From: Scott Mitchell Rothman 
Subject: phish review- Cleveland

Friday Dec. 8
Cleveland State Univ. Convocation Center

After a three hour, snow-filled drive from Ann Arbor, we made it to 
downtown Cleveland.  We had been spoiled with great shows in Kalamazoo 
and Chicago, so we were anxious to see what was in store for us tonite!

First set:

Sample: As always, standard.  I do like this song, but it is not an 
exciting show opener.

Poor Heart: Again, nothing much to it.  We had heard they were doing a 
new, slow version of this song, but this was the same old "ho-down" Poor 
Heart that seems to always follow Sample around.

Simple: That cool opening riff always brings a smile to my face, but I'd 
rather see this open the set.  They jammed it out nicely at the end 
keeping it very tight.

Runaway: Trey came up big here- great placement.  Runaway is great set 
opener, but this was perfect.  This was a great version.  They've been 
playing Runaway to perfection this tour, and this was no exception.  The 
hard, tight jamming was all there, but this had an interesting  mellowness 
(if that's a word) to it.  The bassy jam after the second verse was 
especially on the quiet side, which made Trey's return seem even more 
explosive.  Great segue into...

Fluffhead: I love those opening chords... you just know you're in for 15+ 
minutes of phun!  This was a nice Fluffhead.  Great spot in the set, and 
full of the smoothest changes.  The highlight was the jam at the end, 
which went far longer than any other Fluff I've seen.  The mellow ending 
is the perfect segue into...

Ice: Time for Page!!  I love his voice on this song.  The middle jam was 
amazing, Page was on fire!  Fishman did a little dance standing on his 
drum stool that got the crowd laughing.  Always terrific live, this Ice 
did not disappoint.  All of a sudden, a fairly bland beginnig was turning 
into a nice set.

Acoustic Army:  A good breather.  Too many people talking though.  At one 
point, a group of what sounded like eighth-grade girls yelled 
collectively, "SPARKLE!!" 

Prince Caspian:  This song has got to go.  No jam.  The same line is sung 
like fifty times.  It reminds me of a song from a Disney movie.

GTBT:  They dedicated this one to the guy in leopard skin pants at the 
Rock N Roll hall of fame which is in Cleveland.  The place was bouncin 
all over the place during this one.  Nice, energeitc set closer.  My first.


Second Set:

2001: I love this song.  And this version was by far the best I've ever 
heard, even on tape.  It was really long.  The middle part was drawn out 
well, and it totalled about seven or eight minutes.  Talk about getting 
fired up!  Seguinto.....

Tweezer:  A good version thanks to the Kung they jammed through in the 
middle.  A bit too long for my tastes.  I saw a 35 minute version at 
Jones Beach over the summer, and that was enough for a while.  

Love You:  Fishman's turn.  Standard vaccuum.

HYHU: Always fun, always the same. 

Coil:  Surprising placement.  I was convinced that this would close the 
set, as it usually does.  A nice, long Page piano solo.  This is always 
one of my favorite parts of the show.  The guys start to walk back on, 
page takes a bow...

Tweezprise:  Disappointing to see the set end so quickly, I thought.  It 
seemed like only minutes ago they wee still playnig Tweezer.  Good, tight 
version, though.  Then...

Antelope:  Wow, I was really surprised! Antelope is always an 
adrenaline rush, no matter where it's placed.  This turned out a be a 
fair version, nothing like Halloween.  I now was sure the set was over, 
and it was.


Encore: 

Come Together:  Trey dedicated this to special friend out there (John 
Lennon we guessed) and we thought that this was the first time they were 
playing this one.  They sounded great.  Trey's voice sounded exceptional 
and they even jammed it out well.  Great show, we thought, then...

Day In The Life:  Real nice.  Page sounded so much like McCartney.  Third 
time I've seen it, so it wasn't that special.

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Overall:  Decent show.  Nothing exceptional.  Started off weak but picked 
out big time in mid- first set.  Runaway>Fluff>Ice run was perfect and 
Good Times was a nice surprise.  
	Second set was average, interseting choices though.  It's good to 
see that thery're mixing things up.  2001 was still highlight of set for 
me, along with Kung.  Well, next stop.... MSG!!!


Scott Rothman
rothmans@umich.edu

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From: Jim T 
Subject: Re: phish reviews 12/8/95 CSU Convecation Center Cleveland

OK  why not.  Here ya go:

We arrived and made a quick trip thru one of the parking lots where some of
the Phishheads had gathered in the cold, and I realized that I was one of
the oldest in the crowd. Upon entering CSU Convocation Center, I further
realized anyone my age there WAS with their kids.  Geez do I have Peter Pan
syndrome?

I did not expect a Dead experience, nor did I want one.  Why the media
insists on comparing these two bands is beyond me.  I mean, let's talk
about the similarities between an apple and an orange.  Now I can't give a
song by song review of the show but I can give my thoughts on my phirst
Phish show.

I enjoyed the first set.  I liked their tribute to the R&R HOF, Zeppelin's
'Good Times, Bad Times'   The second set started with theTheme from 2001.
I always thought that Deodata's disco version of this was pretty cheesy,
but Phish's treatment of this tune was awesome, with great lighting!  A
great start to the second set.  They  did Tweezer, Squirming Coil, Run Like
an Antelope (With the Brady Bunch Theme in the intro) and a wild vacuum
cleaner solo (although I thought the purple and pink polka dot jumper dress
was a bit much.  I don't think Fishman has the body for that style dress)
I was impressed with the musicianship of these guys.  Some of their music
has some difficult intricacies to it.  Very enjoyable stuff.  And how can
you gowrong with a band that plays Beatles.  The encore tribute to Lennon
on the anniversary of his death was impressive.  (Come Together & A Day in
the Life)  Not my last show.

Oh, and my brother-in -law and I picked the same chess move as the audience!