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From: "Alek Grabinski, SC1-32, 765-2151 - KOKUSAI RELATIONS" 
Subject: Catalyst Comments   4-19-92

Wow.

Wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow.

No setlist, but the Catalyst show (4/19/92) was absolutely INCENDIARY!

I thought I hated strobe lights until the Mike's Song which had them from
beginning to end - faster, slower, faster - all the while Trey and Mike
bouncing on the tramps in perfect unison and balance while torturing their
instruments in ecstatic tones.  I Am Hydrogen was rendered from the floor,
Trey's hightop keeping time.  I think Trey's guitar died in the middle of
Weekapaug, but they "YEM'd" their way through until it revived.  Chalkdust
was electric.  Mango was as clean as it sounds on PON.  My first Curtain
opened the second set - yow! Sleeping Monkey, Reba, Cavern, Golgi, Maze,
Knife, My Sweet One - everything tight with the sharp edge of insanity
lurking behind every chord change...

Why do I work?  Why can't I be a tourist?

Alek

ps - Henry's party was a blast.  Whaddaya think, Overland opening for 
Phish on future Bay Area dates?
 
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From: rafael@cats.ucsc.edu (David Konerding)
Subject: phish at catalyst
Date: 21 Apr 92 17:02:43 GMT


        Wow... I mean, wow!

        I'd never heard Phish before the show on the 19th, purposefully, 
so that I could enjoy the Phish live experience with no preconceptions of 
their music.  All I expected was "killer jams" and an "intense crowd".

        Got both!  From the *moment* they took the stage to the moment
they left, everybody I saw at the Catalyst was bouncing, dancing, grinning and
laughing (and hugging in between songs).  From a vantage point ten feet 
from the stage directly between Trey and Mike, I could see the people who
were obviously the biggest fans: some folks who tour with Phish (I don't
know what to call them) who the band *knew* personally and sang to.  They
were definitely stoked, as were the rest of the people in the crowed.

        I've never ever seen a more intense show in my life!  I've never
heard jams so good or watched a light show so well orchestrated.  I've
seen the Dead (who many people compare Phish to, for some reason) and
basically, the Dead (who I used to worship, but three days ago) look like
six old guys who can play a little compared to Phish.  I cannot express
*how good* this show was; good enough that I'll be seeing them every time
they're within a hundred miles of me.

        I can't possibly describe the show, because my memory of the event 
is mostly of happy emotions and not of specific events.  I do remember
clearly Trey's head bobbing (it NEVER stopped) and thinking that Mike
looked like Sylvester Stallone, with absolutely no interest on his face
for most of the show.  Cameroon looked pretty bored and I couldn't figure
out if Trey was just joking around with him on stage or if he was angry at
him (later Cameroon was carried around the floor, which tripped some folks
out!).  Nevertheless, Trey just *spaced* on everything but the music.  he
and the keyboardist have some sort of telepathic link, and Mike and the
drummer also have some sort of link.  Somewhere in the second set, Mike
and the drummer were lit up in yellow, and Trey and the keyboardist were
lit up in red, and the red folks were playing their own jam while the
yellow folks played theirs- while over a period of a minute they quickly
turned the two jams into ONE!  That *blew me away*!  Music like this, I
think, has never been seen before but now that Phish has shown it can be
done other groups are going to struggle to catch up. 
        I like the crowd, the band, the music, everything.  Easily the
best show I've ever seen... I can't wait til they're around here again!

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