Random Phish Show: 1/26/1990 The Tree Cafe’ — Portland, ME.
Instead of attempting to reach the far ends of analysis, I’m just going to listen and talk about what’s going on during this show. The last couple posts have been an exegesis on my thoughts while I listen to the show. To no avail, this time, rotation comes in and I can sit back and relax and listen to this equalizer of a show (soccer has been on, sorry for the weird metaphor.)
For starters, this show kicks off a new decade. A successor of new motivations, Phish has dominated the New England region, and detailing their excursions to venture onward and upward throughout the US are in the works. Sure, they’ve been to Colorado, however 1990 will further their adventure with a western sojourn, as well as a southern tour. In 1990 they met up with other bands, would rotate opening and headlining, and become a household name in the 90’s jam scene. Still, Phish wanted to branch off and do their own thing, and other bands welcomed this idea.
This show, burrowed in the now defunct Tree Café in Portland, Maine provides a comfortable setting to work on their craft. The first song, Antelope, a rare opener, comes in reverberating its strength in the coda jam (this song was cut and starts at the jam on the recording.) Tela has this jazzy vibe, a little 1-2,1-2 skeebabadooda type rhythm, definitely unorthodox to how Tela emits a resounding pathos with Page’s vocals. A mediocre Divided Sky next (Trey’s just fucking around during the outro composition, he knows he’s not on point. Not real messy, but not precise.) I read the reviews and everyone there enjoyed the Divided Sky, so disregard what I have to say, I’m just a dude listening to the recording. Then acapella with Carolina, and to note: Acapella in a small café is worth listening to, especially catching the harmonics of the band. No wooing or shushing here. The halo over the guilty Divided Sky. Then, what is a treat for the listener, the first “Communication Breakdown. Page’s falsetto comes off as hilarious (Page being funny is always a treat.) This version does rock — a worthy closer.
Set 2 opens with Coil (this was heavy Lawn Boy tunes era.) The outro piano didn’t really go into depth; you can understand since the Tree Café was starting to fill up at this point — keeping customers there is important, so a soft piano solo whilst drunk — not the best idea. Let’s get to some rawking!
Split Open and Melt is a good call here. Beginnings of “crookedness” start to effervesce in the jam. There’s that rock harmony at the I, then syncopation drips in, creating that crooked feeling, opening up that tension/release we come to know and love in Melt. Not a heavy Melt, but so interesting to hear this early version. The song is about a year old, so conventionally it hasn’t really developed an off-kilter jam.
Esther is next. Trey botches the lyrics early, then the recording cuts off.
Reba saves the recording. Another early version, so the hoppy opening has this soluble quality, not as pedantic — a little more dancy than its forthcoming metamorphosis. This song, less than a year old, received a refurbishing with the chopping of that irascible segment following the lyrics and goes right into the composed discordance. How’s the outro jam? Page tinkering with some new improv goingsto early on, but I really enjoy about this outro is how the tension/release comes into play. They syncopate in this jam, albeit briefly, and bring it to a climax at 8:00. I know, not that much, but this is 1990. This is the last performance in the Tree, so they want to crank out more tunes rather than jam.
The remainder of the show is bar fodder, and I’m assuming this is true since the crowd is drinking, not really there “for a show.” The reviews said the Tree was really small and loud, so you couldn’t get too comfortable to dance. Trey and Page still dominate that song, with Page still mixing the Hammond and piano, which I personally enjoy. Later Page would just stick to the baby grand, so to relish in how he kept the complexity in a blues song — kudos to him. This song needs that Hammond. AC/DC bag to get them dancing, again. My Sweet One, Lawn Boy, then Foam — prototypical Phish, to keep the mix fresh. They close out with Caravan.
Overall, this show would be a quick listen — it’s barroom Phish. Nothing too complex, but enjoyable nonetheless. Phish.net recommends the Melt, which is true, but I personally recommend the Reba, a chance-taker in this jam, even though it’s early on. Still, with the short songs, you could listen to it in its entirety, if you’re not listening to any other Phish.
So, what show is next?
