There's a lot of mixed emotions and feelings about 1996 in Phish nerd-dom. It was a very stagnant year (save for a few dates, with 10/31 and 12/6 among them) where the jamming never really went as far as 1995, nor as deep as 1997. This is actually more of a tragic irony; just when Phish is starting to tour bigger arenas is when they seem to develop a kind of stage freight, or perhaps their playing was a result of the big changes? Regardless, Phish may have been sterile in 1996, but that's only by Phish standards. I'll still take Phish in '96 over most touring bands in 1996.

Anyway, back on topic; their Vegas stint on December 6th, 1996 was anything but "plain" or "sterile." This is high-velocity Phishy action. But I don't wanna talk about the whole show (may as well just post a show review). I wanna talk about this Simple from this non-plain/sterile show.

Fans of Simple NEED to listen to any/all Fall '96 Simples, because if nothing else, Phish always delivered the goods with Simple in Fall '96. And there's no shortage of Simples from this period! And this Simple is no exception. Starting out in a rather blissful territory that is all too familiar for Simple jams, the jam takes a sharp turn near the final minutes to an upbeat, gritty, almost Type II (Type 1.5?) riffage. Everyone is on-point. And then once the climax is past, the falling action and resolution continue. Simple is taken once again back to a land of bliss, only this part is a little different; more serene I think.

Definitely check this Simple out. And if you have 3 hours to kill, listen to the whole show. Even the encore is worth hearing.