Date: Fri, 04 Sep 1998 13:30:17 -0700
From: Tim Wade 
Newsgroups: rec.music.phish
Subject: RebaReview 33: The Roxy 2-20-93

Roxy Lady! (RebaReview #33)
2-20-93 The Roxy Theater
Atlanta, GA, set II
Time: 11:37/ 13:31

This RebaReview was brought to you by John F. Hope III, Jacko (not Trey)
to his friends, as well as by all the people who want to know if I've
heard this one whenever I post a review.  Thanks for reading, everyone,
I hope you enjoy!

THE DIRECTIONS (0:00): Trey starts while Fish is still hammering at the
toms from the end of Wilson (read Wilson> Reba).  Nothing much standard
about these directions...a few missed notes by Page, a lot of "Ooohs"
and "Uhhs" from various folks, and Fishman is filling in all kinds of
crazy stuff.  Second verse settles down...Trey, Mike and Fish quiet down
at one point to let Page sing a "Bag it, tag it"...very different...

THE SIP (2:25): Not extremely sharp, but not bad for early ^�93.  Pretty
good, actually...lots of "Hey!" from Trey in the stops - he's havin'
fun!  Build up to the swallow is tension filled and hints of craziness
to come...

THE SWALLOW (4:47): Again, not great, not bad...Page gets ahead (or Trey
behind) on the second gulp, resulting in some messiness and an odd
stop.  We get it swallowed, though, so it's time for

THE CHILL (6:07): and I mean *CHILL* as we hit the breaks...real
deliberate Reba bop from Mike and Page at the start, then the pace picks
back up.  A wisp of feedback and a nice intro from Page before Trey
comes in, down low...he hits a nice phrase, stuttering at the end and
drawing a nice tom fill from Fish...they repeat this, and I can hear
Trey (^�singing' along? talking?)...Trey chirps and Mike bops back up,
but they keep the stutter jamming up...some LOUD feedback makes Trey go
"ahhhhh!!" and the crowd go "wooo!"...cracks me up that I can hear
that...Page emerges from the feedback and tinkles as Trey drops out, and
there's a subtle shift at 7:07.

Trey works at a strange lick on the high end, getting responses from
Page and Fish...Mike's pretty much hangin' with the Reba bop...Trey's
got a groove started now, nice licks...ah, there he hits the Woody
Woodpecker theme and follows it into a shift at 7:36.  Mike echoes
Woody, and Trey starts laying down some ferocious licks...there's a
syncopated feel to all of this, really kickin' the tension up..tinkles,
bops, taps, hammers, sustains, crashes, etc.  There's a definite shift
at 8:05; Fish switches to ride, hooks up with Mike and solidifies the
beat, while Trey starts to stir shit up by dwelling up high, getting to
Page...wow, I do mean stir it up!  Trey pushes it up a notch and hangs
with it, a great build...and a great release at 8:44!  Page starts to
chord with authority as the jam starts to kick...Trey noodles up there
for a moment, then gets caught up sustaining and hammering
again...sounds ferocious...he starts to force this down, down...into a
little shift that starts to work everyone up...crashes and bops from
Fish...Trey starts chopping at a note, catching everyone...they release
it, but not with force...Trey hints at Woody again, then works his way
up, almost shifting, but it's pretty damn tense in the mid-levels
tonight...Trey eventually starts chopping again, and this time they take
it into a much better release at 9:52.  Trey doesn't stray to high...I
think ^�maniacal' is a good word for him sometimes...like now...hold on,
folks...another solid release at 10:21 and we are officially in the
Rebasphere!  Trey is wailing, everyone is hammering...I'm half expecting
some toms but instead Trey kicks it up another notch, firing off 1/32
notes...he's flippin' BLAZING!  Release comes at 10:59 with the classic
Reba wail, so raise your hands!  Trey is crazy and his mates are
freakin'...but again Fish holds off on the toms and Trey thrashes out a
mean chord before returning to the RoxyReba freak out...Fishman gives us
an elaborate fill, and Trey angles downward, letting the toms drive him
into the ground (with one final wail), at 11:37.

THE WET WHISTLE (12:05): Trey takes time to say thank you before
starting...the whistle starts out normally, but the fills between the
BI, TI are choppy like most of the jam was, the last one excessively so,
and we end with a clunk instead of a blap at 13:31.  FWIW, Tweezer fits
perfectly after this.

* * *

And I mean clunk in a good way.

First, I must say that I had this show for about a year before I found
out the set didn't actually start with the Wet Whistle (I was kinda new
at the Phish thing).  I was missing the Wilson, Reba, and Fast Enough
until last summer.  What I found most interesting at first was how well
it fit the general theme of this show, i.e. chaotic and insane.  Perhaps
it's the catalyst for the ensuing mayhem (read multiple segues and
teases, including Trey repeating the Swallow, in its entirety, during
Mike's).  Then again, maybe the catalyst was backstage during the
setbreak...

Anyhow, my second point is that although I've heard few Rebas prior to
^�93, this is the earliest version that really gets my rocks off, and it
does so in a major way.  It may not be the smoothest, prettiest thing
ever, but that would be out of place on this night, which was all about
throwing caution to the wind.  The syncopation permeates this jam, and
the Woody Woodpecker tease is not only cool, but also echoes
throughout.  Oh, another confession: I had to have the Woody tease very
deliberately pointed out to me.  I'm familiar with the laugh and the
character but have never seen the cartoon, so forgive me on that one.

Last but definitely not least, some words on Trey and Fish.  Not to
downplay Page and Mike in any way, but a lot of Reba centers on Trey,
while Fishman has the power (or so it seems) to roll out the toms when
he feels the jam has peaked.  I'm often critical of when he does this, a
prime example being last fall in Denver when he dropped the anvil on
something I thought had a lot more potential.  But this is an excellent
example of patience on his part, especially considering it's February
^�93.  In fact, I think he actually lets it go one step too long, but he
allowed Trey to take it all the way to the top, and that gets a big
hurrah from your's truly.

So, I've rambled enough.  Just in case I offend anyone with my blatantly
arrogant attempts at grading, let me note that this is the mark of an
*excellent* Reba, even if I wouldn't put it in the category of best
ever.  It's all just two cents anyway.

Finest in the Nation?  Ask your local butcher.

B