6-24-04 - Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, IN
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From dmac "skutch skutcington"
Sent Friday, June 25, 2004 5:36 pm
Subject dmac phish review night two
Ok, so I went ahead a wrote up night two, less funny, more sentimental.
Didn't want to wait on it; feeling good about the whole, good and happy and
now glad to be home, and say that I Did It.
Phish review 6/24/04
Verizon Wireless Music Center
(formerly Deer Creek)
Night two of the saga, Skutch and his little buddy Chip-Chuck at our last
Phish show, if that scalawag Anastasio has his way, at least.
I was going to get all smart-alecky again, and tell you all these fucking
details about how the Indigo Shark's onboard computer control center had
developed glitches (disabling both the cloaking as well as hover
utilities-ouch), or about how it turned out my glowsticks were spent when I
opened them, or maybe about the sandwich I smuggled in tonight, which turned
out to be THE GREATEST SANDWICH IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE (BBQ tofu,
homemade pimento cheese, farm-fresh organic vine-ripe tomato on organic
multigrain), or even what the historians will end up calling the Fort
Benjamin Harrison Gambit, in which we chose an unfamiliar state-road route
versus the I-69 backup nightmare of the previous afternoon to get into the
show. No, I ain't gonna tell you about all that. I mean, it's funny, and
ALL TRUE, and the details would absolutely blow everybody's mind in a
completely upsetting and brutal way, but I'd rather get serious for a
moment. Is this about me, after all? No. It is about the band. And me.
Look: Phish did it for me last night. I had one more chance, one last
grab for the ring, and they more or less made it happen for me. More or
less, hell: They did it.
Set 1
Loving Cup!!!!
Cities!!
Back on the Train
Vultures
My Mind's.
DWD>
Jam>!!!!
ROCK AND ROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Set 2
TUBE!!!!
ANTELOPE!!!!!!!!
THE WEDGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TIMBER HO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Caspian>
Simple
Walls of the Cave>
(DWD Tease)
Encore
THE SQUIRMING COIL!!!!!!!!!!!!
So my silly notations above let you know how I felt about the tunes
emotionally. The band sounded great, looked engaged and happy, and laid down
a fair number of my short-list most-wanted's. Emotions ran high for me. I
won't see the likes of this again, I kept saying over and over, all the
while struggling to stay in the moment and just soak it all in for what it
was. I met a great many kind folks on this weekend, many of them actually
contemporaries in age with me, and with the band. Sure there were lots of
kids, and all the usual nonsense, but I really felt something special in my
bones at Deer Creek in 2004. I will always treasure the memories, so many
of them I could write up here, but will spare you after my previous verbose
glurt of sub-literary foolishness.
Rock and Roll was the big one. I had never seen them do it, and the
Halloween 98 extravaganza had always been one of my favorites, since I loved
the VU for quite a few years before Phish even existed. Rock and Roll-it
was the one thing I just had to get, and I'll be a sonofabitch if they didn'
t serve it up and deliver it to me on a platter, with the unseasonably cool
Indiana wind blowing through the venue, making the huge black scrims behind
the rear-projection screens look like the sails of a pirate ship, and the
clouds growing more and more colorful as the sun set slowly into the
cornfields. Magic, pure and simple. Those were the moments I will always
carry with me, as though they were precious jewels to be kept, and guarded
in a special, secret box.
To all of you that have the August shows to look forward to, may yours
be as wonderful as my last Phish experience was. For once, all kidding
aside: I raise a glass to the band, and to all of you, wookie and wanker
alike, from taper geek to setlist freak, from rail rat to pharmies dude,
from the fresh-faced music enthusiasts to the aging Grateful Dead refugees.I
salute you! Long may you run! And, always and forever, viva
Phish!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks and goodbye to the reviews page. God love you, Dan! Maybe one day
soon I'll run into you at the Sneezeway on Assembly Street near the Law
Center.
Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 05:30:51 -0700 (PDT)
From: john rutan
Subject: Deer Creek June 24
Skip to number 1 if you don't want my impression of the scene...
I drove from VA to see the second night at Deer Creek. It would be my
last Phish show due in part to already having plans on The Dead the same
weekend as Coventry. This would be my 17th show since 93. What was very
nice was that hour change (savings time) allowed for us to pull in the
VWMC Campground with no traffic, show tix and no paying to camp! Also, I
listened to Waste while I set up the tent! I really like being able to
camp so close to the venue, basically it was the parking lot. We had
nice neighbors, easy access to the water truck, portas, and shakedown.
After walking around a while, there were certain areas overrun with
ghetto kids. I felt out of place with a tie dye on, but there were no
vedors selling Iverson jerseys on shakedown so I just cussed and acted
pissed off and it was all good! I got to see a dude running
from security with a nitros tank on his shoulder. He ran into some
tarp a group of folks had set up, what a fool! And finally, our
neighbor, whoever you are, I'm glad you got your dog back! Not a dog
that just runs around pissing on peoples tents and cars, but one that
escaped an RV and belonged to a small child. Anyways, on the way in "you
can't bring that ball in here" some dorky event kid says. I guess we
went in too early?? Lawn, middle, halfway up...
1
Loving Cup - Nice cover tune to warm up with...never seen it as an
opener. Rolling Stones music is always cool w/me.
Cities - Talking Heads are OK, I do like this song and it was the first
one I'd had live. I like when he adapts the lyrics, but I don't recall
that happening.
GBOTT - I've always liked this one, a little funk, nice placement as
well.
Vultures - I was not a huge fan of this, but this is my last Phish show,
they could play Mary Had a Little Lamb the entire set and I'd be happy.
There were a bunch of folks that welcomed this tune, and indeed when I
hear it again I'll be like, "that was cool, man."
My Mind... - This little diddy was cool! I luv some bluegrass!!
Yeeehawwww!!! Trey, a flatpicker??
DWD - Again, a first for me. This was my 17th and final show, it was
great to see this live! My bro in law was with me for his first show and
knew this one...made me feel good that he recognized something (other
than me cramming shows into the air to try and familiarize). Screaming
guitar licks by Trey.
R & R - Good closer. Energy level still up there.
2
Tube - This is where "it's on now". I brought in 100 glow rings and this
is when they flew! Lots of fun and jamming and I had to relish the
moment as this was it for my Phish experiences.
Antelope - Just, like...WOW! I mean, shit - like, but, what and all that
-- WOOOOOOOOAAAAAAA!!!! This is ><{{{'> at it's best!!
Wedge - Love this tune, distinctly remember the Wedges from Merriweather
98 and Hampton 98. This one was another sweet one to remember. Drum
beat is very cool, I can't wait to hear this again.
Timber Ho! - Cool man, I really like this one, too! I don't recall
getting this one live before, either. Love the drumming in this one,
too.
Prince Caspian - OK, fuckerpants! I'll tell you, this almost seemed like
Trey's swan song or something to me. I knew it was one of the last few
songs I would hear, and I was getting a bit emotional. However, I do
remember some serious jamming.
Simple - "we've got skyscrapers" again, classic raging Phish, nuff said.
WOTC - This turned out to be a serious jam, and I really can't wait for
this on FLAC, either. DWD teases made this thing, possible, the jam of
the evening.
Coil - Sweet encore, some fast, some slow, great classic Phish to end my
days of seeing them live. I was very emotional when Page was the only
one left playing and I was knowing that "these notes will be the last
live Phish I'll ever hear", barring a reunion tour. Overall, a great
exclamation point on a wonderful show.
Once and finally, thank you Trey, Mike, Jon and Page for putting forth
what is always a great effort. You have meant so much to me and all of
your phans. I actually have PHISH2 on my license plate! I am gonna miss
ya'll horribly, but I appreciate you leaving on your terms. Thanks to
everyone for contributing to the scene as well, and thank you, Deer
Creek!!!
John (rutan9999@yahoo.com)
Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 23:05:07 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kevin Hanson
Subject: Phish show review : 6/24/04
Set 1
1. Loving Cup
2. Cities ->
3. Back On the Train
4. Vultures
5. My Mind's Got a Mind of its Own
6. Down With Disease ->
7. Rock and Roll
Set 2
1. Tube
2. Run Like an Antelope
3. The Wedge
4. Timber Ho!
5. Prince Caspian ->
6. Simple
7. Walls of the Cave*
Encore
1. The Squirming Coil
I have not listened to the tapes of this show, so this review is
based on my memory.
We positioned ourselves on the lawn, seated behind the soundboard,
about 20 feet back from the walking path that separated the lawn
and pavilion. Great area to see the show. The sound was loud and
clear. Visually speaking, you could see the band fairly well from
our distance, in addition we were seated right in front of the
center video screen for the up close & personal moments if we
wanted. The people in this area and most areas that I visited were
throwing down good vibes all night. Everyone was excited and
pumped for what would be Phish's last time in the beloved Deer
Creek Amphitheater. They did not disappoint! This was
an exceptional performance from beginning to end. Tight and
focused jamming, excellent musicianship, and good song selection.
I thought the first set was excellent by first set standards. A
rare cities (not jammed out) following an ultra unique opening slot
for Loving Cup were greeted well by fans and ignited the set. The
segue out of Cities into GBOTT brought the energy up another notch,
even though similar to Cities these were standard non-jammed
versions. I was expecting a jammed out Cities, but after some
thought I think the song was chosen, and rightly so, in honor of
the venue (tent cities, 8/10/97) rather than as a jam vehicle this
night. The next two songs, Vultures & MMGAMOIO, were great mid set
songs that kept the energy going. Next came the highlight of the
first set, DWD->Rock n Roll, this also closed the set. From what I
remember, Trey was shredding DWD and the jams were extremely tight
and rocking. All I know is that the tapes will speak for
themselves in regards to the coupling of these two songs on this
night. I brought a first timer to this show and at the end of the
set he said, "I don't know how they are going to top this set." I
mentioned to him that it was indeed a hot set, but the second sets
historically crush first sets. I also should mention that this was
a short set (under an hour), though I would rather have a short
focused set than a long one that wanders around looking for
inspiration.
Set II: Tube! 13 Minutes of bliss. This was absolutely the most
fun I have had dancing at a Phish show. Everyone around us was
grinning from ear to ear as Phish jammed their hearts out. Glow
Ring War for the entire song. This version rivals the best Tubes
out there. Highlight of the show for me. After that, we're
greeted to the first Antelope on this tour. Holy Antelope!
Excellent jamming and perfect tension and release. I imagine the
tapes will transfer over well on this version. Than the rare Wedge
glided us down the mountain perfectly. A great placement! During
much of Timber I had my eyes closed focusing on each player and
near the end of a fantastic Timber I began to sense that the set
was moving to a groovier mellow vibe. Caspian>Simple was exactly
this, a really nice cool down. Excellent Musicianship on both of
these versions with a nice jam in Simple that highlighted Trey and
Mike. Walls of the Cave was to the point with some heavy DWD
teasing by Trey in the jam. I would say that the only flubs in the
show were in few parts of the composed sections of WOTC and Coil.
Jam Highlights: DWD>Rock N Roll, Tube, Antelope --- I can't wait
to hear this show!
Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2004 17:56:35 -0400
From: Michael Cooney
Subject: Phish show review june 24 2004
well, the last of my shows delivered. My brother and I attended this show
for the 8th and final time, and even after I spoke to Page and Mike on a
golf cart pleading for a hood that I didn't get, I was thrilled. The 24th
is my birthday, and I have good phish memories on this date in the past.
The band played wonderful, the crowd was awesome (as usual) the venue was
great. I am just so happy I got on the phish wagon, thou it was a short
run for me. I hope all the people that has followed this band continues
to find great music out there, because it is out there. I was a long time
dead head for years, and I did not listen to Phish until 1999. I feel I
lost a lot of time to enjoy. Phish, thank you so much for all the tunes,
and I hope the future finds all of you well. Oh and one more thing. If
you ever perform Antelope like you did this night, please give the phans
10 minutes to recover.
Thanks again, and thanks to you phans as well!!
Tim Cooney
Charlotte N.C.
Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2004 14:45:25 -0400
Subject: Phish show review
From: Brian Thomas Bowman
6/24/04
First off, mad applause to all those tweakers on Mike's side in the alley
between the Pavilion and the stairs to the lawn. Both nights we all
enjoyed each other and really busted some "never before seen" dance
moves!! Along with the kids from Long Island (who drive a giant yellow
suburban?!?) and Kansas Hal. I love you all. No need to run down song by
song, This show had massive energy. I absolutely loved it. We all ride
through the ups and downs of jams and we all have diff'n opinions about
when the band "loses" each of us, but nothing speaks like energy. I will
take energy and taking risks over arguing with someone about how trey
flubbed a note or even less important a lyric (who cares?). Absolutley
hands down one of the most positive energetic shows I have seen. I can't
count the number of times when we all just raged in and out, up and down,
out of our heads and down the alley's in pure out of body enjoyment.
Thank you everyone who smiled, everyone who danced and most importantly
the boys who delivered it to us. I got off. Thank you!
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 17:19:08 -0400
From: Andrew Shonebarger
Subject: Deer Creek 6-24-04 Review
This is my first review, 22nd show, 9th Deer Creek show, so here it goes:
This show was night and day compared to the previous night^Òs show^×in a
good way! I felt that Wednesday^Òs show was a bit uninspired at times and
the jamming was minimal and somewhat boring in a somewhat awkward setlist.
This was definitely not the case tonight. This was one of the best shows
I^Òve seen for a long long time and the discs are a must-have for all.
The band seemed to be so pumped up, locked-in, and aware of their final
show at Deer Creek. Also, this crowd was much more energized than some in
years^Ò past (2000, for example).
SET I: (I think it was a little under an hour)
LOVING CUP: Very surprising opener but a perfect acknowledgement to all
the great Loving Cups previously played as set closers and encores at the
Creek.
This was one of the best openers I^Òve ever heard them play. Everyone
was pumping their fist the whole way through. Mick and Keith would be
proud.
CITIES->BOTT: The place erupted when the first notes came out for the
Talking Heads cover. Lots of good cow funk jamming here, complete with a
perfect segue into more funk with Back on the Train.
VULTURES: Very pleased to get this one. Haven^Òt heard it since before
the hiatus. Great freakout melting guitar solos on this one from el
Treyo.
MY MIND^ÒS GOT A MIND OF ITS OWN: Short little Gordon bluegrass number
after about a minute wait between songs, then^Å..
DOWN WITH DISEASE->ROCK AND ROLL: Gordon started up a huge long bass intro
(longer than the usual DWD intro), Trey started pumping his fist, pushing
everyone close to mayhem and let loose one of the most vicious versions of
this I^Òve ever heard. Everyone in the venue seemed to be jumping up and
down with both arms in the air during the pre-jam guitar solo (like the
Rochester ^Ò97 on Bittersweet Motel). The jamming was just pure shredding
Trey with tons of tension and release to segue perfectly into Rock and
Roll.
Great set closer. Some people might complain about the set being too
short (under an hour?), but I^Òd rather have a quick raging inspired set
like this one than a long dead one with half-assed songs.
SET II: (77 minutes after a long 40+ minute setbreak. Deer Creek might
want to invest in another set of bathrooms.)
TUBE: First one the tour may be one of the best ever played, maybe
rivaling the Nutter Center version. A huge glow ring war went on for the
most the song in the lawn from a very charged crowd. This one went WAY
out there for a while with some nasty growling bass lines from Mike and
some great chord modulations from Trey, which built a big wall of sound
before the ending blues breakdown. I think this version was around 13
minutes long^×much long than the typical 8-minute run through of Tube.
Then^Å.
ANTELOPE: This was the Antelope of all Antelopes^Åabsolutely insane. A
few flubs in the first sections of the song from Trey, but the build-up
overcame any technical deficiencies in the composed sections. This was
not the typical Antelope build-up either. This was multiple tension and
releases, heavy metal riffs, obscene Kuroda lighting, and grown men and
women, who don^Òt know each other, hugging after the build-up. I^Òve
never seen anything like this. I couldn^Òt move after it and didn^Òt care
if they just stood there and farted into a microphone for the rest of the
show.
TIMBER HO!: Killer choice after the Antelope from hell. Some good
^Óout-there^Ô jamming in the middle.
PRINCE CASPIAN->SIMPLE: This was probably the best ^Óplaced^Ô Caspian
I^Òve heard. Typically, I^Òm not a big fan of it live and I hit the
bathrooms, but it hit the spot after the mayhem of the last 3 songs that
took up about 50 minutes of the set. This was a very good passionate
version to a mesmerized crowd and segued nicely into Simple, which whined
down into some nice quite vintage Phish interplay between everyone.
WALLS OF THE CAVE: Not my favorite closer, and the jam was not as strong
as other versions I^Òve heard, but it did its job, and the composed
sections were very sharp and well-played. I actually prefer to not drag
out the jam at the end on this one. I think I actually enjoyed it for
once!
ENCORE: SQUIRMING COIL: Trey had some serious problems making it through
the composed sections (C^Òmon! It^Òs a tough piece, especially when they
probably don^Òt practice this one anymore.) I^Òm not going to let one
song^Òs flubs diminish my experience of the rest of the show. However,
the fade-out at the end with Trey, Mike, and Fishman leaving one at a
time, respectively, to individual applause was great! And of course, Page
alone is always great to hear. I^Òll always miss the delicate tinkling of
his piano spliced throughout this song. The place was also silent while
he was playing^×perfect!
FINAL THOUGHTS: Like I said earlier, this one was a completely different
show than the first night, and a fitting end to the 1995-2004 Deer Creek
run (at least in my opinion). I couldn^Òt ask for anything more. The
crowd seemed really well-behaved^×especially during the quiet sections.
Thanks a bunch Phish and Phish phans for a great final show at the
^ÑCreek!
Andy Shonebarger
Cincinnati
ALSO, PLEASE DON^ÒT SHOOT OFF FIREWORKS INSIDE THE SHOW. ONE WENT UP AND
WENT BACK DOWN INTO THE CROWD AND EXPLODED, REALLY HURTING SOMEONE^ÅNOT
COOL.
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