Questionable Live Phish Releases

Phish Live Shows
#1

OK, here is a thread for Live Phish releases (not the internet/post-hiatus SBDs, the packages you buy in the stores) that you sort of shake your head at and wonder what the thought process was in releasing this.

My first show up on the chopping block, Live Phish Volume 04, 06.14.2000, Japan.

Someone please explain to me any redeeming quality for this release.

I’ve had it since it came out (or close to it), and have probably listened to it less than a dozen times in those years. I decided to bring it into work today, just because I basically could not remember why I would not listen to this pristene sounding release more.

After listening, I realized why.

Starts off pretty great, Carini is an interesting opener and supplies a solid jam. The Curtain is played well, and the semi-segue into Cities is well received. A pretty good version of Cities, with some lyrical changes to remind you where you are.

Then comes the Gumbo, and the beginning of the end for me. This Gumbo is just plain BORING to me. It sounds like they tried to bring back Spacecamp, and it just went no where. While I was driving during work, I was glad I had a cup of coffee, otherwise I know I would have fallen asleep at the wheel.

The -> Llama is great, but it just doesn’t make up for the lack of music in Gumbo. You can hear Fish and Trey begin to tease Llama once the Gumbo leaves the empty space sound, and then they are full on Llama mode. Pretty nice version, but nothing outstanding.

Then Fee and the lovely amount of feedback produced once Trey starts singing. It is basically buzzing through my speakers for this entire song, definitely takes away from the experience.

A Heavy Things which fit the flow of the set, by being slow and a bit yawn-inducing. A Split Open and Melt to close the first disc could have saved it, but by this point the show is pretty much lost on me already.

Bring on the second disc. Back On The Train was enjoyable, and I liked where it was heading, maybe this release will revive itself the further on it goes.

Nope, sorry. Twist brings us right back to the empty sounding space I began to loathe already in the first set. Boring, boring, boring to these ears, much like the Gumbo in the first set.

Then, as if it wasn’t enough, more of the spacey vibe in the “Jam” that follows the end of Twist. The Walk Away was nice to hear, but maybe it was just that during this set, I needed some more structure. I am all for jams going to the ends of the Earth, but this disc just seems so uninspired.

Then comes disc three, the shortest by far of all the Live Phish releases. 2001 is always a treat, as is Sleep. And a Squirming Coil to finish it off. Three songs I really like, but in my opinion are just not strong enough to be on a disc all by themselves.

So, in conclusion, someone give me a reason that this show was released, please… I’m begging you.

Maybe it is because I have not been a fan of the Japan '00 tour from what I have heard of it, and am honestly surprised at how much some people used to rave about this tour.

Next up on my chopping block maybe have to be the Live Phish 01 from '95. But I need to give it another listen to cement my thoughts.

#2

I think there are a few Japan '00 shows that might’ve been better, but I think you dismiss the first set too much just because of a boring Gumbo! I’ll have to listen to that again… That Melt is a great set closer, so overall I’d have to give the first set a B or B-. The second set gets a little overrated imo, and leads me to agree with you Will. I do like that 2001 a lot, and the jamming overall in the set is pretty good…at least they’re trying something a little different in that set, you know? Encore is solid as well (Sleep, Coil)

The one that stands out for me among LIVEPHISH 1-20 is 8.14.93. I’ve said it before, but I just think there’s 10 other August 93 shows I’d rather have on official release, or the New Year’s run. I’m not going to give a song-by-song review of 8.14.93, but I simply think its slightly lacking compared to other shows of that era.

Another is 7.8.00. This is probably my least favorite Alpine Phish show. Why not do 7.11.00!! I guess it could be copyright restrictions or something.

#3

I don’t think I’m dismissing the first set of 06/14/2000, atleast I didn’t mean to.

The first set is a lot better than the second in my eyes.

Carini, Curtain, Cities, and Melt all are good versions.

As for 08/14/1993, I LOVE that release. One of my favorites absolutely. That second set is a wet dream come true for me. The entire Antelope section I would put up as “Best segues released by Live Phish”. And yes, I am even considering the Bomb Factory Tweezer when saying this. The You Enjoy Myself is tip-top and one of my favorites ever. Gotta love the Smoke on the Water AND The Pretenders lyrics. And the first set is no slouch either. Look at most '93 setlists, this one fits perfectly in there. Granted, there may be better choices, but this is one of the top ones.

While on the other hand, 06/14/00 just does nothing for me. At all.

And I agree on your quick thought about 07/08/00. Why not do both nights of Columbus '00? :slight_smile:

#4

I agree with the 7.8.00 post. WHY? Everything about this show just rubs me the wrong way. The tweezer and twist jams are both very forgettable.

#5

I haven’t heard 6/14/00, but I agree about 7/08/00. I think the 3/6 ratio of year 2000 shows per LP release in that first batch of 6 is perhaps symptomatic of general delusion.

:slight_smile:

As far as 8/14/93 goes, I also love that release. My only summer ‘93 show was Great Woods, which although I might prefer to 8/14, it’s too close to really call. Killer Daniel at both shows, great Purple Rain at both shows, huge buffet of material in both shows’ first sets, … but this one has La Grange AND Esther, and doesn’t it also sport a great Mound? And isn’t there nary a flub on the entire disc? I’m exaggerating, to be sure, but this has got to be one of the tightest releases I can think of. Plus I like that there’s a Great Gig AND Purple Rain on disc 3.

I kind of feel like Slip Stitch & Pass, while great in its own way, was just badly timed or something. At the time I was a little put off at the lack of Hydrogen in that Mike’s … this was the first Mike’s Groove to see release, and I wasn’t down w/the Lawn Boy sam’wich. Plus the Hello My Baby is not exactly a great listen IMHO (just so quiet, that’s all) … and I’m not big on Taste, … and while I’m bitching, there are two covers! To this day, their seemingly casual attitude about releasing original songs continues to baffle me. It seems like with every release since Hoist, I’ve been disappointed to find soooo many songs absent from the tracklist that I was hoping to see. And looking back, I estimate they’ve got almost twice as many originals as they do studio recordings.

As for the LP series itself, I’m not seeing what’s so incredibly great about #11, 11-17-97. It was one of the first ones I got, but I just don’t see its appeal so much. It’s cool-sounding as far as the groove goes, that’s for sure, but it doesn’t really excite me. Maybe I’m just not crazy about the setlist or something.

LP01, the 12-14-95 show, is just a great setlist IMO, with lots of non-studio originals, and well-played. Tela, Suzy, Curtain, NICU, Halley’s Comet, Timber, …

I was a little disappointed with 7-15-98 at first, but it really grew on me and seems to have its own identity. I like it because it’s heavy on late-period material … I like the early material better, but I like the idea of them doing so much newer stuff.

9/14/00 is one I do like to listen to, but it suffers from some of the same problems as 7/08/00.

#6

This is something that struck me as odd, too.

The releases were done in late '01/early '02, so their playing in 2000 was still “fresh” in their minds. Maybe there is something in particular from 2000, and even more specifically from 6.14.00, 7.08.00, and 9.14.00 , that is near and dear to them.

You won’t find me complaining about any of the 2000 releases. There may be better shows to release in 2000, but I think the ones they did release are average, great Phish shows.

9/14/00 was released, I think, for the “Reba,” “Suzy->jam,” “Drowned->jam” and “Crosseyed and Painless.” I think all are outstanding versions.

7/8/00 I will agree is an average at best show. But I’ll toss it in from time to time.

6/14/00 … This show was a favorite of mine in college. I think that’s because I was stoned all the time. The second set would appeal to me ONLY when I was high as a kite. And frankly, I don’t really see what the big deal is about the “Gumbo.” I like this version. It doesn’t go extraordinary places, it just thumps along. So what? I’m convinced that for this show the band was high on mushrooms. I believe they were legal in Japan as late as June 2000. I could be wrong, though. I’m convinced they KNEW they were going to play a trippy, jam-heavy second set and that’s why Trey told everyone to “seek nourishment” at the end of “Melt.” Nourishment being mushrooms.

#7

that Japan show was the first thing that came to mind when i saw this thread.

its not even that its all that bad.

just not that great.

#8

Also, keep this in mind: some of us have not heard all that much Phish. By that I mean, say, less than 50-75 shows.

If you fall in that category, you might think some of the official releases are fantastic. That’s how I was 4-5 years ago. Now that I’ve heard more and more Phish, they seems to be sliding down my list of favorite shows. I don’t think this is a reflection of the show itself, I just think it hurts the show when being compared to your ever-expanding Phishy horizons.

#9

Wanted to release something from outside of the U.S. probably, although I think 6/15/00, 7/31/99 would have been better choices from Japan shows.

#10

Yes! 7.31.99 is excellent, and so is 6.15.00.

All this being said I think they did an admirable job of picking shows for the most part. The Island Tour was great, New Years 95 all of it is really good.

And the LIVEPHISH series is a big reason why I really got interested and into Phish. I mean, 12.14.95 is freaking incredible, as well as 7.16.94, 6.22.94, 8.26.89, 12.29.94, 8.13.96…all of those shows are mouth-watering and show the progression of Phish very well.

#11

I love every show I’ve bought from the Live Phish series, weirdly enough. I remember Fishman saying that each show should have at least exceptional thing during both sets to qualify for release, or at the very least have something really amazing in one of those sets. In that regard I think they suceeded with the picks. Some you may not like as much as others, but the fact that just as many people LOVE the shows you think are kind of ‘meh’ is interesting to me. I’ve run into something similar with my fall 97 reviews. I like 11/17 better than the Hampton run, true, but would I balk if they had released one of those shows instead?? Nope.

Wanting other shows more than what was released is one thing, but since this thread is supposed to be about Live Phish releases that we think are weak or questionable…it’s gotta be Live Phish 5. This is definitely one that a lot of people scratch their heads about. It’s both not that great of a show in its own right and easily trumped by most other shows from summer '00 tour. I’m not an expert on summer '00, but of the shows I’ve heard, this one really makes me puzzled as a release. 7/11/00 is so much more the show I would have expected to come out…

I think some of the other shows, maybe I would rather have other shows more, but I don’t think any of the rest are bad or boring. I wish they had kept the series up because 7/15/98 really won me over. Going through summer 98 there were other shows I think are more “obvious” releases, but the more I listen to that show the more I loved it. There are still PLENTY of tours they could release either representative shows or outstanding shows from.

#12

many shows that would have been better choices. I suppose they didn’t just want to release all Phishhead classic shows (12/31/99, 11/22/97, 2/20/93, 12/11/99, 12/29-30/97)

#13

Doesn’t it make you scratch your head that they released the show played only 3 days, and 2 shows, prior to this?

scratches head and marvels in the fact that 7-11-00 was G2K’s first show and doesn’t mind reminding people

#14

Colorado '88 Sucks big time.

[/sarcasm]

best fucking release ever.

#15

what 20 releases would people like to have seen?

replace 7/8/00 with 7/11?
replace 6/14 with 6/15?
I would replace 7/16/94 with 6/18/94 with bonus from 6/17/94.

#16

I would like to have seen less '99 & '00; more 90-92!!

#17

I think they did a fine job picking shows. The only thing I really would replace is 7/8/00, which should have either been 2/20/93 or if sticking with summer '00, 7/11/00.

#18

I rekon it’s about time for a 12 disc horn tour box set

#19

wow i’m blown away by the lack of love for the japan show. its one of my favorites. that second set is great start to finish… no its not attention grabbing, wailing phish, but the moods they meander through are amazing, the interaction is fantastic… and that segue into walk away?! brilliant. to each his own i guess… but i’m definitely understand that pick. i love that whole japan run… and i think fukouka was a great choice.

i bet it was a page pick… has a similar vibe to the sicket disc.

#20

hmmmm…i disagree 7/16/94 owns face and a SOLID SBD of 6/18/94 already floats around