Tuesday, 05/17/1994

The Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA

 

Saturday morning… I just had the strangest thing happen. I started listening to this show and just as Maze was finishing up I heard the music echoing in way I have never heard before. I could not figure out what was going on, so I paused the show to see if it was on the recording or what… It was my iphone ringing in the other room! My ringtone is the closing section of Maze. HA! It’s a great ringtone if you want it click here: iphone version or mp3 version.  

Back to the task at hand. Great start to the show. First set is chock full of spaces for Page to shine on his birthday. Suzy brings the piano heat, Maze the Pay Jorgan heat, SOAMule more piano heat, and Coil to close out!! If that didn’t clue you in that it was Page’s night, then the Happy Birthday tease in Trey’s Maze solo should have. If not, the Coil slaps you in the face with it!!

But that glosses over the non-birthday highlights of the first set. If I Could is beautiful once again. The acoustic segment is very cool, if hard to hear on the recording. Melt is intense. And Coil is near perfect until it’s spoiled by the birthday celebration. Classic Phish, really.

Second set opens with a scorching RunJim with Trey messing around with the Wah pedal for an interesting segment. Very cool, indeed.

Then there’s the Tweezer. Let me say this: when I was in middle school (during the Nancy Reagan “just say no” era) and had no reason to think anything about drugs was funny, I was given two tapes that became staples of my Walkman for years to come. One was License to Ill (full of drug references) and the other was Cheech and Chong’s Greatest Hit. I know this Cheech and Chong tape like the back of my hand. I can recite the thing if you like. So, needless to say, this Tweezer is instantly one of my favorite Tweezers of all time. Not because of the Tweezer, but because of the Earache My Eye!! HELLSYEAH!!!! It’s not like they really play the song, but Fish does sing the lyrics, so it totally counts. Either way, I love this shit! Then they come out of that segment at lighting speed before bringing it back down to the Tweezer slow-down ending we all know and love, only it doesn’t really end they way you expect. It almost goes into a little blues jam until Trey starts up Lifeboy (which is also really lovely with a long slow build and beautiful piano work from Page) Great Tweezer, indeed.

The set closes out with another really short but great Slave. Then they send ‘em home with Highway to Hell. Can’t complain one bit!

Thanks for reading.

 

Tuesday, 05/17/1994

The Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA

Soundcheck: Jam, My Mind’s Got a Mind of its Own

Set 1: Suzy Greenberg > Maze, Mound, If I Could -> Scent of a Mule, Ginseng Sullivan, Dog Faced Boy, Split Open and Melt, The Squirming Coil

Set 2: Runaway Jim, Glide > Tweezer -> Earache My Eye -> Tweezer > Lifeboy, Uncle Pen, Big Ball Jam > Sample in a Jar, Hold Your Head Up > Love You > Hold Your Head Up, Slave to the Traffic Light

Encore: Highway to Hell

Notes: Ginseng Sullivan and Dog Faced Boy were performed acoustic without microphones. Ginseng also featured Fishman on washboard. Page’s piano solo in The Squirming Coil was cut short when Trey brought out a birthday cake for Page and attempted to lead the audience in a round of Happy Birthday. Similarly, Maze included Happy Birthday teases. Tweezer included the Phish debut of Earache My Eye.

Setlist courtesy of Phish.net.

 

Key tracks:

http://www.phishtracks.com/shows/1994-05-17/maze

http://www.phishtracks.com/shows/1994-05-17/tweezer-earache-my-eye-tweezer

http://www.phishtracks.com/shows/1994-05-17/lifeboy