RebaReview #17
3-22-93, Crest Theater
Sacramento, CA, set I
Time: 15:09 (w/ whistling)
 
The second set Gamehendge at this show gets all the attention, and
rightfully so...throwing out that kind of surprise in the middle of
"It's
Ice" is soooo cool.  The first set, although with a more or less
standard
setlist, is nothing to sneeze at.  My favorite part of the set is, of
course,
Weigh fading out to reveal the signature opening notes of Reba.
 
THE DIRECTIONS (0:00): It's really nice to be able to hear everything
so clearly...Page especially, as it seems in a lot of the older tapes
he's the hardest to hear.  God bless soundboards.  Solid lyrics
section...Fishman sounds hot during the refrain...Trey seems a little
fast on the build up to
 
THE SIP (2:29): Maybe just a little shaky towards the beginning...
nothing major...Fishman loses the beat for a second as they reach
the middle of the sip, but he wipes his chin and moves on...hmmm,
they're starting to get REAL quiet when the music lets ‘em, that's a
good sign...damn, Page is a freak, he sounds good as we get ready to
*gulp*
 
THE SWALLOW (4:56): Yessiree that's Rebage we've brewed up...
tastes like panther sweat, but it improves as the toungue gets numb...
only thing is, ya never know what it's gonna do to ya...
 
THE CHILL (6:21): Gotta love that Reba bop...Page plays with his
placement of the chill chords a little...after working them through a
bit
he starts in on some gentle, quiet tinkling/chording up high...Trey
eases
in quietly at 6:52, picking on one note in 4/4 time and then licking
around it...one more time so Page and Mike can hop on, which they do
quickly...Trey switches to some quiet noodling, now starting to work it
up higher...and turning the volume down at the same time.  By 7:31 he is
positively _faint_, far away, but he holds on to one note to let us know
he's still there...Fishman becomes jazzy, all rolls and flams.  Pretty
stuff, with a P for Page, Mike's still got the bop in hand, but
man...now they're all starting to evaporate...
around 7:50 we enter a mostly silent jam, to the pleasure of all...the
band?  Four distant stars, twinkling in the California evening, perhaps
over a vast green field...
 
About 8:12 Fishman starts to bring the beat back but quickly fades out
again...Trey has found a little repetitive lick and hooked Page...Mike
& Fish drop out again while Page and Trey play with the lick, and
then gently start to work back again...around 8:35 Trey switches
key downward and kind-of loses Page, who is still up there tinkling
where Trey was...Trey is now doing some very quiet noodling, much
lower, but his key change has thrown Page off, who is sounding a
little strange at this point.  Just as Page is starting to sound really
lost, Trey and Mike go silent, letting Leo work it out with Fishman
barely keeping cymbal-rhythm...
 
Trey comes back in with a sweet ascending lick from where he faded
out, causing a shift to more audible music at 9:17.  Page is getting it
together now...seems that Trey brought something back from the stars,
a little fire, perhaps, cause his licks are showing some serious soul...
there's another shift at 9:37...hey!  Trey has got da funk!!  He's
sustaining and chopping in all the right places, sweet licks...Fishman
starts to jive to it...Mike catches on to it...Trey just keeps it
coming...another shift at 9:58, with more Phat Phunk to phollow...yeow!
Mike sounds reallly good...hints of syncopation in here as well...this
all builds to a nice shift at10:39. Trey grooves in the mid-range, then
digs down, lighting a fire under Page's ass...he then runs across
another shift at 11:00 .  Page is on top of it now, throwing in some
nice fills...hell, everyone is on top of it, this is a solid groove!
Trey works up some strength before punching into the next level, really
starting to wail.  Crashes from yonder Fishman...rrrrrrrr everyone is
really hot!  That's it, Page, throw caution to the wind...damn, Mike
musta had two bowls of Funky Flakes that morning!  Damn, I can feel this
one growing...they push it up one notch at 11:41, and Trey starts to lay
into it...by the time the next shift comes around, he's really starting
to wail...I think Fishman has lost control of his limbs, they're being
controlled by someone else...Reba's grandma, maybe.  There's a hint of
toms in the shift at 12:22, but there ain't no way we're through
yet...Fish goes CRASH CRASH CRASH!, Mike goes BOP BOP BOP, and Page is
hanging on for dear life has Trey lifts us up into the
Rebasphere...woo!  At 12:42 Trey erupts, firing off notes and
threatening to go over the top...damn, I can't sit still!  Trey lets it
go, though, and heads back down, but Pandora's box has been
opened...there's only oneplace left to go.  Trey starts pounding, over
and over, higher and higher, trying to break through the barrier and
leave it all behind!!  And just as he is about to do it, the Roll of the
Toms drags him (and me) back to earth at 13:23.

THE WET WHISTLE (13:42): Do da do da do do...oh, excuse me.  I was
marching.  The Wet Whistle is on-key and well played.  Feel free to
march along at home, too, by the way.  You can march along until 15:09,
but then it's Sparkle's turn.  Oh, and look out for David Bowie.
****

I like this one...it's got spunk.  It's one major weakness, IMHO, is
Page, who doesn't really click on this one.  Seems to me that before
Page got his Baby Grand and some other toys to play with, he confined
himself to just his old piano.  Organ and synth and whatever else he
plays with now during Reba jams add SO much.

But as I was saying, I like this.  Reba usually fares best when the
crowd is polite and quiet, so it's nice to hear that near-silent jam
(not really silent, just REAL quiet).  Plus, as stated, Mike's got some
serious funk and Trey is really strong as well.  For early 1993, I think
it's pretty fine.  How fine?

Finest in the Nation?

C+

- Tim