(old review of the YEM from this show)

10/10/99 Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY

YEM begins after an interesting "ambient jam" which starts the second set. Opening is uneventful. There's a typically spacey and harmonious pre-Snoopy segment. Snoopy at 4:35. Mike thunks melodically in his solo-section. Pre-charge section is strong, too.

"Boy" at 7:58 after a good scream. Boy Man God Shit Wash Uffizi Drive Me to Firenzi ("BMGS/WUDMTF") segment is punchy and fun, but nothing over the top.

Tramps jam begins at 10:12 and Mike signals for the trampolines moves. Crowd is really into the tramps moves. Lots of audience cheering and hollering [Note: Trey apparently fell off of a trampoline!] Page plays well on organ.

Jam segment begins at about 11:30. Trey patiently and repetitively plays along -- texturally -- with the funky jam (no attempts to lead or solo melodically). Mike is very up front in the mix and is quite melodic. Solid funky groove in here (12:50), to be sure, but nothing stellar. Yet. Trey starts melodically soloing at 13:04. It's a very engaging, collective jam -- no one is really leading it. Fish is throwing out all sorts of fills, Page is playing strong on the piano, Mike is thunderously accompanying Trey's soloing. There's a great
climax at around 17:10 or so! An excellent jam segment!

Around 17:30 the jam begins cooling off -- comes down from the climax. But this "cooling off period" only lasts a few measures. Trey noodles around a bit (18 mins), but the jam in here is still very collective. They are all clearly listening to each other.

And FISH!!! I mean, FISH is just tearing it up! Trey starts chording in an almost Moma-Dance-like fashion for a few measures around 18:30. By 19:35 the jam seems to wander a bit, and Mike repeats a very melodic, charming riff around 19:50. Trey accompanies it well with a riff of his own. Page is on the keys accompanying well, too. At 20:22, the jam cools magically, wistfully, again. It sounds like the vocal jam should be starting any minute (20:48), as they all just cool
off. But Trey fortunately doesn't start a vocal jam. Rather, Mike
and Fish lock-in for a few measures on a single note, repeating it on every beat, and quickly at 21:17, the whole band launches into a BADASS MOTHER F*CKER OF A JAM!!!! =^]

Trey starts melodically soloing anew -- with a sense of purpose behind the notes. It's really an enchanting, major-key, HAPPY HAPPY HOSE jam!! (22:07) The accompaniment from Mike, Fish and Page is just incredible. This collective jam SOARS! This is one of the most Almighty jams in "You Enjoy Myself" *ever* -- trust me. I think you'll like it. It's mellifluous and complex and intricate and mesmerizingly cool. Finally, around 26 mins, the jam cools off in a melodic, magically misty haze, and Trey starts playing Caspian's opening chords at 26:20. An excellent genuine -> segue into Caspian.

That's right, there was no vocal jam. (just *TWO* excellent jam segments)

It would be a crime against Phishtory not to give this YEM an "A" rating. There's magnificent playing by all parties in a collective fashion reminiscent of Fall 1995 (or premonitory of many December 1999 jams, depending on your point of view). Hear it at all costs.

two cents
charlie