4/4/98 Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI
I: Tweezer > Taste, Bouncing Around the Room, Funky Bitch,
Ginseng Sullivan, Limb by Limb, Lawn Boy, Character Zero
Awesome phishfunk jam in the Tweezer, which I'd rate an easy 7, fwiw. I love these rich, phaaaaaat, deeeeeeeep Tweezers. This one doesn't last too long, either, no doubt pleasing the few folks already disenchanted by the funk. Taste is wonderful -- I love this song! Trey comes damn close to teasing NICU in it, too. Limb is also quite a good version. The rest of the set was only "typical great," at best, as I heard it. Bitch was honestly disappointing (it wasn't sloppy, it just wasn't that inspired imo.. see 12/11/95 for a real version).
II: Birds of a Feather > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Brother, Ghost** > Lizards, David Bowie
Love the Birds opener! Can't wait to witness this one *live*. This version improves on the great one in Nassau, too! Any fan of C&P will have to love this number. Also Sprach's opening segment, prior to the main theme, is EXCELLENT, and the best I think I've ever heard. Trey is very active!! The jam segment, otoh, is kinda dull imo.. just sorta plods along. I like the modest vocal jammed ending, though.
Brother is just CRAZY!!! Easily the most improvisational/experimental version they've ever played. Do you hear Mike teasing DEG towards the end of the jam segment, just before Trey breaks back in with the composed concluding section!? He does it for a good minute or so. This is one hell of a Brother, even if it was a bit on the sloppy side (intro and close)!!! God damn it, why don't they play it WHEN I'M AT THE SHOW!?! Putting "Brother Reprise" on the setlist is pretty lame. It lasts like four measures tops, and isn't worth noting on the setlist imo.
Ghost is amazing, just amazing, and certainly "must hear," even though Trey forgets how to play Can't Turn You Loose (that part of the Ghost is pretty sad, imo). Lizards is good. I also enjoy the Bowie! (it isn't a truly above avg version, though, as I hear it)
No comment on the encore, since it isn't on my copy. I've heard from a Confidential Reliable Citizen Taper Informant, though, that it was at best a typically awesome Harry, and no 10/7/95 Spokane or 12/5/95 UMASS or 7/1/95 Great Woods or 11/12/94 Kent State.
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Subject: Providence 4/4/98 Review
Date: Mon, 06 Apr 1998 21:02:38 -0500
From: Daniel.W.Mielcarz@Dartmouth.EDU (Dan Mielcarz)
Newsgroups: rec.music.phish
(This was my 20th show, and I have a lot of Phish tapes, for those of you who care...)
The Scene: Many, many, many, many ticketless, and many cops to make sure no one had too much fun. I swear, providence has more unmarked cop cars than any city needs. But this doesn't really matter that much.
I got into the show really early, and Ann and I decided to walk around and check out the t-shirts and all that fun stuff. Then we made our way over to the Waterwheel table where were made a purchase that lead to us being awarded the Holy Grail - Aftershow Passes! I'll get to the description of the "party" later...
The Show:
[Timings are for the START of the songs and are not completely accurate] Set I: Tweezer [8:05]> Taste [8:25], Bouncin' [8:35], Funky Bitch [8:38], Ginseng Sullivan [8:45], Limb by Limb [8:49], Lawn Boy [9:00], Charcter 0 [9:04] [Set ends at 9:11]
Set II: Birds of a Feather [9:53]> 2001 [10:10]> Brother [10:25], Brother Outro [10:38], Ghost [10:48]> Time is Tight* [10:55]> Lizards [10:57], David Bowie [11:10] [didn't write down end time]
E: Harry Hood
*aka "Can't Turn Me Loose" or "The Blues Brothers Theme"
[you'll notice that songs divided by segues are written about in one paragraph, if you don't like this, let me know]
Set I:
TWEEZER as an opener got me pretty damn psyched, and was quite fitting seeing as they finished up Friday's show with Tweeprise. I got the feeling throughout this whole show that the funk was being toned down a bit, and while Tweezer is always pretty funky, this one had some spacier elements to it as well. Being the first song on my two night run, I unfortunately don't remember as much as I wanted to, but I was delighted to hear the jam degenerate (in a good way) to some funk out of which sprang a Trey-lead segue into TASTE. Let me just say right now that Trey was definitely in rock-star mode the whole weekend, hamming it up on stage, and taking several waka-waka solos during the run. Taste had a very nice solo by Trey, but it is one of those types of solos that I have a tough time judging at shows. I think it was probably above-average, if that means anything. I just felt a lot more emotion coming from Trey than I usually do in Taste.
BOUNCIN' was next, and the singing of my section mates was oh-so-enjoyable.
FUNKY BITCH, the rock favorite of jaded men everywhere, came up next, and we were treated to one of the longest EHHHHHHHHHHH-very from Mike that I have ever heard. The other parts of the Bitch were unremarkable (but fun nonetheless).
GINSENG SULLIVAN is a song that I've been seeing a lot lately, but luckily it's my favorite of the bluegrass songs. This actually got a smile out of the unhappy parents that were sitting next to us at this show. Phish really has something for everyone.
LIMB BY LIMB followed, with a jam that I was VERY impressed with. While I haven't really latched on to any Limb jams before, this one seemed to have direction and melody in Trey's solo that I think others have lacked. Most of the time when Trey starts up the high-pitched effects in this song, they start to lose me a bit, but this solo was VERY tight.
LAWN BOY was up next, and Page did his usual routine of standing up and crooning like Perry Como. Speaking of Perry Como, does everyone here know that he did an album of heavy metal favorites in his signature style? Or maybe the heavy metal bands did Perry Como favorites in their signature style. I forget...
CHARACTER 0 closed out the set nicely. It was nowhere near as good as 12/31/96, which set the standard for "Phish Arena Rock"
Setbreak: I finally got to meet Bill Marconi and Matt Frankel. We chatted for a while, and it was finally great to see people who I only knew by their words. Bill looks a little bit like Don Glasgo (trombone for ween '96 and professor at Dartmouth). I found out that rmp people are as cool in real life as they are here (and reaffirmed this at the gathering the next day :)
Set II
BIRDS OF A FEATHER started up with some guitar riffs by Trey and then a driving bass line by Mike which continued throughout the whole song. The chorus, in case you want help recognizing the song, is "Birds of a feather/are flocking outside." From that, one would think that the song is about conformity, although I can't be sure, since it was kind of hard to hear in there. I'm pretty sure I heard the words "ritual drum" which gives a vague hint that the song is about the conformity WITHIN the Phish "community" (drum circles). The other lyrics were pretty cool as well (and supportive of my theory), although I can't remember them. But I'm probably completely off with my ideas about this song. It definitely has a Talking Heads feel to it, like everyone was saying on the net and at the Gathering on Sunday. The jam was pretty cool, but it didn't really go too far, IMHO. It seems to be grounded in the same driving bass line from Mike throughout, with very few, if any chord changes (I'm probably going to catch hell from a music major here). Trey and Page did some great soloing over the essentially static rythym section in this song, but my favorite Phish moments are when songs break out of their molds. I suppose the mold for BOAF isn't hard enough for them to break out yet, so I'm just being a jerk. Anyway, the end of the song degenerated into space, and after 17 minutes (did I just complain about a 17 minute new song? somebody slap me), the drum beat for 2001 started up. This was one of the great 2001s that we've been hearing lately, lots of funk with a little space thrown in. (Jeremy Goodwin has a nice name for this, but I'll let him share it with all of you). Kuroda was NUTS on the lights. I thought I was seening some new effects, but I think I was just seeing virtuosity on the lights that was above Kuroda's usual greatness. Of course, when he tones them down a bit, people decide that it's time to throw the glowsticks. A lot of them ended up on stage, which is not too cool in my book. After 15 minutes of 2001 mahem, Trey started a percussive vocal jam, sort of playing cymbals with his mouth. It sounded REALLY cool, and the rest of the band joined in with their own percussive sounds. Trey still had the delay loop going, which is why I indicated a segue into BROTHER when he played the main riff. This was by far the spaciest and coolest Brother I've heard, although I have only heard a few. It got REALLY spacey, with Trey hopping all over his pedals and Page on the clavinet. Trey kind of ripped the band back into reality by playing the main riff, and this listener thought it was an ugly transition.
I can only assume the band thought so too, because they did the whole thing with the "radio-friendly" version, which was essentially the BROTHER OUTRO that they had just screwed up.
Then, they decided to play something "radio unfriendly" and "very long and very slow." I had no idea what it might be, but they ended up playing GHOST, which certainly isn't that slow in my book. This was a typically great Ghost, and I love this song every time I hear it. My memory is failing me here, but the segue into TIME IS TIGHT was nicely done, and it was great to hear a cool tease/jam like this one. (FWIW, I didn't know it was called Time Is Tight until someone at the gathering edited my setlist to say so. If someone can dispute this, go right ahead.) Amazingly enough, this jam found its way to LIZARDS without stopping. I remember thinking that it should have gone into something else (maybe "Walk Away") but I forget. I usually think of Lizards as a fun song, but not particularly moving. I actually LOVED this Lizards, mostly because they were putting a lot of emotion into the jam, like they were actually trying to make it sound better than usual. I thought this song would end the set, but...
The hi-hat for DAVID BOWIE kicked in. I couldn't believe they were starting Bowie at 10 past 11! This was a nice Bowie, with the ending being repeated more often than usual, all with digital delay from Trey. I think they even fooled Chris! I know the description here isn't that great, but...
Between the second set and encore, Ann and I made our way "backstage," which was actually the lounge at the very rear of the venue, above the 200 level.
Encore:
Watching from the lounge, HARRY HOOD didn't receive all of my attention, since I was so psyched to be at the Aftershow Party. I do remember liking it a lot, and I've been VERY impressed with the recent variation in Harry (12/30/97). It seems that no song is too sacred now.
Aftershow Party:
Anyway, Hood ended and the lights came up. I was disappointed to see people *paying* for beer at the party. I had always assumed that that sort of thing was free. We couldn't find any food either! Ann and I did snag a glass of water for free, and sat down at a table. As we were sitting down, who came from the back elevator but Mike! He went and sat a couple tables away from us. Before I got up the nerve to go say hello, he walked back into the room with the bar, where most of the people were gathering.
After a few minutes, I realized that I wouldn't have many more chances to talk with the members of Phish in my life, so Ann and I went to the other room to seek him out. There were only a few people around him, and there were a LOT of people at the party. I was glad to see he wasn't being mobbed. After watching him talk to a few people, I finally got up the nerve to introduce myself. "Hi Mike, I'm Dan," I said, holding out my hand to him. He said "Hi Dan." I told him "Great show tonight, and he said thanks." While I had his attention, I decided to ask him a question that I had been wondering about for the few days before the show. I recently found out that Jan Kerouac (daughter of Jack) had written a book called "Trainsong." (It's out of print, so I unfortuately have yet to find a copy). So I say to Mike, "I have a question about the song Train Song." "Sure, go ahead." he tells me. So I ask him if it is related to the book by Jan Kerouac, and after a clarifying who Jan is, he tells me "I don't know. That's interesting, I'll have to check that out." I told him "Thanks again for the show." and left, because at this point I had no more planned questions, and spontanaeity would have been a disaster at this point. He also had somes friends with him, and I didn't want to bother him that much.
Mike is the NICEST guy, and if he was being patronizing to me or anyone else, I had no idea. He seems to really enjoy talking to the fans. He is shorter than I am (5'11") which was pretty surprising to see.
Sorry for all of the minute detail here, but it was an amazing experience for me, and I just wanted to share it with all of you. If I had to sum up the aftershow experience, I would say that the party was a lot LESS cool than I thought it would be but meeting Mike was MUCH cooler than I ever imagined.
Stay tuned for the review of Sunday night (and the gathering!). Right now I have to go catch up on homework that I neglected to see these amazing shows. (and to write this review!)
To sum up: You probably want the second set (8), and maybe want the first (5). You definitely want to meet Mike :) The whole show gets a 6.5, if you can't handle averages.
-Dan
--
Dan.Mielcarz@dartmouth.edu
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~mielcarz/
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In rec.music.phish on Tue, 07 Apr 1998 21:54:02 GMT,, jworley@mail.vt.edu (Jon Worley) posted:
Pre-Show: (For those who demand to know, this was my 28th show, and I have listened to a good deal of Phish on tape [as any good net.dork must])...
Got to Providence around 4:30. Parking was tough - we ended up going across 95 to park on a shady street next to a strip club (of which Providence seems to have thousands). Lots of people downtown. The area around the civic center was very crowded in places, but not too bad overall. Not as many people vending as one might have at a summer show, but still a good #. The cops were pretty relaxed - just trying to keep people out of the streets, it seemed to me. Lots of restaurants/shops downtown, which were nice to get a break from the cold outside. The Civic Center looks like a really small venue from the outside. Inside it looks like your typical old mid-size arena. The view and sound were nice from any seat. I was sitting fish side, upper level for Saturday's show.
Set 1 (about 65 mins)
TWEEZER: I called this as the opener, and I was **really** excited when the first notes rang out. They've been playing really great openers recently, which I wholeheartedly approve of =3D) The jam started very slow, like '97 versions, but built speed very nicely. By the end Trey was wailing and hosing us all down. This Tweezer was about on par with 11-26-97 Hartford, although more high energy. The groove then became slow and confusing for a while. Out of the chaos emerged =20
TASTE: This has turned into a reliable jam song. I'm not sure it was "the best ever", if such a thing exists, but both Trey and Page's jams were nice and long. After this combo, a mellow song was called for...
BOUNCIN': The place where this song should always be played is after a raging jam. Makes for a nice 4 min breather. It is a pretty damn good song, after all, just the same every time.
FUNKY BITCH: Got the excitement back up very quickly. The lyrics sounded very nice, but the jam was pretty average. Ever since I heard 11-30-97 Worcester I've wanted them to keep experimenting with the Bitch, but it seems like it will stay a 7-8 min tune for now.
GINSENG SULLIVAN: I really, really like this song **BUT** I wish they would play other bluegrass songs more. Ginseng has really come back into regular rotation. I wish the same was true for Blue and Lonesome and/or Uncle Penn. =20
LIMB BY LIMB: The best version I've heard live. The background vocals sounded really nice - like a bed of sound over which Trey sang. The jam was Trey-led and started off just like the Taste jam goes. It got a bit spacy by the end, more experimental than the other ones I've heard. Still not a favorite song of mine, but it has potential.
LAWN BOY: Amusing, as always. Someone in the crowd gave Page what appeared to be a rose, which he took and put on his piano (I think).=20
CHARACTER ZERO: A really rocking version. As much as this song is overplayed as a first set closer, it really gets the crowd pumped up, which is always a good thing to close a set. Trey was doing his rock star act, playing with the guitar almost near the ground and shaking it to get some Hendrixian sounds.
This set reminded me of 11-21-97 Hampton set 1. Great openers (Emotional Rescue -> Melt at Hampton) and some fun songs tossed in the middle. Hopes were high for the second set. Side note - setbreak is one thing I always love about Phishows. Where else can you meet someone for the first time and talk to them like they're a good friend? =20
Set 2 (about 90 mins)
BIRDS OF A FEATHER: The Talking Heads influence is unmistakeable. Starts out with a Trey riff, then builds into a fast paced groove. I'm not sure what to make of the lyrics - they sound Heads-like, lots of interesting imagery. The jam was excellent, given that it was only the second time the song has been played. It sounded very Trey and Page oriented, as if they were chasing each other's notes. Lasted about 15 mins, but it was interesting throughout. =20
2001: Best intro to this song I've ever heard. There was 3 mins or so of space before they actually launched into the drum beat; at first I thought it might be Down with Disease or Bowie, but Page's organ sounds clued me in that 2001 was coming. The intro started out pretty standard - the funky licks we've come to expect from '97. After a prolonged groove, the crowd got into the glow stick thing, and I think this actually spurred the jam on. As the glow stick war got into full swing, Trey started picking up the pace, eventually letting lose some very nice licks. By this point the stage looked like the surface of some psychedelic planet. After the usual climactic peak, the jam mellowed out a bit. I was wondering what the hell was happening until a mini vocal jam started, based around the slow notes they had been playing post-2001. This eventually led into
BROTHER: The best one I've heard. As the vocal jam dissolved, I heard Mike pick up a Brother-like bass groove, and started jumping up and down in excitement. The jam was very nice, both slow and fast. I couldn't believe it when they finally lurched back into the lyrics, because the jam had stopped resembling Brother at that point. The Brother reprise "radio friendly version" was amusing - it seems that when they are playing well they feel more comfortable about being goofy on stage. =20
GHOST: Very different from most others I've heard. The jam quickly diverged from the funk lick they always start with and became very slow and deliberate. This seems typical of the '98 Phish sound - very ambient and textural, while retaining some of the '97 funk influence. All I remember about this jam is that it was very fun to see. There was some quoting of the Blues Brothers theme, as in 12-29-97 Possum, but it wasn't very organized and was quickly dropped. Eventually the jam wandered into the opening of
LIZARDS: Not the tightest version I've ever heard, but nice placement and always fun to hear. The lyrics sounded nice, but there were some fuckups in the composed parts. It got the crowd excited, though.
DAVID BOWIE: Another spacy intro like 2001, but not as long as most from summer '97. The composed parts were pulled off nicely. I can't remember anything special about the jam, but it was typical Bowie goodness. The end was very drawn out. It seemed that Trey played the closing theme about twice as many times as he usually does. Great way to end a set.
E: HARRY HOOD: Typically great Hood. Not a reference version or anything, but better than average, I'd say. The absence of glow sticks was nice - I like the visual imagery of them, but it was getting predictable in Hood. I say, if you're going to have a glow stick war, at least have it in different songs. For a lot of the song I was watching a security guard down near the front of the stage and thinking what a nice scene it was. Some guy who might never have heard of Phish getting bathed in the goodness that is Hood. The entire arena was feeling good at this point. Trey said something about how they wanted to play more but that they can't play all night, or something to that effect. =20
Post-show: It's nice to be able to get out of a show quickly and drive away without traffic. It's good to have a ton of parking at the venue, but it can also mean long delays getting out. We hopped on 95 from the shady street we parked on, hit no traffic at all. The Providence Civic Center is a great place to see a show - I highly recommend going if they play there again.
If forced at gunpoint to give a rating for the sets, I'd have to give
set 1 a 6.0 (with Tweezer->Taste as the highlight) and set 2 an 8.0,
for an overall -jon
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4/4/98 Providence RI
My first show at the Providence Civic Center since the infamous Bowie, was
certain to have good things in store for me. I sat behind the stage, two
sections away from where I witnessed the Bowie in awe. Yes, good things
indeed....
As far as I'm concerned, any show that opens with Tweezer is a-oh-kay in my
books. This Tweezer was well-performed, of course. At 18 min in length, it
wasn't too shabby for an opener! As far as recent show-opening Tweezers, I
prefer the Denver & Hartford vesions, but this was fun nevertheless. I mean,
hey,
can you really complain when the opener is one of the BIG jam tunes?? That said,
this Tweezer was alright. This segued into a nice version of Taste, although I
am getting kinda bored of this song, frankly. The rest of the set is fairly
bland, although I must admit that I did find myself rocking out to the Character
Zero, a tune which has really gone nowhere since its introduction, imo. (11/26
Hartford excluded).
I can't get Birds of a Feather out of my head!! Oh well, it's better than
having the Brady Bunch theme stuck in my head :) The 2nd performance of this
tune led me to believe that it will probably be included on the upcoming album.
This version was longer than the debut, I think, although I haven't timed them.
It really does make you boogie, very much in a similar sense to the 11/2/96 WPB
C&P... I know that that comparison sounds extreme, & I certainly don't mean to
downplay the magnitude of the WPB C&P, but Birds is HOT HOT HOT. Birds is a
very
active jam, much like the 11/2/96 C&P.
When Birds returned to the vocals after the jam, it slowed down, & briefly
sounded like the end of the 11/29 Worcester Jim... this "segued" into Also
Sprach. The 2001 featured some INCREDIBLE work from Chris... he had white
spotlights darting all over the place, creating a very frantic atmosphere...
very
complementary to the jam!
The end of the 2001 turned into a vocal jam of sorts, & then off in the distance
I heard the faint sounds of someone jumping in the tub... Brother! What a
surprise! The Brother was very different than the versions of years past;
considerably longer & spacier, I think that I prefer versions such as the Ball &
other older ones. This Brother was a fun surprise, & quite wacky, taboot. File
it under the WTF category. After Brother, Trey said, "We'd like to play that
song one more time then," & then they reprised Brother for 30 seconds.
After that, Trey announced that, "that was the single version, the edited single
version for radio play... it was the radio friendly version." He went on to say
that, "This next song is radio unfriendly," to the cheers of the audience.
"...It's radio unfriendly because it's really long and really slow." Fish then
echoed his comments. A spiralling version of Ghost followed, & at approx. 14
min,
"Can't Turn You Lose" was jammed upon. At ~17min, the Ghost segued into
Lizards. A typically smokin' Ghost.
Although I generally don't get into Lizards, I found myself Getting Down to this
one. I don't think it was necessarily any better than any other versions I've
heard, it's just that I somehow remembered that it's a fun song!
A decent Bowie closed the set. Seeing as how it was Saturday night, the encore
was Hood.. I'm not sure if I'm qualified to judge Hoods. I've heard a few that
I
have *really* enjoyed over the years, like 4/18/92 Palo Alto, 12/31/93 Centrum,
11/16/96 Omaha, & a few others, but I generally can't tell the difference from
one version to the next. That aside, I really feel that it is improper to
complain about a Hood encore ;)
All in all, it was a very fun show, as were the others. Defintely not my
favourite of the 4, though, even though it had a Tweezer, 2001, & Ghost, which
are 3 of my favourite songs.
Step into the Freezer...
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In rec.music.phish on 5 Apr 1998 18:22:13 GMT,, phishlax69@aol.com
(PhishLAX69) posted:
Tweezer: wow. I was walking through the gate when this started. I was
like
"sounds like tweezer", and the guy next to me was like "naw, i dont
think so",
then he was like "wait, it is!" fat opener, just like 11/26/97 at
hartford
Taste: I love taste, and think this was very well jammed out. Not much
else to
say.
Bouncing: well, it is the most disliked tune by alot of fans, but i
think it
was kinda cool. I got very good energy off of it...
Funky Bitch: Holy shit!! This blew my ass away! I think that pretty
much goes
without saying, as it was one of the best performances i have seen.
Ginseng: I am not normally a fan of Phish's bluegrass-style songs, but
I liked
this..not my favorite though.
Limb by Limb: I love this song...got me groovin, dancing, whatever, i
was
pumped. This is the best new song (well, farmhouse, piper too)
Lawn Boy: the only time in the first set that I sat down...it was a
welcome
breather to get me energy for....
CHARACTER ZERO: I love this song!! It has always been a favorite of
mine, and
to hear it here...I was so pumoped for this song...when they started
with the
first "i oughta see the man mulcahey", i almost jumped over the
railing.
Set II
Birds of a Feather: I was surprised to hear this, since they played it
at
nassau, but I like it alot. I wasnt too plesed with it as the opener
though.
I had seriously been hoping for Wilson. Oh well.
2001: amazing song. Chris Kuroda is a fucking genius. The glowsticks
were phat
too, the band seemed to play off of it kinda. But it was an amzing
performance, and got me pumpd for the second set onslaught.
Brother: they jammed this one so well, I couldnt believe it. I never
really
liked this song, but this performance changed all of that. Plus the
radio edit
thing was mad funny.
Ghost: This was awesome. Ghost is another geat newer song, and I
think it has
gotten better and better. This was quiite possibly the best version I
have ever
heard.
Lizards: well, not bad, but not great either. Actually, the
performance was
great, im just not a big lizards fan.
Bowie: This was such a good set closer, I couldnt believe it. I was
yelling
along, jumping around, despite being tired and sore. This got me up
and
running for the encore...
Encore: HARRY HOOD: I have never seen this in concert, and here i was
rewarded...what a performance!! It was so energetic and
beautiful..highlight
for me was the "thank you mister miner" part...the boys went nuts!!!
This was an amazing show...if anybody ahs taped it, please let me
know, i want
it!!
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In rec.music.phish on 5 Apr 1998 17:43:03 GMT,, phatyem01@aol.com
(PhatYEM01) posted:
4/4- Three words- PHAT AS HELL! Right from the opening chords of Tweezer I
knew we were all in for a treat. Not a real long version, but it was rockin
and got the crowd going. Then Taste, which just keeps getting better and
better all the time. Trey thought the same way lifting his fist in triumph of
his performance. Funky Bitch got things going after Bouncin (I still love
bouncin, don't care if it doesn't rock all that much, it's just such a well
written song IMHO), and by this time I was sharin in the groove. Ginseng and
Limb by Limb were pretty standard, Lawn Boy was unexpected and entertaining, a
pleasant surprise. Up to this point in the set there was this guy walking
around on all of the people's chairs in the front floor section holding a
flower and trying to get closer. Well, as he kept on winding up and down the
aisles, he finally got the flower to Page during Lawn Boy, I had to cheer for
the guy. Character Zero was definately the highlight of the whole set,
beautifully jammed out.
The second set got things kicked off with a surprise Birds Of a Feather for
the 2nd time in 3 nights. A real good song from what I got to hear, which
wasn't much. During the setbreak my bro and I went to go get a drink
(unsuccessfully) and when we came back to our floor seats about 10 people were
blocking the aisle and some people were sitting there (one even lied and said
she was there the whole time) Security asked to see our stubs and said we
couldn't stand in the aisle, so we walked over about 100 seats pissing people
off in the process, but found a great spot where we could see and had plenty of
room to groove. 2001 was spectacular, one of the best ever with glowstick war.
I laughed my ass off when they did the 1 min radio version of Brother. Ghost
just kept things going, couldn't believe how awesome the set was up to this
point. But it didnt let up! I thought Bowie was going to be Maze as many
people also did, but when Fish did the drumroll I went balistic! The Hood
encore, which I had been hoping for for God knows how long, just made it one of
my favorite shows.
If anyone took the time to read this whole thing I'll spin a copy of 12/30
for the first 3 who respond, with a good story from a show. Have fun tonight!
Tommy G.
----
In rec.music.phish on 5 Apr 1998 11:56:54 -0400,,
kallisti@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu (Jamie Pemantell) posted:
Set I:
Set II:
Highlights:
Limb by Limb: My favorite of the new batch of songs. Good
songwriting, IMO.
Birds of a Feather(?): I don't know if that's what it's called,
but it's definitely a rocker in the tradition of Chalkdust. Yet more
good written music.
ASZ: The best one I've ever heard! First, a lot of crazy lighting
effects. Later, no lights, for what looked like a planetarium of flying
multi-colored glow stick comets. Very spacey jam.
Brother: I will go as far as to say *the* best Brother since the
one with the trumpet. I've never heard it jammed out like this before! The
jam itself was straight-up Carnegie Hall 1974 style. The audience seemed
to stand and stare in awe at what was happening. The "radio edit" version
was the first few bars, joking at the fact that they came back all the way
from orbiting around Neptune to finish Brother the first time.
Ghost: Blew me away. The acoustics in the PCC are awesome. I
thought I heard a "Proud Mary" tease in the fast part at the end of the
jam.
Bowie: I was hoping to hear this. The perfect set-closer.
Hood: The perfect encore, IMO.
Can't wait for tonight!!!
Make sure to read Andy Smith's review in the Providence Journal
on Monday.
Peace,
Jamie
-----
In rec.music.phish on 5 Apr 1998 06:51:44 GMT,, mattaud@aol.com
(Mattaud) posted:
just got back from the first night at providence. what can i say? -
outstanding. simply the best night of the whole "island tour" so far!
TWEEZER - great beginning. jams out into a mid-tempo funk-thing before going
into
TASTE - transition was a bit awkward but then it was smooth sailing. great jam
that really built up to the end.
BOUNCING - okay, after two extensive jams we need a breather right? okay -
"bouncing" is fine. it gets a bad rap, but it really is a great pop song.
FUNKY BITCH - now we're back. not a real long version, but one that rocks and
gets the crowd really going. mike sounds great!
GINSENG - well, this is a good song, but a bit of a letdown after "funky
bitch." short and sweet, paving the way for....
LIMB BY LIMB - IMHO this is simply the band's best new song and tonight they
proved why - flawless version with a nice mellow jam that set us up for
LAWN BOY - this was a surprise. i wan't expecting this at all. well, what can
you say - "lawn boy" is "lawn boy." page was entertaining as always.
CHARACTER ZERO - time for trey to play "rock star." sometimes this song just
seems like a waste of time but tonight they really go some momentum built
during the extended ending.
SET II
BIRDS OF A FEATHER - two times in one four day span! i don't think we needed to
hear this one again - especially as the set II opener. harmless and sort of
dull.
2001 - YEAH!! this is what i was hoping for all night and boy did i get it!
awsome version that was quite lengthy, quite funky, and all around incredible.
the lights were mind-blowing.
BROTHER - another pleasant surprise. really great jam. the extended jam tone
has now been set for set II... there is no turning back
GHOST - trey introduces the song as "radio unfriendly" because the song is too
"long and slow." the band busts into "ghost" but brings the funk down for a
another mellow jam (another theme throughout) that was textured and really
pretty.
LIZARDS - not one of my favorites but it came off really good.
how do you top this? with a kick-ass...
BOWIE - hands down one of the best, most energetic "bowie"'s i have ever seen.
trey was smoking. great set closer.
ENCORE: HARRY HOOD: my fiance called this one early on in the night. again -
very mellow jam - but it built up to the "feel good about hood" part
beautifully.
all and all a fantastic show. the guys looked as though they were having so
much fun. can't wait until tomorrow!!
-----
In rec.music.phish on Sun, 05 Apr 1998 06:56:04 -0400,, JW Shepard
You have all read the list by now so I will not repeat the whole
thing,
If you are looking for it you can find it elsewhere. Ok first set can
we
talk about two things that did NOT belong please? I don't know about
you
guys, but did you feel the energy just get sucked right out of that
place when they started Bouncing? I mean like not even the teeny
bobbers
were down with it. I think tonight was proof posivite that Bouncing
needs to bounce away for awhile. It just did not fit in with what they
were doing and seemed forced and fake. Yeah we needed a break after
the
Smoking Tweezer- Taste.. Granted, I was trippin my face off (thank you
whoever had the Tim Leery's! You don't need two!! ) But yeah Bouncing
really kinda killed my buzz. I think a nice Strange Design wouldve
been
a better break. Weigh in with your thoughts...
My other problem was with Ginseng Sullivan, must they always
play this
song at every show I am at????? I mean it is cute and all but I guess
tongiht I jusst neeeeded the phunk.. Limb X Limb kicks ass!! keeps
growing on me more and more...
SET II..
I know they already played Birds of a Feather but I wasn't at
Nassau
and had never heard it before. I did think it was an odd choice for an
opener but hey, thats why I am in the crowd not onstage. I did like
it,,
First time I heard it and it lays down thick and sweet... MMMMM 2001
was
fat as always you know how good it is I don't need to rub it in.
BROTHER>>> I ALMOST KILLED YOU TREY
Sorry but when he said "Lets do that again" and busted into
the radio
mix. I literally screamed NO at the top of my lungs. That song just
builds up to much pain for my head to handle. Of course it was
excellent
but oooooouuuuuucccchhhhh..... Trey is lucky I didn't have a shotgun
when he said that. the Ghost was such a sweet vindication and was my
first live Ghost so I got DOWN SON!!! You know what I mean.. Shit its
7
am here and I am still flying... Bowie was well it was Bowie. ENd of
story.
Hood encore? Wow remember when they used come on and just play
Amazing
Grace? LOL Thank god they got over that! HOTHOTHOTHOTHOT
You know the rest. If you are stuck on a left coast that must
be
without shows this time around I am sorry for you guys, I thought of
you
many times last night and will again tonight. I am sorry to say this
but
the show was better then you think it was! WOW.
love you guys, see yo uthis summer!!!
"Stay Grateful and PHree"
Shep
-------
From: Rob Winkler[SMTP:rwinkler@instrument.com]
Rob's Review of Saturday, April 4, 1998 - Providence Civic Center
Providence Civic Center was so much nicer than Nassau Coliseum.
Another basketball/hockey arena, this one is only slightly larger than
half the size of Nassau, and the scene was so much mellower. The
security guards were almost non-existent, and the few they had didn't
care where you sat! Much nicer than the massive wall-jumping scene
to get onto the floor at Nassau!
BTW, there really were many, many ticketless outside this show.
Set 1.
Tweezer - Again the boys opened in style. I was initially surprised, but
then I remembered the encore from the previous night and thought "Of
course!!" This one didn't get funky, but was very beautifully jammed
with lots of great piano. Eventually came a nice segue into...
Taste - Fantastic! Furious, screeching, more passionate than usual
solo from Trey, unbelievable work by Fishman. This version did not
disappoint.
Bouncing - Perfect placement, great rest after the furious Taste. Loved
it! As did most of the crowd, apparently. The sing-along was definitely
in full effect. What always cracks me up is how there's always a huge
portion of the audience that lets out a big cheer goes when Mike kicks
in with his bass line at the beginning of the song, as if they just realized
what song it is - even though it's already about 10 seconds into the
song and it should have already been obvious what song it is from Fish's
kick drum. Oh, well.
Funky Bitch - All right!! Standard version.
Ginseng Sullivan - 'Nother standard version.
Limb by Limb - Smokin' jam. I think maybe this has become my
favorite of the new 97 songs.
Lawn Boy - Hilarious! Someone in the front handed Page a flower as
he walked around doing his lounge-lizard routine, and he sniffed it right
before singing "I get so overwhelmed by olfactory hues".
Character Zero - Trey's solo was scorching.
Set 2
Birds of a Feather - I was shocked at how much this song reminds me
of the Talking Heads "Great Curve". It's kinda spooky, if you ask me.
The jam was not at all like the Thursday version (which I heard on tape
on the ride up from Nassau). While the debut featured a long smokin'
guitar solo from Trey, this one featured a much more dissonant, effect-
laden jam which was also very long. Eventually the jam broke down
into a swirling psychadelic space, from which emerged...
Also Sprach Zarathustra - Fantastic version! Only one chorus, but so
much incredible jamming that I've come to prefer the one chorus
versions. Trey had some really fine work in here, and Mike was just
dropping bombs everywhere. A minor glow stick war erupted some
where during this song, and they actually ended it with a brief vocal
jam where they used their voices to simulate drums and cymbals.
Unfortunately, many in the audience decided it would be cool to clap
along (duh!), and as the clapping began to overwhelm the vocal jam,
they immediately ceased and launched into...
Brother - Oh, yeah!!!! Hadn't heard this since Halloween 96. This
was easily the longest and most insane version I've ever heard, and
contained some of the most mind-bending psychadelic jamming I may
have ever heard from this band. Mike especially was practically
inhuman. Unbelievable stuff. When they finished it, Trey was just
laughing because he was obviously blown away by some of the stuff
they had just played. He stepped up to the mic and announced that
"We enjoyed that so much that we're going to play it again!" They
launched back into the song again, this time for only about 10 seconds.
Trey then told us, "That was the radio-friendly version. Now, this next
song we're going to play is radio-UNfriendly." Fishman chimed in,
"Yeah, it's really long, and really slow." With this, they started...
Ghost - More great phunkin! Eventually the jam got into some more
of that really psychadelic territory before morphing into...
Can't Turn Me Loose - The Blues Brothers theme song. Really
unbelievable playing from Mike on this one, but Trey never really
explored it. This segued into...
Lizards - Such a nice treat to hear at this point in the set, after so
much incredible, mind-blowing jamming. Unfortunately, the
instrumental section at the end got a rather rough treatment from Trey.
David Bowie - Very nice, long, patient build-up from Trey, with a
detour into more phunkin' and bomb-dropping. Very explosive ending.
Encore:
Harry Hood - Could this get ANY sweeter?! Big jams galore! And, all
the glowsticks had already been used during Also Sprach! (Hah!) Trey
really milked the nice mellow part of the jam - it was just glorious.
Overall, this was easily my favorite show of the run. I felt that they
really explored some new territory in some of these jams, especially in
Set 2.
-----
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 01:23:50 GMT
From: FluffheadJ Subject: 4/4/98 Providence Review and setlist (LONG)
sETLIST (a combo of mine and phish.net's):
I (62min): Tweezer -> Taste, Bouncing Around the Room, Funky Bitch, Ginseng
Sullivan, Limb by Limb, Lawn Boy, Character Zero
II: Birds of a Feather > Space -> 2001 -> Brother, Brother Reprise, Ghost ->
Can't Turn You Loose -> Lizards, David Bowie
Enc: Harry Hood
TWEEZER: I suppose I really should have called this one, after Tweeprise ended
last nite's show, but i was psyched to hear it open. I guess the band has
finally decided that the opener is a spot for a jammin tune :) Tweez and
Mike'S are fast becoming two of the most common openers. Pretty standard
Tweezer, no screaming on Ebeneezer but plenty of strobes, I was feeling that
Chris was the star of this jam, really great lights all nite, esp. Tweezer and
2001. The jam was good length for an opener, and after moving from type II
funk into some type II action Trey moved it into
TASTE was beautiful and amazing. I haven't heard a lot of the past year's
Tastes, but this one was great! Beautiful playing by Page, awhile ago I read
that a succesor to PLM should be TUPP, Turn Up Page's Piano, well I second it.
BOUNCIN was badly placed imo, I don't mind it when it's not, but after Taste
which is also an upbeat pretty song, it didn't fit.
FUNKY BITCH however, was the perfect contrast! The crowd exploded to the
opening notes, and Mike was into it, but I felt that this Bitch didn't really
live up to the standards this song set in '97... this couldve passed for an
early '90s Bitch, just with a lot more noise and effects.
GINSENG was Ginseng, also not well placed imo... The Bitch didn't really merit
needing a breather.
LIMB was great. My first live, and the vocal harmonies are just so beautiful.
Again, the jam seemed to be average for the good Limbs, although very pretty.
LAWN BOY had me laughin out loud. After much encouragement from Trey, Page
stood up and sang it lounge style like he has been recently. Mike took a very
nice bas solo that actually had musical merit, and while he did Page came up
and took a rose from someone in the audience, to much applause.
I was dissapointed to hear CHARACTER 0 because it signified the end of a very
short set... at the time I estimated that this one would fit a 60 min tape,
and i wasn't too far off at ~62 min. Zero rocked pretty standardly.
The first set didn't meet my expectations, but it got points for being a
pretty eclectic grouping of songs, and for the beautiful Taste, as well as a
nice Tweezer and Limb.
The 2nd Set was a whole nother story -- epic.
When BIRDS OF A FEATHER started i thought it was some reworked version of
Llama. But once they went into the vocals, it sounded like something right
off Remain in Light. I'm guessing this is replacing Crosseyed and Painless in
the rotation, it really sounded very similar to all the Heads' stuff Phish
have done, w/ the exception of Cities. It contained a really nice jam,
lenghty, similar to many of the funk jams of late, esp. C&P and Tube. After
the jam, the band returns to the chorus, "Birds of a feather / are flocking
outside" and then the song definitely seemed to end. After Birds ended, there
was significant amounts of
SPACE before the 2001 drums kicked in. In the past, there have been dif.
kinds of 2001: unjammed '93-'95s, '96es with extended space at the beginning,
and jammed out '97's. This contained both the space of a 96 and jammed as
hard as any 97. The Space was pretty long too, and I felt it had to go on the
setlist. I don't know if people are reluctant to put Space on setlists to
avoid comparisons w/ you know who, but it was there. After about 4 min. of
space, Fish kicked into the drums for
2001. This was funky, long and just plain kickass! Everyone was funkin out,
Mike was ON FIRE and Page could do no wrong. This was unfinished, reminded me
of Hartford 11/26, and the jam moved away from the basic 2001 structure.
Chirs fwiw was shining here, as for the whole song the band was in the dark
and the lights were on us, the crowd. A pretty large glowstick war occurred
too, but i felt that the beauty of this is more suitable for a Hood or say a
slave then something like 2001. The band was in darkness again after the
first climax, and the jam got very unique for 2001, and got mellower and
mellower until it was a vocal jam (!) with only Fish contributing drums.
Then, without warning, this craziness segued *seamlessly* into
BROTHER!!!! I couldn't help one scream of "Holy Shit!" As unexpected as this
was, it proceeded to go above and beyond my excitement. The jam was much
longer than I've ever heard a Brother, totally uncharacteristic and the jam
got pretty crazy and out there, I was pretty sure it was gonna be unfinished
until Trey started coming in with the main riff, to bring it back into the end
of the song, similar to the way Timber ends with the Timber riff coming in
louder and louder. After Brother ended, Trey stepped up and announced that
the band liked that song so much they were gonna play it again. They played
for about ~30 seconds, w/o any vocals, It was pretty funny, Trey then
announced that that was the radio version, cut down for a cd single, the
radio-friendly version. Then, after the band conference that now proceeds
just about every song, Trey stepped up again to say (to much applause) "this
next song is radio UNfriendly." Page added, "because its long and slooow."
They proceeded to kick into
GHOST which rocked!!!!! GREAT jamming, not one of your repetitive funk Ghosts,
more of an exploratory Ghost, but all in all very nice. At one point the jam
built up and up in an evil way, and I was thinking BBFCFM, but it died down
and w/in a few minutes Trey broke out into
CAN'T TURN YOU LOOSE! Better than MSG, this was a total breakout into the
song! I was very surprised to see it not go onto setlists - it sounded
somewhat rehearsed, and all the jamming and sloing by Trey and Page was ove
rthe changes of the song. This second appearance indicated to me that this is
now a song in the repertoire, but time will tell. The jam was there for
awhile then dissolved into
LIZARDS - now a rarity and so much fun to hear. Page soloed nicely, and Trey
pretty badly botched his lines in the quiet part at the end. It sounded
intentional, but I was upset because i find this part to be sooo beautiful and
this was my first live Lizards.
BOWIE kicked in, and was pretty standard. Hi-hat intro was short but less
spacy then usual. I don't remember much about the jam, except that I thought
it got a little noisy towards the end.
Everything in Set II was classic up through Lizards. The Kickass Ghost->Turn
You Loose, Mind numbing Birds of a feather -> 2001 -> Brother trio. I thought
this was an epic set, and should be heard at all costs.
ENCORE
HOOD was beautiful as usual. The intro section was very quiet and laid back.
The main D-A-G jam I remember very little about, it wasn't amazing but did
seem to be anice build. Certainly a great encore in any case. Like the
opener, the band seems to have decided to put some kickass music in the Enc.
spot as well. (See last nite!)
All in all, it was a pretty sweet show! I recommend Set II tapes at all costs,
and get the TweezTaste as filler somewhere.
Also, I'll put in a grovel for the show myself...
If you've gotten this far, I'll spin my just-recieved DAUD2's of the Went for
the first 3 people to tell me a great experience they had at a show on the
spring minitour. If you didn't make it out for these shows, well, be creative
and convince me to spin for you. And pleae don't respond after 10:30 PM
Wednesday, April 8th.
Sharin the groove,
Dave
**********************
-----
Subject: Island our Highlights - Damn Long
Saturday 4/4 -
Ok, so we knew the Tweezer opener was coming, and many of us were hoping
for horns with that Tweezer opener, but alas, all we got was a kickass
funk jam for almost 20 minutes. Oh well, you can't win 'em all. :)
The Taste and LxL in this set were both good, and probably better played
than I'd seen before, but I still don't like both of these in one set.
The Limb was good enough to let it slide though.
Seriously, a lot of people (including the ones I was with) are going to
deem this "the worst hour of Phish ever - but don't let them dissuade you.
True, there are some pretty crappy songs in here (including the Bitch - it
was quite poorly played) but this set is not without it's merits. The
in-concert highlight that I'm not sure will transfer onto tape (since
the Tweezer definately will) was the Character Zero, which featured Trey
soling a-la Jimi Hendrix remaining as true to form as possible with his
foot planted fiemly on the wah pedal. One of the first Zeros I really
liked hearing at a show.
Set two's highlights include the Birds of a Feather->Also Sprach
opener...two great jams encompassing the first 35 minutes of the set. I'm
telling you, people, Birds of a feather rocks! It was the only song
repeated in the 4-night run (unless you count the ASZ jam from 4/2) and
I'm sure Phish decided that the people in Providence needed to hear it as
much as the people on Long Island did. Wise choice! The segue into ASZ
was super...we never saw it coming.
The Brother breakout was definately worth noting, especially the look on
Page's face when they finished - grinning from ear to ear. This song is
so asinine, I think it's hysterical to see people go nuts for it (not that
I don't!). Page was obviously amused, and Trey shared his joke. The
reprise was nothing more than Trey saying "thanks...we're going to play
that one more time" and hitting the riff one more time.
Next came the "radio unfriendly - cause it's really long and really slow"
Ghost (20 mins) which to tell the truth didn't do anything more than it
usually does, except it had a "I Can't Turn you Loose" tease/jam in there.
The Bowie was great, really really great, and the Hood encore was what I
at the time termed "the return of the good Hood." after there had been so
many lackluster ones this fall.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 19:19:43 GMT
From: Jeremy David Goodwin
I: Tweezer > Taste, Bouncin, Funky Bitch, Ginseng, Limb, Lawn Boy, Zero
II: Birds of a Feather > 2001 > Brother X 2, Ghost* > Lizards, Bowie
E: Hood
* w/ Can't Turn You Lose jam, ala 12/29/97 MSG Possum
Disco Saul AKA DJ Saul T. Nutz
Tweezer* -> Taste, Bouncin', Funky Bitch, Ginseng Sullivan,
Limb By Limb, Lawn Boy, Character Zero
* Black-Eyed Katy tease before segue
Birds of a Feather (?) -> ASZ -> Brother, Brother (radio edit
version), Ghost, Lizards, Bowie
E: Hood
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 1998 4:25 PM
Subject: 4/4/98 review
Dave Kieval
FluffheadJ@aol.com
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1998 19:26:40 -0400 (EDT)
From: Mark Hutchison