From: Brian Cohen 
Subject: FW: Review of 12/28/95 The Centrum,Worcester, MA


My god, it's 8:40 am 12/29, and I'm still catching my breath.

Split -- what a fantastic opener!!!  You knew this was going  to be a
great night from the start.  They wasted no time, great vocals, sick
jam that didn't get to spacey, they were super tight from the start

Gumbo -- great to hear.  again they sounded really tight tonite.
The SPlit jam before really got the crowd into early, so everyone
was clapping along

Curtain -- My first one live!!!!  Oh man, FANTASTIC vocals.  Great
bulidup before the lyric segment.  Wonderful. This is definetely
one that sounds better live then on tape...

Julius -- Good segue.  This tune just flat out rocks live!!!
I couldn't believe how tight they were!!!  and then........

Guyute!!! -- what more can I say.  My first one live, love
this tune...crowd really into this one

Horn -- standard, but well placed I thought. I personally love this
song, Trey's light guitar work after "..listen for my horn..." was
gorgeous.

Rift -- I was surprised, because they had been mixing it up, and then
tow Rift tunes.  Anyway, it was cool, and then the sound system got
screwed up, all the low-end was gone.  Fishman was bangin away,
but you couldn't hear him.  YOu could say Trey getting pissed.  Just
as Trey's guitar solo built up, it came back on, and the crowd
went nuts, regaining it's energy, he was really going sick, you could
tell he was pissed.  It ended as all Rifts do.  Cool, even with the
sound problem.

Fast Enough For You -- I was a little surprised hear, but not upset
by any means.  I told my buddy this was just a mellow recovery song
for what was next....

Possum -- FUCKING UNREAL!!!!!  You could tell Trey was pissed.
He was going ape-shit.  His strumming hand was flying!!!!!
Great jam segment.  This one was just as good if not better then
6/30/95 at Great Woods.  Great first set, even with the sound
problems --- Nice recovery Paul!!!!!!!

Set II  -- If you are any kind of Phish fan, you should find any
means possible to get your hands on this set, if not the whole
show.  This is one of the best Phish sets I have seen and heard
ever.

Timber Ho! --Another first live tune for me.   I can't even
put into words how cool of a tune this is, especially a sencond
set opener. By the way, the lights were incredible all night,
even without a back drop.  Anyway, I knew I was in for a
special 2nd set---Timber Ho!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Theme -- My favorite of the new tunes.  This one was light years
betters then the one on 7/1/95.  Trey almost sent it into space,
he had some really cool effects on, it just built, and built,
until the final lyric segement, and ended kinda like the Hood
of 10/7/95, it just rose to such a point, I could barely stand
up.   into.....

Wilson -- I never get tired of this song...crowd was so into
it...WILSON....WILSON.....  THis was an especially rockin'
version, again showing there unbelievable musical tightness,
They had left the sound problems of the first set behind, and
seemed as if they were determined to make it up for the
audience.

Buried Alive -- Another first one live for me.  This tune rocks
live, seriously.  I sort of called the next tune when I told
my buddy it was time for some exploratory Phish now....although
I didn't know what tune it was...


Tweezer -- Tight, tight, tight!!!  Anyone have the time on this???
It felt like at least 20-25 minutes, maybe more.  Very good
opening segement, then they just went off, jamming, changing
phrases, building on ones that were there, just fantastic.  They
went into a "space" jam for a short while, and it was very erie
but at the same time beatiful and really neat :-).  I enjoyed
every minute of it

I Didn't Know -- ANOTHER first live tune for me.  It was
great, Fish came out on trombone, Trey on his percussion.  Fish
cracks me up, the audience loved it!!!!

Uncle Penn -- standard, but nice placement in the set.  Glad
they included a bluegrass tune...and last bu surely not least.

Slave -- Please, is this just not a great setlist, come on :-).
This song took me to new heights, THe lights were incredible.
This one seemed long to, a nice mellow buildup after the
lyric segment.

E: Fee -> Tweezer Rep.

Fee was great to hear, probably because I haven't heard it in
awhile.  Reprise had more energy then any I have ever heard.

Overall -- on "the scale", 9.0 to 9.5  Maybe the only reason
it wasn't a 10 was cuz of the 1st set sound problems, but
that's not anyone's fault it happens, and Paul and the crew
made a sweet recovery!!  Everyone around me was dancing, and
everyone was cool.  My god, how can they top this!!!!  I
kept saying to myself, wait, you got 12/31 coming up.  Great
great show to start off the Holiday tour.  See everyone in
MSG on NYE!!!!  Please, get this tape at all cost.  And
if anyone posts or writes something about Phish losing it,
i will personally seek you out and kill you :-D

 --Brian
    
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From: DR MARTIN B GOLDSTEIN 
Subject: Review of 12/28

12/28 Worcester Centrum, Worcester, MA

  Here's a rundown of the show


    Traffic before the show was a nightmare. Basically standstill and 
we were a few miles from the exit at 7:20....Fortunately my friend 
rode the shoulder and took an earlier exit and found the Centrum with 
the help of a kind lady. How nice. Still, nervewracking as hell. 
Security was tight and annoying. Really zealous friskers and I saw 
more than a few people get busted for possesion. Lots of annoying 
guys in yellow shirts with flashlights. Oh well. Fortunately, a damn 
good show.

Split Open and Melt: Who expected this for an opener? Nice choice! 
Excellent version with just as much power as a set closing version of 
the same song. Powerful jam that kept my interest very well.

Gumbo: Yeah! Very fun singalong tune that's usually standard and was 
predictable, but still great nonetheless. Page really got into his 
ending solos on this one.

Curtain: This just keeps getting better...This was a first timer for 
me and I was very pleased. Standard stuff, but Curtain isn't the kind 
of tune you complain about. No regrets! This segued into...

Julius: Whoa!  Back in '94 everybody was commenting on how though the 
Hoist songs were weak on record, they developed into some of the best 
live jams. Very well put. My highlight of the first set. This tune 
has developed into an upbeat jamathon with crazy Trey solos. Chris 
Kuroda deserves major props on the light board for this one. That guy 
really knows his stuff. Awesome.

Guyute: Did I mention the excellence of this first set? Incredible 
tune. Where do they get the ideas to write these songs? This one 
reminds me of the early days because it's divided into many sections 
which somehow manage a flow. Sort of like Y.E.M or Divided. When the 
speed of this one picks up...watch out! A tune which needs to be 
heard live to be believed. 

Horn: Standard, but very rocking. I like this song.

Rift: Shucks. I don't really dislike this tune, but I think it was 
ill-placed in the set. To make matters worse, half of the sound 
system shorts out and Trey nearly ends the song with his annoyed 
facial expressions and nearly missed vocal cues. But, the only way to 
fix the sound system would be for them to keep playing I guess, so 
what followed was a quiet, lackluster Rift. Then the sound comes back 
on and Trey makes some sort of sarcastic comment before ending the 
song.

Fast Enough For You: Bad choice. I like this song, but poor placement 
in the set. Three Rift songs in a row? Too slow too jazz up the 
audience after the botched Rift.

Possum: A nice, standard version that was good, but didn't do much 
for me for some reason. No signals, just a confident, rockin' Possum. 
Kind of a short, but good set that crash landed 3/4 through..

Timber Ho!: Ok! a great, powerful tune with a fun chorus. The jam 
seemed sort of directionless, but still a great song to open the 
second set.

Theme From the Bottom: All Right! I wanted to hear this one badly and 
did. Nothing bad to say here. A long, textured, beautiful tune which 
is easily the best of the new batch. The musical equivalent of a 
strawberry milkshake, thick, layered and sweet as hell.

Wilson: Excellent choice! Loud, powerful Wilson that made a great 
contrast to Theme. Once again, major props to mr. lightboard guy. 
Wiiiillllllssssooonnnn!!!! Lots of Trey feedback segued into...

Buried Alive: Interesting choice! A great five minute jam  of mayhem 
with crazy lights. Trey sure has fun with that little percussion kit 
of his.

Tweezer: This would basically decide the quality of the set. A good, 
interesting Tweezer that was about 20 min. and separated into many 
different sections. You had your fast jams, spacy feedback and Trey 
and Mike making wierd noises that sounded like Uh Oh! This will be 
cool on tape. Not as much fun as Tweezer from 12/2, but a different 
entity altogether. Segue into...

I Didn't Know: Fun stuff. Slower than usual with a Fishman T-Bone 
solo. Being a trombonist, I can say that while he has improved since 
the Union Federal days, he won't be taking J.J. Johnson's place 
anytime soon. ;)

Uncle Penn: Standard tune with nice solos from everybody. Decent.

Slave: A melodic, beautiful and standard version that delivered the 
goods. Nothing negative here. Overall a fantastic set II that would 
only be toppled by the soon to be legendary set II of 12/29..but 
that's a different review.

Fee: Odd encore choice. Standard with the megaphone. Of course this 
segues into 

Tweezer Rep.: I've said before, this rocks and despite the fact that 
I've heard it often, it always is great.

Overall about an 8 which would proabably be an even higher score if I 
didn't go to 12/29. Great second set and a nearly flawless first set 
that kind of fell apart when the sound system did. Split Open should 
be used more as an opener because it works fine in that slot. See 
ya!
                     Dave Goldstein NPDP2C@Prodigy.com
 
--------------------------------------
From: Abby Steck 
Subject: review

    Worchester Massachussetes ,The Centrum 12/28/95

     This was my first Phish show I had ever seen and it was definitly a 
sick show.  I had never seen the Centrum so fuckin jammin.  This show 
made me feel like it was great to be alive.  I somehow managed to get 
third row center seats and the eagles with the triangle I took did me and 
my friends excellent.  Wilson was an intense moment for me I never jammed 
so hard in my life and slave along with fee as the encore just totally 
blew my mind.  Phish is the best and from that point on at this show I 
will hit any show I can.  The security at the Centrum were so amazed by 
how the crowd responded to the show they didn't know what to do.  
Definitly the best concert I've ever seen and at a great place to see it.

-----------------------------------------
12/28/95  The Centrum, Worcester MA (Charlie Dirksen)

The highlight of 12/28, outside of the avant-garde Rift, and the absurd
dream-like SplitGumboCurtain opener, was certainly the Tweezer.  It was a
monster.  I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to review it or not,
since there is no way in hell I could do it justice.  My favorite 15 min.
version is still 10/22/95, but I felt this version to be much more
engaging than even 12/30/94 or some of the other 20+ minute versions (it
is arguably better than the 6/17/94 Gainesville version).  Slave to the
Traffic Light was a good closer, as always, but wasn't even vaguely as
inspiring as the 12/31/94 Slave to the Traffic Light.  Theme was
remarkably good, fwiw, rivaling the Lowell version (still my fave version
after all of the other 1995 Themes).  Notably, there was a lot of
percussion from Trey in this show.  The Buried Alive, for example, is NUTS
(Trey on the percussion kit!!).  Possum was also much better than the one
from 12/29 last year (at least I think it was 12/29/94-1).  Split was
short but had some great jamming.  It is unfortunate, though, that the
Centrum was such a miserable venue (outside, inside, everywhere).