With the upcoming Halloween show imminent, it would certainly seem logical for me to delve into the archives and review a past Halloween show.  However, some good recordings of the Clifford Ball recently became available, so I thought maybe I’d take a different tack and take a look back at the festival that started the ball rolling for some of the epic festivals to come.  While it’s not their greatest festival, the Clifford Ball certainly holds its own, with lots of good performances in its own right.

I: Chalk Dust Torture, Bathtub Gin, Ya Mar, AC/DC Bag, Esther, Divided Sky, Halley’s Comet -> David Bowie*

II: Split Open and Melt, Sparkle, Free, The Squirming Coil, Waste, Talk, Train Song*, Strange Design, Hello My Baby, Mike’s Song** -> Simple -> Contact -> Weekapaug Groove*

III: Makisupa Policeman, 2001 -> Down With Disease** -> NICU, Life On Mars?, Harry Hood**

e: Amazing Grace

Chalk Dust Torture gives the band a comfortable platform to ease into the set in front of one of their biggest crowds to date.  I’m sure they were extremely nervous, yet they start it off well.  The set continues in a solid but fairly straightforward manner with Bathtub Gin, Ya Mar, and AC/DC Bag before a few old school Junta tunes, Esther and Divided Sky.  Both are played with much emotion and attention to detail, giving these complex songs the treatment they deserve.  Halley’s Comet is fun, with a short jam that eventually leads into yet another strong Junta tune, David Bowie.

Set two can be divided into three very distinct parts.  The set begins with a somewhat disjointed series of Split Open and Melt, Sparkle, Free, and The Squirming Coil. The Melt is the show’s first real big jam.  Perhaps it’s because I’m not the biggest Melt fan, but I didn’t really find this jam particularly interesting.  If you’re a big Melt fan, though, you still might want to check this version out

The second part of the set was a treat, however, with acoustic versions of Waste, the rare Talk, Train Song, and Strange Design.  Of these, Train Song is easily my favorite.  It’s a simple song to begin with, but the acoustic arragenment suits it well and allows the vocal harmonies to really take center stage.  Talk also shines in this setting.  I would be very in favor of Phish bringing this song into the regular rotation if it always sounded like this.  This mini-acoustic set is capped off by the acapella Hello My Baby.  (This little run of songs has got me wondering what we’ll hear at the full acoustic set at Festival 8 this coming weekend. I’m so excited!)

The last part of the set is where the band really seems to settle in and loosen up a bit.  Mike’s Song is a very strong version.  While not long, it’s pretty intense.  Although they sort of telegraph the transition into Simple, they take their time with it, building the anticipation so it really pays off when they finally commit.  Contact coming out of Simple is the surprising sort of twist that’s a perfect example of the reason I love live Phish.  The band must really feel comfortable at this point to take such a turn before veering back into the traditional Weekapaug Groove closer.  This doesn’t veer too far out of typical Weekapaug territory but it’s soaring and melodic, a great way to close the second set.

The third set starts on a humorous note with Makisupa Policeman (”dank”), then the groove busts out with 2001 -> Down With Disease.  This is a very good Disease, and is sort of a microcosm of 1996 Phish – good, but sort of without identity.  It’s definitely past the experimental stage of ‘95, and hasn’t really reached the groove based Phish of ‘97.  This leads into NICU, followed by Life on Mars? (of David Bowie’s Hunky Dory album, which as of the time of this writing is still an eligible contender for the Festival 8 Halloween album).  The final song of the set is Harry Hood, which is a quiet and delicate offering, that builds to an understated climax.  A very effective version.

Overall, I think Phish did a pretty solid job musically with this show.  I’m sure they felt a lot of pressure to deliver, and they did so admirably.  There’s a lot to like about this show.

Synopsis:

Set I: A well constructed set heavy on old, complex, composed tunes.

Set II: Starts out a bit disjointed, but finds some focus in the acoustic set, and really delivers with the Mike’s Groove.

Set III: Lots of jamming, fairly representative of 1996.

Standout versions: David Bowie*, Train Song*, Mike’s Song**, Weekapaug Groove*, Down With Disease**, Harry Hood**

Rarities: Talk

Overall: A multi-faceted show with something for every type of Phish fan.  Some song based sections, the acoustic set, and several big jams

Filed under: Category Reviews | Tags: 1996,bowie,cliffordball,dwd,festival,harry,harry hood,mikes,train song,weekapaug by doug