08-17-96 Plattsburgh Air Force Base, Plattsburgh, NY

Phish Live Shows
,
#1

08-17-96 Plattsburgh Air Force Base, Plattsburgh, NY

1: The Old Home Place, Punch You in the Eye, Reba, Cars Trucks Buses, Lizards, Sample in a Jar, Taste, Fee, Maze, Suzy Greenberg

2: The Curtain, Runaway Jim, It’s Ice, Brother*, Fluffhead, Run Like an Antelope, Golgi Apparatus, Slave to the Traffic Light

3: Wilson, Frankenstein, Scent of a Mule**, Tweezer, A Day in the Life, Possum, Tweezer Reprise

E: Harpua#

The Clifford Ball (Day Two). NOTE: Before the second set, the Clifford Ball Orchestra played classical music by: Debussy: Nocturnes (2 movements), Ravel: Pavane Pour une Enfante Defunte, Debussy: Claire de Lune, Ravel: Tombeau de Couperin (2 movements), Chavrier: Joyeux Muse, Faure: Pelleas et Mellisandre (2 movements), Stravinsky: The Firebird (2 movements). *With Ben & Jerry singing a verse. **With a Fishman solo instead of the typical Page/Trey duel. #Without the “Ooom Pah Pah” opening and cut short befor finishing.

#2

Watched this set w/my kids the other night. I had watched 8/16 set one a couple nights before that, but they were lame … one kid bailed to go have a shower … another hung out in the kitchen for half the set … the third kid was asleep before the sun went down over the airforce base.

So I skipped ahead to what I deemed to be the most exciting set to me personally, at least on paper (Trey’s comment on that set was that it’s an oldies set; so be it!) … and much better response from the kids. Light show helps … no light show thru most of that daytime set … amazing music helps too
… anyway, they liked it, I liked it, it was fun better than cats OMG gotta go

#3

So I watched Phish watching this, during what I assume is the following winter … there’s youtube of it … and some footage from that is on the bonus disc of Clifford Ball DVD … them rewatching Clifford Ball footage together.

And there’s one point where Trey (& Fish I think) are kinda making their case for why it’d be a lame release … not enough audience shots … they’re saying “all it is is just the band, it’s boring” … they keep laughing at their facial expressions and shit.

I am so glad something changed their mind.

Trey says something about how they’re just a party band, and half the fun is watching the pretty girl dancing nearby, the passed out guy on your left, the party with your friends … I so disagree with that. Getting to watch them virtually front row with clear sound like that, and rewind if you want … man. I’ve been hoping for live Phish on home video since they called it that. And it was a long time before any 1.0 was ever released (Vegas 2000 was first, then I guess IT, which isn’t even one whole show).

Granted, the more recent live video I’ve seen of Phish has been more generous with the crowd and lights shots … but personally I love watching the closeups on the instruments, and I think they’ve struck a good balance. I can see how they’re not particularly fascinated by watching themselves. But it bugged me to hear them so dismissive of what I feel is possibly the best Phish release of all. So glad they released this.

Admittedly more boring than a normal movie or show, this concert video shit. But I like to make a point of settling into them once in a while. Cuz you know, now I’ve bought them. Usually I’ll resolve to watch only one set at a time, cuz damn, no murder plot or anything.

#4

Audience shots are cheesy.

#5

Just watched set one. Really really cool set IMO. Page is an animal at the Clifford Ball, just so intense it’s kind of scary. And he’s FLYING across the keys, at all times.

Anyway, the Reba is incredibly fast … but it seems like that was normal for Reba at that time. Maze jam was kind of weird, just seemed to be falling apart, or I couldn’t follow it … the ended it perfectly though, so what do I know. I really dug the Old Home Place opener for day two … interesting way to begin the day. Trey wishes everyone good morning before they begin.

I’ll have to watch set 3 now … thinkin’ I like day two better than day one at the moment. That second set is just so killer.