We were in the balcony instead of that strange pit downstairs at the Bayou. It was the first show where I noticed "hippie-twirling" in the back, and it registered as a form of cognitive dissonance. Well, there's no accounting to how people are going to react to the same input.

The show was great but my girlfriend had a psychic meltdown of sorts. I guess the cognitive dissonance was, for her, a little much. Like the patient saint that she was, she stood by me that night until the bitter end. I had a premonition that it would be my last "club" show, and I was right.

In 1993 (missed '92), I felt the sting in Portland, Oregon, being unable to get into the Roseland shows. Unable to get inside a Phish show? Huh? It made me nostalgic for the Bayou, something that (back then) seemed a long way in the distant past.

Weird.

I posted this to the old digest on 11/17/91. I must've been deep in the weeds when I misremembered seeing them in late '89, but there ya go! Ahem:

Well, that was some show Phish put on last night at the Bayou in
Washington D.C. (11/16/91). At this writing, I have only seen
PHISH 3 times, all at the Bayou (late 1989, Spring 1990, and last
night). Luckily, I was dancing next to a guy who knew all the song
titles, so I was clued in on the songs I didn't know.

The opening act was a very capable fingerpicker whose name I cannot
recall, but whose music was quite excellent (Mike somebody). Then, until
Phish came on, the club showed a video of old Rush in concert, which
was awesome (to a Rush fan from way back). At 11:05 p.m.,the boys
came on, cranking out a tight, fast first set including

Landlady
Uncle Penn
Wilson
Runaway Jim
It's Ice =>
Sparkle =>
Fluffhead
Foam (in hyperactive double-time)
Stash
Yamar
Cavern

The set break was filled with selections from Rush's latest album,
"Roll The Bones", which is a very strong release and sounds even
better at club volumes. The second set (starting at 1:00 a.m.)
included:

Tube
My Sweet One
Bathtub Gin (ending in an aural meltdown frenzy)

Taking advantage of a break between songs, Henrietta officially
renamed the band "Mrs. Pizza Shit", a phrase blurted out by Trey
several times during the show thus far.

Brother

Trey then made an announcement of special guests in the audience,
including his mother, and two co-authors to several Phish tunes
(those in the know, fill in the blanks).

The first few bars of "You Enjoy Myself" were played before coming
to an abrupt halt. Trey then confirmed that the band were quite
serious in their name change to "Mrs. Pizza Shit". The band then
kicked back into the song, replete with synchronized bouncing on the
part of Trey & Mike, and a HUGE funky jam (and I wrote that on my
set list about half of the way through the jam) and a long "Mrs. Pizza
Shit" vocal rap at the end.

Horn =>
Chalk Dust Torture
Terrapin (w/ vintage vacuum cleaner)
Llama

The encores were

Glide (announced as a new tune)
Rocky Top

Sweet! Thanks to Scott Javage of Philadelphia, PA for helping me out
with song titles and the words to "Llama". I saw four tapers in the
audience, so who has tapes? 'Fess up!

http://https://forum.phish.net/forum/permalink/1378219560

In the dawn of the file-sharing era on the internet, I spent some time tracking down mp3 files of Phish songs I had yet to hear. I ended up making a 90 minute mix tape of these obscure songs, including "Destiny Unbound", "Walfredo", "Prep School Hippie", "Glide II", and a version of "Brother" from 11/16/91 that shocked my brain. I recall being initially disturbed by all of the dissonant playing by Trey and Page, the intense vocal melody, the way Fishman alternated between the frantic main rhythm and the loose swing rhythm during the solos, and the crazy ending. The effect was even more disorienting when I got a copy of 4/4/98 II, which has a much looser version of Brother. How could one song be performed in such different styles? Where did that 11/16/91 version come from? Did they really think that was "music"?

Years later, I was able to download the full show off the spreadsheet, and receive the full effect of this crazy second set. Bathtub Gin is even more off-the-rails than Brother, and this YEM jams as hard as they ever did back then. Phish had just shared the stage with Colonel Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit one week earlier, and the importance of that band's influence on Phish cannot be overestimated. Combine that experience with some serious roadburn (this was their 38th show in 53 days), "Smells Like Teen Spirit"'s recent ascension into the national consciousness, and lots of special guests in attendance, and you get one of the wildest sets the band had played until that point. More fans need to hear this show, wouldn't you say, @midcoaster?

(Published on the legacy Phish.net site many years ago...)

Well, that was some show Phish put on last night at the Bayou in Washington D.C. (11/16/91). At this writing, I have only seen PHISH 3 times, all at the Bayou (late 1989, Spring 1990, and last night). Luckily, I was dancing next to a guy who knew all the song titles, so I was clued in on the songs I didn't know. The opening act was a very capable fingerpicker whose name I cannot recall, but whose music was quite excellent (Mike somebody). Then, until Phish came on, the club showed a video of old Rush in concert, which was awesome (to a Rush fan from way back). At 11:05 p.m.,the boys came on, cranking out a tight, fast first set including Landlady Uncle Penn Wilson Runaway Jim It's Ice => Sparkle => Fluffhead Foam (in hyperactive double-time) Stash Yamar Cavern The set break was filled with selections from Rush's latest album, "Roll The Bones", which is a very strong release and sounds even better at club volumes. The second set (starting at 1:00 a.m.) included: Tube My Sweet One Bathtub Gin (ending in an aural meltdown frenzy) Taking advantage of a break between songs, Henrietta officially renamed the band "Mrs. Pizza Shit", a phrase blurted out by Trey several times during the show thus far. Brother Trey then made an announcement of special guests in the audience, including his mother, and two co-authors to several Phish tunes (those in the know, fill in the blanks). The first few bars of "You Enjoy Myself" were played before coming to an abrupt halt. Trey then confirmed that the band were quite serious in their name change to "Mrs. Pizza Shit". The band then kicked back into the song, replete with syncronized bouncing on the part of Trey & Mike, and a HUGE funky jam (and I wrote that on my set list about half of the way through the jam) and a long "Mrs. Pizza Shit" vocal rap at the end. Horn => Chalk Dust Torture Terrapin (w/ vintage vacuum cleaner) Llama The encores were Glide (announced as a new tune) Rocky Top Sweet! Thanks to Scott Javage of Philadelphia, PA for helping me out with song titles and the words to "Llama". I saw four tapers in the audience, so who has tapes? 'Fess up!