Stormy Mondays: Smells Like Old Phish

Dan’s sitting on a wicked Herbie Hancock trio show, but as we await that in the next edition of Stormy Mondays, we continue with our incessant nostalgia…

This week’s feast tastes like old Phish: two 20-plus minute suites from 1994. The first track is one of my top five Mike’s Songs, from Binghamton on the spring tour. The intro is the first live performance of Demand, one of those quirky performance poems, and when the quartet drops into Mike’s, you’ll jump out of your seat.

When I first scored a tape of this show not long after the gig itself, it came with a little pictographic equation, a drawing of the Empire State Building topped by King Kong next to big block letters, twice as tall, reading, “MIKE’S.” Next to that was an equals sign, followed simply by the word “monster.”

The second suite comes from the fall tour, a very dark and aggressive Split Open and Melt followed by more Phishy weirdness, a perfect Buffalo Bill > a straight-up Makisupa > Rift. It’s the perfect way to start (or end your day). Enjoy!

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