Wilson and the YEM vocal jam featured quotes from a talking Beavis and Butthead doll. YEM also included a silent jam and a quote of the theme from Shaft.
Teases
Theme from Shaft quote in You Enjoy Myself
Debut Years (Average: 1990)

This show was part of the "1995 Fall Tour"

Show Reviews

, attached to 1995-12-09

Review by kevinAreHollo

kevinAreHollo I think it's only fair that people get to see the silent jam.

http://www.youtube.com/user/silverchair97#p/u/29/LzxHNsaqsAA
, attached to 1995-12-09

Review by Anonymous

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

December 9 was a Saturday, the day after classes ended. It felt like another rough term, though in retrospect the students I had in both classes were absolutely wonderful and I really enjoyed working with them. But Saturday I was finally really going to be free. "Freeeeeeeeeee!" Jay and I were driving down to Albany to see Phish.
The weather was really ugly. It was snowing hard: a serious, keep-the-truck in four-wheel-drive-and-pray-that-you-don't-have-to-stop-or-turn-fast kind of situation. Low visibility. The kind of snow that, when I'm rational, keeps me home, wearing slippers, and baking bread or grading papers. But Phish was playing, and rationality and Phish obsessions rarely coexist. Actually, I was already exceedingly rational for a Phish fan -  I gave up going to shows when I had to lecture the next day after Halloween `94, which left me so tired and grouchy and miserable and barely coherent that I almost gave up seeing Phish altogether. But the term was over, see, and I didn't have to give a final until the middle of next week, since the freshmen had already turned in their final projects. So, weather aside, it was the perfect time and place for me to see Phish. I gave Jay the "puppy-dog eyes" look and he agreed to leave really, really early"...before noon. And we really did it, too. And that was probably a good thing, because the drive down was pretty scary. We stayed on the road, though, and got to Albany in plenty of time to check into the hotel and watch TV before going downtown. They had the Discovery channel, which was a treat since we don't have cable at home.
We drove downtown early so we could eat dinner before the show. The roads weren't plowed very well, but we made it to the parking garage with only a little stressful driving around the block and yelling at each other about missing turns. We walked a few blocks from the Knick, trying to get away from the pre-show hordes and find a place that was open to eat. It wasn't easy; I think a lot of places closed down early because of the storm. And, of course, we were tromping through pretty thick snow on unplowed sidewalks to get anywhere. We finally found a little Thai place that was open. After some really yummy chocolate raspberry cake for dessert, we headed back to the Knick to head in.
Our seats were perfect: just off the floor, Page side. And the music"...I don't need to talk about it, you've all heard it. I enjoyed the first set, too, though it was a "Yay! I'm at a Phish show! It's been five months!" kind of enjoyment, not an "omyfreakingodwherehasmybraingone" type of enjoyment. Not that it matters at the show, of course, because enjoyment is enjoyment. I took out my ponytail during "Chalk Dust Torture" because I wanted to feel totally free. Let my hair down. Can't I live while I'm young? Cause I am still young, dammit!
And the second set"...why even bother writing about it? I mean, words just cannot do justice to how it felt to be there, listening to that spellbinding "YEM" as it was being created. Jay, who likes Phish but isn't quite sure what the obsession is all about, got "IT" during the "YEM" jam. It was his first time, at his twelfth show. He called the "Gumbo", too. And he was the one (not me) who figured out what the hell was going on at the beginning of "Wilson".
I am way too easily affected by the emotional state of people with me at shows; if I'm with someone who isn't having a very good time, I don't have as good a time, no matter how hard I try to ignore them and just experience the music. But when I'm with someone having the kind of powerful experience Jay was having, especially when I'm as close to that person as I am to Jay, it's incredible. It magnifies my own experience of the music. Damn fine way to spend my twenty-ninth birthday.
, attached to 1995-12-09

Review by Larry_Hood

Larry_Hood To the younger Phish fan this past year's Seven Below -> Ghost may have put Albany on the map as far as legendary performances, but to veteran listeners that jam will still probably rank slightly below the monumental YEM played nearly 14 years earlier

Along with the chaotic rendition on Halloween the Albany '95 YEM consistently ranks as one of the great performances of the song in its greatest year: 1995. At just under 35 mins this YEM cant match Halloween's on length but the quality of the jam more than makes up. Building through a Piper-esque chord progression Trey takes over and begins the customary '95 hosing. After fifteen or so glorious minutes the jam enters a thundering BD section, alongside colors from Page. As Page takes over Trey supplies an incredibly funky rhythm. They jam begins to break down leaving Trey playing the legendary "Theme From Shaft". Doing his best Isaac Hayes Trey murmurs the words to the shows theme and begins what has become know as the "Silent Jam".

Though the silent jam isn't the most glorious moment on tape it will none the less satisfy you as will all of this YEM. Remarkably good AUDs of this show exist though many fans having been begging for this show to be added to the LivePhish Series.
, attached to 1995-12-09

Review by Campster

Campster Maze: Killer way to start a show and this is a rocking version. Strong solo by Page is followed up by a piercing solo from Trey. The band flies into a great climax to kick the set off with a bang.

Theme From the Bottom is a nice uplifting foil to Maze’s darkness. This is a good version, with another strong solo from Trey.

NICU is its fun self and finds a good home after the opening pair.

The Sloth is always welcome and is well played. Nice to hear and shaping up a very solid first set.

Rift is played very well, with a clarity and execution lacking in the modern incarnations. Good stuff.

Bouncin’ is Bouncin’- fine by me.

Free is pretty solid without being exceptional. But it is different than today and worthy of a listen with a more than capable jam.

Billy Breathes is pretty short but a nice breather, which is followed up by a very pretty take on Dog Faced Boy. I kinda like that one.

CDT is a (needed) shot in the arm to close out the set. This baby really smokes! Love it.

Overall, it’s a good set, with Maze, Theme and Free the highlights for me as well as nice song selection. Nothing too big in terms of jamming however. Love the smoking hot CDT after Dog Faced Boy too.

Timber opens the second frame after the audience chess move and this is a fine version. Very good, dark jamming that traverses some major spaces in a brief period of time. Under 9 minutes but this one vaults into a favorite version for me. Very fierce and very tight, but most definitely exploratory.

Wilson is up next and the audible Beavis and Butthead sampling is hilarious over the intro. These guys are great! They drop into a ripping version of the tune proper.

Gumbo emerges and seems pretty fast tempo-wise to my ears. It’s a funky & crisp take. Trey throws out a soaring lead to open his solo, resulting in a triumphant finale before Page brings us into ragtime.

YEM is the centerpiece of the set & show (& tour? & year? & career?). It’s that good. The jam that emerges at 12 minutes or so in has a quasi TAB Push on Till the Day glory feel. Of course it’s pure unadulterated full band improvisation. There’s not much better. It downshifts to a sparser bass/drum led section, which builds back into a blissful full band groove with Trey coloring the pocket with good rhythm work before crafting a nice melodic line. Page asserts himself a bit more on the baby grand and the band brings the chill groove to a slightly funkier space. This builds nicely, with Trey adding some more melody higher up the fretboard. It’s a patient and glorious buildup with nary a misplaced note. Trey is really working some great patterns by 17:30+ and the band continues to just chug along behind, again with Page playing some active fills on the baby grand, lending a Suzy-esque euphoric feel. At 20 minutes in we are still in groove-town at which point the band drops again into a more rhythmic section where Page colors the space and Trey is out (mini-kit?). Mike is absolutely letting loose with some thermonuclear bass bombs, Page hits the organ for some tasty notes, and the rhythm section is right on. Mike brings us to a more familiar YEM territory away from the bliss groove zone. Damn he’s good, and he initiates a sort of duel with Page on the organ, then Trey just comes back in perfectly with a classic rocking chord vamp and boom, right into some straight up funk. This is boot shakin’ music, start-stop stuff, with Page coloring the empty space with really cool keyboard fills. Trey is just in the zone & obviously Fishman is the anchor. Trey brings in some comedy with the Shaft quotes, which fit and lend a bit of Phishy comedy to this masterpiece. The silent jam doesn’t “come through” on tape, but the emergence back to the jam is utterly sick. I got caught dancing at my desk at work to this one. So damn good, right into the blissful vamp with Trey just slaying the leads. They peak us into the stratosphere and cement this jam on Mount Phismore. By 29 minutes we cool off and head to vocal land. In fitting fashion, this glorious jam concludes with a cacophony of strange vocal incantations. Simply put, this is probably the best version of this quintessential Phish classic. Even the most difficult to please phan would call this truly amazing & an undisputed masterpiece.

Lawn Boy emerges from the smoking crater in my mind to bring us back into lounge lizard land. Good call after that YEM and a good palette cleanser.

I recently read a Mr. Miner post about shows needing to “earn a Slave to the Traffic Light”. Well this show earned it, and this is the perfect call on the back end of the set. They really gallop into the intro (seems fast to my ears). The jam begins with some syncopated playing from Trey. They begin a nice build, which showcases some tender & patient playing and then reach a nice groove, which has Trey more on the chording side then the straight lead side, which sounds very unique for me. He then grabs the reins on a more classic build up (although there’s a bit of a stumble from Big Red at one point) for a satisfying climb to the mountaintop. You’ll find better Slaves from this tour and other years, but this is a well earned take and the final peak is absolutely devastating & glorious (if the build up is not 100% squeaky clean).

Well, we aren’t done yet, as the band careens into a smoking hot version of Crossroads before closing it out with some a cappella.

They encore with Loving Cup, which is one last revelatory celebration. Good stuff.

Overall this show is known for the YEM and it is the undeniable showpiece here. The rest of the show is plenty good, without being exceptional (for this particular tour). The Timber is very strong and the Slave>Crossroads is a really cool pairing. The YEM is a once in a lifetime performance however, making this show worthy of adulation.
, attached to 1995-12-09

Review by fhqwhgads

fhqwhgads This is a good show to listen to if you want to hear Trey "shred" in a way that's somewhat unique to this circumambient era in Phishtory. Maze illustrates some siren-like techniques from him before a Phrygian(?) clinic... Trey is just really on for the entire show. Timber Ho! to open the second set gets very interesting, but everyone remembers this show for the You Enjoy Myself, so much so that it's named The Albany YEM. The silent jam is really funny on video, with Trey playing his guitar behind his head, and so forth. It's quite a testament to the powerhouse force that Phish was in Fall 1995 that they carried this frantic energy all the way through to New Year's Eve. I can think of a number of shows that I like more, but as I said, for people like me, who were drawn into Phish most of all because of Trey's guitar virtuosity, this show is sure to satisfy.
, attached to 1995-12-09

Review by Divided_Stash

Divided_Stash Maze: I love what Trey does with the note bending at the start of his section; it gives a creepy vibe. This might be my all time favorite version. Great way to start the show

Theme From The Bottom: these guys are locked in. The one two punch is performed flawlessly and this Theme is the perfect length

NICU: standard

The Sloth: standard

Rift:
lightning fast. No flubs (aka 1995)

Bouncing Around The Room: standard

Free: I love these 1995-1996 Frees. The jedi/percussion Trey jam is sick

Billy Breathes: gorgeous

Dog Faced Boy: lil calm before the storm

Chalk Dust Torture: some high energy raging to end the first set (storm)

Timber: exploratory but type 1 version to start the second set

Wilson: some samples in the intro I don’t recognize, otherwise average

Gumbo: nice jam before Page’s solo

You Enjoy Myself: woah. After the tramps Trey starts playing around and we’re type 2. Later on Trey switches to percussion and we get some Mike action. There’s a funk section with great Page, and it gets very quiet, then powers back up into normal YEM territory > vocal jam. Beast. No bass+drums so I am sad.

Lawn Boy: cool little treat

Slave To The Traffic Light: magnificent build. Great version

Crossroads: Trey’s voice is messed up but it's all good. Love this cover

Sweet Adeline: little acapella to end the set

Loving Cup: nice closer, with Page and Trey standing out

Solid show at the back end of the last mega Phish tour. The one two punch to start is awesome and they nail some compositions and the jam in YEM is spectacular and even a hint of cow funk to come in 1997. This is an 8/10 show. Highlights are Maze, Theme, YEM, and Slavel.
, attached to 1995-12-09

Review by spreaditround

spreaditround SET 1: Maze: Long, massive Maze. Trey sets up the end solo exceptionally well. Tons of tension and huge, textbook release.

Theme From the Bottom > NICU > The Sloth > Rift, Bouncing Around the Room, Free: Standard.

Billy Breathes: Trey has a tough time with some lyrices1:40’ish.

Dog Faced Boy, Chalk Dust Torture: Standard.

SET 2: Timber (Jerry the Mule): Standard.

Wilson: The Beavis and Butthead stuff is hilarious. “Asswipe” “Uh, this sucks” “You dumbass” >

Gumbo: Standard.

You Enjoy Myself: Bliss jam in the 12’s is so clutch. They were so rare back then. Totally hosed out! The funk jam in the 23’rds with Trey and Page trading those licks – some of the best Phish ever. Best YEM ever? Many say so. I would tend to agree.

Lawn Boy: Standard.

Slave to the Traffic Light: Solid. >

Crossroads: Absolutely crushed!

Sweet Adeline: Standard.

ENCORE: Loving Cup: Smoked.

Summary: Replay value: Maze and obviously YEM. Super solid show. Great show. But I am not as high on it as many when I look at the ratings which are at 4.5. I don’t think this show is as good as Nashville or Dayton and doesn’t come close to Hershey or 12.7. I am good at 4.2 out of 5, flame away ????
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