4.12 Stars.

This is the second of two nights in Parksville, NY. The Giant Country Horns (GCH - Dave Grippo, Russell Remington, and Carl Gerhard) joined them for July 1991. This show was among one of the first batches of tapes that I ever collected.

A great one two punch to start the show. Cavern > Divided Sky. They play Cavern with gusto. It’s somewhat uncommon for them to start a show with this song. A clean version, as is Divided Sky. Trey was getting monster Divided sustain on his guitar for these shows. Gualah Papyrus is the third song. This show was performed while they were in the process of recording “A Picture of Nectar”, which can really be noticed in this performance of Gualah (as well as Cavern), it could have been recorded in a studio. They were new songs. For me, the first four Electra albums they released are the most unique progressive rock albums of the nineties. I also think many of the songs they do on this tour are more cut and dry renditions because of the addition of a horn ensemble. It’s a fair amount of material learn. Poor Heart is after that, followed by SOAM, also a fairly straight forward rendition. Although I keep using terms like “clean” and “straight forward”, I don’t mean it’s boring. Their playing is great! Nice piano by Page on Lizards. Next is the Landlady. This tune sounds great with the GCH! That time and once again I’m Bouncing Around The Room. A bright version with long horn notes. We are then entranced. This is one of my favorite BATR’s of all time! Then they launch into Mike’s Groove. Even if I don’t particularly feel like a Mike’s, if they start into that riff, it instantly captivates. It’s such a bad ass riff! Phish heads will know what I’m talking about. The Weekapuag Groove to close the set is freakin’ smokin’! This is one of my favorite Weekapuag’s of all time. They all nail it. “Thank you we’ll be right back, relax, go over to Maggie and get some food. Don’t go away.”

Tweezer to open the second set. This is another earlier version of a song that was recorded for Picture of Nectar. The studio version of this song is my favorite version. The best way to describe Tweezer: A launching pad. I just love it. This is a fine early incarnation of the song with an interesting horn line and solo work by GCH. A great take on I Didn’t Know follows with a quick little vacuum solo. Then they do superb versions of Runaway Jim, Lawn Boy (with great trumpet solo by “Gears” Gearhard), and Sloth. The Sloth is a favorite that has become more and more of a rarity these days. I think a lot of earlier songs (that I would love to hear at shows these days) like this have become uncommon simply because the band has amassed a massive amount of other material to play. After that is Esther. This is another one of my favorite songs. A tragedy that started quite happy when it was first written. Listen to the original version of Esther from 9/12/88 at Sam’s Tavern. I guess it just wasn’t dark enough for Trey. I’ve always felt that Phish has a colorful happy exterior, but a closer examination of their music reveals a dark side, (especially with their earlier material). Esther is a great example of this. Next we get down with the AC/DC Bag, Mike serenades us with a great version of Contact, and Tweezer is reprised with some rocking horns!

Encore 1: An early Gumbo. And Touch Me. A song specifically performed only at the GCH shows.

Encore 2: Fee and Suzy Greenberg finish the second encore. That Stevo guy throws down on a “what ever the hell you call that thing” solo during Suzy.

I think this is one of the better GCH shows. Well worth picking up.

This Arrowhead Ranch campout weekend was amazing and of the two days, this was the slightly better of the two sets. Both days had a "Jazzy" vibe and there was a guy with a washboard who looked absolutely awesome on stage. Steve-O, (the one man dixieland Band). My tent was just up the hill from the stage and there was a pool across the street and on the last day, while swimming around in the hot sun, Trey and Band all jumped in for a swim.

This is my first review for the site, so I might as well start with the launching point for my new phase of phandom. I attempted to get into Phish last year after a successful bout with the Dead, but it ultimately went off by the wayside after a few months. Looking back, I’ve noticed by interest in this fantastic group seems seasonal, so I’d better enjoy it while the weather is good. I also realize now that skipping track to track isn’t the way to do it, so I dug up this show and dove in headfirst.
This show is both a great education (or re-Neducation, in my case) in Phish’s style and an awfully fun time overall. Their playing sticks closely to the raw days of early 1.0 and Type I jamming, but the band is so tight and composed that it doesn’t matter (The quality of the tape is top-notch as well, by the way).While spacey and exploratory jams are more to my liking, I can’t deny the overwhelming quantity of joy this show filled me with, nor the laps around the yard it made me partake in. Find this show!

HIGHLIGHTS:

Cavern-Nice, fun, and bouncy- a good start to the adventure.

Divided Sky-YES!!! Maybe it’s because this was my first encounter with the song, but I found this to be a very beautiful piece and performance, and look forward to future renditions.

Mike’s>Hydrogen>Weekapaug-Very crazy and rocking. I dig it.

Tweezer-A rocker in its own right, the addition of the Giant Country Horns allows this one to take off. Sounds like a Zappa studio cut. Groovy.

Honorable Mentions: Guelah Papyrus, The Lizards, I Didn’t Know, Esther, Contact- These were just fun songs. That’s all I really have to say about that.

This show is one of the shows I had on tape that got me into Phish in high school. I didn't realize it at the time, but a rare Cavern opener, followed by a great Divided Sky and the "extended dance version" of Guelah Papyrus and this show was off and rolling. The horns add a great dynamic to round out the sound, and this is an absolute gem of a show that I'd recommend to anyone.

Really fun show with tight, energetic playing. Anytime the band shares the stage with the GCH is a treat. I think I'd vote the night before to be just a hair superior musically speaking, but it's very close.

"Anybody wanna buy some used equipment?"

one of the best phish shows in my opinion as far as playing with excitment and tight too

(Published on the legacy Phish.net site 7/11/97...)

hey there ,heres my version of what i can remember of 7/21/91 ,ill try to keep it simple,.....7/21/91 in nystate at a place called arrowhead ranch with g-c-horns & Stevo on percussionboard/washboard-setup,a highly circulated tape does exist amongst phish heads, 1st set went like this; tweezer,i didnt know,run away jim,lawn boy,scoth,ester,ac/dc bag..........2nd set; contact,tweezer reprise,....plus+ > Stevo : gumbo, touch me, fee, suzy greenberg. i will say this much, it was a rompin two sets of big fun ,especially the last 4 songs w/Stevo sittin in!!!

wonderin who stevo is: try this url>

http://www.webspan.net/~calcagne />

Crispy dSBD recording for this show.

Things open up with a spunky Cavern. A flawless Divided Sky follows. Nice transition into Guelah. There’s a long pause after The Asse Festival. Caused from some technical difficulties. Fish says “anyone wanna buy some used equipment?” “We gotta fine boogie mason amplifier here!” This set was one of my first boots back in the day and I always got a kick out of that comment in the middle of Guelah! Afterwards Trey says “the extended dance version there!” Chunky Mike’s Groove to wrap up set 1!

A gorgeous Tweezer kicks off the second half. The “Sultan of Swat”delivers a fun vac solo for I Didn’t Know. Solid Jim. I just love Lawn Boy with the trumpet! Sloth and Esther are played flawlessly. Bag has a fiery little jam that segues nicely into Contact. A high energy Tweezer Reprise closes out set 2. David Graham gets the crowd pumped up for more Phish before the encore. Trey takes a moment to plug the Trans Continental Bike Tour in support the Children’s Wish Foundation. He also invites everyone out to Amy’s Farm. “255 acres, swimming!” Gumbo features Steve-O on whatever you call that thing. Great version! Touch Me works great as a follow up. The Suzy to end the show is fantastic! Trey says “have you seen juniors grades?” again.