October 02, 2020

Phish: new archival release Memphis '95

Another archival Phish release is available for streaming and download: Memphis '95, the show that included the massive, 50-minute Tweezer:

On June 14, 1995 Phish played Mud Island Amphitheatre in Memphis, TN. It was Phish’s only Mud Island show and the third Memphis show of five to-date. Mud Island is a 5,000 seat outdoor amphitheater that has hosted a summer concert series for over two decades. The venue is located on a peninsula between the Mississippi River and Wolf River Harbor within the Mud Island River Park, which is accessible by monorail, footpath, ferry, or automobile. Tickets cost $21.00 and the show was sold out. Mike was quoted in the Mud Island show program, “I’ve always been interested in the transcendent possibility music has. I think our ideal is to have music be an experience that can transform consciousness, to spark imagination, to put people in a groove. It should make people realize that life is a thing worth celebrating.” The program concluded, “Just remember to take the train after the show: swimming to shows is not allowed.”

Mud Island set I kicked off with the summer ’95 classic Don’t You Want To Go? followed by a hot Gumbo > NICU. Other highlights included Mound, Possum, All Things Reconsidered, and the set closing Spock’s Brain > Split Open And Melt. Set II was a five-song affair that featured the Mud Island Tweezer, a 50-minute multidimensional psychedelic tour de force and the longest Tweezer ever played. The electric atmosphere continued with a three-song encore, Simple with clap-along a cappella ending into (State of Tennessee and UT fight song) Rocky Top > Tweezer Reprise, to cap a magical Memphish evening on the river.

Setlist and notes from phish.net:

SET 1: Don't You Want To Go?, Gumbo > NICU, Mound, Cavern > Possum, All Things Reconsidered, Amazing Grace[1], The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Spock's Brain > Split Open and Melt

SET 2: Also Sprach Zarathustra > Poor Heart > Tweezer[2], Acoustic Army, While My Guitar Gently Weeps

ENCORE: Simple[3], Rocky Top > Tweezer Reprise

[1] Without microphones.
[2] 50+ minutes; whistling and Digital Delay Loop Jam.
[3] A cappella ending.

Don’t You Wanna Go was preceded by a Stairway to Heaven tease. Trey teased Jean Pierre in Possum. This 50+ minute Tweezer included a brief Gypsy Queen jam, a Slave-like jam, and a Digital Delay Loop Jam with whistling. Simple contained a Jump Monk tease from Trey and was performed with an a cappella ending instead of a jam, akin to the ALO version from December 8, 1994. Amazing Grace was performed without microphones. In the soundcheck, Funky Bitch was peformed as a slow version and Rift was played as an instrumental.

» livephish.com

No comments:

Post a Comment