From: Charlie Dirksen
12/1/94 Salem Armory, Salem, OR (Rvwd 1/95) DAMN! This is a great version of Tweezer, but what are especially great
are the segues into Norwegian Wood (no vocals, just tease), BBFCFM, Makisupa, and yes, NICU. The segue into NICU out
of Makisupa makes this set worth getting at all costs, with the great Jesus Just Left Chicago and Harry as bonuses. Anyway,
this Tweezer is definitely above average, but certainly not one of the VERY best all-around Tweezers in my opinion. The
opening segment is pounded out, with some great exaggerated screeching from you know who, and some funky organ from the
Chairman of the Boards. The jam segment takes a little while to really get going, starting off very laid back and groovy for
awhile. Page tools around with the funky organ sound. Trey and Mike aren't really there.. well, they are, but they are tooling
around, too, not taking center stage or anything. By the 7 min mark, everyone starts jamming at a higher level than before, and
the jam develops into a classic Tweezer kickass groove. By the 10 min mark, the jam is still in this mold, but kinda mellows and
drops back down a level. It's great, but by this I mean average. A min later, the "jam" gets spacey, with Fish keeping the beat,
but very quietly. It gets overwhlemingly psychedelic at this point, and I'm reminded of Bangor. Lots of off-key stuff. Just after
the 12 min mark the jam dives into a strong starts and stops, which doesn't sound that cool, though. Fish does some great
animal noises, which adds a bit of levity to this version at this point (as is much needed). By the 14 min mark, the jam takes on a
hard core knock em upside the head f*ck you turn, which eventually goes from sounding shitty to sounding cool, and Trey
finally starts doing some great lead jamming o'er the top. At 15 and a half or so, the jam drops back down a level, and starts
sounding very dark, eerie, and soupy (fuuuuussssion). More noises from Fish (at least I think it's Fish). By min 18, the jam hits a
very spacey plateau, similar to the one at Bangor, with nothing going on except beautiful sustain. There could honestly be a
Vibration of Life at this point, but one doesn't come. By nearly min 20, Trey starts gently soloing with Page, and Mike just
sustains in the background. WOW! By just before min 22, Trey breaks into a little Norwegian Wood (Beatles) teasing jam,
which everyone joins in on for a few bars. It is slow, groovy, and lyricless, so don't get excited you Beatles freaks. Just before
min 23, it segues nicely into BBFCFM (you have to hear it to believe it.. it does segue nicely). This short BBFCFM has Trey
and Fish talking amongst Mike's typical babble, making it a more fun version than most I've heard by far. By min 26 and a half
or so the BBFCFM jam starts seguing (also dreamily) into Makisupa, which is also fairly short, and which also, for the first
"verse", is off key. It sounds pretty lame, actually, in this weird key, but when they switch over to the real key it's great ... it's too
bad they didn't do more with it when it was in the proper key. Fish makes a "Bloody Well Right" (Supertramp, I think) remark
during it. SHIT!! Soon after min 29 or so, Makisupa segues -- in one of the best segues I've heard, or at least one of the most
enjoyable -- into NICU! NICU is standard (well.. quick), and by min 33 and a half or so it segues into a Tweezeresque jam
that kicks! The segue into Tweezer contains a severe Guyute tease from Trey, and the jamming itself really swings and coasts.
The Tweezer theme itself doesn't CLEARLY return until after min 36, but the post NICU jam is clearly in Tweezer mode. This
final closing jam is tasty, but, alas, extremely short, and Jesus Just Left Chicago nicely segues into play within 30 seconds or so..
DAMN! This set is must-have, in my opinion, just because everything is really well jammed. The portions of Tweezer, which
when combined total about 25 minutes, are great, but, alas, are in Bangor's league moreso than 7/6/94 or 5/7/94. Just waaaay
too much 'experimentation' (with no jamming) goes on in this version. If I had to rate JUST the alleged Tweezer portions, I'd
give this a 5.5 .. its above average (average is great), but it isn't one of the Finest versions IN ITSELF (B-). What is so sweet
about this Tweezer is that, as an experience, it is just amazing! The segues into Makisupa and NICU are just so damn precious,
and then the segue out of NICU into a Tweezer closing jam was enlightening, too! Unlike Bangor, I will give this Tweezer a
rating, because Bangor was definitely MORE experimental, and also didn't contain such groovy segues. I'd have to give this
whole experience a 7.0 .. above average, given its originality, length, and general feel, but what made it special were (ironically)
the segues into OTHER tunes (B+). (the segues kick Bomb Factory, but the Tweezer doesn't stack up in itself to Bomb's,
especially the ending of the Tweezer jam at Bomb .. which is Spectacular) Oh yeah.. the Tweezer Reprise at this Salem show
was standard.