Sunday, November 22, 2015

It was 20 Years Ago Today: Phish, Live at the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA, November 24th, 1995

      Hello everyone. Just kicking back this rather chilly weekend before the holiday season gets under way with Thanksgiving. One thing about Thanksgiving, I have seen a lot of shows. Phish, Panic, and Devolver always threw down over the holiday weekend. But my first Thanksgiving run was back in 1995 when I was blessed enough to see the Wednesday before and the Friday after Thanksgiving. It was also the first time I saw shows on 2 consecutive nights in 2 different cities. But I really don't remember any Black Friday sales in the Lot..... So without further ado, here is another installment in my award hoping for series, It Was 20 Years Ago Today: Phish, Live at the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA, November 24th, 1995.
      After a jam filled show at the Cap Centre, and the following day with turkey and football, we headed out early for the long drive across the western highlands that are Pennsylvania. Don't remember where we stayed or any of that stuff.





Friday, 11/24/1995
Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA

Soundcheck: Oye Como Va Jam > Dog Log, Rift, Funky Bitch (half-speed)
Set 1: The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > AC/DC Bag > The Curtain > Sparkle > Stash, Tela, I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome[1], Maze, Suzy Greenberg
Set 2: Chalk Dust Torture, Theme From the Bottom > Reba[2], Catapult, Scent of a Mule, Bathtub Gin, Acoustic Army, Hold Your Head Up > Bike > Hold Your Head Up, Fee[3] > Julius
Encore: Life on Mars?, Rocky Top
[1] Acoustic.
[2] No whistling.
[3] Trey sang verses through megaphone.
Notes: I’m Blue I’m Lonesome was performed acoustic and, along with Maze, was dedicated to Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team. Reba did not have the whistling ending. Before Bike, Fish introduced himself as Forrest Gump. Trey sang the verses of Fee through a megaphone.



You can stream it here


      Of all the shows I've attended, this might be the closest to an “average “ Phish show. Definitely no down points, but outside of Gin, no real jams. It was a great show with all the composed parts nailed but otherwise, nothing really stands out. First time for a few songs for myself. Still not sure what to make of Bike. Favorite part of the show was the double encore. I really like Life on Mars? and I feel a band should leave the last song as a high energy peak.
      While there is no Devolver show this year, Andy will be playing with the Winter House Band at the Miscreation Brewing Company this Wednesday November 25th, starting around 7ish. And next week I will have one of my favorite shows of all time to write about, Phish's first trip to the Land of Chocolate in Hershey, PA.


Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
PhD Rock and Roll


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Sunday, November 15, 2015

It Was 20 Years Ago Today: Phish, Live at the Capital Centre, Landover, MD November 22nd, 1995

      Hello everyone. I hope your fantasy football season is going better than mine. The less said the better. But I'm not here to bemoan semi legal gambling, I'm here to throw down some knowledge on some of the posts I've been most looking forward to, my Fall Tour '95 recaps. While I have written about this Tour before, it was one of my first blog post you can read it here


 But now I'm ready to get into it balls deep as I start the epic run that was Phish Fall Tour 1995: It was 20 Years Ago Today, Phish Live at the Capital Centre, Landover, MD, November 22, 1995.
      As I wrote before, the summer of 1995 was a season of contrasts. I was geeked when the Dead announced their Fall tour after their hellacious Summer Tour had finally ended. We were doing three nights at the Spectrum and I was pumped. It would be my first real run of shows after I had graduated. Then Jerry died and my whole world collapsed. You can read about that here.


To say I was depressed is an understatement. But then about three weeks after that I got a flyer in the mail announcing Phish's extensive Fall Tour. How extensive? Try a 54 date tour going from the end of September until the third week of December, spanning the country from San Fran to Lake Placid. Few points of note about this tour. First, they probably booked this in the spring without knowing the upheaval our scene would be going through. Second, it would also be a trial by fire. The kings of our scene were gone and Phish had an opportunity to show they would be the new standard bearer for all things improv. It would also be an endurance test. With only a week off after Halloween, it was run of mostly one night stands as they traversed this great land. What would their energy level be seven weeks into the tour? I was about to find out





Wednesday, 11/22/1995
USAir Arena, Landover, MD

Soundcheck: Funky Bitch, The Old Home Place
Set 1: Cars Trucks Buses, Wilson > Run Like an Antelope, Fluffhead, Uncle Pen, Cavern > Taste That Surrounds, The Lizards, Sample in a Jar, Sweet Adeline
Set 2: Rift[1], Free -> Llama, Bouncing Around the Room, You Enjoy Myself, Strange Design
Encore: Poor Heart[2], Frankenstein
[1] Aborted.
[2] Slow arrangement.




You can stream it here

      We rolled down in Nad's dad's van, a hulking behemoth from the early 80's. It was our friends' first proper Phish show (they had attended 10/7/94 in Fairfax, VA, but only to hustle nitrous in the Lot.) We had our full equipment packed for some super dope tailgating. After the usual way over the top security check that was always present at the Cap Centre, we got down to business.
      First set was typical for the era. High energy CT and B got us going. First set Fluffhead is always welcome. I'm a big fan of Fog (which evolved into Taste). But the nutmeat of the show was about to hit us upside the noggin in the second set.
      They started of with Rift, which quickly fell apart. Trey blamed Fishman for it and then proceeded to show us the future of Phish with a 33 minute!! version of Free. Wow!! This was the second real lenghty trip into the farthest reaches of space the boys ever did, the first being the Disease from Saratoga Springs the summer before. I might be wrong on this declaration, but I don't think I am. Words don't do this song justice, but things really get interesting after the ten minute mark. Everything after that was gravy. I normally don't like a slow song to end a set but Strange Design was just the warm embrace we needed after such a long journey. Not the biggest fan of the slow version of Poor Heart but glad they were mixing up the arrangements.
      We made it home and prepped for a hearty Thanksgiving meal, just like everyone else on Tour. And after a day off, we would be back on the road for the next show on the tour in the Steel City, which I will write about next time.

Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
PhD Rock and Roll
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Sunday, November 8, 2015

Moe and Cabinet, Live at The Fillmore, October 30th, 2015, Philadelphia, PA

       Greetings everyone. Hope you had a safe and uneventful Halloween. I took it easy this year after the last 2 Halloween following Phish from one gambling mecca (Atlantic City) to another (Las Vegas). But my life is also different. I have two dogs, along with my lovely girlfriend Casey, so jetting off to the West Coast for 2 weeks isn't quite as easy. So we decided to do something a little closer to home, Cabinet opening for Moe at the Fillmore in Philly on October 30th, 2015.
        As it would so work out, my friend M lived in an apartment within walking distance of the venue and a bunch of cool restaurants. We ate at the Soy Cafe which had an amazing vegetarian hot sausage wrap. I'm kinda vegan, mostly vegetarian and have been so impressed by how good vegan food is. So after filling up, we headed to the venue.
       The Fillmore is a new venue in Philly and it is really great. Good sight lines of the band everywhere, plenty of bars and space in the back to congregate without having to shout over the band. Now I do have an issue with the name of the venue however. Way back in the day, Bill Graham rented out the Fillmore Auditorium in the Fillmore (mostly black, like San Fran's Harlem) neighborhood to put on shows. He then rented out a hall in NYC that he christened that the Fillmore East. He then took over the Carousal Ballroom and renamed it the Fillmore West. Both East and West were closed in 1971 but among music heads they were legendary venues. If a band released a live album recorded there, it held a certain cache. Fast forward to today, entertainment conglomerate Live Nation decided to slap the name Fillmore on any venue they could. The snooty rock critic inside me is not pleased. And I think Bill sums up my feelings nicely.





       We choose the 30th instead of Halloween because Cabinet was opening up. After seeing them close to 10 times over the course of 3 years, I hadn't seem then since August 2013 when they opened a skate park in Baltimore. They have definitely gotten better since then. They incorporated the electric guitar and electric bass more into their sound since I saw them last. I even loved JP referencing Mischief Night,a NE PA tradition from when I was a wee little lad.
You can stream it here

Highlight for myself was the Mr Spaceman encore. I love that tune and their arrangement.
       After a short break, Moe came out and did their thing. As usual, their light show was out of this world. Was pleasantly surprised they did 2 full sets after having an opener.
You can stream it here

     Total guitar shredding was the theme of the night. Definitely a little more sedate than usual as they had such a big night planned for Halloween. And even though I've been seeing them since 1996, I'm really not fluent in all their songs. I know what I know. But it was still a good time.
Ate breakfast at Sabrina's Cafe in Philly, which was located in a predominantly Italian neighborhood. Got some incredible decedent non vegan pastries at a local bakery and even walked by Michael Anastasio's Fruit Company.
       Last show until Thanksgiving as my next few blog post will be about Phish's most important tour, Fall of 1995.

Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
PhD Rock and Roll
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