Mr. Miner's Phish Thoughts

Spring 1992 T-Shirt (Pollock)

Last Friday we looked at highlights from 2010, and this Friday we dig eighteen years earlier into the Spring of 1992. This year ushered in an era of creative growth that would peak at the end of 1995. Let’s take a look at one of Phish’s early creative peaks in Spring 1992—in exclusively soundboard fashion. Happy Friday!

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“Reba” 4.17.92 I

A first set gem from Phish’s first visit to The Warfield in San Francisco.

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“Antelope > BBFCFM > Antelope” 3.13.92 II

A classic segment from Providence, Rhode Island, that anyone who collected analogs has heard at least twenty times.

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“David Bowie” 4.13.92 I

6.25.10 (G. Lucas)

This first set closer in Tempe, Arizona features some early-era groove at the onset of the jam that just kills.

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“Stash” 4.13.92 I

Here is the “Stash” from earlier from the same set in Tempe.

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“Split Open and Melt” 4.5.92 II

This compact and powerful version kicked off the second set at the minuscule Fox Theatre in Boulder, Colorado.

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“Colonel Forbin’s > Icculus > Mockingbird” 4.16.92 I

1992

Another classic relic of the analog era; Trey slaughters “Mockingbird” like few other versions.

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“Tweezer” 4.21.92 II

This sublime “Tweezer” from Eureka, California is one of my favorites, regardless of era.

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“Harry Hood” 3.20.92 II

6.27.10 (G.Lucas)

This divine “Harry Hood” came in the middle of the second set in spectacular outing in Binghamton, New York.

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“You Enjoy Myself” 3.25.92 II

A mid-set scorcher from Trax in Charlottesville, Virginia.

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DOWNLOADS OF THE WEEKEND:

The first two nights of New Year’s Run ’92 took place in The Palace Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut – home of the best pizza in the nation. Before moving north to Springfield and Boston, Massachusetts, Phish blew up The Nutmeg State on their way to 1993. Enjoy the old school shows, and most importantly enjoy the weekend. Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers that make the world go ’round!

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12.28.92 The Palace, New Haven, CT < Megaupload

12.28.92 The Palace, New Haven, CT < Torrent

I: Maze, Sparkle, Foam, Buried Alive > Glide, It’s Ice, Bouncing Around the Room, Rift, Golgi Apparatus, Sweet Adeline, Run Like an Antelope

II: Poor Heart, Split Open and Melt, Reba, The Sloth, You Enjoy Myself, The Lizards, Hold Your Head Up > Bike > Hold Your Head Up, Harry Hood, Cavern

E: Memories, Fire

Source: Schoeps CMC5/mk4 >Sonosax >DAP20

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12.29.92 The Palace, New Haven, CT < Megaupload

12.29.92 The Palace, New Haven, CT < Torrent

I: Funky Bitch, Runaway Jim, Guelah Papyrus, Llama, My Friend, My Friend, The Divided Sky, Wilson, Uncle Pen, Stash, Tela, The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg

II: The Curtain > Tweezer, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, My Sweet One > Big Ball Jam, Fast Enough for You, All Things Reconsidered, Mike’s Song* > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove Hold Your Head Up > Terrapin > Hold Your Head Up, The Squirming Coil, Tweezer Reprise

E: Big Ball Jam, Carolina*, Rocky Top

Source: SBD > DAT > Cass/x, Patch Source Schoeps MK4/CMC5 > Sonosax SX-M2 > Sony D10 (FOB)
These tracks had to be patched with the FOB source due to a tape flip in Mike’s song, and the Carolina being absent from the SBD.

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Jam of the Weekend:

“Mikes > Hydrogen > Weekapaug” 6.10.95 II

Red Rocks. Mike’s Groove. 1995. Good stuff.

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VIDEO OF THE WEEKEND:

“Light” 12.2.09, MSG – Pt .1

“Light” 12.2.09, MSG – Pt .2

DOWNLOADS OF THE WEEKEND:

Alpine '03 (unk)

Here are two shows from the end of a long year of playing in 1992. Totaling 121 shows throughout the year, December culminated of a huge year of growth for Phish; a year that primed them to really take off come ’93. Enjoy!

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12.2.1992 Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH < Megaupload

12.2.1992 Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH < Torrent asap

I: Suzy Greenberg, Foam, The Divided Sky, Fast Enough for You, Poor Heart, Stash, The Lizards, Sparkle, Horn, You Enjoy Myself

II: Wilson^, Possum, Mound, Tweezer, Tela, Llama, Glide, Hold Your Head Up > Lengthwise > Hold Your Head Up, The Squirming Coil, I Walk the Line, Runaway Jim

E: Golgi Apparatus, Rocky Top

Source: Schoeps CMC5/21 @105 degXY > D3

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12.7.1992 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN < Megaupload

12.7.1992 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN < Torrent asap

First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN

I: Axilla, Poor Heart, Maze, Glide, Sparkle, Foam, Fast Enough for You, All Things Reconsidered, Split Open and Melt, Bouncing Around the Room, You Enjoy Myself

II: Chalk Dust Torture, Reba > Llama, Horn > The Vibration of Life > My Sweet One, It’s Ice, Fee > David Bowie, Hold Your Head Up > Love You > Hold Your Head Up, The Squirming Coil, Sweet Adeline

E: Runaway Jim

Source: Unknown

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Jam of the Weekend:

“2001 > David Bowie” 10.28.94 II

A phenomenal Fall ’94 “Bowie” with a full-on slip into “Manteca” late in the jam. Must-hear stuff!

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VIDEO OF THE WEEKEND:

“Mikes > Hydrogen >” – 3.31.92 Columbia, MO

“…Weekapaug” – 3.31.92

DOWNLOADS OF THE WEEKEND:

This weekend we see the band a few weeks into a year in which they would rarely stop touring. Other than September, the band was on the road for some of every month, earning their stripes the old-fashioned way. These early portraits of Phish hitting their stride along the eastern seaboard go out as reader requests to Chuck D (and Flava.) Have a good weekend, folks!

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3.19.92 The Palace, New Haven, CT < Torrent

3.19.92 The Palace, New Haven, CT < Megaupload

I: The Landlady, Rift, Split Open and Melt, Sparkle, Golgi Apparatus, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, Dinner and a Movie, Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird > All Things Reconsidered, David Bowie

II: Glide, Chalk Dust Torture, NICU, My Sweet One, Stash, The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg, My Friend, My Friend, The Squirming Coil, Cracklin’ Rosie > Cold as Ice, You Enjoy Myself

E: Sleeping Monkey > Rocky Top, Sweet Adeline

Source: Nak 300s

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3.26.92 Ziggy’s, Winston-Salem, NC < Torrent

3.26.92 Ziggy’s, Winston-Salem, NC < Megaupload

Ziggy's - Winston Salem, NC

I: The Landlady, Runaway Jim, All Things Reconsidered, Foam, Sparkle, Stash, Fluffhead, Uncle Pen, NICU, David Bowie

II: Buried Alive > The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg, Poor Heart, Brother, The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > Avenu Malkenu > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday, My Friend, My Friend, The Lizards, Cavern, Cold as Ice > Cracklin’ Rosie > Cold as Ice, Possum

E: Sleeping Monkey, Chalk Dust Torture, Harpua

Notes: Aquarium Rescue Unit was the opening act

Source:  Nak 100′s

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Jam of the Weekend:

“Bathtub Gin” 7.20.98 I

This high-key “Bathtub” opener foreshadowed the Riverport “Gin,” one of the jams of the summer, just a week later. Though due to the St. Louis gem, this Ventura “Gin” sometimes gets the short end of the stick. Recognize.

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VIDEO OF THE WEEKEND:

Uncut 1992 MTV Interview w/ Trey and Mike on H.O.R.D.E. Tour

DOWNLOADS OF THE WEEKEND:

1992 Poster

Two of the most classic nuggets of any Phish collection, these shows need no introduction.  Along their phenomenal west coast run during April ’92 Phish churned out great show after great show, and these are two of the highlights.  Both taking place on California college campuses, these two have many old-school highlights.  Among these four great sets, be sure to check out the Anaconda “Mockingbird” and, of course the famous “Harry Hood” from Stanford.  Enjoy the crispy recordings as we enjoy the last weekend before tour starts up again!

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4.16.92 Anaconda Theatre, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA SBD < TORRENT

4.16.92 Anaconda Theatre, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA SBD < MEGAUP

I: Buried Alive, Possum, It’s Ice, Bouncing Around the Room, Split Open and Melt, Rift, Fee, Maze, Colonel Forbin’s Ascent > Icculus > Famous Mockingbird, Run Like an Antelope

II: Sanity, Llama, Lizards, Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Horn, Poor Heart, Cold as Ice > Terrapin > Cold as Ice, Carolina, Memories, Sweet Adeline, Suzy Greenberg

E: Sleeping Monkey

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4.18.92 Wilbur Field, Standford University, Palo Alto, CA SBD < TORR.

4.18.92 Wilbur Field, Standford University, Palo Alto, CA SBD < MEGA.

Spring '92 Poster

I: Wilson, The Divided Sky, Guelah Papyrus, Poor Heart, Split Open and Melt, Esther, Possum, It’s Ice, Sparkle, All Things Reconsidered, Run Like an Antelope

II: Glide, Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg, Rift, Manteca > Bathtub Gin, Lizards, Mound, Llama, TMWSIY > Avenu Malkenu > TMWSIY, Dinner and a Movie, Harry Hood*, Cold as Ice > Love You > Cold as Ice, Rocky Top

E: Contact, Big Black Furry Creature From Mars

Free show. *With “Linus and Lucy” tease

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Jam of the Weekend:

“Tweezer” Red Rocks 8.6.96 II

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We are thirteen years removed from the last Red Rocks Tweezer, and less than a week until the next.  Excited yet?

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VIDEO OF THE WEEKEND:

“David Bowie” 11.2.90 Boulder, Co – (Sick!)

When listening to Phish, I am always apt to pop in something from their latter era of 1994 and beyond. However, the years that Phish spent laying the groundwork for their 1995 peak and subsequent reinvention, were the foundation needed for their later greatness.  And I always forget just how sick early Phish really is!  Beginning to tour in earnest in the Fall of 1990, the band played incessantly in building a loyal grassroots fan base.  Moving through bars, clubs and colleges all over the nation, Phish began to debut new songs, experiment with their musical direction, and integrate quirky, humorous elements into their live show.  With each run of shows in this period of rapid development, Phish seemed to get markedly tighter and more adventurous.

Phish circa 1992

Unquestionably, the band’s first creative peak came in the Spring of 1992.  Armed with an array of new songs, most of which would comprise Rift, and a new “secret language” that directly involved their fans with subtle musical cues, Phish was fomenting a unique identity.  After the month of March, which included many standout shows (see 3.11, 13, 19, 20 and 26,) Phish embarked on a western journey that would comprise the hallowed month of  April.  Moving into Colorado on the 3rd, and California on the 15th, the band existed as a four headed, well-oiled improvisational monster.  With fast-paced, jazz-rooted psychedelia, Phish continued to carve out their ever-evolving musical path.  The band’s energy in this month of shows literally jumps off the many soundboard recordings that have leaked over the years.  Kick-starting their era of “speedjazz” that would culminate in 1993, this band represented a young lion aggressively exploring its world.

1992 Tour Ad Poster

Each and every 21 shows from April of 1992 have legitimate musical highlights, with the most acclaimed jams coming in the California run from 4.15 through 4.21.  From the well known 4.21 Redwood Acres “Tweezer,” 4.18 Stanford “Harry Hood,” and the 4.16 Anaconda Theatre Mockingbird, to the less circulated 4.13 Tempe “David Bowie,” Tucson’s 4.12 shredding “Antelope,” or the pristine “Foam” from the Warfield on 4.17, amazing moments were aplenty.  Marked with a “sense of urgency” in their playing, Phish was in the middle of discovering what they were musically capable of, both individually, and as a quartet.  Teeming with the enthusiasm, Phish was consitently on-point during this month of insanely tight communication.  Tearing apart the western US, the band created new fans as quickly as they created stellar jams.  With a polished sound, goofy presence, and a fiery demeanor, this Spring run represented Phish in the process of becoming.

Phish circa 1991

Before long, 1992 would turn into 1993 and beyond, and this incredibly Phishy run through the wild west would remain a frozen moment in time, capturing an innocence that would gradually pass with the rapid development of their organization and scene.  Marking the most significant musical adventures to date, April 1992 will forever be remembered as some of the best and most exciting Phish ever.

To commemorate such a memorable month, I have compiled “Miner’s Picks” April ’92,” totaling five hours of crispy SBDs! These picks should help everyone understand why this month in Phish history is revered to this day.  There are some absolute gems on this one.  The tracks and link are below.  ENJOY!

DOWNLOAD MINER’S PICKS: APRIL ’92 SBD Pt. 1 < LINK

DOWNLOAD MINER’S PICKS: APRIL ’92 SBD Pt. 2 < LINK

1. YEM 4.5 Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO

2. David Bowie 4.5

3. Reba 4.12 U of Arizona Student Center, Tucson, AZ

4. Run Like An Antelope 4.12

5. David Bowie 4.13 After the Gold Rush, Tempe, AZ

6. Fluffhead 4.13

7. Split Open and Melt 4.16 Anaconda Theatre, Isla Vista, CA

8. Col. Forbin’s > Icculus > Famous Mockingbird 4.16

9. Mike’s > H2 > Weekapaug 4.16

10. Foam 4.17.92 The Warfield, San Francisco, CA

11. Reba 4.17

12. David Bowie > Catapult > David Bowie 4.17

13. Tweezer 4.17

14. Rift 4.18 Wilbur Field, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA

15. Harry Hood 4.18

16. Tweezer 4.21 Redwood Acres, Eureka, CA

17. YEM 4.25 Campus Rec Center, Evergreen College, Olympia, WA

18. Harry Hood 4.25

19, 20. The Landlady > Possum 4.29 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN

21, 22, 23. Mound > Oh Kee Pah > Llama 4.29

24. Brother 4.17 The Warfield, SF, CA

25. Stash 4.13 Tempe, AZ

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I want to extend an open invitation for article / post suggestions!  After 100, it’s not as easy to conjure up a creative angle every single day, but so far so good.  if you think you have a topic that in any way relates to Phish that you would like to see featured on Phish Thoughts, drop me a line!  I cannot promise I will use them all. and there are some I am purposely avoiding for now, but I’d LOVE to hear what you have to say. The mailbox is always open at mrminer@phishthoughts.com!