years.  Trey's Hendrix lead and tone is spot on.

Sick set, nearing classic status.  I give it an A. 

Lizards: Hmmm, the pitch sounds alright on the mpthrizzle, might only be a problem with the lossless, ironically enough.  Fairly standard/ great version.

Walk Away:  Big fan of this one, one of my favorite covers.  More aggressive Page on the vocals he brings it yet again!  Short but sweet.

Possum:  Tunes like this really highlight how much Fishman developed over the years as a drummer as his performance here is a bit less than stellar.  In fact over the next year he would grow by leaps and bounds as by the end of '89 he would sound much more like a truly professional drummer.  Nice honky tonk action from Trey and really tight leads.  Crowd is gettin' into it!

Fee:  Trey sounds like he is trying really hard to nail the vocals, almost like he is nervous, which is kinda funny as usually his stage presence is so laid back.  Standard but nice version. 

Sparks:  One that became a full on rarity as the band would only play it six times in the '90s.  Maybe they just forgot about it because it's a great cover and seems to be one that would have made for a cool segue out of the spacey jamming style that developed post '97, oh well.  Another short but sweet version, the bands style is already getting more compact at this stage of the game. 

Whipping Post:  Another one that would become a bust out of the highest order at Deer Creek '99 but was commonplace back in the day.  The spacey jam toward the end is so sick and just goes to show that the band's interest in ambient jams go back much further than a lot of people realize.  Not as titanic as some other '88 versions, such as 5-25-88, but still the set highlight. 

It is indeed a bummer that we don't have the David Bowie from this set as with it I'm pretty sure this set would have been another near classic, as it is its a B+ with some rare covers, a great Possum, and an excellent Whipping Post. 

GTBT:  Mike misses his bass fill, but Trey brings some more wailing solos not a perfect version but again nice soul and feeling by Trey and Page.

Fluffhead:  Another one that had just recently emerged as fully formed.  Funny f-ing around during the Bundle of Joy segment, particularly triumphant and echo-y Arrival, yes!  Tape fades out at the end of this, I wonder if we are missing a song here too, hmmmm. 

Curtain:  The band can't quite nail the vocals like they could in later years and I did miss the "with" segment.  Probably the only tune of the night that I would label with a "meh". 

AC/DC Bag:  Kind of a ridiculous version with Trey teasing stuff like "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Flinstones" while the rest of the band tries to continue playing the song, but it was probably pretty late at this point. 

Overall I give the show an A-, a great snapshot of the band during this time when they really starting to get their act together.  While it doesn't reach the epic status of either Ian's Farm show, it's still one that is really cool to hear as they were at a crucial point of their development.  Plus shows like this are a blast to listen to, hope everyone had fun with it and thanks to everyone who took the time to post a review.