R18/W04: 03-28-1993 Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA

[anthrax]

SUNDAY 03/28/1993
EAST GYM, HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY
Arcata, CA
Soundcheck: Wedge Jam, Dog Log (w/Beverly Hills Cop tease)

SET 1: The Landlady, Funky Bitch, Sparkle, Split Open and Melt, The Lizards, The Sloth, Maze, Fee > It's Ice, Lawn Boy, Run Like an Antelope

SET 2: Walk Away > Runaway Jim, Mound, Bathtub Gin, Big Ball Jam, You Enjoy Myself > My Life As a Pez[1] > You Enjoy Myself[2], Paul and Silas, Hold Your Head Up > Love You > Hold Your Head Up, Possum

ENCORE: Contact > Big Black Furry Creature from Mars

[1] Phish debut.
[2] Band member nicknames spoken at the end of vocal jam.

This show included the Phish debut of My Life As a Pez. Antelope included Fishin' Hole (aka The Andy Griffith Show theme), Axel F and Speed Racer theme teases. The YEM vocal jam was based on Higher Ground and later had band member nicknames spoken. Possum included McGrupp teases. During Contact, Trey wished Shelly Culbertson a safe journey on her trip out to Boston. There were also repeated teases of the Leave It to Beaver theme in BBFCFM, primarily from Mike.

[Buffalo Budd]

Shit, I haven't even finished reviewing my own show.
It's been a week.

[justjezmund]

I fucking love summer 93 and this show at the tail end is no slouch!  :rawk:

[khalpin]

I fucking love summer 93 and this show at the tail end is no slouch!  :rawk:

Summer in March?  :hereitisyousentimentalbastard

[justjezmund]

I fucking love summer 93 and this show at the tail end is no slouch!  :rawk:

Summer in March?  :hereitisyousentimentalbastard

Yeah no lie I actually read 8/28  so honestly my mind jumped right to the greek.  LOL  Ooops  :-P

this show looks rad too though.

[khalpin]

I fucking love summer 93 and this show at the tail end is no slouch!  :rawk:

Summer in March?  :hereitisyousentimentalbastard

Yeah no lie I actually read 8/28  so honestly my mind jumped right to the greek.  LOL  Ooops  :-P

this show looks rad too though.

Don't sleep on the soundcheck.  Great stuff!

[khalpin]

Landlady - Some fiery playing by Trey to start off before they settle into the composed section. 93 tightness. A nice start for sure.

Funky Bitch - No signs of slowing down. These guys are so locked in, every song has a pop to it.

Sparkle - Side note, the mix on this SBD is fantastic. The old "People for a louder Mike" group would definitely approve. And since this great recording exists, it'll probably be the next archival release.

Melt - So good. They attack it right out of the gate and then take the foot of the gas to let it build. There's not as much tension as later versions would generate but its still a solid Melt.

Lizards - I still think this is the most well-composed song Trey ever wrote and this is a great version. Super fast tempo, which I always love.

Sloth - What a great set list. This one's money.

Maze - More tight raging. Love it.

Fee - This almost feels like a cool down song compared to the rest of the set, so far.

Ice - More tight playing that keeps the energy level high.

Lawnboy - Page, the crooner. The thing I love most about 93 compared to 92 is Page's baby grand. It sounds so much better.

Antelope - Andy Griffith whistling to start it off. Then Trey quotes it as well. A raging jam ensues. What's not to love.



Walk Away - Always welcome and a good opener.

Runaway Jim - Walkaway Jim.  Ah, the utter dorkiness of Phish.  Gotta love it.  Can't make out what Trey is yelling ~5:30.  Pretty fast, pretty solid.

Mound - Almost sounds like a soundcheck with no audience clapping audible.  You can really make out the triplets Fishman is playing at the beginning on this recording from 0:44 - 0:56.  Never noticed that before. 

Bathtub Gin - These early Gins don't really get too far out there.  This one clocks in at under 8 minutes.

Big Ball Jam - Much more fun in person.

YEM - I like YEMs from 93.  This one featuring the Pez song.  Nice, tight composed section.  A little Speed Racer tease by Page.  Love hearing Trey's playing on this crisp soundboard.  The descending bends ~11:00 are bonkers.  At least I think that's what he's doing...plucking a bent string and then releasing, in rapid succession.  Trey sings Higher Ground in the vocal jam.

Paul & Silas - Love it! 

Love You - Vacuum cleaner is hurtin'.  Fishman antics ensue.

Possum - I prefer the shorter intro.  Fantastic McGrupp teases by all.  Time for some Trey shreddage.  Damn, could he play back in the day.

Contact - I'll pretty much take this anytime, anywhere.  Encore slot is great.

BBFCFM - One of the last times it would close out a show but far from the first.  Extremely entertaining.

Definitely a very well-played show.  Pretty much all of the songs were very concise and there wasn't any type II jamming involved.  That being said, this is the Phish that I fell in love with and got me hooked.  Just a super tight band ripping off a ton of super complex tunes with improv and corniness sprinkled throughout.  No flubs or awkwardness and still unpredictable.  The recording is off the charts good.  I wish the rest of the tour was captured with a recording this crisp.  Great pick! I haven't heard this one in ages.

[Caravan2001]

Good pick.  I love My Life As a Pez.  Back with a review, stoked to listen to the whole show.

[anthrax]

i love shows from this era because they all rip.  the band is as tight as it gets.  they can play around with teases in any song at any time and it takes about 1 second for the rest of the band to be locked into whatever tease someone tosses out. 

i can imagine arcata being a very welcoming town to phish in the early 90's.  i wonder how many people were actually at this show?

kevin is right.  the soundcheck is well worth the listen.  laid back and slower than the show would be, but the jams are great.

first set rips.  every song is great, but melt, maze, and antelope lead the pack.

second set gets more playful  jim's great.  yem's great.  pez!  wtf?!  the possum mcgrupp combo is perfection.

[Buffalo Budd]

It's always a bonus to have a crisp SBD recording to listen to.

Set 1:
Landlady – Fun start to a show, pretty standard.
Funky Bitch – Trey's tone was so great in 93, band is on point.
Sparkle – Phish pop.
Melt – This song was so great back in 93. Cool breakdown around the 5 min mark, then really takes off for the finish line.
Lizards – Another composition that benefits from that clean 93 sound.
Sloth – More Gamehendge. Tight.
Maze – Ragefest, machine gun Trey in all his glory.
Fee – On point, no megaphpone.
It's Ice – Nothing mind blowing, just crisp, precision like playing.
Lawnboy – Love the lounge piano solo.
Antelope – Teases abound in this Lope. It's obvious the boys are having a great time. The jam just goes ebbs and flows with tension and release. Veers away from the typical jam around the 7 min mark. Mike is just laying it down and gets my vote for MVP in this one.

Set 2:
Walk Away – Great start.
Runaway Jim – Trey almost sounds like he's chanting at the start of the jam.
Mound – Quiet room. Album version.
Bathtub Gin – Another album version.
Big Ball Jam – Never translates well on tape to me.
YEM – Love the PEZ interlude. They are so patient and in tune with one another. Higher Ground tease in the jam. Nice lead by each member and the SBD really lets you hear every note they are hitting. Impressive work by Mike at the end. Highlight of the show for me.
Paul & Silas – Right up there with Daniel Saw the Stone for BG numbers.
HYHU - Love You – HYHU – Good for a laugh.
Possum – The McGrupp tease is awesome and would have me totally confused. Trey's lead is so fluid, solid end to the set.

Encore:
Contact – I've always thought it odd that I love this song so much. Page just lays it down in the funk breakdown. Cool shout out to their friend Shelly.
BBFCFM – Heavy metal ending. Pretty funny Fish took off before Trey was ready, leaving him out.

Solid playing throughout the show, what else can you expect from 93 Phish. No real exploratory jams but the song selection is top notch and you can't beat the quality of this SBD.

[emay]

landlady - classic old school intro. good stuff.
funky bitch - crisp and rocking. pretty standard quick version
sparkle - standard version
melt - nice fast paced 93 melt. band is tight tonight or pretty much every night in 93. gets quiet and comes to raging jam.
lizards - hell yeah first set is getting some treatment! well executed version
the sloth - more gamehendge, nice!
maze - trey shreddage. love how the songs are all little faster in 93.
fee - sweet
its ice - more solid playing, 93 has some interesting ices. The page and fishman breakdown is a little extended which is cool but pretty standard other than that.
lawn boy - page playing piano during nice change!
antelope - always solid closer. treys tone is so dark and crisp.


walk away  - more rock!
jim - nice. trey has some quick machine gun licks in the jam.
mound - dig the rift tunes.
gin - standard version here nothing out of ordinary
big ball - always interesting to here these. Improv.
yem - well played intro. my life as a pez lol. great goofy phish moments. love treys tone during the solos. Jam is grooving. Page takes it out there a little and Trey comes up with this rapid fire theme that sounds awesome. Fishman with the woodblock fills. Jam comes to a peak and nice bass and drum jam.
paul and silas - love this tune, nice bluegrass dancer to keep the feet moving. solid version. page crushes the solo.
hyhu - typical goofy phish here
possum - great closer here. mcgrupp tease is great. great version.


contact - love the early funk breakdowns. This one is good.
bbfcm - rowdy way to end the show. rawking!


great 93 show. dont think I listened to this one in a long time, probably only listened to the YEM at some point.

[justjezmund]

3/28/93
East Gym Humbolt State University

Set I

Landlady - classic 93 opener. Bring the heat right outta the gate.

Funky bitch - more 93 machine gun rawk.

Sparkle - first set tomfoolery.

SPLIT - melt just isn't the same anymore. This shit is damn near perfect.  Peak at 7 min is great.

Lizards - lizards in the first set. Fuck yeah.

Sloth - slice your nipple.

Maze - man those 93 mazes are just the fuckin tits.

Fee - another nipple. 

It's ice - well done.

Lawn boy - love it.

Antelope - MOAR MACHINE GUN!!! With a side of Andy Griffith.  Great first set.

SET II

Walk away - some solid :rawk:

Jim - keeping the energy going.

Mound - solid version.

Gin - really nice but pre 8/13 of this year they really don't know which way to go.

Yem - I love pez. "Don't you break my neck."  Lol.  Great segments all around.

Paul and Silas - probably my fav bluegrass tune the boys do.

Hyhu>love you>hyhu - fish hates hold your head up but I love it every time.

Possum - solid set closer and then throw in a McGrupp tease. That's A okay for me.

E

Contact - great encore selection.

Bbfcfm - more tv themes. This song should encore more.


Grade A show pick. I had a blast revisiting this one. 

[Caravan2001]

Awesome pick.  Finally got around to completing it, took me a few times.  Wish I was able to listen to it all in one session.I'm not sure what I can add to what's already been said, but:

Landlady is one of my favorite versions and this one is tight.  Good sounding tape too.
Funky Bitch-  Very good version and pairs well with Landlady as an opening 1-2 punch.  When I listen to West Coast shows of this era, I try to imagine that most of the people in the crowd are seeing all of this for the first time and imagine what they must be thinking.
Sparkle:  It's better than then now.
Split:  Great version.  The vocals are a little ragged (they would later dial in these harmonies) but it's smoking.
Lizards: like the placement
Sloth:  Might  be my first set highlight.  They kill it.  I love the way Trey keeps counting into it after the have started
Maze:  Back when Maze was a fucking HEATER.  It seems to have lost some of this fire over the years.  Another highlight.
Fee: Always welcome any slot, any set.
It's Ice: good
Lawn Boy: nice breather
Antelope: Another smoker.  The whistling is great.  I just love when they do weird shit to amuse themselves because they have been playing the same song on the road for months.  Same with the McGrupp Possum.  Just awesome.

Walk Away:  Not very common during this era.  Solid opener.
Jim:  I love 93 Jims including this one
Mound: Not a set highlight for me but decent
Gin: Great version
YEM: Love the Pez interlude.  Anything like this gets my attention and will always keep me coming back for more
Paul And Silas:  This is my cowboy tune of choice.  We used to call it Bound in Jail before we knew what it was. Or Hall and Solice lol.
obligatory Fishman Slot
Possum:  Just a ripper and an awesome way to close a second set.  They can still tear it up on this song (sometimes), but this song is really made for the older style (which means when they were younger).  The McGrupp interlude is spot on.
E: Contact BBFCFM cements this show as a classic.  Contact never gets old, I wish they would drop then funk on it harder these days, but I still and always will love it.

Great pick!

[natronzero]

The soundcheck on this one is really fun. Something about "Stepped in dog shit".

Landlady - Good opener, standard version to warm up, maybe a little slow.
Funky Bitch - It's a great second-song-of-the-show kinda song. Rockin'.
Sparkle - I dig it.
SOAM - Still a few weeks away from it's breakthrough, but they were already playing it really well.
Lizards - Sure, couldn't hurt.
Sloth - High-energy, rockin' performance. They were really playing the shit out of this one at the time  - 3rd time in 8 days.
Maze - Hot as fuck.
Fee - Sorry, it's usually a skipper for me.
It's Ice - Good one, the breakdown gets hot.
Lawn Boy - Sure
Antelope - Scorching '93 version. Inserting teases seamlessly. Love it. Mike sounds great during Rye Rye Rocco.

Walk Away - Interesting opener, I'm into it.
Runaway Jim - Really satisfying jam. Mike sounds great, again. Might be the highlight of the show for me.
Mound - Maybe an odd slot, but I won't ever complain about Mound.
Bathtub Gin - I'm gonna be the asshole here. Don't like this Gin. It's intentionally sloppy and chaotic, but not in a good way. I don't blame them for trying but it totally doesn't work for me.
Big Ball Jam - I'm sure it was fun if you were there.
YEM - More like it. The Pez song is a fun little diversion, and it's a great, long jam (for the time) after.
Paul and Silas - Sure, I'll take it.
HYHU>Love You>HYHU - One of the better Love You's, I think.
Possum - Scorcher, and the McGrupp teases are awesome.
Contact - Nice version with a dedication
BBFCFM - Might be one of the best versions of this. They are burning that stage to the ground.

All around great '93 show