Wedged in between an excellent Red Rocks performance and the Memphis show that features the mind-melting Mud Island Tweezer, this Tuesday night in St. Louis gets lost in the shuffle. There’s just not much here that elevates this show beyond the pedestrian on a tour when they were regularly breaking new ground.

The composed section of Stash is kind of messy, and Trey attempts a repetitive ascending jam that never really comes together. The jam finally coalesces at around the 9 minute mark, but we’ve wasted a lot of time getting there.

A satisfying, whistling-less Reba hits the mark and then some, and the Chalkdust closer is an energetic highlight, with a subtle Dave’s Energy Guide tease. However, sticking the Fishman Terrapin segment in the first set just doesn’t work, which is why the band rarely does it.

Yet another outstanding ’95 Bowie features a familiar Mike bass line that I just can’t place. Though this version isn’t as dark or demanding as some versions a few weeks later, it’s excellent nonetheless. Hood is solid, but not memorable while Golgi is botched, leading Trey to quip “We hope you enjoyed the jazz version of Golgi Apparatus.”

The Reba is worth a listen as one of the best versions of the summer, and Bowie and Hood are both above average. Despite these moments, this is a below-average show for this tour.

3.0 is a "Wait, were the guys too drunk or something?" type of score. This show isn't THAT bad. The next night has that Tweezer, and the previous showed was at Red Rocks. So it would take something special for this to be a noteworthy show. But 3?

I personally appreciate getting the Fish-singing riffraff out of the way in the first set, so that's a plus in my book. The Theme From the Bottom shows some maturation of that tune, which had a few underwhelming versions out of the gates.

Don't get me wrong, this ain't no 5, but an average score below 3.1 seems harsh.

PHISH, TUESDAY 06/13/1995
RIVERPORT AMPHITHEATER
Maryland Heights, MO
Soundcheck: Blues Jam, Jam, The Old Home Place, Taste, Shaggy Dog

SET 1:

Runaway Jim: Standard. >

Foam: Standard.

Bouncing Around the Room: Standard.

Stash: Standard.

Strange Design: Standard. >

Taste: Trey seemed pretty happy with this one.

Reba[1] Great version, multiple big peaks. Trey smokes! Would recommend.

Hold Your Head Up > Terrapin > Hold Your Head Up: Standard.

Sparkle: Standard. >

Chalk Dust Torture: Standard.

SET 2:

David Bowie: Absolutely love this one. Gets super dark and evil in the middle. They really ratchet that intensity up. Would recommend!

The Lizards: Fast and mostly awesome.

Axilla (Part II) Standard >

Theme From the Bottom: Standard.

Acoustic Army: Standard.

Harry Hood: That classic 95 sounding Hood with Trey on the Leslie. Really good stuff with this one here. Nicely built jam and good effort to put together a beautiful peak. Would recommend.

Golgi Apparatus: Super sloppy, yikes!!! Like, this is Marty McFly level type stuff. Check it out! Check out Mike though in the last 15 seconds or so, kills it. LOL at Trey taking a jab at himself at the end, “Hope you enjoyed the jazz version of Golgi”

ENCORE:

Sweet Adeline[2] Shushers versus screamers. Highly entertaining.

Julius: Standard.

Summary: Decent show. Three of their biggest hitters delivered the goods. 3.75/5.

Replay Value: Reba, David Bowie, Harry Hood

[1] No whistling.
[2] Without microphones.

Reba did not have the whistling ending. Chalk Dust contained Purple Haze and DEG teases. This version of Golgi, according to Trey, was the “jazz version.” Sweet Adeline was performed without microphones as Trey jokingly tried to break the record for the largest venue played without mics.
JAM CHART VERSIONS
Foam, Reba
TEASES
Dave's Energy Guide and Purple Haze teases in Chalk Dust Torture