12-05-95 Mullins Center

12-05-95 Mullins Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

1: Horn, Chalk Dust Torture, Fog That Surrounds, Lizards*, Free, Esther, David Bowie, I’m Blue I’m Lonesome

2: Poor Heart, Bathtub Gin-> Keyboard Army, Scent of a Mule-> Lifeboy, Harry Hood, Cavern

E: Theme From the Bottom, Sweet Adeline

*Dedicated to Dick Vitale.

Yes yes yes yes yes this show rocks! I put this show on last night while I was unpacking at my new place and got as much, if not more, dancing and :astonished: -ing done than unpacking. This Fog that Surrounds is a scorcher and Lizards and Esther make for a good follow-up to that. Then this Bowie is fucking awesome. They build some serious tension in this jam before perfectly slamming into the ending. Great way to (almost) end a first set.

The energy from the Bowie seemed to carry right into the second set. They start it off with a furious Poor Heart and then get into a rare (for that era) “type II” Bathtub Gin. And what a fucking jam this one is. It has the perfect taste of darkness while maintaining an almost-funky beat. Then around the 14 min mark they hit this stride that physically forces one to stop what they’re doing and get down. Good shit right there. They deconstruct the jam toward the end and segue nicely into Kayboard Army. Scent of a Mule can be hit or miss for me…it all depends on the amount of energy they bring to the Duel. And this one…well there’s plenty of energy. It’s sweet. Then they randomly bust into this short 2 min really rocking jam btw Scent and Lifeboy. I like Lifeboy and thought it was well placed in this set. This is another majestic early-mid 90’s Hood and this one is at the top of the list. It builds and builds almost to the climax but then they bring it way down to a mellow and quiet state. Then, somehow, they just all bust immediately into the ending riff full steam. It’s fantastic. I like the Theme encore too.

All in all this is one of those not-oft-mentioned but must hear shows.