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From: stein-c@acsu.buffalo.edu (Craig Steinberger)
Subject: Phish review in the Buffalo News 5/9/92
Date: 10 May 92 15:34:39 GMT

Here is the review of the Buffalo Phish show from the Buffalo News.
Personally, the show blew my mind (and my eardrums, but that's what you
get for being in the second row). I didn't track the setlist, but since
Harry Peltz was taping, maybe he can post it. Anyway, reprinted without
permission:

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Phish makes quite a surprising splash in the Riviera
by Mary Kunz
News Contributing Reviewer

The four cats from Burlington, Vt. known as Phish sseemed out of water
at first in the dignified, historic Riviera Theatre. Most of their
numbers leaned toward brisk, loud jazz fusion, with only a gridging
glimpse of country lilt. 

Dizzying light effects turned the stage into a Bethlehem blast furnace
one minute and a Chestnut Ridge glade the next.

Then came a surprise. At the end of the first set, the group assembled
at the front of the stage. (John Fishman, the drummer, cryptically,
[sic] wore a dress.) "Can we have quiet?" they demanded.

The listeners, dancing in their hippie duds, took a few minutes to
comply. When they did, Phish turned into a barbershop quartet.

"You left me alone, but you're still my own...in my beautiful memories,"
the four rockers warbled in flawless harmony. As they bowed, the
theater's beautiful Wurlitzer kicked in with its own version of the
tune. Suddenly, rock and the Riviera were one.

It wasn't a moment a newcomer would have predicted.

The first number, "Curtain," gave no hint of gentleness. By the time the
band lurched into its second song, "Reba," Phish had turned the theater
into a sea of undulating dancers. Security guards flushed out desperados
who swirled in the corners of the creaking balcony. 

Phish's odd, often Jethro Tull-style lyrics weren't the band's strongest
suit--much better were the jam interludes. Trey Anastasio, the bands
driving wheel, led the others with his tireless guitar. Bass player Mike
Gordon stayed beside him every step of the way, and Page McConnell's
bluesy keyboard riffs and synthesizer effects complemeneted the wacky
lights. Fishman, sweating off to one side, kept the beat hot. 

The band's greatest asset lay in its synchronism. Anastasio and Gordon
performed together a kind of entry level soft-shoe. Song endings were
flash bang sudden. And, at the end of the careening "Bouncing Around the
Room," the musicians all fell down, as if hit by one hammer.

Phish's surprises all appear intentional. Even the group's recurring
rendition of the music from "The Simpsons" seemed to have a purpose.

"It's an experiment," explained one longtime Phish fan. "They play the
`Simpsons' theme, and they wait to see how many people go `Daa'. It's 
a cue."

She smiled and shrugged. "They have three other experiments going too,"
she added, "but I can't remember what they are."

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My comments on the comments:

A decent sort of review, although it seems obvious to mee that the
writer didn't stay for the second set. I can't really comment as an
expert about other things she said, as my experience with Phish now
consists of about 10 tapes, 2 shows, and whatever has come over the net.

I have one question though: What is that spinning thing behind Page? :)
(for the humor impaired, please don't answer.)

-- 
Craig Steinberger                               stein-c@eng.buffalo.edu
              SUNY at Buffalo, Computational Fluid Dynamics Lab

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From: Alan Sodoma 
Subject: Partial 5-8-92 Buffalo set list 
Reply-To: ajs@jloda.cci.com
Date: Tue, 12 May 1992 18:48:14 GMT

We didn't get in there until around the middle of the first set.  We
were having too much fun in some dumpy bar on the corner.  I have the
whole 2nd set and the end of the 1st.  Plus the 2 openers, from the 
previously posted newspaper article.  Somebody has to be able to fill
in the rest.

5-8-92 Riviera Theater, N. Tonawanda (Buffalo)

I
Curtain
Reba
?
?

It's Ice  
Bouncing Around The Room
David Bowie
Memories (no mics)

***I know they did those last 4, but I'm getting those by memory.  2nd
set is written down!


II
Wilson
My Sweet One
Stash
Take The 'A' Train
Maze
You Enjoy Myself
Silent In The Morning
Chalkdust Torture
Cold As Ice theme
Terrapin
Harry Hood
Golgi Apparatus

E:
Big Fat Furry Creature From Mars



The lights went on before the encore.  In Syracuse, Trey told me that the
promoter was going out of his mind because they were playing past the 11 
p.m. curfew.  He actually tackled Mike as Mike made his way to the stage!
So they did just one encore.

The Riviera was pretty cool.  It was really strange when we drove by and
saw the marquee above the doorway.

Organ Concert   May 20
Phish          May 8
Body Building Show  May 9
Jacobs Trouble     May 10


Inside was nice though.  The floor was kind of steep tho'.  I almost took
a tumble a couple times.  The security were real strict about smoking.  
Trey also said that the owner/promoter (whatever) was pulling his hair out
and screaming, 'They're going to burn down my theater!!'.

Fish had on a black dress with red donut shapes on it.  He looked pretty
funny with that on and playing that vaccum.

Besides the second set being great, a nice surprise was during the inter-
mission.  A huge organ came up from the floor and some guy was playing it
in between the sets.  That was a pretty nice touch that they really didn't
have to do, but did anyway.

Someone mentioned a bunch of cops being outside.  I didn't notice that as
much as all the people without tickets!  This was half-way thru the 1st
set.  Maybe that's why all the cops were out there.  That's definitely not
a trend that the band would want to have happen.

That's it.

Take care,



Al Sodoma
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From: jojw@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (John J. Wood)
Subject: Impressions of 5/8 Riviera Theatre
Date: Wed, 13 May 92 22:10:19 GMT


   Phish @ The Riviera Theatre, Buffalo, 5/8/92.
   ---------------------------------------------
 
   The Riviera was definitely a much cooler place to see the Vermont 
   quartet, as an old movie theatre proved to be most welcomed in
   contrast to two experiences at flesh-crammed bars (The Haunt in Ithaca,
   and The Warehouse [HBB] in Rochester, respectively).  
   
   I approached this evening with a very open, almost shamanistic frame
   of mind.  Of course, during the day, I wasn't even thinking of the
show,
   as my father was undergoing some tests at a nearby hospital.  The major
   concerns were replaced thankfully by relief, so I felt *very* open
   prior to trekking to Buffalo.
   
   I discovered that the best way for me to listen to Phish is to resort
to
   the "Carlos Santana method":  focus on the instrumentals and jams, and 
   treat the songs as secondary.  I appreciated the virtuosity of Trey
   Anestatio, but I was more impressed with Page McConnell's playing,
   primarily because of his use of taste and restraint in an energetic
   context.  While Trey clearly has a very good set of chops, I also found
his
   style (again) to be a cross between Zappa and Santana; while he is
   very fast, there are times I felt he needed to learn "restraint".
While
   upmteen million notes in a few seconds may look great, that normally
does
   not make for great music.  However, I'm ragging when I shouldn't, as
each
   musician made a sound impression on me.
   
   Most of the jams hit home quite nicely with me, as the band's ensemble 
   interplay may be their biggest asset.  However, the songs came across
too
   lightweight for me, as many of them suggested a cross between Dr.
Demento and
   Frank Zappa.  However, I also think a high percentage of their material
   are an acquired taste, but the songs lacked the depth necessary to
capture
   and maintain my attention.
   
   Again, I can do without all the gimmicks, too.  Sure, Fishman's vacuum
   solo is humorous, and the trampolenes and "language" are neat, but
   I found the novelty of those tricks taking away from their music.
   The one trick that worked was at the very end of the first set:
   after an a capella number, the band turned things over the an
   organist, seated at an organ in the orchestra pit, stage left.  A
really
   neat touch, with the organist playing many of those "old time
classics".;-)
   Still, if the band toned their their gimmicks, their sense of humor
would
   present itself much more effectively:  less is more.  
 
   To me, Phish is a real enigma.  Here is a musically talented outfit
(yes,
   they are much better than I gave them credit for) that shines on their
   instrumental excursions, yet the material and direction they choose
   are often below their capabilities.  I would totally *dig* Phish if
they
   just played all-instrumental concerts, sans all the songs and
gimmicktry.
   I probably need to acquire the taste for this material, but a lot of it
   still sounds like the cases when Frank Zappa's material doesn't work.
   Yes, a good chunk of the material requires a unique sense of humor, but
   that humor was spread os much that it became monotonous.
   
   I definitely had a good time Friday night, and because of the jams, I'm
   sure I'll be catching Phish again.  One final note:  Phish may have     
   performed the *worst* encore i've ever witnessed:  "Black Furry
Creatures
   From Mars", which was a few minutes of completely unlistenable noise.
   I guess a more appropriate term is non-encore, and obviously was played
   for the sake of comedy.            


*-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*
| John J. Wood
jojw@uhura.cc.rochester.edu  |
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|                       *** PAY-PER-VIEW IN '92!!! ***
|
*-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=* 
| "There's some sastifaction in the San Francisco rain,
|
|  No matter what comes down, the mission always looks the same,
|
|  Come again..."
|
*-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=*


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From: "David A. Craig" 
Subject: Buffalo thoughts . . . .
Reply-To: trey@sbphy.physics.ucsb.edu
Date: Thu, 14 May 1992 23:26:08 GMT


Regarding John Woods (??) thoughts on phish . . . .  It's nice to get
people's
first time impressions, but I just had to respond to some of them.  I
definitely
felt a knee-jerk resentment at the observation that a lot of phish songs
were
like "Frank Zappa tunes that don't quite work."  I think he hit on the
deal some-
where else, in the remark that phish is an acquired taste - when us humans
come
across ANYTHING new we always try and correlate it with what is already in
our
experience.  That after all is precisely what evolution has designed the
lump of
fat in our skulls to do: make patterns!  As for " not working ", well,
.....
"working" (as with what's a "gimmick", I suppose) is in the eyes and ears
and 
lump of fat of the beholder . . . . .

Vacuum cleaner or no, I wanna stand up and say that some of Fish's solos
are
downright musically transcendent!  There can be a lot more to this than
just
humor value; close your eyes and let it inside your head!  If you still
don't
agree John Cage and I will meet you in the schoolyard after recess.

For that matter, the sheer goofiness of it all is for a a big part of what
allows for me the experience to have any spiritual side at all.  Really
powerfully good feeling and humor and generally helping phriendliness!  I
am far to cynical to trust anything that takes itself too seriously . . .
       ^too
I have absolutely no interest in doing anything to defuse the goodness of
it
all.  Why let the world beat you down?  "and the secret was to surrender
to
the flow . . ."  Personally I think generic goofiness makes  the world a
better
place to live in.

And as for BBFCFM . . . . "noise" means many things to many people, mmm?

No flames intended; I just wanted to stand up for silliness!

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