10-31-86 Sculpture Room at Goddard College, Plainfield, VT
1: Mustang Sally, Camel Walk, Golgi Apparatus, Slave to the Traffic Light, Melt the Guns, Dave’s Energy Guide, Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley, Halley’s Comet, Back Porch*, Shaggy Dog, Fluffhead
2: Jam-> AC/DC Bag, Swing Low Sweet Chariot Jam, Peaches en Regalia, David Bowie, Have Mercy-> Harry Hood, Sanity, Skin It Back-> Icculus, Alumni Blues
*Max Creek cover.
A really good recording of this really good show exists.
Mustang Sally starts off and it is relatively standard, and getting close to boring, but the bar crowd enjoys it. Camel Walk brought a bit of the Phish flavor, but it wasn’t a whole lot. Trey then goes on to explain that the next song is not “I Saw You With A Ticket Stub In Your Hand”, and Phish goes on to nail Golgi. Trey’s vocals are really strong throughout this entire show.
Slave to the Traffic Light was a bit changed up this time around. The lyrics section was blown through incredibly fast, and it seemed like there was a slightly altered guitar section. Not sure if it was a flub, but it still sounded good to me.
Melt the Guns was very interesting, and had Fuck Your Face and Minkin teases throughout the intro. Interesting already! This was a fun run-through which jammed into Dave’s Energy Guide. This was a really good version which segued from Melt the Guns beautifully, and segued out into Sneakin’ Sally. Mike and Page really took control of this solo, and the vocal jam was again included.
Richard Wright took the vocals for Halley’s Comet, and well… it wasn’t good. Lot’s of high pitched shrieking, could have done without. This did have a nice jam into Back Porch Boogie, which was very upbeat and bluegrassy. Trey mentioned that was “Happiness, Inc.”
A short and sweet Shaggy Dog found its way into Fluffhead. Really good version, still not “complete” just yet.
Set two begins with a long Fishman solo, before Trey comes in with a rock or blues riff. Trey really starts to take off during this guitar and drums section, and Mike and Page join in a few minutes later. When the band is in full-on raging mode, Trey asks the crowd (or maybe the band), “How about now? Are you ready for it?” and they rip into AC/DC Bag in high gear. The segue into Bag was truly amazing.
Page and Trey play off each other very well in Swing Low, and Peaches is a solid performance.
David Bowie featured a break down of sorts after each of the David Bowie lines, made for an interesting performance. Much quicker breakdown after UB40. This turned into an incredibly laid back jam, and it finished off with a very subdued ending.
Have Mercy was night, and Jah Roy joined in half way through and went through some lyrics, before Phish headed back into Have Mercy territory.
A nicely performed, but nothing over the top Hood and Sanity came on the heels of a great Have Mercy. After Sanity a guy in the crowd can be heard yelling of Icculus.
Skin It Back was absolutely nailed, and had a funky jam, and this led right into Icculus. Apparently he was born in Ancient Greece.
Alumni Blues closes the show, and Page had a great solo in the LTJP-less version.
Highlight would be the Set Two Opening Jam -> AC/DC Bag. Lowlight would be the show opening Mustang Sally.
You should all listen to this show ASAP. Early Phish is the awesomest thing related to awesomeness.
Jam-> AC/DC Bag to open set 2 is absolutely nailed. I always wished they would start sets off with more free jams and just create together until they decided to drop into a song. They all obviously had the chops to handle it but, unfortunately, it likely only happened a handful of times throughout their career.