As I sit here and try to survive the
Humidity Hindenburg that is parked over America, I am amazed how time
flies, especially as we get older. So let's go way back 20 years to
the magnificent, historic life changing event that is the Clifford
Ball.
It
was 20 Years Ago Today: The Clifford Ball, Aug 16th and
17th, 1996
I'm not gonna try to describe the
history of it because phish.net has that covered in spades.
So I attended the Hershey show on
the 14th and then on the 15th myself and Nad
(fellow traveler whose identity is kept secret) headed out. I had
planned on stopping at a campground and driving in on the 16th
but we made great time and continued on until we hit the venue.
There was a few hour wait, but no
more than a couple hours at most. We parked on the runway of the old
Air Force base and camped on the grass. I remember being stunned when
I got up in the morning and saw just how big the camping was. All
this for Phish, wow.
Set
1: Jam, Hold Your Head Up Jam, Jam, Jam
Notes:
This
was the sound check for The Clifford Ball. The final jam segment
included the first annual sound check tribute to "Mr. Sausage,"
multiple shout-outs to festival staff, and Trey on his mini-drum kit.
50+ minutes of this check were included on the Clifford
Ball DVD
bonus
disc.
NOTE:
This Phish performance does not count for stats purposes.
Stream
it here
I
spent years looking for this sound check on people's list only to
come up empty. It was finally released on the box set but it is
everywhere now.
[1]
Acoustic mini-stage.
[2] Unfinished.
Notes:This
was the first show of The Clifford Ball festival. Bathtub Gin
contained a brief DEG tease from Trey. Waste through Strange Design
were performed on the acoustic mini-stage. Disease was unfinished.
The second set was preceded by a Mary Had a Little Lamb tease. The
jam at the end of Harry Hood accompanied a fireworks display. The
band took to the back of a flatbed truck at around 3:30 in the
morning and drove through the crowd. The performance was one long
open-ended jam.
You
can stream it here
My
main memory of the first set is that there was a long, purplish cloud
over the stage, off in the distance. During Divided Sky, it actually
was split in 2. Tom Reese also saw it so there is no way I
hallucinated it. The second set was the MONSTER of the weekend.
First, an amazing SOAM. I was walking across one of the runways to
use the bathroom. From were I was, it looked like a giant UFO was
descending from the heavens. The light show was almost too much. The
acoustic set was a nice place to take a breath because Phish was
about to crush our skulls and snort them up. The Mike's has a great
second jam. It's so intense that when Trey tries to start Simple,
Page is having none of it. He begins to jam out the rift for a few
minutes. Then they start doing these spontaneous “ooo”'s that fit
in perfectly. It's burned in my brain, like the 11/22/97 Hood.
Contact is just a chance to get our bearings as Groove pummels us
again.
The
Disease is SICK. The Hood is also worth a listen, You know what? All
of it is worth listening too. And no, totally missed the Flatbed
Truck Jam but it looks tough to dance to when you have to run besides
something.
I
remember a brief shower the second day and so many crickets/locusts
were jumping between the tent and the rain flap. But on to the
show.......
[1]
No whistling.
[2] Trey sang verses through megaphone.
[3] Ben
and Jerry on vocals.
[4] Page/Fish Mule Duel.
[5] Unfinished.
Notes: This
was the second show of The Clifford Ball festival. Reba did not have
the whistling ending. Trey sang the verses of Fee through a
megaphone. Before the second set, Trey paid tribute to Aaron Stein of
Syracuse, who was front row center for every show of the tour. The
first Brother since August 2, 1993 (258 shows) featured Ben and Jerry
on guest vocals. Wilson included a Heartbreaker tease. Antelope
featured a female acrobat twirling in the rigging, suspended above
the stage in a circus-like fashion. Scent of a Mule featured a
Page/Fish duel instead of the typical Page/Trey duel. Tweezer
had big trampolines on each side of the stage and more circus
shenanigans. A stunt plane circled overhead during Tweezer Reprise
and Harpua. Harpua was unfinished; it was completed on August 16,
1997 at The Great Went.
You
can stream it here
First
set was good. But the real madness started once it got dark. During a
few songs but definitely Antelope, they had people on skis jumping up
and down on trampolines. They also had a chick on a ribbon doing all
sorts of gymnastics. I only listened to show instead of watching DVD
to refresh my memory, so can't be sure which songs had it.
The
prank of the plane being Jimmy and flying over the stage during
Harpua was epicly ruined by a guy jumping on stage. But it still
counts as one which brings my total to 4 Harpuas.
When
we got back to civilization, I tried to explain the experience to a
few of my non Phishhead but Deadhead friends. I really couldn't get
across the feeling of such a wonderful experience with such a
wonderful community. Thank Bhudda they are still kicking it 20 years
later. Can't wait for Festival 11, This festival goes to 11!!
Dave
Kemp
BA
American Studies
PhD
Rock and Roll
