From: Charlie Dirksen
8/2/93 Ritz Theater, Ybor City, Florida (Rvwd 9/95) A great, very powerful and active opening. The lyrics are
straightforward. The tramps jam has an especially dark feel, and Trey complements it well with off-key distorted and sustained
stuff (which actually, in this version, sounds appropriate and not poor). Trey's fills are awfully fun, too -- he doesn't merely tool
around (he seems serious about smoking this version). The post-tramps jam, which comes in very late (around 5:40 or so),
starts out rather dull, but picks up by 6:20 when Trey gets into it. Surprisingly, the jam hints at the true MikeS theme early, at
around 7 mins, but nonetheless remains dark and chaotic and avoids truly returning to the theme. The final MikeS theme
segment appears to come in at 7:35 or so, but, in this version, there is no concerted return to the theme (Page hints it moreso
than the others..). At just after 8 mins, Trey (I think) starts shrieking like any heavy metal lead singer, and plays his guitar
accordingly (sounds like a heavy metal jam at 8:30! very cool..tho brief). At 9:05, though, SPARKS, of all things, segues in. Tis
a really smooth segue into Sparks. A solid version of Sparks is played, and then at around 11:29 Curtis Lowe comes in. What a
great tune! Rift enters at 16:48 (Boooo! you figure it or Cavern had to be played at this point, after Sparks and Lowe back to
back..). Coil is next, and Page's solo, in its beginning, has a Mind Left Body jam theme (whether he was aware of it or not, this
is what the theme is.. this is really Mind Left Body jam.. (DEAD)). Weekapaug kicks in after the Coil solo, and Mike's opening
licks are good (snappy, quick, cool.. the norm for Mike). What is really special about this opening is the stuff from Fish in
support of Mike -- it is unusually active. The opening of the Weekapaug jam is very slow, steady and dark. Trey is strangely
mysterious -- he doesn't come right out wailing away (Mike is hot, tho). Trey picks up the jam after a few minutes, but he still
sustains a lot in the lower, darker octaves. He begins to soar around the 3 min point, but still periodically off-key sustains. The
jam doesn't open up into an all out Weekapaug Groove until 3:37 or so into it. Trey does some skillful and sweet stuff in the
final few minutes, hitting a lot of notes, but it really isn't as hot as he usually is, on average, for some reason. The jam drops back
into the closing lyrics bit around 4:30 or so (SHORT!), with HYHU teases left and right on top of Fish's Weekapaug drumming.
A very unexciting Weekapaug overall, I'm afraid to say. Has got to be one of the lamest of 93-95, if not THE lamest. It's a sad
thing, too, given the Sparks and Lowe and Coil that separated MikeS from Weekapaug. I would highly recommend this set for
its value as a setlist, but not for the quality of the Weekapaug. MikeS is pretty good, though, but doesn't redeem the piece as a
whole. B-/C+ (MikeS was about 9 mins, Weekapaug a mere 5:40 or so)