Ryan Stroud

This show is the 7-18-91 show at the Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, NH. Thanks to Rob Tillberg for the tapes. Thanks to me for reveiwing it. Thanks to you for saying nice things encouraging me to do this sort of thing again. Hint...Hint.

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Chalkdust: Opened the show in a very hot fashion with Trey leading the way. This version is nothing out of the ordinary, except I tend to beleive Trey's solo is above and beyond any other C-Dust I had heard at this time. It was a nice solo, with a lot of peaks, and not so many valleys...sorta Balls-To- The-Wall. A nice opener.

Foam: Was a little on the slow boring side. I'm not a giant fan of this tune, and if they retired it, I wouldn't mind. Even at this early stage, it was boring. Trey is still rocking the boat. Page is nowhere to be found. This wasn't a particularly good show for him (imo). It filled the slot in the setlist. Enough Said.

Runaway Jim: Was awesome. They got this song up and moving in a hurry, and there was alot of imagery in the music. While the jam segment wasn't extra long, it was extra intense, and had extra energy. The most amusing (confusing) part of this Jim is all the crowd noise. I kept hearing "Sir you have to stop." And a whole lot of "Fuck You's" That confused me, but alas, my answer would come in:

Guelah: This version was tighter than versions I've heard recently. They were locked in, at least as much as you can be locked in with Guelah. Overall, it was tight, but didn't move as fast or as furious as Jim. The answer to my confusion came after Guelah when the manager of the Casino went up on stage and said. "I'm going to have to ask you all to stop dancing and jumping around. We have had complaints from the people underneath you in the arcade." That drew a roar from the crowd. Trey responded with "Sure, no-one touch the floor...everyone dance on your chair, in fact, we'll have a contest. The best chair dancer wins a prize...a date with Fish." Fish replies: "Yeah we'll go play downstairs in the arcade." Humorous to say the least.

Suzie: Kicked hot and fast, faster than most of the 91's. All of the sudden, "Ladies and gentlemen, the guys in the pink tuxes, GCH!!" The horns came in with reckless abandon, sparking the energy of the band, and the song ripped. Even if it is mysogynistic. (smirking)

Stash: Had more horn involvement than other Stash versions. The ending in particular was cluttered with horns ablaze. Carl Gerhardt is the man.

A-Train: From what I can hear, this is my favorite A-Train. The horns ripped the hell out of the composed section, and the changes provide a little more for the horns to work with. Overall, this may be the reason to seek out this tape, along with the Alumni Blues and Mike's Gruv.

Cavern: Was Cavern. I appreciate the horns at the end. It's a pretty cool lick, but after the first 32 times I've heard it, it has not the same effect.

Mike's Gruv: Was splendid. The Truth was ON in this version. He found the pocket and layed into it. Listen particualrly to the descending licks by Trey near the end. The horns add so much to this song, they make the jam darker, and MUCH more textured. Not an all time version by any means, but nice enough to listen to for the solos. Seamless transition into H2. This was a standard Hydrogen. Not much to comment on...very peaceful and stuff. Weekapaug lets Mike say a few words about chromatics. He is all over the place. Pounding all sorts of tri-tonal chords. Wierd stuff, but cool as all heck The ending of Weekapaug is really fast, and Trey and Page play a lot of notes. Just thought I'd share. Set closes with Trey saying: "We'll be back in fifteen minutes...don't fall through the floor."

Set II:

Llama: Was well contained. Fast, but not as fast as they've tried to pull of recently. This song works well when it is played at a reasonable clip. I hate when they fly through it so fast that they are all playing catch up. The jamming is nice, with Trey leading the way in his polytonal long notes. Even without the speed, he manages to create a nice swell. The ending was as tight as I can remember it ever being. Digga digga digga digga dig-gah dunt. Was sweet.

Reba: Was at a comfy clip. Nothing zany. The fugue and composed section were flawless. Trey's solo is gorgeous, playful and sweet. The whistling was nice too, but this started to go downhill from here. The second set (post Reba) was dirty. Not very tight.

Poor Heart: Started the dirt. The whole beggining was blown, with Fish forgetting to play, Mike singing off key, and the tempo dragging along. Trey's solo was lame-o. Almost note for note off the album. Not very good.

SOAMelt: Was nice. Mike took care of business in the beggining. This appears to me as one of Trey's most eclectic works. The chord progressions are wacky, and you can hear that!! The horns add a nice touch. Ending is blown, which ruins the whole tune. Dah dah dunt. Was more like fub flak boing. What a bummer.

Lizards: What can I say, Trey blew his solo in the middle section. Page however comes out to play for this tune. Otherwise, if youv'e heard one 7-91 lizard, you've heard em' all.

Landlady: Completley fucked!! Almost abandoned. Gerhardt was soloing, and Fish played the big final hit...but Trey didn't play the final lick. It freaked out everyone, except Gears, who kept playing the same note until everyone decided it was O.K. to come in. Ending was there though. They are lucky they made it through that one. FWIW, I dig the groove in this tune.

I.D.K. Was cool, with the horn introductions, and the fourth member of the GCH, Henrietta on vacuum. Trey is funny during the introductions. (You love him for the grease in his hair, Russell "Killer" Remington.) Ha. Trey you kidder.

Possum: Saved this set. They were in the pocket hardcore. Everyone had their chance to solo, and the vocals were unmatched. This tune is awesome, and they did it severe justice tonight. Possibly my all time favorite. Especially with horns.

Enc: Alumni Blues: What can I say. This tune should be un-shelved. It rocks. Especially with the horns. A nice encore, and another set saver.

Well, this show is nice, especially the first set and the end and beggining of the second set. The middle of the second set is frightening. Perhaps they were in another *state* at the time. Perhaps not. Oh well. I'm going to try and get this show weeded before the end of the summer. I'm going to try and get an upgrade on my second tape though. Umm, please give me feedback. Thanks for playing. As always, take care, and help out your local newbie.

Thanks

Ryan

Hey, it's also the 25th anniversary of the July 1991 tour with the Giant Country Horns! In recognition of the anniversary, I downloaded this show, one of the few I hadn't previously heard from this tour. I have to say, it's kind of weird to listen to an AUD of this tour, with SBDs several shows having been widely circulated over the years.

Phish plus the GCH were an incredibly tight ensemble throughout the whole tour, and just about everything from this show is performed well. Carl Gerhard wastes no time bringing his trumpet to the fore on Suzy and Cavern. I missed the Gilbert O'Sullivan tease, but I did hear Trey teasing Bob Seger's "Main Street" near the end of Weekapaug (which he did often). But the real treats are the Alumni>LTJP>Alumni encore, and the only 'A' Train of the tour (!), which includes lots of playful interaction during the solos, like they would do during Magilla at other shows on this tour.

Not quite a "go-to show" from this tour, like 7/12, 7/14, or 7/20, but still a fun listen!

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

This show is the oft-forgotten show of the tour. The tapes for this show are hard to come by. I managed to dig them up, and while the playing wasn't nearly as amazing as the rest of the tour, there are some humorous moments. Highlights from set one include a smoking Runaway Jim and a solid "Mike's Groove" with some very nice playing from the horns. The first set also includes some funny banter from Trey and company. The second set is the sloppiest set of music I've ever heard, but somehow they pulled it together for a fiery "Possum" set closer and the "Alumni Blues" encore, which also smokes. It's not difficult to see why this show is oft forgotten"...just listen to what they did the next night!

Nice digital audience recording. The acoustics of the Casino Ballroom leave a lot to be desired but what can you do.

Things kick off with an appropriate Chalk Dust given the location and timing of the show. I can only imagine most of the people who attended the show that night spent the day on the beach across the street from the venue. Some funny audience banter during Page’s solo in Foam. It sounds like event staff is getting frustrated with a fan repeatedly telling him to “sit down!” Something not often heard at a Phish show! lol Trey introduces the GCH to the stage mid set. Beautiful Stash that pairs perfectly with an equally beautiful version of A-Train. Blistering Mike’s Groove to close the first half. Trey says they’ll be right back and warns everyone not to fall through the floor. lol

Well played versions of Llama and Reba start off set 2. The first Poor Heart of the tour follows and features the GCH. Nice Melt. It almost sounds like the PA cut out for a bit during Landlady? Trey introduces the GCH and Henrietta on Vac during the I Didn’t Know breakdown. Awesome Possum featuring the GCH! Cool Alone Again (Naturally) tease from Trey. Back to back Alumni encores. The horn arrangement for Alumni works perfectly!