From: Charlie Dirksen
4/21/94 Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston Salem, NC (Rvwd 10/95) DMB opened this show, and jammed with
Phish on Watchtower for the spectacular encore. This jam with DMB, though admittedly hot, isn't as incredible as the jam with
ARU in YEM from 5/5/93. That jam remains to be the most amazing Phish jam with guests, imo. GOD DAMN IS THAT
HOT!! Anyway... the MikeS opening is straightforward. Nothing out of the ordinary. Another guest trampoline jumper (Trey
mentions that Dave Matthews tramp'ed the previous night, so they need someone else tonight..). This tramps segment doesn't
have the usual off-key sustain stuff from Trey (for the most part), but rather some quite Legitimate jamming. Trey is really into
this. This tramps jam goes on much longer than usual, too, I assume because it took some time in the opening to get someone on
stage. The segment ends around 6:12, sounding, at least on the very first chord of the post-tramps segment, that it would dive
into a SIMPLE jam. This Simple riff is a common tramps jam ending nowadays, but it wasn't at this time. They don't play
Simple, but rather only this one second tease, effectively. This post-tramps segment jam is Excellent. Much more engaging than
usual, with some clever stuff from everyone that works well together (can't describe it any better.. sorry). At 7:30, Fish drops
out and the jam dives into a quiet, not-quite-spacey mode. At this point it is in that starting and stopping sort of groove (the sort
that is in the Bangor Tweezer around the ten minute point.. at least I think this sort of thing happens in the Bangor Tweezer..
hmmmm). This is actually quite boring, though, unfortunately. At 8:54, the jam explodes back into the final MikeS theme ending
(didn't come soon enough!). This ending jam is wailed on more than usual (Trey), and is dragged out a sciosh.. H2 comes in at
10:38 or thereabouts. H2 is uneventful. Weekapaug comes in at 13:32 or so (H2 is almost always 2:55, btw). Mike's opening
jam is very original (as well as the typical snappy, funky, and quick). A stellar opening, like 4/9/94 ! This jam is Yet Another
Magnifiscent Weekapaug. The theme Trey carries is melodious, charming, warm .. He takes the jam places that -- though often
travelled to in Weekapaug -- are nonetheless artfully caricatured. A gem of a Weekapaug... The ending verse kicks in around
19:06, and, well, unfortunately, my tape cuts here so I don't know whether they go into a bluesy vocal/jam Bingham(P)ton sort
of ending. Anyone? Given what I've heard so far, though, this Weekapaug has the sweetest jamming so far of the 1994 versions
that I've reviewed. B/B+ rating only, though, since the MikeS wasn't at all complementary of this glorious Weekapaug