This isn’t a show I attended, but it was one of the earliest tapes I had. This was one of the very first shows that both sets circulated widely as a soundboard. Usually we had one set or the other, so it was great when the soundboard of the complete show came around shortly after the show. Unfortunately, the analog tapes we got back then sounded better than the multi-gen source that ended up getting digitized years later. Since it is coming up on the 22 year anniversary, I wanted to do a short post to highlight a track I wish they would bring back. I will do a complete review of the Front when I showcase a show that I attended there, but here is the setlist from this night:
Set 1: Suzy Greenberg, Split Open and Melt, Tela > Fluffhead, La Grange, Carolina,Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird > Communication Breakdown
Set 2: Wilson[1], Run Like an Antelope, Bouncing Around the Room, Caravan, The Squirming Coil > You Enjoy Myself > Bathtub Gin, Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen >Weekapaug Groove
Encore: Lawn Boy > Big Black Furry Creature from Mars[2]
Obviously a hot setlist and this show is worth seeking out. It was one of my favorites back in the day and showcases a band in transition (tons of youthful energy, not too much polish). Some good olden times banter too. Of note is the first ever “heavy metal” Wilson to open the second set and a very early (3rd ever version) of Bouncing Around the Room. It is the first set closer that got me to put this show up, Communication Breakdown. Only played four times (three of them in a row from this week) they tear through it. While it is definitely a little sloptastic, they make up for it with raw energy. You know the pit at The Front was popping off when they dropped into this one. Check it out:
MP3 of the whole show can be found here: http://www.mediafire.com/?lcc0nv3p5dt5r
Awesome, thanks for that! I’ve never heard Phish do Communication Breakdown, and holy rock star Page! also, it’s so nice to hear how fast and accurately Trey used to be able to shred. even though he was more creative in the mid-90s, he was perhaps never faster and more precise than the early 90s. love it. your blog has inspired me to listen back to more of my ’91 Phish, which were some of my earliest tapes.
it’s a shredfest for sure. Trey was killing it back then for sure. That’s what playing all day and 5 shows a week will do, I guess! Thanks for checking out the blog.