11-23-85 Goddard College Cafeteria, Plainfield, VT
Mike’s Song-> Whipping Post*-> Run Like an Antelope-> Dave’s Energy Guide
*Includes “Dark Star” & “Fire up the Ganja” teases.
This show is BEYOND necessary listening. Well, maybe just the Whipping Post Jam… but still, that is about 3/4s of the show.
But to start it off, this one jumps right from the get-go into the lyrical section of Mike’s Song. The jam begins and Trey really takes off. Unfortunately this fades out as they are still going strong.
But it all makes up for it very quickly, as a “Whipping Post Jam” fades in with the jam already going. And oh my. Somehow I have missed this for a long time. And it just blew me away. It starts off not resembling Whipping Post whatsoever, and had a very distortion filled jam for the first few minutes. This turns incredibly dissonant at the three minute mark… and this is where the space ship takes off. At five minutes, the pace gets to a frantic pace before simmering back down after about two minutes. I could be mistaken, but I believe I heard a slight DEG tease at eight minutes, and at 11 minutes there is a definite Whipping Post jam. Then the 14 minute comes up, and The Other One comes rolling out of nowhere. Took me completely by surprise, and it even took me a couple seconds to recognize what it was. After a few minutes of really bringing some musical heat, they cool it back down again, but that only lasts for a minute or so until a huge Norwegian Wood jam is led by Mike. Mike had been solid throughout, but TOO/Norwegian Wood he really came out of his case. 19 minutes in and there is a Fluffhead jam on the intro, followed by a Harry Hood type jam around the 23 minute mark. A reggae groove quickly follows and slows everything down again, before the band decides to take the reggae to space and speeds the timing up incredibly. Once again unfortunately, this fades out at this point… and it left me drooling for more.
At this point, I really didn’t care how the other tunes went, and I am kinda of glad… as there is nothing too special about them.
Antelope fades in with the band already in full gear, and Trey is really taking the lead on this one, as Mike is holding the back up beautifully. The Rye Rye Rocco, Marco Esquandolas, and Spliff sections were said, but the song was not finished as it led into Dave’s Energy Guide. This song still does nothing for me, so a somewhat disappointing ending.
Highlight, do I need to say it again? Lowlight, DEG.
And here is the Whipping Post Jam for all to enjoy. MANDATORY DOWNLOAD.
Mike’s peak religious experience. Yes, download is mandatory!