'7-30-03 - Tweeter Center at the Waterfront, Camden, NJ
7-30-03 - Tweeter Center at the Waterfront, Camden, NJ
review submisions to me at dws@netspace.org,
dws@gadiel.com,
reviews@walfredo.com
please review the show, not the other reviews....
Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2004 17:27:45 -0700
From: eric tipton
Subject: Re: Phish 7/30/03 review
From Phish.net:
07/30/03 - Tweeter Center - Camden, New Jersey
Set 1: My Friend My Friend, Lonesome Cowboy Bill, Scents and Subtle
Sounds*, You Ain't Goin' Nowhere**, Spock's Brain, Chalkdust Torture***,
On Your Way Down, Fast Enough For You, Taste
Set 2: Twist, Bug, You Enjoy Myself, Walls of the Cave
Encore: Secret Smile
* - 25+ minutes; ** - first time played, Bob Dylan cover (includes the
lyric "We'll climb that hill no matter how steep / When we get up to IT";
reports indicate that the performance was closer to the Byrds' well-known
rendition of the song than to Dylan's original); *** - very adventurous
version; Thanks to Erik Swain for the calls.
First set:
My Friend, My Friend: Tour bustout: Great song, great opener. Nice and
sinister, just the way I like it! Raging My Friend. I was a little
surprised it was played so well, having not been played in awhile
(1/2/03). Great My Friend.
Lonesome Cowboy Blue: Tour bustout: Another first timer for me!
Entertaining and all but like all the others I have heard on tape. The
boys are on a V.U. kick huh?
-Even on the sbd, you can really hear this guy bellowing for Forbin?s.
Comical.
Scents and Subtle Sounds: Wow. Great Placement. Jammed to high heaven and
back. Small but noticeable lyric flub at 4:29. This jam really is not for
the faint of heart! I personally enjoyed it throughout but can understand
people getting bored with it. I think it takes a lot of balls for the
band to go out on a limb with a song that is still in the infancy stage.
This tune has already come a very long way since Phoenix! At 21 minutes
this jam is really going into some very cool directions. 25.5 sees the
jam starting to break down a bit, w/ Fish pounding away. Hard, hard edge
here.
You Ain?t Goin? Nowhere: Had no idea what this was at the time. Listening
to it on disc I cannot say if I have ever heard the Dylan version or the
Byrds version either. Nice IT reference! Concert debut/Tour bustout.
Spocks Brain: Tour bustout. My fourth one oddly enough. Nice bustout but
the flow of the first set (to me) is all disjointed (kind of like this
song) at this point.
Chalkdust: Now we are talking! Could it be another 7/10/99? Um, not
quite. Although this is a very fired up version of Chalkdust. This
Chalkdust pretty much steps on your neck and demands attention, high
energy and hard rocking. Sweet.
On Your Way Down: Tour bustout. I think the last time played was 9/24/00.
Excellent blues licks by Trey and the vocals by Page are great ? really a
nice song to feature Leo?s strong singing capabilities on. Great stage
for Page! Plus some downright nasty Trey jamming at the end here.
FEFY: What can I say, I am a total sucker for this song. It gets be
everytime, from the first time I heard it live at 8/13/96 I knew this
song would be one of my favorite ballads. ?And I?d be happy just to watch
you age.? - That line will be part of my wedding vows someday (yes I am a
dork). Smoking solo by Trey here, great FEFY.
Taste: Another Taste? This tune really needs a break I think. Fired up
Taste, but aren?t they all?
Setbreak First Set highlights: My Friend opener, Scents
Second set:
Twist: Definitely not happy with this as the opener. I personally am not
a Twist fan at all. This Twist is a little bit unique though in that it
maintains a distinct hard edge to it for the majority of the jam. Far to
many Twists I have seen float into an annoying ambient space that does
nothing for me. This one though is serious arena rock. Lots of distortion
guitar licks from Trey in here. At 12 minutes Page starts incorporating
some interesting effects that are soon accompanied by Trey. Again, very
unique but not for the faint of heart.
Bug: Nice. Love a good Bug. This is definitely a good if not great Bug.
Really blistering guitar by Trey on this one, arena rock. Really ripping
Bug.
YEM: A lot of discussion before they finally bust out the opening notes.
Sounds like someone on stage wanted to save this but who knows. Nirvana
segment is super spacey. Page brings crazy funk during the tramps
segment, just thick funk. Post tramps, Mike and Page are tearing this bad
boy up. Cactus is just laying down some of the sweetest bombs I have ever
heard. Meanwhile Trey is picking on some of the sweetest chords. This
band is in the zone. From here on out it is Trey just blazing through it
all. Mr. Machine Gun Trey at his finest. This was my favorite YEM of the
tour, it had everything. Very spacey nirvana segment, the slithery funk
and the rock. Don?t count it out yet though, the drums and bass segment
were awesome. Mike?s new bass tone takes center stage and he and Fish
just lay it down. The vocal jam is absolutely trippy as hell with CK5
just blowing minds left and right. I felt downright violated after this
VJ. Sick. Sick.
Walls of the Cave: Interesting and ballsy choice of songs here.
Especially since the one they played in Philly on 2/25 was so good. This
WOTC is ripping ? again some serious Trey arena rock going on here ?
machine gun Trey.
Encore:
Secret Smile: No. Oh my goodness. Worst.encore.EVER. I have never heard
Phish booed before, but people were booing as loud as possible after S.S.
was over.
Second set highlights: YEM
This show was quite frankly one of my least favorites of the tour. Very
uneven. I really felt like the second set would make up for the the first
set but w/ a Twist/Bug combo to open, it was doomed from the start.
We made our way into the lot and stayed until we got kicked out around
2:30. All I can say is WAWAWAWAWA. Camden is scary.
Tipton-o-meter: 7
peace,
et
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2003 17:42:07 EDT
From: GONEPHISHIN126@aol.com
Subject: 7-30-03
Wow. To say this show was controversial would be THE understatement of the year.
I've heard so many people trash this show it makes me sick. I love to stick up for what
I beleive to be underrated Phish shows. This show is a prime example. I know many many
people prefer the 7-31 Camden show to this one but in my opinion this is ludacris(I know
I spelled that wrong). The 7-31 show was Phish's way of succombing to the masses and
force feeding a good setlist and therefore the jamming suffered. Of course that Hood is
a fucking monster but everything else you can keep and I'll listen to the 7-30 show
which blew me away. Now on with the review.......
MFMF... Awesome opener. I am always happy to hear any Rift tune especially as an
opener. This was a great way to fire up the crowd early and get us grooving.
LONESOME COWBOY BILL...Yeeeeeaaaahh. I am a HUGE Velvets fan and I was so happy to hear
this one. I love to hear Fish go off on this tune now that they actually play the song
as opposed to the '95 version.
SCENTS AND SUBTLE SOUNDS...Holly shit!!! I'm not quite sure how to describe how
absolutely amazing this song was. Nothing makes me happier than going to a Phish show
and being completely floored by a new song. This is what makes Phish so special. 3rd
song in the first set, a new song at that, and we have blasted off into fucking orbit.
This jam is mouth watering, Titanic, HUGE!!!! I've heard every show this year and this
is HANDS DOWN the jam of the year thus far. It kicks the shit out of the Nassau Tweezer
and the Gorge 7 Below. I was out of my body for the entire 30+ minutes and I never
returned. Simply Amazing.
YOU AINT GOIN NOWHERE... Nobody in my section had a clue what this was and I myself was
racking my brain as to which Dylan tune this was when my buddy Brian(the biggest Dylan
fan known to man) shouts out at the top of his lungs YOU AINT GOIN NOWHERE!!! I loved
Trey's Dylan impression. They need to throw this baby into the rotation because the
played it extremely well. Great cover!!!
SPOCK'S BRAIN... Wow. As if this show wasn't special enough already this one knocked
me on my ass. I just wasn't ready for it at all. Even right now while I'm going over
this setlist I can't BELEIVE people bitched about this show. Spock was awesome. They
had me eating out of their collective hand at this point.
CHALKDUST... I don't know what it is about Camden and Chalkdust but Phish always
*shreds* on this baby here. The 99 version is easilly the best Chalkdust ever, the 00
version *smokes*, and this one was unbelievable taboot. It was very different from the
usual Chalkdust jam and absolutely stunning.
ON YOUR WAY DOWN... Are you kidding me??? Another lost cover tune that is never
played. I love the blues. Page rules.
FEFY... I love this song so much. It is such a beautiful number and I dig the fact
that they never play it, because it makes it that much more special when they do. They
*NAILED* it. All the changes were executed flawlessly and the outro solo was nothing
short of breathtaking.
TASTE... One of my favorite set closers. This baby is scorching. When this set came
to a close I was sooooo happy. It was everything you could ask for and more in a first
set.
Intermission... We all raved about the insane Scents we had just witnessed mostly. I
know I wouldn't shut up about it. I couldn't beleive how good that jam was. I still
can't. I'm listening to it right now and it's just a fucking thing of beauty.
TWIST... I know a lot of people just don't dig this tune but I really do. I wasn't too
high on it untill the legendary 6-14-00 version, but noe it's one of my favorites. This
version does not dissapoint. It clocks in at around 25 minutes and travels through many
themes. It was a little on the dark side and downright spooky at times. Very solid
indeed.
BUG... Another "Farmhouse" tune that I know people gripe about. Again I am very fond
of this song, and I definately prefer it over several of their ballads such as Caspian
and Velvet Sea. This version, to my ears, was close to perfection. The lyrical section
was nailed. It just carried this fluid bounciness that was awesome. The jam was also
wonderful, which contained beautiful licks from Trey.
YEM... YES!!! I really really wanted to hear this tonight. This particular version is
close to perfection. They start to develope this unbelievable groove in the post tramps
segment that is delicious. This really is a truly fantastic YEM.
WALLS... I'm really starting to dig this song. It can't close a show like a Hood or a
Slave but what the fuck can?? I definately prefer it as a closer over Character 0 or
Friday. This version is also very good. Not as good as the Cinci one earlier this year
but still very strong.
SECRET SMILE... I wasn't familliar with this tune but it seems pretty cool. It's like
a Bittersweet Motel or Waste. Not as powerful yet but give it a few tours.
LAST WORD:
How dare you clueless assholes on the lawn boo the greatest band of our time. This
show was insane and for the first time inh my life I hear boos at a Phish show. STAY
HOME IF YOU DON'T DIG THE MUSIC.
AMAZING SHOW THANK YOU PHISH!!!
AJ
Date: Wed, 06 Aug 2003 16:20:18 -0400
From: Dave Staubitz
Subject: 7/30/03 review
Even though I have never reviewed a show before I thought I might put in my two
cents about this one as it was my 30th. These sets were both disappointing to
me but for very different reasons:
First set - This was just a really weird set. I had been looking at all of the
shows that they played leading up to this one and expected some great stuff.
Maybe my expectations were too high. After they played MFMF and Lonesome Cowboy
Bill, I thought, as did others, that this was going to be another great one.
Scents was kind of a mixed bag. The opening groove is very cool and one of the
more enjoyable creations of post-hiatus Phish composition. However, the middle
section of the song seemed sloppy and thrown together ("OK, we need, like, at
least another 2 or three more parts in here before we can put is on an album").
That said, the jam was excellent. I was very happy when Phish went on Hiatus
largely because the jams had no life or creativity left in them and mostly
stunk of mindless funk or ambient noise. This jam really seemed to go places
with a really nice pounding evil jam at the end. From here it was all downhill.
The next few songs felt like "stand up, sit down, stand up, etc..." Song
placement definately killed this set for me. And another thing, Spocks Brain?!?
I'm as big of a fan of a good old fashioned bust out as the next guy but this
song sucks. Bad vocals, zero energy...hey, I haven't been hit by a speeding
truck full of manure before but I can tell you that if I was...I sure wouldn't
celebrate because of the rarity of the occurence. Chalkdust was quite good but
seemed odd because of the placement and Taste was also nice if standard.
Set II - This set was largely a personal disappointment and would have been
more appreciated (by me) were it not for the off-kilter feeling I was left with
after the first set. Twist was good with a better than average jam which did
devolve a little into the "Hey I'm Trey and look at all the noises I can make
with my pedals" zone. As far as Farmhouse songs go, I don't mind Bug. There's
this cool little space they create between the verses and the chorus which
always sends chills down my spine (maybe because of memories of Big
Cypress). YEM was the big personal let down. While I appreciate YEM for what it
is I have to say that the song has been ruined for me by hearing it live one
too many times. WOTC - I don't mind the first half of this song, its actually
kind of pretty at parts and Mike came in with a really dirty base line
somewhere in there that I don't think is on the studio version. However, the
lyrics are juvenile and the outro lyrics and jam are b-o-r-i-n-g. I left as
soon as I heard the first notes of the encore.
Now that I look over this review, I see that it will come off much more acidic
than I meant it to. I still believe that this is the greatest band in the world
and also that they are doing great things these days aided by a much needed
break. I guess this just reminds me that even the best can have an off night.
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 11:17:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: Aaron Friedman
Subject: Review: 7/30/03 Camden, NJ
I'd like to start off by saying that I see reviews as a chance for all of us to
share our feelings about the shows, good or bad, and that a bad review does not
imply disrespect or ingratitude towards the band. It's just a way to provide
feedback to each other and hopefully to the band. Without feedback, nasty
critics might have a point about Phish being able to piss in the ears of their
fans. I don't think that's what happened at this show, but let me tell you why
I didn't think this was a good show as Phish shows go:
I thought the traffic going into Camden from Philly and points west was
terrible...so terrible that some of us coming from that incredible show at
Burgettstown had the afterglow shot to hell by sitting in a stationary car for
way too many hours. I think a lot of people got to the show late, or were
otherwise frustrated, and thus the vibe was tainted. It didn't help that there
were plenty of shady characters selling counterfeit tickets and other such
things, and it also didn't help that the event staff were walking through the
crowd bothering people. Phish feeds off the vibe of the crowd, and so on this
night they had some bad food. The show did have some highlights - YEM was
excellent and the crowd really dug it, and Twist went to some interesting
places. I always love it when they play Velvet Underground songs, but
unfortunately I was late and missed Lonesome Cowboy Bill. I'm sure it must
have been a highlight though. And it's always good to hear a rare gem like
Spock's Brain, though I didn't think they played it particularly well. But
overall the show was lacking that indescribable energy that I'm used to, except
during YEM. Anyway, that's how I feel about it. The silver lining is that
this show was sandwiched between two phenomenal shows (Burgettstown and Camden
II) with IT looming on the horizon.
Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 10:59:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: Cassie Iulo
Subject: Review for the 7-30-03 PHiSH show in Camden, NJ
I've never reviewed a show for this was my first ever PHiSH show. It was in NJ on
7-30-03. I don't think I could have asked for anything better. I'll be honest, I
wasn't totally excited about the new stuff, but opening with MFMF and the jam they
started off in the first set was awesome. When they busted in Chalkdust Torture, I was
in heaven! I'm a new comer to PHiSH shows, so to hear that put me in my glory.
As for the second set, that was the best. YEM was the best thing I've ever heard! I can
understand how the people that have seen PHiSH a lot may be sick of YEM, but for
someone who has never seen them, that was the perfect song for a first show! I wasn't
too into the encore. I was really hoping they would do either Hood or Wilson, I was
suprised they didn't do something a little harder. But overall, it was the best show
I've ever seen and I couldn't possibly ask for anything better!
-Cassie
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 12:17:24 -0400
From: matsona@aii.edu
Subject: 7-30-03 Camden Review
I was walking down 18th street in Center City Philadelphia on the
Wednesday morning of the show at around 11 AM. Not paying attention,
just on a break from work taking a walk, when I look across the street.
Hey, that dude has a beard like Trey. Hey that dude looks like Trey.
Holy Shit---It is TREY, cruising down the street in that same shiny
purple shirt he wore on stage. So what do I do? Turn around and tail
them. Up 18th Street they go, right into Amazon Juice at the corner of
18th and Chestnut. Trey, if you are reading this, I hope you liked your
beverage. I just knew it was going to be a good two nights of shows.
Wednesday night was lots of fun, do not care to give song by song, but
last show I saw was Continental Airlines with BB, and the boys have
really got their chops down. You watch the show, and get the feeling
that you are in the presence of some truly great musicians, archaic
craftsmen of sound that have passed thru their period of apprentiship
and journeyman status to take on the title of MASTERCRAFTSMEN OF MUSIC.
Only downside is the attitude of entitlement I hear from the folks in
the lot post show. People claiming that they got ripped off, Trey was
fucking them, blah blah blah blah. I understand that when you see a lot
of shows, you can be critical, and always expect them to be at their
best. But just being there, and going to the show and having a good
time with your friends should be enough. Phish wins everytime just by
showing up.
PEACE.
Andy Matson
Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2003 14:23:10 -0400
From: Will Moreschi
Subject: Camden Night One...night two to follow..
Here's my take on Camden Night 1 and 2. This show will definitely be forgotten
about because of what took place the night before. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean
that it should be AT ALL! It was a Stellar show!
Night 1:
Great Vibe in the lots to start off this run. It was a beautiful sunny
afternoon and can you really beat the awesome view from the venue over to
Philly and the Bridge! So chill. Anyway, there was alot of energy heading
into this run and alot of buzz about Starlake the night before so I was
definitely pumped. After seeing that set it was really hard to even make a
prediction about an opener but I was VERY excited when I heard...
My Friend: Nice and swimmy, rather loose and very energetic all at the same
time. The builds at the beginning were on point for the most part. Tight at
the tempo changes and coming back in after the solo. Strong guys, really strong
version.
Lonesome Cowboy Bill: Never heard before, but god, how much fun was it to dance
too. Really got the lawn groovin' and it was nice to hear Fish getting into the
vocals.
Scents and Subtle Sounds: This was it! Under NO cirmcustances should this
version be doubted as THE version of this song to date. You just knew when they
hit the vocal line "scents and subtle sounds, colors in the void" that you just
needed to close your eyes and let them take you. It CERTAINLY went somewhere
very free and peaceful and then the build up from about 20 minutes or so on
REALLY sealed the deal. Best post-round room song! How Hard rock did it get
near the end???? Come on, I'm not about to bash other people or their take on
this song or this show. It's not fair because they have a right to their
opinion, but all I'm gonna ask is, go back and listen again. K? thanks
You Ain't Going Nowhere: Damn, Some Dylan? Impressive even on the vocals
which we all know is hit or miss alot of times. Nice country feel and solo
from Trey.
Spocks Brain: You're kidding me right? I think it shocked everyone and It
was VERY COOL!! Nice version.
Chalkdust: Before you listen to this one, go back and listen to 7/10/99 and you
will understand what they were up to. I don't mean how they went all
minimalist, I mean how they just went away from the main theme soooooooo far.
This version they brought it back tho and wow, I mean just really killer jamming
all around. They took this one waaaaaaaaay out together no one all star.
Listen carefully to Page actually take the lead chordally and watch the rest of
the guys fit in. Page was surely the vehicle out to the jam and back to the
resolution. GREAT Version!
On your way Down: Anyone else think this song has Gov't Mule written all over
it? Very Powerful. Just reminded me alot of them. BUT of course, we have PAGE
to just go the fuck off. This set surely had alot of Page all over it!
FEFY: Yes, it's a slow song, and you know what, they Deserve to play whever
they want to. welcome break and they built it up at the end soooooo nicely
where the vocals come back in. Beautiful version. Fish really added alot of
intensity here and the interplay between him and Trey was Fantastic to say the
least! Way to be aggressive Fish!
Taste: Ok, so nothing will ever top 2/25/03 in my Opinion, that was Trey's MOST
HEROIC SOLO EVER IMHO! BUT, this was actually much cleaner in the changes.
Maybe I'll have to splice them, anyway, it was a great way to end the set and
alot of energy all around. Short maybe? I don't know, I mean i think it would
have dragged on because they really didn't set version up to be a huge jam, more
of an energetic set closer.
OK Second Set Time
TWIST!!! Ok, I don't really even know what to say. Everyone around me was
like, yo, is this STILL TWIST?? Sooooo many colors and shapes and sounds.
Version not to be missed!
BUG!! Ok, twist was great, and yea SaSS was amazing in the first set, but you
know what, THIS, yes THIS, a SLOW SONG, was the song of the night! No doubt
about it! Trey just wouldn't let this version go down any other way. Give him
the credit and the foresight to see that this was set up and ready to be jammed
out. No, it never really left the BUG theme, but he did just about all that you
could do with what the song is. It reached it's fullest potential this evening!
YEM!! Get the fuck out of here, this made everyone go APESHIT! And how about
CLEAN and Clean could be. I was soooooo worried after all the shitty composed
sections that I have heard lately. but damn, great job sticking it guys.
Actually Page had a few MINOR flubs, but hardly noticable. Anyway, nirvana and
the note were dead on and holy fucking energy leading up to........BOY!!!!! and
we are locked in a groove. This is the post hiatus version my friends. A jam
that WENT somewhere and HELLO VOCAL SOLO. Couldn't ask for more out of this
song. No way!
WOTC: I don't know why the fuck someone would boooooo at the start of this
song, but man you can even hear it in the D/L. Shame because this was a MUCH
clearer and cleaner version than they gave us in Philly this winter. It really
sounded like a studio version. So strong, great transitions and lots of clean,
clear energy and direction. No wasted notes and thats cool in my book.
Secret Smile: They deserve again to play whatever they want and this was a
welcome break in my book. Great! They obviously were very tired and worn out
from the looks of it and maybe it wasn't the most energetic way to end the show,
but who cares. It fit and it was very pretty
So that's night one.......night two coming up
more later
peace and love always
Will
Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2003 00:06:03 -0400 (EDT)
From: Justin Leigh Wells
Subject: Review of Camden 7-30-03
This is the first and last time I will ever post a review, but I feel the need
to vent topeople I don't know in order to get my feelings out, and please, feel
free to email meif you feel opposite to me, because I enjoyed the show, but I
have not felt moreconflicted about a Phish show in my life with the band.
My Friend- Standard version, but a good opener. Got me moving.
Lonesome Cowboy Bill- Definately not expected, short, upbeat.
SASS- The first long interesting jam of the night, definately went to some very
darksoundscapes. I was amazed by the control of the band while exploring the
melodicareas of the song, but was then offput by the dissonant jam. My musical
tasteusually runs towards dissonance (I'm a big MMW fan as well as Sun Ra and
post Bitches Brew Miles), but I also like change, and this jam get awfully
repetitive andboring to me as it dragged on, I feel like Trey and Fish got
caught doing to muchwhile I could not make out Mike and Page at all.
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere- Trey cannot do Dylan, Phish can't do Dylan.
Applause forthe attempt, but the execution was not that good.
Spocks Brain- Left field. Basically, they were playing for themselves. I had
onlyheard tapes of this on the 5-16-95 show, and I didn't recognize it at all
until I was toldby a friend what it was. Interesting song, weird. I loved it.
Chalkdust- Smokin', Tension and release. Experimenting, a ten minute
capsule ofwhy I feel that Phish is the greatest live rock band I have seen.
On Your Way Down- PAGE!!!!!!! A few days ago I found myself listening to
9-8-88wondering if I would ever hear this song again. I don't listen to much
Little Feat, andI don't know how true the cover is to the original, but Page
wailed the blues, and forthe first time in this show, there was some coherence
and flow.
FEFY- To me, anytime I hear this song it changes, even though it doesn't. It
changesbecause of the soul in Trey's guitar. He has such emotion in the playing
of this song,but to me it didn't work here because once again, this broke up the
flow.
Taste- I though the set would end after Chalkdust, but they kept playing, no
complaints, but I think that the time that they had already been on stage
for doomedthis Taste to be simply average with a short jam.
Overall, I thought that the first set was solid. Good but not great due to the
disjointednature of the songs. At times I felt like they were forcing things
(i.e. nowhere andtaste) and not being Phish.
Twist- This is the most controversial jam I have experienced (personal
controversynot commenting on overall Phish history). There were times at which
I thought thatthis was absolutely brilliant. The first 12-15 minutes were
perfectly played, withPage and Trey communicating well and Fishman just ripping
amazing techno beats.When I felt that they were going to explode into a new
groove, they did just theopposite and went downtempo and dissonant. While this
was experimental, I don'tknow that I enjoyed it. I give them credit for taking
a risk, but this didn't sound goodand overall the jam just fell flat.
Bug- Ok, I hate this song and nothing will change that. I don't like hearing it
on discand I don't like hearing it live. I also found it odd that they chose to
play Twist andBug in the order that they appear on Farmhouse.
YEM- Now were talking. This was the second time in 4 post hiatus shows that I
havegotten a YEM. So ill. Words can't describe how happy I am that I brought a
newbiefriend who doesn't really like them and we get a YEM. Even the hater dug
this. Thatbeing said, I feel like there was something so special about this
YEM. It's the firstpost hiatus YEM I've heard or seen that made me just melt
the way that it used to. AYEM a day will keep the doctor away.
WOTC- I really dig this song, and its the third I've caught, usually I would
bitch aboutvariety in the shows I get to see, but placement wise this was damn
perfect. I'menjoying seeing a new song develop, but to be honest, the Philly
(2-25-03) WOTCworked this one in every possible way. Anyway this song is a
powerhouse set closer and a welcome addition to the repetoire.
I thought that the last 40-50 mins (YEM and WOTC) redeemed a stagnant second
setand brought the show up to a point where it was more than just a show.
Musically,this show was risky, and some of it was shit, but there were a few
moments that weremore than music to me. The YEM gave me a transcendental
musical experience. Shortly I will say that Secret Smile was only a minor
dissapointment. The two setsare for the phans and the encore is for them. To
the fans that booed, don't come toshows, I know that I speak for many when I say
that negative vibes are not welcomed. They give us so much even when they are
off, they deserve our respect.Peace and Love,
Justin Wells
jlwel@conncoll.edu
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 13:44:16 -0700 (PDT)
From: Joshua Weisstuch
Subject: 7/30/03 review
i gotta get this off my harry chest!
This show was my 20th phish show, and i was let down :( as far as phish shows
are concerned i thought it SUCKED. i was very disappointed. it had such great
potential. first set really was kicken, but when YEM is the freakin highlight,
it's not that great. YEM is a song that is there and will always work.
they've played the darn thing like 500 times.
Scents and subtle nugs and twist went on forever, both 30+ minutes and were all
spacey. they didn't rock, they didn't bumb, and you could hardly dance to
these pieces after the first 10 mins (and that's generous).
But if i could talk positive for a moment, i'll have to forget everything after
setbreak. Lonesome Cowboy Bill = oh man, that was stupendious, and i really
thought this show had some magic potential. especially after they played it
off a rare my friend. man was i wrong...
Scents and subtle sounds - i spoke of this already
You Ain't going nowhere = the people liked it. i liked it, nice little cover
and good song to follow...
Spock's brain = ridiculous
and the rest of the set was solid, nice Thetaste really rocked. but that was
it. so if it was one set i'd say i got my money's worth, but being that i paid
near 50 bones, i felt ripped off. but hey some times you eat the bar, and some
times the bar eats you.
the second night was loads better, rockin jams with intesnsity in the second
set, and a very cohesive first set that was better than the first sets i saw
during the winter tour.
i'm sure IT will be THE SHIZZZ. but for now, this phishy is going to taiper
off his phishiness and scope out the other bands for some sure-fire good old
butt-shakin grooves.
j-dub
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 12:30:54 -0400
From: "education, medical"
Subject: 7/30 Review
This was my 18th show, 2nd at Tweeter (or for those who remember...the E
Centre).
First off a note about Camden... PHISH PLEASE STOP PLAYING HERE. I hate Camden
so much, it is a crime ridden, inconvenient mess of a city.
Now the concert-
I am sorry but a true phish phan realizes when the band is not measuring up.
There is a lot of talk about "if you do not have positive things to say then do
not say them" but that does not give you a full picture of the band itself,
IMO.
I thought the YEM was a way of Phish saying "sorry for all that before, here
have a YEM because we know it is going nowhere"
The encore? Garbage song.
The show- incoherent jams, drawn out ridiculousness and a host of songs that
could not get the crowd excited.
However Phish consistently shows how magical they are in that they can play the
worst show I have seen them do one nite and then the next (7/31) play easily a
top 5 show.
19 shows and I FINALLY got my Divided Sky, Dirt AND The Sloth!!!!!
Have a great time in Maine and see you on Fall tour.
-Jeremy
IM Me on AIM at BigApple1979 if you want to talk phish.
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 18:44:15 -0400
From: Mike Brown
Subject: 7/30/03
Last night was my 46th show.
You Aint goin nowhere pretty much summed up the first set as noone could figure
out which way the boys were headed.
I felt cheated after the My friend opener...thought we'd get something special
before Maine.
Second set YEM was killer. Made up for the shitty encore.
Show grade: B
Mike Brown
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 15:43:40 EDT
From: ElScorcho8234@aol.com
Subject: 7-30-03, at the tweeter center in camden review
Well, I was all set for great show (my first!) after the awesome lot,
but my friends and I had to endure almost a half hour of being crammed together
waiting to get iin to the show. However the security guys weren't too bad with
the pat downs, (hehehe). So when we finally got in the show was about to start,
and we had seats!! But, just our luck the seats were the LAST row. It was cool
because you could still see the band fine.
So the show stars with the opening notes of my friend my friend!! I
couldn't believe it, but after seeing the setlist for the night before at
pittsburg, i knew anything was possible. The song was stellar but not too long,
then came lonesome cowboy bill, a song I only know from live 16. It was pretty
good but I'm not going to lie, I wished I had something i could sing along to.
Then came scents and subtle sounds, a new song that sounds like it will become
a staple for great jams. And this one was played out as well, the livephish.com
website hasnt updated their stock yet so i can't tell you how long it was, but
supposedly it was over 25 minutes!
The band was really on with their playing, but me and my hardcore
friend are both phans and we only were familiar with one song so far! Not to
mention many of my other friends who arent as familiar with phish. But
regardless it was good so far. We moved out onto the lawn during scents, and
then they played a bob dylan cover that I had never heard, so now I was 1 for 4
with the setlist. And I thought I knew everything about phish, guess not! Then
they played spock's brain, a song i knew about but never heard, it was pretty
rockin, but the security gaurds gave me and my friend pat a hard time and i
nearly shit myself, they ended up giving some of our stuff back (phew), but
still i was scared out of my mind, and could barely enjoy the song.
Chalkdust really kicked ass, after they were done singing the lyrics
the song went out on a whole new limb, like nothing I had ever heard before. I
remeber staring at Trey while he was zoning in to his music, man he was more
stoned than anyone else at the show. The song was jammed out for so long, and
they mellowed it out with on your way down, and fast enough for you. Fast
enough had some tight jamming toward the end. I thought they might leave the
first set with those two mellow songs, but they kept on playing and brought out
taste.
Taste was fantastic, It seemed to go on forever, i must say the lights
REALLY kicked ass. Just like Chalkdust, taste seemed to go places i had never
heard the song go before. Page really tore shit up on keys, he was really on.
The lights go on, and me and my friends agreed that musically the set was
great, but we barely knew any of the songs!
So after about a half hour the second set starts with Twist. Great,
something we could sing along to, but this was a slightly mellower version than
the album's. And this song went on for an eternity, many times i would turn to
my friend and say, this is still Twist right.
Then came bug, a song I have always thought was a little over-rated,
but in concert it sure did kick ass. Myself and my two friends headed back to
our inside seats and chilled sitting down for the end of the song. I must say I
didn't know that phish jammed out so much with bug, or twist, in my mind at
that time i was estimating they were 20 mins each, i guess I will find out soon
the exact times. Then came a few minutes break, my friends and I really wanted
sometihng huge.
And something huge came, BOOM, YEM. This was my first phish concert
and I got to hear YEM. And not just any YEM but the best I have heard (yeayea,I
know its my first concert, but i have quite a few bootlegs and all the
phishlives). mike had a HUGE bass solo I was so glad to see him get the
spotlight. Ha and in sync trampoline jumps only mirrored how insync the band
was with eachother. just NUTS.
Then came Walls of the cave, which was awesome and once again in my
state of mind i was estimating at least 25 mins for YEM and probably 20 for
Walls. Then the short encore break and they came out to play Secret Smile. I'm
not going to lie, I was HUGELY dissapointed with the encore. Big time. Its a
new song and its really mellow, and it just left a big damper on the show. As
the band bowed for applause people were booing, I can't blame them, I almost
booed them too before I realized what i was doing. Really that encore blew.
So overall I think they were dead on musically and i hope they bring
that energy and talent tonight (7/31), and bring it to some WELL KNOWN songs,
Mike's Groove anyone??? ha!
Seeya there,
Rufus Alfonso the Third
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 15:25:11 -0400
From: Mike Connor
Subject: 7/30 review
I hate to talk down about Phish. I mean I've spent the last 11 years
talking them up to everyone I know. But last nights show let me down a wee
bit. It was my 1st show since '00 Vegas and I was pumped for a rockin show
but what I got was a 40min Twist as part of a 4 song 2nd set and an encore
that didn't exactly leave me wanting more.
The show had many good points(ie-On Your way Down and the YEM kicked just to
name a couple)but the overall feel of the show was just a little left of
center. I think a 2nd encore(anything really) would have put a smile on
alot of phans faces leaving the Tweeter instead of the bewildered "what the
hell was that?" look i saw on alot of the kids faces as I left.
Hopefully this will be the last "bad" thing I have to say following a show.
It was SO nice to dance to Live Phish again and I look forward to tonight to
see what the guys have in store for us.
Peace out.
mc
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 15:19:33 -0400
From: Cale
Subject: Camden 07/30/03
I think it had been over 3 years since my Phish-show-buddy and I had seen them
– we were huge fans in high school and early college and went to numerous
shows, truly appreciating the creativity, virtuosity, and integrity of the
band. So it was like old times again last night as we made our way to Camden,
the $15 parking left us a little bitter, but whatever. So here we go, the
first set opened nicely with My Friend, and judging from the “comeback
shows” downloads from livephish.com the band had been doing a little
practicing, bum notes were at a minimum through the whole night. The Scents
and Subtle Sounds monster jam was a bit lackluster and never really gelled into
anything interesting. And most of the set was plagued by low energy, slow
songs, and a somewhat apathetic feel from the band. The Chalkdust was nice,
actually had some energy, and a nice little jam. Fast Enough For You was well
played. Taste was nothing special but not bad. But overall a pretty mediocre
set, but a mediocre set by Phish would still have been enjoyable, I mean
it’s Phish, the real problem was the crowd. I dunno if the scene has
changed, or I’ve grown up, or it was just the people that surrounded me,
but good god we felt like we were the only people there to see/hear some live
music. Not a single person was paying attention to the show at all, every two
seconds someone would walk in front or behind us, converse loudly about
unrelated topics with their neighbor, etc – where were these people
going, what were they doing, and why the hell did they spend all this money to
not watch the show. It was sad.
Ok, so now the set break, I had forgotten how long Phish’s
set breaks were. My buddy and I were both pretty disapointed so far, and were
hoping for a ripping second set. Which we got. Twist was a good opener, and
Bug was just fantastic, a song I wasn’t crazy about at first but has
grown on me quite a lot over the years – the short funk jam at the end
fit perfectly. The band, for the first, seemed like they were awake. Then
into a killer YEM, definitely the highlight of the night, everyone locked into
the groove, definitely one of the best YEM’s I’ve seen. Walls of
the Cave followed, which is my favorite of the Round Room tunes, and was a
great rendition, but I wish they would have switched the order, cause after
that especially ripping YEM it didn’t quite pack the punch it would have
earlier in the show – but still, a good set closer and they played it
very well. So, mediocre first set, terrible crowd (at least around us), but
pretty damn good second set (except for the still annoying crowd, even when the
band picked it up), too bad the encore ended the show on a sour note with a
boring Secret Smile. We were sure there would be a second encore, I
wasn’t expecting something monumental, but something a little more upbeat
to send everyone home happy.
-cale
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 15:10:03 EDT
From: Pinkblankie2@aol.com
Subject: 07-30-03 Camden Review
From: Lisa
During the 1st set, it was obvious that everybody wanted it to go somewhere
else, waiting anxiously for something to happen, but as stated in an earlier
review, they were all over the place in this set and it just didn't gel but
still the music was tight and I danced my ass off!!! Hey, any Phish is good
Phish, right? I remember standing there and thinking, "They are up there
playing
and giving it to me, and I'm here to take it all, whatever it is!!!" Was very
pleased to hear "Ride me High/Easy Chair" and "On Your Way Down", as I am an
old head and those are two great songs and they did an amazing job.
2nd set was hot, some I didn't recognize until I looked at the setlist, but
the jams were so mind blowing and the lights were amazing. At one point, they
were jamming on Chalkdust (?) and the lights were bright white and moving up
over the crowd and onto the lawn, and everybody was just in a trance it seemed.
It felt like the mothership was hovering above, coming to collect her
children and take them home.
How about those flying light sticks? Now that was awesome!!!! Especially
down front, somebody had handfulls of them, all different colors, and threw them
up over the crowd a handful at a time, it was really neat looking!!!
Did anyone see the dude in the cow costume or was that just me?
Other observations: Phish crowd seemed to be less accepting, less caring,
more uptight/hyper and cynical. I know that sounds like a blow, but it's not.
Just remember phriends, we all are here because we love the music, no matter
how old or young we are, what shape or size or kind of clothes we wear or cars
we drive do not matter, we are here in this Phishy world to share something
special so please, be kynd to your brothers and sisters!!! (and pick up your
trash!)
Great show all in all, wish I was going back tonight but it looks like rain
and I am wiped, so carry on Heads!!!
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 13:50:24 -0400
From: Michael Kavanagh
Subject: Review of Phish @ Camden Tweeter Center - 7/30/03
After three years
away, I embraced my first Phish show since September 2000 with open arms. I got
home from work at 8:30 Wednesday morning after having worked a 12 hour
overnight shift. This meant I had about 3.5 hours of sleep when my buddy Wooly
decided it was time to go. After the requisite stop for beer (two bottles of
the Belgian masterpiece, Lucifer, for me) we were on our way. Wooly drove us up
I-95 and over the Walt Whitman bridge into Jersey. Unfortunately, the ramp for
676 towards Camden was closed, so we were forced to take the local route
through the city. Not to sound insensitive, but if you were to take all of your
visions of urban blight from around the country, and concentrated them in one
place, you'd have a pretty good idea of what Camden's like. Despite it being
such a hellhole, or perhaps because of it, the state decided it would be a good
idea to build it's aquarium there, along with a performing arts center and a
minor legue ballpark. While all the facilities are nice, I don't know anyone
who doesn't want to get the heck out of Dodge as soon as the show's over.
Immediately upon arriving in the parking lot, all of the old familiar sights,
sounds, and smells of life on tour bombarded my senses. I was filled with a
renewed excitement. It was a feeling I hadn't had in quite some time. At the
shows in 1999 and 2000, I felt that perhaps I had grown out of this "phase" and
that while the music was great, the scene was not for me anymore. Well, despite
there being many young faces in the lot, there was still enough for me here to
recall the good times. The weather was perfect, about 85 degrees Farenheit, and
the sky was a beautiful shade of blue. As Wooly and I wandered around the lot,
we came across an old favorite. In years past it was known as "Phatty Phatty
Pizza." Unfortunately, our old friend Nugs was not around, but there was a
lovely young lady serving up slices of French bread pizza in the tradition of
good old Nugs, and my slice was very tasty.
We continued down "Shakedown," and saw lots of great new t-shirts being sold.
Four in particular caught my eye. Two were based on "The Matrix" saga. On the
front of the first was a picture of a red pill, and beneath was the quote from
the first film "Take the red pill and see just how deep the rabbit hole really
goes." On the back it said, "Phish Summer Tour: Reloaded" and listed all of the
tour dates. The second shirt was black, and simply had the "Matrix" code on the
front, with the word "Maze" written in "Matrix" style - very cool. Too bad then
that neither shirt came in "Garcia size." Saddened that neither shirt would
fit, I was glad to find two others that do. The first is in the style of the
label of a bottle of Samuel Smith's beer. It reads, "Sneakin' Sally Nutbag
Ale," and just below, "First brewed at Hunts, October 30, 1985." Great looking
shirt. The second has a drawing of the 1980s era Grateful Dead done in the
style of "The Simpsons." Too cool to pass up.
With shopping completed, it was time to turn our attention to finding our
friends. Grabbing his binoculars out of the car, Wooly announced, "I'm hunting
Tauntauns!," and ventured forth to locate Brian and Karen. About ten minutes
later, a very proud-looking Wooly returned, Brian and Karen in tow. We were
soon joined by Wooly's friend Mitchell, and his girlfriend whose name escapes
me right now (if I remember it, or if someone tells me, I'll edit the post.)
Several hours spent in the lot meant that it was now time to head into the
show.
Quickly finding our seats, we did not have to wait long before the band came
on. To say this was a show of firsts would be putting it mildly. Of the
fourteen songs the band played, there were eight that I had never seen
performed live. The opener, "My Friend My Friend" was the first of the eight,
and was harbinger of things to come. Next was "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" the great
Velvet Underground cover, followed by new song "Scents and Subtle Sounds."
"Scents..." was a great new song, very mellow, with a great jam that lasted
over twenty-five minutes. Another cover came next, Bob Dylan's "You Ain't Going
Nowhere." This was the first time Phish played the song, and it was nice to
hear. "Spock's Brain" brought back memories of my first show at the Mann in
1995. "Chalkdust Torture" is a welcome addition to any show, and this one was
played to perfection. "On Your Way Down" and "Fast Enough For You" made it five
"first-time-heard" songs out of six. A blazing version of "Taste" closed out
the first set, and left us all wondering what crazy directions the band would
take us in the second.
The answer came in the form of an absolutely sick "Twist," a second set opener
that featured a jam that seemed it could go on forever. "You Enjoy Myself" was
the crown jewel of the second set, sandwiched between two more
"first-time-heards," "Bug," and "Walls Of The Cave." I liked "Bug," but "WOTC"
absolutely blew me away. I had liked the song when I heard it on "Round Room,"
but here in a live setting it took on a life of its' own, and completely sucked
me in. After four songs, which lasted about ninety minutes, the set was over,
and the band left the stage to rapturous applause. Looking back I wish the show
had ended then. What happened next left a very bitter taste in my mouth, and
feelings of anger and resentment towards my fellow fans. Phish played new song,
"Secret Smile" as the encore, and while it's a nice enough song, I questioned
it's placement as the encore. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who felt this
way. I was however, one of the few who kept this view to themselves. As the
band took their bows, they were showered with a chorus of boos. I was reminded
that we were just across the river from Philly, and it seemed that the Philly
curse had risen again. That's too bad, as the show was a fantastic one despite
the strange encore choice, and that the booing was completely uncalled for. My
only hope is that Phish overlook the incident and don't nix Philly from their
fall tour plans. A bittersweet ending to an otherwise perfect day.
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 11:42:59 EST
From: jaredez@monmouth.com
Subject: 7/30/03 Review
7/30/03 Review
Jared Ezyske
OK ^Ö I wasn^Òt happy about the encore either. Secret Smile is kind of a
stupid song, and hopefully it will get phased out. But that second set
was KILLER. I thought it was rocking the whole time. Every song in the
set was sick. My first YEM ever and I was all over the place. 1st set
OK ^Ö the songs were GREAT, I just didn^Òt recognize a lot of them! Here
we go:
Mfmf ^Ö I was still coming in at this point, and I was pissed. I love
this song and they opened with it and I was still getting checked by the
damn pissed-off burly security guard. Got to the lawn at the end of the
song, but it sounded like it was rocking.
Lonesome cowboy bill ^Ö didn^Òt know what this song was until I heard the
lyrics. Never saw it before but it was damn cool.
Scents and Subtle Sounds ^Ö This is probably my favorite post-round-room
song. I like the cool beginning and the jams that have come out of it so
far have been awesome ^Ö this was probably the best one on the tour, with
the possible exception of 7/23.
You Ain^Òt Going Nowhere ^Ö Didn^Òt know what this was either. I suspected
it was a Bob Dylan song because trey was laying on that classic Dylan
accent. Again, very cool ^Ö but I need some more phish.
Spocks Brain ^Ö Again, I didn^Òt know what this was. I wasn^Òt
disappointed, because it was very good. I thought that the songs I
wasn^Òt very familiar with all were great tunes with great lyrics and
vocal lines. Still, I wanted more phish.
Chalkdust ^Ö OK, I^Òm pretty happy, I^Òll take a chalkdust to break the ice
and get rocking. This version was interesting, it definitely had some
moments, and I had fun with it. I^Òll make my final decision about it
when I hear the tapes.
On Your Way Down ^Ö Again, no idea what this was. I^Òve seen it before on
setlists but wasn^Òt familiar with it. This wasn^Òt bad either.
FEFY ^Ö Alright, not a bad tune, but oddly placed and by now my thoughts
were moving to the second set.
Taste ^Ö I^Òm glad they closed the first set with this. I like this song a
lot, and it was a good way to get me prepped for the second set. Average
version.
Twist ^Ö Nice! I^Òve got no problem with this song, and this version was
damn good. It went some crazy places ^Ö kind of reminded me some stuff
off live phish volume 4. Feelin good.
Bug ^Ö After a twist like that, I was fine with bug. Great version, and
it totally made me a fan of the song again.
YEM ^Ö holy shit, my first YEM. Me and my posse were so happy man ^Ö this
YEM was destructive and I had a blast. Nice vocal jam!
Walls of the Cave ^Ö I^Òm totally a fan of this song. It^Òs probably my
favorite from the round room collection. This was insane. Fishman was
destroying me ^Ö he was ON. I can^Òt wait to hear this again.
Guitars off, etc^Å Those most have been some long ass songs, and I just
didn^Òt notice since I was having such a good time.
Secret Smile ^Ö Damn ^Ö I was expecting a long encore. A Coil, maybe a
reba (I was praying for this). I don^Òt like this song. Maybe they^Òll
play something after this.
No no! Don^Òt take your guitars off!! AHH!!! ^ÅStupid secret smile.
Whatever though, the second set was so goddam good I couldn^Òt even
complain. My first YEM was killer. There^Òs always tomorrow night. They
way I see it, that was Set I, and Set II is tomorrow. Can^Òt wait! Too
bad I^Òm not going up to Maine =( Peace out, enjoy maine everybody
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 08:34:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: dipperoni2002@yahoo.com
Subject: 7/31 Review - Camden, Nj
Ok after reading a couple of the reviews, I had to throw mine in there. This
was my first show of the tour and I cannot wait for tonight. Last night was
show #49 and you know what tonight is, the big 50.......I got copies of the
Utah and Alpine shows to gear up for the new songs.......now onto the
show........we sat 2nd row pit right in front of Mike......Trey came on with a
flashy purple suede shirt, the ultimate rock star.....
My friend - I love it when they open up with this, gradually building and
building....perfect opener IMO.......
Cowboy Bill - couldn't quite place the name on this tune but was a nice treat,
I love any bluegrass song....
Scents - now this was the absolute hightlight of the first set. This song took
off in areas never heard before and its potential is huge.....was purely
bliss......about 20 mins long...
Ain't Going Nowhere - wow, didn't see this one coming, I believe it's a dylan
cover......the boys were having so much fun and sounded so fucking good....
Spock's Brain - are you shittin' me ?? I was hoping for old school songs and
got one here.....
Chalkdust - niiiiiice, really took off, although this song follows me
everywhere and this time it didn't matter cuz I was right in front of Mike !!!
On your way down - wow, another treat.
FEFY - one of my favs from Rift.....always welcome to hear in my book....and
segues beautifully into......
TASTE - super swaaaaeeeeeeeeeet, page was hamming it out. I was just amazed on
how damn good everything sounded.....they were really locked in together and
were having a blast....
2nd set - Trey comes out wearing a Jolly Roger Inn - Virgin British Island T
shirt (hmm, I wonder where they vacation?)
Lemme just say one thing, I was wearing a turquiose Twist Around shirt that I
picked up from a show in '99 and I actually met the girl who designed it in the
lot!! I told her we're definitely going to get a Twist tonight! If you're
reading this, please respond!
Twist has changed and evolved over the years, I absolutely loved the jam
segment, it went places beyond my imagination, was super super sweet and
melodic..... but one thing I miss is that funky buildup in the beginning of the
song (ala '97)....although the more mellow approach is totally fine with me.
This song went places I never heard before, was pure bliss.......some people
said it segued into Bug but they pretty much conversed before starting up Bug,
another one of my favorite Farmhouse tunes....I was really hoping to finally
hear this song live and it sure as hell did not disappoint. BUG !!!
Before the show my buddies were discussing what they would and wouldn't play
- one thing I said was they will not play YEM due to Trey's reference to IT @
Atlanta. I thought for sure they'd save this one for Maine and boy was I
fucking wrong as hell!!! This was hands down the best fucking YEM I've ever
heard live......I'm sure there are sicker versions out there but this has got
to be the best version post hiatus.....vocal jam was insane as well.....it was
already over an hour into the set and I could tell a Walls or maybe a Slave
would be coming to close it.....
Walls - super sweet, perfect placement, this song is definitely a perfect set
ending tune....GET THIS FUCKING SHOW......
encore- I was happy with this encore, if you take the time and listen to this
song and its lyrics it's fucking beautiful.......too bad if you didn't like
it......
Also, down with all you people dissin' phish and your negative comments, stay
home and don't comment unless it's positive and you want to spread the good
vibes. the boys are on absolute fire, this is the best I've seen them play
since funky '96.....although I wish they'd bring more of the funk
back......Tonight is Moma --> Sand (HASN'T BEEN PLAYED YET THIS TOUR!!!!!!!!)
The Almighty Dipperoni......
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 13:04:47 EDT
From: Gtn55@aol.com
Subject: review 7/30/03
Good day,
A great show last night. After seeing Phish in February, I noticed a
huge improvement in gelling as a unit last night. The Feb. tour was great, but
I haven't Phish as "on" if you will so much as last night, the way they're
supposed to sound, you know. The first set was kinda mucky (in a good way,
meaning slow and steady). Standouts for me were "Scents and Subtle Sounds",
"Chalkdust", "My friend My friend", and I can't remember the other one right
now for some reason, something about going down, real bluesy song, Page was
wailin'. The second set is what did it for me, absolutely killer in my
opinion. There was only 4 songs, so follow me. They opened with "Twist", at a
super slow pace, and built it into a crazy fast jam for like 20 mins. "Bug"
was next, and I won't go into detail, if you've ever caught that one live,
you'll understand why it's one of my favs, I may sound like a dork, buti think
it was the best song of the show. "YEM" followed, and was actually one of the
most excellent I've ever heard. Trey and Mike got on their respective
trampolines, and did they're thing. The thing that had me hooked, though, was
(I think) a delay loop similar to the one heard on "Heavy Things", it was real
fun. The vocal jam was cool too, I won't attempt to explain it. The set
closed with "Walls of the Cave". I heard this one back in Feb., but it has
become incredible live. It was substantially shorter than all previous
versions I've heard, and much tighter, Fishman owns that song. The encore was
"Secret Smile", very pretty, I don't think many people were into it, but I
was. I thought it was a fantastic show, nevertheless, great long jams a few
suprises, can't wait for tonight! Cheers G-mang
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 13:13:53 -0400
From: Hayden
Subject: review 7/30
After seeing 3 nights at Deer Creek I had high hopes for Camden. They usually
throw down but tonight was not in the cards. First set was great. Lots of new
songs that have not been played. Second set SUCKED MY ASS. 4 songs and a weak
ass encore. Tonight show I am hoping for a throw down due to everyone jumping
ship to Maine. Play another set like last night and you won't even be able to
give away tickets next tour. I was talking to a guy about Pitt and he said all
the little wookies had no clue what was happening. I myself would give my
little toe to see a show like that. Just does not happen. Bottom line jamming
is nonsense. it goes no where and it is boring. Play more songs and keep the
space crap bottled up. Sorry for the negative review but that was the worst
show I have ever seen. Right there with Nassau 99. BUG OVERRATED.
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 08:12:02 -0400
From: "Raymond Jr., Tom J."
Subject: review 7/30
That was the worst show I've have ever been to. I have been seeing them since
1995 and never have I seen them get booed. The encore was absolutetly
atrocious!
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 15:02:20 +0000
From: Phil Jackson
Subject: Camden 07-30-03
ok, so i'd been a tour voyeur, reading reviews daily and seeing locomotive
phish heading my way. the lead ups were getting more and more impossible to
beat. after seeing the insanity of 7/29, i was wondering how the boys'
energy might be...some highlights of #8 for me:
sass - this song is NUTZ! anyone who spends time comparing phish to years
gone by, all i can say is they didn't have this in their arsenal then.
absolutely unbelievable jam section showcasing the versatility of all
players and their ability to play ANYTHING they want.
you ain't goin' nowhere - this is a great dylan tune, one i hadn't thought
about in a long time; they nailed it! great placement.
chalkdust - this started a trend of stepping completely out of the song
structre - it sounded nothing like chalkdust 'til they brought it home.
fefy - again, they nailed it!
taste - ripping good way to end the set; just awesome!
(i can't believe the second set only had four songs - wow!)
twist - this may have been the show highlight for me. like the chalkdust,
they quickly departed from the basic repetitive structure after the vocals -
it went to all kinds of interesting and nutty places and sequed perfectly
into bug.
yem - had me confused, thinking it was divided sky for a while. silly me.
vocal jam was very interesting and great tramps!
walls - only one of 9 songs i wrote down pre-show that they played (a
testament to how silly i am and how great they are). i love this new one...
the bottom line at this show is that they were having a great time; trey was
smiling, dancing, rocking...gordo actually smiled once. they didn't leave
anything on stage, which is the thing i respect most about them. no
complaints!
bad things: trash, trash, trash; passed out kidz; no2 tanks making a
return...
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 10:38:11 -0400
From: Michael Libertucci
Subject: Review of first night Camden 7/30/03
My first show of summer tour, and a taste of medicine before Maine. Kinda
last minute that I ended up going, so that made it even more fun. It was my
40th show and I would say it falls somewhere in the middle. I went with a
few people who have been to numerous shows, and we all kept looking at each
other saying how wierd the show was. The first set started off with a bang
with My Friend. Always great to hear. From that point on things got wierd.
Lonesome Cowboy Bill followed which was fun, a first time for me and I
didn't know what it was until checking the setlist. Then came a monster
Scents and Subtle sounds. Great song, I didn't know it other than seeing it
on setlists throughout tour. Then came a Dylan cover which was beautifully
played. So up until now, 4 songs into the set, I recognized and knew 1
classic Phish song. I thought that this would change, and it really didn't.
We got a surprising Spock's Brain which kept with the extremely mellow
set. Fun to hear, but I was still waiting for the big energy pumping tune.
Finally 6 songs into the first set Phish threw down. A raging Chalkdust
which everybody thought would lead to setbreak. Were we wrong, Phish set
back into the mellow mood again and play On Your Way Down and Fast Enough.
The first set ended with a subpar version of Taste. The set lacked
coherency, and lacked energy. Although it was easy to move to, the drive
that I was looking for just wasn't there. I compare it with third night of
Deer Creek 2000. At setbreak everybody around me was talking about wanting
a raging second set. The boys came back out and immediately settled into
another mellow tune in Twist. This Twist was like no other, and it was at
this point that I knew this set was going to be special. Twist went places
that I have never experienced before. Trey was zoning in and out, and often
times looked possessed. The boys were completely in sync with each other
and they knew it. People on the lawn that had experienced this before were
all expecting something big to come. Bug was a nice bathroom break, and I
made it back for the great emotional jam to end the song. The theme for the
second set seemed to be mellow and extremely emotional. You could
practically hear Trey talkign to you through the guitar. To follow Bug I
knew something big was coming. The boys were just too on with this mellow
vibe to break into some corny song. YEM was SMOKING. I have seen upwards
of 10 YEMS and this one took the cake. Mike laid down a sick bass solo to
end the song before sending it into an intense vocal jam. The show ended
with a tight Walls of the Cave which has potential of being a monster. I
started heading towards the stairs for the encore due to a 6 hour ride home
and work at 7am. I was glad that I did. It was probably the most miserable
encore ever. Secret Smile. I have noticed since New Years that most of
their encores have been very mellow. Starting with the Velvet Sea to end a
memorable night at MSG, and Friday to end the Hampton run, I have not seen
an energy filled encore in my 6 shows that I have seen since hiatus. The
only one that came close was the contact>mexican cousin>tweezer reprise in
Nassau. All in all, I rate the show a 6/10. The band was definitely
feeling it, but didn't quite settle in until second set. First set setlist
looks great but just didn't blend at all. Lookin forward to Maine, see you
all there!!!!
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