------------------------------

From: anderso2@husc.harvard.edu
Subject: Orpheum 5/16/92
Reply-To: anderso2@husc.harvard.edu
Date: Sun, 17 May 1992 06:19:55 GMT


        My ears are still ringing and no, I didn't make a setlist.

        It was a pretty intense show.  My own little adventure started
wondering how I was going to find Katie "Whitecow" who left a message
on my machine saying she would meet me at the show and we'd do a tape
trade.  Hey the Orpheum only holds 1500-2000 people - shouldn't be that
hard to find one specific individual who you met briefly last November
should it?
        I ran into Ryan and John Greene and Robert Johnson before the
show but none of them had seen her.  So hunted about in the lobby area
a while and didn't find her so I wandered off to find my seat.  I sat
their fo a few minutes reading the newsletter (which my Mom hasn't sent
up to me yet from home).  Then there's a voice shouting "Carl!" from above
in the balcony, and by God, there's Katie up there waving away.
        I was stunned.  Being an MIT student must give one special
tracking abilities or something ... anyway I climbed up the stairs and
met her and did the trade (BTW they sound great - probably - I still can't
hear!), and spent some time shooting the breeze (so which _would_ it be:
Mike or Bobby?).  I have no idea how she found me; she said by my
net.shirt and pony-tail.  OK ...

        Anyway, the first set started with Maze, and then some other
things:
a Golgi somewhere, Split Open, My Sweet One - I was very pleased to pick
up the Language during the My Sweet One intro; there was a DOOOO! and and
an all fall down.  They did Cavern which I thought might close the set,
but then there was a short but VERY COOL jam in which I thought Trey was
doing a little Maze tease.  Then they went into David Bowie.  This was
amazing, there was a truly vicious jam in this, I was really pleased.

        During the set break, a bunch of us got the security types to let
us leave two mangos and a little note on Rob's 3x5 card which said "You're
gonna be geniuses anyway.  So long and thanks for all the PHISH!  The  
Phish.net" on it on the stage front right between those two little
speakers.  

        I think Trey saw it when he came back out for 2nd set, and
appeared vastly confused by it.  Nothing got said about them, though
eventually he picked them up during YEM and showed them to Page.  At the
end of the show one of the roadies seemed to be trying to figure out what
to do with them.
And their fate is still unlearned - we don't even know if they got the
greeting note.  If anyone close to the band finds out what our mangos did,
let us know!

        2nd set opened with a Runaway Jim I believe.  There was a Silent 
in the Morning, a YEM, a Tweezer (also a pretty good jam).  Other stuff
to which I don't remember.  It was good though!  Lot's of screwing around
with the trampolines d with Fish as Henrietta - I thought they had
scrapped
Henrietta in favor of Showboat Gertrude or something?  Maybe I'm behind
the times ...  And a Tweezer reprise as a set closer.
        Amazingly they got the Orpheum quiet enough for a Sweet Adeline
without mikes.  Of course there was some damn fool shouting for Esther
or something but everyone was real good for the most part.  I don't
understand why people shout when the band is trying to get quiet, don't
they know how poor this is?  Just reach over a throttle the guy next to
you if he does this (no, not really, but you'd like to, wouldn't you?).
Then they did Suzie Greenberg as an second encore. 

        Well.  Who's got the tapes?

Carl


Cracklin' Rose appearea
sdlkfjsa;ldkfja;sldkfja;sldkfja;sldkfjas;ldkfja;sldkfja;lsdkfja;sldkfalkfdsj
------------------------------

From: Matt Laurence 
Subject: Orpheum ROCKED!!!!
Reply-To: mlaurenc@world.std.com
Date: Mon, 18 May 1992 04:11:58 GMT


Phish at The Orpheum, Saturday, May 16, 1992.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeoooooooooooooooooow! Blee!


Phish was definitely at home in the Orpheum last night. The Orpheum ain't 
no Somverille theater, but the atmosphere really wasn't all that different
for all that. It probably didn't hurt to be in the fourth row to get that
down-home Phishin' feel, but everyone in the place seemed to be grooving 
regardless of their seats.

The show started sort of theatrically, with Fishman coming on first to a 
darkened stage into a dramatic overhead spotlight and picking up a drum 
beat for about 30 seconds or so (I thought it might be David Bowie, but
Lee pegged it as Maze right away). Then Mike came on, lit by his own spot, and 
joined in (though his bass seemed kind of low). Next Page came on with the 
little keyboard thing under his own spot. Finally, Trey made his big
entrance (in his usual humble and unassuming way), and they kicked into Maze full 
swing. It was a killer opener and bade well for the whole evening. We know 
that a lot of people were re-e-e-a-l-l-l leery about seeing Phish at the 
Orpheum, just because it is SO far from the usual size of venue they play
and with pretty strict seat nazis (all assigned seating, too). But despite
that, it was just like any other Phish show... just bigger! It might even have been 
better, because there was about four times the amount of energy in the 
room, simply because SOOOOOO many people were SOOOOOO into the show.

The security, even though strict, really wasn't too bad. They mostly kept 
people with inferior tickets from getting down front (annoying in itself,
but understandable given the lack of dance space anywhere) and kept the aisles 
clear enough for people to walk. The only real dance space in the place
was in the balcony/mezzanine area, but security was pretty serious about 
keeping people from dancing there Q apparently the balcony isn't too well 
constructed, and any kind of massive vibration could bring the whole thing 
crashing down. Which would, indeed, have been a bummer.

The night was all Page. Mike had a kickin' solo during You Enjoy, and Trey 
was his usual peripatetic self, but Page had solos (and damn good ones at 
that) in almost every song. His closing piece for Squirming coil was 
EXTREMELY extended, and Mike and Trey even joined in for a little while. 
Page, however, was playing with his eyes closed in that transcendental
"Page State," and probably wouldn't have noticed if the balcony had come
crashing down. Page was hot last night, and the band knew it, so they let him rip.
I wouldn't be surprised if they added the Suzie encore as an afterthought,
just because it encompasses some of Page's finest moments on both piano and 
organ. Of which he used both.

Now let's talk Chris Curoda. Wow. That boy was just in Candyland last
night, with his new digital lighting board, TWO light trees just dripping with
the top o' the line nifty stuff, four strobes, some VERY powerful banks of 
multicolored floor lights in the wings of the stage and a Minkin of which
he could take the fullest advantage since NYE at the New Aud. Lee has stopped 
listening to music with his eyes closed because of this man. Though Chris
is ALWAYS on, truly the fifth member of Phish, following every change and 
twist of the music. But he was REALLY on last night. The only problem was 
that, despite the size of the venue, the power couldn't handle Phish's 
equipment. At one point during the climax of Tweezer Reprise, the band was 
jamming full out, and Chris hit ALL the lights, and suddenly the sound
died (or at least dropped with a huge CRACK). So he shut off some of the back 
lights, and things were restored within a second or two. Lee claims to
have heard some distortion in the mix when the band really cranked up, so maybe 
their equipment wasn't quite up to the challenge of a place that size,
either.

NAHHHHHH!

Highlights of the show included: An extremely long, wild Split Open; Horn, 
which isn't played too frequently these days despite it being one of
Trey's faves; 2 language signals during My Sweet One (one Simpsons, one fall 
down); A KILLER David bowie with about a five minute camouflage intro; 
Runaway Jim :-) with a really incredible, wild jam; a VERY psychedelic
break in the middle of It's Ice - Hadn't heard them do THAT one before...; Paul
and Silas in which Lee could clearly hear him saying "Paul and Silas," so that 
should clear up some confusion, for now at least; Page and his spotlight
solo in Squirming Coil; Mike's killer bass solo in YEM and the nutty strobing
(but not TOO much, either); a really long, bizarre vocal jam; Oh Kee Pa -->
AC/DC Bag, which I haven't heard 'em do in quite a while (especialin the SAME 
show with Suzy); Cracklin' Rose with both Cold as Ice AND Hold Your Head 
Up; and a fairly well-behaved bunch during Sweet Adeline (at which point 
Trey said "We've never done that in a room this big. You guys were great.
I'd like to see Metallica try that!").

Well, since most of you have probably stopped reading at this point - if
in fact you ever started - we'll sign off now. So unless you'll be at the
Flynn, we'll see y'all at the H.O.R.D.E.!!!!!!!!!!

-insert exciting and meaningful phish quote here-

Matt and Lee


P.S. Though he KNOWS what Golgi is about, Lee thinks it should be about 
someone trying to pick someone up outside a show: "I saw you, with a
ticket stub in your hand...under the light in the middle of the night, I
couldn't get it wrong, so I had to..." JAM!

Or waiting for a bus.


P.P.S. Sorry for the screwy set list format. MSoft Word 5.0 tables
don't translate well to all text... set one is on the left, 2 on the
right.

-------------------------------------------------
From: Ethan White 
Subject: 5/16/92 show (tape)

5/16/92
Boston-set 2

set list

Runaway Jim
It's Ice
Hall
Squirming Coil
YEM
Horse-->SITM
Oh Kee Pa--->AC/DC Bag
Cracklin' Rose
Poor Heart
Tweezer Rep.
Suzie G.

	This is one of my favorite tapes- I found it in a hole-in-the-wall 
used record store in Boston. It's a pretty mellow show, lots of slow 
rythems, but there are some great things here. On to the set:
RUNAWAY JIM- I really dig this tune, though it doesn't get the attention 
it deserves. The instrumental part at the end builds to a classic Phishy 
crecendo. Very satisfying.
IT'S ICE- Another good tune, though it doesn't have too many places it 
can go. Sounded a bit thin at times (maybe it's just the tape), but very 
tight.
HALL- I'm just not that big a fan of this type of music. I just wait 
until the better things, such as...
TWEEZER- Always love to hear the openning riff! You never know what 
you're in store for! Not too spacey (see Live One version), but a great 
jam. Very together, even when they're playing something the've never 
played before. The tempo seemed a bit slow.
COIL-AAH! Their voices are right on! Sorry, but after listening to the 
Live One version, tuned voices at the opening of this song sounds great! 
Pretty standard intro, but a reeeeaaally nice solo. Page proves his 
divinity in every one of these. Even just playing tonic-fifth, 
tonic-fifth patterns over and over again sound new and beautiful.
YEM- Wow! Tweezer and YEM in the same set?? If only this could happen at 
a show I'm at! The pace is a bit slower than normal, the beginning 
almost ballady.  Then, it just takes off to places unheard of. Turn it 
on midway and you'ld never know it was YEM! Each solo passed brings a 
new idea. Then?? A sweet, sweet bass solo that makes your ears bleed! 
Mike finds so much funk, with Fishman trailing behind him. Then, not 
over yet, but a very interesting voice jam. Lots of voice, not as much 
rythem. Yelling until they sound like they're saying "Froy" over and 
over. They just take off- I can only imagine being there. Great YEM!
HORSE-->SITM.  I think something faster would have been better here 
(just to peel the audience off the floor), but it's still a nice 
standard.
OH KEE PA--> AC/DC BAG. What next??Every asks during Oh Kee Pa. AC/DC! I 
love this song!! (only seen it live once- at that amazing gift they gave 
us at Great Woods '94). Ends in "You're as cold as Ice" riff. 
CRACKLIN' ROSE. It's too low! You can't sing down there, so don't try! 
Sloppy.
POOR HEART. Funny, nothing too interesting though.
TWEEZER REPRISE. After, Trey says, "I'd love to see Metallica try that!"
SUZIE- classic closer. Screems at pauses!
A great set- see you all at UMASS!
Ethan
efwhite@amherst.edu

------------------------------

From: "Alan S. Ferrency" 
Subject: Boston 5-16
Reply-To: af1x+@andrew.cmu.edu
Date: Thu, 28 May 1992 14:51:07 GMT

Hello there.  I've been out of town for a few weeks, and when I was
there (out of town) I saw Phish at the orpheum on the 16th.  I lost all
the phish-net messages posted before the 20th I believe.  If anyone has
saved any messages having to do with that show, I'd greatly appreciate a
copy.

I saw a couple of tapers at the show (at least 3).  Were any of them on
the net?  Do they want to start a tree?

I hadn't seen Phish for a long time before the boston show, and to tell
you the truth, I was a bit disappointed with "the scene" that's building
up around Phish.  The show and the music was great, but I really could
have done without the multitudes of hip people looking for tickets,
smoking dope in the theate, and even selling some stuff after the show.

They didn't want people to dance on the balconies.  Sure, whatever.  My
friend stood still for a bit and felt the balcony bouncing up and down
with the dancing.  Sheesh.


-me

------------------------------
Date: Mon, 3 Feb 1997 15:06:07 -0500 (EST)
From: Jonathan Epstein 
Subject: 5/16/92

5/16/92 - Orpheum Theater, Boston, MA

What a dreadful experience. This is easily the worst show I ever saw.
For 2 1/2 years I had gotten very used to getting tickets day of the show,
getting right up against the stage. Maybe I was spoiled, but I was forced
to stay in the balcony of this big theater. (Usually not a complaint if
the theater is the size of Somervile Theater.) Not only that, ushers were
shining lights on you if you stood up or dare to dance.
And the new tunes. I hated them. Too radio-friendly for my tastes

Only highlight for me, was the Oh-Kee-Pa -> AC/DC Bag.

I would not see Phish again for another 51 weeks, this show was so bad. I
was that tunred off from the band.