PHISH: 8/13/93 Murat Theatre, Indianapolis, IN essay by Phish Archivist Kevin Shapiro (6/11/07)
Phish 8/13/93
When reviewing shows for release, there are a
number of approaches. One is to look for music never heard by the
community – something that's basically new to everyone who hears it. A
good recent example of this is the Headphones Jam
recorded at a studio session in the barn. The relative privacy of that
setting, while retained on the tapes, changes as it becomes engrained
in the collective memory of more and more listeners. If the music and
performance are special enough, it may eventually rise to legend. Other
shows are chosen because they are known and loved. They have already
been accepted as legendary and literally beg for release regardless of
the sources that circulate. Without them, the catalog – some would even
say the fan experience – is simply incomplete.
The August 13, 1993 Murat Theatre
show is a perfect example of the latter. The venue was an
Egyptian-themed Shrine Temple, palatial on the outside and dripping
with red and gold trimmings inside. About 1700 attended Phish's first
show here, which was typical for the time with just enough room for
everyone who arrived to pay their $17 and enjoy the show. The
performance was groundbreaking with whole styles of playing and
interacting unfolding in real time. Adding to the backdrop of this
surreal summer 1993 tour was the progressive rock, conceptual dream-space album Rift.
The
added twist is that audience tapes circulated of the Murat thus far
were made from the extreme back of the balcony, where the taper's
section was located that night instead of its usual spot adjacent to
the mix position. Phish implemented the official taper's section
earlier that summer when the forest of microphone stands in front of
the mix position grew too thick for the band and crew to see each
other. That meant that circulating recordings of this classic show,
instantly famous for its mind-melting (or is it mind-melding?) Bathtub
Gin > Ya Mar and Mike's Song > Lifeboy have always been amiss. A
soundboard cassette of the second set of the show was copied early on
and has been among the most commonly traded tapes/CD's for years, but
the first set has never been fully appreciated due to limitations of
the audience source. This show is legendary among Phishheads based
almost entirely on the second set! That's not to say set two is not
worthy on its own, but the entire show is risky and magical in so many
ways. Every note must be heard in the highest possible quality to fully
appreciate what transpired amid the geometrically ornate background of
that beautiful Masonic Temple.
Summer
1993 was a time when each show somehow surpassed the last. From the
sunny innocence of the Cincinnati Zoo to the Roller Coaster of the Mind
at Darien Lake to the first time at Nautica Stage, from the penultimate
stage fog of Grand Rapids' Great Gig in the Sky to the blazing Split
Open and Melt in Rochester, this tour was for the ages. The audience
was spellbound every night sharing incredible discoveries with the band
that kept unfolding with more clarity and purpose than previously
imagined. Until now, the only show from this amazing tour released was LivePhish 07 from 8/14/93 Tinley Park.
The Murat Theatre release continues the story of LP07, working
backwards a day and whetting the appetite to hear more and more of this
powerful era of Phish music.
It
is true that the Murat show is capped by the pure unbridled majesty of
Bathtub Gin and Mike's Song, but the whole show is worthy of strong
recognition. Set one began with a unique opening combination of
Lengthwise > Llama, a dub-wise Makisupa Policeman with an easy slide
into Foam and an exploratory Stash (which entered hyper-space a couple
nights later). After a special Friday the 13th interlude, Ginseng
Sullivan featured "Mr. Butt with protruding arms and legs on Madonna
washboard" followed by a formidable Fluffhead with an acoustic
introduction by Trey. My Mind's Got a Mind of It's Own and Horn
provided a bit of a head-rest, before they ended the set with a
powerful and dark David Bowie sprinkled with licks from the likes of
The Mango Song and Magilla.
While
the Murat Gin > Ya Mar and Mike's Song > Lifeboy define the show
– perhaps even the era, the band threw caution to the wind throughout
this entire show resulting in transcendent musical and emotional
heights. The power of the Buried Alive > Rift set two opening
combination started things off solidly. The set continued with a
masterpiece Bathtub Gin that featured a massive, historic jam rooted at
times in Weekapaug Groove resolving into a spine-tingling segue to Ya
Mar. At this point, the place nearly exploded with sheer energy,
setting the stage for the evening's next improvisational experiment, a
deep, dark Mike's Song. Interwoven with Stranglehold teases and other
musical madness still sizzling with high voltage electricity after
Bathtub Gin, Mike's Song begat another near perfect segue to the
contemplative spaciousness of Lifeboy. As trusted guides have pointed
out, this Lifeboy
was truly "spiritual." In addition to a host of dark heavy jamming to
the depths of consciousness, this show still maintains a playful vibe
throughout. It ended that way with Oh Kee Pah Ceremony > Suzy
Greenberg and the perfect yin-yang of an encore, Amazing Grace and
Highway to Hell.
To
celebrate the newfound availability on CD of more shows from the
archives, filler from the Murat Theatre soundcheck was included. That
provides a glimpse at what was almost an interesting development for
Fishman material with Love Me Two Times, a cool little jam known as
Page's Hand a/k/a Indianapolis Soundcheck Jam and finally Ginseng
Sullivan which had been debuted August 11th and reveals the band
working out the details of where to place Fish with his Madonna
washboard for the best acoustics.
This
must-hear show from a must-hear tour is as good as they get, and this
is the first opportunity in nearly fourteen years to hear the whole
show in crisp soundboard audio beautifully re-mastered by Fred
Kevorkian. An added bonus is the fact that this landmark show along
with 11/14/95 Orlando, 12/1/95 Hershey and 12/29/97 Madison Square Garden are now available on CD with filler from the soundchecks. It's been a long time coming and it's never been better.
Enjoy!
--ks