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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the all-time most cherished and unusual Phish shows, November 30, 2008
I've had an audience version of 2/20/93 as a cherished part of my tape collection since the mid 90s. The Pharmer's Almanac rated it as Phan Pick #3 and I couldn't agree more. Since 2/20/93 (Saturday night) has long been one of those mystical and exalted sparklers, it's a good place for a review to begin. The second set is especially spectacular in an unusual way. Many of the band's songs reference other Phish songs. In addition to 'Mike's Song' featuring a 'Tweezer' bass line, it contains a nod to 'Fluffhead.' It is one of those epic shows that boasts a 'Tweezer' that lasts the duration of the set. Except instead of a straight up 'Tweezer,' it became a monster jam that segued in and out of mini-versions of 'My Mind's Got A Mind Of Its Own,' 'Vibration Of Life,' 'Have Mercy' and many others. The most memorable tune of the thread occurred when Gene Simmons impersonator Jay Von Lehe came out to sing a minute long version of the KISS song 'Rock And Roll All Night.' While the second night is the blockbuster that easily could have been a Live Phish release by itself, the previous and following nights are also a blast. The Friday night show features one of those 'David Bowies' that played 'Moby Dick' bookends. It was Jon Fishman's birthday and unbeknownst to listeners is that he is at one point presented with a Public Enemy style clock. Jimmy Herring (Aquarium Rescue Unit, Phil and Phriends, etc.) plays for a few tunes, but his musical impact is minimal. The first night is a wonderful show that tends to get overshadowed by the next evening's blockbuster. The last two discs of "At the Roxy" feature the Sunday night performance. The last night is wonderful by most standards, but a typical show for the period. The oddity for the evening was the inclusion of local boy Jeff Mosier (Aquarium Rescue Unit, Blueground Undergrass). Joining the band for the debut of 'Pig in a Pen,' he plays banjo on a few tunes. The weekend gave a final nod to Zeppelin with a memorable bluegrass infused rendition of 'Good Times Bad Times.' It seems that the band connected with Mosier, because he toured with Phish the following year and became the band's Bluegrass mentor. On all eight discs, the sound quality is superb. Those who ordered "At the Roxy" from the Phish web page also received a bonus disc of the previous year's performance from Atlanta's Variety Playhouse. As memory serves me, it's the only official release that features an explanation of the secret language. While short, 3/28/92 is a good show that is now marketed as the Roxy prequel. As the story goes, the band couldn't do a full second set since the club was flooded. Before packing up, Phish promised to return to Atlanta with something special. Indeed, the following year's string of Roxy shows proved to be an epic and cherished chapter of Phishlore. Get "At the Roxy" and enjoy a beloved piece of Phishistory.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Phish in a more intimate setting, May 27, 2009
If there has been a band that has had the most success of being an "underground" band, it would have to be Phish. Phish has long had the reputation of being a band with an "open audio taping" policy and as a result they built up a great following - especially as a live act. . In fairness to the quartet, this is a band that produces some of the most innovative music anywhere on the music scene. When Phish comes in for a multi-night engagement, they usually will play separate setlists on each night - thus it is like getting a completely different concert each night. In 1999, Phish released a recording of "Hampton Comes Alive" that covers the two nights they played in Hampton, Virginia back in 1998. "Hampton Comes Alive" is considered to be as good a concert recording as has been released not just Phish - but by any band. In 2008, Phish would release another multi-night live engagement recorded in 1992 from Atlanta's Roxy Theatre entitled "At the Roxy". This recording proves to be another outstanding live recording released by Phish.
There are a couple of differentiators of "At the Roxy" compared to many of the other Phish recordings. First up this is an early recording from Phish's career, so therefore it is going to have much more of an emphasis on material from "A Picture of Nectar" and earlier (with some exceptions - see below). Even from this early 1990s performance, there is no shortage of improvisations and cover songs. The other differentiator is that this concert series was performed in a smaller venue (Roxy Theatre). Many of Phish's other live recordings were done in larger arenas. The fact that Phish performs in smaller venue is very evident to the listener. The intimate setting is very evident on this recording and really helps to enhance the listening experience on
Here are ten thoughts on this concert to support the points above. These are listed in no particular order:
1-There are eight discs to the collection. The first three discs covers the performance from February 19th, 1992, the next three discs cover February 20, 1992, and discs 7 and 8 cover the final night, February 21st, 1992. Pretty much the three nights balance each other out for three solid performances, but I would probably give the second disc a slight nod for overall strength.
2-The nice thing about this collection as opposed to many other live collections from other artists, is that you are getting a complete Phish concert from each night of the show - delivered in the order in which it was performed. I prefer this approach as opposed to a live album that puts together "best of" live performances from several nights on a tour. By showcasing the concert - in its entirety on a single night, you are able to capture the "magic" of the performance for that night. This combined with the intimate setting of these shows really help to enhance to listening experience.
3-In live performances from their earlier years, Phish would become famous for covering songs of other artists - songs that you would never expect them to cover. While the three night engagement doesn't have that "great" cover, it does feature "Rock and Roll All Nite" and a brief cover of Neal Diamond's "Cracklin Rosie". These songs are done with the humor that can only be done by Phish.
4-While this was recorded before the release of 1993's "Rift" album, Phish still provides a glimpse into the future as they perform several selections off this upcoming album. These songs include "Rift", "Maze", "Sparkle", "It's Ice", "Weigh", "The Horse", "All Things Reconsidered", "Horn", and "Silent in the Morning". The last night has the least material from the "Rift" album (only "Horn" is played).
5-The highlight from the first night comes early in that night performance with "Split Open and Melt". In particular I enjoyed how there was great fusion between Page McConnell's keyboards and Mike Gordon's bass work.
6-I never get tired of "Mike's Groove" consisting of the songs "Mike's Groove", "I am Hydrogen", and "Weekapaug Groove". The performance of "Mike's Groove" on night two is as good as any done by Phish and is my overall favorite part of the three-night performance. I particularly like how Phish goes "in and out" of the parts of this song on the second disc. Honorable mentions on this night are "Wilson" and "Cavern".
7-From the third night, there are several standout tracks that are done. I particularly enjoyed "Chalkdust Torture", "Stash", and "Bouncing Around the Room". These are all Phish classics and definitely benefited from the intimate setting.
8-The only song I would have liked to have heard on these three nights would have been a live version of "The Mango Song" (from "A Picture of Nectar").
9-Phish wraps up the three night engagement with an unconventional wrap-up - well maybe unconventional for most artists, but not for Phish. The two songs that close out the third night "At the Roxy" are the traditional folk-ish songs "Paul and Silas" and "Pig in a Pen".
10-The most disappointing thing from this collection is the liner notes. For an eight-disc collection, the fact there is basically nothing in the way of the liner notes is extremely disappointing. While I would have loved a short write-up on the performances at the Roxy, at a minimum I would have liked a track listing in the booklet. There are basically minimal credits listed in the two-page booklet that is provided.
Overall, while I wouldn't put this quite up there with "Hampton Comes Alive", I still rate this in the upper echelon of Phish performances. The fact that all three concerts from the Roxy are included just makes this collection even stronger. Highly recommended.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful shows, poor package., December 25, 2008
Hello, this is my first review on Amazon.com. I live in Italy but i'm in love with Phish since the mid of the '90s and this was my Xmas gift and I'm very happy to hear those shows in a brilliant sound. 1993 is a great period for the band and those gigs are great!! The only disappoint thing, for me, it's the package: 8 paper sleeves with only a 2 page "booklet" and it was a VERY expensive bought for me (about 60 Euros). Well, ok, they are 8 discs but the packaging is 2$ expensive for the band. Uhm. Anyway, great great great great shows !
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