02-03-86 Hunt’s, Burlington, VT
Slave to the Traffic Light, Mike’s Song-> Dave’s Energy Guide, You Enjoy Myself*, Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues, Prep School Hippie, Run Like an Antelope
Show runs about 50-55 minutes; list may be incomplete. *Very likely the first performance of this song; with a guest violinist from a local Burlington band called “The Oblique Wave.”
Unfortunately this recording leaves a lot to be desired. Tape clicking throughout, and for the first half the only things that are really audible is Trey, Page’s keys, and Fish’s cymbals. Towards the second half, it actually started making my ears hurt.
Other than the unfortunate recording, the band really sounds great as right away Slave to the Traffic Light starts up. Trey is coming across as incredibly energized, and maybe a bit too much as there are a couple rough spots where he seems to get ahead of himself. Other than that, a very fine Slave, which is hard to comment on, and how it should be.
Mike’s Song starts with a somewhat long, drawn out, intro. Trey is repeating the first three notes (or so) over and over until finally dropping into the main riff. Mike’s vocals are barely audible (but still better than his bass which is nonexistent). Straight-forward rocking for this Mike’s, which did include the ending lyrics… but there was no possible way I could make them out. This jam led into a very spacey area, which turned quickly into Dave’s Energy Guide. Still grows old quick, and does nothing for me.
Then we are treated to the very first You Enjoy Myself. It definitely does not explode out of the gate, as all of the instruments kind of fade in until it is easily recognizable. Great beginning, however there is “note” or “second note”, unless it is just inaudible on this recording. After the lyrical segment, Page and Trey are really jamming together and trading licks band and forth beautifully. The vocal jam consisted of different variations of “wash Uffize, drive me to Firenze”, and only lasted a few seconds. Still, great stuff there.
Trey then asks if the audience has any requests, because “Like Mike says, real bands don’t play requests, so we are going to play a request.” Someone is easily heard yelling Alumni Blues, and after a small amount of tuning, a very funky Alumni starts off. The entire band is finally audible at this point, maybe towards the end of YEM as well. And Trey’s “sound” is really starting to show. Jeff takes the “take this diploma” line, and after a short jam they head into Jimmy Page.
Only thing I can say about Prep School Hippie is this is where I started to get a headache. The tape warble was beyond horrendous.
Then comes a full Antelope, which is a first on tape up to this point. Nice and long intro, with a smooth segue into the high gear section. Much like YEM, it doesn’t explode into the jam, just kind of goes along the way. A very solid jam is followed by the full lyrics, and the show comes to an end. A nice finish to a solid show.
Highlight is YEM, lowlight is Prep School Hippie.