This remnant will be replaced soon. The FAQ is back, with a new design! In how many ways does Phish jam? Segues - Type I & II - Pornofunk/III - Themes - Overtures - Rotations - Overlaps - Pauses - Silence Segues: The word is "segue", not "segway" or even "segueway". Here's the mailing from The Wordsmith for the 5/18/98 A.Word.A.Day: segue (SAG-way) intr. verb 1. Music. To make a transition directly from one section or theme to another. 2. To move smoothly and unhesitatingly from one state, condition, situation, or element to another. [From Italian, there follows, third-person sing. present tense of seguire, to follow, from Vulgar Latin sequere, from Latin sequi.] "A simple example would be the image of Rabbit running to school, (165-6) which segues into Buchanan's comment that the money Rabbit is lending him will buy `a world of pencils'..." Updike, John, Works of John Updike: Style., Monarch Notes, 01-01-1963. This week's theme: words whose pronunciation differs a lot from their spellings. Type I and Type II: John Flynn raised (date?) the distinction between two "types" of jamming. Type I jamming involves variations on a song's written notes and tempo; Type II jamming involves additional variations on structures and keys. Or, as he put it: I think Phish jamming falls into two types of jamming: 1) Jamming that is based around a fixed chord progression 2) Jamming that improvises chord progressions, rhythms, and the whole structure of the music. Pornofunk / Type III: __ suggested (date) adding to the typology Type III jamming to categorize the funkified sound (a.k.a "porno-funk") that evolved throughout 1997, and particularly on the summer and fall US tours, especially in Also Sprach, Cities, Ghost, Gumbo, and Wolfman's Brother. Some feel that this is not a "type" of jamming, but something closer to a genre, and that Types I and II jamming could occur within various contexts, of which Phish adopts many (rock, jazz, funk, reggae, folk, bluegrass, et al.) Charlie Dirksen <dirkch00@dons.ac.usfca.edu> posted (11/21/97) the following excursis of examples: A version of a single Phish song might contain ALL THREE TYPES of jamming. The "experimental" Tweezers, like Bangor (11/2/94), Bozeman (11/28/94), Canandaigua (6/22/95), Mud Island (6/14/95), and Jones Beach (7/25/97 Bathtub Gin's jam is basically a bit of Type II with a lot of Type I: this Gin jam is **remarkable** and stunning for Bathtub Gin, much unlike the Gin jams of olde (see also 8/13/93 Murat for example). Nevertheless, the Dallas Gin jam doesn't explore new territory, really, and generally sticks to an upbeat, funky, untypically-Gin groove (that gets really fierce at times!!). Almost every version of Bowie, Gin, Antelope, Tweezer, Stash, SOAM and Possum before 1993 contains Type I. I think every version of Julius is basically Type I (although see the 7/10/97 Julius for a version that Truly Truly rages, particularly the ending!). Chalk Dust is usually just Type I, but see the version from Ventura this past summer on 7/30/97. Harry Hood is usually Type I, but see the 10/20/94 version for a truly Type II jam (Spokane 10/7/95 is still basically Type I, although the ending is more of a Type II sort, to be fair). Listen to the Bozeman Tweezer (11/28/94) and the Bowies from the Orpheum (11/26/94) and Providence (12/29/94) for a Type II *party*. These versions contain glorious improv that should move you both spiritually and physically. Suzy Greenberg is usually a strictly Type I song, but check out the 12/31/96 version for some non-typically-Suzy Type II (not quite Type III, imo). The jam out of 11/13/96 Target's Suzy is pretty damn serious, too. Down with Disease (DWD) is usually Type I, but check out the 11/12/94 Kent version with Have Mercy in it. That's got some serious Type II happening. The Vegas 12/6/96 and Ball 8/16/96 versions of "Down with Disease" kick ass, but are *all* Type I as I hear 'em. If memory serves, and it probably doesn't, the Twist Around from Phoenix might contain all three jamming types. (7/29/97) Ditto with the Ventua 7/30/97 Bowie, with the Cities in it. Possibly the Ghost from 7/3/97 Nurnberg as well.... You Enjoy Myself is usually Type I, but the 12/9/95 Albany version has some Type II, in the form of a "silent jam" and basically a quadruple jam segment (jam>silent jam>jam>vocal jam). The 5/5/93 Albany version contains some major league Type II, as does the 10/31/95 version if memory serves, and several others. The 8/28/93 Greek YEM contains a severe Oye Como Va jam, but it is still basically Type I. Coil is usually Type I, but check out 5/8/93 (nice ending!). Reba is usually Type I, but check out 8/17/93, I think it is, which has three jam segments basically. Maze is Type I.. and I can't think of any Maze off the top of my head that has some serious Type II in it (but I think 11/8/96 *smokes*, as does 12/8/94). Actually, maybe the recent Champaign Maze contains some Type II... Antelope? Most old versions are 100% Type I. But 10/24/95 and the version from Phoenix (7/29/97) contain some Type II activity. Gin used to be squarely Type I, as did SOAM and Stash. But check out the Orlando 11/14/95 Stash (must hear; hear at all costs; you suck if you haven't heard it), or the Bathtub Gins from 8/17 Went; 7/25/97 Dallas; 12/29/95 Worcester; 8/13/93 Murat; etc. The 12/5/95 and 5/20/94 Gins are killer versions, too, but perhaps not as Type II as the aforementioned versions. The SOAM from Deer Creek on 8/10/97 (with that Crimson jam) is siiiiiick, and definitely has some Type II activity. The Stash from Vegas 11/13 has some Type II jamming as well, if memory serves. Not to mention the Amsterdam Summer '97 Stash, which has an incredibly melodious Type II jam towards its end. Themes: Several shows have drawn a single riff, song, or feel throughout a show and into the jams and are known for that theme. Doesn't really count: The Roxy 2-20-93 was a meld of things that had already been played, or where about to, but other examples are more clear. Best Example: Worcester 11-27-98 is called "The Wipeout Show" (and/or the second set may be called "The Wipeout Set") because of the continued reappearance of the beach tune throughout the second set. It wasn't just continually teased, but riffs were tossed in and sometimes built upon. Second Clearest: Throughout set II of 4-30-94, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is teased. Frequent Reference: Prince's 1999 reappeared throughout set one of 12-31-98. "Blue Bayou" reappearted throughout 7-16-92, and 11-29-92 was peppered with "On Broadway" teases. Overtures: In the second sets of 2-20-93 and 4-30-94, for example, Trey (in particular) teased the first set's setlist roughly in order. Start/Stop Jamming: Black-Eyed Katy (debuted 11-13-97) is evident in the start/stop jamming in Ghost at 11-28-97, in Possum at 12-_3-97, in Isabella at 12-_6-97, on its own in the middle of Tube 12-_7-97, during Antelope 12-12-97, and was increasingly prevelant until it was audible during more than half the songs of 7-19-98, even including YEM and Sample. The April minitour showed that the funk is alive and prominent. Most are thrilled to hear a totally new direction, though plenty of folks bemoan the ominipresence of The Funk and miss the days of high-powered, wailing Type II jams. Silent Jamming is similar to Star/Stop jamming but rather than having volume maintained except for gaps (as in having blank notes, bars, or measures), silent jamming fades and softens in volume but not in tone or rhythm or style or whatever else -- everything but the volume in maintained, including Trey making "This smokes!" faces and dancing around, Fishman raising his arms way above his head to swing down and tap lightly. At their most intense, these fades go all the way - the intensity of the band and audience are maintained, the jam is still "out there" somewhere, happening and continuing, and folks are dancing their ASSES off, but there's no actual noise being played. Trey's commented on the ability of folks to follow along, individually and collectively, until (and then as) the song fade backs in and the build continues. "... I realized that just because I wasn't playing notes with my hands didn't mean I couldn't still be a vehicle for this music. I suddenly decided I was going to have the same feeling as when I feel the music going through me and coming out through the guitar, but without making any noticeable sound, so I started imagining it zipping out through the middle of my chest into the audience. And right when I started doing that, the place erupted. It was the wildest thing. We were just standing up there doing nothing for 45 seconds, motionless, with no sounds, and I suddenly realized that I could continue jamming in silence. And when I did it, the place went [crazy]. I was writing in my journal about it for a week. ... people are hearing it getting quieter and quieter, and they've following the way the music is going, and then there's some line somewhere -- for each person, it's probably a little bit different -- where it gets quieter than the threshold of their ability to hear it. But it's still going. I'm sure that people are still hearing it, even after it crosses the threshold. To me, it makes for the active listener, because it's like, 'Are they still hearing what I'm playing in my mind, or are they making it up?' Because if they are making it up, but it's still going, then that's the greatest thing of all, because you've got a really creative audience going." -- Trey Anastasio, to Steve Silberman Others suggest these jams: 5/25/98 "The Curtain With" 7/15/91 Mike;s 8/13/93 Bathtub Gin 8/14/93 Antelope etc. 12/30/93 Mike's 5/4/94 Bomb Factory Tweezer 5/7/94 Tweezer etc. 11/2/94 Tweezer 11/12/94 DWD>Have Mercy>DWD 11/30/94 Antelopes 12/29/94 Bowie 6/22/95 Tweezer 10/31/95 YEM 12/12/95 Down with Disease 12/29/95 The Real Gin 7/9/97 YEM and Ghost 8/10/97 Cities 8/17/97 Bathtub Gin 11/27/97 60 min Runaway Jim 11/22/97 Halleys 11/28/97 Runaway Jim 12/30/97 AC/CC 7/29/98 & 11/9/98 Bathtub Gins "The PEAK of Phish funk" 8/3/98 mellow Gumbo Thanks to the Jan. '99 thread by MKagan <mkagan@aol.com>, Andrew Rose <arose_13@hotmail.com>, "Desslok" , "Mike" , "J. Francis" , "chrisk" , Darian Johnston johnston@mtco.com, David Rosenberg , Jonathan Banco Here's a breakdown of one particular jam, with the author's original commentary (from a post to rmp): Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001 23:22:05 -0500 From: Mikejon101 Subject: fuck, Runaway Jim this is far from definitive and sometimes downright vague, if you have other ideas, let me know. A lot of people think the 11/29/97 Jim is crap, and I was confounded at times while witnessing it, but in hindsight, I think it is amazingly cogent in it's explorations . So anyway, here it is (according to how my disc is burned): 00:49 Jim begins 2:22-23 Trey sez something (maybe "this doggie needs us"?) 2:38 Trey begins teasing something 2:48-55 crowd clapping comes in 3:18-22 band fades out so crowd will stop clapping 5:00 JIm jam, trey with C&P teases 6:50-7:20 tempo change 7:40 jazzy Jim jam led by Mike and Fish 10:47- Buried Alive teases from Fish 11:05- Buried Teases followed by Page 12:10 straight (Fish) and jazzy (Mike) Jim jam 13:15 Fish/Mike change up (?), Mike is strongly leading 14:21-40 tempo changing 14:40 Hood intro jam begins loosely, gradually gets more pronounced 18:30-55 C&P teases from Trey 20:00-15 More C&P from Trey 20:20 Mike picks up on C&P into slow jam 22:00-30 tempo change 22:31- Fish with Izabella teases 24:00 Mike/Fish led change (?) 25:00-10 trey jams similar to end of 11/28/97 Ghost 26:00-20 ditto 26:30 Fish signals Jim 26:35 Buried Alive tease from Page 26:45 Mike picks up on Jim 27:00 Jim jam 28:55-29:05 trey signals (?) 29:25-40 Trey signals same (?) 29:41 Mike follows Trey signal (?) 30:50 Jimbient 31:55-32:20Fish teases (or plays with) Bowie hi-hat intro 32:35 feedback 33:50 Mike/Fish lead 34:55 Mike teases I Don't Care or dirgey bar jam from Fire Walk with Me 35:30 Fish follows 35:40 Trey follows 35:50 definate I Don't Care jam 36:23 Fish teases Stranglehold dirge jam (check out 8/13/93) 36:30 Mike picks up on it 37:00 Stranglehold dirge/I Don't Care jam 37:20 C&P teases from trey 37:40 Mike starts something (?) 38:15 Stranglehold dirge 39:08 Page steps up and changes jam to (?) 39:58 generic dirge jam 41:00-15 Page steps up with (?) 41:27 Mike starts going off, he has something in mind, maybe 41:55-42:00 Fish teases Stranglehold dirge 42:30 Stanglehold dirge 43:10 begin fadeout into feedback 43:50 Fish fades in with jazzy Jim 44:05 Mike fades in jazzy Jim 44:30 jazzy Jim jam 45:25 Fish into Buried Alive/Jim 45:55 Buried Alive/jazzy Jim jam 46:50 Page comes in, begins to have a Rift feel 47:30 Rift feel grows with Page 48:05 Mike comes in Rift/Jim jam 48:15 Mike changes, Jim jam 48:25 Trey comes in, Weekapaug/Jim jam 48:50 more Weekapaug/Jim feel 49:21 full on Weekapaug Jam 50:45 with Trey, fall '97 Ghost style jam 52:03-13 tease by trey (?) 52:25 Page and Mike tease what trey teased (?) 52:40 (?) jam (whatever tease was) 53:50 Weekapaug jam 55:00-08 Mike tease (?) 55:25-33 Mike tease again (?) 55:30-34 Fish follows Mike's tease (?) 55:49 Mike tease again, Fish follows (?) 57:00-10 change (?) 57:10-17 Mike leads 57:20-30 change (?) 57:40 -53 Mike teases On Your Way Down, Fish follows 57:54 Mike/Fish Hood intro jam 58:10 last chord 58:11-59:36 feedback 59:37 a sublime Strange Design begins what do you think, am I full of shit? Listen to it on headphones yourself. I think the Stranglehold jams led to the Weekapaug jams since Mike's Song is based on the chords to Stranglehold (according to Mike in the Phish book). I love the On Your Way Down teases at the end as the jam winds down. I've heard more before, but this is what I heard this time, but no one cares anyway. I too have thought that what Trey says could be something about the Talking Heads too. Thanks also to Jeff Conboy <jconboy@student.umass.edu>. "Usually a long jam consists of a groove and soloists taking turns playing on top of it, and ther might be an harmonic structure, like in jazz where eveyrone's playing over the chord changes of the song, or its free, and everyone's going in all different directions."" -- Trey Anastasio, 6/7/95 Addicted to Noise "Inside each and every one of us Is our one, true, authentic swing. / Something we was born with / Something that's ours and ours alone / Something that can't be learned / Something that's got to be remembered."" -- Bagger Vabce This page last updated February 03, 2007. All contents © 1992-2007 Ellis Godard. All rights reserved.