(written on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of this show in 2014)

20 YEARS LATER (by Spauldazzio)

It seemed innocent enough. By the fall of 1994 I had been to dozens of concerts, so driving 100 miles south to Louisville was no big deal. What was a big deal was that unbeknownst to me my music and life trajectory was about to take a major turn.
You see, the 80’s were fraught with big hair, spandex, and loads of makeup. And that’s just the men. However, thanks to my two older brothers and a really cool neighbor bands like REM, U2, The Cure, and the Talking Heads had managed to find their way into my cassette player. As enjoyable as those bands were, they weren’t mine. They belonged to my brothers’ generation.

When the 90’s started to take off I began identifying with a newer crop of artists. Ritual de lo Habitual was released in August of 1990. The first time I heard the words, “At this moment… you should be with us,” all the big hair of the 80’s blew away in the breeze of Perry Farrell's voice. These songs weren’t about cherry pie or roses and thorns. They were a visceral attacks on my senses. THIS was art and I was so happy to have finally found it. The momentum of music from that point on is well documented, so there’s no need to rehash it here. However, by the time we approached the mid-90s things began to get pretty dark. Jane’s Addiction had broken up, Kurt Cobain decided eating a shotgun was better than being married to Courtney Love and NIN’s love song, Closer was rising up the charts.

None of this jived with me. I was happy-go-lucky, didn’t take things too seriously. But I still loved to rock. All this gloom and doom was bringing me down. What was everyone so angry about?
So when I found myself on 4th Street, weaving my way through a drum circle, passing a guy selling veggie burritos, and entering into the stunning Palace Theater that night, I knew something was different. These people seemed happy.

The music was in a word, confusing. Rock, bluegrass, funk, and at some point the drummer played a vacuum. They covered a Boston tune and closed the show with a song they had already played earlier in the evening (I was later to learn this is called a Reprise). Although baffled by the music I knew one thing. I had to see it again. This was a celebration of ALL music styles and a celebration of life. I was hooked.

Little did I know the adventures that awaited me and the friendships that I would make. And as much fun as the music and the adventures are it’s the friendships I cherish the most. Thanks to each and everyone of you for being a companion on this ride.

There are a couple of highlights in this show that are worthy of checking out but I still think 10.8.94 is the better show from the beginning run of this tour. The listener should keep in mind that this being Fall ‘94, even average versions of most tunes are very well played.

Sample to open. I’m not the biggest fan of the tune but I like the placement. Next comes Divided Sky, opening things up nicely. A typically great Fall ‘94 version that hits the spot. A few songs later we get Stash, which is a solid version, followed by Guyute. This song was still in its infancy but this is my favorite version of the 3 they had played so far.

The band brings it down with a few acoustic numbers (that are challenging to hear on this recording) before closing the set with CDT, a short and sweet, but rather uneventful version.

Much of the second set is solid. Esther makes an appearance, which is always welcome. And then there’s the Tweezer. It’s a pretty good version and shows further signs of what’s to come in Bangor, which is now less than a month away, as it gets more exploratory than the previous take on the tour. That being said, it’s an interesting version but I wouldn’t say it’s a must-listen.

The rest of the tunes that complete the set are fine, with Slave making its tour debut and, like much of the rest of the show, is a solid but unremarkable version. Fish does offer some fun banter right before Love You, which is a treat.

Overall, this is a decent but not extraordinary show with only Tweezer really being worth more than a listen or two.