Search - Phish :: Live Phish Vol. 20: 12/29/94, Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island

A review for the casual fan...

Daniel Mullen | 08/20/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Keep in mind that I have not quite earned the right to call myself a Phish Phan; I am merely a casual listener who cut his teeth on the Grateful Dead and am just beginning to dive into the sea of Live Phish.I purchased A Live One a few weeks back. Actually I re-purchased it, I had owned it once before but never gave it a thorough listen to and wound up selling it a few years back.That album was great, but it didn't quench my thirst for some new live music, so I picked up few sets from the Live Phish series. Volume 20 was one of those sets.While there are certainly some high points on the disc, the disc also contains some parts that are just downright troublesome for me. The most notorious being the several minutes of whistles and calls for Lassie toward the end of David Bowie. They turned an otherwise intense improv into a bad joke. I could barely finish out the song. Crackin' Rosie, however, is a great joke, and the band effortlessly walks the fine line betwen musical genius and parody. Good Times, Bad Times is right on. Sleeping Monkey is kind of out there; but how else would they end such a bizarre show?"

I lost my mind just a couple of times that evening in Prov..

Daniel Mullen | Boston | 06/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"yeah, I was there but it was only my 3rd show and have little memory of it. We all know this show is worth buying for the Bowie alone, so I won't repeat the obvious. I would like to point out, however, that while there aren't any particularly standout improv moments besides Bowie, there are some really tight versions of other songs that serve as good '94 reference material. I'm not a huge fan of Runaway Jim these days, but this opener is a fun jam - listen closely for the "Dueling Banjos" tease that Trey plays VERY slowly - and not only is the jam fun, but the segue into Foam is killer...and the Foam is AWESOME. I mean, just listen to Trey's jazzy, scat-like guitar work during the quiet part of the jam. Good stuff.The Uncle Pen is very tight and it's good to hear a mid-90s version on a crispy soundboard. The Possum rages too, with some evil chords from Trey right before the orgasm. In set 2, I thought the Lizards was just about as solid and energetic as it gets. Great piano solo from Page. Good Times Bad Times is also killer, with a great tease of another Zepp tune in there. And in the encore you gotta love the acoustic bluegrass rendition of Long Journey Home...their vocal harmony is great here. I feel Page's vocal peak was in the mid-90s...not like that was the only thing that peaked in the mid-90s...Summing up, yes you must listen to the Bowie until you can hear it in your sleep because it is one of the best head-trips ever provided by these guys - but don't overlook the overall tightness of the show as a whole. Guyute fans beware, though, this early version is pretty rough around the edges..."

DAVID BOWIE!!!!

scott | Lansing, MI | 05/22/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The David Bowie song is frikin awesome!
Id would spend [the amount] just for that one song!!
Why? Because Phish is just awesome and I cant even describe it.
Only fans of these guys would know it.
Sorry to the people who don't know much about Phish cause this review probably won't help you too much.
Alright Peace out"