Yeah, yeah, I know, recycling a show already. Well, since I didn’t have time to do a full post, I figured I would post the glorious Harry Hood from Smith College. It’s always bugged me that I didn’t include it in the original post, and besides, this Hood is so monster, it is more than deserving of it’s own post. It’s just ridiculous…This Hood can go toe to toe with any Hood from any year and I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is the best Hood from ’91, even slightly besting Potsdam. If you have never heard this, I just don’t know what else to say…..enjoy:
backinmydaydotnet 
Nice. What struck me is Mike’s playing throughout the composed section, some terrific runs and phrasing in there! 1991 (to my ears) will always be the year Mike stepped up and learned how to lead the band creatively. He shines in this Hood for sure.
I have two favorite Hoods from 1991, and I’m curious if you’ve heard them (or attended!). The first is from just a week later, 2/15/91 Colonial Theatre. It’s another monster version, and the envelope filter that Mike uses in the Smith College Hood intro gets a real workout. It almost blows his cabinet!
The other is from Macalester College in the fall. Trey uses reverb and sustain in one of his first solo runs that pretty much epitomizes what this song is about. It occurs to me that all these ’91 versions have something in common, that is, Trey (and the whole band maybe) seems to know **right from the start** where they wanna go with it. Or that there is a fount of creative ideas and it’s bubbling over, the phrasing is never the same twice and I’m continually astounded that Trey specifically never runs out of things to say.
Love to hear your thoughts on the other Hoods. Thanks for sharing!
You’re right Kevin. 1991 was a great year for Hoods and they are all so unique….It guess it was a pretty bold statement claiming Smith College to be “the best” especially since I have not heard them all, but it is one of the best for sure. I have heard both the Macalater Hood and the Keene Hood’s but not for a while– I will go back and check them out. I don;t know why I did not go to the Keene show because I was at both 2/14 and 2/16 which have upcoming posts. I really think the structure of Hood suits the band’s strengths and emotions during this time period which is why we have so many epic versions. Thanks for the recommendations, I will check those two out- it has been years since I have checked out either of those shows but I used to rock them in the analog days….peace
Ok, just did back to back listenings (when’s the last time I did that?)
The Colonial Theatre Hood is even better than I remember. Trey plays like a man possessed and puts together this climbing diatonic thing at the climax that
just
blew
my
mind!
Cool, gonna check that out later….Pretty hard to go wrong with a ’91 Hood! I remember the Roseland, Portland, OR being hot too. I think it is 10/12 maybe?
I go back to this Hood more than any other Phish jam.. It is simply Glorious!