Got Rebage? (RebaReview #1)
10-21-95 Pershing Auditorium,
Lincoln, NE, set I
Time: 13:59
 
A friend of mine who was at this show later told me she had
remarked shortly beforehand "I'd better get some Rebage
tonight...you just don't even understand."  Somehow, I think the
band did understand, because they played one hell of a version
for her.  This is a teary-eyed Reba, for sure, one that sparked my
fondness for the song...
 
The show _opens_ with a Tweezer Reprise (!), with Chalkdust
close behind, followed by a _very_ tight Guelah...actually,
everyone seems really energized right from the start.  Reba is up
next...
 
THE DIRECTIONS (0:00): Starts sharp while the crowd is still
cheering Guelah.  No flubs through first verse/chorus segment -
whoops, slightly off-key moment from Page (I think) - but
everyone is really ON!  You can hear Page gleefully pounding the
ebonies and ivories.  No significant flubs throughout.
 
THE SIP (2:18):  Everyone is still nearly flawless.  My copy is a
little hissy, so some of the clarity is lost, but throughout it sounds
like a more or less perfectly executed sip.  No one is missing any
notes.
 
THE SWALLOW (4:33):  The energy really starts to build now.
Fish is nailing the toms, and Trey hits everything right on.   When
Page gets the lead he seems to be just a tad slow in places; Trey
seems to slip ahead a touch.  The composed section is still very
much on track, but all of the energy built up since the beginning
of the set is starting to push harder, giving you the feeling that
things just might get out of control.  Everything stays solid,
though, and we move smoothly into...
 
THE CHILL (5:50): Fish, Mike, and Page hit the chill right on, and
after a few measures, around 6:06, someone (Fish?  Trey?) starts
to add some vocal maracas while Page chords gently.  It's likely
Trey, as he doesn't cut this off by entering too soon, letting it
establish the tranquillity of this jam for a good 8 measures or so.
When he does cease the "chukuh-chuh" effect, he grabs on to an
absolutely beautiful phrase to start his soloing, at 6:30.  Fish just
rolls along, with gentle nudges from Mike, and some nice
background work from Page.  Trey develops a theme and takes it
up gently and back down even more gently, and Mike and Page
start adding more creative accents.  Everyone is very attentive
and gentle, especially Fishman.  Trey continues to play with the
theme he found for a while, letting Mike and Page follow him as
he tiptoes up and down the 'doc.  Some wonderful interplay
between Trey and Mike around 7:00 to 7:20, accompanied by the
Chairman's excellent electric piano work. There is no real build
for a good while, just this rolling melody, really very nice initial
jamming.  Around 7:38 Trey works a lightly strummed chord into
the thread he and Mike have been weaving, then climbs way up
on the 'doc.  At 8:15 Trey catches a descending phrase from Page,
and repeats it a couple of times with him, before slipping off into
thin air at 8:30.  He is quickly buoyed by Mike, who bends one
fat note to gently toss Trey up away from the base of the jam.
Trey just flutters about while Fishman goes totally to cymbals
and Page floats along behind Trey.  For these moments, it's like
the floor of the arena has suddenly slipped away and everyone is
left dangling in space.  At about 8:46, though, Fishman re-
discovers his kick-drum and hints at the Reba beat.  Mike, Trey,
and Page slowly descend from their flight and we all land back in
the Chill, strolling confidently, at 8:56.  Wow, that's nice!
 
The pace starts to quicken a bit.  Trey gets stuck on a simple,
double-time variation of the pervious theme, then noodles a bit
before attempting a climb back to the high reaches of his guitar.
He is quickly back down low, then makes another slow run at it
around 9:50.  This time he fades out on the way, but reappears
up high, noodles a moment more, and then finds another air-
pocket to float in - a smaller, higher, tighter space then before.
This time everyone bursts together out of the little bubble, at
10:11, and some tension builds.  Trey continues to noodle and
shoot an occasional restrained high note, but then locks on to a
staccato, three or four note phrase that really starts things
moving.   He repeats this with some small-to-sizable variations,
while Page starts to play a bit more like a man possessed.
Another leap upward at 11:08, and again while they burst
through the tension built in the last few moments, we've got
more tension on the other side.  Page pops through with some
funky wah-wahing (is this the clavinet he's on, or something
else?).  Trey continues to stick mostly with the sharp style,
tripped-out  by Page's effects.  Page switches back and jams on
the piano, and we build to another shot at a release, Trey digging
way down for it.  But he gets lost down there, fading out as he
had done earlier, and the release around 12:05 is not all that
strong.
 
A little more wah-wah from Page - or is this Mike?  Well,
someone's got da funk.  Trey starts adding some slides to smooth
out things a little bit, and the tension builds in earnest.  Trey
works his way up a notch or two, then gets caught between two
high notes, sliding between them with increasing speed.  Another
release at 12:44, and now I think we're up top to stay; full-
fledged Reba jamming ensues. This leads Trey up the ladder
another rung, wailing in the high reaches of the 'doc.  At 13:13 he
revisits the staccato effect at high speed on single notes, using his
guitar like a high-frequency sonic pulse weapon.  The jam has
now gone from just rolling to a rolling boil.  You can still make
out Page's (Mike's?) wah's beneath Trey's frenzy.  Another
release shot at 13:40, sends Trey over the top, and Fish throws
out the closing tom roll, ending at 13:59.
 
THE WET WHISTLE: Nope...it probably wouldn't have gone well
with the feel of this Reba, but I do think it would have made for
an interesting segue into Wilson.
 
***
 
This is an exceptional Reba that jams beautifully and melodically
nearly throughout, without being rushed into anything.  This
leads to some very nice moments, especially those two little
floating spaces.  Lots and lots of energy going into the jam, with
The Chill mellowing things into a wonderful, smooth flow.
 
The only drawback, IMHO, is that it all ends too soon.  Since the
jam starts out so laid-back, it needs more time to reach that
mind-bending Reba release that I'm a junky for...call it another
45 seconds of music and we would have been close.  C'est la vie.
 
All said, this is one of my favorite Rebas, very tasty and smooth.
I'll have to quote Fishman, he can sum it up better than I...
 
"Didja ever pretend to have a glass of red wine and just...it's
laiiiiiid back..."
     - 2-20-93 before Terrapin
 
The beginning of this Reba jam is priceless, I think, definitely
worth a listen or twelve.  The rest of the show is very solid, but
these moments in the first set really stand out.  Total time of
13:59 with no whistling is not bad, taboot...mmmmm, sloe Reba.
 
Finest in the nation?  Survey says:
 
B+
 
If ya gotta have some Rebage, this one should satisfy!

- Tim