Onwards finally after 9 days to Live Phish 12, 8/13/96 Deer Creek!!!!
I've heard this show once or twice "casually" while driving dump
truck (meaning, what show am I going to play today while driving that
has a lot of songs I like that also sounds good) - Excited to give it a
proper review! 
For starters, look at that setlist - holy moly. For 1996....it's just
about perfect for my taste. If it had a Disease I WOULD call it perfect!
Ok, on to the show.....
Set 1 -
Divided Sky - A great version on the whole, but not one I'll ever be
calling my favorite. It was a bit "sloppy" in parts. Kinda "exploratory"
for lack of a better word. I mean, objectively it is awesome, but it's
not one I'll be actively seeking out. It feels very ramshackle at times,
like it could all fall apart if they aren't careful. They aren't
flubbing it up, but it's extremely LOOSE sounding, if that makes any sense. Hard to describe. I'm the biggest Divided Sky fan boy out there but this version just did not cut the mustard for me. I'm sure others are going nuts for it 
A+ points for opening the show! That is ALWAYS welcome!
Tube - First version since Lake Placid '95!!!! Absolutely KILLER!!! Check
out this sucker if you want some primo Page The Rage tearing it up on
the piano!!! Trey is doing his porno-wah throughout, giving us a preview
of the cow funk soon to come. There is a point or two where the other
guys seem to be trying to "steer" the song in a different direction, but
Page just friggin' steamrolls right through like "nah son, you're gonna listen to MACHINE GUN PAGE tonight!!!!!" Pretty short at only 4 minutes, it sure kicks your ass while it's hangin' around!
Tela - A Page loaded Divided Sky to open followed by Machine Gun Page on Tube, now a Page vocal in slot 3.....BRING IT ON! I
love Tela to bits and always welcome hearing it. I get why people
dislike some songs, but it always blows my mind to see so many folks
over on .NET that aren't fans of Tela. How?! It's wonderful! For as
loosey-goosey as Divided Sky was, this is a wonderful, tight,
album-ready version of Tela. Grab this one for your "non-album songs" collection! I mean, sure, Tela isn't the most technical song, but this one is just NAILED!!! A+ TELA!!!!
Maze - It's 1.0, it's Maze, you know exactly what you are in for!!!
As seems to be the theme of the set so far, Page is front and center
first as usual, but he starts off pretty slow and chill for a bit which
is unique (to my Maze experience, anyways). He really relishes his solo spot on the organ. Then at 6 minutes Trey comes in as expected. But
this Maze has a very "restrained" feeling so far. They are milking the
hell out of it, REALLY taking their time amping it up instead of blowing
their load all at once like many beloved Mazes They aren't "steering the ship" so much as "riding the wave" 
By 8 minutes, Trey is going Dr. Demento on our asses, giving a preview of something like the Darien 2000 Carini (I.E. guitar melting destruction). But again, it's 1.0. It's Maze. We all know this is what is going to happen. DOESN'T MAKE IT ANY LESS FRIGGIN' AWESOME!!!!!
Guys, call the firehouse. I'm on fire.
Fast Enough For You - Ah yes, my favorite Phish ballad that isn't
Waste, Dirt, If I Could or Shade!!! Vocal harmonies sound great! Really
great solo on this from Trey - very patiently melodic. Taking his sweet time. Nothing super extraordinary, but it's VERY nice!!! A perfect "breather", so to speak. Great version on the whole!!!
The Old Home Place - Very nice reading!!! Mike's vocals and the
harmonies sound great! Nicely in tune! Nothing special, but a very good
version!
Punch You In the Eye - My favorite Phish song!!! A slightly
"botched" intro (Fishman comes in late?) but the recovery quickly and
get on with business as usual. LISTEN TO GORDO LAYING IT DOWN THICK!!!!! One
of my favorite things of reviewing this series is realizing how nice
some of the mixes are on these shows!!! Is this one a multitrack?! It
sounds FANTASTIC!!! If you are a bass player and trying to learn
how to play Punch, this is THE version to grab. Mike is front and center
like Geddy Lee on a Rush album and it sounds terrific! I mean, I'm literally listening more to Mike on this than Trey for once . Like, dang! On the whole, this is a very nice Punch. SUPER RELAXED SOUNDING!!! Seriously,
I am imagining this version playing while I'm sitting on the beach
sipping my tropical fruit drink. That's a compliment - it's played as
good as any other Punch but just the VIBE is so easy-going!!!!
Wonderful!!!
Llama - So much for relaxation! HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS!!!! At 2 minutes, after Page's swirling soloing, we get the first proper Machine Gun Trey guitar destruction of the night. In 20 seconds he lets off more ammo than in the entirety of that Maze from earlier. Holy mother of god. Things get CRAZY
around 3:30 when Trey starts playing with his effects and doing this
ascending/descending motif that sounds like a slow-wail fire alarm or
something. In general, it's Llama, it's destroys universes. Nuff said!
Glide - Alright! The first Glide in a year and one of the best
readings of the infamous intro guitar passage that I've ever heard.
Flawless! Sure, Glide is just Glide, but the rarity factor
combined with the surely-practiced nature of the reading make this a
must-have version for any Glide-head.
Slave to the Traffic Light - Wow!!! That set placement took my -
refreshingly! - by total surprise! You guys know I'm not the biggest
Slave guy (mainly due to dragging-down-the-show third quarter set
placement....), but this one is just vibing. The relaxed nature of the show definitely seems to be working in it's favor. Not
much to say - like most Harry Hood's and Slaves, this one
sounds....just like all the others!!! That doesn't mean it isn't
terrific though!!! Like a good Reba, it does exactly what you want it to
and on the highest level. Just patient and beautiful and MAJESTIC AS
HELL!!!! Awesome Slave!!!
I've had a hard time putting my thoughts into words so far, but I
just realized, so far, the show feels very RELAXED. Not super "hot", not
super "chill", but exceptionally NICE in a "ooh, the sun feels nice on
my skin today" kind of way (if that makes any sense). It's got a "we are
just having fun, if a version comes out great, that's a bonus, but we
aren't "trying" super hard tonight on purpose" vibe to it (again, if
that makes any sense).
And with that, set 1 comes to a close. I will say, that was not my
favorite set ever, but I DID enjoy it very much! I absolutely get the
high ratings for this so far. A really, really enjoyable set!!!!
Set 2
AC/DC Bag - Ah yea, a good Bag opener is always welcome! From the
get-go, this version has the rock and roll swagger that felt missing
from set 1. The energy is definitely a bit more toasty! The guys are
really laying into the lyrics - "brain dead with lots of money!" Really terrific, A+, straight forward, face-melting Bag. As with Slave, there
isn't much to say. It's terrific, it does exactly what you expect and
then some, and it just slaughters. If the Clifford Ball is my pick of
"overall greatest go-to version if you put a gun at my head", this Bag
is the equivalent!!!! KILLER BAG!!!
The Lizards - Ooh, in slot 2! Nice! Very unexpected! As with Tela
and AC/DC Bag, this is another one in the long line (for tonight's show,
anyways) of "album-ready" versions. Nothing out of the box, just
spectacularly perfectly played with total energy and enthusiasm! A
totally wonderful Lizards!!!!!!! Mandatory listening for Page's
shredding of the piano!!! Points again for Gordo - bass players take
notice!!! From the "build up" portion in particular before "Skippy the
Wondermouse", the guys just hit this vein of magical X Factor
perfection. The song then catapults from a great version to a "HOLY
MOTHER EFFING HELL THAT WAS OUTSTANDING" version!!! One of the best I've
heard in recent memory! They are all great, so that's saying a lot!!!!
Mike's Song - Oh crap, a 23-minute version from 1996. I know I'm in for a ride!!! And a ride it is!!!! Right
away, the initial jamming up to about the 6 minute mark is just A+
"Mike anchoring it down and Trey ripping it up" perfection. From there
on it gets wacky fast! Because I'm feeling lazy today, I'm gonna sum it
up better than I could by copy/pasting a breakdown of this Mike's, courtesy user "Hose_jam" over on phish.net:
"Great Jam. 3 Major segments in my opinion.
Per livephish recording...
6:55 Mike and Trey play off each other and Page jumps in on the organ.
Things get weird quickly. Amazing interplay by the entire band in this
segment. Very '94 esque jamming segment here...
8:13 They come back together all at once and rip back into the Mike's song dark nasty groove.
9:30 Trey signals the end of the Mike's jam with the walk up and sustained notes.
9:50 Beginning of the "second" jam of Mike's song. Page goes to grand
piano, Fishman settles on a nice tom groove, Trey plays some great trill
licks over it. Love the bassline Mike has going.
11:10 Fishman plays a lot of ride/splash cymbals and Trey responds by
increasing the tension and frequency of his screaming guitar.
11:55 GOLD. Trey is playing a wall of distortion, locked in with
Fishman's cymbal crashes while Mike hammers away a funky bassline and
Page rocks the grand piano. This is the type of 'sound' trey often goes
for in 2.0 but much more focused and concise.
13:30 Fishman has a nice beat, hitting the splash cymbal on beat. Trey
reels it in a bit and goes off with some absolute shredding. Machine gun
Trey has been spotted.
15:00 Jam shows signs of slowing down, Mike plays some nice dissonant notes, Trey follows.
15:40 Mike drops a baseline and leads the jam. Page plays some dissonant
stuff on the piano, Trey vamps on a riff similar to Mike's bassline.
Page seems to be hinting to modulate the jam to major.
17:15 Awesome keyboard work by Page as the jam fizzles a bit though
Fishman keeps it driving, eventually switching to a rim and tom driven
beat. Mike also helps keep it alive and driving. Trey eventually
switches to percussion kit?
20:00 Page drops back to the Grand Piano. 20:40 Page just goes off and
Mike lays off his dissonant bass groove. Nice interplay between Page,
Gordo and Fish here.
21:30 Trey comes back in with some scratches and feedback distortion and
delays. Very cool and patient reentry by Trey. Jam seems like it may
take off again when Trey enters with a high sustained note but the jam
slowly fizzles into Lifeboy..."
That jam was freaking GNARBARS!! I'm talking "stank face" and bombing
runs from start to finish. Tinley Park '93 Antelope Opera anyone??!! I
previously thought Red Rocks '96 was the best Mike's Song I'd ever
heard. This version took that one out back and promptly made it bury
it's own grave before capping it in the noggin. Yea, it was like that.
>Lifeboy - Oh, thank you for the gift of perfect set placement!! Lifeboy is Lifeboy. Great version!
>Weekapaug Groove - And out of the ashes of Lifeboy arises
Paug. Seriously, that Lifeboy was so friggin' nice in that "bridge" song
slot....Great version that rages exactly as expected until it dies down
into a.....THEREMIN SOLO?!?!?! WHAT?!?!? WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?!?!?!
>Theremin Somewhere Over the Rainbow - "WTF Phish" just like we like/dislike it. Nothing to say. SOTR played on theremin, lol. Wut.
Waste - Ala the Clifford Ball, we get a respite from the insanity
with a nice little acoustic set! Waste is my favorite Phish ballad and
one of my favorite Phish songs ever. Sounds gorgeous as hell played all
delicately on acoustic and piano....Just GORGEOUS!
Train Song - Very nice. Train Song is Train Song. Sounds great but nothing special.
Strange Design - It's cool to hear these new songs that the
audience wasn't super familiar with yet. Strange Design is always a
super nice treat, like the lost cousin of Waste or something. And in
such a Page-heavy show, it's the perfect call to be played. Really,
really, achingly lovely tonight.
Sweet Adeline - All hail a capella Phish!!! Good golly this sounds GREAT! Awesome version
...and with that, we return to our previously scheduled programming....
David Bowie - Absolutely outstandingly perfect reading of the song.
Busting with energy, while also being nailed tighter than a front door
in a bad neighborhood at bed time. I always find it hard to describe a
good Bowie. This is like any other great mid-90s version. Pretty lengthy
on the whole, staying firmly "in the box" yet also exploring every
square inch of said box. This version just absolutely explodes with energy and fire. The boys make the most of the space and delivering a smashing Type I reading for the ages.
Sleeping Monkey - Is Sleeping Monkey
Rocky Top - Yeehaw! Love Rocky Top but its just RT. Nothing special.
All in all.....uh....what do I say?! The show is legendary for a
reason. This didn't just feel like a hot show - this felt like something
"special" for some reason. It felt BEASTLY! And this second set is just
insane. It's a little "too much" on the highjinks for me (theremin,
acoustic set, SM/RT encore, etc) but I mean, this is absolutely a show
everyone needs to experience at least once.
In conclusion - if you don't get anything else, at least listen to the
contender for one of the greatest Mike's Songs ever played. Ever. EVER.
Seriously, that MS catapulted itself into, like, the top 20 Phish jams
I've ever heard. It's NEXT LEVEL!!!!
@OmIsWhereTheHeartIs is that long enough for you?
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