This show was an African National Congress Benefit featuring Phish and South African dub poet Zenzilé Madikinea. Antelope featured Jeff Holdsworth on slide guitar. Russ Flanigan sat in on fiddle for parts of this show. Alumni was played by request. Letter to Jimmy Page contained quotes from Trey of "It's alright" before eventually returning to Alumni. Some recordings erroneously note that this show was a double-bill with The Joneses. This show contained the first known version of You Enjoy Myself, although it is possible that the correct debut was on 2/1/85, and the first known performances of Zenzilé's pieces (all with Phish) Tonight, The Pendulum, Babylon is Burning, and Dec 1661. The first set of this show is identical to what is listed for 2/1/85. The setlist for 2/1/85 is possibly incorrect.
Jam Chart Versions
Debut Years (Average: 1985)
Song Distribution

This show was part of the "1986 Tour"

Show Reviews

, attached to 1986-02-03

Review by TheEmu

TheEmu Sound quality is pretty terrible, although the show on the whole is average to slightly below average. I guess the highlights for me would be a decent jam in Antelope and Prep School Hippie, which I haven't heard in ages. I also noticed that the beginning to Umphrey's McGee's "Divisions" sounds quite similar to the intro for Prep School Hippie heard here.

::dodges rocks and bottles::

Anyhoo, that's about it. YEM has no shots at the note, no scream, no Boy Man God Shit, and no vocal jam. And DEG is...yeah, you know. This might edge towards three stars, but the overall sound quality is very poor and really takes a dump at one point, so I'll hold at two stars.
, attached to 1986-02-03

Review by aybesea

aybesea Well, we were on a roll. The last show of 85 (11/23/85) left me drooling for more! Spectacular show, that one. But this one? Not so much.

Let's start with... yes... the recording is pretty bad. But that's not nearly enough to deter me from a great show. I've been listening to bootlegs for decades and my ears have learned to listen right past that shit.

The problem here is that the show really isn't very good. Too much slop and not enough creativity lead to a dull, lifeless affair on top of a shitty recording. Yep... that adds up to a 2 from me.

All of that said, the YEM is fascinating and worth listening to at least once. It's not very good... but it is very different! I love listening to the evolution of this stuff, and that makes this an essential listen.
, attached to 1986-02-03

Review by cjfphan21

cjfphan21 Quality is pretty shitty and needs pitch correction BAD - it's mostly somewhere between a 4th and a 6th (yeah, that bad) sharp; it approaches unlistenable (i know it's not a word, get off my back) at times. Slave is just okay. Mike's is just okay too, jam could've developed into something much better, but it didn't. I don't even wanna talk about YEM, but it is the first known version. Antelope is slow. The quality of the recording almost makes me want to go 1 star because it's just that bad. However, I think the performance is a solid 2.5 and there is a lossless copy available on etree which could be slightly better than this mp3, though there aren't any notes on pitch correction. I'm gonna agree with @TheEmu on a 2 star rating.
, attached to 1986-02-03

Review by BishopToB4

BishopToB4 I personally quite enjoyed this show. I had to clean the audio up a little bit with an EQ to hear things correctly, but once this was done the show was a good listen.
First YEM got a great crowd reaction once it hit the 'Boy Man' funk part, it felt like everyone knew it was a classic already! Antelope was also a fine version. Other than that the others were fine but nothing special.
, attached to 1986-02-03

Review by dr_strangelove

dr_strangelove Well I guess I'll join the chorus on this one. It's not too great of a show and the recording is rough, which doesn't help. Also, I'll note that the slide guitar on Antelope is kind of grating to my ears. It is not without its highlights however!:

1) Mike's Song: The jam here has some great Type I soloing from Trey. Shreddage!

2) You Enjoy Myself: This YEM isn't actually too remarkable except that it is the first known recorded performance. The arrangement isn't complete yet (including a lack of the "Boy, Man, God, Shit" lyrics!). I also do not hear any violin on the recording... Oh well, check it out for historical purposes!
, attached to 1986-02-03

Review by Bob_Loblaw

Bob_Loblaw This show is pretty rough. It does have the historical significance with it being the first YEM ever played live (supposedly) but everything around it is fairly rough and very loose. No real highlights from this show at all but it is still an interesting piece of history considering the most iconic Phish song was (supposedly) played for the first time.
Add a Review
Setlist Filter
By year:

By month:

By day:

By weekday:

By artist:

Filter Reset Filters
Support Phish.net & Mbird
Fun with Setlists
Check our Phish setlists and sideshow setlists!


Phish.net

Phish.net is a non-commercial project run by Phish fans and for Phish fans under the auspices of the all-volunteer, non-profit Mockingbird Foundation.

This project serves to compile, preserve, and protect encyclopedic information about Phish and their music.

Credits | Terms Of Use | Legal | DMCA

© 1990-2024  The Mockingbird Foundation, Inc.