This review was published in the 2nd Edition of The Phish Companion

Chalk it up to fate, and the iPod.

A few months before this gig, I decided to dovetail a business trip to Pittsburgh with a Phish show. It was a legitimate piece of business, really, and July 28th seemed like a reasonable date. I had managed to see only one other show on summer tour – an excellent Chula Vista gig that petered out a bit in the homestretch – and I was itching to get just a little bit more. It never hurts to see what you can, especially when the band is at the top of its game.

My colleague Donald and I took in some of Pittsburgh (a very cool and very underrated city), worked a hard day in the metaphorical salt mines on Tuesday, then doffed our corporate vestments and headed out to the venue to scope out the scene. There was a Shakedown Street in full-swing (several, in fact) but the whole circus was a little on the mellow side due to overzealous and under-qualified venue security. These bumblebee ass-clowns were verbally abusive, and intent on pestering the citizenry by enforcing non-existent statutes (in Burgettstown, apparently, it is legal to sell beer and bootleg videos, but not to hold a ticket in the air). I wondered if the Post-Gazette would see fit to publish a story about the insufferable Stalinist pricks minding the store at the venue that bears its name, but quickly pegged the chances at slim to none (with slim having recently departed).

The Post-Gazette (once the Star Lake Amphitheater) is structurally and sonically a nice venue, and it has lots of interesting vending choices, including a piercing booth. Personally, I have a hard time imagining asking some Swiss cheese tweeker to hook me up with a Prince Albert at a Phish show, but far be it from me to slag others who decide to go that route. The biggest criticism I have of the physical surroundings is that the parking lot is “paved” with huge rocks, many the size of a fist, that make plain old walking a unique hazard. I turned my ankle over twice and was fortunate not to sprain it. What brain surgeon made this call?

I put the day behind me, settled into my thirteenth row seat, and quickly watched this innocent little business trip of mine turn into a headlong tumble through the Looking Glass. Immediately after the show, I was convinced that this was the finest two-set Phish show I’d ever witnessed. As is almost always the case, time and recordings have tempered this opinion somewhat, but it remains by any standards an electrifying and historically important performance from Phish.

My first “Daniel” was a killer surprise among many to follow. But if “Daniel” came from left field, “Camel Walk” emerged from Phish's collective booty. This was a filthy, seething version that built to a fine growl and held together from start to finish. “Jibboo” appeared next, and quickly bloomed into a muscular, chromatic rock declaration. There was nothing textural or patient about this “Jibboo;” they just blew the doors off.

“Cool It Down” followed, and satisfied my recent desire to see Phish cover a Velvets tune that wasn’t “Rock and Roll”. This jam contained a wonderful “Gin”-like jam in which Fishman and Trey (who was wearing a white t-shirt that featured an image of the face of Fishman, circa 1992) played like putty with tempo and tone, careening from one theme to another, and surfing a wave of rippling, sonic magma. What a great pull this was. By this time my show was made. Everything else, I thought, would just be the sauce.

I used “Scent of a Mule” to go buy much needed water and a beer, and appreciated some of the good business going on in the jam from my vantage in the concourse. I’m sure the gentleman who ranted the whole way into the venue about how it was time for his “Mule” was well pleased. A neat little ambient outro jam in the “Fee” that followed gave way to a perfect segue into “Timber.” I realize that I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but this was a stupendous version of “Timber.” As in “Jibboo,” there was no noodling around and no grab-ass whatsoever before Phish collectively decided to bring the mojito and crush skulls. Only a precious few 1995, straight-to-the-jugular “Timbers” can hold a candle to this one. We were exhausted by the time the band dropped into a well-placed and well-played “Circus.”

The set was over an hour deep before they finished and I was sure that they would have to break soon, since I had assumed the curfew was 11:00. It wasn’t, and they didn’t. My first “McGrupp” since L.A. in 1998 was immensely enjoyable, and fairly tight given its rarity. Page gilded the lily with some remarkable piano work at the end, and though the conclusion was slightly flubbed, it mattered very little. My neighbor, an attorney from Columbus named Chris, turned to me and joked, “Gee, what’s next, ‘Crosseyed?’” I laughed, as if the thought hadn’t already crossed my mind. The crowd was so appreciative of what was clearly a special first set that the obligatory “Golgi” was met with great approval from all.

As we took our seats for the second half, one of the crew members came out and placed sheets of paper at every band member’s station on stage, which led me to believe that some kind of wacky cover was planned for set two. Heh.

“Crosseyed,” as the song is wont to be, was a voyage; a nine-course meal of moods and movements. This was Trey’s version from the start, and the first ten minutes or so were quite dark and pointed. In fact, Trey almost seem to snarl the vocals; I got the feeling that this song was a statement of disgust at the family of rodents who have infested the Oval Office, and the general morass into which they seem hell-bent to lead us. We hang our hopes on statesmen and speechmakers, and for the things they promise us? “Still waiting.” The angry jam led into a more melodic and delicate section where Kuroda literally took over the band, and then it all spiraled back downward into the form of the song. The entire trip lasted almost twenty-six minutes before it segued neatly into a beautifully-placed “Thunderhead” (a tune that’s grownon me quite a bit).

Like the rest of the devotees in my section, I went bananas at the start of “Brother” and spent the next ten or twelve minutes trying to keep my last few remaining marbles from spilling out of my skull. Before launching into the jam proper, Trey yelled something into his mic that I could not quite identify, and then everything came wonderfully unhinged. This was the fourth “first” for me in this show, and by this time I was fairly certain I was dreaming. “Brother” reached a searing, soaring, almost “Antelope”-like peak, and as it ended I prepared myself for the inevitable “Friday” (or the like) to follow. Instead, Trey made his rounds and started giving some quite specific direction to his band mates. The crowd near the pit started cheering wildly, having picked up on the chatter, and the place went absolutely nuts as everyone stepped to their mics to harmonize the opening lines of “Harpua.” All I could do was shake my head. What the hell was happening?

The composed section of “Harpua” was laid out well, and Trey wove his tale. What we didn’t know about Jimmy, he said, was that he was sort of lost and adrift in his teen years and felt like he didn’t really have purpose, or direction. He needed that thing that was missing in his life. He needed “IT.” So Jimmy was lamenting his waywardness with Poster Nutbag as they sat together around a campfire, and they took out their guitars and began to sing a sad song. A beautiful “Bittersweet Motel” followed, with the crowd showing gracious appreciation at the “halfway between Erie and Pittsburgh” lines. In the wake of the angry “Crosseyed,” the “everything looks like a nail” lines came off more like social protest than the romantic lament I’ve always taken them for. Very nice.

Back into Harpua. Trey continued on to say that Jimmy figures out what he needs to do to find IT – so he joins a rock band. For a while it was great for Jimmy – lots of one night stands, lots of adoration, lots of everything else – but then the chicks lost their allure, so Jimmy decided that maybe it was time to settle down. In fact, Trey said, Jimmy “looks a lot like this guy” – pointing to Fishman’s face on his t-shirt – and there's a t-shirt out on tour that reads “Jimmy Hit On Me.” [Some of you might remember the popular buttons from the Fall 2000 tour that read “I Did Fishman.”]

At this point, Trey traded places with Fish, and the band stumbled into “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” – which seemed like a fairly obvious tribute to Fish's infant daughter. This proved to be a great Fishman cover in the vein of “Purple Rain,” delivered with great panache and a virtuoso Electrolux solo as well. “Harpua” finished sloppily – Trey forgot to give Page his B-3 solo – but no one really seemed to care.

The hi-hat intro to “Bowie” came as the night's final surprise. How there was another hard-hitting jam vehicle left in these freaking androids? This was a tight, to-the-point “Bowie.” I was so sated and giddy after this that I dug in my heels and accepted the “Friday” encore that I was certain they were going to play. This approach may have something to do with how blissed-out I felt during the “Farmhouse.” Again, here was an illustration of the importance of placement. It’s okay to play a mellow tune as an encore now and then if it appears once or twice a tour, and especially if you’ve just capped your hands-down show of the tour with rock solid versions of “Brother,” “Harpua” and “Bowie.”

As I recovered from this performance and called my miserable friends to gloat, I developed the theory that someone “on the inside” had read the band the riot act for summer repeats and the lack of dramatic bustouts – and that finally the band just caved. Prevalent rumor has it, however, that the rare tunes were inspired by Trey’s fiddlings with a new iPod that contained the entire Phish catalog. He got the bug to play a few of the old forgotten gems, and the band rehearsed them on their day off the day before the Burgettstown show.

Best business trip ever. IT can happen anywhere.

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion . . . )

Much can be written about memory, experience, and the need to share it with others. Think of how you feel after seeing a good movie or reading a good book: you want to let all of your friends know so that they can experience the same thing you did, and then you can share and discuss your feelings. Or think of a special moment when you were enjoying yourself, and then you realized that time was passing as you stood there and that you needed to do something so that you could remember it as clearly as possible.

As fans of improvised music, I think a majority of us can relate to this. Part of the reason that people go to show after show is that "each one is different" and you want to continue to experience something new. You hear a unique version of a song and you want to let everyone know about it - why, and what you felt. There is also that part of the human ego that feeds off of the concept of "I was there." By being in attendance, you are somehow elevated in the eyes of others. For just being there.

I experienced all of these feelings at this show. Even during the show I was thinking to myself "How am I going to remember this?". I would look around, trying to catch the eye of those around me, seeing if they were as blown away as I was. Between dancing and jumping up and down, I turned to my wife and brother and tried to explain why I was reacting the way I was and to share in my excitement. I called my sister, who could not join us due to having her wisdom teeth out, and I called my good Phishy friend to let her listen to a bit of “Harpua”. While I am usually one to believe that an "epic" show should only be identified after some time for the excitement and hype to settle, it is hard for me to ignore the complete bliss that I felt this night at Star Lake.

A few minutes before the show started, there was a kid a few rows in front of us who was holding up his pack of cigarettes. I am not sure if he was offering the Camels up for sale, or if he wanted to hear “Camel Walk”. But his actions made me think of that song for the first time in months. Years, maybe. I turned to Josh half-joking and said "Hey, Camel Walk." As I wrote in my book, "F*ckin' A!" I couldn't believe my ears when they broke into “Camel Walk”. It was as chunky and funky as it should have been..."Strut your stuff." Now that's a way to start out the show. Forget “Chalk Dust”, haha.

There was a definite electricity in the air during setbreak. Most of the fans had this awestruck grin on their faces. As I found friends throughout the lawn and walkways, I was greeted with huge smiles and hugs. We shared in a bit of dumbfounded joy with what we had just witnessed. No huge jams, just wonderful surprises one after another. And we still had a set to go!

I was not expecting my excitement from the first set to be matched, but little did I know . . . I should try to remember that Phish is Back, and I can not be caught complacent. So as soon as Trey played those opening notes of “Crosseyed”, I started to whoop and jump up and down like nobody's business. (I can't help but smile as I type this. ) I could not have asked for a better opener.

I should take this time to quickly talk about the lights. It was somewhere in the middle of “Crosseyed” that Laura and I chatted a bit about Kuroda and his amazing rig. The light rig seemed as big as ever, including a few new toys it seems. The ones that really stood out to Laura and I in the middle of the “Crosseyed” jam were these cone-shaped lights. For the most part, they were pointing down and cast this cone-shaped ray down. The inside was transparent but you could see the "side" of the cone (if that makes sense). This shone down through the smoke and haze to cast a wonderful effect. He was on, as always. Never overwhelming (the "running" lights weren't overdone), but always adding to the music.

It takes some effort to analyze this show musically, looking past the novelty. None of the songs were fluff . All were interesting and very well played. The show can also stand out for how tight the songs were. I do not believe Trey used any loops or effects on any of the songs or jams. There wasn't much "space", even in the “Crosseyed” jam. That alone is impressive.

For my only show of the summer, I couldn't have been more pleased. Well, that's an understatement if I ever saw one. I am going to try and refrain from making a claim as to how "epic" or great this show was. I don't want to sound like I am gloating, and want to see how the show will stand up over time. But I will say that I am dealing with a bit of the "I was there" complex. It didn't help when people started writing and calling to say how jealous they were or how happy they were for us. So I will ride that wave for a while. I guess all I can say is Phish is Back. And we should just be prepared for a ride no matter where or when the show happens.

At the show, I could not help but wonder why they had chosen Star Lake for this sort of show. I mean, it has always ended up being a bit of a nice sleeper show, but nothing like this. Then, when I got home and could not sleep, I ventured onto RMP for the first time in months. And I saw the sad news about James Willox (a promoter and friend of Phish who was killed in an accident on-site at IT). I wonder how much of their energy and decision making at the show had something to do with his tragic death.

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

I Think Charles Dickens Did Phish Tour
Somewhere around Chicago, Chaz bought Bobblehead Trey. A small, shiny pin replica of Phish's pied piper, Bobblehead Trey traveled everywhere with us, bouncing up and down, sometimes dancing, other times trying to free itself from its fabric confines.

For much of our cross-country journey, Bobblehead Trey acted as our official mascot, sparking conversations with strangers and adding some novel spice to my first post-collegiate Phish experience. Representing my own disheveled dance-step, Chaz's tin pet seemed like an ironic symbol for summer 2003: the lone toy in the increasing grownup world of Phish.

Seven months since their Hiatus, Phish were playing more precise than anytime since Big Cypress. Layering in bits of dark trance and bouncy, bass funk into chord-heavy space, Phish clearly favored a carefully knit medley of sounds over the high school theater high jinks that highlighted their youth. With extra tickets easier to come by than tie-dyed shirts, Phish truly flew under the radar on their way to IT. In fact, Phish seemed so status quo it was too easy to forget why we were using Phish as our cross country compass. So it's fitting that Chaz traded Bobblehead Trey for a Burgettstown ticket.

Without knowing it, somewhere between Phoenix, AZ and Burgettstown, Pa I became a jaded Phish fan. By the time I reached Pittsburgh, I had just seen my 17th show on this tour and, for the first time, everything started to sound the same. The group's set lists became stilted, and a lackluster southern run, deflated the crowd's positive and peaceful energy like a slowly dying balloon.
Ironically, only seven months earlier, Phish reached their peak in popularity. A few weeks after their return from hiatus, Phish successfully straddled mainstream America, earning a Rolling Stone cover and their name in a New York Times crossword puzzle answer. Yet, their audience seemed a little younger, a little cleaner, and a little less enthusiastic.

But hard to find winter tickets, and a long loop through the west, gradually sanded off these extra Phish fans during the summer months. With the jamband genre firmly established, music fans flocked to see all sorts of bands, be it the semi-reunited Dead or a brevy of younger improvisational bands. In fact, Phish found themselves soul searching amongst their newest, and most skeptical, fans. As Phish returned home to the northeast, they picked up stream, like a little kid running home to show his parents his favorite Kindergarten class drawing.

Throughout my summer trek, I described myself as a social anthropologist. With a pen and paper in my pocket, I picked up where Jack Keroak left off, hitting the road, escaping responsibility and trying to figure out how Red Bull and rest stops add up the American Dream. With the real world creeping closer each mile, as I approached my New York home, I felt a little older, a little wiser, and a littler more hesitant about life post-Phish than I had on past SUV fueled concert tours.

In hopes of putting my collegiate degree to proper use, I tried to connect Trey to David Copperfield within six degrees: seeing Phish is kind of like wading through a Victorian novel. It's dense, all over the place, full of surprises, and in the end everyone ends up having sex and sipping tea.

Like all summer shows, Burgettstown began in search of a supermarket. Stocking up all the essential supplies for Phishing: candy, soda, beer, cassette tapes, and sleeping pills, we entered Shakedown Street early. Within a second of entering Pittsburgh's parking lot, I subconsciously slipped from dorky English major to clichè© stricken tour mouse. My seats went from being "awesome" to "phatty," my food from "tasty" to "dank," and suddenly everything from my wool sweater to my friend's iPod was "heady."

Phish's first Northeast show since February, a few minutes in, I already felt like I was at a high school reunion. The usual cast of characters were there: the dude who wears his hula-hoop around his head, a Vegan who dresses as Guyute the pig, 200 ticketless fans, and your best friend's little brother.

Once inside the venue, my cynical instincts kicked in early. "`Sample' opener, `Character Zero' encore," I half-heartedly joked. As the Northeast neared, it seemed inevitable that Phish would pack up their few lingering theatrical tendencies as they prepared to practice for IT.

But Phish never really do what anyone expects them too and, instead of offering up an extended jam on "Heavy Things," Phish played a set of rarities designed specifically for us soured setlist-happy scribes.

Sometime between "Daniel" and ""Scent of a Mule" I started to catch on. Maybe it was Mike's smug look, or Trey's t-shirt, which depicted a young Fishman, but something strange was about to happen. In fact, the entire first set reminded me of the night before Color War broke at Summer Camp; our counselors were never able to contain their excitement.

One by one the group rolled out rarities; packing them in so densely it was hard to actually soak in each number: "Daniel," a mistakenly discarded bluegrass cover kept alive only through Live Phish, "Camel Walk," original guitarist Jeff Holdsworth's greatest contribution to the band, "Cool it Down," a fine moment from the group's cover of Loaded, "Scent of a Mule," complete with a mini-mule duel, "Timber Ho," Phish's darkest, funkiest early cover, "Gotta Jiboo" the forgotten Farmhouse jam, Fee, a manic child-hood fairy-tale that doubles as so many fans first song, and "McGrupp," a powerful souvenir from Gamhedge. Even the slow cover of "When the Circus Comes to Town" was a carefully resurrected rarity, complete with the phrase "I Could've had a chance to get out of this place." Not only were each of these songs rare in Phishtory, none of them had been played previously during this tour, proof that Phish paid more attention to their set lists than skeptics like myself had suspected. Among the first set's ten songs, only "Golgi" had been played previously during the summer months and that number was incorporated to remind fans of the soon to be notorious "ticket-stub in their hands."

Throughout set break, cell-phones buzzed like bankers at the stock exchange. Being the superstitious type, I tried not to get too excited. "Get ready for a thirty-minute `Jennifer Dance,'" I joked. But slowly, my sarcastic banter waned. Second set started with "Cross-eyed and Painless," another oft-requested number that proved Phish hadn't exchanged preciseness for novelty. Though a slow "Thunderhead" still seems misplaced, "Brother" and the holy gauntlet of Phish, "Harpua," returned the quartet to their inner musings. As the song's chorus began, I remembered how to bounce, even without Bobblehead Trey.

But in their own convoluted way, Phish made sense of their crazy spectacle. Unleashing a lethal "Harpua," Trey turned Jimmy into a strange simile for Phish. Interweaving "Bittersweet Motel" and a narration about finding IT into the song's dialogue, Burgettstown allowed Phish to address the hiatus for the first time since their reunion, al abet in their own, metaphorical language. Taking center stage, Fishman laughed his way through the R&B staple of Elvin Bishop's "I Fooled Around and Fell in Love Again." Weaving in both a vacuum solo and references to his young family, Fishman reminded fans why the band is named after him: he embodies both the Phish communities Id and its ego. As the group returned to "Harpua," everyone in attendance, band included, couldn't help feeling like they had cheated on their girlfriend, every so slightly, during the hiatus. But then to remind fans not to take Phish too seriously, "Harpua" ended as usual, leaving Jimmy alone without his cat.

Cooling off with "Bowie" and a beautiful, sedating "Farmhouse," Phish proved everyone in attendance wrong, reminding even the cynics that the group will always be a bunch of theater dorks at heart. Since that show, it's become public knowledge that the group's newly acquired IPODs brought on their rarest set list in years. Somehow I think its very sheik, that modern technology helped the group find its past. But, then again, I always take Phish too seriously.

Looking back, perhaps I should have foregone February tour to finish "David Copperfield" in class. If I had, I would have learned that sure enough Charles Dickens did do Phish tour. After all the first rule of any Victorian Novel is that no matter how dark things become, in the end, everyone finds their way home. That is until the next tour.

7/29/2003 was and still is one of the best Phish shows I have ever seen. First of all, I love the city of Pittsburgh. I am a diehard Penguins fan and have been coming out almost annually to Pittsburgh to see hockey games since 1995. My cousin was a graduate of Duquesne University and lived ten minutes out of the city, so my wife Stephanie and I stayed at his house for two nights. Burgettstown was our first of five shows of the summer, including both Camden shows and IT. This show, hands down, was the best.

I have a VHS of Phish 7/21/1993 in Middletwon, NY in which they sang Daniel saw the Stone at the end of the show. I knew this song right away when Trey let out his' "Heeeeeyyyyyyyy...." Sweet. It went right into an excellent Camel Walk. I told Steph that this show was already worth the ride out from New Jersey. Gotta Jibboo was tight and built into an excellent, euphoric peak. Cool It Down was a great bust-out and built a nice type 1 jam out of the last chorus. Mule was energetic and fun.

I was so glad to here Fishman lay down the opening percussion to Fee, a song that had always eluded me. It was one of the wishful songs I predicted in the parking lot before coming into the venue. Fee transitioned into a raging Timber. Circus was nice. At this point I could smell somebody smoking a clove cigarette and I instantly needed one. I found the source and asked for one. The dude kindly obliged. It turns out that he bought the pack from the same store I frequented quite often in Red Bank, NJ called Faith's Aura. Small world.

I couldn't believe I was hearing McGrupp begin from the end of Circus. I was in Phish heaven. Mike's bassline at the end of the song helped bring the sun down and a sweet Golgi sent us on our way to set break. This set was A+, without a doubt.

Crosseyed opened the second set and never looked back. It was one of the most ridiculous jams I have witnessed, reminiscent of something from late night Big Cypress. Crosseyed dropped down about six gears and slowly shifted into a breather Thunderhead. I liked this version better than the first one I saw in Philly on 2/25/03, it didn't feel like it was losing energy from the crowd. When Brother started up I thought the guy behind me on the lawn was about to lose his mind. By the end of the jam, I was losing my mind with him. Brother was smoking!!!

The band took a little while after Brother to talk amongst themselves, but the last thing I expected to hear was "OOMPA PA OOMPA PA PA!" Remember that scene in the movie Half Baked when Dave Chappelle broke into the weed storage room and couldn't control his emotions? That was me at this moment. Maui-Wowie!!! Without reciting the entire story of this Harpua, the highlights included:
-a nice and predicatable version of Bittersweet Motel
-finally knowing what Jimmy looked like (young Fishman with the goggles and crazy beard on Trey's shirt)
-Fooled Around and Fell in Love with a sweet vacuum solo
-Fishman: "This is what happened to Jimmy," and "That's what Jimmy did. He fooled around. He fooled around! And then basically, God, handed him his little girl. And his big girl. And maybe ten other girls or something, maybe boys, who knows? That's where Jimmy's at these days."

Bowie capped off a perfect night to close set two. It was straight forward and ripping with power. Another A+ set. The Farmhouse encore wasn't something insane like I was thinking a show such as this would produce, but it was tight and just fine. I was calling friends right after this show to describe the pure bust-out bliss that Steph and I had just witnessed. As I stated above, this is one of my favorite shows ever, definitely obtain a copy.

Fuckin smoke show!!!!

I mean, when you listen to enough Phish, especially in the manner of which I am currently undertaking (a full, sequential year exclusively on AUD, not SBD) you learn to hear nuances in the crowd and band alike that are harbingers of energy, feel, pizzazz, and wha-pow!

As soon as the OhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhDANIELSAWTHESTONE dropped over the PA the place went bananas. Monkeys eat your hearts out, this was your Valhalla on July 29th, 2003. There is energy, and then there is, "This is gonna be special" energy. Show like 2.26.03, 2.28.03, 7.9.03, 7.22.03 and this one all have it, to varying degrees of face-melty-ness. The place was thoroughly on fire maybe because Daniel saw the Stone hadn't been played in 228 shows. But that's none of my business. Then Camel Walk. DUHDUHDUH!!! Sashaying into the mix, another bustout erupts and the spunky funk tune fans the flames. The embers glow. Played fantastically well, the song winds down and Gotta Jibboo starts up. Again, the crowd goes wild. At this point they probably are keen to the trend of bustouts now, this being the first and only Jibboo since 2.20.03. Jibboo featured some smoking hot builds by Trey and... [authors aside: is this even the same band that took the stage on 7.27.03???] and the band is ON FIRE. I mean they are locked in. I am familiar with this show, just because when you love 2003 as much as I do, you KNOW about this show, but I had never sat down and listened to it start to finish. So as I am sitting here, more like standing and dancing my butt off at this point (even the cat was impressed) I revel in what it must have felt like to be in the crowd that night. Pretty special. Cool it Down swoops in next and dirty-cowboy-jazz-groove it creates is absolutely addicting. It is sexy, sultry, and bluesy. The show, four songs in, is an all-star. Scent of a Mule was perfectly placed and the back-and-forth duel is very very engaging. I usually wouldn't advise you to sit and listen to Mule all the way through, except, listen to this Mule all the way through. Fee drops in next and is played with a lightheartedness and playfulness that is representative of the set as whole. Although its outro jam is beautiful and cosmic, is does not reach truly interstellar levels of 2.14.03. Not to say it is bad (is isn't) in fact it is quite good, but comparatively it doesn't hold a candle to 2.14.03 Fee. A nice -> Timber and man, we are ROLLIN. I am typing faster than Shadowfax can ride. This Timber is a ltitle *too* gritty both in tone and execution for my tastes, but in context of the set as a whole, a little slop hurts no one. (also keep in mind every single song thus far is a First-of-the-tour ... pretty rad). When the Circus Comes to Town provides a near-perfect landing pad from the high-paced, primate-swooning, volcano-erupting set so far. Then McGrupp happens and we're all like, "God damn it Phish. You guys are the best." Executed essentially flawlessly, this masterful tale of fantasy, again, continues to perfect flow, perfect energy, and perfect playing of the set. Golgi sends us onto setbreak thoroughly satisfied. I need a cigarette... and I don't smoke cigarettes.

Bustouts continue with Crosseyed and Painless. And this just isn't any old Crosseyed and Painless. I tend to use the adjective "swirling" and "spiraling" a lot to describe jams. Those two words are meant for this jam, specially the final twelve minutes. Now, I am getting ahead of myself, as the first 14 minutes are a ragin orgasm of fury and passion. [author's aside: Are we SURE this is the same band from two nights ago???] The jam is everything you could want in a Phish jam. Extended type-1 (not just Trey-led, but full band) shreddage which morphs into this dizzying, spiraling, swirling, ebbing, flowing, bobbing-on-the-surface-of-an-ocean-made-of-jello jam. The second jam segment is utterly unique. I've never heard Phish play anything, stylistically speaking, like it. It's amazing. It's sublime. It's pretty. It's calming. And then it settles into, be still my heart, Thunderhead. Wow. ::Funky passes out, the cat looks on, his plan finally comple... Funky regains consciousness, cat looks on in contempt:: What a PERFECT placement of Thunderhead. Almost, and essentially, an extension of the Crosseyed jam, this Thunderhead completes the 32+ minute literal masterpiece of music. Brother starts up and, quite frankly, I am surprised the venue didn't implode right then and there. Taken straight from the mid-90s, this version is unmistakably machine-gun Trey. Holy Moly! GET IT TREY!!!! WOW!!!! Ok ok... I mean, the show can't get better rigHARPUA!!!!!! ::Funky passes out again:: Unfreakingbelievable. Jimmy finds himself solemn, lamenting, trying to find "IT>" Whatever IT is... I mean, I used to be with IT. Then they changed what IT is. Now what I'm with isn't IT and what's IT seems weird and scary to me... and apparently this happened to Jimmy. Poor guy. That's ok though, because he went the Tom Robbins route and partook with great gusto in the fairer sex, and WHOOSH, he found IT! The story concludes with a happy ending (your Freudian mind can eat its heart out) and we are all rejoicing. I imaginary high-fived many of you in the audience retrospectively. It was at this time Mrs Funky walked into the door, seeing me high-fiving imaginary people, as THE DOGGGGGGGGGGGG is being blared at full volume. It was quite a site, inspirational even, and yes, the cat looked on in contempt. A ferocious, hard-edged Bowie closes the set out with volley after volley of peaks. It was a fantastic version. A humble, well-chosen Farmhouse caps the evening on what is, to my ears, the second best show of 2003 so far.

Must-hear jams: Gotta Jibboo, CROSSEYED AND PAINLESS > THUNDERHEAD!!!!!, Brother
Probably-should-listen-to jams: Honestly, you should probably listen to this whole show

Simply put, this is a top shelf 2.0 era performance. Look at the setlist. No really, look at it again. I'm not a Mule fan in the least but other than that, I don't feel like there is a throw-away song here at all. The Crosseyed -> Thunderhead is the headliner of this show (truly one of the best segments of 2.0) but the band carries high energy and fun through this entire show. Definitely worth a listen, especially since it has been given the official release treatment.

Great show from start to finish! The " daniel" opener set the tone for a night of rarities. For me the highlight of the first set was Fee > Timber,excellent buildup from all four. McGrupp was a nice surprise, and was executed incredibly. The second set really sent people onto a frenzy, a guy next to me had some sort of religious experience when Brother was played- total freakout ( in a good way) . Madness ensued when the "oompa pa pas" came out. Not many bands care to make their fans laugh. Phish has always been able to do this and the segment with Jon singing was a classic. Great Bowie to end the second set. While others disagreed I thought Farmhouse was an appropriate way to end a high energy night. I highly would recommend this show for any fan.

We got to the lot and waited in line for it to open, we were probably within the first 40 cars in. It was really hot out all day, enough to necessitate my always handy Kelty sun shelter! Hung out w/ Mike (nestamarley) and his girlfriend Kelly for a while. I managed to tie on one hell of a buzz before this show, I am so glad I did seeing as how crazy this show would be! I ordered the whole tour on mail order. I only got three pavilions although I upgraded many as I went along. But Burgettstown was the one show that PTBM hooked me up with: 15th row DFC. Absolutely amazing seats I will never bitch again (did I just say that!!). I have to think someone was looking out for me on this night and lo and behold that surely came true. I was by myself in that seat. But it did not matter one bit, so many cool people were around me ? I will never forget some of the conversations I had w/ those around me at set break and after the show! Just one more reason why I love Phish and the people that follow the band!

SET 1: Daniel Saw the Stone: Holy Shit you have got to be joking! This was the first Daniel for me. I honestly never thought I would hear it. Played for the first time since February 23, 1997 (285 shows). It was very tight and true to form that I have heard on disc. What an opener! >

Camel Walk: Well I will be damned. Apparently, the band is really feeling it tonight. I think we might just be in for it! Only my second time seeing this (10/1/00 in Phoenix). Funky as hell as you would expect. Again very tight and true to form. People around me are going nutso as am I!

Gotta Jibboo: I laughed to myself a bit here. After the two songs that came before, it is almost a justification to play Jibboo! Actually that is not really true considering the song has been put on the shelf for the most part. It was only played once in Chicago and then once this tour. This one just rips! Wonderful interplay between Page and Trey to begin the jam segment. It is so cool watching these two from so close locking up with each other and leading the band to new heights. Not a dull moment at all in this Jibboo, just straight ripping throughout. Nice!

Cool It Down: This one caught me so off guard (you may see that statement quite a bit in this review!). I did not know what it was until someone close to me figured it out about 20 seconds in. What has gotten into the band tonight I am thinking? Very frisky! Another first for me and a very good one at that. Very bluesy feel to this song. Page just banging away on that baby grand ? awesome!

Scent of a Mule: Yeeha! I love the fact that this tune has become a once a tour treat. I used to see it all too often in 95 and 96 and it became old hat. Mike is all over his fight bell during the duel, always a sign of a hot show to come.

Fee: Woo hoo! The hits just keep on coming! Nice, clean version. Trails off into the ambient space that has followed Fee around quite a bit since summer 99. Absolutely filthy segue in to ->

Timber (Jerry the Mule) - This cements the fact that the band means business to me on this evening in Pennsylvania. This Timber is pure shredding material. Sinister, scary and dark it totally blew me away! Wailing guitar riffs by Trey that really put me on another planet! This is another song that I just cannot get enough of! Awesome, searing Timber Jerry >

When the Circus Comes: Everyone needed a breather after all that! I have had kind of a love/hate affair w/ this tune. Tonight it was all about the love baby! Totally right on version and sweet placement too. >

McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters: Holy shit! I believe the last time I saw this was 4-5-98! Was it played perfectly? No? But it certainly was not botched either like some would have you believe. I thought it was played admirably well considering the frequency of which it is played. Mike owns this version; he shines above the rest.

Golgi Apparatus: What an appropriate way to close out an amazing first set! I saw you with a ticket stub in your hand indeed! Trey’s quiet little solo in this choked me up a bit: just thinking of everything I had seen on this tour and the great people I had met! It was all coming together so nicely here in Pennsylvania! Nice rendition of Golgi.

SET 2: Crosseyed and Painless: Whoa, this cannot be. My brain is melting. I had chased this song big time until I finally got it at 7/12/00. I was shut out by PTBM for 10/31/96 and felt cheated since then when it came to Crosseyed. God did they ever deliver the goods with this version. Fish has a little trouble w/ some of the lyrics but who the hell cares! My section was a mass of people hugging, high fiving and smoking everything they could get their hands on, it really was a sight to behold! When this breaks into the jam segment, Mike really throws down some downright funky licks. Very uplifting jamming at 8 minutes Trey and Page lock up and take it up and up. Back to Trey led jamming at 10 minutes. Page is so good throughout the middle part of this. I know I say it too much, but Page and Trey play so well off of each other it is like they know what one another is thinking. I can’t explain this section other than pure bliss. Beautiful music! At 18 minutes Trey goes for a harder edge and by 19 minutes everyone seems to be regrouping a bit. Two minutes of some serene ambience later, segue into ->

Thunderhead: Man, I will tell each and every one of you: hearing the opening licks was like waking out of a dream; but not in a bad way at all. I rather enjoyed the placement of Thunderhead. C&P was extremely intense for me. Flame on, but I loved hearing Thunderhead here, loved it.

Brother: Wow, the boys at this point just keep reaching into that bag of tricks. On the board you can hear Fish ask if he should start it so it’s comfortable. Funny stuff. Here he goes now, JUMP!!? Even listening to this right now on disc, I am still blown away. Phish at their collective best. Trey just goes totally machine gun from the 4 to 5 minute mark. My mouth was hanging open at this point. Sick, sick, sick. At 7 minutes after Brother is over and the band is discussing the next tune someone nails some gear on stage w/ a glowstick and Trey says, “That’s it, we are out of here!? Kind of jokingly.

Harpua: Oom Pa Pa Oom Pa Pa! Oh my sweet Jesus. Harpua. People losing their stuff all around me, myself being one of them. Jimmy = directionless and listless?. He’s searching for IT. Segue into >

Bittersweet Motel: NICE! An obvious huge, huge cheer for the halfway between Erie and Pittsburgh line! >

Harpua: Jimmy gets into a rock band and finds that everything is leading to IT – LMFAO >

Fooled Around and Fell in Love: Fishman: This is what happened to Jimmy. Hilarious! A song that parodies Fishman’s womanizing and his current situation w/ his new baby. Complete with vacuum solo. >

Hold Your Head Up > Harpua: And then just when Jimmy found love, life came up and bit him in the ass again? Not sure what that was all about! Great harmonizing at the end. Was it perfect? No. But I loved every damn second of it, reveled in it. It is Harpua people, and if you want to pick it apart so be it. I thought it was amazing. I want… a DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOG! >

David Bowie: Overplayed or not, are they trying to break my feeble brain? If so, they are doing an A-1 job of it! The intro is spooky as all hell thanks to some Trey loops w/ a little heavy Page synth taboot. The composed intro is close to perfect. This is Bowie is dark and nasty. This one never lets up one bit. Plain rocking throughout. Left me weak at the knees, I was glad to have a seat between this and the encore! Great, great Bowie.

ENCORE: Farmhouse – Haters, you were not at this show if you are ripping on this as the encore. It was perfect as the encore for me. For me, it felt like a Farmhouse in the face of what we had just seen on stage, a bunch of likeminded people in one space celebrating our favorite band and an amazing show. I thought this was a poignant way to close out the evening. Great encore and a perfect way to send us on our way to NJ.

Replay Value: Gotta Jibboo, Scent of a Mule, Fee, Timber (Jerry the Mule), McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, Crosseyed and Painless

Summary: Best first set I have seen since 12.7.97. We must have hung out in the lot until 2 am, whenever the cops kicked us out. We hung out w/ Mike/nestamarley - dude I must have told you 10 times how cool it was for you to go home on such an incredible high point. You deserved that show Mike, big time bro. This is why people follow tour; to find that one show that will keep them talking for years and years. Well, we got it tonight in Burgettstown, PA. I felt like I had been baptized after seeing this show, born again in The Phish. Everyone I saw after this show seemed to be smiling from ear to ear, this was a show for the ages; of that I am convinced. I would rate this as a 4.5 out of 5.

Out of all the shows of 2.0 phish, I think this show and 2/28/03 are my favorites followed closely by IT and SPAC 04. The jam out of Crosseyed is incredible. Everything is played so well and there have only been a couple flubs that are hardly noticeable. Also, there are fantastic versions of Cool It, Fee->Timber, McGrupp and Harpua. How can anyone complain about that?

don't know about other people and their reviews of this show, but coming from a fan who was there, this is (imo) an essential show to be added to the catalogue. I'm glad phish.inc added this as an "official release" as the guys were SPOT ON that night. I caught the 02.28 Nassau show earlier in the year and we hopped on the Summer tour here > IT. We were all checking previous setlists in hopes of predicting a couple songs, but man were we threw for a loop that night. Prior to the show I recall hearing in the lot that a (potentially former) member of the road crew died the day before on their way and there were rumors they would pay homage to him...which they just may have because we were treated that night to a fine show.

The Daniel > Camel Walk was a great treat. Jiboo was smokin'. Cool it Down was one of the best versions they've played, even to this date 12 years later. The Mule was solid, and then we get into the meat and potatoes of the first set with an EXQUISITE Fee -> Timber > Circus > McGrupp. Cap it off with the Golgi (which I personally could have done without, but was still good) and you've got one hell of a set.

The X-eyed > Thunderhead was awesome; really like Thunderhead as a Troy song. Brother was a stellar version, akin to '92 versions and brought the energy level back up to 11. Then, what can I say, my first Harpua...and a good one at that. Troy eluded to Fish being Jimmy and how he has fallen in love. The Bowie, although fairly short (maybe ~12 min) is substantial.

All around a great show, offering some of the best playing the band offered in 2.0 and quintessential whimsy that we have all come to love from the guys.

Fuckin smoke show!!!!

I mean, when you listen to enough Phish, especially in the manner of which I am currently undertaking (a full, sequential year exclusively on AUD, not SBD) you learn to hear nuances in the crowd and band alike that are harbingers of energy, feel, pizzazz, and wha-pow!

As soon as the OhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhDANIELSAWTHESTONE dropped over the PA the place went bananas. Monkeys eat your hearts out, this was your Valhalla on July 29th, 2003. There is energy, and then there is, "This is gonna be special" energy. Show like 2.26.03, 2.28.03, 7.9.03, 7.22.03 and this one all have it, to varying degrees of face-melty-ness. The place was thoroughly on fire maybe because Daniel saw the Stone hadn't been played in 228 shows. But that's none of my business. Then Camel Walk. DUHDUHDUH!!! Sashaying into the mix, another bustout erupts and the spunky funk tune fans the flames. The embers glow. Played fantastically well, the song winds down and Gotta Jibboo starts up. Again, the crowd goes wild. At this point they probably are keen to the trend of bustouts now, this being the first and only Jibboo since 2.20.03. Jibboo featured some smoking hot builds by Trey and... [authors aside: is this even the same band that took the stage on 7.27.03???] and the band is ON FIRE. I mean they are locked in. I am familiar with this show, just because when you love 2003 as much as I do, you KNOW about this show, but I had never sat down and listened to it start to finish. So as I am sitting here, more like standing and dancing my butt off at this point (even the cat was impressed) I revel in what it must have felt like to be in the crowd that night. Pretty special. Cool it Down swoops in next and dirty-cowboy-jazz-groove it creates is absolutely addicting. It is sexy, sultry, and bluesy. The show, four songs in, is an all-star. Scent of a Mule was perfectly placed and the back-and-forth duel is very very engaging. I usually wouldn't advise you to sit and listen to Mule all the way through, except, listen to this Mule all the way through. Fee drops in next and is played with a lightheartedness and playfulness that is representative of the set as whole. Although its outro jam is beautiful and cosmic, is does not reach truly interstellar levels of 2.14.03. Not to say it is bad (is isn't) in fact it is quite good, but comparatively it doesn't hold a candle to 2.14.03 Fee. A nice -> Timber and man, we are ROLLIN. I am typing faster than Shadowfax can ride. This Timber is a ltitle *too* gritty both in tone and execution for my tastes, but in context of the set as a whole, a little slop hurts no one. (also keep in mind every single song thus far is a First-of-the-tour ... pretty rad). When the Circus Comes to Town provides a near-perfect landing pad from the high-paced, primate-swooning, volcano-erupting set so far. Then McGrupp happens and we're all like, "God damn it Phish. You guys are the best." Executed essentially flawlessly, this masterful tale of fantasy, again, continues to perfect flow, perfect energy, and perfect playing of the set. Golgi sends us onto setbreak thoroughly satisfied. I need a cigarette... and I don't smoke cigarettes.

Bustouts continue with Crosseyed and Painless. And this just isn't any old Crosseyed and Painless. I tend to use the adjective "swirling" and "spiraling" a lot to describe jams. Those two words are meant for this jam, specially the final twelve minutes. Now, I am getting ahead of myself, as the first 14 minutes are a ragin orgasm of fury and passion. [author's aside: Are we SURE this is the same band from two nights ago???] The jam is everything you could want in a Phish jam. Extended type-1 (not just Trey-led, but full band) shreddage which morphs into this dizzying, spiraling, swirling, ebbing, flowing, bobbing-on-the-surface-of-an-ocean-made-of-jello jam. The second jam segment is utterly unique. I've never heard Phish play anything, stylistically speaking, like it. It's amazing. It's sublime. It's pretty. It's calming. And then it settles into, be still my heart, Thunderhead. Wow. ::Funky passes out, the cat looks on, his plan finally comple... Funky regains consciousness, cat looks on in contempt:: What a PERFECT placement of Thunderhead. Almost, and essentially, an extension of the Crosseyed jam, this Thunderhead completes the 32+ minute literal masterpiece of music. Brother starts up and, quite frankly, I am surprised the venue didn't implode right then and there. Taken straight from the mid-90s, this version is unmistakably machine-gun Trey. Holy Moly! GET IT TREY!!!! WOW!!!! Ok ok... I mean, the show can't get better rigHARPUA!!!!!! ::Funky passes out again:: Unfreakingbelievable. Jimmy finds himself solemn, lamenting, trying to find "IT>" Whatever IT is... I mean, I used to be with IT. Then they changed what IT is. Now what I'm with isn't IT and what's IT seems weird and scary to me... and apparently this happened to Jimmy. Poor guy. That's ok though, because he went the Tom Robbins route and partook with great gusto in the fairer sex, and WHOOSH, he found IT! The story concludes with a happy ending (your Freudian mind can eat its heart out) and we are all rejoicing. I imaginary high-fived many of you in the audience retrospectively. It was at this time Mrs Funky walked into the door, seeing me high-fiving imaginary people, as THE DOGGGGGGGGGGGG is being blared at full volume. It was quite a site, inspirational even, and yes, the cat looked on in contempt. A ferocious, hard-edged Bowie closes the set out with volley after volley of peaks. It was a fantastic version. A humble, well-chosen Farmhouse caps the evening on what is, to my ears, the second best show of 2003 so far.

Must-hear jams: Gotta Jibboo, CROSSEYED AND PAINLESS > THUNDERHEAD!!!!!, Brother
Probably-should-listen-to jams: Honestly, you should probably listen to this whole show

One of my favorite shows from the 2003 Summer Tour. Hadn't really given this one much airplay until recently, and I would now say that it is definitely one of the highlights of 2003 until IT.

The first set is great - I really love opening with Daniel Saw the Stone. Such a great take on an old song. A few bumps in this one but that seems par for the course in 2003. Camel Walk, Jibboo, Cool it Down is a really cool segment. I think even this early you could tell there was something special in the air. A venue stop a little out of the way and some fans really needing some days off before IT could be the secret ingredient to this show. The rest of the first set is well played with a few rocky spots here and there, but all in all it's a great start.

The second set is what this show is all about though. The opening Crosseyed and Painless is a monster and well-deserving of the "Pittsburgh Jam" that is attached to it. Thunderhead - OK. Brother is rock solid and followed up with Harpua is a 1-2 knockout. This Harpua is well-known and needs few words to describe it further. I love Bittersweet Motel inside of it, and the hilarious, off-key singing in Fooled Around and Fell In Love is classic Fishman and adds a nice element to this show. They eventually transition into HYHU which is a bit rough, and then finish off the Harpua before dropping a nice Bowie to close out a monster second set.

I absolutely love this show and I'd be willing to bet there are a lot of folks out there that skipped this one and wish they hadn't. Great stuff from summer 03

i've only seen 11 shows to date, but, gun to my head, if i had to pick my favorite, i would probably mention this one in my last dying gasp!

i mean, i've only caught 11 shows and i got a Harpua?!?
my stats amaze me considering the low # of shows i've been able to get myself to.

i realize how lucky i am.

You can call me crazy, but I'm not trolling when I say that I was there and didn't like this show very much. Sure, the setlist is amazing, but I thought the playing was dull at best and downright sloppy at times. I've listened to the CDs since the show, and my opinion hasn't changed.

I was fairly close at this show, and it looked like something was wrong. At one point in the first set, Trey and Mike were talking with hands on each other's shoulders with a look that said "come on, we can make it through this". At the setbreak, a girl sitting near me came back to our seats and said she saw Mike looking "white as a ghost" by the backstage gate. I believe one of their friends had died up at the IT site and I've always wondered if the news was fresh to them at showtime.

I know most disagree with me, but this show had me wondering where the band I loved had gone.