From: Charlie Dirksen
8/28/93 Greek Theater, Berkeley.edu By all accounts, a very pleasant venue (and a HQ DAUD!! thanks Mark!). The
opening is tight and good. The pre-Nirvana section is very spacey and mysterious, akin to many others of the last few years.
There is a Vibration of Life effect around 2:15 or so, but it seems only temporary (it wasn't strenuously attempted as in some
other versions). No particularly melodious themes.. sounds akin to many other cloudy pre-Nirvana segments. Nirvana comes
around 4:10.. ho-hum ho-hum. Typically great pre-charge segment, with some almost ska-like chording from Trey. Trey's first
shot at The Note is fine (reasonably sustained out). Second Note is great and has some good jamming around it... but nothing
unusually impressive, imo. "Boy" around 7:32 or so, after a truly hair-raising scream (this is an FOB). Typically grand
BMGS/WUDMTF segment, with lotsa activity. Tramps jam around 9:34, with serious signals from Mike. Page is noodling in
here (Oye Como chords around 10 minutes) a bit, and chording some. Not much action from him at this time. He's very
laid-back it would seem. The groove picks up a little around 11 minutes, but Page doesn't climax this out at all. :( Jam segment
begins around 11:15. The jam immediately quiets down (as it often does), with Mike and Page dropping out completely, Fish
only lightly tapping, and Trey noodling melodiously and quietly. Audience starts clapping (!). Trey is just noodling around..
doesn't really find any particular theme. At around 12:34, though, everyone comes back in, as if on cue (they were listening to
Trey..=^). Trey starts repeating this short lil lick that is attention-grabbing but not particularly melodious. At around 13:27, Trey
starts playing Oye Como Va outright on the 'doc, and the others join him. Within 15 seconds, there's a full-blown Oye Como
Va jam underway, complete with an Absolut Oye Como Va solo from Trey, until he starts improvising more around 14:15 or
so. By around 14:30, Trey is soloing magnificently in typically Santana-esque fashion, around the Oye Como Va theme. This is
certainly one of the most seriously jammed out Oye Como Va's I've ever heard them do, fwiw. This is full blown. It is still Oye
Como Va, too, around 15:20 or so! Wow!! The climax of this jam is fantastic, with spectacular Trey!!! B&D segment opens
around 15:56 or so, with Mike immediately playing "Owner of Lonely Heart" licks on his bass. Not much in here, though, really.
Mike is funky, but he isn't all that quick.. very laid-back with Fish. Sure, he's fairly melodious, and is accurately playing, but he's
not RAGING at all. I tend to prefer it when he goes off the deep end with Fish and they truly wail. Not here. Closing
WUDMTF segment at 17:38ish. Typical vocal jam, although I'd swear that Trey and someone else are very, very quickly
uttering "Mah nah Mah nah" at one point (if you aren't familiar with Mah Nah Mah Nah, I'm sorry). Otherwise, a fairly dull and
straightfoward vocal jam. It is not even vaguely as weird as the 8/25 vocal jam. It contains a lot more vocal harmonizing and
less Small Furry Creatures in a Cave Groovin with a Pict (or whatever that Floyd composition is called). By 23 minutes, the jam
gets a little more interesting (they are all goofing off on "doo" and "doh" and "duh"). Around 23:41, the vocal jam segues into
Contact, just as it did a few weeks earlier. Total time for this version is basically 24:22, when Trey opens up Contact with a lil
sustain from the 'doc. This YEM has a tremendously important Oye Como Va jam. It is, I believe, the most serious Oye Como
Va that they've ever played (and considering how often they tease and jam around the Oye Como Va theme, well, this version
is No Small Affair imo). This Oye Como Va jam is the most serious one I've heard (although I really enjoy the 6/16/95 jam with
Boyd from DMB a lot!), and should probably actually be noted on the setlist. It isn't just a tease, or a tease-jam, but rather a
serious, several minute long Oye Como Hose. B+ rating. two cents The Original Dumbass420