RebaReview #23
Morrison, CO 8/4/96
Red Rocks, Set II
Time: 13:31

THE DIRECTIONS (0:00): Very nice start coming out of AC/DC Bag, I like
that.  Mike is catching my ear early...can't hear much melted wax
clapping...Page hits those chords...whee!  I think we have the
directions down...shall we take a sip?

THE SIP (2:24): No need for me to interrupt...I think someone is doing
those vocal pullaways again...wish I were more musical so I could
describe it...strong build...hold your nose, kid.

THE SWALLOW (4:47): Big cheer goes up for the swallow...not perfect, but
a perfect swallow is hard to come by.  It's damn good.  Not razor
sharp...bah, it's great.

THE CHILL (6:09): Just GordoFishRebaBop, that's all...Mike leaves the
fourth measure for Fishman...nice...he does the same thing the second
time through, but in the gap Page comes in just a moment too soon...Mike
handles this nicely, and Trey's chirp-entrance at 6:29 is smooth.  Trey
starts out by poking around on a mellow line.  He finds a lick to focus
on, a nice low one, and follows it through the first shift.  He uses
that lick sparingly, then starts to noodle...he briefly touches on a
lick I've heard before, maybe from one of those Europe shows...he
noodles away from it quickly and there's another shift.  Trey continues
to noodle gently, and the shift has softened Mike and Fish...at 7:30
Fish moves to his ride and alters the rhythm...Page adds his ghostly
touches and Trey really starts to get caught up in it...quite nice...the
crowd thinks so...Trey starts to work on a high lick and Fishman starts
to pick things up, still on the ride...Trey starts to get to Fishman who
syncopates just a little bit, and at 8:32 Trey shifts to some more
sustained riffs.  This really gets into Page's blood, which in turn gets
Fish going...Trey is really starting to feel it, getting lost in the
Chill...a shift at 8:52 and Page jumps over onto the baby grand...there
is something in the upper reaches that seems to posess Trey for a few
moments, but he eventually drops back down...he's created some turmoil
to deal with, so he works his way down low, letting things ebb a
little...not too long, though, for soon he's building to a forceful
shift at 10:02.  Immedeately he begins to get sucked back up, that lick
calling him back...the maelstrom is growing...as a shift approaches,
Trey instead resorts to some _dark_, low-level sustain around 10:40.
Fishman really starts to freak, lots of synchopation...this just grows
and grows and grows...Trey is becoming completely possessed...let's just
hope this jam ain't explosive.

The tub is definitely seething...finally, Trey shifts away from the
sustain and back towards the higher lick...everyone begins to gather in
behind him...damn, what is that lick he's stuck on?  It's showing up
again...can he let it go?  He manages to angle up and away from it long
enough for a shift at 12:12...this takes him up the ladder a step, where
he noodles about for a few...soon he gets stuck hammering on a few
notes...hang on...this could blow things open a bit...not a bad shot at
release at 12:51, but there's still a _lot_ of tension.  Page is going
off now, and Trey starts in on some high-level sustain...for a second I
think he found that lick again, but they instead hit another shift, and
things begin to reach critical mass...Trey begins to work for another
shot, and...
BLAM! 13:31.

THE WET WHISTLE:Um...that's it.  No tom roll, no whistling, just right
in the middle of that last build, wham.  Scent of a Mule starts about 15
seconds later.

*****

When I first heard this I had a chance to just close my eyes and get
lost in the jam.  I got really lost in it, totally caught up in this
endless, tremendous build, and then right as things start to look as if
they might explode, I got whammed.  Anyone who has listened to this
version must know what I mean.  One moment you are cruising through a
potentially monsterous Reba and the next moment, BAM!  You've been
dropped back on your living room floor.  Leaves ya momentarily
disoriented.

I don't have any idea what happened there.  Things seemed to be going
fine, even though Trey was a little possessed...gee, how often does that
happen? So I don't know...and I don't know how I can grade this.

I mean, for lack of a better description, it's like one moment
everything is fine and then someone accidentaly hits the "Abort"
button.  There just isn't any way you can grade something that isn't
finished.

Too bad, because there was some real potential for a wild finish.  Like
I said, Trey is just out of this world through most of the jam, and I
think the rest of the guys were all caught up in it, too.  Probably no
A+, but definitely one that I would put in the running for a strong
B...right up to the part where we ran smack into the Rocky mountains.
One last analogy...you spend all night long watching Geraldo dig up Al
Capone's vault, then right as they open it, your cable goes out...and
you never find out what the hell was in the vault.

Finest in the Nation?  The world will never know.

N/R (Helmet and safety glasses recommended for non-casual listening)