10-30-98 -- Thomas and Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV
Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 13:44:58 -0800
From: Montano Sokolow mo@ienet.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: Rev of 10/30/98 (I know it's old, but...)
Well this show was a long time ago now, but I just discovered this group,
and had to put my $0.02 down for this blistering, old-school show! Glad to
hear people so psyched about this show, and to the people who weren't, it
amazes me you still go to see this band. IMO this was the absolute shit.
These two nights convinced me this is the best damn band on the planet!
They are finally fulfilling their potential, and it's only getting better.
Just for reference, this was about my tenth show. I've seen as many as
possible, starting in '94, but being a west-coaster, we only get a few.
I've heard a few hundred tapes, though.
The main thing I wanted to interject that I haven't seen mentioned here is
a really cool thing about this NICU. I was behind the band for the 2nd
set, so I couldn't really see the boys much, but the sound was pretty sweet
up there, and there was plenty of room to dance. It was totally the dance
section, actually, everyone back there was groovin' and livin' it up
(thanks, y'all).
So after the blistering Stash> Manteca> Tweezer (so mind-bogglingly crisp
and huge, non-stop) it seemed to me they kind of accidently found
themselves playing NICU. For one thing, I love it when it doesn't feel
planned, but like the music is playing itself, dragging the band along by
the scruff of its neck. NICU is usually a first set song, I think, and
mostly played on its own (as in, not segued into). This one was so fresh,
carrying the amazing energy of what came before it. As good as usual, but
with all these new colors and phrases, which just felt effortless. So,
being behind the band, I couldn't see for sure, but it seemed from his
voice that Trey was surprised by the poignancy of the lyrics to this song,
in light of the impending Halloween costume set: "If you rehearsed
tomorrow's verse, forgive me if I don't sing in your key." I thought I
caught Trey look over at Page during this part, as if to say, "wow, how
cool!" And reading up on the show at RMP later, I read at least one person
mention something about this.
That was just part of a totally kick-ass show, though. I'm fairly so-so
about Wilson, but this one made me a believer. Loved the Chicken Shack
jam, and the Long Cool Woman was hysterical. To those of you who were
dissapointed that they didn't jam this one out: are you nuts? This was a
joke, just to show how far the've come. And where would it go, anyway?
Antelope, one of my faves, totally blew the roof off the sucka, easily the
best I've heard live. At this point I realized, they've already done it!
They could've left right there and bagged the rest of the weekend, and I
still would've been satisfied. And after such high expectations, too!
That's how good this Antelope was So the rest was all gravy. Incredible.
I love Lizards, haven't gotten to hear it much, and this one was beautiful
and flawless. Guelah was a treat, probably my first live. And Cavern was
Cavern. A particularly good one, though.
I thought this Stash was a little ragged, but picked up steam, and Manteca
was so huge, so very very huge. Get the tape! For the love of god, get
this tape! You will not hear a man play guitar with such joy and abandon
and clarity as during this Manteca. Tweezer kept it up, and how can you
not love Tweezer. I don't remember much of the rest of the set, but I
wasn't let down. I'd already heard Driver at the Greek, but it was still
cool. And oh-my-god-I-can't-believe-I'm-actually-getting-to-hear-this,
FREEBIRD!! (the best rendition I've heard (all on tape), too).
This band is so cool.
Halloween was actually a life-altering experience for me. Possibly the
best live set of music I have heard. Period. It helped that it was my
first LSD-enhanced Phish show, of course, but my ears did not deceive me.
It was a shimmering monument to rock 'n roll. Thank you to all who helped
my vibe.
And thanks for reading my $0.02.
-Tano
mo@ienet.com
..."Well they asked me for some collateral, and I pulled down my
pants".......
-Bob Dylan
From cdirksen@earthlink.net Sat Dec 12 16:21:12 1998
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 00:09:47 -0800 (PST)
From: Charles Dirksen cdirksen@earthlink.net
Subject: Phish in Vegas reviews..
FYI if you are interested.
**********
I have yet to read any reviews of these shows yet, so I apologize in
advance if any of the following is Old News to you.
The scene/trash around the T&M both days (10/30 and 10/31) was
impressive. There wasn't as much vending as there is in phishlot at
outdoor arenas in the summer, but there were plenty of ticketless fans
(I've never seen so many wookies with cash!). Food/beer/other was
available if you kept your eyes out and ears open. I have never seen
as many ticketless fans outside any show, Dead or Phish, as I did last
night (maybe I was deceived by the short distance between the two
entrances?). The lines to get in to these G.A. shows on both days
began as soon as the lot opened (3:30pm), and moved very, very slowly
once the doors opened (6:10ish).
The T&M is a typical basketball arena (home to UNLV). It has
absolutely no character at all whatsoever. I imagine there were
around 20k people inside on both nights.
The "vibe" before both 10/30 and 10/31 was predictably great, but no
more so than for any other Big Show, in my experience at least. And if
you didn't hear already, a "Phish Bill" was passed out pre-show (as it
was on 10/31/96), so everyone knew what the second set would be before
it began. The background info on the Velvet Underground's "Loaded" in
this program was undoubtedly helpful to the thousands who had never
heard the album. Such a program makes sense, in my opinion, where
Phish intends to cover an album that most of its fans has probably
never heard. The joke ad on "Roggae," the first and only pill
clinically proven to treat pattern dreadlock loss in men, is must-see.
Thanks to Jason Colton and Cynthia Brown for editing this hysterical
Phish Bill!
10/30/98 Thomas and Mack Center, Sin City, NV
The Wilson opener kicked my jaded old butt! It actually JAMMED, and
moreso than any version I'd ever heard (I believe there's a Wilson
from this past summer that jammed a bit, too, though, right? can't
remember what show(s)). The Meat that followed brought the crowd's
excitement down a bit (noticeably!), and though I enjoy this tune, it
is simply too slow to really dance to. It was also "extended" (I
wouldn't say "jammed out" -- it just Carried On for more measures than
usual). There was a flub in it somewhere, too, if memory serves.
Scent of a Mule was wonderful, which surprised me. Over the last
several years, only rarely did I enjoy hearing this song live. This
10/30 version began typically but eventually launched into a
Traditional Blues Progression. This blues "tune" is one that you have
probably heard before. I'd swear I'd heard it played before with all
sorts of different lyrics and by different artists. This Phish-blues
version was instrumental and good, but blues enthusiasts are unlikely
to find it very persuasive. I enjoyed Trey's soloing a great deal,
though, and felt it to be a thoughtful break in the set. Scent
returned after this instrumental in its Klezmer state, which amused
many in the crowd.
Phish played "Long Cool Woman" (aka Black Dress) by The Hollies next,
after Trey briefly noted their 15 years together, and said that this
tune was the first one that they (minus Page) had learned together --
at least, I think this is what he said, because the first tune that
they played on 10/30/83 was allegedly Heard It Through the Grapevine
(the second tune was Black Dress). It was an extraordinarily
unremarkable performance, and for me, a buzzkill in light of how far
Phish has come. They decided it to cover it as routinely as would a
high school band. But maybe that was the point?
The Antelope that followed, on the other hand, was brilliant. It was
long, gorgeously improvisational, and certainly one of the finest
all-around Antelopes that I'd ever heard. I was thinking of the
10/24/95 version... That's how good this version was. It
developed like a strong Slave or Hood.
The Lizards/Cavern closer was a very retrospective way to end the
set. I mean, the last time they played Lizards and Cavern back to
back was probably in 1994, if not earlier. Most in the audience were
ecstatic to be hearing Cavern, naturally, and it was a well-played
close to the set. I didn't think it was that great (despite my love
for Cavern's lyrics), but I really enjoyed the set overall.
The second set on 10/30 is must-hear. The
Stash->Manteca->Tweezer->NICU was an improvisational Tyrannosaurus
Rex. Manteca was by far the most punchy, exciting version they have
ever performed. Stash and Tweezer both contained many moments of
Glory, and were diverse enough in their approaches to be unusually
original. Definitely hear them. NICU could have been tighter, to be
sure, but I love the song and was psyched to hear Tweezer segue
wondrously into it (the segues were amazing all night, btw).
Fuckerpants (aka Prince Caspian), like the Fillmore version the other
week, was performed in a reckless, Rock Star Trey manner, which
brought forth imagery of bodies being dashed against rocks rather than
floating on waves. Your opinion may differ, of course, but I am no
longer amused by arena rock star versions of a song that could be
melliflious and charming if only it weren't performed so texturally.
What the hell, though, it was still more interesting than most other
Caspians! Golgi was well-received by the audience and closed the hour
or so long set with a bang, even though it wasn't as well-played as
I'd hoped it would be.
The crowd was spectacularly quiet for the acoustic "Driver" encore, a
pretty new ballad first performed at The Bridge benefit at Shoreline
a couple of weeks ago. I loved it! I was also thrilled to finally
see "Freebird" *live*, and a strong version at that! The audience was
(predictably) less quiet for this one, but clearly THRILLED!! =^]
Overall, the show was very introspective (improvisationally speaking)
and retrospective (Meat and Driver were the only new songs played). I
enjoyed it a great deal and would urge you to get the tapes!
Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 14:37:13 GMT
From: PZerbo pzerbo@AOL.COM
Subject: 10.30 & 10.31.98, Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas,
NV: PZ Review (Part I)
10.30 & 10.31.98, Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV: PZ Review
Part I, 10.30.98
Standard Disclaimer: 44th & 45th Phish shows, I've heard most representative
Phish music from throughout their career, I am very much -not- jaded and I am
enjoying Phish music and attending Phish shows as much or more than I ever
have. My reviews are long (I won't even argue with the characterization of them
as 'long-winded'), exceedingly opinionated, and are much more a personal
narrative of the entire experience, as opposed to an exclusive focus on the
details of the music. If this is not your bag, please use your favorite key
that moves you along to the next post. :-)
Summary: These shows, while slightly uneven, -rocked the house-; the "scene"
was among the most chill in recent memory, and while my favorite people in the
world to attend Phish shows with were unfortunately absent, it allowed me to
spend time with other folks who I don't usually get to hang with, and fun
factor was definately at maximum. Vegas is indeed like no place else on earth,
and both myself personally, and all of us collectively have met our match: even
-we- cannot out-party Las Vegas. That is really saying something. As to the
costume set, I need to hear the tapes, but at this point I'm trying to figure
out which category it most appropriately falls into: among the best Phish sets
I have ever heard, or among the best sets of live music I've ever heard by any
band. It is fair to say that I very, very, very much enjoyed this weekend!
It did not start out that way. I flew out from Providence at 5pm on Thursday,
arrived to Chicago thinking I had to "Pull an OJ" (the old conception, i.e.
running through the airport, not the "new"!), but instead my outbound flight to
Denver was in "permanent-delay" mode. I did my best to scam on a flight direct
to Vegas, which fell through by *1* person, bummer. I was supposed to be in
Vegas @ 10:30pm on Thursday, but due to thunder/lightening did not even leave
Chicago until 1am. I was, needless to say, *bummed out*. I had a few drinks,
and I was definately on a collission course on a *major* bad attitude. Instead
I decided to use my noggin a little, and said to myself "self, you are fully
equipped, and it is time to puff a nug." I headed out to the cab stand, with
the idea that I needed to find an "appropriate" cabbie. Unfortunately, cabs in
front of O'Heare are regulated by the city... so I got in line, and when I got
to the front, just waved people through until I found the right match. Bingo, a
rasta cab driver pulls in. "I'll take that one!". I get in, and say "Dude,
let's just go for a ride." "You mind if I smoke some pot?" "No PROBlem, mon!"
So we just did a loop, I puffed, tipped the driver a nug, and he dropped me
back in the same place 10 minutes later, to the strange faces of the cab
managers! "Hey MON, that is some grEAT pot mon!" Thanks for the ride, "mon"!
Got to Denver @ 3am, crashed, made it to LV at 9am PST. 19 hours Providence to
Vegas. Bogus to high degree, but at least I was there!
Cabbed it to the Excalibur, checked-in, napped, showered, puffed, and back out
into the insanity by noon. BTW, major kudos to the Excalibur for saving my room
(which I was supposed to check into on Thursday), AND collecting all my
messages accumulated the night before. Yeah, the place is cheesy, but they have
a very cool staff at the Excalibur all around. Time to party.
I was supposed to meet someone from the Phunky Bitches at their gathering @ 1
at the New York, New York roller coaster to deliver some tickets (I'm sorry
Erin, I waited until 2, and you didn't call my room until 12:45 by which time I
was long gone, I didn't get those messages until Saturday); unfortunately,
neither she nor really any PBs were in sight, I'm very sorry if any of you were
actually there and I just missed you. Undeterred, I decided to actually go on
the roller coaster. Very fortunate to have ran into Benjy Eisen in line,
probably would have been a much different weekend had I not. So this was
CLEARLY the best roller coaster I've ever been on! It would be awesome if it
was in the middle of nowehre, but it's location (corner of Tropicana and the
Strip) makes it da bomb. Great time. So Benjy and I chilled for the rest of the
afternoon, scoping out various casinos, drinking, puffing, gambling, et cetera.
Off to the venue about 5 or 6 I reckon.
The "lot" was very, very chill. I say "lot" in quotes not to suggest that it
wasn't a parking lot (!), but there was -no- lot "scene" to speak of. Literally
7/8 if the lot was empty at this point. We drop (liquid on 'Big Red' gum,
yummy), head into the venue, without the trouble most folks seemed to be
experiencing, it was pretty much a straight walk right inside. Grabbed a spot
on-line with the band, Page-side about 3/4 the way up, and chilled/puffed until
the set started. Oh, one note: if there is a more nug-friendly hockey-rink type
facility in America, I haven't been in it. Kudos to the T&M staff for being so
chill about that particular issue.
10.30.98 I: Wilson, Meat, SOAMule -> Back at the Chicken -> SOAMule, Long Cool
Woman in a Black Dress, Antelope, Guelah, Lizards, Cavern.
This Wilson -smokes-. I haven't caught a lot of Wilsons of late (Lemonwheel was
the first in what seems like forever), this one clearly sails above the 'wheel
version. Extremely high energy, crowd and band, foretelling the rest of the
set. This is one of those "used to be rare, now almost commonplace" situations
where the entire band is on, AND Trey is totally ripping shit up. Very
straightforward, but extremely powerful. This was my first Meat... and I'm not
sure what to think about it. I've pretty much liked it on tape, and I haven't
really heard enough of the album to develop clear opinions about it. It is
funky, no doubt, but I'm not sure whether I think it works or not. It is like a
hybrid of heavy funk and reggae... I liked it, but I dunno where they want to
go with this. I haven't really spent any time thinking about the lyrics, nor
have I asked Tom about them, but at this point I guess I'm just ambivalent
about the whole tune.
SOAMule was, if I'm not mistaken, my first one since 10.22.96. There are
somewhere between few and no Phish songs I dislike across the board, and any
song I hear after a long absence is pleasing, and even though it is a Mike
tune, it has never really gotten me fired up. That said, it didn't take long to
get me going on this one, very well played, Mike in total control. Into the
Blues Jam. I note this as "Back at the Chicken" only because David Steinberg
did; nobody among the many I asked on Saturday knew the tune though everyone
seemed to have heard of it, I pretty much still think of it as "Blues Jam"
until I hear definatively otherwise. It was a very game effort at a standard
blues jam, but there is a reason they don't do blues jams on a regular basis:
they are four white guys from Vermont :-). It was groovy, different, but I
don't expect to see this type of jam in the rotation. Trey's solo was quite
nice though. Back into SOAMule, very well played.
Trey then mentions the 15th anniversary, and that "this is the first song we
ever played" before launching into Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress. There was
mixed reaction after the show among folks, but I -loved- this. Sure, it was
pretty much as any cover band performs the tune, but it was at the same time
distinctively Phish. I'll talk more about this in the context of Loaded, but
their covers are so distinctly and definitively Phish, it just continually
amazes me how firm their musical imprint is on cover tunes, while still
retaining the essence of the original. Very hip. Crowd was -nuts- after this,
and Trey tips his hat in appreciation "that is a lot better reaction than we
got the first time" or something like that.
I'm not quite sure what can be said about the Antelope. I haven't heard a
better one, live or on tape. I am usually quite careful about making such
statements in the immediate aftermath of a show, but this is a no-brainer. It
was just, so, patient, long, deliberate... nobody is going anywhere, there is
no rush, everybody sit back, have a cocktail and enjoy the show! This Antelope
just drips with anticipation, and resolves with brute force and intensity.
Insane. I'm sure there are Antelopes this one's equal, but I defy anyone to
find a better one from any era. Lizards was wonderful, if direct and lacking in
any serious exploration. Quite reminiscent of the swingy-sway, jazzy,
light-n-airy Lizards of 4.4.98, Trey was sporting a -huge- grin throughout :-).
Cavern. If this Cavern did not deliver your 100% nutritional requirements of
daily funk, I don't know what could. Mike drives this, heavily funkified, and a
fitting end to a wonderful set.
Despite some social obligations we had during setbreak, Benjy and I were in no
mood to fight the crowd, and all our immediate needs (water, dank, et cetera)
were met, so we didn't budge. One of my only complaints of the entire weekend
was that the T&M was -way- oversold, the place was -packed- and the hallway
scene was just unbearable. The place was steaming hot throughout the weekend,
rather uncomfortable, but not unexpected for a Bill Graham Presents show.
Anyways, we chilled with some very nice company, Lisa and Marsha from
Bakersfield (hi ladies!), and relaxed through the break, enjoying usual fare,
and letting the liquid run its course. Get psyched for set II!
10.30.98 II: Stash -> Manteca -> Tweezer -> NICU -> Caspian , Golgi. E: Driver,
Freebird
The Stash -> Manteca -> Tweezer was MONSTER. Huge, insane, jaw-dropping. The
Stash didn't need any time to heat up, it smokes from the get-go, though
nothing particularly out of the ordinary, just killer jam. This Manteca would
have made Mr. Gillespie quite proud... this version is just driven beyond
belief. I need to check my personal stats, but I'm almost positive this was a
first for me, and while I haven't heard a ton of versions on tape, this is
clearly the best I've heard, no question. Tweezer was huge, powerful,
exploratory, FUNK ME! Stunning in range and delivery. The outro jam was *Ghost*
for about 10 minutes! Very subtle Ghost, but clearly Ghost... "new" Ghost, a
theme along the lines of the more even, less-Mike-heavy intro. I never felt a
twinge of disappointment in this set, but everything pointed to Ghost, and I
was just slightly taken aback by the somewhat forced resolution of the jam into
NICU.
NICU was fine, spunky, high energy and such; I won't hide the fact that I'm in
the "NICU is overplayed" camp, since last Fall I have probably seen this at
every other, or at least every third show. Caspian: nothing to say, it didn't
bother me, but nor could I really get into it (I have on occassion), so I just
chilled. Golgi, on the other hand, was -wonderful-! It is so great that they
can take tunes that used to be so overplayed, leave them on the relative shelf
for a while, and then pull them out in the context of their newer sound and
make it live and breath again in all it's glory. I was practically in tears in
the face of the hose we were treated to in this Golgi. Classic.
When the band left the stage, the energy in the place was tangible. No, really,
you could smell it, it had color and life and texture. When the glowsticks
started, the audience was just jamming itself. They could have stayed offstage
for a half an hour, and the audience would have just kept jamming itself. The
Went glowsticks will always retain a special place for me, but this was just
other-worldly, the sticks were just an inevitable and natural extension of the
crowd energy. Say what you will about glowsticks, but if you didn't get a
charge out of that moment, I feel for you.
Driver was stunning. Excuse the reference, but I felt the same way I did when
Ripple was encored by another band at the Cap Center about 10 years ago. What
incredible range. Trey can stand on par with Jimi on electric and Jerry on
acoustic in the same hour. Unbelievable. And then there is this small matter of
the Freebird. Wow. I think I was happier for Benjy and other folks who have
seen the band longer and more frequently than I who have waited so long for
their first one. Wow. What a show!
The rest of the evening definately falls under the category of "blur." Excuse
the gratuitous drug references, but tripping in Veagas at night, well, if you
are into that thing, you just have to do it. We were -this- close to going to
the Seapods, but I'm glad we opted for the strip. In terms of South Strip, we
did it all: Luxor (the Imax theater in the center pavillion is a dead-ringer
for the Rombus), NY, NY, MGM Grand, Monte Carlo, Flamingo, Ceasar's, Bellagio,
et cetera. If you haven't been to the gardens and art gallery of the Bellagio,
GO! It is like a living, breathing Monet, maticulously manicured gardens that
rival the tulips of Vondelpark in Amsterdam, the wonderful diversity of St.
Stephen's Green in Dublin, or dare I say even the Tivoli Gardens. Oh, and
Monet, Van Gogh, Cezanne (sp?), all on display for your viewing pleasure!
Clearly, the Bellagio is my favorite on the strip... What you have to love
about Vegas: anywhere else in America, if we appear in our state of mind,
drinks in hand, middle of the night at the entrance of a multi-billion dollar
hotel, they call security; in Vegas, they hold the door open for you! Gotta
love that. About 1am, we are standing in front of the lake/sea that stands
between the hotel proper and the strip, not many folks were around, and here
comes this dude with a big white coat, matching tall white velvet hat... he
kinda looks like he could be a tour guy, but then he gets closer, checks us
out, smiles this evil smile, and goes along his way. It was Slash from
Guns-n-Roses! Benjy and I look at each other, say in perfect unison, "Hey,
that's Slash from Guns-n-Roses", look at him, he's looking back at us,
laughing. Just TOO funny! More strip action follows, then we run into AJ and a
bunch of his friends about 3 at the Excalibur, they are drinking, gambling, the
usual! We opt for a "road" trip (if anything, our party was definately mobile),
and head over first to Luxor, then to MGM. One of the most bizarre scenes I
have ever witnessed takes place in the MGM: we are in one of the big-money
sections of the main casino, and here is this corner Roulette table packed with
heads. Two guys at the end, CLEARLY with the Phish Convention :-), one with
huge dreadlocks down to his waist, are holding court. With HUGE stacks of
chips. HUGE. And in typical Vegas fashion, they have a full entourage of
hangers-on, but not in cocktail dresses and boufon hairdos, this was phishy to
high degree! I watch as one of them cashes out, as he had ALL of his colored
chips... he was handed 7 $5,000 markers, smiled, got up and walked away.
$35,000 in Roulette. Incredible! I watch this scene for about half an hour, and
by this time its about 4:20, so I make a break for some sleep. Benji & AJ, I
don't know where you guys get your energy, but they continued to rage, while I
caught 40 winks.
Continued in Part II.
-Phillip
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 18:15:56 -0800
From: Amy Kuczynski amy4kla@HOTMAIL.COM
Subject: QUICK VEGAS REVIEW
Hey ya'all,
10/30 was a nice show. Lots of energy from the boys, who were obviously
stoked about this being their 15th year anniversary. Not only do they
dish out the first song they ever played together live (Long Cool Woman
in a Black Dress), but we also get lots of old skool treats: Lizards,
Cavern, Guelah, etc. Plus, the second-set *raging* Tweezer was honestly
one of the best I've seen since '94. It actually went somewhere,
something it has not been doing all year, IMO! And let's not forget the
acapella Freebird. A perfect way to end such a nostalgic show. Lots of
fun.
Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 00:00:55 GMT
From: chris bertolet brrtolet@GATEWAY.NET
Subject: Back to School -- 10/30 in review
After a homemade hash-brown and eggs breakfast, we lit out to Vegas from
L.A.. Traffic was a bit worse than we'd expected, and we didn't pull into
the Excalibur until almost four. By that time, the place was crawling with
'Heads who were drinking and smoking and farting about while waiting to
check in. We caught up with Charlie Dirksen and Mark Toscano in line, and
gloated about the second set at the Greek the night before.
For those of you who've never been to Vegas, take it on my authority that
the Excalibur is The Cheesiest Place in Vegas...which makes it The
Cheesiest Place on Planet Earth. There's something marvelously kitschy
about a hotel that pretends to take you back to medieval times and then
uses paint colors that didn't even exist until Fermi split the atom. About
buffets that brag, "we have blacksmiths standing by to take out your
armor." About the fife and lute combo busting The Doors at the door.
About the faux-cinder block dungeon wallpaper concealing particle board
walls. We also discovered that the rooms smell pretty damned awful,
too...but we quickly remedied that ;-). Then we caught a cab and got on
line just before five.
>From what I could see from a quick tour around the lot, things were fairly
mellow. Really. I didn't see the throngs of unruly ticketless folks, nor
the morphine-addled dirt surfers. Not that I'm saying none of this was
present -- I just was lucky enough not to see it. My only pre-show problem
was with chuckleheads *pushing* from behind when the gates opened. Not
only does it get you in no faster (because the patdown process determines
how fast people get in...duh), but someone's gonna get hurt or killed --
all it takes is for one poor soul to trip at the wrong time. Oh, and the
asshole who jumped the chain-link fence at 5:58 ought to be throttled.
Inside, the scene was pretty calm. The T&M looks *very* small and intimate
to me, given that it's supposed to hold 18k. I don't believe it. It
seemed closer to 12k or 13k to me -- more like Hampton than the Garden.
Anyway, as soon as the place started filling up, it got h-o-t pretty quick,
and by the time the show started I'd already seen a girl passed out from
heat stroke, throwing up at the top of the stairs.
[One last gripe -- if you're standing in the aisles and I'm trying to get
back to my seat, don't make snide remarks, give me a dirty look or push me
aside. Seats are for sitting and standing and aisles are for walking. I
don't mind fighting the traffic if you insist on dancing there, but don't
expect me to refrain from using the bathroom for the whole show so you can
maintain your trance state.]
On to the music.
This was my 20th Phish show, and I'd forgotten that it was the band's 15th
Anniversary. Overall, this was easily the most purely Fun Phish show of
the Greek> Ween run. The show was all about Fun, as a matter of fact, and
gave the overall impression of a nostalgic, Nectar-era retrospective. At
the risk of being heavily flamed, I think that anyone who didn't have a
blast at this Phish show just doesn't like Phish.
The Wilson opener blew the doors off (all three first set openers were
amazing, imo). It was the first time I've heard the new heavy-metal
arrangement, and I loved it. Meat was alright, but it's quite apparent
that Phish has only scratched the surface of this one. The segue into Mule
was sort of messy, and the beginning of the duel was flat-out b-o-r-i-n-g,
which is why I segued myself to the bathroom and beer line, missing the
Jimmy Smith jam (d'OH). I'll have to hear the tapes. Anyway, I returned
for the end of the duel and the LCWIABD. I know Charlie's said this was
tame, but I think that the whole point of the tune was to say, "check out
how far we've come," and I think in that regard it was hilarious and
fitting.
By now the crowd was going crazy, and the first notes of Antelope were like
a fresh-lit powder keg. Now you'll pardon me, but I can't remark on what
actually happened during this Antelope, as the music squirted me through a
wormhole and dumped me on some distant orange planet where time ceased to
be. Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes! The only Antelope I've ever seen
that came remotely *close* to this was 12/29/97, and I'm almost positive
that this will eclipse it when the tapes circulate. Simply a monstrous,
psychotic version that everyone needs in their tape collections. Stay
tuned for B&P's a-plenty.
I hadn't heard Guelah since '96, so I was psyched for it. There were a few
minor mistakes, but nothing too traumatic. Lizards was also
well-delivered, and Cavern was super high-energy. The crowd loved that
three-song stretch, and even though I wouldn't have ever named those songs
in a wish-list, they seemed perfectly appropriate in the context of the
retro set.
There was some set-break music I really liked that no one around me knew.
If you heard it and know what it was, e-mail me (thanks!).
The first half of the second set -- driving home the PON motif -- was the
jamming highlight of the evening. The Stash was gorgeous, with a few
teases popping up in the dark part of the jam. I can't really describe it
other than that -- other than to say that it moved quickly into a major key
before Mike (I believe) started to diddle around the Manteca theme. As
surprised as I was when they actually sang "crab in my shoemouth," I was
_fucking floored_ when Trey started to Wail And I Do Mean Wail on the
melody. He got way up his 'doc, just screaming the Manteca phrase and
feeding off the crowd's energy -- showmanship at its best. As for how the
whole chaotic thing ended, I have to listen to the tapes, but I remember
nothing but smiles.
Tweezer was brilliant as well, and very much a Trey vehicle. Like many '95
Tweezers, this version just sizzled. It wasn't like the 11/22/97 or
12/6/97 Tweezers at all -- it didn't spend nearly that amount of time
diddling around in the funk, and I thought that was refreshing. As a
matter of fact, I remember thinking at one time that it reminded me of
11/30/95, one of my favorite ripping Tweezers. I also felt very strongly
like the band was making a conscious choice to jam in an "old school" way
this night, almost as if to bring everything full circle. They gave us a
little bit of everything.
There was a marvelous segue from Tweezer into NICU as I recall, and the
song itself was nice. It felt like a bit of a break, though, which is why
Fuckerpants (aka Prince Caspian) surprised me a little. I was prepared for
a Caspian that would rage, so wasn't surprised that it did. But I'm with
Charlie on this one -- given the song's lilting lyrics and general themes
of exploration, I'd sort of prefer more exploration out of the song. Less
arena rock bombast and more colors. Golgi was done *very* well -- I'd like
to remind all you Golgi detractors out there that this is *not* an easy
song to play. It's also fairly rare nowadays, so get over it. Plus, the
lights are smashing.
I didn't feel I needed to hear Driver again, especially not as an encore.
Eh. I knew we'd get a second song, though, and thought Freebird in the
way-back of my mind as the four guys stepped to the mic. Let me tell you,
you haven't lived until you've heard an a capella Freebird (just kidding --
they're all the same). But it was radical. I loved it, and everyone
around me loved it. More importantly, Phish loved it, as both Fishman and
Trey left the stage pumping their fists. They knew they'd delivered the
goods for three hours.
Overall, this was a generous, interactive, light-hearted and fun show from
Phish -- Certainly in my top five experiences (of course, having a dozen of
my best friends around me at the time certainly helped). Highlights were
Wilson, Antelope, Stash->Manteca>Tweezer and Freebird. The only lowlight I
can think of was the uninspired Meat, and a general preponderance of
non-jamming tunes. It still didn't matter a bit to me.
I'll be back tonight or tomorrow with a review of Halloween.
--
"Whoa, there, Elvis..." -- Jolly Green Giant
chris bertolet
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 02:36:11 -0800
From: Jason Bilicki bug_jbilicki@CATS.UCSC.EDU
Subject: Review: personal thoughts on 10/29-31 (long)
10/30 - After a very brief period of sleep I was up early the next
morning and off to Vegas. We checked in and headed to the lot as soon
as it was open. OK I'm gonna skip ahead but here's what SUCKS: Last
year at the T&M, they let people on the floor till it filled up, then
closed it off and marked people so they could leave and come back. THIS
year on 10/30 they let people down (moderately) almost all night and it
got WAY crowded, which sucked for dancing. On the second night, I
figured they would do the same, so I avoided the floor because I wanted
room to dance. Sure enough they went back to the first system of
capping it off and marking people, so there was plenty of room to dance
and I was stuck in the lame seats being jealous. A big thumbs down to
the T&M security who wouldn't listen to my suggestions the first night
and screwed me on the second.
Anyway, 10/30 was still one of the best shows I've ever seen. The
setlist reflected something I'd only heard on early 90's tapes. Scent
was a blast especially with that jam in the middle. Long Cool Woman was
actually not that big of a surprise to me, since I had seen someone
suggest it on RMP. This was also the first time I'd heard Guelah live.
LIZARDS!!! Ok my first show was the Clifford Ball, 2nd night, and I
arrived at the show during Lizards. Back then I didn't know the song
but fell in love with it afterwards and never heard it at a show since
then....UNTIL NOW! When it started I kept jumping up and down and the
smile on my face was absurd. I had my eyes closed during the whole solo
at the end and just melted away....it was one of the most magical Phish
moments I've had so far. Cavern was fun, Trey miffed the lyrics
bigtime! heheehe
The second set had the same energy as the first....I can't recall
highlights at this time though...just all good. The encore was
excellent, BUT.....people NEED to realize that acoustic time is QUIET
time! People would not shut up through the whole Driver intro...and
again, I LOVE this song! Then Freebird REALLY pissed me off. I had
heard about this and finally I got a chance to see it in person...but I
could hardly hear it! The audience felt the need to scream and yell
after every verse of the song.....for those of you who are waiting on
the tapes, don't be surprised if you can't hear SHIT during Freebird.
Anyway I was impressed by what I COULD hear.
Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 00:33:33 GMT
From: KAZDEYNA kazdeyna@AOL.COM
Subject: Review Las Vegas Day 1
Phish - Friday, October 30, 1998
Thomas & Mack Arena
UNLV
Las Vegas, NV
Set 1:
Wilson -> 8:11pm
Jam ->
Wilson
Meat
Scent of a Mule ->
Blues Jam* ->
Scent of a Mule 8:35pm
Long Cool Woman** 8:38pm
Run Like an Antelope# 8:42pm
Guelah Papyrus 9:00pm
The Lizards
Cavern 9:15pm
9:21pm
Set 2:
Stash -> 10:03pm
Manteca ->
Jam ->
Tweezer -> 10:14pm
NICU ->
Jam ->
Prince Caspian 10:41pm
Golgi Apparatus 10:50pm
Encore:
Driver##
Freebird (acapella)
*jam called "Back at the Chicken Shack" - Unknown at show title courtesy of
Phish.net
**Prior to song Trey says something like "they tell me this is our 15th
Anniversary Show, so we will play the first song we ever played"
#Caravan tease after Rocco, prior to Marco, I think?
## Trey on acoustic
Just got back from Vegas on the red eye this morning, man is that a long
flight, much longer than expected. Took the red eye out of NYC on Thursday as
well and it takes a while to get adjusted, just too long of a trip for 3 days
of vacation. So if you've read all about it already you can feel free to by
pass this person's opinion, but if you want another glimpse into a fun weekend
here goes......
The Thomas and Mack Center is your typical arena, it looks like a smaller
version of the earlier Worcester Centrum (before the Centrum added the third
level). It is also a little "squashed" as if somebody took the ends of a
regular sized arena and closed them in together like an accordion, it had the
feel of a bull ring. Finally the stage was brought far in from one end cutting
the floor space in half and thus making it seem smaller. Purple house lights
are left on at the top of the arena making it a lot less darker then most
arenas which does take a way from the light show a little. Besides from the
very top where an echo off the roof was heard the sound was excellent! The
scene was very scattered with almost no parking lot scene with most people
either trying to walk to the arena from the strip or taking cabs. Very smokey
and stuffy inside, outdoor ramps were opened during set break allowing people
to cool off (or smoke) in between sets, which was well appreciated!
Set 1:
Set one started off slowly with Wilson. Can you imagine that? However the
start of the song had a little trouble with Fish and Trey both missing their
cues thus allowing for a couple of added extra Wilson chants to get in. Once
the band got in sync the rendition was very strong and driving, with a very
"evil jam" thrown in the middle of the song, reminiscent to Hershey '96. But I
guess this jam has recently been incorporated into Wilson on a regular basis.
However I have noticed in my last couple of shows that whenever the band tries
to open "Big" with a loud, strong song, they don't have as much energy in the
tank at the start needed to pull off songs like Wilson, BOAF (7/5/98), or
Mike's (4/3/98). They aren't in their twenties anymore. A slow start like The
Wedge (8/8/98) seems more appropriate.
Meat is a little lost, I don't think the band knows the purpose of this songs
just yet, or what they have in mind for it and they tried to stretch it out
into some type of jam that just really didn't work.
Scent of a Mule was the first highlight of the show. I really wasn't a fan
of this song when it included the duel between Page and Trey, I was a little
jaded on it since the duel was a little too repetitive, but with this rendition
I was pleasantly surprised. First of all Page played a wonderful piano
throughout the beginning of this song, then the song went into a full out BLUES
JAM! When was the last time you saw Trey play an all out BLUES SOLO, I don't
mean Funky Bitch or old Possums I mean Da Blues! Spaces between notes and
everything, plus on top of that Page played what sounded like a Rhodes organ,
is that the correct description for the blues organ sound, you know what I
mean, Medeski plays it. That combination was fantastic, the jam had a
familiar, repetitive blues feel and was great! What a departure from the norm!
Nothing to extravagant but a nice new addition to the repertoire, hope they
leave it in. I did not know the name of the blues jam at the time of the show
only saw on Phish.Net that it was called "back to the chicken shack". Scent of
Mule returned from the Blues Jam with the traditional Bavarian Jam.
We then get Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress. Trey says they will play the
first song they ever played for this 15th Anniversary of their first show.
Before the set started a stage tech brought out a piece of paper and taped it
onto the floor by the monitor, I thought it may have been ideas for a setlist,
but I bet now it was the lyrics to this song. Hearing Trey and Fish doing the
vocals of this song is the best part, other than that a standard version.
That led into a nice version of Antelope, with Trey and Page exchanging down
note/scale jams and what best could be described by the light show as a
"swirly" jam. Speaking of lights, the band has added 8 HUGE Spotlights in the
back of the stage that when turned on illuminate everything! They currently
only play a minor role in the light show but will probably find their way into
it as the tour progresses. I personally thought the band was going to play
Caravan in the portion between the "Rye Rye Rocco" and "Marco Esquandolas"
parts, sounded as it was going in that direction musically but it never
emerged, seemed like Mike nixed it, but I'm not 100% sure.
The show continued it's "15th anniversary return to the good ole days" set
list with Guelah and then the second highlight of the set The Lizards. I
haven't heard this one in some time and like Tela at Merriweather this was a
nice addition which definitely made you feel nostalgic. What a song, jam!
Songs like Lizards were at one point their bread and butter. Remember when
people said "hey there's this band that jams, has like ten songs that revolve
around a story, and speaks to the crowd via a musical language, you should
check them out" or would have to ask which songs were part of Gamehendge, well
this is one of those songs! It was great! I forgot how nice many of those
Gamehendge solos were and the solo in this Lizards was right on!
A non-funk old time version of Cavern closed out the set.
Set 2:
Opened great with an unfinished but standard Stash. Either they had more in
mind then just Stash, or this Stash just took them into that direction but the
feel for this song was lost quickly in the jam and then out of nowhere emerged
Manteca. For me it seemed like out of nowhere, however looking back on it the
crowd may have noted the song coming out of the jam way before I did since I
recall the crowd cheering before I picked up on anything. Anyway it was nice!
Once I picked up on the Manteca jam (and I can't remember whether it was before
the "crab in my shoe mouth" part or after) I liked it, it was much faster and
much tighter then the normal Manteca. A good groove was established from it.
This segued into a Tweezer.
The Tweezer explored many different themes before settling into a jam First
Page was exploring on the clav with Trey scattering and scratching out many
different themes, but once Page jumped on the piano Trey got going and a nice
strong (but short the exploration taking some of it's time) Tweezer jam
followed. The jam slowed down, and then Trey played a solo in the style of the
introductory chords of NICU, which obviously segued into NICU.
The band tried to keep the segues going out of NICU with delay loop, a drum
beat, hum anything to get that -> out of NICU. However the hum evolved into a
nice short, maybe it was ambient jam. Couldn't pick anything out but it lasted
about three minutes and then almost stopped but somehow staggered into very
rough starting Prince Caspian. I like Prince Caspian a lot, just seems like a
very hopeful song, the Prince has many things against him (stumps instead of
feet for one), but is in a good state (floating) and Trey for some reason wants
to be like him! However I have heard better versions.
The set ends with a much better then at Prague Golgi!
Hoping to get a cab and not wanting to get stuck in a long line or walk back
to the strip we began to make our way out of the arena, had to stop and poke my
head in to see Trey on acoustic playing a sweet number, excellent bridge in
this song, I think it makes the whole song, with what some were calling Sleet,
but is labeled as Driver on Phish.Net. But having seen the acapella Freebird
already in the past we began to walk out and just caught the beginning of this
Freebird, which I'm sure was a crowd pleaser especially to those who have never
seen it.
Highlights:
Scent of a Mule>Blues Jam>Scent of a Mule
Stash>Manteca>Jam
Driver
Thanks for the time.
Halloween review to follow.
Peace,
Kaz
Kazdeyna@aol.com
Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 02:06:24 GMT
From: mitchgo@MICROSOFT.COM
Subject: The Beginning of a New Age: A Positive Review of Vegas
10/30/98 (song times rounded to nearest
minute in parentheses)
Set 1 (8:11-9:22):
Wilson (8)
Meat->(5)
Scent of a Mule->
All Blues->
Scent of a Mule (13)
Long Cool Woman In a Black Dress (5)
Run Like an Antelope (17)
Guelah Papyrus (6)
Lizards (12)
Cavern (5)
Set 2: (10:03-11:04):
Stash-> (7)
Manteca-> (4)
Tweezer-> (17)
NICU-> (4)
Jam-> (6)
Prince Caspian-> (9)
Golgi Apparatus (4)
Encores:
Driver* (4)
Freebird** (5)
*Trey on acoustic
**Acapella
WILSON: Trey hit the notes to Wilson almost as soon as the band came onstage,
and the crowd of course started the "Wiiiillssoooon" chant. This version was
very hot, very tight, and featured that cool heavy metal-ish jamming in the
middle section. At the song's end Trey ran over to Mike to call the next
song...
MEAT: Same as the summer versions, pretty to-the-point and very tight, but
doesn't have enough room to really go anywhere. It's a nice pacing tune but
unless it opens up, or gets more intense, I don't think it's long for the
repetoire. At the end of Meat Trey immediately strummed to opening chords
to...
SCENT OF A MULE: "hmm, 2 Mike tunes in a row" I thought. This was very
energetic, and the Page/Trey duel was replaced by a long Page-led jam, that
turned into a solo and then turned into, pretty calculatedly...
ALL BLUES: the blues riff was clearly planned, and the band had a great
with it. (the phish.net page lists "Chicken Shack" as the correct title to
this, but it clearly wasn't that tune...I
was told it was All Blues by Davis but am not familiar with the original.)
The crowd went nuts, the band jammed on it for several minutes before Trey
led back into the little greek dance bit in SCENT; Trey and Mike did they
little Scent dance and they swung back into the tune, finishing it off as
usual.
LONG COOL WOMAN: Trey mentioned that tonight marks exactly fifteen years since
their first "show" and they wanted to mark the occasion by playing the very
first song they played as Phish. Trey sang, Page had a lyric sheet on his
keyboard, and it sounded pretty ragged but it was a great treat. The crowd
loved it (but I wondered how many thought it was a Creedence tune!).
ANTELOPLE: Weird slot in the set, dead center instead of closing the set. This
was easily the best version I've heard, with lots of jazzy jamming and a
bizarre,stretched out, nearly Residential vocal segment in the "marco
esquandolos" part.
GUELAH: one of the tunes that had been eluding me, and the first time they've
played it in a while. Mike and Trey again danced during the intro, and the
tune was played perfectly; the precise little "Asse Festival" segment was
dead-on. Trey and Mike danced again during the end of the tune.
LIZARDS: another one I had been waiting for, and the instrumental piece was
much longer and richer than usual. Trey remembered all the words. ;-) Trey
ran to Mike to call the next tune, who then signalled Fish to start...
CAVERN: Haven't seen this since my first show so it was fun to see as a
setcloser. The crowd ate it up, despite its reputation as a less-than-stellar
oldie.
Overall a great set, very balanced, with a weighty Antelope in the middle,
short rock tunes wrapped around it, and a wild Scent segment.
Set 2 started up 45 minutes later with...
STASH: An excellent version, for the brief time it stuck around. (It went
unfinished.)Great jazzy jamming in the middle section, which led into a very
surprising....
MANTECA: No idea when this was last played ('95???) but this Dizzie Gillespie
tune was the perfect compliment to Stash. The band had a great time with it,
and it was noisier and gnarlier than previous versions. It sounded downright
aggressive and nasty in the last couple of minutes, and I remember thinking
"wow Trey's guitar tone would be perfect for Tweezer"....sure enough...
TWEEZER: a phenomenal version, filled with great jamming of the usual Tweezer
variety and some pretty bizarre modules that were way outside the Tweezer
theme. This chunk of playing, from the middle of Stash to the end of the 17
minute Tweezer, was the best part of the set...after one of the jams wound
down Trey signalled...
NICU: I love this but saw this at my last show, in the same slot, and while it
was a great version, it kinda sucked the experimental energy out of the set.
CASPIAN: also great, also seen in the same slot at my last show, and also
a tune that should have come later.
GOLGI: A great set ender that really pumped up the crowd.
Great set but too short, and missing some heft in the post-Tweezer section;
if NICU/Caspian/Golgi had come after one more long piece, or another 15
minutes of jamming post-Tweezer, the set might have been perfect. I thought
the encores would be long but...
DRIVER: Trey played an acoustic on this new tune, a kind of folky pop
tune about your brain being in charge of your life.
FREE BIRD: Yes, the hilarious acapella version. They all crowded around the
mic and sang all the guitar parts, including the over-the-top solos and the
martial drumbeat-false ending. A very funny note to end on.
Overall a seriously above-average show, with maybe something missing
from set 2, leaving it feeling a little short. Of course I knew they might be
saving their energy for Halloween...
Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 00:32:51 -0500
From: Brian Porter brianp@AYE.NET
Subject: Vegas, my thoughts
10-30
At about 3:30 I ran into both Trey and Fish in Caesars Palace, Trey stopped
to shake our hands and Trey told us he'd see us later on tonite. The only
word I could muster out of mouth was "Hey" oh well. Pretty nice gesture I
thought.
10-30 was great, loved the Wilson opener to get the crowd going from the get
go. Meat was funky and pretty standard, the blues number inside of Scent of
a Mule was excellent and well done, I thought they were done with Scent but
nope. Long Cool Woman was a pleasant surprise and very fun, danced hardest
during this song. I loved it when both Trey and Fishman commented on how
"that was a much better response than we got the first time we played it",
thats the kind of shit I love about this band. Antelope reminded me of
10-31-95 Chicago, but not quite as good. Best version I've heard or seen in
a long while though. The rest of the set was standard and for the most part
very well played.
Second set was great. Stash>Manteca>Tweezer>NICU was right fucking on!
Highlight of my weekend. Perfect segues in and out of all songs. When I 1st
heard the Tweezer coming I started thinking "Oh shit here comes a half hour
of that repetitive funk shit jamming" but instead they kept it short and to
the point, it quickly segued brilliantly into NICU. Not quite as good of a
transition as 12-1-94 Makisupa>NICU but still damn good. NICU seemed off key
or out of wack a little, but who cares it was still deep in the 2nd set.
After NICU the show was pretty much over for me. I knew they couldnt top any
of the last 4 songs . Prince Caspian was pretty much as boring as it always
is. The encore was sweet, but nothing great. Nice to hear Trey on acoustic
again. The Freebird was cool, thanks to everyone there for pretty much
keeping quiet once everyone realized what was being sung. All in all this
was a pretty hot show good way to get everyone ready for halloween.
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1998 11:55:49 EST
From: Tedandmiap@AOL.COM
Subject: ted's halloween review :)
*****
HALLOWEEN REVIEW Part I -- A CA Phreak Back in Sin City (long)
Wow! What a weekend....
I've had a couple days of responsibilities to catch up on, but now can write
down some thoughts on the Halloween run...
This will review the music but also the scene, the people, the venue,
whatever...for reference I'm 31, married, and these were about my 32nd and
33rd shows, first in August ^Ñ93, last before this at the Phillmore a few weeks
ago :)
First of all, big thanks to Phish and the whole organization ....you folks
never cease to amaze!
Second, an equally big thanks to the Lemonwheel Part Dose crew....LeMikus and
Lucinda, Cletus and Lurleen, Matt con Bobos, LemonScentedIphster, the Izman
and Laurie, Senor Loch and Roobily Doobily.....you guys are awesome!
Third....no, actually first, the biggest thanks of all to my darling wife Mia,
who held our first child--all of 8 weeks old--deep in her belly for both
shows, his or her first Phish shows ever! And the Mia was an absolute
trooper, a sober doll showin' the heated folks how to BOOGIE down!
We headed down from the Bay Area on Thursday night loaded to the gills with
bags, costumes, the new album, frisbees, food, and a keg of Marin Brewing Co.
India Pale Ale....mmmmm, IPA! The new album on I-5 was sweet, and a Motel 6
in Bakersfield provided our bed....but not before a tequila shot and several
IPA's out of the motel ice bucket :)....up at dawn and on to Vega$!
Got set up in the Tropicana and headed down by about 4:00....when we hit the
lot around 4:30 or 5 there were surprisingly few people in line.....2 lines,
in the first about 30-40 people tops, maybe a few more in the other....the guy
in the front of one line said he got there around 11:00 a.m.....we had a big
group already gathering near the front of line #2 and staked our spot....time
passed fast and we were heading in....they stopped us a few times at
checkpoints, then we hit the still-closed glass doors....still no
search....then we were IN! No search at all (not much to hide either, but
still curious). We bombed down to the floor and set up camp about 20 feet out
from Trey...SWEET!
Now last year on the Fall tour opener, Mia and I went, got on the floor, and
found that the Thomas & Mack folks weren't prepared....they cut off floor
access early (good because light crowds down there = plenty of elbow
room).....but you couldn't leave the floor and get back down! Last year we
finally convinced them that this was a crowd that would not give up its floor
space but had to be allowed to go to the bathroom, and eventually they scared
up some pens and marked peoples' hands...so we figured this year they'd have
it wired....NOPE! The same damn thing! I had to lend my extra pen to a woman
at one of the stairwells and memorize her name so she would let me back
down....
On to the show! (quick side note: at the 10/30 show I got pretty soused, so
my book is messy and my recollections fuzzy....that's what happens when you
wear a plastic fish flask around your neck with a straw sticking out and
Jagermeister inside....mmmmm...Jager...anyway sorry about some poor
descriptions)
The lights went down with that familiar, wonderful *click* (can I actually
hear that or does it just seem like it....?) and they took the stage....buh-
duh, buh-duh:
WIL-SON! A nice opener, good energy, and the best part was the long (by
Wilson standards) JAM in the interlude before "now you got me back thinkin',
that you're the worst one"....they extended it out and really ripped it! I
don't recall this specifically, but my book says "Rift/Scent like tone" to the
jam....hmmmm, don't know....just remember it was a treat....after the blat-
boom, and the traditional ending, up comes:
MEAT: I hadn't caught this one until the new album, so not much past to go
on....but I dig the song and it was fun....I really like those circular vocal
tunes (as do they these days!)
[aside-- around this time my Jager phish was really kicking in and I was in
Vega$, dammit, 20 feet from the stage, and I guess I just felt like ya-
hoooooo!ing a few times....this girl next to me gave me a bad look and said
something like, "shhh....there are tapers right here"....well, knowing that
the tapers section was about 100 feet behind me, I said "Where?!", and she
kinda shrugged....I said "the tapers really don't care if I yell, but if I'm
bugging you I'd be happy to stop", and that seemed to satisfy her....so I
yelled less from there out....later I saw a taper guy about 10 feet to my
right, right up near the stage....of course he had to stand super still and
his buddy was trying to keep people away from him....quite an annoying
presence on the dance floor!]
SCENT OF A MULE: A few years ago the start of this song made me a little
bummed, they just seemed to play it so often, and the Greek dance segment,
while fun, had the novelty wear off....but it had been a couple years, and I
was psyched! And this one didn't disappoint! Some awesome Trey/Page
interplay to start off the Mule Duel, and then the stage went dark and foggy
and they melted into the blues jam....in my book it says "VERY familiar jam",
as if I just couldn't put my finger on it, and now I know why....Jimmy Smith's
"Back at the Chicken Shack," a song I know from a jazz sampler album I
have....I knew I knew it! When they finally finished the Shack, Trey started
up the Greek dance (I think?!) and they jammed out the Mule.....this one got 4
exclamation points in the book....
Then Trey said "It's come to our attention that this is our 15th anniversary
tonight from our first show" [crowd yells!] "So we thought we'd play the
first song we ever played":
LONG COOL WOMAN IN A BLACK DRESS: A very straightforward version, crowd
singin' along, but I remember just loving it, grinning all throughout! At the
end Trey said "that was better than the 1st time" (or something like that) and
"let's play it again", followed by a few bars....my book also says "Fish: Long
Cool Woman smack" -- not sure what that means, but I think he was popping off
about the song....the tapes will reveal
RUN LIKE AN ANTELOPE: Oh, yeah, here we go! A raging Antelope as I
remember....after the crescendo and in the slow groove, they really started
stretching it out, and I think they almost just kept going with the groove
before "Set the gearshift"....My notes also say "trippy voice groove"....then
they hit those SWEET purple and green conical spots before the "gearshift"
line, I just love those!
GUELAH PAPYRUS: I dig Guelah, don't hear it very often so it's a
treat....standard version, love that atonal fugue (I think that's the term!)
in the middle....and it was sweet to be up close for the Trey/Mike dance at
the end....then arising out of nowhere from the post-Guelah noise....
LIZARDS: For a while in ^Ñ95 or so they were playing this too often, but now
it's just rare enough for my taste....LOVE seeing Lizards....great singalong,
great boogie tune....as it was in the cool part at the end (after the last
whoa-oo-whoa-oo whoa-oo whoa-oo whoa whoa WHOAAAAAA! and then Mike's
bass....boo-doop.................boo-doop...............boo-doop), I squatted
down to get some bread out of my pack to soak up the Jager phish and I totally
lost my balance and fell back on some guy....DOH! But I was back up in time
for....
CAVERN: Clearly the set closer but I was ready....always a nice sing-a-long to
start the set break.
SET BREAK: Met a couple youngsters behind us who swore that their buddy knew
Brad Sands and Brad wouldn't tell him what album they would play but that it
was from 1970...yeah, right! I thought.....
Also met r.m.p. contributor Cassius at some point, not sure how but LeMikus
met him....we chatted for a bit, and he was next to us for the rest of the
show....hello Cassius!
After the initial rush up the stairs, I went to the bathroom to chill and get
some fresh air....when I came back I found that my pal Marcie the floor
guardian wouldn't let me back down! "But you've got my pen! You've gotta let
me down!" "Sorry, pal, I can't let anyone down.." Oh, NO! I tried a few
other gates, to no avail....even tried the old walk through with confidence
maneuver, but two older dudes stopped me, and when I said incredulously "but I
got here early and I'm sitting 20 feet from the stage," they said almost in
unison "you WERE 20 feet from the stage!" Very rough ;) As I staggered
away with my tail draggin', the lights went down....doh! It was make or break
time, head upstairs to sit and chill, or find a way down....I wanted to jump
the rail, but there were "Event Staff" people about every 10 feet below the
rail....then I saw a guy go for it, and 2 Event people looked right at him and
did nothing as he shot into the crowd....that was it! I went for it, same
deal, and scurried into the crowd....made it back to my spot for the 1st
audience clap of:
STASH: Hello! Love Stash, and thought it was probably coming after starting
the 2nd set in Vega$ ^Ñ97.....the jam started getting real funky and
synchopated, then the unmistakable drumbeat signalled a segue into:
MANTECA: Crab in my shoe mouth! An upbeat Manteca still rooted in the Stash
jam....then in my mind and my notes they segued back into
STASH: I haven't seen set lists with this, but I thought they clearly left
Manteca and went back into the Stash jam....which eventually found its way
to....
TWEEZER: with the telltale guitar start....Trey hit the digital delay
early....for the jam my notes say "nutso Tweezer psych jam", psych meaning
psychedelic, I clearly liked that! Then the jam seemed to tease another song
(notes say "some song??"), then "LONG jam"....then they hit an unmistakable
Ghost jam (I heard others mention this later).....the jam kept grooving along
until suddenly Trey was scratching his strings in an unmistakable segue into
NICU: the segue was SWEET! They were in a non-NICU key, but the beat was
there, and Trey started scratching it in the other key, then all on the same
beat they all shifted gears (and keys!) and started it up on a dime.... a
hearty "play it LEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! from Ernesto....
after NICU ended (the 1st stop of the set!), they played what sounded like yet
another song, labeled "trippy breakdown mellow cathedral shit (some song?)" in
my book.....then a segue symbol into "way killer groovy groove" (like I said,
Jager phish!)....finally Trey started up
PRINCE CASPIAN: this one blasted at the Fillmore, a truly jamming Caspian, and
the Vega$ Caspian was almost as epic....by Caspian standards of course.....my
notes say "solo ripping from the get go!," and it was, instead of easing into
it Trey just started blistering from note 1....good stuff...after the jam as
Caspian was melting out, I saw Trey walking around to Page, then Fish and
Mike, mouthing "Golgi"....sure enough:
GOLGI APPARATUS: hadn't heard this in a while and appreciated it....Mia said
she got chills during the quiet part (she's so sweet!)
Then that was it....seemed like a short set!....but I think the
Stash>Manteca>Stash>Tweezer>Jam>NICU took up some time....
There was a solid glowstick war between the set and the encore, at least it
looked good from right underneath it...in fact it was so engaging that Mia and
I were both surprised when the band was suddenly back on stage!
DRIVER: Trey played his acoustic for this one, which was the first time I'd
heard it....i remember cute lyrics about "the driver in my head" but nothing
in particular....it made me smile though (which isn't tough if you know me
;)
then they came to the front of the stage and...
FREEBIRD: this is the first time in a long time that I DIDN'T hear someone
yell "Freebird!" when they came to the front of the stage.....and they did it!
It was my 2nd Freebird, but first since my 3rd show (Laguna Seca ^Ñ94) when I
was back in the crowd and not sure what the hell was happening....this time I
was 20 feet away and watched them each belt out their parts....I was giggling
the whole time, even laughing out loud! Loved it....
After the show we set out for home and the Strip....word to the wise.....when
you leave the T&M to walk back to the strip, DON'T just aim for your hotel!
You'll wind up in the backstreets of Vega$, the "nasty part of town" as we
were calling it....go out to Tropicana, then turn toward the Strip....
Anyway, after a circuitous route home, we made it back and I abandoned all
plans to gamble or otherwise stay up and fell into wonderful sleep (after one
last IPA ;).
Saturday review to follow..
ted :)
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1998 00:26:40 +0500
From: Abbas Raza saraza4@ibm.net
To: Dan Schar dws@protos.lifesci.ucla.edu
Subject: FALL98_REVIEW
Hi there :^)
Just wanted to point out a little something about the 10-30-98
show.......I didn't catch it live, but I got the tapes and they knocked me
off of my ass :^)
I've read the many reviews on your page, and they all appropriately
commend (in particular) the Stash Manteca Tweezer blitzkrieg which
kicked off set 2.
HOWEVER...
...no-one appears to have noted (what was for me) the absolute creamy PEAK
in this opening segue, which was the very brief but oh-so-orgasmic Moma
Dance 'tease' that finished off Manteca, and (musically speaking)
provided the perfect turnaround into the opening riff of Tweezer. Know
what I'm saying?!
Peace....
Abbas Raza
saraza4@ibm.net
Hello all,Well I'm sitting around here bored this morining while my girlfriend
sleepsandI thought that I should review this show becasue I loved it soooo much.
Venue/Scene: Being this was the first time I was in Vegas I reallydidn't know
what to expect. My group of friends and I were so amazed at the "strip"wewere
like "fuck the lot. We've seen way too many lots to pass this up".Vegas is
like no other place in the world and I've done a lot of travelling. Itjusthas
this amazing energy that just keeps you awake. I think my girlfriendand I got
about 10 hours of sleep over a three day period!
There actually was no scene when we got to the arena, much to ourchagrin. We
thought we would slam a cuople of beers in the lot before going in butno one
was slinging beer at all. Kind of a bummer. I did get a few ganjabrowniesthat
kicked my ass though. Kudos to the guy and girl that were sellingthem!! I
really don't see how anyone could say that the scene sucked becasuethere
hardly was one. I thought the vibe was very good. There just weren'tenough
people travelling by car at this point in the tour.
As for the venue I thought it pretty much blew. I guess it's only 15years old
but it looks all beat to hell. reminded me alot of the Cap Center (USAirArena)
just not as sticky. The stage was pushed way out so there was limitedfloor
space. The soundboard was set up at the very back of the floor with thetapers
right behind going up the first level. Very strange. I haven't seenthis since
going to indoor Dead shows. We should all be very thankfull Phish is sotaper
friendly. The dead always made their tapers set up there indoors and onthe
lawn outdoors.Set 1:
Just as my brownies were kicking in the light went down and the boyscame out.
My call was for them to open with Heard it Through the Grapevine fortheir15th
Year Anniversary but they opened with Wilson. This just smoked! Got thewhole
crowd into their vibe and the ride was on. Now I know that they havebeen
jamming out Wilson a little lately. poepl have been calling it the"HeavyMetal
Wilson". I really don't understand that but whatever. This Wilsonactually had
a jam in it! It was out of hand. Easily the best Wilson I have ever seeor
heard and I don't like to throw that around too much.
Meat: I really like this groove but it is sooo damn slow you can'tdance toit.
Just kind of wiggle around and hope it picks up. never did though. Goosversion
none the less.SOAMule: Have to say that I wan't too hip on hearing this but this
scent justripped. The Back at the Chicken Shack jam was awesome. It's funny
because the
best way for me to tell if the boys are really on is to look over at myKatie
(my girlfriend). If she is getting down then they are ON. She's my
groove-O-meter. And she was getting down. I also think she might havebeen a
little biased being such a blues fan.
Long Cool Woman: Alright so I was off by a song. I only picked itbecause from
what I saw it was the fisrt song they ever played. Not according tothem I
guess. This was absolutley hillarious. I was rolling. Pulled off quitenicely.
Fishman's screams were out of hand.
Antelope: Couldn't really tell what this was at first beacause thecrowd was
sooo damn loud. Good antelope though. Not the best I've seen but keptthe
momentum going.
Guelah: Allright. I hadn't seen this since Deer Creek last year. Lovethis
everytime I hear it. This was the strangest version I have ever heard.Very
spooky, slow and kinda funky. I loved it!!
Lizards: Flawlessly played IMHO. They do this so much better than theydid a
few years ago. A real crowd pleaser.
Cavern: At this point were are looking at a setlist from the early 90'sexcept
for Meat and there was no way to stop the Phish Train from running youover.
Outstanding version. I'm so happy a this point.
Set Break: I never know what they play at setbreak so don't ask. Katieand I
went and got a Mocha and a Latte respectively. After sitting for acouple
seconds after the set the 3 hours of sleep were starting to catch upwith us.
Set 2:Stash: We get back to our gate just as they break into this. I
personally feel
that Stash is a quintisential (sp?) Phish song. One of the ones thatsounds so
Phishy and so unlike every other band. Perfectly displays thier talents.
Composed sections was perfect and the the jam. Very melodious and then Ifainly
hear....Manteca: At this point I freaking out like I haven't done at a show in a
while.Yelling an screaming. Getting strange stares from some of the peoplearound
me.Most people seemed to be in the dark. This is one of those tunes that Inever
thought in a million years that I would get to hear like. So funky and
pronounced was this Manteca. They ripped it up for a while before theeven got
to the Crab in my Shoemouth part and then continued to go back to it'stheme
over the next couple of songs. Funny I haven't seen anyone mention thatyet.
Listen for it in the tapes. Now they jam for a while longer and into...
Tweezer: I can't rememeber the last time I heard a bad Tweezer. At thispoint
the roof on the T&M is starting to rumble and going to blow off at anymoment!!
Soo good and soo funky. The energy is great at this point. Not a verylong
Tweezer but then again they don't have to be long to be good. Veryfocused.
This blend nicely into...
NICU: I hadn't seen them jam into NICU since the Clifford ball. It was alittle
sloppy at first then got on track. Typically good.
Caspian: I'm just not a fan of this song but I was so high at this point
(emotionally not chemically) that nothing could bring me down. Myfriend said
to me after then show "Even the Caspian was good". Nuff said.
Golgi: This song was just played too much when I started seeing Phishandkinda
got out of my nerves. Then on last years Holiday tour they did it the29th and
now I'm in love with it again. Just smoked. Great way to finish up aset.Encores:
Driver: I was expecting some sort of acoustic tune beacsue one of thetechs
brought out Trey's acoustic guitar during set break. This song is purePhish.A
feel good song. Better than anything I've heard from them like this.Lyricsare
better than usual. These guys are maturing nicely.
Freebird: Another song I thought I'd never hear live. So funny. Weloved it.
Over all this show gets a 9.0 on emotion alone. Another way to tell ifboysare
on for me is how I feel when I leave. If I'm drained I know it was goodbecause
I grooved the whole time and that's how I felt when I left there thatnight. I
know what the poeple who saw the Fillmore show are talkinh about now. Idon't
think the setlist was all that outstanding but the show was played withsomuch
emotion and prescion that it was awesome.
Way to go boys. This show is the reason I keep coming back.
Hallowen review tommorrow.
Jason Musante
Vegas? Just the thought was exciting! The perfect place
to see
a concert on haloween no less. The scene was great.. a mish-mash of
phish
phans across the country. What did the boys have in store for the first
night?
The electricity was hype..the people were ready to groove. After a
45min hot wait for the show to start the lights kicked down.
Set I--Wilson!-A great way to open a show for a big night to come.
The
crowd immediatly gets rocking. Very well played.
Meat- A good version, bluesy, funky-put a smile on your face
Scent of a Mule- Great groove to play here-everybody is
dancing,
loving life at this timeBack at the chicken shackScent of a
mule...Never
heard this before but it was perfect to seuge into. A great
version.....very well played.
Long cool woman-When Trey told the crowd it was the 15 year
anneversary-the place went nuts! They fittingly played the first song
ever
played! What a moment.
Antelope- This song was nothing short of rocking! Antelope is
always a show stopper..nothing less
Guelah-A great song thats not played out by the boys. The
little
dance they do is a perfect crowd pleaser in the 1st set.
Lizards- The absolute best version I have ever heard. There
are no
flaws in this song. It made you smile ,laugh, dance, everyting! The
moment
had alot to do with it!
Cavern-Perfect song to end the set
SET 1-A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Stash- I heard it here last year..The exact same spot in the
set
too. But with
Manteca it was a keeper. Its great when the band breaks out
these
little nuggets to complement songs. Very good choice.
Tweezer- The place went nuts! Tweezer has its place in alot of
big
shows and this was a good place.
NICU I love this song personally...It sueged perfect after the
little tweezer jam (not long after "look who's in the freezer")
Avery well played song.
Prince Caspian- Not a very Dramatic Caspian but dramatic none
the
less...a good cool down after the jam.
Golgi-Awsome---just a fun fun set...just like the whole show
E: Driver-This is a real treat for anyone who sees this. Its rare
that
Trey gets acoustic and this song has great lyrics that make you feel
good.
I loved it
Freebird- What can you say? When the people in the crowd were
yelling FREEBIRD!!! when they saw the mic come to the front of the
stage...The band was excited, the crowed was emotional, the night was
great
and in the end Fishman pumped his fists into the air while the band
took a
bow to the crowd, the place went nuts and cried when the lights came
on...OH
WHAT A NIGHT! A+
Enough has been saud about this shaow, but I have a comment to make
that all should check out...It all started over the last couple of
years that I would get this vibe that felt like emminence front by the
who was coming on. This summer at the columbus, Oh show, in the middle
of Free, they went into just the flavor of jam that I spoke of
earlier...Anyway, after the Manteca jam in the second set, they ripped
that sick jam for about 5 minutes before finding their way to Tweezer,
and this was in my opinion, on the very brink of actually pulling off
an Emminence Front cover. All I can say is, for those of you who know
and dig this tune, give set II a listen, and check out for the sick
Emminence vibe...I feel that this song is imminent, soon to come. When
it does, it will be the sickest thing imaginable (their trademark).
Just got back from Vegas. I only got in to the 30th however. It was amazing. The highlight for me was the ambience leading up to Prince Caspian. I had
eaten a certain fungus and the music clensed my soul. I stopped dancing
stood still and felt energy of my Chi. Other highlights were Woman in a
Black Dress( shoulda played it 3 times) and Golgi Aparatus and Lizard and
Meat. It was like traditional roots
reggae or mana from heaven. Afterwards we went to Galactic and danced till 5
in the morning. They kept the party moving till the broad daylight . I
couldn't get a ticket for Halloween and I should have because I actually
listen to the Velvet underground unlike half the people who are devoid of
any music other than Phish and the Dead. I saw an ugly side of the scene
that night. There was a fucking fight in the parking lot. People were
hostile about getting in too. gonnorea for yr extra? Come on. Are you
guys missing the point completely? Cosmic Highway played in the lot for a
while and they are awesome. All in all Phish is so good it scares me.
The T&M Center is great, imo. It feels really
intimate in there on the main floor/lower level.
Unfortunately, we had to deal with the stress
of full-on COP SEARCHES (this was AFTER
an initial search by venue security!) at the
entrance. I unfortunately witnessed at least
two kids in the midst of getting busted bad
by those pigs.
Wilson got things going to a typically rocking start.
Huge chanting happening from the audience. The
extended hardrock rage-jam from the summer reappeared
to everyone's hearty approval.
Meat got sloppy...perhaps it was just looser than
usual. It seemed like there were a few mistakes made
during the jam segment which actually pushed it
in some interesting directions, but still awkward. Scent
of a Mule seemed appropriate in the city of cowboy hats
and rodeo conventions. Back at the Chicken Shack
was a very nice treat, giving Page a chance to throw
down some licks during his part of the duel that would
make Jimmy Smith proud. The segue back into the fiddler on the roof
segment of the mule duel was also sloppy....too much
tequila boys?
Long Cool Women and Antelope were really pumping
the positive energy in the crowd. Antelope didn't really
get to the point of pure unbridled insane peak-crest-peak jam
intensity for quite a while. For a second there it was
coasting along some subtler, but no less-inspired
waves of liquidity, bouncing like a smooth, high-speed train
that barely shakes even though it's going 200 mph.
The gearshift was eventually set for high gear and the
room was filled with Full-On Vegas Phish Energy.
The rest of set 1 seemed like a bit of a let down, albeit an oldschool
letdown. I enjoy Guelah as the rarity is has become, but
it doesn't seem to do much for me other than make me
more psyched for the tune to follow. Lizards wasn't what
I was looking for in that slot, but I gave Page's solo a chance and he
completely got me off my feet and out of my head with an intricately
suspenseful solo. Cavern rocks, but I've seen it enough already.
Set 2 redefined the notion of "Short but Sweet". Stash reached
spaceship-is-landing status early in the jam, in large part to Kuroda's
masterful work on the lightboard. The room was still glowing with other
worldly light and extra-terrestrial music echoed around us as Mike
dipped slowly into the Manteca groove, bringing the Stash to a surprisingly
swift finish. Mike toyed slightly with the straight ahead groove for a
second,
then locked into it with Fish and Trey's full support. The crowd
went absolutely fucking avacadoes.
Tweezer appeared out of the final strains of Manteca and kept
the funk coming. Nothing stands out as memorable about this
one, other than the slow-down segment at the end, which segued
slyly into NICU. Prince Caspian is a good vehicle for great Trey
jamming -- the Fillmore version reminded me of this Loud and Clear.
So I'm willing to give the tune a shot, even when it's placed deeply
in the second set. Trey just didn't do anything with it this time.
Maybe I was spoiled with the Fillmore version, but if you're playing
this kind of droney, simple tune late in the set, you better find a way
to make it special and keep it interesting. A lot of power chords
and trilling from Trey. Yadda yadda.
Golgi was surprisingly pleasing. Sometimes I forget to just listen
and dance to a song and enjoy it instead of thinking about
placement, rotation, rarity, # of times I've seen it before,
jam-potential etc and just Enjoy The Moment.
What a great, fun song, with a fantastic build up jam!
And the "ticket stub in the hand" line seemed like a pleasant
reminder to those of us with 'Ween tix and a cruel joke to those
who didn't yet.
The second set was less than an hour long, but it felt truly
epic, amazingly special, and definitely inspired.
There was a glowstick war during the pre-encore break
that struck me as very innocent and unobtrusive (I guess,
aside from those who got hit in the head, eye or ear) because
it occurred when there was no music being played and the
musicians were not being put in harm's way. I hope people
can, at the very least, resist the urge to throw those things
directly at Page, Mike, Trey and Fish. Halloween was an
ugly display of fan's trying to connect with the boyz by means
of projectile violence...something I want no part of.
Driver is a great new song. Granted, it's slow, so some folks
are bound to hate it. But it strikes me as quite different than
most of the other Phish ballads...more folky and bouncy and
unique, less power-balladish and typical. Fun lyrics...the
"..and I'll be better dressed" line got a huge, warm roar from
the briefly-hushed crowd. Freebird was great, of course.
I noticed more than a few of the ushers (greasy Vegas types)
turning around in amazement at this a capella feat.
Overall, a fantastic show with some huge moments in a short
amount of time. A funky, oldschool calm before the rocking storm that
would be 10/31/98.
JW- timber@slip.net
Let me preface this by saying that Friday's show was reminicent of the setlists
you'd find from '93,'94,'95. And this show did not dissapoint.
When they walked onstage, people were going nuts as usual, but right when Trey
pluged in he started with dun-nun dun-nun. You knew this was no ordinary show.
Good Wilson, but there was one little mess-up that no one really noticed,
because it was rocking. Meat is cool. It was standard and tight. Scent, I've
heard this tune many times, but back in '94 & '95 a lot. This one was good with
the Fiddler jam and then into Back at the Chicken Shack. This is a blues tune
that's really typical blues, but it was a great rendition. Back into Scent and
they closed it out. Trey then said they'd play the first tune they ever played
live. Long Cool Woman was good they jammed out the song and it looked as though
it was more of a joke and something for all of us that knew they had to play
something from their first show. Personally I knew they'd play a CCR tune, but
I thought it'd be Proud Mary. Anyway after the song Trey said let;'s do it
again and played the first three chords then bailed. Then you heard the first
few notes from Trey's guitar and is it, yes it is, Antelope. Pretty standard,
but at the end they just wailed on those two chords forever, it was awesome. I
thought they'd end with that, but no, Guelah. I was psyched to hear it and they
jammed it out and did the Guelah dance and all, it was quite funny and cool to
see it again.
Again, I thought they'd step off stage after that. But Lizards came out.
Pretty straight forward but nice and tight and jammed at the end. Cavern to
close was good to hear. This one rocked it out and ended what was an epic first
set. Probably one of the best first sets I've seen, it sounded like a second
set.
Set II was great, but was only 50 minutes or so with a 7 min. encore. But the
set itself was very tight and jammed out. Really an awesome set. Trey was ON
all show but it really came out in the second set. Stash opener, I'm not a
stash fan, but this one was concise and Trey started doing the Manteca thing and
they jammed on that for like 5 mins. They turned what on the PoN disk is just a
filler joke song into a really rocking tune. Get this set on tape because right
in the middle of the Manteca you could hear the Tweezer start to come out and
they went right into it. Good jam and they led it into NICU. Typical NICU but
again nice and tight. Opening chords for Caspian were quite and then Trey just
unleashed this one, it was the loudest part of the show by far. This was one of
the best Caspian's I've heard. This version will convert those that despise
this tune. Look into my finance box just to check for a Golgi set II closer.
This was a reved up and charged version.
Encore with Driver and Freebird was cool. They were really enjoying this
Freebird. and the Driver before it was great.
This was a great show. It won't be one of the best on this tour for one reason,
they were holding it back and saving steam for Saturday night. The whole show
my buddy and I were commenting on how Trey was holding it back a little. It was
like he knew he'd have to save it up for Saturday. By the way saturday night
was a great show. The second set is EPIC. This will be a very sought after
tape when more and more people hear it. I too was a little bummed when first
hearing they would play it, but I knew they'd do it justice, and they did. IT
ROCKED & IT ROLLED & IT WAS VINTAGE PHISH.
Las Vegas! well this is suppose to be quite a weekend. The wilson
opener really got the crowd excited. The band seemed to be pretty
excited too. Then they ventured into the new material with a great
Meat. Near the end when they begin stopping and starting, Trey started
doing a little fill that i had never heard before. I don't know if it
is new, but it definitely a nice addition. They took that momentum into
a very quick Scent of a mule. It seems to the new thing to do a cover
or other rarity instead of the standard duel. Tonight they filled the
spot with a Jimmy Smith tune called Back at the Chickn Shack. I had
heard it at the greek soundcheck but did not know the name. Back to
Scent in Stadard fashion. Next was what i was anticipating. Being it
was their fifthteenth anniversary i thought they would play both of the
songs. They did play Long Cool Woman In a Black Dress. This was great.
The whole arena was up dancin' and the band was lovin' it. After a
little banter, they begin to play the song again, but halt quickly and
go into antelope. It seems like almost every antelope is great. all
different, but all very good. I especially liked Trey's most holy
rendition of "Marco esquendolas" I have seen a few different ones but
this was probably the best. Guelah Papyrus was a long time coming. I
had thought they had put this one away for a little while, but they thru
down tonight. They played Lizards next and well i Don't really care for
it so i won't take about it. Cavern sounded like it always does. good.
In the second set they opened with stash. i wasn't too excited to
hear it so when they went into Manteca i felt the set had really begun.
This was my first Manteca and well since i have nothing to compare it to
live i"ll have to say it was good. Tweezer followed with fury, Mike
showed off his furious slap. Again the arena was bumpin'. NICU was an
unexpected treat. NICU went into a soft jam intro to Prince Caspian.
Prince Caspian, i don't like it so no review about that. They closed
the set with a crowd favorite Golgi. in the middle section Trey goofed
a little but as a whole it was good.
For the encore Trey went acoustic and they played Driver. now this song
is new so i will have to hear it a bit more, but i think it is
definitely better than glisten. the acapella freebird is great. the
guitar solo is especially well done. hats off to phish.
Brock Landers
Alright, I don't like reading long reviews, so I'm gonna keep this review
short. Everyone I talked to that came out of this show was blistered by the
jams they had just heard. Phish was so composed both nights of this run that
it blew me away! Many times in the past it seemed the jams aren't controlled,
but they were in 100% amazingly complete control of everything!! The Antelope
in the first set was so SWEET. All the others were way tight, and very
pleasing.
But the second set did it! Easily the best set of the run! The Stash was
so amazing! And they took into Manteca, OH YEAH! The jam that developed out
this pretty much controlled the rest of the set. They used Tweezer to spice
it up and the slow groove out of it was all Mike! He completely steered the
whole set. The next night it was all Trey, but Mike would go off on tangents
completely in a different direction from Trey unhesitantly on the 30th. I
loved it! The bombs he dropped during Tweezer probably knocked money out of
the slot machines! The jam out of the groove led back into the jam that came
out of Manteca, pleasingly, of course. And they almost worked that into
Ac/Dc, as they almost did after Piper the next night. But they carried on
until Trey worked NICU out of it. Such a good call, a great dancer! Out of
the end of NICU came Caspian, another great call, completely fit into the
previous jams. I'm beginning to love Caspian, especially if it keeps being
played like it has been. The Caspain actually wasn't CRAZY raging, but it was
sweet. Out of the ending of Caspian came Golgi, YEAH! What a great ending!
Finished what may have been the best of my 40+ show career. I loved it!!
The encore was pleasant with Driver, and straight-up hilarious with Freebird!
The night was incredible, please get tapes, so that you can agree.
Dustin Bambic
Bowling Green, KY
astrokid43@aol.com
The 30th was *unreal* IMHO. From the moment that the lights went
down, the place was buzzing with excitement, due to the 15th anniversary
and all. Wilson opener was hot, and unexpected to me. The boys seemed
to be pheeling the crowd's energy and feeding upon it. Meat was cool to
hear (my 1st) but the SOAM--Chx Shack--SOAM was incredible. When I
closed my eyes during Chicken Shack, it sounded like Clapton on stage
playing some mean blues, before they reeled it back into SOAM. It was
nice to hear Trey's mini speech regarding the 15th anniversary,
something like "somebody told me that today was the 15th anniversary of
the exact day that we played our first gig, so we thought that we'd play
the 1st song that we ever played live..." Long Cool Woman was nice, at
the conclusion of which, Trey was very animated about "how we never
really got any better than that...so let's try it again..." then Trey
started the first few chords just for phun :-) The Antelope intro was
extremely spacey and the fog machines were really pumping out the goods,
which made the lights even more trippy and spectacular. I was floored
by Guelah Papyrus, a song that (up to this point) I never even dreamed
that I would hear live, and Lizards and Cavern really held there own in
a really rocking, tight, energetic first set.
The Stash opener for set two was hot. The crowd was really into it
(clapping and all) and the ending jam went off the deep end, but what
happened next was crazy IMHO. Manteca is definitely a song that I never
ever thought they would play live, as the Picture of Nectar version is
basically a kind of filler--diddy between songs. HOWEVER, this version
rocked!!! The transition from Stash into Manteca was very smooth, and
when the "Crab in my shoemouth" started, I couldn't believe my
ears...Phish jammed on it, with thick guitar and bass that was so
different from how I would have dreamed this song would sound live. A
very special treat for everyone dancing on the floor near me. Tweezer,
which is not one of my favorite songs, even had its moments during the
jam. NICU and Caspian was well played and enjoyable, and Golgi brought
the second set to a close with a high octane finish.
Before the encore, the glow sticks started flying, which is cool to
watch, but when you get hit in the head with one, or some a**holes start
throwing them towards the stage and the band, it's just too much. It
seemed like Trey tried to cool down the crowd and the glowsticks with
the acoustic version of Driver, which I like. The acapella Freebird was
great to hear, eventhough I heard it at the Bridge, but a few more glow
sticks started to fly, and Page made a nice catch on one that was
heading directly for Mike's head just before they started Freebird. I
was glad that they didn't play the Twee-prise encore, as it has become
very predictable, but this show's song selection definitely was not.
PS. From the 31st, I was damn sure that I thought I heard Landlady
during PYITE, but noone has mentioned it. My setlist showed
PYITE--Landlady--PYITE. Did anyone else hear that too???
My $0.02
sean_clark420@yahoo.com
The first of the two Vegas shows was a knockout show!
Everyone was so psyched to be there, and the energy
level was really high. The venue security were really
friendly, a huge contrast from the Greek - the pat-down
was virtually non-existent. As far as basketballl arenas
go, this one wasn't bad. For a place this big, it didn't
SEEM as big as some others, and the floor section was
definitely smaller than many.
The vibe was instantly super-high with the opening notes
of Wilson. All I could think about was, "This is how they
opened at the Alladin!!" The part where Trey's been adding
the "heavy metal" jam was just on fire tonight, as Trey
decided to solo in this section instead of pounding out the
power chords. All in all, maybe one of the best Wilson's
ever! Meat was really good to hear live, and it seemed
like they were having a lot of fun singing it. There wasn't
any real jam, like the one they did the only other time I've
seen them play it in Barcelona. Still, they did the stop-
start thing a few times at the end, faking out a number of
people. I thought I heard a "Rock & Roll Ain't Noise
Pollution" tease during one of the "stops". Then, Scent
of a Mule! What can I say, this set list was blowing me
away! The Jimmy Smith song in the middle was awesome,
and worked so perfectly in the middle of this song that I
think everybody should hear it. Page did some great work
on the organ, in tribute to the Hammond B3 master who
wrote this song, I'm sure. The Long Cool Woman was
hilarious, and the Antelope was sick!!! Sick!! Sick!! Very
futuristic sounding, as Trey was using that twisted alien
effect on his guitar. Guelah was a big surprise, and
Lizards and Cavern were standard, but awesome to hear
as a reminder of one of the reasons I got so into this
band - they used to write such awesome, offbeat songs!
As for set two, the first forty minutes are MUST-hear!
I was really psyched to hear Stash, although they only
jammed on it for a few minutes before the segue into...
Manteca!! Holy shit, I couldn't believe they were playing
this, complete with vocals. They jammed on this longer
than they did on Stash, and the jamming was really
powerful and raging. And then, I can't say I was surprised,
but I was extremely stoked to hear the segue (yes, it was
definitely a segue) into Tweezer! This was the Picture of
Nectar appreciation night!! The Tweezer jam was
deliciously funky, with some undescribably futuristic-
sounding clavinet work from Page. If you weren't dancing
during this, you were probably dead. The Tweezer
climaxed with some unbelievable guitar-playing - Trey
was not being at all subtle, he was just going off, playing
as fast as I've ever heard. The segue (yes, another true
segue) into NICU was also really cool, and I don't think I've
ever enjoyed the placement of this song as much as I did
here. After this, the set was nice, but not as enjoyable.
Caspian started out with this really quiet jam that kind of
built up from absolutely nothing into a soft, mellow anthem.
You could almost label this JamCaspian, really. Trey again
just raged on the solo - his playing was just jaw-dropping all
night. I was expecting another song after Golgi, but it seemed
like they were saying "Okay, we've showed you how awesome
we are - now come back tomorrow, suckas!" The Driver
encore was definitely not what I'd hoped for, since I had just
seen it at the Greek, but then my prediction came true. Ever
since I saw the Bridge School set list, I was predicting a
Vegas FreeBird, and man was it good. Many in the crowd
were calling for it as they walked up to the mic, and the fan
roar of approval afterward was so nice. I think this was the best
show I've seen all year! Get the tapes!!
Hey kids, it would not be an understatement to say that this show absolutely
raged! Yes, the sets were short, but anyone who has a problem with that
should step back and consider just what a high energy show this was.
Arriving at TnM, it was a complete zoo (as expected), with miracle seekers
everywhere to be seen. I'm not a huge fan of the lot scene so I didn't
really scope it out, but from what I could see, everything was running
smoothly (ie no riots/arrests/general hostility). Now onto the music...
Set 1
WILSON: I'm not generally a big fan of this song, but it was a great opener.
Very energetic and the crowd loved it. Quazi metal jam in the middle.
What a great way to kick off the weekend.
MEAT: Extra phunky as usual. I've only seen the boys play it 3 or 4 times,
but this was the best version I have heard so far. The start-stop segment
at the end of Meat eventually gave way to
SCENT: Exceptional version, jammed out phat. There was a cool blues jam in
the middle which has a name (unfortunately I don't remember). During the
mule duel you could tell what a great time the boys were having.
LONG COOL WOMAN IN A BLACK DRESS: !!!!!!!! This one sort of speaks for
itself. Trey announces that they will play the first song they ever played
together because it is their 15th year as a band. And many more....
ANTELOPE: Ok, this Antelope absolutely smoked! Very suspenseful. This was
pure intensity, one of the best I have ever heard, fairly tight.
GUELAH PAPYRUS: What a treat this was! A personal favorite of mine and the
first time I saw it live! As far as I could tell, no flubs, very solid.
LIZARDS: Solid. Really happy, good vibes, smiles everywhere...you get the
point.
CAVERN: Great way to close an old school set. If it weren't for Meat
(which I enjoyed immensely BTW), you would think that this set came from the
early 90's. Unlike recent versions, they didn't funk it out, which, given
the setlist, I think was a good choice on the part of the band--fitting.
Set 2.
STASH: Flawless, hands down the best version I've ever heard. Stash drifted
seamlessly into
MANTECA: More old school? No complaints here ;) Awesome, the crowd ate it
up too. What a night this was turning out to be. Manteca morphed into
TWEEZER: which didn't exactly thrill me at first. But this Tweezer was so
high energy, it really changed my mind about the song. Usually I find most
versions to be either a colossal mess or just uninspired. This Tweezer was
so phat! It had everything--direction, intensity. And then, when things
couldn't get any better, or so I thought, Tweezer segued into
NICU: This one always gets the juices going. Not the best version (it
sounded if they were slightly off key), but I danced my ass off anyway. A
nice little jam was followed by
CASPIAN: Some people complain about this song because they think it's a
sleeper. I like it. I think it's a very beautiful tune regardless of its
traditional chord structuring. Caspian was, actually, pretty jammed out,
maybe not as good as 7/20/98, but still very well played.
GOLGI: Short, sweet, and too the point. Unmatched in intensity. Great work
by Chris. Got everyone up on their feet and groovin'. I was a little bit
shocked that the set was over, but I'm sure they were tired and wanted to
save something for tomorrow.
Encore
DRIVER: Pretty little tune, better than the version the night before in LA,
or maybe it just begun to grow on me...
FREEBIRD: Hell yeah! I'd been wanting an a capella. Fishman stepped it
up. What a show. Seek out the tapes!!!!!
comments/criticisms welcome
send emails to: twand@ucsd.edu
return me to da 1998 page ya bastard