X-Vmsmail-To: ALLMUSIC
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.allmusic
Date:         Thu, 23 Jul 1992 11:30:12 -0400
From:         Russ Gelinas <R_GELINAS@UNHH.UNH.EDU>
Subject:      santana, phish
X-To:         allmusic%auvm.american.edu@cunyvm.cuny.edu

   Phish were supposed to go on at 7:30, but were already playing when
we got to Holman Stadium in Nashua, NH at 7:15.  Really nice place
to see a show; we were actually treated like adult humans by the stadium
staff, and the stadium itself is small, and well-kept.  A nice change
from giant pack-em-ins like Foxboro.  Anyway, Trey Anastasio of Phish
is a very good guitarist, not overly creative, but still very good.
Phish as a band, though, didn't do much for me.  They were tight as can
be, so tight they came across as contrived.  The Deadheads in the crowd
seemed to go for them, but I can't understand why.  The Dead play "on the
edge", and that's where they get their energy.  Phish were always *exactly*
where they wanted to be, and their music was stagnent.

   Santana and band were great.  The band was polished, and Carlos' guitar
playing was smoking, and for the most part, creative and inspired.  A couple
of times the song was not inspiring for Carlos, and his playing reflected
that.  Anastasio came out for an extended jam in the middle of the set.
Backed by Santana's band, Trey really shined.  My advice:  Dump the
rest of the Phish.  Everyone in Santanas band got a chance to solo; the
3 percussionists got many chances.  But it was the Carlos show.  The way
he can put subtle inflections in a wailing hyper-speed solo is mind-boggling.
Unfortunately, his stage volume was not loud enough (we had good seats right
in front of the mixing board, so I noticed the lack of stage volume when he
first came on), and so he wasn't able to get those patented Santana sustained
notes.  But he still was able to wring out some of the most soulful solos
I've heard recently.  Some highlights:  Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen,
Oye Como Va, Jingo, a new tune he did with John Lee Hooker (much like the
one he did on the Healer, but with Spoonful licks someone stuck in the
middle), and finishing with Soul Sacrifice, which included an acoustic
guitar flemenco-style interlude, and somehow sandwiched in Coltrane's A
Love Supreme!  Throughout all of his solos, Carlos quoted riffs freely from
others, especially Hendrix (he wore a Hendrix t-shirt), but he also played
the riff from the Light My Fire guitar solo, and some others that escape me
right now.  The lowlights:  The moron behind us who decided he needed to
talk really loudly during a very quiet song of just Carlos and the keys.
He got pissed later when a Dead/Phish head started dancing right in front
of him, blocking his view.  What goes around, comes around.  Also, they
didn't play one of my favorites, Europa, maybe because of the volume problems.
Minor complaints.

   Santana himself is quite a character.  He exhorted the crowd to eschew
politics, because, he says, real change is only possible from making your
neighbor happy.  A true hippy ;-). It was a very religious kind of show,
without being organized religious, if you follow me.  More of the mystic
kind.  All in all, I'm extremely glad I didn't pass this show up.

Russ
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