I: Chalkdust Torture, Foam, Billy Breathes, Divided Sky, Esther, Free, Julius*, I’m Blue I’m Lonesome, Cavern*

II: Maze**, Gumbo, Stash**** -> Manteca* -> Stash -> Dog Faced Boy** -> Stash, Strange Design, You Enjoy Myself

e: The Wedge, Rocky Top

1995, as we all know, was a great year for Phish.  On the cusp of breaking big, they were playing like they had something to prove on the way to their first ever Madison Square Garden date.  This particular show, played just over a month before that historic New Year’s gig, shows the band hitting their stride just in time.

The show begins somewhat typically with Chalkdust Torture and Foam before a tender rendition of the then-new Billy Breathes. Despite the song debuting barely a month and a half earlier, this version sounds remarkably mature, and the harmonies very confident. Some more well-worn material follows this up in the form of Divided Sky and Esther.  A deliberate Free, also new at the time, is next, and then a rocking Julius.

The Bill Monroe bluegress cover of I’m Blue, I’m Lonesome, makes an appearance next, with the set closing Cavern on its heels.  Not your typical throwaway set closer version, Trey takes the opportunity here to play around a bit with the last few notes of each verse, giving this Cavern a slightly off-kilter feel (and foreshadowing what would be to come after set break)

Before the second set starts, we are treated to one of those old Phish-isms that I wouldn’t plan on seeing again any time soon – the Audience Chess Move.  For those unaware, during the Fall ‘95 tour, the band played a few games against the audience.  The band would announce their move before the show (via a large chess board hung on Page’s side of stage), and then the audience would have the first set to confer and decide on a move to be announced onstage by an audience member before the second set.

With these shenannigans out of the way, Phish starts out the second set strongly with a dark, Page-heavy Maze.  Gumbo is next, setting the stage for a truly epic Stash.

This Stash doesn’t even wait to hit the jam before it starts getting experimental.  Between verses, Trey plays all of his notes very muted, to great effect. This keeps up into the jam while Trey plays a repeated series of muted, staccato ascending scales over the rest of the band’s descending riff.  The result is a frantic, tense, wild melodic jam.  This leads into a more typical tension/release style Stash jam, which doesn’t last long before evolving into a percussive section underscored by subtle clav and piano work by Page.

Phish siezes this opportunity to bust out a little played gem, their off-kilter take on Dizzy Gillespie’s Manteca.  This is then subtly jammed back into Stash. Gone though is the wild tension, replaced by a watery rolling jam evoking Lizards, or perhaps Esther which came earlier in the show.  They flirt briefly with the main Stash theme before steering into a short, pulsing noise jam, which itself quickly transitions into ambience.  Page’s low-C’s and Fishman’s sparse, mechanical playing brings to mind a sinister grandfather clock.

Now when you think Ambient Phish, what’s the first song that comes to mind?  It’s not Dog Faced Boy? Well, maybe it should be.  Another rare bustout, this sounds much less like the album version than Catapult. It basically keeps the essence and melody of Dog Faced Boy, but here they have made it submit to its surroundings.  The result is an insanely creepy, sparse arrangement that swells to another burning noise jam, before Stash triumphantly rises out of the ashes and puts a cap on an all-time great performance.

After all of this, a cool down is welcome in the form of Strange Design, before You Enjoy Myself, which has something to prove after that Stash, emerges. While it’s not quite of that quality, it’s an extremely good version with some beautiful ensemble work during the composed section.  The vocal section has great energy (as well as God/Shit reversed here).  The jam features a funky Page organ solo followed by a driving rock rhythm featuring a notable Immigrant Song tease.  Finally, a crazy, fuzzed out bass solo leads into a double time vocal jam.

There’s plenty to love about this show, but the Stash is truly epic.  For my money, this experimental version is easily as thrilling as any of the big Tweezers played in ‘95.  It’s an amazing, nearly 40-minute stretch that is as good as anything Phish has ever played.  Luckily, this show is easily available, as it was released as part of Phish’s official archival series.  At only $10 for the mp3 version, it’s a steal, although I would probably spring for the higher quality FLAC version for an extra $3.  You can download it here right now!  And you should, because this show is really that great.

Synopsis:

Set I: A farily standard first, with a few solid versions of standards

Set II: A legendary Stash is the key to a perfect vintage 1995 classic set. YEM is not too shabby, either

Standout versions: Julius*, Cavern*, Maze**, Stash****, Manteca*, Dog Faced Boy**, You Enjoy Myself***

Rarities: I’m Blue, I’m Lonesome, Manteca, Dog Faced Boy

Overall: This instantly became one of my favorite sets of all time the first time I heard it. Definitely a must have.

Filed under: Category Reviews | Tags: 1995,cavern,dogfacedboy,essential,julius,manteca,maze,stash,yem by doug