Phish 1993-12-29 Big Ball Jam - HYHU - If I Only Had a Brain

[dudanun1]

I gotta tell you guys i think its so cool your having this talk. I just had it with my brother after NYE. When told me over the last year or so that they sound better than they ever have i didnt really believe it. I was like whatever dude it just proves that eating tons of shrooms and crap changes your ability to appreciate it at the time. But I gotta say, I was at this show and NYE among many others and nothing that I heard then, sounds as crisp, and tight as what theyre doing now.

[Druss1586]

3.0 Phish is 100x better structured than this "good ol" Phish you speak of. Adversely, these years did seem more of an environment for tripping as it was like a circus and LESS ABOUT THE MUSIC. However, if we speak in terms of quality of music and improvisation... 3.0 is the best yet and if you argue that I'd need some proof. My proof is seeing them live 30+ times in 2009/10. Phish is still blowing minds daily, believe that.

[Malzarin]

@Druss1586 If this post is your evidence then I guess your right. If you take into account the music that was written in this period and slightly before, it is by far their best work. What's funny is I think they spoon feed predictable jams to the crowd nowadays. Guess I'm just old, my first show was the night before this one in DC. The old Phish cared about composition and structure, the 2K+ is about the jam and crowd getting off. I know what I like better, I respect those who disagree.

[puffnstuff0210]

@Druss1586 most of this is on youtube. 11.19.1996 yem... 11.22.97 halleys comet (for that matter the whole show)... 8.3.03 chalkdust... 12.1.95 dwd. 7.31.99 bowie. 2/28/03 back on the train. 6.22.2000 gin. 2.14.03 gin. after midnight jam (big cypress). 11.26.97 2001. 4.2.98 twist. 12.31.95 reba/mikes song... its ice from clifford ball. tweezer from great went. dude the list goes on and on. your turn.

[passthepeas08]

i have this show on tape and dvd, bootleg kicking around RI, opens a couple seconds into FZ's Peaches en Regalia. epic footage

[gramelspacher1]

phish is still just as good. probably even more musically talented and fluid than they were back then..i dont know why people have to get mad about phish today. at least they are playing. that is better than nothing. In addition to the fact that the quality of their music is unbelievable now. In 2004, they had to restart certain songs because they fucked up so hard

[jbonhamII]

@gramelspacher1 hell yeah man, as a 17 year old im just glad they are still touring so I can see them

[atunick14]

when phish was good

[ajmcdavis]

fishmaaaaan

[formicahjones]

lol

[jroots78]

My first PHISH show...drove up from Jersey in the snow....250+ shows later (phish) i still love them and to see this one as my first was pretty freaking sweet

[tippingpossum]

all these "good ol' days" people are downers. we get it. we GOT it a long time ago that phish was better before 97-98.

[md192206]

Things like this is what make phish so amazing and unique. See you all in 101 days!!!

[largesteveo]

oh yeah and a curtain too. great shows

[largesteveo]

i remember the weather too. two really good nights at the old palace. last i heard toad's was maybe gonna take it over. i can remember really getting off on the divided sky and the knife (this night or the other?)

[oboyler1122]

Has anyone ever seen the DWD music video? its by far the worst music video of all time. It only makes me love them more tho. Stuff like this made them so unique and amazing wish i wasnt a toddler back then so i actually could enjoy it.

[wgrillojr]

AHHHH the GOOD OLD DAYS !!!!!

This was a fun show !

I'd LOVE to see the Clamshell Stage Set from the 12-31-93 show. If anyone has that show PLEASE POST - I can't find it anywhere.

[sirchandestroy]

I was at this show - completely forgot what it was like. Thanks for posting. Any more from this show/run?

[RebubulaXsea]

you lucky bastard what a great time it must have been having the band all to yourself with no bullshit..and they were kickass back inthe day. I grew up here in burlington and Phish is everywhere here, kinda sucks..it must have been nice to see them when everyone was there for the music and not the "lots" and the drugs.

[sirchandestroy]

Ummm, there *were* lots of drugs. But more people were there for the music, you are right. '93 was up and down in terms of audience, the smallest place I saw them in held 600 people - Tipitina's in NOLA and the largest was the World Amphitheatre in Chicago - holds 40k+ - though there were only about 8000 people there. Anyway, the thing I remember about the NYE run, and this show in particular is the weather - lots of snow, very cold, and a staggering four night run.

[whichrobert]

exactly!-i feel bad for kids who talk about shows after 1997 as being "great," because they got such an exhausted (and often times embarrassing) version of the band-when trey talks about a "loss of focus," he's basically comparing the phish of 2004 to the phish of 1993-to be as amazing as they were then, they need to rehearse and experiment ALOT-i'm sure they've still got it in them-we'll see

[whichrobert]

me too!!!!-so happy to find footage of this one!-i was fifteen years old-there was a giant noreaster that night and people were abandoning their buses on the shoulder of the highway and walking to the show-the traffic made me late for the first set-missed run away jim and arrived just at the end of peaches-this was only my second show!-i hope to god the band can find their way back to the goofy greatness of that era-no more "top 40" attempts-please!

[sukamidryhe]

if you remembered what it was like you probably weren't there

[yemmw]

BBJ! IIOHAB!