From: jdl00@hampshire.edu
Subject: 12-30-93


this may be coming a little late.
i was just reading the review of the Mike's/Week from 12-30-93, which is found 
through the link within the setlist in the HPB.
and this is a good review of those songs.  i just wanted to add one muscial 
observation left out by the author and not added as an editor's note.

one of the riffs that trey hits in Mike's, which in my opinion is the most 
notable one which he repeats for a while after they have all followed each 
other to that point, gets repeated in Week.  trey is moving super fast, but it 
is the same riff.  and it only beefs up the stigma of that string of songs.  
because i know that when i heard the riff in Mike's I was blown away, and then 
to see trey bring in all back together was really sweet.

i'm just sayin...

--jon

Subject: revised 12/30/93 mike's review Date: Wed, 18 Feb 1998 13:04:29 -0800 (PST) From: Charlie Dirksen To: dan@netspace.org 12/30/93 Cumberland Cty Civic Center, Portland, ME (Rvwd 9/95) This show was released on SBD (well, not a clean DSBD but a DATmaster->cass->DSBD.. so a cDSBD) by the band, so most people should have nice quality copies. It is an above-average Phish show, and the MikeS is no exception. The opening of the MikeS is more upbeat than usual, even for 1993. The tramps jam is fairly standard at first, with the typical jamming from Mike and Page in the beginning. As usual, Trey comes in with his typical off-key stuff at first, but, soon, he starts jamming along the same groove as Mike and Page, and produces some especially pleasant fills. The post-tramps segment is extremely strong, upbeat, and centered, for some odd reason. Page and Mike are clearly listening to Trey, and following his lead (you can actually HEAR this). They all jam really well immediately. This isn't at all like the MikeS that I've been reviewing of late, in this sense. I mean, this jam actually appears to have a theme, and doesn't sound like the typical clashing of various themes that oft occurs at this stage in MikeS. IT IS REALLY QUITE GOOD!! The jam just climbs in intensity, and then around the 7 min mark, there is a fantastic melodic, playful groove that occurs. Trey really wails in this, folks! At first he just quickly picks at this theme note by note, but then he actually starts wailing on it.. for a minute or two (I hate it when they get into a really cool theme-jam and then completely drop it after only 20 seconds.. there's a Reba somewhere in my collection that has this amazing little 15 second groove in it that I wish they had stuck with for many many many minutes..). This MikeS is Phish improv at its finest (well, for 1993, to be fair to them). This little jam not only works, but gets better, so after a minute or so, you really want them to keep with it for awhile (which they, graciously, do for a couple mins). Just a ragingly decent, harmoniously groovy jam during this section. An inspiring Phish impov'ed theme jam -- if only every MikeS could just be this wholesome! This and 2/20/93 are clearly my favorite MikeS of 1993.. Even though the jam kinda cools off and gets repetitive after the 9-9:30 min point, it is still a sound, centered jam -- it is not disjointed, chaotic, off-key and spacey as it often is during this final section. Indeed, by 10:30, the jam sounds like it might segue into some Tom Petty tune (hey, it IS a tease.. at 10:53 precisely, of a Tom Petty song, but since I am not a fan of Tom Petty.. what is this? it is a fairly well known Petty tune that is teased). [Editor's Note: Jaime Boike emailed me and believes it is "Refugee" off of "Damn the Torpedoes."] The jam at this point -- 11 mins or so -- is really quite cool (sounds like this Petty song, sortof.. very mellow, enchanting, psychedelic country) ... By 13 minutes, the Petty jam dies out (no return to the MikeS theme to truly end the MikeS), and Trey comes in on ACOUSTIC guitar, accompanied by Page, and then Horse segues in stealthily. A 13 min MikeS! Silent follows Horse, AS ALWAYS (just ONCE why don't they give us a Horse-> ANYTHING -> Silent or just a Horse -> AnythingBUTsilent.. I mean GEEEZUS is this boring), BUT THEN, AFTER THE SILENT, a fantastic PYITE->McGrupp's occurs! OH, to have been at this show! I get chills just HEARING PYITE right after Silent! I don't think I would have been able to make it ALL THE WAY to Maine through the cold and snow for this show.. I remember just getting to A.U. for the Bender show (a mere 10 minutes from my house) was a pain in the ass, because of snow and ice (that was a great show, though.. the Fast and Hood are excellent.. good YEM, too .. Yamar in the winter!). ANYWAY, PYITE is mighty, as always. Weekapaug segues smoothly out of McGrupp's (an excellent McGrupp's, although I know of no bad versions). Mike has a typically great opening solo (well, Fish accompanies him as usual, of course, so it is never technically a "solo"), but it isn't that varied and certainly not his finest work. The opening Weekapaug jam is exceptionally hot, with some really fine stuff from Trey. He dwells on this clever little groove that I've never heard him do in any other Weekapaug, but which sounds as if it could readily lend itself to any Week jam! This is improv that doesn't sound like improv, and it is very, very sweet -- and fast! Everyone clearly listens to each other, and soars triumphantly on their instruments. Trey is all over the place, sustaining here and there, but more often than not playing as many snappy notes as he can and as skillfully as he can. This is an above-average Weekapaug for this era, for damn sure. Trey's wailing in this is reminiscent of his jamming at the Catalyst in April 1992, the 19th I think it was. This is one hell of a Weekapaug. The fiery opening jam doesn't stop -- there is no quiet section in this version. The final verse or "segment," aka the final Week-theme ending measures, is preceded by some verrrry funky stuff from Mike. The actual final segment itself is unusually good, with some Yeah-ing and OOooh-ing from Mike and Trey in a funkadelic original roots reggae/bluesy fashion. This stuff basically just dies out into Page's Purple Rain piano intro, at around 7:23 or so into the Weekapaug. This is an excellent, decent-lengthed no bullshit Weekapaug (no weird segments or teases, but damn this is a hot version). Get this Mikes/Week combo at all costs, especially since PYITE and McGrupp's are wedged in between them. "A" rating. MikesWeek total time is 20 minutes or so, which, frankly, is a hell of a lot considering that this doesn't count a H2 or Leprechaun ...