From: Charlie Dirksen
12/14/95 Broome Cty Forum, Bingham@$^#Ptto#@n, NY A few comments about this show, because I think it is one of
the best of the year (even if you weren't in the front row, and didn't have Trey talk to you in front of thousands of people about
your "Brother" sign before the encore, right, Mr. Nooter?). The first set has a much better list than the vast majority of 1995
shows, even though it opens with Suzy and Llama. Unlike some of you, I thought it was an excellently played and well-jammed
set, and without question above the average level of intensity for a 1995 set (I haven't heard every 1995 show, but I've heard
most of them). The second set, though, is inarguably one of the greatest sets of Phish of the year. I hesitate to say in Phishtory,
since there are just soooo many similar excellent sets out there, particularly from 1993 and 1994. The jams surrounding NICU,
not to mention the Tweezer&Timber Hose, are fantastic, and the Slave is astoundingly gorgeous taboot (coming after a piano
solo from Page, and some mellow melodious noodling from Mike). Part of the magnificence of this show, of course, is that it
sounds fantastic!!! The mix is excellent, with Mike just as prominent as Fish and Page and Trey. I'd refuse a cleanly digital
soundboard -- the DAUDs from Schoeps (or AKGs, B&Ks, Neumanns, Sennheisers, Tascams, KOAs, etc.) for even the first
five gens should be very good. The low gens SHOULD be amazing. I encourage everyone to seek this show!! (but not from
me, because I'm too busy dubbing for others at this time) Tweezer immediately starts up after a fiercely inspired Curtain. The
opening is standard, although admittedly powerful. Tempo is normal. The pre-Ebeenzer segment contains some funky clavinet
from Page, and some snappy notes from Mike (whom, I might add, is prominent in this crispy daud-1), but nothing special. No
screaming on Ebeneezer.. (again! I think they want US to scream) Jam segment at 4:23 (a few seconds prior to normal for
1994-5). The opening of the jam is akin to many of the Fall openings, with strong interplay by the band, and not that much from
Trey. He appears to be working with the others on theme possibilities, but is not exploring any especially new territory on his
own. I want to reiterate how amazing the quality of the Binghamton tapes are, and how crisply and clearly every instrument
shines through (thanks, Schoepps.. and the Forum!). It is 7:26 now, and the jam segment is still cruising along in typically
Tweezeresque fashion, with no glaring theme jams that move me especially. Your run of the mill kickass Tweezer jam. Trey is in
the low reaches of the doc for the most part around 8 minutes, chording with strength, but begins around 8:30 to explore higher
octaves, and noodle a bit more cleverly than before. Still, no awe-inspiring themes, until at 9:30, Trey just starts playing Timber
Ho. The cool part of this is that Fish doesn't change the beat from Tweezer to Timber ho for about 25 seconds.. this segue in
here is GROOOOOOVY! Trey's into the first verse by 10:10, second verse by 10:30.. it is all Timber Ho in here, as you've
heard it before this Fall (and at Sugarbush last summer.. WEEEEEE-HOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!). When the jam segment of
Timber Ho kicks in, around 11 mins, the boyz are still in Timber Ho mode, not hinting Tweezer in the least. Trey is low on the
'doc, preciously noodling and sustaining, and Fish is pounding out the tom-tom accentuated rhythm of Ho. Mike and Page are
hanging in there, ingeniously accompanying Trey's gorgeous soloing. This is a very melodious Timber Ho jam!! By the time Trey
starts rippin' in the upper octaves (and employing the Leslie watery-psychedelic guitar effects for maximum gloriousness),
around 13:40 ish, the jam gets a bit crazy, and then at 14:30 or so, segues curiously back into Tweezer, with Fishman kicking in
the Tweezer rhythm around 14:50. A warped but delightful segue back into the Tweezer jam segment! Typical Tweezer groove,
until 15:30ish, when Page jumps on the clav, and starts jazzily funking. Trey is performing tweezeresque grooves, until 16:45,
when he just completely loses it, trilling voraciously, and the True Hose begins!!!! A FANTASTIC HOSE JAM ERUPTS, that
is reminscent of the 11/30/95 Tweezer, and which every Tweezer jam segment ought to contain! Fish is pounding out a
rapid-fire beat, and Page and Mike magnificently ROCK with Trey.. This hose madness is still going on around 19 mins.. at
19:20, though, the jam begins to get repetitive and slow down (almost a start/stop sort of mode in here.. almost), gently falling
into semi-spaciness by 20 minutes (with repetitive notes/chords from everyone, except Fish, who decides to keep this more
interesting by quietly revisiting that same rapid 4/4 that occurred during the Hose). Around 21 mins, though, Fish drops that and
gets creative. The jam in here is very Gin-like in its chaotic complexity.. nothing consistent. Haphazard. Until again, at 21:50 or
so, Fish kicks in a quick rhythm as if to say "Let's kick some butt again!!!!" But no. Trey is still jazzily 'doc-pickin', with chords
here and there, on a theme of his own peculiar genius. Jam quiets down gently around 22:30.. and gets more and more quiet
and mellow, with minimal notes from everyone (Trey is repetitively hitting some chords..). An extraordinarily BLLLLAAAAAH
ending, in my opinion.. still slowing down (somewhat akin in the dying-out- of-the-tweezer jam sense of Olde, but without the
theme that that ending typically employed.. at all). Keyboard Army at 24:20 or so. I thought the last 5 minutes of this Tweezer
were much too haphazard and chaotic to warrant a 10.0.. the HOSE that occurred in the midst of the jam segment, out of the
excellent Timber Ho jam, was TITANIC, and is assuredly Must Hear. This version as a whole, though, did not move me nearly
as much as 11/30/95, or even some of the other Tweezers that I've rated highly, because this HOSE was preceded by
excellence, only to be followed by themeless interplay. Plus the pre-Timber Ho jam contained nothing of any merit (was just
straightforward balls to the wall Tweezer jamming, which I love, of course, but I'm supposed to be critically comparing this with
other versions). This is still a well-above average Tweezer without question, and I'd recommend it over, say, all of the Fall '95
versions I've heard outside of 10/22 and 11/30. 10/22 has a really gorgeous almost "Montana" (see ALO) like groove in it, that
my soul is mightily moved by, although it admittedly doesn't contain the same HOSE as 11/30 and this version. It is simply that
this version didn't contain any awe-inspiring "teary eyed" themes for me. It nonetheless is easily one of my top ten favorite
Tweezers, given the HOSE ... I'd rather listen to this than Bomb Factory, and well, Bomb Factory really belongs in the
Experimental category, and I should never have rated it. 9.0 for this version (I don't think it bests 11/30, although it almost
does). pax tecum, Dr. Chandrewsekhar