, attached to 1993-02-07

Review by Mikesgroover

Mikesgroover 1993 Spring Tour is truly a watershed era for Phish, when the fanbase was still small. There was an awareness that the band was on the cusp of something big, but hadn't quite reached it yet. Five months later, they're playing sheds and the connection with the audience had changed forerver.

The intimacy of this period is revealed in moments like the Forbins>Mockingbird and the encore of this show. For a brief period from Fall of '92 through spring of 1993, Forbin>Mockingbird was played very regularly (once every 10 shows or less), with Trey's offering lengthy Forbins narrations. With the band's audience expanding, Trey was still trying to connect regularly with the small venue crowds. It was a unique strategy (I saw him completely lose many in the audience during one Forbin's on this tour), but on this night the crowd is with him the entire way.

This Forbins is 15 minutes long, with Trey invoking the group mind telling people to imagine, "Hundreds of hearts pounding next to each other, with everyone's heartbeat going at the same pulse".
The story ends with the audience sliding down a baby's diaper, and Mockingbird has a few moments of machine gun Trey soloing that's just incredibly clean.

Melt is solid for the era, but not spectacular, while Jim soars with an invigorated, raw energy.

Trey says before the second set, "Tonight is a very special night", with Chelsea Clinton in attendance and points out it's her very first concert (If she was actually there, she would have been 13 years old, but it could have also just been Trey joking). He dedicates a scorching Llama to Chelsea.
The atypical jam in Reba mentioned in the notes is definitely worth hearing, while Tweezer heads outside with some (barely noticeable) Gumbo teases.
Solid YEM, and BBFCFM is extended while the band riffs on Trey's sister's birthday.

The Reba is unique enough that it deserves a listen, and fans of Forbins narrations might find this one interesting. There's not much else noteworthy about this show. Just another solid night on a great tour.


Phish.net

Phish.net is a non-commercial project run by Phish fans and for Phish fans under the auspices of the all-volunteer, non-profit Mockingbird Foundation.

This project serves to compile, preserve, and protect encyclopedic information about Phish and their music.

Credits | Terms Of Use | Legal | DMCA

© 1990-2024  The Mockingbird Foundation, Inc. | Hosted by Linode