First set is decent with Free being the highlight, but nothing spectacular. The second set is excellent, however. Wolfman's Brother is jammed considerably and moves past it's usual funk into some atmospheric playing that sounds like it may segue into What's the Use?, but Sand makes its debut instead. This is a great Sand and probably the best version of the song until December. After some intense jamming in Wolfman's and Sand, a fun break with Meatstick is warranted, but the set drops right back into dark jamming with a psychedelic Maze. The set ends on an upbeat note with really good versions of Prince Caspian and Hood.

I return to this second set many times for a good listen. It just has that super groovy, relaxed sound of 1999. The Wolfman's stretches out like a summer dusk, with the band relaxing the audience with a sonic blanket of sound, then Sand starts up and you know the dance party is on. The jam out of Caspian might be my favorite part of this show, and I usually don't even like Fuckerpants. The Hood also has this cool, experimental ending that needs to be heard.

I've just finished listening to this show in full for the first time. I'd heard the Wolfman's Brother -> Sand on the most recent From the Archives. Tube gets the show off to a great start, and though standard in length, is truly inspired. Billy Breathes is given a faithful, emotional reading, followed by the debut of Heavy Things. While listening to this debut, I tried to think about the vocal melodies as if they were being played by Trey on guitar. They're somewhat simple, but when viewing the song as a whole, they make quite a lot of musical sense, IMO. Guyute is played pretty capably for 1999. The aforementioned Wolfman's -> Sand was so long that I can't remember all that much about the Wolfman's--even just having finished listening--but the Sand was remarkable for 1. Mike sticking to Tony Markellis's bassline with little variation for the entire duration, and 2. for the patient jamming that leads to a rewarding peak. Next, Meatstick (sans Japanese lyrics) has a nearly subliminal segue into Maze, which offers Page's most inspired playing of the show (again IMO.) Hood's "atypical, repetitive ending" is kind of interesting. I'd say this is an average-great show, probably 3/5 stars, but I would revisit that Tube--amongst other portions of this show--again without hesitation.

A fairly average show. The placement near the beginning of tour for the gorge may have been slightly disappointing as the anticipation for a Gorge show is always palpable, and the band always has a little rust to shake off.

Set 1 is pretty much as straight forward as you can get for 99' you got your LXL and Guyute which were beat to the ground during this year. The opening 1-2 punch with Tube>Funky Bitch is a great way to start a show even if it is straightforward. The highlight being a slightly extended free to close the set.

Set 2 features the atypical 2nd or 3rd show of the tour "Stretching Their Legs" type of jamming. Nothing goes too deep but the boys are pushing nearly every song in the set to a jam. A great debut of Sand which in it's standard fashion makes for a nice long type 1 vessel. Meatstick is pretty rough and is likely compounded for people who followed them all summer as another song beaten to the ground all year. Caspian>Hood is likely the star of the show adding some beauty and color to the end of the show.

Overall pretty average but nothing to complain about 3/5.

Tube: good choice for opener. Pretty short for this era but still fun

Funky Bitch: slow tempo raging

Limb By Limb: solid

Dogs Stole Things: standard

Punch You In The Eye: big ol intro with extra plunking from Trey

Billy Breathes: beautiful Trey solo

Heavy Things: debut

Guyute: flawless

Free: unusual set closer. Trey gets real heavy on this one

Wolfman’s Brother: first type 2 jam of the show to start the second set. Lots of cowbell from Fish. Things get spacey and dissonant and after a while they start up

Sand: debut. Nothing too special as Fish and Mike do the same exact thing for 18 minutes straight, but the peak is nice

Meatstick: unlike Sand, this gets type 2. But we quickly get a perfect transition into

Maze: fantastic version with Page’s section getting a lot of fun action

Prince Caspian: pretty and extended intro

Harry Hood: really awesome performance with the peak lasting a long time. Great set closer

When The Circus Comes: I have nothing against this song but it’s a disappointing one and done encore situation here

Really solid night 2 at the Gorge. A couple notable debuts and the jamming in Wolfman’s and Meatstick is good, but leaves me wanting more. But the second set is a fantastic one if you aren’t looking for a lot of type 2. This is a 7.5/10 show. Highlights are Free and the entire second set