11-29-2014, 10:18 PM
hotmetal401 Wrote:direwolf74 Wrote:Odeon, Cleveland, 1996 (Live from the Vault). This was the band at the peak of their powers. Just an incredible show from start to finish, with absolutely killer versions of rarely played gems like Opiated, Put it Off, and Don't Wake Daddy. Not to mention the greatest (and longest) version of 100th Meridian I've ever heard. Also, a new song called "Stereo" emerges from the mid-section of New Orleans is Sinking, which we all remember was an early version of Escape is at Hand.
There's something about this 1996 tour. My favourite show, as I've said before, is 9/30/96 from the 9:30 Club in DC. The version of 100th is longer at this show than the Odeon gig and includes one of the only versions of Hiccups that didn't come before Dare Devil, among all sort of other snipits of songs that would find a home on Phantom Power. Great versions of Put It Off and Everytime You Go (!) as well as the then-new TATH tunes.
From a recording standpoint, there are some issues. There's a big drop in sound volume about two-thirds through Grace Too and it's cut at the end of New Orleans (but not before a one-two punch of Insomniacs of the World Goodnight and Stereo). Fun fact: Sept. 30, 1996 was my 14th birthday.
I first got a hold of that show in a B&P tape trade sometime in 1998/99. Included in the batch of shows I was sent was a show from Harrisburg, PA in the summer of 1994. Pre-DFN release, featuring almost exclusively songs from that record and Fully Completely. I've never seen this one digitized, but it's another great show too. Small enough venue too where there's some gold interaction between Gord and the crowd. One of the only versions of Impossibilium I've ever heard too. And apparently Spirit of the West opened, which blew my mind then and continues to now.
Yep, saw them for the first time on that tour, still one of the best shows I have seen and I was in the 3rd level nosebleeds...I still can here them opening with Grace, and Opiated and Every time you go were huge surprises. They had a really good balance for their set list then.