AL83@delphi.com 

6-28-95 - Jones Beach Amphitheater - Wantagh, New York
 
well, well, well... here we are on my home turf of loooowwnng iwsland... and
what a show ladies and gentleman, what a show! despite the infamous Jones Beach
security getting in and out was a breeze compared to Waterloo... in fact it was
much quicker tonight than in previous years... 45 minutes or so as opposed to
the expected hour plus traffic.
 
before the show my friends and i wandered through the parking lot sampling kind
delecicies and other goodies whipped up by the tour heads... one of my friends
has a broken nose with a big ol' cast type thing on it... he went off looking
for someone and when he returned there was something written across the bridge
of his nose in simple handwriting: Mike. he met up with the main man riding his
bike around the lot... i shall meet Mike, i shall meet Mike... i SHALL meet Mike
yet...
 
the band kicked into drive with a screaming Axilla part 2... it got the half
tour head/half teeny bopper, lacrosse hat wearing, non-Phish listening crowd
into a dancing frenzy... a meandering Foam was up next; it started off with
energy petered out for a bit after Page's solo (he was ON tonight - they all
were, but especially Page) and eventully was brought up again by Trey... then
came FEFY - another song i don't really like... i liked this one... it built and
built perfectly - by the end of the song Trey was soloing intensely and the song
closed... a few bouncy chords began coming from the speakers and the band
launched into Reba... always a treat the jam was concise (for Reba) and tight...
i was a bit upset when they didn't do the whistling/ending but the opening
chords to the next song soon muffled any previous disappointment... PYITE!!!
Second one this tour if i'm not mistaken... mmmm... lemmee tell ya i was
screaming against Wilson with all the rage in my body... it had the standard
Landlady jam inside it... Trey and Mike did a little (mirrored) dance routine
during Page's solo... a totally rivetingly intense Stash dropped from the sky...
i was wondering why they didn't segue it from Punch You... at the end of PYITE
the band moved back into a Landlady-ish jam... Landlady and Stash have the same
vibe - why not segue... anyway, Stash kicked ass! the middle section was what
they were trying to do with Antelope at Waterloo - only they totally pulled it
off here... Page really held the jam together as Trey noodled in some atonal
feedback stuff as he seems so fond of doing recently... an always epic Fluffhead
was next and a wonderful Chalkfust closed out an absolutley stunning set 1.
 
after a brief break (not too long, not too short) the band drove through Sample
to appease the aforementioned stereotypical Long Island crowd... (trust me, my
school is brimmin' with 'em)... a brief Poor Heart... time to TWEEZE!!! a long
melodic Tweezer was in the house - 31 minutes or so - very nice, Page held it
together... Fish hit all of the high notes well and did a great job sustaining
them... at one point (early on 9 minutes approx.) it seemed like they were
moving into Weekapaug Groove territory - which would be cool out of Tweezer -
then Trey busted into some wah-wah funky stuff which seemed like Llama...
finnally Page zeroed in on some jazzy licks which again seemed like something
else - A-Train but a segue it 'twas not to be (yet) they kept going until Trey
started into an oddly played I-IV progression... "spitting in a wishing well,
blown to hell - CRASH! i'm the last splash" - first one since Tweezerphest! the
band vamped the song to a close... some may count it as a segue but i won't
'cause we (audience) could very clearly hearing Trey count off the next song...
"there's a mouse staring out of his window..." Gumbo! wow... things keep getting
better and better... an obligatory Sparkle was right up after... then a
perfectly Page-y Suzy... he really opened up some jazzy jams tonight - he (by
far) wins the band member of the night award... then Harry... a thought that hit
me during Harry was that both Harry and Gumbo are now officially released
songs... this is so weird... H.H. seemed like a song that would never-ever be
put on an offically released CD... the end section climaxed the night very
well... the Tweezer reprise worked even better providing a sense of cosmic
closure to a WONDERFUL second set... because of song selection/placement/lots of
other factors this set as well as show was one of the best i have ever seen or
heard...
 
the encore was a nicely harmonized Sweet Adeline... even Tubbs was in tune! the
tune showcase him - for some odd reason Henrietta just didn't seem animated for
most of the night... While My Guitar Gently Weeps seemed almost a throwaway -
which is sad cuz it was a great poingant version of the song... anyway that's it
for now... hope to see y'all tomorrow night... i'll be wearing my phish.net
shirt (which i just got from Rosemary) black shorts, and a pair of really ratty
green Converse lowtops... say hi to me (or don't)
 
see ya,
 
jesse :)