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From: STAFFORD@hycad5.dnet.hac.com
Subject: San Juan Capistrano 8/17/92
Reply-To: STAFFORD@hycad5.dnet.hac.com
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 17:56:40 GMT

The Coach House.  San Juan Capistrano, CA
This setlist leaks like a sieve.  This is from what's
left of my mind(smoking crater)this fine Tuesday morning.;-)
I:Poor Heart/The Land Lady/Reba/All Things Reconsidered/
Knife/Foam/Cavern
II:Suzy Greenberg/David Bowie/Over the Rainbow/Ester
Enc:Squirming Coil

I brought an old friend who's never seen Phish before to
the show.  Upon reflection in the car on the fwy, we agreed
that there's parts of the jams that sound like complete
chaos and the players seem to knit some fine jamming in and
out of it.  Excellent guitar sounds from that custom hollow
body lead guitar.  That 6-string bass is incredible too.
Part of a matching set no doubt.  I was sitting in front of
the piano in the front row.  Excellent.

My friend, he's got a knife.  My friend, he's got a knife.
My f,         eehhh.

The old black muu muu that Fishman is still wearing is
lookin pretty tattered since the first time I ever heard
Phish at the Variety Arts Theater in LA, March '92.
There's a duct tape patch now across the midsection and 
the arm holes are bigger.
You can fix anything with duct tape and vice grips ;-) 

During the electrolux solo, the reverb in the lower
register made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
I can't figure how they get the vacuum to run so quietly, 
my old electrolux was noisy.  Towards the end I could 
smell melting plastic. Fishman done tortured the damn thing. 
A Ninja Custodian kissed Jon's ass.  Yecccchh.
This stuff makes the old Ripley's Believe It Or Not book
look like a seed catalog.

The Piano popped a string and the crew hurried to remove
the remains from within the instrument.  This brought on
some noodling on the organ which led into a fine Ester.

At the end of the encore, they just left the keyboard 
player out on stage to jam.  I thought it would never stop.
"It got away.........yea.  It got away."


Please, would someone send me a copy of the setlist.
I also very humbly grovel to also be added to any tree that
       ------------------
might sprout up, there was a taper at the show, but he had
swarms of people around him and didn't want to add to the
frenzy.  He had his phish.net tee on.

I don't normally get this newsfeed so e-mail me directly 
please at            stafford@hycad5.dnet.hac.com

Thank you, Jack.

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From: dang@well.sf.ca.us (Daniel)
Subject: Magic at the Coach House
Date: 21 Aug 92 03:20:40 GMT


Hello everybody!

I've been so swamped at work trying to make up for the time I took
off that I'm just now getting to posting comments about the San
Juan show.  I've got to warn you, though, my comments are based
solely on what I remember, and when I get into such a frenzied
state, I don't always remember everything correctly.

First, the two set lists I've seen posted thus far are pretty
accurate, but not completely.  I may be wrong, but I could swear
Buried Alive was the opener and not Poor Heart.  I always vow to
keep a set list at shows, but once the music starts, I get carried
away.  I believe I saw Shelly writing down the songs, so I'm sure
we'll get a complete list soon.

Out of the twenty or so Phish shows I've seen, this one ranked way
up there.  David Bowie was truly amazing, and played utterly
different than I've ever heard it played before, but then that song
*never* sounds the same twice.

They started Take the A Train in a minor mode that made it sound
pretty spooky and scary, which made it sound all the sweeter when
they changed into a major key half way through.  During one of
Trey's solos in TAT he quoted a riff from Over The Rainbow, and a
bunch of us started going nuts.  Near the end of the song Trey
whispered something in Page's ear and magically, they went into a
moving rendition of Over the Rainbow.  For me that was the
highlight of the night.  I could feel the hair on the back of my
neck tingle and I felt like crying.  I'm reminded over and over
again what truly inspired musicians these guys are.

As I walked in the Coach House at the beginning of the evening,
Page walked by me.  I gave him a smile and said something like,
"Now *there's* a face I'm happy to see!"  I figure these guys are
probably hounded a lot, and I don't like to make demands for their
time right before a gig.  Still, he returned my smile, shook my
hand and asked me how I was doing.  One of the many things I love
about this band is how accessible they are, how friendly, and how
unpretentious.

I must say, I'm not always appreciative of opening bands.  Maybe
I'm too damn impatient, but when it's been nearly six months since
I've seen my favorite band I don't feel like listening to some
other band.  (Pretty close minded of me, I know.)  However, Ninja
Custodian blew me away.  These guys played some riffs that made
even Metallica sound like lightweights.  Many, but by no means all,
of their songs had a ripping heavy metal sound to them, but unlike
most heavy metal bands, Ninja Custodian was quite playful.  I was
also impressed with the several quasi-rap tunes they did, as well
as the amazing time changes in many of their songs.  I know *I*
plan on seeing these guys again, and I recommend to others to check
them out.

The only disappointment of the evening came not from the bands but
from the nitrous tank and other vending going on in the parking lot
(beer and LSD).  I even saw some people throwing trash around.  I
tried to pick some of it up, and I'd encourage other people
concerned about our community to do the same kind of thing.  I'd be
sorely disappointed if certain venues didn't want Phish playing
because some of their fans littered the place.

I hate to end this article on a negative note, since I left feeling
elated and have only gradually returned to earth.  I can't wait for
the music at Shoreline and another chance to meet a bunch of you.

Peace and love to all of you.


Dan

Can't I live while I young?

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From: shell@gandalf.Berkeley.EDU (Shelly Culbertson)
Subject: Re: Magic at the Coach House
Date: 21 Aug 1992 04:29:27 GMT

Dan Goodin was right, I did keep a setlist at the show (as difficult
as it was to momentarily turn my attention from the music in order to
write the songs down!).  The setlist which Todd Kushnir produced 
courtesy of his friend was fundamentally correct, with two additions
 - Buried Alive before Poor Heart (good memory, Dan!), and All Things
Reconsidered before Foam.  Oh, just to make it easy, here's the whole
thing again:

Phish at the Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, August 17, 1992
==============================================================
(Ninja Custodian opened; I don't know what they played, but it
was fun!)

I                                  II
Buried Alive                       Suzy Greenberg
Poor Heart                         It's Ice
The Landlady                       Tweezer
Reba                               Esther
Rift                               Mike's Song....
Wilson (!yes!)                     Horn
All Things Reconsidered            Hold Your Head
Foam                               Terrapin
My Friend, My Friend               The Flintstones Theme (30 seconds or
so)
Bouncing Around the Room           Take the A-Train
David Bowie                        Somewhere Over the Rainbow (4-5
minutes)
                                   Cavern

                                   Encore - The Squirming Coil

I think others have already shared most of the highlights, but I'll still
add a few.  Wilson was great; I *always* love Wilson :-).  Someone tossed
a balloon onstage, and Trey popped it in the air with his guitar
absolutely
in time with the song, it fit perfectly.  I remember the same thing
happening
in Somerville last November, except there it was four or five balloons -
you
can hear it on the tape if you've got it.  It fit in with the song so
well,
Wilson without bursting balloons just isn't the same! ;-)

During Mike's Song, on the trampolines, Trey was holding one note for an
amazingly long time.  He started playing his guitar with his teeth (I
think).
Suddenly the clip on his guitar strap popped open!  Incredibly, he managed
to
fasten it again, while jumping on the trampoline, and without breaking the
sustain of the note...then it popped open again!  After it popped open
twice
more, Brad brought him a new one, which he attached (and tossed the old
one
to whoever caught it); but he never stopped playing, or jumping.  Wow.

Ninja Mike played drums during Terrapin (instead of Trey).  Whoa!  The
best
part was during the vacuum solo - Ninja Mike was producing vocalizations
that sounded just like what Fish was doing on the vacuum, but using
nothing
but his own mouth!  Incredible.

After Terrapin, there was a group of people calling out "Flintstones!" for
some reason.  The band looked confused, but they jammed on the theme for
a couple bars, then Page slid seamlessly into A-Train (nice!), which
incorporated the Flintstones theme, among other musical quotes, one of
which
was Somewhere Over the Rainbow - which the band spontaneously moved
straight
into from A-Train.  I was blown away...it was played very sweetly, with no
vocals, but lots of emotion.  Trey told me this afterwards:  a few months
ago he was in Provincetown (I think) and went with a friend on an impulse
to see a female impersonater performing.  S/he played several characters
including Marilyn Monroe and Liza Minelli, and culminating with a
performance
of Somewhere Over the Rainbow as Judy Garland, dedicated to all the people
who have died of aids.  That performance is what inspired him to do the
song.  He also mentioned that the band had _never_once_ played it together
before that.  (Unbelievable {but I believe him}).

Finally, Page's solo at the end of the Squirming Coil (encore) was
particularly
sweet and the crowd was *quiet* (perhaps since the rest of the band had
left
the stage).  A beautiful finish to an amazing evening....

Shelly

ps.  once again...someone ripped off Andrew's tapes out of the truck.
It'll be
a long drive home for him and Brad and Chris (I think they're the ones who
get to drive the truck from Sacramento to Burlington) with no tunes, so if
you'll be seeing them and have any to spare....thanks.


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