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From: Wesley Hix whix@hubcap.clemson.edu
Subject: 7.22.97 Semi-Mini-Review
Date: 24 Jul 1997 16:18:30 GMT
Well, this is my first attempt at a review, so I hope it goes well. As far
as my experience with Phish goes, Walnut Creek was my first "normal" show,
but I did attend Halloween 1996. I do, however, have 150+ hours of Phish
and I think I am capable of knowing a good show from an OK show (I agree
with the guy who onc e said there were no bad Phish shows.) Anyway, here
we go.
Venue : Walnut Creek Amphitheatre, Raleigh NC
Date : 7.22.97
PRESHOW
I arrived with my girlfriend at the amphitheatre at about 4:45. We waited
in a line of cars for about 20 minutes before we finally got to park. I
was supposed to meet my cousin and his friends at will call at about 6:00,
but we had lots of time to kill so we wandered around looking for some
water. Lots of vending everywhere. Kay (my girlfriend) bought a dress from
some sweet girl with a dog who protects his van with a little too much
vigor (I thought I was gonna lose a hand.) As we walked around we noticed
that the clouds were getting a little bit darker. This will become
important later.
I found my cousin in front of will call and we walked inside. Kay and I
had pavilion seats (Thanks Mail Order!) but they were not under the
covered area so we decided to sit on the lawn. We got seated and waited
for the show to start. I got a copy of last night's setlist and saw that
Lerio from DMB came out and jammed. Got excited when I saw that there was
no Mike's :)
DA SHOW
The band came out and the crowd went nuts. I had guessed a Yamar opener
but was pleasantly surprised to hear the first chords of Runaway Jim. As
the first first star ted, the rain began to pour. Looked like it was going
to be an interesting night.
The Runaway Jim was good, and a great choice for an opener that night.
Especially nice was the quite part before Trey hits the loud chords. RJ
went straight into My Soul, my first experience with this new song. Not
much jamming, basic 3 chord song if I remember correctly. Great harmonies,
though.
Water in the Sky : Don't know if they planned this or played it as a
response to the rain, but I liked it regardless. Lots of vocals, no
jamming, etc. Nice song, but I was anticipating what was to come.
Stash : Wow! Great Stash, IMHO. Nice noodling by Trey toward the end, nice
long jam section with Fish doing some crazy things on his set.
Bouncin : Standard. Nice. My first.
Vultures : Now, I don't know what to thing about this new one. It was
nice although a little short, but I think it has a lot of potential for an
extended section a la Mule.
Bye Bye Foot : New, with Fish on the vocals. This is when the rain got
pretty bad and the thunder started, so I didn't really pay too much
attention to this.
Taste : Oh, boy. Where do I begin? I guess I could talk about what a great
Taste this was. That, though, wouldn't be as exciting as talking about the
HUGE LIGHTNING STORM. I was just dancing around to a nice Taste, getting
wet with everyone else on the lawn, and the BOOM! A huge bolt of lightning
hit what seemed to me at the time as right on the left side of the lawn.
So people screamed and yelled and cheered, others, like me, w ere scared
shitless. My heart started racing and I was thinking, "Uh, this is like
dangerous and stuff." I know that the chances of getting hit are pretty
damn small, but that doesn't keep my instincts from kicking in whenever a
huge bolt of fire comes down from the heavens and blinds me by it's
brilliance. People around me said the band was jamming to the lightning,
but it didn't sound like it to me.
After the set ended, we all ran toward the covered area. After fighting a
crowd we finally got about 10 feet away, but couldn't get any closer. The
rain was beginning to die down, so it wasn't that big of a deal.
Set two began with a bunch of crazy noise from the band leading into DWD.
I remember sitting their thinking, "Come on, Phish. DiseaseFest 3!
DiseaseFest 3!" I thought maybe they'd give us a gift for staying out
their through all that mess. I was glad my wish was granted.
DWD got crazy at the end and slowed considerably. Trey looked to Page and
Mike and then the first note of Mike's started, very slowly. The tempo
increased and suddenly we were in the middle of a phat Mike's. The crowd
was going nuts right about then. Mike's led into a nice Simple, followed
by a nice surprise : Hydrogen! Nice breather from what seemed like a good
35 minutes of non-stop dancing. Hydrogen led into a great Weekapaug
Groove that lasted a good 17 minutes (Anyone time it?) At one point the
band went into a one-chord jam, with Trey moving from I up 4 steps to the
IV. The set closed with Hello Ma Baby (w/ mics.) Set 2 is a must have, and
I guess at this point I'll grovel. {grovel activated} Help me, Mr. Taper.
I am but a worthless anologer wishing to have a copy of a great show.
{grovel deactivated.}
Encore consisted of the new Circus followed by a nice Hood. I don't think
I like what the band has done with the ending, though. Whoever posted the
Hood was a little less climatic now was right. I really would have liked
just a "You can feel good!" and then a stopping point. Oh, well.
VERDICT
Nice show, sucky weather. If you see tapes floating around during the next
few months, definatly pick up the second set for the
DWD>Mikes>Simple>H2>Weekapaug.
----------------------------------------
|wesley hix | whix@hubcap.clemson.edu |
| http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~whix/|
|======clemson university compsci======|
----------------------------------------
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From: Mark Rauscher mrausche@juno.com
Subject: Raleigh....WOW!!! (long)
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 1997 20:31:33-0400
Please forgive me if I rant a little, but I have been to only four
previous Phish shows before 4/22/97 in Raleigh, NC, and I was completely
blown away by this explosive (literally) and inspired performance by our
four favorite musicians. Rain was definitely the call for the night as
we were driving in from Wilmington. You could see it just getting
darker and darker the closer we got to the venue. We got to Walnut Creek
a little later than hoped and ended up with the opener starting as we got
to walkway between the seats and lawn. Runaway Jim was rocking (my first
live one) we were stoked to get such a cool song to help us to our seats.
We found them just three or four rows out from being under the pavilion
cover; this would prove to be an important point just a short while
later.
Runaway Jim went into My Soul, and I don't care what anybody says about
the musical inadequacies of this song, they really enjoy playing it and
I
really enjoyed dancing to it. Everybody was moving. It did sound pretty
standard to the versions I have heard from the Spring (?) Europe tour.
Next came my personal fav : - ))))) Stash. This went off.
Really cool jam before coming back to Maybe So Maybe not. I think it was
in the middle here somewhere when Mother Nature decided to start letting
loose on the gathered masses. Big rain came down and within minutes we
were all completely soaked. Lighting was flashing every few minutes a
little bit off from the site ( but oh, just wait). Next was Bouncing.
Very standard. I hate to admit it, but Page actually appeared bored with
it when he was shown on the big screens.
The rest of the set is sort of a blur (from water on the glasses) as far
as songs, so please forgive my lack of song names or order. Trey started
into the chords of a bluegrass tune, and the others took a few seconds to
catch on. He was visibly showing them what he was getting at in order to
get the song moving. This turned out to be fully inspired by the weather:
Water in the Sky. Very appropriate. I think there was some other song
next, and then Vultures (?), more bluegrass. Can't help
but boogie down
to it.
As Taste was starting, the lightning was really picking up, with huge
thunder claps adding to the intensity of the music. The crowd was
going nuts by this time, just completely overhwhelmed by the sensory
overload of Phish playing along side the beauty of Mother Nature, very
surreal set closer. This song seemed to last for quite a while, with
Trey
giggling at our reactions to the lightning. One of the flashes
must have been at least on the property because it was loud as fuck and
almost instantaneous. I looked back in the direction and the guys that
were in that area of the lawn were going absolutely bonkers, jumping
around and just loving every last thing she could throw at them. The
band seemed to hit the high points right with the thunder and they were
totally going with flow.
The set ended at about 55 minutes, probably cut a little short due to
the actual danger of the weather situation. The break turned out to be
very short as well, only about 20 minutes, many people were still by the
bathrooms trying to get a little dry.
Anyways, the boys must have been inspired because what was to follow
completely blew me away. A scary kind of little space starts up for
about 30 seconds, and then right into Mike's starting notes of Down with
Disease. It is truly amazing what they have done with this song.
Everybody still soaked to the bone with a light drizzle and all kinds of
lightning happening up in the clouds but very little thunder. We were
all gettin' down to the funk.
I had recently been thinking about the Dead vs. Phish thing and I
thought that a big difference was the use of > and , setlists. I
thought that Phish could probably use a little more practice in the true
segue department. Well, these thoughts are completely gone now.
Disease jam went so smoothly and seamlessly into Mike's song, that it
was a few seconds before the crowd realized what had happened and then
went completely berzerk. They pulled out all the funk for this night.
I couldn't believe just how tight they were. It seemed as though the
music was moving through them direct from the hand of Icculus.
Mike's eventually somehow went into Simple. This was hilarious, because
at the end with the "skyballs and sax-scrapers" etc. there appeared a
sign language interpreter on the screen in his little oval window (you
know, like on TV) and didn't know what the fuck they were saying.
Cracked me up. After that, another jam into Hydrogen, into what else?
Weekapaug. Oh my god, this was just absolutely down and dirty. I
couldn't stop my body from moving and grooving. This was my first time
seeing the Mike's>Hydrogen>Weekapaug in person, and it just blew me
away. So much better than on any of the tapes that I've heard.
The funk finally came to an end and the a capella mics were brought
out. They sang the most beautiful version of Hello Ma Baby. I think
maybe they added a few sustains in order to cut down on quiet time where
the crowd used to cheer and slow them down. Worked out great. This was
the set closer. Everybody went even more crazy, banging on the chairs
and clapping, and screaming, and whistling for the encore.
Excellent two (yes, two) song encore. First was When the Circus Comes,
a new one to me, and then a smoking Harry Hood. When I finally looked
down at my watch and saw just how short the show actually was I couldn't
believe it. The second set jammed out the entire time with no breaks at
all until the closer.
If this is what we can expect for the rest of the tour, I'm very jealous
that my poor ass (and heart) won't be along for the ride. Hope all of
you are stoked on this tour, because it looks to be a scorcher.
--------------------------------------------------
From: mango021@aol.com (Mango021)
Subject: Raleigh Review
Date: 24 Jul 1997 23:49:46 GMT
I am not much of a public reviewer, usually saving my reviews for myself,
but I found after this show that I needed to share the entire experience
as best I could. The scene at Walnut Creek was significantly more relaxed
than VA. Beach with a great deal less security. This, and the ominous
clouds on the horizon filled everyone with a great deal of anticipation.
Set I
Runaway Jim -> My Soul: Beautiful opener. I have never really been a fan
of Runaway openers but this was very tight and segued beautifully into My
Soul, a new cover that I really enjoy. Quick and energetic, very nice out
of the great Jim.
H2O in the Sky: Interesting new tune, sounds very country and has a nice
little beat to it. Very fitting at the time since the clouds were coming
closer
Stash:
A very nice stash as well. Reminded me a lot of fall tour 95 stashes,
very dark and spooky
Bouncing around the Room:
I don't care for this song, I was hoping it was one of the rumored
"retired" songs. Oh well
Vultures:
I like this new song a lot! Very dark and although I can not remember the
lyrics at all I remember being intrigued by them. Nice jamming afterward.
This song is going to go places
Bye Bye Foot:
Didn't really care much for this song. Slow and sort of sappy Fishman
tune. It's nice to hear him sing a non-mocking song but I didn't really
care too much for it.
Taste:
Now the fun begins! The rain began and a torrential downpour ensued!
Everyone was soaked and the band was feeding off the crowd energy. Half
way through, a huge bolt of lightening hit the lawn of in the right corner
(from stage) and I thought someone was hit, fortunately no one was. It
was rediculous, the crowd went nuts! Another bolt hit the pavilion itself
shortly after and the boys were fighting it. It was a duel of the storm
and phish! The jam was awesome, so intense. They finished it so strong
then they took a break for all of us to seek shelter, although many did
not.
Set break 20 minutes
Set II
Down with Disease->Mikes Song
Awesome! I don't know how to describe it. Funky, spacey disease that was
all over the place. The storm was now a few miles in the distance but
lightning was very visible and spectacular. I knew the Disease was going
to go into something but I was not sure what and the last possible song I
thought it was going to go into was Mikes, but what do I know. THe segue
was beautiful, I have not heard anything like it. THe first notes started
slowly but as they came out of the jam everybody went nuts. I think I
could have been a high jumper when it started!
Mikes->Simple
Mikes was ultra funk, slow and very groovy. It went all over the place
and ended up in a jam, that is probably some sort of tease that I do not
know of. It sounded really familiar but I could not name it. It went on
for a minute or two, getting quicker and then right into the end of Mikes
with a beautiful transition to Simple ala Vegas. Simple was sweet, not
the extended version of Vegas but very nice. I thought I heard a hint of
It's Ice coming around but was pleasently mistaken.
SImple->Hydrogen:
Hydrogen was the icing on the cake at this point. I had not seen it
before and it was so beautiful, the perfect placement if I have ever heard
it.
Hydrogen->Weekapaug
Awesome. Extended Mike on the bass in the beginning. It sounded as
though the whole song would start but they let Mike go. He was all over
this show. Both shows he has been much more audible than I have heard
since Hampton 96. Nice and funky, very good Groove. THe last one I had
seen was Philly 96 and this one had so much more to offer. The ending
chorus began and was repeated only 2x and a jam insued that I hoped would
segue back into Disease but was mistaken and instead heard Ragtime Gal.
Encore
When the Circus Comes to Town:
Decent little song, a nice slower song that has work by Trey that is very
inspiring. Nice lyrics as well.
Harry Hood:
I called this for the encore halfway through the set and I was so excited
to hear it. I have not been pleased with the last 4 Hoods I have seen
since Trey has apparantly decided to shelve the peak at the end for the
more melodious end. But this was a beautiful version of the song I love
and perfect close to a most bizarre show.
Notes:
New Songs- Of the ones I have heard, the one's I enjoy and hope to hear
again are Ghost, Piper, and Vultures. Wading in the Velvet Sea is one I
hope I never hear again. Just very repetitive and drawn out. H2o in the
sky is decent but not too great. Bye Bye Foot, nothing too hot. Dogs
Stole things is decent but nothing spectacular. Dirt is depressing and I
really didn't care too much for it.
The band is really, really, hot right now. Playing like I have not heard
since Dec. 95 and if they continue this way the Great Went is going to
give a lot of people heart attacks. See everybody in Maine!
---------------------------------------------------------
From: mcgrupp@vt.edu (Jeremy Ferguson)
Subject: Raleigh Review (LONG)
Date: Sun, 27 Jul 1997 16:36:41 GMT
As promised in my Va Beach review, here are my thoughts on the Raleigh
show. This was my 4th show, and after the night before I was
expecting big things from this tour (I know lots of people seem to
think the va beach show was sub-par, but I think you're WRONG...Ghost,
Gin, Wolfman's>Magilla, Bowie, Crazy ass Theme, Slave, Loving
Cup...come on...low energy, below average..GET REAL!!!)
We arrived at the venue a few hours before show time, after stopping
at the Food Lion around the corner to find it TOTALLY cleaned out of
all the dank beer;) We settled with a few "oil cans" as my friend
called them...1 pint in a can...big ass cans! The lot scene was real
chill, no security to speak of. Hooked up with some ganja brownies
that ended up being really nice;)
We headed in about 7 or so. On the way in, my friend was patted down
by a nazi security guy who made him throw away the joints, papers, and
small sack of schwag that were hidden in his wallet. There was a cop
standing right there, so we were just happy he didn't go to jail!!
The security musta been psychic 'cause me and my gf had nothing on us
and passed right through without being touched, but Jon was holdin and
was thoroughly searched!! Jon and I had seats that were 5 away from
each other, but my gf was stuck in the lawn. We made our way to our
seats in the "pavillion" directly behind the taper's section. The
roof to the pavillion ended about 25 rows before the seats ended (this
makes NO SENSE!!!!!) which seemed insignificant at the time, but the
monsoon that swept through later made it rather significant.
I had called a Taste opener, but at the opening notes to Runaway Jim I
was pretty pleased. This was the first time I've seen this song live,
and this version was pretty nice. The end jammed out a little more
than usual and segued very nicely into My Soul.
My Soul was cool to hear, with some nice work by Page. It's always
good to hear blues jamming!!
Water in the Sky I didn't know right away, but Jon told me what it was
called (at this point I was asked by at least 5 others what the song
was called...this trend continued with each new song.) This song is a
little country salloon chill sounding song. Lots of Page, a nice rain
song;)
I was really happy to hear my second Stash (which happens to be my
favorite song). This one broke no new ground but was solidly jammed
around the basic Stash theme...standard.
Bouncin next. What do you say? The girls in front of me jumping with
the jingling anklets were kind of annoying but whatever...
Vultures is a nice rocker, though the end is a little repetative. At
one point the thunder cracked right in time with the drum beat which
was pretty cool. Definately a good storm song.
Bye Bye Foot is my least fav of the new songs. A slow Fishman
Ballad??? ugh
I was happy to hear Taste, as most of the Billy Breathes songs seem to
be maturing rather nicely. This Taste was no slouch, probably one of
the best Taste's I've ever heard. The rain began to fall, and they
took a break after this song. The set was only about an hour,
probably due to the crazy weather.
During setbreak, the rain fell harder than I've ever seen rain fall.
I've never been wetter in my clothes! We found some shelter under the
VIP tent and then went to seek out my GF. We found her and then went
and got some hotdogs (which were 10000000 times better than the
hotdogs at Va Beach;) Jon had lost his ticket stub, so he took mine
and we made arrangements to meet him after the show, I would join my
GF in the lawn.
We were still eating hotdogs when we heard the opening bass flexing
that signifies the opening to DWD. After hearing some the great DWD's
from the spring and summer Europe shows, I was rather excited. We
made our way to the lawn right above a stairway behind a big column.
This seemed to be a mistake, as we were knocked around and bumped into
throughout the set. At least we weren't standing in the mud though!
DWD stretched out for about 15 minutes or so with a lot of the space
funking that seems to be their favorite way to jam this summer
(YES!!!:)
I heard the Mike's Song Theme creep slowly out of Trey's guitar and I
was ssooo psyched!! I had never seen this song live and I was not
disappointed! This was probably the best (one of the only in fact )
segue into Mike's that I've heard. Mike's dropped into a bit of slow
space funk and then they popped back into the theme without missing a
beat.
A standard segue into Simple; this segue's so easy, it can hardly even
be called a segue. Simple seemed really nice, but at this point my GF
started bitching a lot about cold/wet/bumping/etc and it was hard for
me to concentrate (how anyone could bitch during this set is beyond
me!!) It died down into some pretty noodling.
This went nicely into Hydrogen, which hadn't been played in a long ass
time (last summer was the last time I think??) I was really happy to
hear it, as I feared that I would never have the chance, seeing as it
had been so rare up 'til now.
Into Weekapaug...Mike's solo seemed a bit extended to me, but it's
hard to remember because at this point I was having the I'm
leaving--no you're not argument w/ my gf. She did end up going which
left me in bad spirits for the rest of the show (until hood that is;)
I tried my hardest to concentrate on the magic show that was being
performed on stage, but it was hard. Weekapaug seemed extra funky.
They brought out the a capella mics and did Ragtime Gal. Then they
left the stage....that's all?? 60 min each set??? Oh well at least
set II was incredible!!
When they started Circus, it didnt' help my mood at all...just kind of
depressed me a little more. I was hoping for a double encore, and
expecting a Rocky Top or something generic.
Boy was I wrong. Hood really picked up my spirits. This Hood seemed
xtra long to me, but I could (am probably am ) be wrong. This is just
a beautiful song.
I really need to get my hands on tapes of this show (esp set
II--obligatory grovel ;) as my time was all but ruined by my GF's bad
mood. Set II was definately an above average segue-fest, and Set I
had some nice highlights (jim>my soul, stash, taste). I'd call it an
above average show over all, maybe a 7 or so.
Nothin left to do .... :-)=);^D
-----------------------------------------------------
From: mango021@aol.com (Mango021)
Subject: Re: 7/22/97: A Different View
Date: 26 Jul 1997 22:46:54 GMT
I have somewhat of an agreement with you on many of the points that you
expressed. I, personally loved the 2nd set of 7/22 if for nothing else
but the segues that went on. And, of course the Hydrogen, which was my
first. I agree with the thought on the Wolfman's ->Magilla, possibly the
highlight of both shows for me. But the DWD->Mikes was so excellent and
definately deserves the acclaim that it has recieved in reviews. I had a
few meandering thoughts at the set break that would have put this set over
the edge. For instance, Opening with Thunderstruck, by AC/DC. I don't
think the boys have ever played it but it would have been awesome. Also,
if not opening with that then a Sanity opener would have been pretty
sweet. My last two thoughts, as the set progressed was to go back into
the end of Disease out of Weekapaug instead of the Ragtime Gal. And,
finish the set with the Hood and pull out a different song after Circus.
The only thing that I have left to mention is to give great emphasis on
the Jim->My Soul. Very well Segued but seems to be overshadowed by the
second set. The set ranks highly on my chart of favorites, but didn't
give me the same feeling of 12/29/96 set II. Right after that, I knew it
was the best I had seen, not the same feeling I had after Raleigh. I will
also agree, 12/31/95 was the best all around show I have been to and
nothing since then has really come close. Just a few of my thoughts on
your subject.
John.
===========================================================
From: "Craig D. DeLucia"
Subject: VA Beach and Walnut Creek Reviews
Date: 24 Jul 1997 12:13:32 GMT
I had decent pavillion seats for Virginia Beach but lawn for Raleigh. I
was at the gates when they opened so I could get a decent spot and I wound
up on the front of the lawn, dead center, with some amazingly cool people
around me. The couple to my left were my age and at their first show, so
our whole area spent two hours chatting with them. It reminded me why I
love Phish shows so much...great music and, despite the negative
stereotypes, truly great people.
Set I: Runaway Jim -> My Soul, Water in the Sky, Stash, Bouncing,
Vultures, Bye Bye Foot, Taste
The Jim -> Soul opener was 15 minutes and nice. The Jimjam turned into a
blues jam and Trey started playing the lick for My Soul. The band fell in
on top, and the segue worked perfectly. The crowd really seemed to like
this one and, despite my earlier sentiments to the contrary, I have to
agree.
Water in the Sky is a new bluegrass number but it is Page-driven
musically. Not much to say about it, though.
The Stash was decent, but notlike earlier Stashs that broke new ground.
No real dissonance or exploration; straightforward jamming around the
Stash theme. Nice, tight jamming, though.
Bouncing.
Vultures is fun. I hate to say it, though, but the vocal melody is
identical to moe.s Seat of my Pants. Indentical. Note for note. The jam
is fun, and Fishman gets a chance to show off at the end, which is nice.
I just wish I couldve understood the lyrics.
Bye Bye Foot followed, and this, too, is a touching song. The lyrics are
the poem that Fishman printed in the last Schvice. During Bye Bye Foot,
the rain started up.
Taste...where to begin. The lightning started really crashing down and
everyone started to scream. One bolt hit just ouside the amphitheatre
grounds and served to scare the shit out of everyone. The sky was
constantly lit up, and we were all soaked. It was surreal. The band,
meanwhile, played majestically off of the energy that the fans and the
lightning were feeding them. It was so amazing...words can not describe
this jam. I have never been particularly moved by Taste before, but this
one destroyed me. There was even a short jam that was very Norweigian
Wood-esque but Trey never deliberately played the melody (like he did in
last falls Charleston Taste). The set ended after Taste, probably because
the band feared for our lives out there. The set was only 57 minutes long
by my watch.
We all got soaked during the setbreak, and the next thing I knew everyone
started screaming and the lights went out on stage! 20 minute
setbreak...can you believe it?!?!?! And, the rain died as the band was
taking the stage! I guess they figured they had better get the show over
with as early as possible since we were definitely getting the
aftereffects of Hurricane Danny.
Now, frequent readers of this newsgroup know that I am sometimes cynical
and do not heap praise where I feel it is undeserved. With that said,
this set was the best I have seen live and among the ten best I have
heard. This set was one for the ages. And no one better complain about
its short length (it was only 60 minutes) because there were no
throwaways, everything was jammed well, and the band was probably looking
out for our safety again as the lightning and rain started back up. Plus,
the encore was 15 minutes!
Set II: Disease -> Mikes -> Simple -> Hydrogen > Weekapaug, Hello Ma Baby
Encore: When the Circus Comes to Town, Hood
Lets just say that the Disease started out shaky...some BAD flubs in the
first two minutes. Then, the jam started. As I said above, the jam
included the same jam that was present in the Bowie from VA Beach. There
were teases aplenty that people heard, but the only one I heard was a
strong Spooky tease. So, they are jamming and jamming and it is amazing
and we are about twelve-fifteen minutes into it and Trey plays a familiar
lick, only we are at a real slow tempo. Was that the Mikes Song lick? Is
Trey teasing Mikes Song?
Pause here. If you have heard the Seattle Diseezer from this past fall,
you will understand what I am about to say. If not, get Seattle. Its a
great show ;^)
You know how, sometimes, one member will start up a segue and the other
band members, in attempting to get from song A to song B, rush the
transition? The Diseezer comes to mind beacue, even though the return to
Disease from the Sweet Emotion jam is AMAZING, it is not perfect because
Fishman immediately picks the beat back up instead of building it back
slowly.
Start it up again. Trey is playing the Mikes Song lick and everyone
catches on, and, over the next 30 seconds or so they gradually bump the
temp up until we are at Mikes Songs speed, and THEN it kicks in!!!!!!
This was EASILY the most seamless and beautiful segue I have ever heard.
Disease was, obviously, unfinished.
The Mikes was amazing. Mike was shining all set, and they rewarded him
(aside...HERE IT COMES NOW!! ;^) I can not begin to explain the majesty
of this Mikes. For a while, the jam sounded like a YEM bass/drums segment
with mild accompaniment from Trey and Page. Simply amazing. Breakdowns,
buildups, and finally were so out of Mikes that...wait...what is this?
Trey is playing the root note of those closing Mikes song chords, at a
different tempo, and the band picks up and jams on it, and then the jam
stops and immediately starts back up in the middle of a normal Mikes
jam!!! Mikes segues into Simple.
Simple was beautiful...not a funky experimental Simple like we saw in the
fall of 96 but more like the teary-eyed jams of fall 94 (Halloween 94
immediately comes to mind). Great jam. And then it starts to die out and
Trey is noodling around with something that sounds familiar and without
stopping Fishman picks up the Hydrogen beat!
So we get Hydrogen, and then we get Weekapaug. Mike gets an extended
intro solo...listen for it on the tape where Trey usually comes in. He
started to, and hit the first chord, and then stopped, stepped back, and
looked at Mike as if to tell him to go on ;^) Sweet Weekapaug that took
some real interesting twists and turns. It kinda ended disappointingly
for me, though, which was the only thing I found wrong with it. But the
weather had turned bad again and the band probably realized that, for the
safety of its fans, they had better end the show and start us heading for
the lots.
Hello Ma Baby to close, which surprised me (I was expecting Carolina,
obviously).
Encore starts with Circus, which is such a moving piece, both lyrically
and musically. I am so glad that the band has taken the big risk of using
their voices as instruments and attempting difficult vocal songs and
harmonies. Anyway, I happened to look up at the Big Screen as the song
ended and noticed that Fishman was hanging over the toms, so I knew we
were in for Harry.
It was a very straightforward 93-94 Harry...again, the band opted for the
teary-eyed jam style version as oppsed to the exploratory version. It
didnt disappoint.
This second set gets an easy 9.0 for me. Obviously, I may eat my words
when I hear the tapes, but I doubt it. It was that good. And the hugs I
got at the Greenpeace table from old friends made me realize that I am not
alone in my assessment.
This show gets a 7.5. If you are strapped for cash, get the second set
with the Taste as filler, and try and track down the Jim -> Soul as filler
too.
Of course, Assface is better than Phish anyday. And I still prefer
Zonticuddy to College Rimshot.
Got to see so many old friends and hang out with new ones...Benjy, the
ride back to Nags Head with you was an amazingly fun time. If only my car
didnt get stuck and I didnt get sick...
-----------------------------------------------
From: Uncle Pen <34R6WUX@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU>
Subject: Uncle Pen's Southeast Tour in Review Pt. II: Raleigh
Date: 29 Jul 1997 22:44:27 GMT
Just for reference: I'm pretty sure this was my 30th show. I have about
400 hours of pHiSH on tape and I'm a musician so I think I know what I'm
writing about. You decide.
The Lot: No clue, got there about 30 minutes before show time due to an
overheating car and we had to get our tix at will call. Pholks, if you ever
have to do that, get there early. The venue might have some insane screwed
up system where you have to wait in line for 45 minutes, much like Raleigh.
But who cares? I'm supposed to be writing 'bout the show.
I
Jim: Thanks Trey! Thanks for reminding me that I'll never hear a Jim like the
one they played the last time at Walnut Creek.:) 'Twas a good Jim anyhoo.-->
My Soul: Pretty straight ahead rock and roll song. The theme of souls and
the possible fate of said souls keeps coming up. Pay attention pholks, Trey
is trying to get a message across, but you have to figure it out for yourself.
Water in the Sky: Country song. Never liked country. Being biased I can't
possibly make an accurate assesment of this song.
Stash:As always, I thought the jam could have gone a lot further out. Still
a good jam, though. Eerie, dark, confusing, hypnotic; everything a Stash
should be.
Bouncin':
Vultures:Structurally it reminded me a lot of Guyute, but not the music.
A lot of composed sections, I think there was a jam in there somewhere.
Not sure, I was very distracted at this point.
Bye Bye Foot: I don't even remember it. Too distracted by trying to get out
of the rain and the audience which would cheer every time lightning flashed.
It's a pretty common natural phenomenon, you think everybody would have been
used to it after watching it for the past half hour. Nope. If I ever find
common lightning more interesting than a pHiSH show, please shoot me.
Taste:Most intense Taste I've ever heard. Serious lightning storm going on now.
The band seemed to feed off the energy of it, amazing jam. Half the audience
still thinks the lightning is pretty novel, though. If nothing else, this
Taste is worth getting a tape of the set. Hell, it was damn near worth the
price of admission. Least that's what I thought 'til the second set.
Setbreak: Spent huddling under the roof of the pavillion in the middle of the
aisle with absolutely zero personal space. It wasn't raining cats and dogs,
we're talking cows and horses. At least everybody was freshly showered.
II
Ended up next to the kindest girls. Hi to Katherine and Kim if you read this.
Dw/D:My favorite of the songs they currently use to launch into an exploratory
jam. As I recall the jam got really funky, then gradually got quieter and
quieter. Beautiful segue into-->
Mike's Song: Apparently word got around that they hadn't been playing it much.
The crowd went absolutely nuts! The verse and chorus section started out really
slow until Trey picked it up in the second verse. The jam started out mellower
than usual, kinda funky if I recall correctly. After some beutifully melodious
noodling, Trey kicked it into a higher gear. The jam got very dissonant, very
dark, as we're all used to, but this was darker than usual and stretched out
a bit longer than usual I think. The overall effect was very disturbing. I
loved it. After the first jam section Trey goes directly into-->
Simple:Damn! There goes my chance of a Hydrogen. Or so I thought. Simple was,
well, simple. The jam wasn't very exploratory, but effective anyhoo.
Extremely minimalistic. The jam never really changed much, it just built up
a little bit and then they ever so slowly brought it waaaaay down and they
segued effortlessly into-->
Hydrogen!:Joy! It took 30 shows and 7 Mike's-->Grooves, but I finally got
to see a Hydrogen. Absolute bliss. There was a couple of little flubs, but
nothing that detracted from the effect. Ahhhhh.
Weekapaug: As fun as always. It was almost kinda weird, though, not to see
Trey switch to his percussion kit, which isn't there. In the beginning of
Trey's solo he teased Hydrogen several times. (Do you know what the
international chemical symbol is for Hydrogen? Trey chose to play it for a
reason, methinks.)
Ragtime Gal: Could somebody please explain to me why they insist on repeatedly
singing this every third show? Their repertiore of barbershop songs is pretty
large, why this one? I just don't get it.
E:When the Circus Comes to Town: Los Lobos cover? That's what somebody told
me. Very pleasant. It's not difficult to figure out why they chose to add
this to their repertiore.
Hood:Definitely made up for the short second set, a great feeling to leave the
show with.
The jamming in the second set was just amazing. These boys are not screwing
around. Way, way, way more and more interesting jamming than in '96. It seems
almost anything can launch a transcendent exploratory jam. I don't have the
phaintest idea how they top this show tomorrow night in Atlanta. Thanks for
reading if you made it this far, feedback appreciated. If there's a taper
out there with tapes of the first three shows that is willing to trade with
me, I have another 250 hours of live music on top of the pHiSH.
Peace,
Pen.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 17:28:50 +0100
From: Brett Hartzfeld
Subject: 7-22-97
After we got back to the campground in Va. Beach I found my sleeping bag
and tent soaked from the rain, so I slept in my car. The trip to NC wasn't
bad and getting in and out of the ampetheater was hell-a-easy. I was happy
because just like the night before I caught sound check and heard my new
favorite new song Vultures. I couldn't pick the other song from sound
check. We were parked 8 cars away from two of my other friends who are on
tour for the summer.
I Runaway Jim, My Soul, Water in the Sky, Stash, Bouncin, Vultures, Bye Bye
Foot, Taste
II DWD, Mikesong, Simple, I am Hydrogen, Weekapaug, Ragtime Gal
E: When the circus came to town, Harry Hood
Runaway Jim- Great opener I heard this in Pittsburgh in the fall. It
definately set the tone for the show.
My Soul- Runaway led into this. and I was listening to a boot w/this song
in the lot.
Water in the sky- great new tune danceable.
Stash-sweet, and I was jammin out.
Bouncin- first time I've heard it live but no different than a live one
Vultures- my favorite new tune
Bye Bye Foot.- Fishman tune and while we are on the subject of fish I'm
wondering whats up? I mean a shaved head, no dress, pinstriped suit pants,
dress shirts, no vacume? Has Europe changed Fish not Phish.
Taste- nice set closer. I'm glad they cut set break short, Because the
whole show it was raining like hell. Listen to the Bootlegs and you'll be
able to hear the thunder during the whole show. During set break tons of
people were sliding down the hill on the mud.
DWD- Mike was killer on the bass.
Mikesong- this set just keeps getting better
Simple- As with the rest of the show it was singin and dancing in the rain.
I am Hydrogen- nice jam
Weekapaug- we were share in the grooove
Ragtime Gal- when they came out I would have bet on Carolina but ragtime
was sweet.
E: Circus came to town- first time I've heard this one but it definately
did not dissapoint
Harry Hood- I went nuts this was the one jam I wanted to hear at one of the
first three shows.
Y>E>M>
Hartz