8/14/96 Hershey Park Arena, Land of Chocolate, PA I don't know why several of you didn't appreciate this show. It is
arguably a better _SHOW_ than any of the 8/2-8/7 shows that I caught *live*. The setlist alone is pretty damn fine, imo. Sure,
there's no Runaway Jim > Gypsy Queen > Runaway Jim, but there's some strong versions of several jamming tunes. I'd give this
show a 6.0 rating easy. The versions of Reba and Jim are nothing to scoff at (the YEM's pretty good, too). Very powerful,
upbeat opening. The pre-Ebeneezer segment contains the (now typical) clav-action from Page, but this segment doesn't GO
OFF or anything. Just more of the main theme, basically (very few versions of Tweezer have great pre-Ebeneezer-lyric jam
segments, fwiw). No screaming at all on Ebeneezer... at all. Jam segment begins at 4:33, and after some sustain here and there,
Trey opens -- at 4:55 -- with a very groovy, intense, melodic groove, that he repeats THE HELL OUT OF. Fortunately, this is
-- again -- a very catchy lick, and makes for a great opening! Within a minute, Trey is low on the 'doc, more/less still around
this repetitive theme (same technique, different octave). He just keeps repeating this cool lick (and Mike is complementing him
well.. Page is pretty much chording in typical tweezer fashion). If you don't like this repetitive theme of Trey's, you are really
going to hate this Tweezer. ;-) Even around 7:15, Trey's still on this theme.. but he starts climbing the 'doc just a little, again,
sticking with the same theme/technique, but applying it elsewhere, in different regions of the 'doc (now in a higher octave than he
was before). By 8 minutes, Trey is more/less on this same theme, but is wavering between two octaves.. At 8:44 he finally
chords out a little.. but then starts noodling again. Some serious funky bombs from Mike (not too many, though). Trey's back on
that damn theme by 9:20.. more/less the same theme. At about 9:30 the jam begins to sound like it might change course.. Trey
starts noodling fiercely, dancing around the theme he'd been milking for the previous few minutes. But it doesn't really go
anywhere, and within a minute, it is squarely back in the same sort of groove that it was mired in earlier on in the jam. There's a
little trilling from Trey around 10:40, but nothing terribly exciting.. nice climax around 11 mins.. Around 11:30, Trey gets into this
spell-binding theme that is ultra-repetitive, which Mike complements fairly well. Fish starts changing the rhythm into something
more akin to segments of the experimental Tweezers (BOOM BOOM (pause) BOOM BOOM). But this jam doesn't go
anywhere, and the jam busts back into serious Tweezer at around 12:25 or something. Trey is making some awry noises on the
'doc.. Page is also making strange noises. Fish drops the beat back into that slow BOOM BOOM beat.. Page and Trey are
eerily noodling in here (13:40). Mike and Fish are keeping a slow, steady groove.. at 13:50 or so Fish kicks in more of a
Tweezer rhythm again.. and at 14 minutes, Trey starts fiercely chording (and Mike funks out fairly well, too), like a rock star...
Fairly cool in here.. and he soon starts soloing a la Tweezer! By 15, the jam is solidly back into a tweezeresque mode.. at nearly
16 minutes, an especially mind-melting groove occurs, which witnesses Trey trilling o'er the top by 16:23 or so (serious trilling in
here). Great chords from Page, too! This must be the conclusion.. =^] Very tweezeresque, powerful conclusion, with THE
NOTE at 17:01, but everyone doesn't stop on it and change course!! Fish just keeps plowing through.. Trey starts lightly
noodling the dying out of the theme sort of ending at first.. but soon, around 17:41, Page is repetitively chording (lightly) on the
piano, and everyone else gets more and more quiet (while still grooving.. Trey is still noodling around at 18:30!!).. sounds like it
is difficult for Mike to get quiet ... ;) This is definitely the grooviest ending to Tweezer, or one of them at least, that I've ever
heard.. very light and playful (just dies out into nothing.. and then Theme kicks in). Total time about 19:20 or so. I thought this
Tweezer was above-average, but it didn't contain anything approaching the beauty of the Norwegian Wood soloing of the Red
Rocks '96 version. Nevertheless, given the groovy theme that Trey milks for much of this version, and the concluding five
minutes (that were very cool), which included a very original ending, this version gets a 7.0 rating. There are many Tweezers
that are as good as, if not profoundly more exciting than, this version, imo. two cents cHarlie