Set I:
Wilson > Jam >
I always enjoy Wilson as a opener as I think it justly pumps the crowd up, and this particular version is no exception.  Nicely played, and the outro jam is really good.  I like how it takes a chaotic/atonal turn and then segues nicely into Disease.  This is a spectacular transition.  I'm always partial to improvised segues and I really dig how the boys found it in that moment, and I feel it showcases the epiphany of Phish's collective genius.

Down with Disease
This is a ripping disease as others have stated.  The boys are very tight and don't stray from the theme, which I like in this case.  The fact that they can improvise one song and maintain discipline in the next song shows the willingness to understand the beauty of structure.  Disease is a great song because it is a catchy pop rock song (the boys always do justice with the harmonies), and this version showcases that structure.  Trey and Page hit some great strides during the jam. 

Fee >
Fee is Fee, and this is a fun version.  I too dig the megaphone.  The segue into Poor Heart is well played.   

Poor Heart
Standard Version 

Reba
Here is where the boys really heat up and catch fire.  This Reba is smoking from the first note.  As August noted:

Quote from: August on February 11, 2008, 11:51:48 AM
REBA- Another one of my Top 5 versions. Again, they are all listening so well to one another. The jam starts off quiet and stays there for a bit. Everyone is just complementing one another perfectly. Once the jam builds up, it just peaks all over the place. This has one of the greatest tension/releases. You'll know it when you hear it.

The whole jam is quite sick, and the chills I received during the jam echo the sentiment of August's point:

Quote from: August on February 11, 2008, 11:51:48 AM
SOLID show.
They didn't really play shows like this after '96 and this was just another night for them.
Looking back, they were on FIRE!

This is Phish, the absurdity, the intensity, the pure power of music is so moving that it transcends us.  This is an incredible version and it ties the set together nicely.  This Reba is near perfect.  I love the slow build up during the jam, and Trey is just on.  His selection of notes is almost tear worthy.     

Mango Song
I always liked the Mango Song and this perfectly placed as it is a cool down from the Reba.  Solid version.

Gumbo
The pre-funk era Gumbo's are always rockers and I dig Trey's solo in this version (really good licks ~4:00 minute mark).  Another perfect placement in my opinion, as the ascending keys of Reba, Mango, and Gumbo set up the tension for Stash and the boys release perfectly.  Trey's genius can really be seen in his setlist placement during 94-96.     

Stash
I dig the smooth segue into this song, as Gumbo fades out, Trey begins Stash.  Damn near perfect composition section and the energy continues to build from the opening notes.  Fish sounds like he was listening to some Jazz records before this show, as he sounds a little jazzier than usual, but I dig that.  The vocals are spot on too, perfect harmony from the boys. The 5/4 -> 4/4 (repeat) portion is quite intense and builds really well over ~50 bars (Trey has some killer lines ~6:15 - 6:40 minute mark).  Page is just on with his comping.  His choice of chords is top notch, and Mike is on as well.  Fish has some nasty fills going on during the ~8:00 minute mark -> Trey shred and tension builds-> orgasm # 1 approaching 9:00 minute mark -> peak (Jesus, it gets intense).  They fuckin' nail it, perfect tension and release section that begins to swirl and peak again.  Second peak ~ 11:00 minute mark.  not as intense as peak number one but it slips back into the ending theme nicely.  A well played version and an excellent jam. 

Hello My Baby
I always dig the acapella(sp?) tunes and the boys keep it tight and do a great job of harmonizing.  Solid ending to a smoking set.
SET BREAK


Overall Set I opinion: 
I think this is a smoking set overall and a well played set.  Great song selection and energy, and the recording is fantastic. 

I'll tackle set II after my 12:30 class. 

I'm having a pretty hectic week, so far, so my notes are brief...

Set one:
Wilson - starts standard but a really cool, dark jam pops up out of nowhere and gets out there for 5 minutes before sinking into DWD.

DWD is, imo, standard hotness. Nothing unusual, just some serious playing.

Fee is nice, standard at first but closes with an odd jam that carries us into a ripping little Poor Heart.

That seems to set the breakneck pace of the lyrical portion of Reba. This is a nice version. Page is strong in the source and Trey is soaring, stepping out from comp to hit some mini-notes while the other guys are lifting it up and up and up. No whistling.

Aug calls this Mango a breather but I love it. More standout work from Page and Trey is on point for his (not easy) part. Excellent version.

Gumbo comes on almost @ Mango's heels. Short, sensible, old school version.

Stash is a rager. Nice dissonant tension and good peaks. I've actually listened to the second half of this a dozen times in the past two days. Not a top-ten Stash, for me but a nice, good one that I'd previously overlooked.

Hello My Baby... whatev.


We'll be back after just a little bit.

Set II:

Runaway Jim >
Jammed out Jims are always a great way to start a set, and this Jim is a ripper.  The ~7:00 minute mark has Trey in full shred mode.  I always dig the modality of the Jim jams as it allows the boys to stretch out and explore the sonic space of the tune.  I like it, and this version builds rather quickly to a peak from the shredding and begins to get very psychedelic as the mini-kit section approaches.  Great work from Mike during this jam, and Fish is going nuts too.  I like hearing Page showcased in this jam, and Trey on the kit allows Page to lead the way.  Great series of melodic runs while Trey is on the kit.  Page gets really jazzy and Mike comps him really well.  The jam takes a dark turn at the 13:55 mark and begins the fade out, which allows the introduction of YEM to begin.   

You Enjoy Myself
You can't go wrong with this opening sequence of tunes, and the boys nail the composition section.  The introduction, nirvana, and build up sections are very well played.  I love how Trey, Mike, and Page play the "what chord I am thinking of game?"  You can really hear the creativity of each musician in this part of YEM.  It sets up the build up perfectly in my opinion.  Mike has some inspiring lines during the "jazzy" breakdown, and it leads perfectly into the build up.  I always dig the forward "motion" of it, and you can hear the energy and happiness permeating from the stage while they perform this part.  Trey nails the mini "solo" and they proceed to launch into the vamp.  Good amount of funk and shred in the verse section, and Trey is heavy on the wah-wah, and letting his inner rock star show slightly.  I like the hybrid of pick scratches, funky lines, and chromatic runs by Trey (~7:55-8:30).  Page brings the heat during the tramps section, and fish keeps the funky beat pumping, while Mike explores the space.  Trey unleashes after a nice build up (10:00-) and has a few lines that pay tribute to Santana during the jam.  Trey really is displaying his "A" game during this section, and fish does a wonderful job of matching Trey's rhythm (especially the off beats).  Page is hammering on all cylinders as well, Mike is laying down some funky lines ->
intense peak -> break it down (super funk by Mike) -> vocal jizzzzzzam

The Horse >
standard

Silent in the Morning
standard

Cars Trucks Buses
good version

Tweezer >
This Tweezer smokes from the start, and the jam builds nicely.  6:00 minute mark has a killer groove that builds nicely.  Trey is leading the way as the jam builds into a nice peak.  I really dig his lines around the 9:00 minute mark, and he gets outside the "box" during this section.  Page does a good job of comping him and fish has a killer beat behind the groove.  The jam gets intense, and the boys begin a psychedelic ascent into madness, and then a peak happens -> psychedelic jamming @ ~11:45 minute mark.  August was also dead on when he said they do a throwback to the 94 style Tweezers.  You can hear the influx of experimentation in the jam, I almost wish they had pushed this version further and further until it completely imploded.  14:00 minute mark has a really interesting section that shreds and begins building to another peak, some tension/release like jamming occurs, and fish is rockin' his kit hard during this part.  Page continues to shadow Trey as Trey leads the band towards the end of the jam, which leads back to familiar territory.  ~17:45 mark Trey has some cool staccato lines and the jam cools down and the band ends it.   

Theme from the Bottom
I'm a huge fan of Theme and I like the placement of it here.  Nice condense version, which serves as a proper median for Fish's tune.   

HYHU > Cracklin' Rosie > HYHU
Always a pleasure to hear fish sing, and I enjoy the antics of fish.  fun version.   

Sample in a Jar
standard version, Good solo by Trey. 

Tweezer Reprise
High energy closer, but none the less a standard version (which is never a bad thing)

Encore:
Julius
Excellent choice for encore.  It is your standard shredfest by the boys, and it puts an exclamation point on the show. 

Overall I give this show 8.5/10 stars.  It is a smoker and the jamming is top notch.  Great pick August   

Set 2

Jim - jam starts all standardish but that's just to suck in the n00bs. They step up into a serious, tightly wound peak (on-theme) at 9minutes or so, before Page takes it. Trey rocks the mini-kit and gets the intended results- greater output from the rest of the band. This shit melts down into silence and never finishes. Instead, they play

YEM. Nearly note perfect Nirvana segment, first note is nailed and hot, second note is long and strong. The tramps segement is great, Page's organ solo is cool. The jam starts slow but is fuckin ragin... B&D is standard funky stuff. then vocal jam etc... norm. overall an above average YEM.

Horse > Silent is a nice chillout. Well played.

CTB is as it is.

Tweezer? Stretched out, Rockin at times, teakin at others... it almost dies off after a paticularly odd tweakin detour but picks back up into rawk @ 14min which continues for a few minutes before a feedback note and breakdown into

Theme is done right. Not too long, not out-side-of-the-norm in anyway. But just right. Good placement. trey's reverb echo stays on right into

HYHY > Cracklin Rosie > HYHU.  I like Cracklin Rosie. It's fun.

Sample is ordinary/good. Can't complain after getting a big RunawayJim, YEM and Tweezer already in the set.

Tweezer Rep. is also, standard/great. Can't complain but it's not memorable other than it closes a good set on a high note.

Julius Encore... Rock Jam!!! What'd you want? Harpua?

This is Phish in a Stadium. They played a big rock show in a small stadium. Seems about right to me.

Thanks for bringing this show back to my attention, Aug. It's been a lot of fun ignoring my job today to work on this review.

Alright, Just got done set II here at work.  I didn't enjoy this set as much as Set I, but still pretty good

Runaway Jim-  Nice tight version with a very nice, long jam.  Perfect to start building that energy they had in in Set I.  Solid Jim.  You can hear the crowd really getting into it at points, so I think that bumps it up from an A- to an A for me.

YEM-  Ahhh Yem.  This show is Loaded with classics.  The composed section was flawless and the energy is building once again.  Great way to start any set.  Pages soloing throughout is on point.

Horse > SITM-  Nice breather after a great Jim/Yem combo.  I have always loved Page's voice on this one.  

CTB- another solid version

Tweezer!  Great, fast paced version.  The jam is dark and crazy.  I really like this version.  It peters out quite nicely into:

Theme.  This is where the set starts to lose some steam for me.  I like theme, but this one is nothing amazing.  Good, but not great.  But I will certainly not complain about theme.  

HYHU > Cracklin Rosie Meh

Sample meh

Tweeprise.  Rocker.  Nice and longer.  Good version

Julius- This one for me is always welcome.  It makes for a nice encore.  Great way to end a great show.  

Over all- I'd give it a 9.  Great Pick Aug!  

This was fun.  Thanks for reviving it Aug!  I am looking forward to next week.  I will be curious to see the reaction. 

Runaway Jim:  Have I just never noticed Fishman's playing in Runaway Jim, or is this a particularly strong version for him?  The jam really smokes about halfway through with Fishman leading the way, in my eyes (or ears).  The band follows to a nice, raging little climax.  Can't say I'm a very big fan of the mini-kit jam.  Doesn't seem to really go anywhere for me.

YEM: Nice, tight composed section.  Jam starts out pretty subdued for a while with nothing too crazy going on, yet still moving along nicely, and then it turns into a real rager for the final couple minutes of the "song".  Then, of course, it goes into the dreaded vocal jam.

Horse/Silent: Little hiccup by Trey in the Horse.  Silent is pretty standard - well played. 

CTB: Always a nice treat for me.  And nice to see Page get the spotlight for a while.  Nice playing.

Tweezer: By 8 minutes in, there's a real nice jam going.  Page is pounding away nicely.  Sounds like his fingers would be quite sore after doing this.  12 minutes in, it starts getting, as August mentioned, very fall 94-ish.  With Trey playing with that one pedal effect quite a bit.  I forget what it's called.  Page is having a little fun of his own, as well.  Quite dissonant.  ~14min it goes back into the normal Tweezer jam for a bit and gradually fades out.

Theme: I used to loathe this song back in the day.  As of late, it's become one of my favorites.  Although, as I listen to this now, Trey doesn't play the ascending riff after the vocals end.  That's pretty much my favorite part of the song, as it really kicks off the jam segment.  Is that just something that developed in later years and I never noticed it in the earlier shows?  How could I have not caught onto that?  God, do I feel stupid.  Anyway, not a bad version, but not one of my faves.

Cracklin' Rosie: The one portion of the show that I actually remember.  Entertaining to see live.  Not so much on tape.

Sample: Meh

Tweezer Reprise: Nice set closer

Julius: Great to hear as an encore, with a nice "mmm..chocolate" reprise to kick it off.  Good jam.

I don't know quite what to say.  Or at least, I have no idea why I didn't enjoy the show at the time.  It pretty much has everything.  Good jams, good playing, tight composed spots, good song selection (although, not superb).  Overall, I'd give it an A-.  Great to hear it again.  I'll have to go for the lossless version now to keep and cherish forever.  Thanks, August.  And thanks for bringing back the Show Club.  I caught the tail end of it the last time around, but no one was that into it then.  Hopefully this maintains its steam.
-Kevin

First thought after listening to this show was it is a super-solid show through and through.  No low-points, some real high-points.  Kind of like a perfect candy bar.  mmmmm chocolate. 

I will always take a Wilson opener, but for this particular version, they could have left the "jam" back in the soundcheck.  It seemed they were just prodding along on the same notes for a solid minute, but the last few second before it turns into the DWD "feedback" is pretty nice.

Down With Disease is real early highlight.  Relatively short, but excellent.  Heavy on the Trey, which I feel becomes a theme through this show.  Which is refreshing since it isn't the "earlier days" where every song is Trey-led.

Fee goes by almost unnoticed to my ears (as it usually does these days for me... burned on the tune)... but there is a nice little jam at the end which evolves into what I thought at first was Scent of a Mule.

Then they quickly lead it into Poor Heart, which is a fine version as usual.

Now some of the true meat of this first set, REBA.  Absolutely ON FIRE.  Loved this version from the first time I heard it, and I am glad aug picked this show, as it has been a while.  Superb jamming in what I can guess is the best Reba of the year.  In my opinion of course.

While I love the set list for the final tunes of the first set... they just really do nothing for me.  Mango Song is a song I LOVE, but never really goes anywhere too interesting.  Gumbo was some standard stuff at best... and Stash which can usually make a show for me, does literally nothing here. Hello My Baby comes and goes, as it usually does.

Overall a solid set, with a really good version of DWD and a great version of Reba.

Second set Runaway Jim opener would usually have me running elsewhere (beer line, bathroom, hookers on the corner), because like Fee, I am just sick of this song.  The jam however is fantastic, and if I trick myself into forgetting what song it is, I can really enjoy it. 

Then you Enjoy Myself comes busting out of the gates just as Runaway Jim settles down to nothing, and this is a fantastic version.  Perfectly played segments throughout.  I'm a big fan of the bass and drum segment, while I could go without hearing the vocal jam.  Not that it is bad... it just doesn't go anywhere.

The Horse > Silent in the Morning is nice, no matter how standard it is.  This is another song/combo that I could have lived without when Phish was still playing... but now I have grown fond of it once again.  Love the vocal arrangements.

Cars Trucks Buses is a song I love, and this is a very solid version no doubt.  Can't hear this song anymore without thinking of Tara Reid getting banged in the back of a VW in Around the Fire.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE SHOW = Tweezer.  Unbelievable version.  Trey starts up an amazing riff from about 5 minutes in and keeps on going pretty much the entire song.  The speed up part right around 14:30 is on the edge of shredding bliss.  Absolutely amazing music played during this song.  Slowing way down around 18 minutes in, but somehow they still keep the groove going no matter how quiet it gets.  This is just another one of those reasons why I absolutely love this band.

Really smooth segue into Theme From the Bottom.  Great song, took me a while to get into, but once I got it I felt like I found a new gem.

This also segues nicely into Hold Your Head Up.  Cracklin' Rosie is a great choice.  Nothing much more can be said really. 

Sample in a Jar comes and goes.  I feel that if I was at this show, this song would go by and I would not even notice.  I would probably still be stuck in the Tweezer.

Finally, Tweezer Reprise   Was waiting for this one the past few songs.  Amazing how this song seems to pack the energy of a 20 minute Tweezer into 3 minutes or so.

Julius is a fine choice for an encore.  First Phish song I ever heard, so it holds a spot for me, special or not.  A fine ending to a more than fine show, which to me seems like a big warm up for the shows that follow.

can't say this show really blew me away or anything.
it was solid, i guess.
i rarely get into '96 shows. everything always sounds to me like they're holding onto what they used to play in '95 while at the same time they're trying to find whatever's next-- only they haven't found it yet.

reba was the show highlight for me (i've had this version on the ipod from aug's daily download for a long time). wilson with the intense outro jam was nice, into a typically rocking dwd.

i like the start of trey's solo in gumbo, but it sounds to me like page starts playing his outro part and trey just keeps playing over it to lesser and lesser effect before finally fading out to let page take over. never been a fan of pre-funk gumbo.

jim reaches a nicely insane peak, but then as with so many '96 jams, just goes on and on after that, not really getting anywhere. same with tweezer, some great moments, some weird freaky stuff, and then just random playing with no real end.

theme is pretty short and uninspired. not much to the show after that.

so, um, yeah. just adding another post to the conversation! take my grumpy '96 review with a grain of salt, please...

Just finished set II...

I was utterly exhausted by the beginning of the second set this night. I recall sitting through most of it. We left at the first notes of Sample, trying to get a jump on the traffic headed up to Plattsburg.

Jim- Typical opener, typical 96 version. I always enjoyed the mini kit jams because it allowed some of the others to step forward and shine for a bit...but of course Trey comes back and shreds the hell out the old dog. Nice peaks.

YEM- Perfectly executed throughout. Not a best of version, but it's got everything you could want it to be. Sure to get your feet moving. I cheated and skipped over the vocal jam since I could care less about listening to them on a recording...witnessing one live , well that's a different story.

Horse->Silent- Always been my favorite "slow" number

CTB- Page really shined in 96' didn't he?

Tweezer- Again, solid... start to finish. More focused than the Ball version.I like the excursion into the more experimental zone and the way they return to reconfigured mode. Wrapping it up just perfectly.

Theme- Love these nice concise versions. I seem to remember this being a big singalong that night

Rosie- Fishman is silly. B AH

Sample- is what it is

Tweeprise- Your dead .if this song doesn't pump you up.

Julius- I would have left, had I not already


   Nice "Sleeper" pick Aug. I'll admit, I'm not a huge 96 fan.  All of the shows I saw that year had their moments, some of them epic even. Yet, this was the first year, since I started seeing the Fish, that they weren't getting better and better. It all reached a peak for me (and Phish, IMO) on NYE 95. Of course there was plenty of great music made after, but there was alot more mediocre moments for me post 95.

I can't commit to a review every week, but this was fun back when we had it going so I'll do some write ups when I have the time to spare.  First timer here for this one. 

Wilson:  Pretty standard until the outro jam, to be honest it really didn't do it for me, they sounded out of sync and Trey was kinda just playing random sour notes.  The segue was pretty cool though. . .

DWD: Definitely the highlight of the set for me, after the dissonant Wilson jam I was fully prepared for a shredding face melter and was pleasantly surprised to find it was more of a soarer than a ripper.  I really like the way they kept it laid back and thoughtful throughout most of the jam and Page seemed to be leading most of the way which is unusual for this tune.  Sweet little peak at the end, smoother than usual but keeping with the jams overall theme, very nice!

Fee:  Always a treat, I too wished the outro jam had gone on a bit longer

Poor Heart: The segue into it actually worked quite well even though on paper Fee>Poor Heart looks like a recipe for disaster, pretty cool.

Reba:  Typically great mid '90s version, pretty hard to distinguish this from some of the great '95 versions, Mike may be turned up a bit more on this one, maybe it was just the recording but he seemed really prominent in the mix toward the end, which I really dug. 

Mango: Standard, one I never get sick of though. 

Gumbo:  I had thought they might have been already stretching this one out already but no dice.  I guess we had to wait until summer 97 for the tune to fully blossom, still a great song in any form though.

Stash: Pretty cooking, Page does some shredding and it gets that 96 intensity toward the end.  We all know they were kind of searching during this period and one positive by-product of that was some pretty seriously hot peaking like the ones on display here.   

Overall a very strong first set, I mean Reba, Stash, Fee and DWD, the song selection for a first set couldn't have been any better considering its pre-97 when they really started mixing things up.  Each song logically flowed into the next too which is always a bonus.  I give it an A. 

Set II

Runaway Jim:  Not usually a fan of Jim, even some of the really long ones are kinda boring IMO, but somehow this one kept up a level of focus and energy that held my attention, nice cool segue into . . .
 
YEM:  Fairly typical '95-'96 version, which means great, especially the pre b&d segment hotness  But I can't say anything else about it really stuck out though.

Horse>Silent   

CTB: 

Tweezer:  I really dug this version.  The first part had more of that 96 searching quality while still managing to be fairly raging.  I thought they really took advantage of the bottom falling out of the jam well around the 12 minute mark which featured Trey making some weird slide noises that reminded me of the stuff that Tom Morello from Rage used to do.  Page's spookier synth noises blended well with this theme.  In the next section Trey goes pretty bonkers too with some mega-trilling.  At the end for a second I thought they were going to do the old school slow down fade out but instead it just faded out on its own.  I am gonna go ahead and dub this version as underrated, pretty sweet. 

Theme:  hmmm, I love this tune but this is a pretty crucial moment of the show and this version was a bit of a throw away, I prefer the versions with the longer builds at the end.  It was alright but something like a Bowie here would have taken this show into the stratosphere.

Cracklin' Rosie: brought a smile to my face. 

And that's pretty much all she wrote, I was holding out for a shredtastic Julius but didn't get that either as this one didn't hold a candle to the '94 barnburners I've heard. 

I'd give the set a B-, I really liked the Tweezer a lot and YEM was YEM but other than a decent Jim there wasn't much else to write home about.  Overall I'd give the show a solid B, the DWD and Tweezer are highlights making it worth the listen but the first set was much stronger than the second which just petered out a bit prematurely.  Thinking back, Page was the MVP on this night, which can be a sign of a great show, but tonight it ended up being more of a workman like performance than a flashy or truly unique affair. 

Big ups to Aug for firing it up again and to everyone participating this time around. 

looks like you did this show on both boards... isnt that like cheating? but since you did it, i just got to copy/paste my review here too
8/14/96
Wilson-a solid version of a fun opener, and I enjoyed the fun ending that slipped into:
DWD- a rip roaring version start to finish. Without slowing down and wandering off course, this is a wonderful version of Disease
Fee-nothing new, but a good rest from the sick Disease. Interesting ending too, it seemed to flow into
Poor Heart - either you love this song or you hate it, and I am a fan.
Reba- this is the stuff of legends. An almost textbook intro and a great solo from Trey. No whistling but that is ok.
Mango Song- enough said. You cant go wrong with a Mango.
Gumbo-this is year that Page just shines!
Stash-dark and deep, with great interplay between Trey and Page
Hello-a welcome ending to a great show

Jim-somehow I missed this one!
YEM-another almost perfect version, w/a good vocal section.
Horse>silent a breather
CTB-again this is Page's year
Tweezer- just started, but the Mrs called. More updates later!

That being said, this show is a great one, and is a perfect example of how Phish turns a throw away/under attended show into something else. The list on paper looks like the standard songs in the rotation, but the playing behind them is top notch. Page really shines in this show, and that is typical of the 96 shows. Mike's sound is a little muffled, but Page is front and center and on fire. 96 was about two different transitions, the first about becoming comfortable on a larger stage/venue, and the second a transition in the songs. By that I mean not just the lyrical content (the transition from Hoist to Billy Breathers), but in how the band approached songs. The early to mid 90s were about cramming the maximum number of notes into any given section or solo, but with the transition to playing larger shows, they band seemed to become aware that "less is more." Rather than playing every note in the scale, they focused on the necessary ones. To me,this show is a good example of that, especially clear in some of the extended sections like Reba, Stash, Tweezer.