From: Charlie Dirksen
11/3/96 O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida Thanks so much for the tapes, Jim L.!!!!!! Wow. Karl Perazzo certainly
adds an Element, don't he!??? Like West Palm, this is what I'd call an "Easily Above-Average Phish show." First set has some
flaws (in Breathes and Sloth), but the Jim jam segment is excellent, and more importantly, the THEME jam segment is finally
one that I like. The only other Theme jam segment that REALLY moves me is the Lowell 5/16/95 version. In that version as in
this 11/3/96 Theme, Trey is more melodious than he is textural -- he's a lot more interested in playing with a theme or two than
in simply chording along rhythmically and laying down a noisy soup of sounds. Anyway, I love this damn Theme. First one I've
liked since 5/16/95 (well, liked A LOT I should say...). The Divided Sky starts pretty shakily, but the JAM SEGMENT is
AMAZING!!!!! It is truly a WICKED GOOD version of Divided to be heard by all Divided fans. Trey seems to go off along
with Karl... very cool. Wolfman's is jammed out a bit, too, although I don't think it is jammed out as much or as well as the
version from 12/28/96. FWIW, the Divided, Jim, Theme and Possum of this show are much better, imo, than the versions of
the New Year's run (and this Possum isn't THAT great). I realize this isn't saying that much, but, well... Tweezer begins
immediately at Sparkle's conclusion. Tempo is a little bit, just a little, on the slow side. The opening is basically standard outside
of the fact that Karl Perazzo is banging away on Trey's percussion mini-kit. It is in this way a pleasantly groovy opening, but not
terribly kickass and strong, like the Hartford Tweezer, for example. Jam segment begins at 4:36, and there's really just
percussion in the opening and not much from Trey or Mike or Page. But at 5:22
OOOOOOUUUUUU-WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! =^] =^] =^] Now THIS is how to open a kickass Tweezer jam
segment!! Mike comes in with Trey funking phaaaatly on this funky ole tweezeresque lick, which they repeat for awhile...
Around 6:09 Trey starts hitting THAT SAME DAMN NOTE that he oft repeated in the 12/9/95 Albany jam segment (which
excites me I confess).. but he quickly drops it.. and instead starts rhythmically grooving along with Fish and Karl. Mike is just
funking away. Page is pretty much playing typical tweezeresque chords. Trey grooooooooves for a little bit (this sounds
soooooo damn cool, folks) before he breaks out patiently and melodiously soloing around 7 minutes or thereabouts. Fish adds
some great fills! This groove is sooooo damn cool. Those of you impressed by ANYTHING in the Sacramento show. Damn.
You thought THAT SHIT was Funky. This has got to be one of the funkiest, phaaatest, dankiest grooves I've ever heard Phish
soak in. Shit. The ultra-groovy Also Sprach from Sacramento is Barry Manilow next to this.. dig.. Trey's melodious soloing
around 9 minutes is just a patient, easygoing, perfect accompaniment to the ultra-dank groove that Karl, Fish, Mike and Page
are laying down. This damn jam is sooo bewitching and sultry.. Karl's tabla work on the bottom is da-da-da-dank... Trey's
soloing, in all fairness, isn't remarkable, really. He doesn't go ABSOLUTELY CR%Z$#@Y or anything.. no trilling or
machine-gun action... he just loosely lets out these reasonably melodious (not very tweezeresque), genuinely soulfull and
sustained out licks, for the most part. Around 10:39 he picks it up a little as the intensity of the jam increases a notch or two...
but there's quickly a climax and a plateau reached, and Trey is back around 11:15 rhythmically strumming on the 'doc looooow,
hanging with his boyz Karl and Fish. He releases some Effects at around 11:40 or so and apparently moves to join Fish and
Karl in a Percussion Jam. Page is on the piano now.. and then the clavinet. YES!!!!! =^] YES!!!!!!!!! The jam around 12:30 is
FUUUUNNNNNKAAAY folks, and Fiendishly Groovy, given the effects that Trey had released, that whistle around neath
this phhhhhhaaaatly saahweet groove that Karl, Fish, Trey and Mike lay down.. Page is jamming away on the clavinet. Around
13 minutes or something Trey apparently starts messing with his 'doc some more, but doesn't begin chording or anything for at
least 30 seconds... At 13:44 Trey breaks out soloing in that same patient fashion that he was employing earlier. Fairly repetitive
licks, but G'DAMN this Tweezer smooookes, folks. It is by far and away the best version of Tweezer I've heard from 1996
(yes yes, the Red Rocks version contains a beautiful jam in it and some lovely trilling, but I loooove this phaaatly funky groove a
lot more). Hartford rocks, but hey, this is significantly more funky and interesting in my opinion.. Trey's concluding soloing is
MAJESTIC, and is in this sense typically tweezeresque (15 minutes)... time no doubt to close up this phaaaat bad boy and head
for Mars. At 15:16 The NOTE comes in, but Karl keeps pounding away of course.. (heh heh.. go Karl go..) Typical dying out
of the theme sort of ending but DAMN given the added percussion it sounds soooo busy and groovy!!! =^] Easy 8.5 rating for
this Tweezer. Few versions capture my attention and move my soul more. Hear this Tweezer and dance your butt off to it...
Total time 16:49. The Hartford Tweezer is a bloody waste of tape next to this version. two cents charlie