From: Charlie Dirksen
4/24/87  Billing's Lounge, UVM, Burlington, VT

This old tape has a surprisingly original, silly song on it called "I
Will Set You Free" Or "Kill You Till You're Dead."  I'm not sure what
the title is, officially, but the song certainly amuses.

YEM follows Fluffhead (do you wish this would happen more often?).  It
opens strangely (when compared with the versions of today), but
typically for early YEMs (Trey just starts strumming over the others'
accompaniment.. no ten second cute little opening segment).  The
"Nirvana" section shows up only after around 1:40, and Trey is
definitely a bit rough.  Curiously, Page is *really* low in the mix
and is very difficult to hear in this opening segment (which is, for
the most part, the same composition you hear regularly today, only
with no shots at "The Note" from Trey at all). Page even slips up,
playing a little note before the "build" before "Boy."

"Boy" at 5:00, and there are no one-beat silent gaps between Boy, Man,
God and Shiiiiiit.  The WUDMTF vocals are highly amusing at first
(poor vocal mics), and Trey really gets into his solo WUDMTF vocals. I
think I may actually hear "Washa Uffizi and Drive me to Firenzi" in
here, which is different, in that nowadays "Wash Uffizi Drive Me to
Firenzi" appears clearly to be sung.  At 7:19 the "tramps" segment
begins, but Trey and Mike aren't on the tramps.  They simply accompany
Page's organ soloing for a minute or so, before they start **raging**
overtop Page!!! =^]  I wish this old tape were higher quality.  This
is quite The Fired Up jam.

At 9:16 Mike starts soloing prominently, but Trey and Page remain in
the background.  Page teases DEG heavily, before everyone comes in on
WUDMTF vocals around 9:40.  Then at around 10 minutes, Trey starts
playing DEG's main lick repeatedly, as he sings WUDMTF with
steadily diminishing (and increasingly silly and freakish) emphasis!
:)  Mike and Page join in.

By 11 minutes, everyone follows Trey's lead (Page's initial lead?)
into a serious Dave's Energy Guide, which it is a GOD DAMN SHAME that
they don't play anymore in its entirety (as they do here).  It is one
helluva cool, Discipline/Crimsonesque number (labeled "Crimson Jam" on
this tape;  I've seen it labeled "Frippness" on other tapes).  It
isn't played as flawlessly as other versions that I've heard, though.
Still fairly tight.  This DEG ends at 13:14.

Groovy YEM for an old version.  It is actually considerably more
interesting than many versions from 1988-1993, in my opinion.  But
perhaps it isn't musically as profound.  Have to give it a

B       Awesome.  Contains very intense, melodic
        jamming, with lots of energy and creativity
        (but not necessarily all the time). You may
        want to get a tape of it, and hear for yourself.

though, simply given the segue into and DEG.  Cool YEM, imo.  I
imagine that the band members would be embarrassed to hear it, though.
 

two cents
charlie