From: Charlie Dirksen
10/17/85 Finbar's, Burlington, VT
(Rvwd 11/95)
I love listening to these muddy, scratchy old tapes!
MikeS segues smoothly out of a SMOKIN Alumni Blues.
I think it is a DAMN SHAME that they don't play this
tune much anymore. It has such great potential as an
improvisational jazz number, which they could just
wail on! Trey, in the opening of the MikeS, says
"This is one that Mike wrote -- called 'Mike wrote
that.' [laughs]" Me no want no nice guy.. very
well-articulated lyrics, with Trey actually laughing
on one of his "Me no want no nice guy" lines. Mike
is very excited to sing the "Big dude in the doorway"
verse... I'm sure there weren't tramps at this show,
but the "tramps segment" begins at the usual 2:30 or
so point. Trey starts jamming with the others right
off the bat.. no room for just Mike and Page in
here. It is a very groovy jam.. not at all typical
of MikeS these days. Frankly, I like this a hell of
a lot more! Trey and Mike just jam. Trey
methodically scales up and down the frets.. very
nice. Allmans-esque in this sense. I wish I had a
crisp board of this MikeS! Trey just plaintively
jams.. nothing terribly quick or crazy, just lots of
notes.
Kinda slows down a bit after 5 mins or so, but they
are still basically grooving away. At 5:30 ish, Trey
and the others do a little jam for ten seconds or so
which was typical of the very old versions of MikeS.
This short little jam came (and, in the version,
comes) right before the final MikeS theme ending that
we all know and love. It would be neat to hear this
little jam again one day! The MikeS theme close
(that we are all very familiar with) comes in, and
the MikeS ends at about 6:10.. but on the final
chord, Mike immediately, immediately, sings a short
little weird verse..not in the MikeS theme.. I've
never heard this right after the MikeS close
before... What they hell did he just say? (rewind)
This is really inaudible: "I was born to ?model?,
?He? is just a ?dream?, life is not what it ?seems to
be?." Then the MikeS really ends (6:16 or so).
Apparently, this must have been something they did
pre-12/86 MikeS, because I had never heard this until
this tape.. and they do it on 10/15/86 below.
Anyway, B- rating for this fairly decent Mike's
Song. After it, there's a cut into a sloppy Dave's
Energy Guide.. well, its sloppy at first but gets
much better. This is such an awesome jam!!! I wish
they did this more often in its entirety.. although,
admittedly, they just did an "entire" one in the
Jones Beach Tweezer (the best is the Cities->Dave's
Energy Guide-> Cities of 8/6/88.. it is one of my
favorite Phish segues! amazing stuff). This Dave's
must have been one of the first times they played it
(tis mightily shaky).