1996 is sort of a blah year, but it was very much a transitional time for the band. stylistically, they were moving from that very experimental '94-'95 sound to the super funky '97 sound. as for the scene, this was the year after jerry died, so to put it mildly, the interest in phish dramatically increased. well, this show has nothing do with jerry... it's all about jimi!!!

on 11/27/96 in seattle, jimi's "home town" and on his birthday phish brought a set that rivals the best of the year... i'm looking at you vegas and coral gables. there are no guests here, just pure phish.

the first set is somewhat standard, but it is "high-end standard," if you will. my friend is well-executed. yamar gives you that nice summer'ish feeling. chalk dust and the sloth are nice and rocking. the free>theme combination highlights the first set. finally, the boys pay their first tribute to jimi, dropping a very inspired axis bold as love to close things down.

now, this 2nd set is the definition of a no non-sense, from start to finish barn burner. down with disease was still pretty hit and miss in the jam department, but this is one of the early versions that helped cement it as a phish classic. they move some pretty melodic down with disease jamming before the boys find a nice funky groove to latch on to. trey sits back and plays some ripping rhythm guitar, and from here on, i feel like he is in complete "band of gypsies mode." finally they latch onto something a little heavier and take that on a ride, eventually falling into a spacier jam. gordon finally latches onto a bit of a groove that he likes and they build that take that into a very rocking territory. it starts to sound like they will shift into johny b. goode, but they move into a much more dissodant jam, resolving into another spacier jam with threy thowing in some machine gun'esque licks. this leads to another nod to hendrix. billy gibbons of zz top was hendrix's favorite guitars, or at least near the top, so the boys dropped down a rip-roaring guitar blazing take of jesus left chicago. trey really drives his solo about as high as you possibly could. great take of jesus left chicago. shifty gears a bit, the boys crank a great scent of a mule. the middle section is extended fairly nicely with some excellent exchanges between page and trey. then comes tweezer. unless i'm missing one, this is the first really "groove orientated" tweezers. trey has a few nifty fills going through the song portion, before they unleash the jam. fishman and gordon lock into a groove, and trey and page start some fairly out there playing. as trey starts to build to a climax, fishhman provides a nice funky fill, and all of a sudden the boys all fall into line. the snap right into a funky little jam. trey lets out a few wild shrill wails before dipping back into that funky groove with the rest of the boys. the work this groove for a minute and then trey comes in over the top, briefly, with the sweet emotion chorus. they leave sweet emotion and trey, with some very subtle moves, starts to steer the ship back into familiar territory. we trey has managed a devine swing back into the dwd ending. now, fishman kind of fucks up here. he really rushes things, throwing everything off, but hey, after an hour of intense jamming, it is hard to come down on him too hard. great move back into down with disease either way. well, they go into blow out the back section of this too. hey, why not?! they tack on the can't you hear me knocking ending taboot. then, in practice for their forthcoming singing of the anthem of the sonics/lakers game and possibly further hendrix tribute, they acceppella up the star spangled banner. hilarious counterpoint to hendrix's wah drenched wood stock banner, and of course, they have one more for jimi. fire closes out a very rowdy second set. of course, trey buries this one. a good tribute indeed. don't overlook this show because of vegas. this second set is my favorite set of the west coast run. now, all in all, i have to go with vegas as my favorite west/fall '96 show. the first set is soooo stacked and well, claypool! also, be sure to check out 11/30/96 sacramento. John McEun on banjo in the first set and pedal steel toward the end of the show and Peter Apfelbaum on tenor sax adds a very nice feel to this show. the taste with the intro jam is just mesmerizing. enjoy fellow phish people!!

Best 2nd Set of '96?

The first set although not top heavy over the epic 2nd set still has some treats. Nice peaky CDT and a nice 1-2 punch of their new songs Free and Theme. Both songs have excellent and somewhat experimental midsections that make them stand out. Bold as Love is always a great set cap.

Disease is one of the best I've heard. Not just the jam but the way the song is played in general. Trey immediately steps up in this jam. A rocking groove ensues and it grows more dark and chaotic by the second. This all may sound average but they are truly firing on all cylinders. It has a nice subtle -> Into JJLC that as always is top notch. Scent of a Mule continues the experimental jammy feel of the set. It is stretched out much longer than usual and is bizarre in the best possible way. And after all this Tweezer kicks in? For it's fairly short length it packs a huge punch with a nice thrashing jam that sneaks into a quick Sweet Emotion jam. The -> back into DWD Reprise is excellent, they have a little trouble speeding back up but overall it works out great.

Waste -> Tweeprise is an average encore.

Overall a pretty normal 1st set and Encore with an absolutely fantastic 2nd set makes this show close to legendary.

SET 1: Julius: Heater to get things moving out of the gate. >

My Friend, My Friend: Quite intense!

Ya Mar: Standard.

Chalk Dust Torture, The Sloth: These two have the fire in their belly.

Uncle Pen, Free: Standard. >

Theme From the Bottom: Cool version that gets beyond what to expect from Theme. Not way beyond, but beyond what to expect. Good jam for sure.

Bold As Love: Jimi, happy birthday! Will take this tune anywhere anytime. Had not closed a first set since 9.24.88. The last significant jammed DWD was 8.16.96. This version is very solidly jammed with great length. The segue into Jesus is great!

SET 2: Down with Disease: The last significant jammed DWD was 8.16.96. This version is very solidly jammed with great length. The segue into Jesus is great! ->

Jesus Just Left Chicago: Good version. >

Scent of a Mule: Is it just me or is every 96 version a jam charts version, lol?!

Tweezer -> Sweet Emotion Jam: This Tweezer while short is very funky and a glimpse into what is to come the following year. ->

Down with Disease: Amazing segue that is being worked on 22 seconds before actually going full blown DWD.

The Star Spangled Banner, Fire. ENCORE: Waste > Tweezer Reprise: All standard. Another nod to Jimi playing Fire.

Summary: Theme, DWD, and Tweezer all have replay value. First set is super solid with Theme giving us something new and unique. The whole second set is just outstanding, a true Phish throwdown. 4.43 is currently the rating but I would feel a bit more conservative and go with a 4.3/5.