Just a complete observation.
Divided Sky.
Great track. Love hearing it. Question… Do they always have to stall during that track?
Do you think that maybe if the stall didn’t happen it might change things up a bit?
Maybe perhaps stall out on a different track?
I admit, first time I saw it done I was blown away.
It just seems a tad to predictable every time its played.
That stall is Trey’s moment of glory! You can’t take that away!
I don’t know of any times when they’ve played that song live and not “stalled” at least briefly. They don’t do it on the album version, although the spot is clearly there. But, I think it’s basically written into the live version. I don’t think they do it as an antic or a surprise as much as they are including the silence as part of the song. They are building the tension before the song resumes-- so, the predictability is necessary to give you that “waiting” tension. Not sure it’s something they would just start doing in other songs unless it achieved the same effect (Wilson is a good example).
In Wilson I would call it more of a pause compared to Divided Sky.
I am not suggesting TAKING anything away from Treys moment(s).
Just a thought about that stall happening every time, compared it to WIlsons pause, the pause does vary in length. Sometimes not happening at all.
Again, great track. Just an observation.
^Yeah, but like I said-- it’s basically part of the song. So the fact that it happens every time is expected in the same way we expect the intro to sound the same every time. It’s just the way Divided Sky goes. And Divided Sky, by nature, is a pretty tightly composed tune-- there’s never a huge amount of variation when it comes to that song, in comparison to many others. I still love it, though.
i don’t mind the pause when i’m there in person.
not so much on recordings though.
too bad the monk chant thing never caught on.
^I hummed as loud as I could at Red Rocks and Shoreline… but I’m not sure anyone could hear me, still.
The pause got longer every year.
When it started reaching towards the minute mark, it was just too long.
10 seconds is good enough for me.
Wasn’t there something where Trey said that during the pause/stall at UIC, that he had this “moment” and he saw the energy wave comoing from the crowd, and going through people, and doing this, that, and the other. Anyway, he said it was one of those life changing moments, and that from that point on, that show was just an amazing ball of energy.
Correct me if I’m wrong on this one.
Anyway, since I heard/read that, I’ve had a new appreciation for the stall. Just sit back, close your eyes, and let the energy from the crowd take you away. Although I have found this works much better at indoor venues more-so than outdoor.
Yes, there was something like that. I do not remember whdere it was, or when he said it, and I think i remember what he said a little differently than your take on it here.
I remember it being more of a thing where he says the pause/stall in the song is meant to allow the music to continue on…w/o there being any actual music. And something about watching the music in the air, along with the crowd energy, and watching it float.
He also said that the pause is not intendted to give the crowd an opportunity to cheer, yell, clap, or hum ( 
). I believe he even said that he’d prefer for the crowd to not make any noise and to ‘listen and watch the msuic’ as he does.
Ever since then, I have waited to be at, or hear, a show when the pause happens, and no one makes a sound. Although, it’ll never happen.
Maybe i was wrong about that part of the crowd being silent…but i also do not think this is the entire interview, but here is a link, and transcript of what we are talking about:
thebutterroom.com/post/52391327/ … c-pavilion
6.18.94 - UIC Pavilion, Chicago IL
Happy 44th Birthday, Trey Anastasio! You’re one of - if not the - most talented rock guitarists of the past twenty five years, and a brilliant musical mind. You wrote over 150 original songs for Phish and have brought joy and love to audiences in ways that only very few musicians have ever been able to experience. There were moments where your music has transcended time and space, and took thousands of people to a place where not a thing in the world mattered, where all the worries and stresses of life were absent.
Your down to earth personality and dorky humor strike a chord within us all, and the 6+ hour set you led to bring in the new millenium is what many consider to be a peak moment in rock and roll history. Like so many other guitar legends you have also fell victim to drug addiction. However, unlike your hero Jimi you have survived, coming clean with yourself, your family, friends, and fans.
And like your name (Greek for resurrection) by many accounts are also on the verge of announcing a Spring 2009 comeback for Phish, with something to prove not only to those of us that have supported you through the bad times, but to yourself - that you still have the Jedi force within you. We know it’s still there, and welcome its return.
This song is one of Trey’s favorite moments from Phish, and one of his most expressive moments as a guitarist in my opinion. The last few minutes he just pours his soul out through his guitar. Here’s how he described it to Charlie Rose in 2004:
[b]“We were at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. And we were playing “Divided Sky,†and we got down to this quiet part where it gets silent. And we were getting quieter and quieter, and then became silence. And I had my eyes closed, and I could feel the crowd, and I started to — because improvising is, youre trying to translate the — whats out there already, greater pattern of things. And sometimes it feels like its coming through the hole, and you couldnt play a wrong note if you tried; you`re just floating.
And at that moment, you are in the middle of it, and I started to see those colors, like Im not kidding, floating around there, and I realized that I could almost — it was silent, but I could see what we were translating. And as soon as I could see them, I started improvising, but I didnt play anything. I did everything in the sense of improvisation, except for the actual notes, and as soon as I did it, the whole place erupted. It was like, whoa, and just tears started rolling down my face, and it was at that moment that I knew that it was truly bigger than me. It. You know what I mean? There were probably a lot of moments like that, but those two just come to mind. It was amazing.â€[/b]
I agree. When it started reaching the 1:30 mark, it was way out of hand. Not that I was there for it in those days.
well, based off of what i posted, it was the charlie rose interview after the break up announcment. I can’t view it here at work, so maybe i will try to take another look at it tonight to see if my memory serves me correctly or not.
For the record…I have no problem witht he stall.
^ Yeah, I’m all for embracing the space which the music occupies - it really helps to be able to hear the silence “around” the sound generated by the band - but 2 straight minutes of waiting for Sky to resume was getting kinda lame.
IDK, in a few DIvided Skys it seems like the stall has been pushed into play instead of a natural fade into the stall.
Overall sill a great track, but just once I’d like one not to include the stall.
That alone would break up its predictability.
.
.
Absolutely
bulldogit?
I don’t mind
the stall.
You guys weren’t supposed to start the thread again until someone went “ting ting…” 
