Editorial: An Open Letter To Kevin Shapiro

The most recent Live Phish release, 7-6-98, was a good call. A great show and a explosive Ghost for sure. My only issue with it, as with a few of the Live Phish releases (5-3-93. 12-7-97), is that excellent audience recordings were already in mass circulation. So really, it was upgrading from a good slice of pizza to a great one. You appreciate the difference, but not as much as if you had gone from Steak Umms to filet mignon. Shows like 12-30-93 (Portland, ME), The Clifford Ball and 4-16-92 are already out there with some crispness to them. So I’ve left them off this list of suggestions.

12-9-95 – Albany, NY

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A very solid first set including a slick Maze to open. But Set II is the real deal. A rockin Gumbo gives way to THE definitive Phish jam in the You Enjoy Myself. It’s 32 minutes of pure Phish heaven and in my opinion, represents the best improvisation the band ever put together. Throughout the various segments – from the gurggly washing machine bass to the melodic bliss of Trey’s noodling throughout – the band is pumping like the pistons of a Ferrari. The Slave builds to a beautiful climax and the Loving Cup encore has an extra shot of energy.

I: Maze, Theme From the Bottom, NICU, The Sloth, Rift, Bouncing Around the Room, Free, Billy Breathes, Dog Faced Boy, Chalk Dust Torture

II: Timber (Jerry), Wilson*, Gumbo, You Enjoy Myself**, Lawn Boy, Slave to the Traffic Light, Crossroads, Sweet Adeline

E: Loving Cup

*With “Beavis and Butthead” “this sucks” electronic noises. **With a silent jam.

7-22-97 – Raleigh, NC

[via Zac Williams]

A huge lightning storm rolled in during Taste, and the band seemed to be jamming along with the crackles and flashes of light. The segue between Down With Disease and Mike’s Song is among the smoothest and grooviest in Phish history. And who doesn’t love Bye Bye Foot?

I: Runaway Jim-> My Soul, Water in the Sky, Stash, Bouncing Around the Room, Vultures, Bye Bye Foot, Taste*

II: Down With Disease**-> Mike’s Song-> Simple-> I Am Hydrogen#-> Weekapaug Groove##-> Hello My Baby

E: When the Circus Comes, Harry Hood

*Band jams with a lightning storm, which eventually forces the set to end early. **With “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” (Temptations) quote.
#Mike’s bass is out of tune at the end.
##With “I Am Hydrogen” and “Mother” (Pink Floyd) teases.

7-4-99 – Atlanta, GA

The first 4th of July show in Phish history was a doozy. Set I is chock full o’goodness, highlighted by the AC/DC Bag, the Wedge and the underrated Vultures. The Ghost > Slave to open the 2nd set is like a fine scarf – smooth and silky and it will keep you warm on a cold night. A good filler could include the Twist > Piper from the previous night.

I: My Soul, Ya Mar, This Is a Farmhouse, The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > AC/DC Bag, The Wedge, Vultures, I Didn’t Know*, Fast Enough For You, David Bowie (1:23)

II: Ghost -> Slave to the Traffic Light**, The Horse -> Silent in the Morning***, What’s the Use, Wilson^, Mike’s Song -> Sleeping Monkey -> Weekapaug Groove

E1: Carini^^, The Meatstick^^^

E2: The Star Spangled Banner#

*”Vajonna (Flagina?) Fishman” vac solo (wearing only stars-and-stripes boxers). **”What’s the Use” and “Dark Star” teases.
***”Little Drummer Boy” tease and glowrings. ^Trey flubs the lyrics; plays “air guitar”; swings guitar, using his effects pedals and feedback to manipulate the sound. ^^With Pete Carini; lyrics mention Mia Hamm (Trey was wearing a Mia Hamm jersey). ^^^Chorus-only reprise; with crew and fans on stage doing “The Meatstick Dance”; after the song, others leave Trey and Mike on-stage to do the dance alone. #A cappella; band in stars-and-stripes (Fish: boxers; Trey and Page: pants and vests; Mike: tank-top underneath, revealed during the song); ended with eruption of fireworks.

7-30-97 – Ventura, CA

I went with this choice over the following year at Ventura (which opens with an amazing Bathtub Gin and features two very well placed Who covers) because of two things: Stash and the Bowie > Cities > Bowie. I’m not a huge Stash guy but the 7-30-97 version is aggressive but not in a wanky way. The Wolfman’s, which just started to take off as a major jam vehicle in 1997, is hot as well. But the Bowie > Cities > Bowie is the real gold. Cities was still pretty rare at this point and to sandwich it perfectly in the middle of a scorching Bowie, brought the dust bowl to its knees that night.

I: NICU, Wolfman’s Brother-> Chalk Dust Torture, Water in the Sky, Stash, Weigh, Piper, Cars Trucks Buses, Character Zero

II: Punch You in the Eye, Free, David Bowie*-> Cities-> David Bowie, Bouncing Around the Room, Uncle Pen, Prince Caspian, Fire

E: My Soul

*With “Simpsons” language in the high-hat intro.

12-28-94 – Philadelphia, PA

[via PT]

I wore out my Maxell XLIIS analog copy of this show after a few months of non-stop listening back in the day. The first set is a very good representation of where the band was at this point. First sets were mostly quick hitters with a serious jam or two, in this case Reba and Antelope, thrown in. The second set is playful – with Contact and Love You – but gets down to business with one of the sickest Weekapaug’s of all time. Kind of a lost classic since so many of the Holiday Run shows over the years were inducted into the Pantheon of shows.

1: Mound, Simple, Julius, Bathtub Gin, Bouncing Around the Room, Axilla II, Reba, Dog Faced Boy, It’s Ice, Run Like an Antelope

2: Suzy Greenberg, NICU, Mike’s Song-> The Mango Song-> Weekapaug Groove*, Contact, Llama, HYHU-> Love You-> HYHU, The Squirming Coil

E: Bold as Love

*with Little Drummer Boy jam

What shows would you like to see get the Live Phish treatment?