10-18-96 Pittsburgh Civic Arena

Phish Live Shows
#1

Friday, 10/18/1996
Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA

Soundcheck: My Mind’s Got a Mind of its Own, Billy Breathes

Set 1: Runaway Jim, Guelah Papyrus, The Old Home Place, Cars Trucks Buses, Stash, Strange Design, Divided Sky, Billy Breathes, Taste, Sample in a Jar

Set 2: Suzy Greenberg > Maze, You Enjoy Myself, Reba[1], Waste, Harry Hood

Encore: Julius

[1] No whistling.

Teases:
· Do You Feel Like We Do tease in You Enjoy Myself

Notes: YEM included teases of Peter Frampton’s Do You Feel Like We Do. Reba did not have the whistling ending.

#2

This shows major enemy is the sub par recording I listened to.

Runaway Jim is a great opener, but after the last one I listened to (1995-10-27), this one just pales in comparison. Guelah Papyrus is an absolute treat however. Love the musical comparison between Old Home Place and Cars Trucks Buses. Pretty much an average first set, which is good with me.

Second set is a whole nother beast however. Suzy is a good opener, but doesn’t do too much. The Maze it floats into though is excellent especially on Pages end. Kind of disappointed with what Trey brought to the table, but Page more than made up for it. Really powerful YEM, that didn’t stretch too long. The Frampton tease was a nice touch. Reba does stretch its wings however. Really dug this version a lot, and the Waste to follow is a nice cool down from the wildness of that Reba ending. Harry Hood comes and doesn’t quite blow the roof off, but it is enjoyable nonetheless.

Julius encore got a nice reaction from the crowd, and Trey really stepped up his game for a final song.

All in all a good show. Kind of a toss away first set, and a second set which could have been one of the finest if Trey stepped up a little bit.

Highlight for me is the Reba.

#3

Runaway Jim, Guelah Papyrus and The Old Home Place are all songs I really like but I’m not sure how well they work opening a show together. Besides Runaway Jim and Stash, this set is filled with a bunch of songs that are pretty straight forward and rarely expanded on in the live setting. To say it a different way, it seems like they didn’t take a lot of chances in the first set. The playing is pretty good but none of it really caught me as being worthy of a second listen.

The second set is where the meat is. The Suzy opener gets things started as you’d expect then breaks into Maze. As Will said above, Page kills this Maze. YEM is a great mid-set treat. The technical parts are played very well and it even includes a nice jam at the end. I was expecting a breather after YEM and was pleasantly surprised when they kicked into Reba. This Reba the highlight of the show. Everyone plays well and it has a great jam. Waste follows. There is the breather I was expecting! Harry Hood seems like a fitting end to the show. Nothing more than a good show closer here. I really don’t like Julius so I didn’t listen to it but based on how Trey was playing most of the night I would have hit the road a little early if I was there.

#4

I don’t have much more to add about this show beyond what has been said. Strange Design is one I’m always glad to hear; I played it twice. I liked hearing BB because I haven’t in a long time. The Hood was nice; I liked the fade in and out effect they were doing around the halfway point. I agree with Will on Reba being the highlight. There were no roofs being blown off but it was a good show, albeit a little short maybe? I didn’t look at the overall time, but seeing the setlist now, the second set is sparse and I don’t think anything was overly long.

#5

Runaway/Guelah feels like such a signature 96 first set pairing. here, its good stuff for energy but nothing noteworthy. i actually like the flow of the first set up to Stash… i really like Stash, this one just doesn’t seem to have any gravity to it. the versions of Strange Design and Billy Breathes sound INCREDIBLY strong here. i haven’t listened to a ton of them but this is easily the most confident version of Billy Breathes i’ve heard. by comparison, i just finished listening to the 97 version from L’Aeronef, France… a very tenative take with a number of sour notes.

Suzy is in an unusual position but i like it, its different. Maze is listed as noteworthy for tension and peaking energy… its certainly there but i think the razor sharp versions from 2012 exceed this one in retrospect. YEM is ok. Reba is the true centerpiece… love that you can kinda hear and feel the crowd pushing the band energy in the composed part. the jam never gets as deep and hushed as some Rebas do, but i think this finds the band really playing together right away. the section beginning at the 8 minute mark strikes me as especially beautiful. the thought is also hitting me that perhaps what really makes a Reba jam take flight is Fishman. Trey, Page and Mike seem to play the melodic parts so well most times, but Fish really working to find new pockets and patterns really feels like the force that takes the jam into new levels. early in the 12th minute its almost like Fish is mirroring Trey’s soloing with every strike. minute 13, put your wingsuit on and nail the landing :wink:

my keepers are Billy Breathes and Reba!