Top 25 Tours — #3 — Fall 1994

Summary

Helping Friendly Podcast Episode Summary

Episode: Top 25 Tours — #3 — Fall 1994
Release Date: November 27, 2024
Host/Author: Osiris Media

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Introduction

In this episode of the Helping Friendly Podcast (HFPod), hosted by Megan and RJ, the discussion centers around Phish's Fall 1994 tour, ranked as the third best tour in the podcast's Top 25 Tours series. The hosts delve deep into the nuances of this pivotal period in Phish's history, exploring the band's musical evolution, fan experiences, and the tour's lasting impact.

Listener Feedback and Tour Significance

The episode begins with Megan sharing a heartfelt email from a listener named Travis from Fairfax, California. Travis recounts his transformative experience attending Phish's Fall 1994 shows, highlighting how this tour was instrumental in expanding his fandom:

Travis (Email): "Fall 94 is the tour that turned me on, turned me from a fan to fanatic... It felt like a secret world that I was more than excited to turn as many people onto as possible."
[05:46]

Megan and RJ echo Travis's sentiments, emphasizing the tour's role in solidifying Phish's dedicated fan base and marking a period of significant artistic growth.

Ranking and Contextual Discussion

The hosts discuss the tour's ranking, noting that while fans have placed Fall 1994 at number five, they believe it deserves a higher spot. Brian, another co-host, shares his evolving perspective on the tour:

Brian: "I think this is the number two best tour that they've ever played... this is an amazing tour."
[17:34]

RJ adds a critical viewpoint, suggesting that Fall 1994 should be ranked even higher due to its experimental nature and the band's willingness to push musical boundaries:

RJ: "I think this should be the number two ranked tour of all time. This is a band at the absolute top of their game... I'm really surprised at the level of risk they're willing to take."
[17:33]

Musical Analysis: Jams and Performances

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to analyzing the improvisational jamming that characterized the Fall 1994 tour. The hosts highlight how Phish incorporated jazz influences and deep space exploration into their performances, leading to some of their most experimental jams. Megan points out the emotional progression within the jams throughout the tour:

Megan: "By the end of the tour, it is unbelievable. They're actually finding emotion in this space."
[24:31]

RJ concurs, noting the band's transition from playful experimentation to more cohesive and emotionally resonant performances:

RJ: "The search for fully unified connective jamming has begun... This is not just a stepping stone."
[83:21]

Specific Show Highlights

The episode features detailed discussions of standout performances and jams from various shows during the Fall 1994 tour. Some notable mentions include:

• November 22, 1994, Indiana University: Brian shares a personal anecdote about his first experience with the jam "Hood," while Megan discusses the commercialization aspects of the tour's end.

• November 23, 1994, Fox Theater in St. Louis: RJ praises the setlist and the seamless transitions between songs like "Splittin' Open and Melt" into "Buffalo Bill," highlighting the band's musical agility.

• November 16, 1994, St. Louis: The hosts reflect on the emotional depth of the encore and the heartfelt yet playful rendition of "Choctaw's Torture Reprise."

Notable jams discussed include "Simple," "Hood," "Tweezer," and "Reba," each exemplifying different aspects of the band's improvisational prowess and musical experimentation.

Takeaways and Conclusions

As the episode nears its end, Megan and RJ synthesize their discussions into key takeaways about the Fall 1994 tour's significance:

• Artistic Evolution: The tour marked a period where Phish honed their improvisational skills, blending structure with spontaneity in unprecedented ways.

• Fan Base Growth: Fall 1994 was pivotal in expanding Phish's fan base, turning casual listeners into dedicated superfans through electrifying performances and emotional connections.

• Musical Risk-Taking: Phish's willingness to experiment and push musical boundaries during this tour set the stage for their future successes and influenced their songwriting approach.

Megan reflects on how this tour influenced Phish's subsequent music, noting the shift towards more emotionally driven songs and the legacy of exploration begun during Fall 1994.

Upcoming Episodes and Wrap-Up

Before concluding, the hosts announce their plans to rank the second tour in their Top 25 series—Phish's Fall 1997 tour—despite fan votes placing it first. They tease discussions on how Fall 1994 paved the way for even more ambitious tours and invite listeners to engage with their upcoming content.

RJ: "We're going to talk all about it, but we're going to have to defend our decision here to make it the number two tour of all time."
[86:36]

Megan encourages listeners to stay tuned for a detailed analysis in the next episode, promising further insights into Phish's storied touring history.

Notable Quotes

• Brian: "Sometimes music is just meant to be listened to and enjoyed. That's all I'm saying."
  [02:10]

• RJ: "This is a band at the absolute apex of their powers, doing things that I will be listening back to whenever we are finished with this series."
  [19:08]

• Megan: "I think that the intentionality behind the jamming is really what matters."
  [81:07]

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Join Us: For fans of Phish and insightful musical analysis, tune into the Helping Friendly Podcast on your preferred podcast platform. Follow us on social media and visit sunsetlakecbd.com for exclusive offers and updates.

This summary captures the essence of the Fall 1994 tour discussion, highlighting the hosts' perspectives, listener experiences, and the tour's impact on Phish's musical journey.

Transcript

[Megan]

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[Brian]

It's all about the context, and that's why we're here.

[RJ]

Oh, rj. Oh, rj. It's always about the context. Context is king.

[Megan]

We're gonna.

[Brian]

We're here to tell you guys about fall 1994, but I've been trying to convince Megan, and maybe I'm not gonna try to convince Brian, but maybe we all need to just think. Think less about this stuff, you know, like, maybe that's what this project has done to me. Maybe I'm just like, I can't. Like, Brian texted something about Goose today and something involving him listening carefully to a thing, and I'm like, when I listen to Goose, I just turn it on and it's music and it, like, pours over me and I'm like, happy to be.

[Megan]

Turn it up and let it go.

[Brian]

Almost like that, you know, you just.

[Megan]

Like, give it some time. You just, like, turn it up, let it go. It's the next song coming on the radio. It's a amazing song.

[Brian]

Sometimes music is just meant to be listened to and enjoyed. That's all I'm saying.

[RJ]

I think you've hit on. I am coming to realize with regards to Goose, that is bringing back the enjoyment, but in a very different way than it used to be. But that's for a different podcast. We're. We're not a Goose podcast here. This isn't. Has Goose played 25 tours at this point in time? Could we do this about Goose? I don't think so.

[Megan]

Probably not. But I will say that they crushed their MSG debut this week and they played monster songs. They filled the arena. They sounded great. And I remembered what a fun rock band they are. So to your point, rj. Yeah, they sounded amazing. Rick. Rick harmonizing with Susan on Don't do it. Just stop. So good.

[Brian]

Don't do it. But do do it. If you're considering leaving us a review or Virus Premium, which you can do, obviously you know where to do that. Okay, a couple of things.

[RJ]

We're still quoting reviews after last week. Interesting.

[Brian]

Yeah, we got the best review ever last week.

[Megan]

We still want them even when they're amazing and special.

[Brian]

So amazing. I posted that. I got more responses to that on an Instagram post than almost anything I've ever posted because people are like, yes, this is it. Okay, so there are.

[RJ]

Join the line guys. Join the club.

[Brian]

I just want everyone to know I've talked about this every week, but I'll keep doing it. We have four reprise shows coming up. If you like Fish, you might like reprise to December 19th in Northampton, Mass. January 23rd in Pembroke, Mass. June January 24th in Bridgeport, Connecticut and January 25th in Newmarket, New Hampshire at the Stone Church. So we are, we got and we have March shows to be announced soon, including our New York debut. It's going to be fun. Okay, one other thing. We have live bait tracks galore from fall 1994. I just want everyone to know that that spreadsheet exists and I think everyone who wants to have it has it. But if you don't let me know, send me a message. Someone sent me a message today. So we, you know, we want you to be happy. This guy named Travis, who's awesome sent us a email and he I'm just going to read a little bit of it because this is in lieu of a, of a phone message while Brian watches soccer. I'm going to just read this note from Travis. Travis from Fairfax, California. Well, he said he wanted to start by saying thank you. Your nearly year long journey through the 25 best fish tours of all time has been such an enjoyable listening experience. Meandered through most of your episodes and leave each one wanting to focus on that particular year of FISH and listen for what you have described and outlined. So seriously, thank you. Consider me a first time caller, longtime listener. He saw his first show at in at 42094 in Lexington, Virginia. He hadn't heard them at all. He went and then he went to Great woods which happened to be when they played Gameheads. Then he then he saw 108 and 102794 and I just want to start here because he said, I'm not sure if fall 94 is the most important tour in the band's history, but sign me up for the contingent that thinks this tour is when the fan base ballooned exponentially. A lot of people went from, I've heard of Fish to holy shit, I can't get enough of Fish. And then he talked just a little bit about the costume and the hot dog and all the stuff that happened, but he said, Fall 94 is the tour that turned me on, turned me from a fan to fanatic. And again, I'm guessing I'm not the only one. It felt like a secret world that I was more than excited to turn as many people onto as possible.

[Megan]

That's exactly how I felt. Travis, great email.

[Brian]

Great email. Brian, how do you feel about that?

[RJ]

I mean, I feel like he nailed the vibe around fall 94. I think it. To me, this is when Fish became dead serious, but also was having the time of their lives. And we're walking on stage and taking massive risks and understood they had the muscle memory, they had the time, you know, the reps in where they were, uh, they'd been taking these chances. They had their kind of formula of what worked on stage. They were leveling up from a venue standpoint. They're playing this really long tour that kind of mirrors what they did 18 months earlier in spring of 1993. But they're now playing in small arenas and they are ambitious enough and kind of crazy enough to do things like cover the Beatles. And that type of ambition allows them to take even bigger chances within their shows. But, you know, I'm also here to apologize because my. My views of fall 94 have changed completely over the last couple of weeks of listening to this tour. And a lot of my feelings I just shared are relatively new, which we'll get into throughout the episode.

[Megan]

Wow. An apology from Brinkman right out of the gate.

[Brian]

Yeah. Wow. This is amazing. I think this is the third ranked tour. Obviously, if you haven't been following along, we're doing the top 25 tours of all time.

[RJ]

Welcome aboard.

[Brian]

If you're just joining, you know, you have 2022 to catch up on. This is ranked number five by fans. It was ranked number three by us. I think it's appropriately ranked perfectly right there, exactly where it should be at number three. But, Megan, is there any scene setting you want to do before we start debating this. This rating?

[Megan]

Yeah, definitely. I did. The only thing I wanted to say was that I think the fact that Travis made that this tour comes at a time when they're starting to peak pre Jerry Garcia's death, which I think is a really huge marker that the fact that they're taking these kind of risks on stage when they only have their own fans to get them to where they need to go or they might want to go is, to me, so huge. And I think I hadn't. You know, this was when I saw my first show. This. This tour is super meaningful to me and I've always loved it. I think there's such a tone to it and such a special feeling about this tour. And I have, like, some themes that emerged for me that, that surprised me that I want to talk about later. But I just think the risk of doing this when you are building your fan base still is just absolutely phenomenal. And I don't know that there are many bands that would take insane risks like play bluegrass sets and do 40 minute deep space jams while they're trying to teach fans about their music all over the country. It's just pretty cool.

[RJ]

And like 10 months after they had been deliberately trying to promote a very accessible rock album, which they don't play on this tour, which they don't really play on this tour to build off of, had four come out at this point in time. Blues Travelers four come out at this point in time. I think four and under the table in July at this point. I'm gonna double check this, but, like, this is the jam band pop moment, you know, And Fish is clearly at the early part of fall 94, listening to a label doing what they quote, unquote, should be doing to build that fan base. And to your point, Meg, like, they're taking chances and they're taking risks that I don't know of a lot of bands that, with all that pressure and all that potential, are willing to take at this point in time. And without that, who are they? I don't know. This is. This is thrilling, career defining stuff.

[Brian]

Brian. I want to just note, both those albums came out during this tour, so. Or September, October.

[Megan]

That's wild. Really.

[RJ]

The vibe is in the air. They know Popper, they know Dave. Like, they know what's going on and how. And they can probably see those records and those singles climbing as they're like, why don't we play tweezer for 30 minutes and just infuse a bunch of weird noise sounds like while those guys play their singles each night, you know.

[Brian]

Megan, I just want to say a couple things about 94. I don't know if you. If you want to talk about the year in general, but I did.

[Megan]

Yeah, I will. I'll do it after you.

[Brian]

I just wanted to say that November, I guess all the shows on the entire tour were all being recorded in multi track for the preparation of a live one. So they, like, they knew that they were being recorded in a different way and that they were. I think probably after the Hoist experience, they were like, let's just put out an album of our live stuff. And I just. It's an interesting thing to think about because we know all the songs, obviously that came out of this tour that ended up on a live one. But it's just an interesting thing to think about how they go into. How they go into the tour. Thinking about that, knowing that they're being. They're. They're basically preparing album material.

[RJ]

That's a really good way to put it. And they're to your. To that point, like they're preparing album material, but they also know that that album material is from where they excel, which is the live stage.

[Megan]

Right.

[RJ]

They tried this very tight, kind of buttoned up rock and roll album. I think Hoist is great. This is. No, but it's not. It's a very different tone inside of Fish. A live one is like a proper Fish studio album, if you will, just in front of an audience, which I know is contradictory to say things like that.

[Megan]

Yeah, that's an interesting point. I hadn't really thought about that, but it's so true. Yeah. So do you want me to give a little rundown on any.

[Brian]

Yeah, sorry.

[Megan]

Is this.

[Brian]

I have a couple quotes from Trey, interviews from. From the fall of 94 that I want to share, but maybe we can do that, you know, maybe we can do that again later.

[Megan]

You can do it whenever you want, rj. Whenever you want. You just tell me when you want to do it.

[RJ]

Whenever it's contextually appropriate. All right.

[Megan]

I think it's about context.

[Brian]

I think I'll wait. Go ahead, Megan. I'm. I'm prepared to hand the mic over.

[Megan]

Okay. Yeah. This is the seventh year in a row that they've played over 100 shows a year, which is just bananas if you think about it. Hoist comes out in March. They do two full country loops this year, so one in the spring, and this tour that we're talking about in the fall, Big east coast and southeast tournament amphitheaters. And I think you just really have to remind yourself that 94 is such a huge year. You have the bomb Factory show You've got the first MSG show, which is right after this tour. You got the New Year's Eve hot dog gag at the Boston Garden. Like, this is. This is like a big, like, fish lore year. Musically, they're doing a lot of the. Including your own. Hey. And two plus two, like exercises to practice listening and communicating while they're improvising. And you have Reverend John Mosier on this tour, who's the banjo player from aru, and he's coaching them in bluegrass. And they're also studying barbershop with Paige's landlord. These dudes, they did it all this year. They're 61 debuts this year. And that number is jacked because of the White Album, but still, like, it's pretty insane. And on this Tour there are 46 shows and 167 jam entries on the jam chart. So that's 3.63 per show, which to me makes a lot of sense because you're not looking at the higher end of jams per show on some of these tours. But what's different is that some of these jams are such kind of deep sea monsters. They just. They're so deep and so exploratory that you're not doing multiple 40 minute jams in a show. You're just not.

[Brian]

Yeah, I don't know. I don't even know what to say about that.

[RJ]

This is where we're now at a point where the Jam charted entries align with what should be and enter like. Like these. A lot of these. Like when I went through the jam charts to listen to this tour.

[Megan]

Yeah.

[RJ]

I have so many top jam recommendations, I can't even. Because RJ will not let me just list dates and song names in order. But there's so, so many. Even the ones I asked for, to try to like separate it out and be like, well, these are the supreme ones. Like, there's at least like 15 to 17 of those. Like, this is monster stuff. Oh, man. Can I say something really controversial just to like, get. Get the episode churning? Get it going.

[Megan]

Let's go.

[Brian]

Can I just. Sorry, before you do that, can I just say that I actually have a.

[RJ]

Put it on hold.

[Brian]

I have a problem. There's. There's a little too much on the jam charts. Let's be honest.

[Megan]

There's always. It's always bloated.

[Brian]

But this. Okay, sorry. Just one example which we're going to talk about. This show, obviously, 1029 has 13 entries. It's the whole show.

[Megan]

The whole show's on the jam.

[Brian]

You could Just say the show's great. I mean, we really doing this. Like, every single song is. Is. Is a jam chart. Like, then it doesn't even cease to matter whether it's a jam chart. Just, like, listen to everything. Sorry. Go ahead, Brian.

[RJ]

Well, I, I. You just brought up another hot take. I mean, I do think that we need to submit our list of recommended jams to the powers that be at the end of this and say, hey, I think that we've, like, found a tighter jam chart list. Like, you. You guys can have a recommendation list. You know, like, hey, here's 100 songs from this tour you should hear, but here are the 20 to 30 that you have to hear.

[Megan]

Yeah, like, the top jams.

[RJ]

Because as I was going through this, I was sending this list to a few friends of mine because I was having this moment of, like, how do I not spend all of my time in fall 94 fish? How do I not reach for this tour? I always think of this tour as this kind of stepping stone from Spring 92's Awakening. Spring 93. 90, August 93, like, really realizing what the hay hole jamming does. Summer 94's exuberance and energy and kind of gimmickry and really just, like, playfulness. And then I always thought of fall 94 is like, the first time they kind of wade into the deep end, and that's then perfected in summer. And as we talked about in our Summer 95 episode, that's tightened up in the fall, and then they. They hit this peak and they shake things up and they. And they reinvent themselves for 97. And as I'm listening to this, I'm just like, no, this is no stepping stone. Not at all. This is a moment reach. This is a band at the absolute top of their game that are not just playing pristine compositions and playing with energy, and their tones are great, and they have just amazing humor, you know, and. And fish lore snuck in there. But they're taking these massive chances within jams that would not really be replicated aside. Well, summer 95, sure, but like, this period in summer 95, we're not really hearing this type of risk in jamming until summer 2003, and then not really again until, like, 2023, 2024, like, this really abstract jamming, and it's led me to this hot take. Okay, are you guys ready for this? Sorry, a lot of context.

[Megan]

So ready.

[Brian]

Now, you got to understand that hot takes are meant to be served hot, not with additional context. It's the one time where you gotta. You can do the context after. Okay, go ahead.

[RJ]

Fair point.

[Brian]

I'm ready.

[RJ]

I think this should be the number two ranked tour of all time. I think that this is. Come to the realization. And maybe this is. I've listened to fall 97 so much that it's just more ingrained in my brain. And this was like that, you know, surprising new, you know, thing that. That you realize, but that you realize is great. So like, you. You overrank it. But it. I think that this is the number two best tour that they've ever played.

[Megan]

Wow. Okay. I mean, you know. So we're telling everybody then what the number two tour is.

[Brian]

Yeah.

[RJ]

So sorry, I just gave it away.

[Brian]

No, no, it's fine. We're gonna do it because I think.

[Megan]

This is helpful because that tour, fall 97, was actually voted number one by the fans.

[RJ]

That was. And we bumped it down.

[Megan]

Yeah. And so this Tour was rated 5 by the fans, which I think is a way, way too low. Like, I think this is definitely three. I haven't listened to our top two tours in context yet, so I'm curious to see how I feel, but it's surprising. I'm excited to see if I agree or disagree.

[RJ]

I think that my. The last thing I'll say, this is the dessert to my hot take. Okay. This is. This is the pumpkin pie to the hot take. And I'm sorry, this might break you, Meg, I apologize. I don't. I don't mean to. I don't. There's no, there's no ill will here.

[Megan]

Okay?

[RJ]

I had. I didn't hear this. I'd never heard this until I listened to fall 94 and then fall 97.

[Megan]

Right.

[RJ]

Fall 97 is too trey oriented. And I never had heard it that way. It's too like, hey, I am fucking Jimi Hendrix. But like white and redhead. And like, listen to me fucking Roar and Fall94 is this multi head beast of we all, we trust each other, do whatever the fuck you want. We are going to listen to each other and we are going to end up on the other side of this somehow, some way. It may not work, but we're going to try it. And that is. That's where my heart and soul is musically right now. And so there's your pumpkin pie and apple pie.

[Megan]

Well, I'm definitely here for that pumpkin pie. It's interesting because it is. I can see that argument being true. I mean, 97 was like peak Trey swagger for sure.

[RJ]

Like, really pains me to say what I said, but.

[Megan]

Yeah, well, we'll see. You know, I'm not prepared to debate that yet until I listen to it. And unlike you, I'm not five tours ahead or whatever, so I have to listen to it Next.

[RJ]

What did Teddy Roosevelt say about competition, Meg? I don't know. Didn't. What did he say? Take some pleasure out of the way.

[Brian]

Yeah, exactly. He did say that. That's why I'm trying to help you guys out here. Yeah, we. I mean, we can't even talk about this until next week because we have to talk about this next week.

[RJ]

We're doing a draft next week. Come on.

[Brian]

All right. True two weeks.

[Megan]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Brian]

I have a lot of extremely well thought out counters to your argument, but I'll just let your hot take.

[Megan]

Yes, marinate, Marinate. I think it's good two weeks from now.

[Brian]

Yeah, I mean, it's interesting. It's an interesting take.

[RJ]

Interesting. Yeah. That's a nice way.

[Megan]

But I think.

[RJ]

Hey, asshole.

[Megan]

Nice take, but I think there's also. Brian, this is much more your shit. Like, this is weird shit, and that's what you like. So I think that makes sense to me that that might be your opinion.

[RJ]

Yeah.

[Brian]

Yeah. I think there. I think there's like a obvious. There's. There's obviously the audience kind of like, well, okay, here's what I'll say. I think that fall 97 is when the audience was the most enraptured with fish of all time. I think that every single show, the lights went down and everyone was like. Like losing their minds from the. From the first note. And I think that that affects a lot of the way I think about it. Although I didn't see a full 94 show, so Meg will have to tell me if that's. If that's true or not. But.

[Megan]

Oh, no. People were fucking locked in. But people didn't know it. The people knew it in 97. Right. It was like half. At least half the people in my first show, it was probably their first fish show in an 1800 person venue, you know, so it was different because it was new but enraptured. Fucking definitely. Like they came and took our fucking souls. But it was definitely a different thing. Like, 97 was. Yeah, it was like the fan base was matured in the sense of, like, they knew what they were coming for and they wanted it a certain way and they were, you know, listening closely and they were, you know, rabid fans and they were online and they were, you know, that wasn't. It was very much smaller in 94. I mean, obviously, it was happening, but it was much smaller.

[RJ]

Well, now they're in a. They're in, like, legit NBA arenas and, like, stadiums like the Spectrum and Hampton. And yeah, to your point of, like, people had been. The people who jumped on board in 94 are now three years in. You know, how did this thing goes? They know what they're anticipating, they know what they're expecting. But, but now Fish is coming out on stage and playing a completely different style of music. That is amazing. My only thing, and this is a correction from me from the past, is that this is not a stepping stone. This is a band at the absolute apex of their powers, doing things that I will be listening back to whenever we go, whenever we're finished with this series. And I can actually listen to Fish not with a project in mind, but more with enjoyment in mind. Again, like, these are the jams I'm gonna go to first.

[Brian]

I think that, I think that's fair. I, I, I think that the, one of the things about this tour that, the reason that I would rank it as number three and not number two or number one is that a lot of the cacophony that you hear in these jams are it's, it's experimentation happening in real time, which I think is, like, great. But I think with the top two tours that we're going to talk about, it's not really experimentation. Like, there's evil fish in those tours, but they're, they're a little bit more like they know where. It's. Not that they know where it's going, but they know how to totally.

[RJ]

Yeah, I see what you're saying. I think that's a lot of.

[Brian]

This is like, band practice still. Some of these jams.

[Megan]

Totally agree with that.

[RJ]

Yeah, Yeah, I would, I would agree with that.

[Brian]

I think there's a couple, there's a couple jams in this tour, and I. We can talk through these as we go through. But where, like, it sounds like they're putting together jams from different songs within the, the improv, you know, where it's like, this is a slave jam.

[Megan]

The tweezer from 12:9. Like the slave. They lift the slave peak.

[Brian]

Yeah, that, that' really, really overt. I think there's one.

[Megan]

Yeah, that is, that one. I have a point about that, I think is cool. But, yeah, they're. No, I, I would.

[RJ]

Let's talk about gems.

[Megan]

Can I talk about. Yeah. Are we talking about themes? Are we talking about jams first?

[Brian]

Only if the jam is theme.

[RJ]

I have one additional theme to offer. So, Meg, why don't you offer a theme? We'll see where the conversation goes. We're in no rush here. Nobody's on vacation or.

[Megan]

No, I just finished trying to get out to the sun. Me too. I think there's obvious themes, like one of the things that related to what you were just saying, rj, is like, there's a sense of wandering that's very dark and this willingness to go really deep, which I think is incredible. There's like an increased creativity with setlist and setlist flow, more freedom and ability to kind of move between songs. Not just wild Segway fests. But what really got me about listening to this tour chronologically was there's an evolution of narrative jams that start to hint at the emotional. In the beginning of the tour, there are no emotional jams. Like, the jams never reach this, like, moving. Even when they're ambient, they're really spacey and breathy and dissonant and free and exploratory, but they never feel emotional. And by the end of the tour, it is unbelievable. They're actually finding emotion in this space, and it's so cool to hear it kind of develop. And when you think about how important emotion is going to become to fish in their jams, especially, like fast Forward a long time, but you think about, like 2003 or if you think about way into the future and like late 3.0 and 4.0, like, emotion is such a huge part of what makes their jam special. And if you think of like the Ann Arbor simple or the Funky Bitch from Minneapolis, or the Bozeman Tweezer, the San Diego Reba, they all have, like, really emotional moments. And even that 129 tweezer, it lifts the slave emotional peak for sure. But hearing them attach it to this really jazzy space exploration, they're learning in the moment how to bring emotion into jams. Like how to take that hood moment or that slave moment or that fluff head beat and bring it into a wide open space. And I had never realized that before listening. I don't know if you guys heard that or if that seems hurt at all.

[Brian]

Yeah, I think that is fair. Brian, go ahead and respond a bit. I'll jump in after you.

[RJ]

Well, I think the only slight pushback I would have is I think the Rebas and the hoods up front are very emotional. But I think to your point, that's emotion within a confined space. That's into the improv space. So I think as the more you talk, the more I was like, okay, I get exactly what you're saying here. I.

[Brian]

Can I just say one thing, Brian, just in relation to that, which is that I think a lot of that is about. To me, what I hear is like, especially at the beginning, they're trying to figure out how slow and how. How much they can slow things down without it, like, totally breaking.

[Megan]

Yeah, absolutely, totally.

[Brian]

But instead of going to that like, major key place, it's like, let's just see how slow we can make this and then build it back up. But I think later in the tour it gets a. It's the build. The buildups are then more related to kind of building up the emotion. It's. It's like. It's a journey.

[Megan]

Totally.

[RJ]

It's a really good point because if you think about. So two tours ago, we talked about August 93, and that is kind of the stepping stone to this in a lot of ways. And that is this big awakening moment. But I think one thing that we talked about that was perhaps a critique even as we were praising these jams, was they were changing ideas within a jam really rapidly. But every idea change seemed to also garner more speed and more like, look at what we can do. Look at how quickly we can play. Look how we can just turn on a dime and adjust. It was a bit more showy. And I think to your point, RJ, you start to play these 6,000, 9,000 person arenas and you start to hear what a note does when it leaves the guitar and it goes out into the room and it distorts and it changes and it changes in a really cool way. And you can start to play with silence in the way that you can't at a bar. You have to just keep people going and keep people dancing. And here you're in this kind of confined space where the sound is traveling in a really cool way. And you're absolutely right. You start to hear them figure out almost immediately, like the 10, 8 we kpog is just right out the gates has these like 4 to 5 minute segment of like weird noise and silence within a song as happy and peppy as we kapog. And then they find it later. The one thing I'll just say is I think that we've entered the period here from a contextual standpoint in Fish's career of annual level up Fish, where every year and every tour is kind of getting better and building upon itself. And I know that that contradicts what I said earlier about this being potentially the Goat tour. I mean, I've Named myself that. But I think that, like, we're in a point where, like, you come back and you see them and, you know, you imagine someone seeing them. In fall 92, it's a completely different band here. And a year later, they're going to be playing MSG and playing at the top of their game, and two years later, they're going to be playing the Fall 97 Tour. And there's this sense of, like, every year it's just going to keep getting better, which is going to ultimately turn into one of the challenges that they're going to have to deal with as people and as a band, which leads to the hiatus and so much of the stuff that happened after that. But this is now where the expectation just keeps going up every year.

[Megan]

You see Fish, definitely.

[Brian]

Yeah. I mean, that's true. And I got that. That's. The whole thing became, you know, it built on itself to the point where it got. It got to the point where it was not great for everybody. Steve Silverman did an interview with Trey in the fall of 94, and it's on. I think it's on Jambase. I can put a link to it somewhere or ask him if you want it. But Steve was asking Trey about, like, the tour, that tour in particular, and, like, how they were so focused on, you know, the shows. And Trey said, what happens is I start having less and less of a life. Except for the gig yesterday. Our tour manager was beating on my door at 4 to wake me up for the sound check. I get up to the gig, then I'm back on the bus. We play chess, we listen to music, and then I crash again. The gig takes on more and more significance because you start to feel like you have no other life, which is pretty crazy. So, like, this is the point where. And it's before they really opened it up to where instead of, like, what he's saying here, by early 96, I think it's like they're. Everyone's just partying.

[Megan]

Yeah.

[RJ]

How do we normalize this?

[Brian]

Yeah. Yeah. So I think this is probably them, like, just being so, so focused that maybe it started to feel a little bit suffocating for them.

[Megan]

Yeah.

[Brian]

Especially with such long tours.

[Megan]

Yeah. 46 show tour is really long. I mean, they're basically in tour for like two and a half months, and they do that twice this year. And 100 shows a year, over 100 shows a year. That's like a show every three days. Like, this is like taxing work. Like, this is being on the road. And it's a lot. Yeah.

[Brian]

Speaking of taxing work, we have 46 shows in 46 days to talk about. Luckily they did not play 46 days. But where do you probably think it.

[Megan]

Was written this year? But he'd be wrong.

[Brian]

What do you guys want to go to first in terms of jams?

[Megan]

Brian, why don't you start since you have. I actually have a lot of this list too. But I want to hear what your first one is.

[RJ]

I mean the 1123 Tweezer. Unbelievable, massive, wild, noisy. And then I mean like, like, like all these jams, it has multiple sections. It gets into this really quiet part. It get this beautiful part. It has a lot of noise and a lot of tension. I'll talk about this show a little bit later. But the 1116 simple like these. These 30 to 35 minute long jams that seem at times like they have zero interest in ever returning to the song. There's a lot of jazz, there's a lot of psych in them. There's a lot of the trust that we were talking about earlier. I almost feel like similar in some cases to the Summer 95 Jams Description Kind of doesn't really benefit. You just like go and listen to these. We're listing them because they're peak moments within the overall shows. But like you're getting this band that plays a song with essentially the goal of getting as far out into the unknown. Almost the same way that the Dead treated Dark star in like 1972 and 1973, where it was more of a vehicle into. Let's just explore the outer limits of musical communication for as long as we feel like it. And then at some point we'll play El Paso and bring everybody back and you get that here with like the bluegrass set that comes on or you know, Son of a Mule will rear its head and just bring you back to like a rock concert. But those two kind of immediately because I think there's stretch here from immediately post Halloween mid November, especially leading listening to everything leading up to it. You always know that November 94 is a really strong period for the band. But you hear them getting over this hump of a huge musical test by playing the White Album. And then now they're just kind of allowing themselves to just live and breathe within these songs. Probably because at this point in time, to RJ's point, the gig is their life.

[Megan]

I love that symbol. This is also the tour that you really feel the jazz influence that they have, especially from Fishmen. And on that simple. It's so Jazzy. It's so great.

[RJ]

Yeah.

[Brian]

I think just to talk a little more about that jam. So this is being from the Midwest, first of all. They played so many shows in the Midwest. They were in the Midwest for, like, three weeks. They're just hanging out in Indiana. They were hanging out in Madison, and, I mean, a bunch of shows.

[Megan]

Michigan. Yeah.

[RJ]

Yeah. From 11 to 1112 to 1126. They go from Ohio all the way to Minnesota, and then they go out to Montana. It's wild.

[Megan]

I was so. I wanted to go to the. I went to the Grand Rapids show, and I wanted to go to the Ann Arbor show, too. I had tickets, but then I was in the play, the senior play. Couldn't do it. But it was so fun to see that they were going to be, like, spending so much time. Everybody was so excited about it.

[Brian]

I wish I had seen a show this. This tour, but I was just too young, Megan. I just wasn't old enough yet.

[Megan]

I know. I was 17. Yeah, you were just a little babe at 15.

[Brian]

15, yeah, exactly.

[RJ]

Yeah.

[Brian]

I think the thing that. About the simple, though, is, like, the dynamics, that they're, like, just. They're fucking with the sound so much and bringing it down to, like, an almost complete stop, you know? And I wonder if that was, like, related to the acoustic stuff they were doing, because there are points, obviously, in this tour where Trey is, like, playing on amplified, but you can hear during the silence. There's a couple. I got to find my notes. But there's, like, a part in a jam where he's playing on amplified, but you can hear the strings because everyone's, like, being quiet. I mean, it's just. It's crazy. But this jam is where there's, like. There's, like, a Cannonball kind of style jam for a minute.

[Megan]

Yeah.

[Brian]

And there's, like. There's, like, a mule, son of a mule kind of style jam. There's, like, an almost King Crimson, like, jam. I feel like this is one of those jams where they're, like, putting together different things that were then, like, creating this. This. Then there's, like, screaming space alien, but. But also kind of jazzy at the same time. Like, there's just. There's just wild.

[Megan]

The combination of space and jazz is one of my favorite things about this tour. It's really cool.

[Brian]

Yeah. And I think they mostly got. I. I feel like they made progress on that after the Halloween show, because the Halloween show was just like. I mean, what are you even doing? Like, it's just crazy that they did That I know. It's incredible in the midst of this tour. Yeah.

[RJ]

Like, they're playing really well leading up to it. And I have a few. I have a number of recommendations from October that, like. Like the 1010 tweezer, the 1013 foam 1018 Reba, 1020 hood, that it's like, 20 minutes, but that's the one before the live one hood, 1025 melt. Like, these are all jams that, like, you start to hear the sounds start to bubble up. Like they're going to this space that allows them to just be totally free and very abstract and really weird and kind of just let anything go to RJ's point, where you get these, like, multiple segments, and sometimes screaming takes over, and then that leads into something. And it almost is as though when they get past Halloween and they've literally played a Beatles album, I mean, they put their stamp on it. Near. Near perfect. Great renditions. Clearly, they lived in those songs and. And some really weird Beatles songs. Like, that is the psych rock, weird beetle Beatles album. To then come out of that, having that accomplished and then say, okay, whatever is. Whether this is intentional or not. Whatever was working in October, let's just blow that up and live in that for the next two months.

[Megan]

I love that split open and melt from 1025. That has one of the best re entries ever. It's so growling and monster.

[RJ]

It's.

[Megan]

That is an absolute great jam.

[RJ]

Yeah.

[Brian]

And I think the. It's worth noting. Like, that was. That's on Live Bait. And I listened to both versions, and I think, like, you can. It's. Again, like, thank your tapers. But there's so much subtlety in the madness of the soundboard version that you. You can really like. You hear it differently, especially in a tour like this, because Trey's kind of playing quietly on that split open a meld at points, and Paige's piano is so pronounced on the soundboard. It's just like. It's a different. Totally different experience. But if you haven't listened to the 1025 meld, it's on. It's on Live Bait, which I should have put in my notes, which Live bait it is.

[Megan]

But it's like, I have it. Hold on.

[Brian]

Um.

[Megan]

It's on live 8, 17, 17, 17.

[Brian]

Okay. I just want to say quickly about the 1023 hood, which is the live one. The first time I ever took mushrooms, I was in my friend's car in the middle of a field in Ohio. He had a Range Rover. My friend Chris, he's Probably not listening, but he might hear this. He. It was like a field and there was a big party going on out there. And we sat there in the, in the dark in the car listening to this hood. And it. Yes, it's my first. It was my first. Not the first time I heard it, but the first time I heard it while on mushrooms. And like, it's probably not the best hood ever, but it's, it's, it's pretty fucking amazing.

[Megan]

It's perfect the way they bring it down. Yeah, it's pretty perfect hood. And it has like the fuzzy intro. It's like really fuzzy in the intro. It's. Every time I listen to this hood, I'm just, I'm blown away. It's perfect.

[RJ]

I think I used to go to a dive bar in Portland, Oregon after nights I cooked in the restaurant I was at and it was called yours, why you are, why you are apostrophe s. I was right underneath the overpass and they had one of those jukeboxes that was all Internet based and it had a live one on it. And they would let me play one fish song. They got, they got, they had the best Cajun tater tots and bacon cheddar scallion fries which like after 10 hours cooking like. And they had a deal was 250 for PBR and a shot of Jim Beam. So I'd come in there at like 11:30 at night with some of my best friends and put on the alive one hood and watch Sportscenter at the bar. And it was, it's some of my favorite memories ever. They would give me one fish jam. I just. It dips down, man. And you don't. You think it's over and you're like, where was the peak? Oh, oh, here it is. Oh my God.

[Megan]

God, so good.

[Brian]

Megan, what's another jam you got?

[Megan]

I want to talk about two jams from one show. And that's from 11:22. I want to talk about.

[Brian]

I knew you were going to say this. I knew you were going to talk about this.

[Megan]

It's so good. It has everything that I want from a fall 94 jam. It's got that first big super connected push of energy. Then it goes into the 94 space jazz. Then it has those super quiet like organ transitions. Then it's the soundscape. It sounds like a movie. And then it has like the drama that builds out of that. And I think that's one thing that they really nailed on this tour was bringing it down to nothing. Like you're saying, and then building it up in a really patient and dramatic way. It's so satisfying. And this jam also searches for melody in a way that not many of the gems on this tour do. It's. It's deeply interesting. I think you'd have to listen to this jam a hundred times to be able to truly get every part of it, because it has so much in it. But I loved hearing them because when you think about it, they didn't play with a lot of melody and jams. It was either like shred fests or, you know, these deep, weird explorations. And so knowing how important melody is going to, like, become for them, it's really cool hearing them, like, looking forward in this jam in a way that stands out. I love this jam. And then I also think this runaway Jim, big, black, furry creature from Mars from this show is so fucking crazy. The speed and ferocity is just astounding. And that whole section when they're like. Mike's like, why am I running? I'm not running. It's so playful. And I kept thinking they are so locked in that they can be so free. Like, there's just a freedom that I can't imagine being so good at something and trusting the people you're doing it with. This is what you always want in acting, is to feel this way, that you are so locked in with the people that you're working with that you can just be in the moment and go off and have, like, insane freedom. And that's what this jam sounds like to me. And then they end with acoustic instruments. Somehow. It's. It's just, like, absolutely insane. It's, to me, a real example of what they were so good at in this tour. And that is being really wild and free, but then also somehow being really intellectual with that. I don't know if that makes sense, but there's a sense that, like, they were wild and free, but it was. It never felt unintentional.

[Brian]

So what do you guys think happened in that funky. Because it wasn't a song that jammed. So, like, do you think that it just happened, or do you think it was, like, something.

[RJ]

Well, I've always read that it was Fishman fucked up and kept playing the drums. I feel like Trey has mentioned that in an interview.

[Brian]

Has he talked about it?

[Megan]

I don't think I knew that.

[RJ]

I'd have to look in. In the Fish book, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that they were. They were playing one. He mentions one version of Funky Bitch, a song that doesn't typically jam, Fishman messed up the ending and they just went with it. That could be wrong. Someone in the comments, probably up here, probably right. But whatever it is, it's like it fits the vibe of the moment because simple up until 1116 had had jams and like fade outs, but it hadn't really fully dove off the deep end and explored in the way that it did. Even Tweezer was like a 13, 14, 15 minute song. And now we're getting 30 to 40 to 50 minute long versions at this point in time. So I think there was just something in the air, you know, whatever it is you mention melody and I think that that is such a great way to put it because you start to hear the hints of what's to come in 97. You know, the great parts about 97, 98, like we talked about last week, are these fully formed ideas that sound like songs themselves within jams. And that hadn't really been the case.

[Megan]

Yeah.

[RJ]

You know, 93, we start to hear the evolution of like we go into a jam and then we segue into a new song that kind of peaks over the spring and summer. Now we're starting to find ideas within these songs that's gonna bloom over the next couple of years. But you're starting to hear it in, in this funky bitch. You even hear like a move towards kind of staccato jamming. Knowing that if Mike is playing some really bulbous, you know, just like out in front notes and Fishman is on the snare and Paige moves to the clav, that that changes the dynamics of what Trey does and that changes the dynamics about how the band plays. And they're really agile within those moments. And so you're just getting a lot of where the band is going to go all being realized. Like your comment earlier about band practice can be taken one of two ways. I think that there's a real positive connotation to that because inviting fans to hear you almost rehearse in the moment and realize things is something lot of bands would never do for you and would never give you that access. And they're literally giving that to you on a night to night basis. And you hear it listening to this tour versus listening to these other tours around it.

[Brian]

I think if you. If you think about fall 94 as a long journey toward the best jam of all time in December of 94, which I do, there are a couple touch points and I think the first one for me, the 1012 Bowie, which is. Which is not like the longest of the Tour or the most, you know, crazy. But I actually, for the first time, because we're going through this like this, I. I start to hear pieces of the Providence Bowie jams, you know, which is kind of up and kind of awesome because it's not something that I had ever like, really heard before. Even though I've heard a lot of these shows that. That 10 12, there's like a. There's almost like a, you know, kind of the calm period before the return to Bowie. And that. That, that kind of is. Is built upon in the Providence version. That is really cool. I feel like this whole, like the Tweezers are kind of a journey toward the. The two in November and like the Bowies are all like culminate with Providence. It's like you can hear them kind of like building on each other, which is the tweezer from 1014 is another. Like, it's like. It's like a climb toward the. The Bangor Tweezer. It's really cool to hear in that sense. You can hear these themes that then build into something else into. In future versions.

[RJ]

There's a Tweezer. I'm trying to find the date. I think it's 1010. I think I like this more. Yeah, 1010. The jam chart notes say this version is highly improvisational, sounding poor at times, imo. But I believe this may simply be the band's first attempt at a banger like type 2 version. And I like that because like Banger is, I think a live one was the second Fish album that I bought and you know, starts out great, bouncing around the room. Oh, this band is super fun, like just like really cheery. You enjoy myself. Okay. A little long, but like really pretty at times. And then you go to side two and you get this 30 minute tweezer that is some of the most terrifying music I'd ever heard at that point in time. And you're absolutely right, you can. And I appreciate you adopting an argument that I have long made that certain jams build up to bigger jams and they test ideas out and then oh my God, we get the Providence Bowie. Because I think you're seeing that in this tour. You're just seeing in October. Let's step a little bit further out. Let's see what happens here. Because they still have the safety of shows that are not like what we're going to get in 97, where Jammy is just going to take over the entire show. You know, like Hampton night one opens with a 17 minute cover debut into Split Open and Melt Has a weird. Prince Caspian has a four song second set. We're not in that territory. We're in the more 93, 92 territory here. So there's stuff to fall back on. But as they get towards the end of the tour, like the Bozeman show, what it's like a four song, 1, 2, 3, 5 song second set, first sets, not that long either. Like, they're really dead. It's starting to dedicate more time to jamming as the tour goes on.

[Megan]

Yeah. Which is pretty, pretty cool. Like, I think they still want to play a lot of songs. They still want to do bluegrass. They still want to like, you know. Exactly. They feel very much like that. They still want to do their silly gags. But it's definitely. You can feel them leaning into the. The jamming. And I've always totally agree with you about finding the parts and jams, both of you, that the banger tweezer, to me has always felt like this bag of tricks. The only through line to that jam to me is experimentation. It's always felt like they're just kind of pulling out. This is something we could try. This is something we can try. This is something we can try. And it's super interesting and fascinating, but it does feel like bits and pieces as opposed to the more narrative gems you get kind of later in the tour. And it's not a criticism. I think it's just kind of.

[Brian]

Yeah, I think that comes together.

[RJ]

That's the rehearsal nature of it. Like, it sounds like a side check jam. Let's see how we're all working in this space and let's trust each other and that's cool. That's live experimentation.

[Brian]

All right, we're going to take a quick break, but then we'll keep Talking about fall 94 for all of you.

[RJ]

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[Megan]

Evergreen and wherever you get your podcasts. My dad works in B2B marketing. He came by my school for career.

[RJ]

Day and said he was a big roas man.

[Megan]

Then he told everyone how much he.

[RJ]

Loved Calculating his return on ad spend. My friends still laugh at me to this day. Not everyone gets B2B, but with LinkedIn you'll be able to reach people who do.

[Megan]

Get a $100 credit on your next ad campaign.

[RJ]

Go to LinkedIn.com results to claim your credit. That's LinkedIn.com results.

[Brian]

Terms and conditions apply.

[RJ]

LinkedIn the place to be.

[Megan]

To be.

[Brian]

Brian I am, by the time I listen to 11:19 from Indiana University, I'm kind of over the Vibration of Life. They've only played it 22 times ever, but 12 of those were in 94. And I just want to know how you guys feel about this, because I'm like, from a listening standpoint, maybe it's because the whole point is you have to be in the room. But, like, by the. By the end, I'm like, all right, I had enough of this.

[RJ]

So, I mean, I have a personal attachment to it. I don't. I don't think you're wrong. My first tape was 1117 94. My first time I ever talked to you over a computer was about 11 1794, the first set I had on tape. And there's a Forbin's Mockingbird Vibrational Life Mockingbird. And it's like just enamored in my brain. It's like the, oh, my God, you can do this in a concert. Like, what are we talking? Like, no band does anything like this, you know, and it blew me away and made me love this band forever. So I would take A Vibration of Life at any show. I would love that bust out. But I think you're right, it speaks to. If there is going to be any argument for this Tour being ranked 3 rather than 1 or 2, it is that there are still some gimmicks and some crutches that they fall back on that made their shows really fun in from 1989-19 to spring of 1994, that they'll kind of break free of those requirements. Like, they don't need a big ball jam anymore. They don't need bluegrass mini sets. They don't need an Hyhu Fishman song every two or three shows. And Vibration of Life is kind of kind of one of those. It's like a way to get into a cool musical space, give people a trick, insert some narration. But I think you're absolutely right that it's a. It's a pretty good thing that it leaves. That this tour basically leaves it behind. I think it makes two more appearances post fall 94, 11, 1696 and 11, 1996, the latter of which is an incredible fall 96 show. Go back and check out our top 25, number 25 tour for that.

[Megan]

I'm kind of in two minds of this. Like, one of my minds is, like, you can see this as kind of like a gimmick or a crutch. But I don't know if that's really what it was for them, because they were really cultivating connection. And I think that's kind of what a lot of those gimmicks were. Were a way to connect to the audience and to bring people in and give people something to talk about or that they could expect to hear. But. And to add on to that, anytime that Trey talks to the audience is like, a time that I am, like, very, very much there for. Like, please talk. Vibration of life. Another amazing thing they could have done at Mondegreen. Have to get that in. But, like, an awesome thing. What if they played that on day four? People would have lost their minds anyway.

[Brian]

They're not trying to cultivate connection anymore.

[Megan]

They're not.

[RJ]

They don't want to know about a paycheck.

[Brian]

They're reaping.

[Megan]

Exactly.

[Brian]

They're not cultivating. They've already, like, gathered all the crap.

[Megan]

Yeah. Yeah, Exactly. Now they're like.

[RJ]

Tim Robinson would say, it's a cash grab.

[Brian]

All right.

[RJ]

It's just a cash. That's all it is. We're kidding, guys. We're kidding. Do not. Do not.

[Brian]

It's like mana crops in. In agriculture, you know, they're just. They're not. They're not doing things to try to, like, protect the environment. They're just. They're just trying to collect cash, you know?

[Megan]

Yeah.

[RJ]

It's like the outtake seems a bittersweet motel. When Mike asked Trey how rich he is, and Trey goes, rich enough to not have to practice anymore. Like, that was 27 years ago. They're still living off those vibes.

[Megan]

Still living off those vibes. That's so fish. There's so many.

[Brian]

That alliteration. Cultivating community. You got two Cs. Goes from cultivating community to collecting cash.

[Megan]

Exactly. That's what it is.

[Brian]

Anyway. Sorry.

[RJ]

That's how every cult works.

[Megan]

Exactly. You need to have a catchphrase. But I do think that it is in. Being in the room for one is pretty special. And I think it's. It was pretty cool. But, yeah. Big ball jam. I have different feelings about.

[Brian]

But disaster.

[Megan]

Disaster. Can I talk about a jam that I was in the room for?

[Brian]

Yes. And then we should start Talking about shows, because we don't even. There's no way to really do this, but, like, just, I mean, do whatever you want.

[Megan]

Well, this is a show I'll talk about then. How about that? And I won't. I'll just talk about the jam in the show. Because this is my first show. 1114 Grand Rapids. And this Bowie is just untethered exploration. And it. It has this amazing crowd participation, like, percussive cheer. There's like this low rumbling. It turns into, like, crowd clapping. And it's. Fishman responds to that and starts drumming. And being in the room for that moment, being a Deadhead and being someone who went to these shows and was just played at and stared up at people who were, you know, not necessarily engaging with audience. Not necessarily. Really. I don't know how much they cared about their audience at the time, but it was just a very dark period in that band's history. And here I am sitting here watching this band just do anything in the moment and relate to their audience. That just felt so electric. And in my journal, I wrote that they played with us, and it really felt like that. It felt like it was this collaborative thing we were doing. And the way that it ends in the Hebrew song, which I can't say, but it just. It was so. It's so eerie and beautiful. And I love that this band can go from being so kind of silly and playful to just eerily beautiful in the same jam. And this. This one is. It always hits me, and maybe that's attendance bias, but this jam has always been, to me, really special.

[Brian]

It's also that the. My Friend, My Friend that opens is great.

[RJ]

It's.

[Brian]

The Maze Is Good Destroyed Me. It's a really. It's a good show. It's a great show.

[Megan]

It's a really great show. I think it's a bit underrated, actually, because it's kind of the epitome of fall 94. You've got, you know, you've got the acoustic set and you've got Fish and talking to the audience. Someone. Fish comes out with the mandolin and someone's like, I love the mandolin. And Trey's like, fish is going to play you a solo because you love the mandolin. And then he plays, like, a little solo, and it's just. It felt so engaging. And the whole show was just. It was a moment that I think really captures what fall 94 felt like. You have, like, one big kind of huge jam, but then you have kind of interesting moments and other songs sprinkled throughout. You've got the bluegrass. It's kind of a perfect little snapshot. This is actually one of my recommendations for an archival release.

[Brian]

Brian, I want to thank you. Megan, Brian, I want to say I want you to talk about a show next, but I also, I want to posit something to you guys, and I want you guys to react to this. Another, like, number three versus number two thing. We're splitting hairs at this point. But the other thing that I would say is that I think this tour starts to. I think they get tired at the end. I think there's like four shows at the end between 121 and 12 8, where, like, not a lot happens and I start to. And maybe it's. I'm getting tired of listening to it, but it's like, no, you're right. Okay. Like another melt craziness. It's like, oh, everything's crazy and Antelope gets weird. And like, I think that there. I think this fall 97 is a lot shorter. So, you know, maybe. Maybe the number of quality shows is exactly the same. But I think there's a point at this tour where it's like, okay, I'm. I'm like, I think they're ready to take a break.

[RJ]

There's another tour we're going to talk about that has a similar build up, Closes a bit stronger, which may be part of the reason for this. I think that if you look at, you know, they took that break, they played Halloween then 11 2, 11 3, 11 4, and then they took a eight day break and they come back. And I think from 1112 in Ohio through 121 in. Is that Washington or Oregon?

[Brian]

Oregon, That's Oregon.

[RJ]

That stretch. There's an argument that you just release a box set of those shows that, like, it's a three week encapsulation of some of the strongest fish that you will ever hear. Regardless if they're jamming in songs or not, everything is worth hearing. And then I agree with you, there's a really good Bowie on 12 2. There's a good week, a Pog on 12 6. But outside of that, the jam charts are pretty light. And if you go through the set list and you start to kind of just like pick around a few songs that have worked in past performances, it's like the fourth or fifth best version of a standout song.

[Brian]

Right?

[Megan]

Yeah.

[RJ]

You know, which is still good. Like November, December, October 94 is still really good fish, even if it's not mind blowing. But you're absolutely right. I do think, though, they end really strong. The 12 8. Simple catapult. Simple is really fun and really kind of groovy in a way that you aren't necessarily thinking of Fish at that point in time. The Reba from that show is really nice. But then 12.

[Brian]

Nine.

[RJ]

Meg, you talked about it earlier, but just as another bump the tweezer with the Slave of the Traffic Light Jam. You're starting to hear a lot of these ideas be combined. And in a way that there's no argument here. It's all going to be showcased on 1229 in a hood jam within David Bowie, but also the Lassie Jam that kind of shows the weird, psychedelic playfulness of Fish. The like, speed that they play going back into David Bowie. They're starting to take lessons from what has worked versus what has necessarily not worked. But like, let's. Let's push out a lot of the crazy sounds and let's coalesce a little bit more around melody and groove. You're starting to hear that by the end.

[Brian]

Can. Can. Okay. Well, I. I can't believe we don't get even. Get to talk about the Providence Bowie in this series. It's sort of like, well, we have.

[Megan]

To do a run. A best run series.

[RJ]

Yeah. Come back.

[Megan]

We rank the runs. We're going to do that a couple.

[RJ]

Years future for a future series. At some point I would.

[Brian]

I would. I would contest your classification of that jam as a hood jam within Bowie. But. But we can talk about that another time.

[RJ]

What?

[Megan]

Brian is shocked.

[Brian]

I. I view that whole entire thing as much more of like a. Like the 71099 shock dust. Whereas, like, where, like, they're in this thing that is new and unique now that they're like, adapting a jam for another. For another thing. Although what I said earlier is that they were doing that all fall tour, so, you know, luckily we don't have to talk about it, so I don't have to defend this.

[RJ]

Well, far be it for me to challenge you on this kind of deep listening and intentional playing.

[Brian]

So I have a jam chart in my house. It's hanging on my wall.

[RJ]

I know you do.

[Brian]

Okay.

[RJ]

Used to be. Used to be. Right when we walked into your house in DC, it was amazing.

[Brian]

Can I just talk about the 12:10 show real quick because.

[Megan]

Yeah, yeah.

[Brian]

I think that's the highlight of that last, you know, week for me anyway. I think there's like. But it's mostly the end. Like, there's the Slave, which has this, like, end of tour kind of bittersweet feeling.

[Megan]

Yeah.

[Brian]

And then one of my favorite Fish moments of all time is that Chalk does Torture Reprise. Like, I remember the first time I heard it, I got it on tape and I was like, first of all, you see Choctaws Torture reprise on. On a tape cover, and you're like, what the fuck is this? Like, it's, you know, so it makes you listen to it, but, like, they probably, like, fast forwarded through all of the side two of the tape to get to that. But it's so heartfelt and, like, really a great way to, like, thank the crew, but also so fun. And the way that they're like, you know, the way that they're playing with the song. And they've done it. They've done it since a couple times, but it's just. To me, it's one of the most, like, charming moments in Fish. Like, they're. They're. They're clearly trying to thank. You know, they're trying to, like, do it in a way that makes it very heartfelt, but they really can't because they're just, like, too goofy. So they're kind of like, fucking around and they're like, chanting Amy Skelton's name and the whole thing, it just. It takes you back to that. That period where, like, you know, all these people were working really hard. They did a 46 day tour all across the country. And Trey's, you know, like, just trying to make sure he thanks everybody, but also to the tune of Choctaw's Torture in a different way. It's just so weird and so fun and it's. I fucking love it. I love it so much.

[Megan]

It's so fishy.

[Brian]

Yeah.

[RJ]

I mean, it's honestly one of my favorite choral progressions that they've ever written. Just like, to take this heavy rock sounding Choctaw torture and turn it into almost like a 70s after school, you know, sitcom.

[Brian]

Yeah.

[RJ]

Like, it opens.

[Megan]

Yeah.

[RJ]

Like, everyone's like, faces and whatnot. I mean, I. I got my first one in Mexico this year, which only added to the brilliance of it. I think I jumped like, 10. I don't think I've jumped that high since I was 12 years old. Like, I just leapt off the ground. I was so excited. Yeah, it's one of the best.

[Brian]

Only the fourth ever, Brian, that you get, that you saw.

[RJ]

Yeah. Yeah. I. I've been lucky. I've been. I've been very lucky this year.

[Brian]

Been blessed.

[Megan]

Could have done that in Mondegreen, too. Could have played that. I mean, there's literally. I'm not going to. I'm Going to stop. But there's literally like 45 songs they could have played that would have blown people's minds that day. But it's fine. I've mentioned like 100 of them on this tour.

[RJ]

Trey just wanted to sweat in a black T shirt with a black Take.

[Megan]

Your jacket off button down.

[RJ]

Yeah, black jacket. He wasn't even wearing a button.

[Megan]

He was 100 degrees out and with like 98.

[RJ]

His hair was like out. To hear it was really funny.

[Megan]

It was intense.

[Brian]

Megan, I want to start. Go ahead, Brian.

[RJ]

I was just going to speak of our show here. Do it that I think we all agree with this. This is on my list for official releases. I talked about the Tweezer already, but is 11:23, 1994 from the Fox Theater in St. Louis. You just get a really great set list. Wilson Sparkle, Simple Ice, Mind Left Body. Ice. If I could opens the show that's a great run with high energy songs. They're all playing really fast. Weirdness in Mind Left Body in the middle of its ice. And then if I could, a song that they were. You know, you're starting to hear them lean into more heartfelt songs in a really authentic way here. Okipa, Susie, Divided Sky, Amazing Grace to end the set. The second set though, I mean this is just outstanding. Maze Fee Mule. Don't groan yet. Okay. Tweezer, the aforementioned tweezer that I talked. That I was talking about Life boy. To follow it up. But then you end the set with you Enjoy Myself. Vibrational Life. You Enjoy Myself. Tweezer Reprise. You get Tweezer Reprise right after a huge and outstanding. You Enjoy Myself. And it means that this, this second set has two recommended jams. You know, like these are two big fish songs are big performances right here. It's just a lot of music that you really need to hear to understand this band's evolution. All contained in one show. This venue will also go on to be the site of the most overhyped fish show maybe of all time. At least until that point in time. 6, 6 12, 6 14, 2009. I'm blanking on the exact date, but they were going to the Fox Theater. It was going to be the biggest fish show ever. They're going to play weird, crazy music. And they played a very standard. Because it was June 2009.

[Brian]

It might be the worst. It was one of the worst ranked fish shows of all time. 6 1609. It's 2.5.

[Megan]

That's like amazing. They even went on stage. Like that's like that's really low.

[RJ]

They played two shows in the Fox Theater, the 94 show and 616.

[Megan]

That's crazy. I didn't know that.

[RJ]

The show goes Kill Devil Falls, Ocelot Brian and Robert Sample, Rift, Yamar Reba, Train Song, Horn, Possum Slave. People were losing their minds on Fantasy Tour. Not in the best way.

[Megan]

That's intense.

[Brian]

Luckily, they did get a Time Turns elastic in the second set to turn things around midway through the set.

[Megan]

I guess I should just be happy I didn't hear that at Mondegreen Day 4. I should be happy about that, Megan.

[Brian]

It's all about. It's all about it.

[Megan]

Because I did hear that in 2009. So, yeah.

[Brian]

Seeing the upside. Megan, what do you got in terms of a show?

[Megan]

Well, I think one of my favorite shows on the tour is 1122, and that's released already. But I think I want to talk about one show, but I just want to say two shows that should be released just because of the jams on there are the Ann Arbor and For the simple and then the Minneapolis Bowie. Like, we need those archival released. You should just probably do the whole show. Incredible perp. Love you for loving. Time Turns Elastic. There's got to be some people out there. But I think the. The 1029 Spartanberg Show. You talked about that RJ earlier, but almost the entire show is in the jam jar, which is just kind of silly. But my favorite moments from the show are the Split Open and melt into Buffalo Bill with an outro Jam into Maca Supa into Rift. That sounds insane, but only Fish could combine these two random songs and segue them so beautiful. The way that Buffalo Bill goes into Maka Supa is gorgeous. And it just. You wouldn't think it out of these two that this would happen. I remember when we were in Europe in 96, this guy bet Trey. Trey bet this guy that he wouldn't jump off a bridge in. In, like, this little town in Italy. And he's like, well, if I do it, will you play a song? And Trey's like, yeah, okay. And he's like, what do you want me to play? And he said, maca supa. And I remember thinking, like, that guy's an idiot. Like, why would you ever pick that song? But then you hear a maca super like this, and you're like, well, maybe that's what he was thinking of. Maybe he was thinking of, like, a fucking super weird, cool 94 maca supa policeman. So I'm gonna take back my criticism of him, but that this whole, that whole stretch of music is so interesting. And then I love the man who stepped into Yesterday into Spark, Sparks. It's like their own song into this. Just like classic rock. It's so good. And to hear that Space, that classic 94 space built into Sparks is one of my favorite moments of the tour.

[Brian]

It's a really. I mean, the whole show is great. As you mentioned, it's been released. One of the things that I realized at the beginning listening to this is the juxtaposition of Sparkle and My Friend My Friend as the first two songs you take. So like My Friend My Friend is supposed to be a happy song and it's put to like really dark music. And then Sparkle is actually like a really sad song that's put to happy music.

[Megan]

Yes.

[Brian]

And you put those two together. I mean, it's just a really funny thing to listen to. Like, it's a really interesting way to fuck with like everything that. But everything you mentioned and the down with Disease. I think it was the first really like maybe the first 10 minute version. They played it a lot in. In 94, but not, not super far, far out there. But then into. Into the manuscipline yesterday, as you mentioned. And the hood is just, you know, I mean, it's just an embarrassment of riches in terms of hoods, this tour. It's just like, it's great, but. But then you listen to, you know, 20 that are all amazing and you're like, I don't know. I guess every hood is amazing. You know, it's hard for me to compare when. When they're all so good. But this especially. Yeah, exactly. The show is just something. And this is also like the rehearsal dinner, you know, this is the rehearsal dinner show.

[Megan]

Yeah.

[Brian]

Like, this is the equivalent of when you go out the night before the wedding and you get too drunk and then you fuck up everything for the whole weekend.

[Megan]

It's like 12:30 the night before the night.

[RJ]

This is a Night before the night. This is a very classic Night before the Night show. Absolutely right. That's a. That's a really good way to put it because. Because, yeah, the vibe is there that. How insane is it? They played a show in South Carolina and then upstate New York. They played their biggest show of the year thus far, two days later. Are they insane? I mean, yes, clearly, but yes. Who was. Who was.

[Megan]

I didn't even think about that.

[RJ]

That's why putting that together, you know, you would imagine this show to be played in like Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

[Brian]

Yeah.

[Megan]

Yeah. On the way up, right?

[RJ]

Yeah. I mean, two shows earlier, you get Charlottesville, which I think should be officially released as well. This is a really great show. Wilson Sparkle Maze, Forbin's Vibration of Life, Mockingbird Divided, Sky Horse, Silent Poor Heart Cavern. Second set's got an awesome Disease. A really good Tweezer. The encore, the Slave, Ikyulys Tweezer reprises maybe the best encore that the band has ever played. That's this 12:30, 97, maybe a couple others, but San Francisco 2021, shout out as well. But this is just a classic show that flows really nicely and has that energy. Like by where they just released Boone, which was the night before. Right. 1026, 1026, 27, 28, 29, all leading up to 1031. You could just hear the excitement building as they know what's coming. The fans have no idea. Everyone just knows there's something really special around the corner. And you can hear in each show that they're. They're building upon that vibe.

[Brian]

Yeah, that's great. The only thing I want to mention, the 1112, which is, you know, another. Another release. So I don't. I don't have it as a. As a nominee because it's already been released, but just the. The down with the Z's in To have Mercy.

[Megan]

Yes.

[Brian]

It's just really like, perfect. And then into Lifebuoy, which is again, they're just landing in these ballads in just a wonderful way in another, like, outrageous Hood. Really, really cool.

[RJ]

It's one thing I don't think we think about Enough with fall 94, but it is the emergence of Downwind's Disease as a future jam vehicle. You know, we hear it in 1029, we hear it in 1112. This tour is all about Tweezer and Bowie and Hood and Reba. Simple, you know, to a certain extent. But a song like Disease is going to. Had a huge version over the summer, huge version in late fall 95, but then really blossom by summer 96 as the next jam vehicle and kind of taking where the band is going to sound going forward.

[Brian]

Megan, what else do you have for us for shows?

[Megan]

I mean, I think that there's definitely like an argument to be made that there's a lot of the good shows that are released from this tour already. Like, I think most of the really excellent shows have been released, but I do think we need some of these bigger jams. I think what's a little surprising for me is that a lot of them are not on Live Bait, which is weird.

[RJ]

Yeah, they cross the whole country. And they go to a lot of cities that they will return to, which is where they select a lot of these live baits from. Is like past performances within the area. And yet they don't go for some of these jams, which is a little surprising to me.

[Megan]

Yeah, it's weird that you can't get the Minneapolis Bowie or the Ann Arbor simple anywhere like that. Seems. I know the simple is released from the archives, I think, but it's not on Live Fish anywhere, and the Bowie isn't either. It was released as, like, a bonus track on the Walnut Creek disc, which. Thank you, Rhinestorm, because he helped me find that, but because I could not.

[RJ]

That my intern sometimes that plus the second disc to the Burgundy's Town 98 show, which includes the My Left My Left Toe simple, sweet from 99. The ghosts, or the, you know, the. The gumbo from 97. Just some really great releases. Neither of those are on streaming. They're not on Live Fish. They're not on Apple or Spotify. It's a little strange you would think that those would be released.

[Megan]

It's weird.

[RJ]

Great, Reba.

[Brian]

Yeah, I got a bunch. What do you got?

[Megan]

I've got a bunch, too. The 1018 from Nashville.

[RJ]

That Reba, that's the one.

[Megan]

Really great, like, softer tension and release. Really spacious. Really Eyes of the World vibes. It's a very, like, open. And I love that Reba. That's probably my favorite from the store.

[Brian]

That's. That's great. It has, like, a very memorable kind of riff in there. It's.

[RJ]

It's awesome that I've got 1031. I've got 12, 8, 1031 with, like, when Paige hits the roads right when they go into the reboot jam and it's so pronounced. Oh, man, I can never get that out of my head.

[Megan]

That new Boom version. Yeah, that new Boom version has one, too. The 1026 that was just released. That's really pretty. It's like heart swelling. It's just flawless, really soaring. Perfect Jam.

[RJ]

Any other shows that you guys have that we need to release? I think your point, Megan, about this tour having most of its great shows already available. This is something we are not going to be. We are not going to see in a future tour. We're going to talk about where there's a lot of great shows just missing, like, what is going on. There's definitely a lot of. There's a lot of this tour already available, which is. Which is good for us as listeners, but I think we're always open for more. This is where you go to, like, the specialty $600 box set, three weeks of peak Fish. Yeah, here you go.

[Megan]

Exactly the dedicated. If you look at the top rated shows on fish.net, out of the top two, three, four, five, six, ten, seven of them have been released. So there's a lot of the top shows are released, which is great. What did you have for your archival release? Like, what was your pick? What's your pick?

[RJ]

1027 Charlottesville. 1123St. Louis. And then my selfish pick. I don't think anybody is going to agree with me, but, you know, we have to have biased picks here. My first tape I ever got, 1117 94. I would just like to hear the first set cleaned up. The. The second set is not crazy. There's a good Bowie. The first set, if you listen to it without the sentimentality that I had hearing it for the first time, you'd be like, okay, was like, it's so I'll read the set list to you. They open with Helter Skelter, which is only the only other time they've ever played it, aside from 1031. But then you get Son of a Mule, Maze bouncing around the Room, Wilson Divided, Sky Dog, Face Boy, Forbin's Mockingbird, Vibrational Life, Mockingbird Disease. It's not crazy wild set listing, but for someone just getting into this band and, you know, when I go back and I listen to it now, it is just that classic pure fall 94. Like, we've spent a lot of time here talking about dissonance and abstraction, abstract music and jazz and, you know, playing in a really wild and carefree way. But when you listen to just the pure songs, they are playing as tight and as structured and just like, full of life as possible, which is a really interesting contradiction between the two. The fact that they're able to play that well, both sides, is something we're not going to see a couple years later.

[Megan]

Well, and that's kind of what you want when you see Fish now, right? You want them to, like, sound really good when they play, compose stuff, and then you want them to be really loose when they're jamming. It's kind of like the ideal fish recipe for me.

[RJ]

Yeah, it's a good vibe. If only they played like that at Mondegreen Night 4, right?

[Megan]

Exactly, exactly. Well, there's always next time.

[RJ]

The Next Festival in 2033. All right, let's. What else do we have to say? I've. I've got a takeaway. I know you probably have it, yeah.

[Megan]

Let's go into our takeaways.

[RJ]

I'm gonna give you the floor first.

[Megan]

I think there's an interesting takeaway that I didn't really think about until I started to think about what was coming next for them. And I think that their jamming really starts to influence how they're gonna write songs. I think as the band moves more and more towards like exploration and darker jams, I think they want more songs that can give them like this launching pad for jamming. And I feel like the music written after this tour is simpler and. And more songs start to like emerge from jams. Like, obviously Story of the Ghost is very much like that, but I think there's like a thinking about the albums that are going to come next to. They're simpler, they're more emotional, they're less like show offy and silly and playful and fast. They're more dealing with bigger themes and emotions and I think that's really cool. And I think that's also probably informed by their jamming. But I think my biggest takeaway about this tour is that that even as they're just ascending to the highest levels in live music, they are going to play msg, you know, on this holiday run. They're pushing the boundaries of what they can do and what their audience will tolerate. And I just think that is the ultimate badass move by a band. And why they're my favorite band, because they take risks like this. And it really stands out when you think about what precipice they were on and the stuff we were talking about at the beginning of. Of the episode with what was going on in the jam world, in pop culture and how they were really poised to become a radio band in some ways at least, and just totally didn't go that way. And it's exciting. I'm thankful.

[RJ]

It's a really interesting point to contradict because a lot of their songs up to this point in time, and one of their namesakes was the fact that they wrote these very complicated suites of music. And Gayudi debuts during this tour. But beyond Gayudi, a lot of these songs turn into much more traditional rock driven pop songs. You know, three minutes, yeah. Couple chords, some, you know, very cool musical stuff that happens within it. Don't get me wrong, but they're not like trying to write 11, 12 minute composed songs at this point in time. We won't really hear that until what, I guess you could technically say Walls of the Cave, but like, probably Time Turns Elastic is gonna be the next time that fish debuts a multi part composition 15 years later. And so for me, kind of related to what you're saying, my big takeaway is that the Fish experience is now fully dependent on how far and wide that they're willing to jam. This is something that changes on this tour. All the lessons of the years of the road are being intentionally applied to widespread jamming and deep seated experimentation. The search for fully unified connective jamming has begun. And this is something that leads us really nicely into our top two tours. Because I think more than anything those two tours represent. RJ said this really well earlier in the episode that they had kind of reached a peak and they're playing music within that peak and they know that whatever they play, they're going to hit on gold. Whereas here they're taking a lot of chances and they're taking a lot of risks. And there's some sections of some of these jams that may not fully work out and they power through that because the purpose of the jamming, the. The intentionality behind the jamming is really what matters. So to me, this is a big shift for them. I have come to realize, as I said earlier in this episode, that this is not just a stepping stone. This is. This is a truly great pillar to what Fish has been capable of and what they have, what they have searched for for 11 years. But it also will pivot and push them towards where they would go in 1995 and 1997.

[Megan]

I love 94. Getting this much love. It's so good.

[RJ]

I'll be going back and listening to a lot of these jams again because, I mean, like I said earlier when we were diving into it, it's hard to. Outside of most other tours, it's hard to come up with like a quick single sentence, synopsis of a jam, you know?

[Megan]

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

[RJ]

And this is not a knock at all on 97, but I feel like you can. You can key in on certain themes that last longer within those jams. Whereas here, two to three minutes and you're out and you're in a new theme. And so we're still kind of in that area of Fish, but we're also going way further out than we were 12, 13 months earlier.

[Megan]

Yeah. Which sometimes can make the listening a little challenging because you are. There's so many ideas happening within jam times.

[RJ]

Right, right. And I just. I want to go back and it's like. It's like jazz, you know, 100. I like it. But. But how. How am I supposed to describe this? That's yeah, you're. I just like living in it. Like that's, that's the feeling I get. I think we do it right. Did we do justice to falling right?

[Megan]

I think we did. I feel good about it. Yeah. And now we're taking a break next week right from the series.

[RJ]

We're taking. We're taking a break from the series. We are going to do an episode next week. We are bringing back our draft and this time we are doing a 25 plus minute jam draft and we're gonna send you all actually a copy of what we will be using to build out our what, what jams we have to draft from. We've got 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 categories ranging from 25 to 26 minute long jams in 1.0 to 25 to 26 minute long jams in 2.0 to 4.0, 27 to 29 minute long jams, 30 to 34 and 1.0, 30 to 34 and 2.0 to 4.0%, 35 to 39, 40 to 44 and 45 plus. So there's gonna be a lot to pick from here. There are a couple sections, there are a couple categories here that are. Are light on the quantity of jams but not light at all in terms of the amount of jams that are in them that will be battled over because there are some right decisions here. But then there are also some segments here like 25 to 26 minute. There's a lot of jams here which is why we had to separate it. But anyway, we're going to send that to you guys. It's going to be really fun. I'm going in totally blind. I'm just going to pick what I'm feeling in the moment and see. See how, how things land. I think I've got enough here. I think I've got a good going. But then we'll be back in. Where is it the week of? Well, the 13th is a Friday. So what, what would that be? The week of the 9th. I want to say we will be back to talk about our number two favorite, our number two tour of in fish history. Sorry, I can't talk after. I feel like fish at the end of their tour right now. Megan, can you tell the people what our number two tour is going to be in our top 25 tours list?

[Megan]

Yeah, we're going to break some hearts right now, but it is fall 1997 so there it is. That's number two. I know a lot of people, all the listeners voted for number One, but we're going to have some work to do. Talking about why we put it second and Brian wants it third.

[RJ]

I feel like I've already started making this argument. I love this tour. This is an amazing tour. We're going to talk all about it, but we're going to have to defend our decision here to make it the number two tour of all time. Because I think that as the fans voted at number one. There is a. There is an argument against our decision making here. But we are the podcast. It's our responsibility to make the right decisions. You know, we're like your representative government here. You tell us what you think, but we can we really trust the will of the people? Is that how this thing works?

[Megan]

We have your best interest at heart.

[RJ]

That's it. That's it. I love it.

[Megan]

We want you to be happy.

[RJ]

Very John Adams vibes here. With the exception of, you know, locking people up for, you know, we don't want to do that. All right, so we will be back next week with 25 minute jam draft episode. Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope you all have the last waltz in your future. I know I will be watching that here multiple times this week. Might even watch the Let it Be documentary a couple of times. We'll see.

[Megan]

It's pretty long now.

[RJ]

Yeah, just have it on in the background.

[Megan]

I love that. All right. I hope everybody has a great holiday.

[RJ]

You guys all take care of yourselves and we will see you here next week.

[Megan]

Bye, everyone. Osiris.

[RJ]

Now, taxes is 100% free when you file in the TurboTax app. If you didn't file with us last year. Oh, yeah, yeah. Just do your own taxes in the app by 2:18.

[Megan]

What if I have lots of forms?

[RJ]

All Good, good. All 100 free. What if I had three jobs? Still 100 free. What if I once saw Bigfoot? That has nothing to do with taxes. So still 100% free.

[Megan]

Now that's what I'm talking about.

[RJ]

Now this is taxes. See if you qualify in the TurboTax app excludes TurboTax Live. Must start and file an app by 218.

[Megan]

The number you have reached is 100.7 WMMS.

[RJ]

It wasn't just a radio station.

[Megan]

It was a lifestyle even.

[Brian]

This is a rock, rock and roll city for sure.

[RJ]

The Wrath of the Buzzard wmms, Cleveland. The rise and fall of one of the most iconic radio stations in America Profiles the Wrath of the Buzzard Proh Files. Subscribe now wherever you get podcasts.