Subject: 10/16 review(long)
From: Mike Weitman

Well, it was Wednesday afternoon, and a ticket and a ride to Lake Placid
just fell on my lap.  Lucky me!  So, after a long drive I was ready to
see how Phish would kick off the new tour.  Phish is Phish and I love
them, so I can't say that I was disappointed, but it wasn't the best
show I've ever seen.  It's not that they didn't perform well, they did a
great job, I just thought the song selection and placement was something
more to be desired.  As a musician, I love Phish for their free,
experimental jamming.  I don't go to a show to hear them play songs that
mirror the album version's song.  It does happen, though, and I do not
blame Phish.  After all, they're the band.  I just prefer it the other
way.  Usually after a Phish show, I become musically inspired.  This
show didn't really do that for me, as other shows have.  Anyways, I
still enjoyed the show, and I get another chance to be inspired in
Hartford.  Now, for my comments.

Cars, Trucks, and Buses:Good opener.  Not a surprise to hear a BB tune
as the opener.  ONe point on this I don't know if anyone has already
pointed out, is the ending.  In the 95 and 96 versions, Phish seems to
end the song, and the fans less familiar with CTB cheer as if it's
over.  They then come back in for a few measures, and end it.  But, on
the album this isn't done.  So, when I heard CTB the day after BB was
released, I was curious to see if Phish changed the arrangement.  I'm
glad to see they didn't.  I know it is a small point, but if they had
changed it to the BB version, they would have clearly been performing
under Elektra's guidelines.  
DwD:Good tune to get the crowd going.  Nice jam, nothing too out there.
Kept me interested. 
Wilson:Standard, but filled with energy
Buried Alive:I love this song.  The guitar riff is great!
Poor Heart:Poor Heart
Billy Breathes:A beautiful song, performed well.  Nice to hear it live.
Mound:I've never heard this live before, but I liked it on Rift.  I
don't know, but it just doesn't do it for me live.  
Sample in a Jar:A good song, but overplayed.  I've seen 9 Phish shows,
and 7 Samples.  The two shows which didn't have Sample were either the
night before or after I saw Sample at the same venue(Amherst & MSG)
Ice:Great tune, nice jam.  In the jam section, when Fishman rose up on
his stool, he raised his dress for the audience.  I was behind stage and
don't know whether he had anything on under it.  It was pretty funny.
Horse->SITM:Nice as usual, but it's getting a bit overplayed, IMO.
Character Zero: This was the highlight of the set for me.  As one of the
only upbeat songs on BB, I was wondering what this song would sound like
live.  Well, it met my expectations.  This song has some great jam
potential. 

Wolfman's Brother:I really wish they didn't play this live without
horns.  This is one of the few songs which I think sounds better in the
studio.
Taste:The fourth BB tune of the night.  Can you say promotion?  At least
they played the good tunes from the album, IMO.
Trainsong:I take that back.  This is the only song on BB I truly
dislike, and I don't thing my opinion will change.
Simple:A fun, live tune which took a strange twist into a 15-20 minute
jam song.  Good to see Phish's experimental side again, but the jam
wasn't the greatest.
Swept Away, Steep, Prince Caspian: I love the way these three tunes
segue into each other.  Prince Caspian is much more developed than it
was in 95.  Strange placement, though.  This seems like first set
material to me?
Antelope:Definitely the highlight of the show.  Probably the only song
of the show(except maybe Char. Zero) that really rocked.  Great light
work by Chris right before the Marco jam.  
Squirming Coil:I love this song, but if you hear this version, you will
notice the band was a little rusty on this one.(or should I say Trey was
a little rusty)  He screwed up the composed solo a few times.  He was
often searching for notes.  Anyway, a nice piano outro.
Johnny B. Goode:A great rockin song to end the set, but ever since NYE
95, I don't think JBG can be topped.
Waste:Well, I found this encore to be a waste of my time...

I hope I didn't sound too negative.  I did enjoy the show.  I just
didn't want to say that every song was "the best ever."  It's hard to
rate this show.  I guess it's pretty average.(for Phish that's great) 
It was just so different from any show I've ever seen.  The mood was
much slower, and the music was much more composed rather than
improvisational.

Feel free to comment,
Mike
mweitman@bu.edu
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Subject: Analawg Dawgs Review 10/16/95 L Placid
Date:18 Oct 1996 12:28:43 GMT

Lake Placid in mid October.   Leaves all lit up with the change of the 
seasons; the air cool and crisp.  A perfect environment to start the fall 
tour.  By contrast with last years finale in mid-December, this was ideal.


Well, I was worried heading to Placid.  My car badly needed rear cv 
joints, and I had no idea if I would make it.  But I did, and I had 
little difficulty getting rid of my extra ticket and scooping out a few 
two dollar molsons.  The most pleasant aspect of the pre-show hoopla was 
that I only saw one advertisement for Veggie Burritos.  With my new 
military style haircut, I was an object of suspicion, but I still had 
little difficulty getting my needs met as I headed into the show.

Historically, tour openers have been far less than spectacular.  Remember 
those California shows last fall?  So, I was not expecting anything 
really fantastic.  Still I was ready to move.

Cars,Trucks & Buses  started us off...a nice pleasant jazzy way to start 
the show.  Then, the lights centered on Mike..and as he pounded out the 
intro to Down With Disease...my heart sank.  This is one of those songs 
played to death a few years back, and if it happened to skip a tour or 
two, I wouldn't shed a tear.  But, the jam was a pleasant surprise.  It 
had a neat little progression to it a la Reba.... I liked it.  At that 
moment I was reminded that on a good night, the Phish experience was far 
better than anything sexual...except, maybe, a three way with MiMi & 
Tracey Lords......

The rest of the first set, I'm sorry to say, was very blah, very standard.
although the closing version of Character Zero did get me hopping.  From 
Wilson to Buried Alive..Poor Heart..Billy...Mound..Sample..Ice...
Horse>Silent..the playing was okay, but the songs were all played in 
standard fashion, as they've been played many times. All that 
was missing was Sparkle.

During the break, I got myself a pretzyl..which I found to be very 
fitting under the circumstances.  It was very blah..very standard.  I 
payed $2.50 for this shit????

The second set, with rare exceptions, was more of the same.  Wolfmans 
Brother started things out.  I would have much rather the Wolfman be left 
out, but, oh well...can't hope for too much.  Then came Taste and the new 
pleasant little "Train Song".  Next came Simple.  This version did 
something for me.  The jam at the end was really really good.  It was 
smooth and unabrasive..with Trey melding his guitar subtly into the 
overall sound.  His stint on the drum kit had me wondering what they were 
going to weave into.  Sadly, nothing.  Still, it was good, and it may be 
one of the few reasons that you might want a copy of this show.  Then..
the "Swept Away Caspian" duet...this was pleasant..moody...but 
unremarkable.  Antelope was next.  Even on a bad night, Antelope shines 
brightly.  This version was very average.  Nothing at all special about 
it..but it still managed to force my body to move in ways in can't 
normally move.  Squirming Coil followed, with Page finishing it off with 
his now very boring piano finale...then  when I thought he was going to 
bid us goodnight, the boys returned for Johnny B Goode.

I was thinking..maybe something good for the encore.  Something for us to 
talk about on the way out.  well, it was something to talk about out...
and the title says it all..Waste.  The new Trey ditty that has me 
wondering what direction this band is going in...this tune belongs 
somewhere in the middle of the set...when perhaps you need to relieve 
yourself or sit down and gather your senses...but..as an encore..it did 
nothing for me.  It was, truly, a waste.

I ran into someone at the show that said he hadn't seen the band since 92.
  He said they seem different now.  Not the same.  It was, he said, kind 
of like seeing your brother home during the holidays whom you hadn't seen 
in a few years.  Its nice to see him...hes more mature..got his act 
together, but not as much fun as he used to be.

And you know, I have to agree with him.  At least on this night.

Analawg Dawg        
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Subject: Placid Thoughts
From: Andrew Van Alstyne 

There have been many setlist/reviews done so far, so I'd just
like to thow out some random thoughts on the Placid show.
The show wasn't that great; the scene was incredible, however.
Lake Placid is such a great town, and it was such a great place to
have a show.  It felt like such a family reunion, meeting people
I met at the Clifford Ball.  I saw Mike outside the show, but
didn't want to bother him, so I just waved.
From what I've heard, Trey and the crew were skating around on
the practice rink before the show (I did see a few members of the
crew).
Cars, trucks and buses. I called this one.  Not much of a challenge,
considering the obvious BB pattern, but I was proud.  It was good,
and I thought the show could begoing somewhere.
DWD was ok.  I like this song (I saw it live at SPAC 95 for the first
tim).  But it didn't do anything.
Wilson...eh
Buried Alive: They played it at Placid last fall as well.  What a song,
it's always good.
Skipping around, Billy Breathes was not that great.  The vocals weren't
too great, and it just seemed forced.
It's Ice was prett lame.  It had it's moments though (Fishman's
dress).  We were behind him, what was the view from the front?
Wolfan's Bro sucked.  Really, it was bad.  I'm not a big non-horn fan,
and this version was lame.
Simple was the highlight of the show.  A nice 15-20 minute jam.
I really thought it would ho into Makisupa, because there was
a definite reggae feel to it (esp. trey's percussion), but it seemed
to just end into swept away/steep
That's my $.02
Andrew