6-25-00 -- Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek, Raleigh, North Carolina

Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 20:56:58 -0400
From: skutch@crumb.com
To: Daniel W. Schar dws@netspace.org
Subject: 6-25-00 review

06/25/2000
Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek - Raleigh, North Carolina
 
Soundcheck: My Sweet One, Cars Trucks Buses, Uncle Pen, slow Uncle Pen jam
        jam, Rolling Along*
 
I: NICU, Sample in a Jar, The Old Home Place, Punch You in the Eye,
   Water in the Sky, Funky Bitch, Horn, Heavy Things, Dirt, Split Open and
Melt
 
II: Gotta Jiboo, Fast Enough For You, Scent of a Mule, Meat, Maze,
    What's the use, Slave to the Traffic Light
 
E: Uncle Pen, Axis: Bold As Love
 
* - New song; best guess at title
 
Well if it is Phish and it is North Carolina, then it must be time for
another Skutch Skutchinson review.  Hold onto your butts.
 
Familiar faces filled the interior of the (vehicle type deleted to insure
anonymity) as we rocketed down the well-trodden path to Raleigh from
Columbia, SC. Now, Columbia is a shining bastion of freedom and cultural
diversity, a place to be and become, a diamond in the rough, a bright spot
in the dim nightmare that is the American Southeast.  (A brief bit of
trivia:  Robert Hunter's "Rock Columbia" album was inspired by a half-hour
he spent here once, as his plane passed overhead on the way to a Grateful
Dead gig.)  I hated leaving it, especially to go to a dangerous backwater
like Raleigh.
 
The cast of characters this time included the venerable Ernie Douglas (his
brother Chip having graduated to the SCI scene, and who can blame him),
young entrepreneur Milo Minderbinder, and an even younger Fielding Mellish,
fresh from his high school graduation, and full of piss and vinegar (mostly
piss).  As in the past, we would be pulling tape FOB, and were all excited
and invigorated by own prime taping seats in section (deleted) row
(deleted), seats (deleted).  Fielding Mellish would be our ace in the whole,
occupying a taper section slot with the stationary rig.  Waiter! Another
round of Schoeps for the house!
 
The trip, thankfully, was uneventful but for Ernie's penchant for screaming
off-key operatic arias at top volume.  We tried listening to 9-8-88 but were
unable to hear it.  We tried again with the RCMH stuff, but I started
nodding off at the wheel, so we eighty-sixed it and just listened to Ernie
instead.  Pulling into the dusty, hot parking lot at Walnut Creep
Amphitheatre, we piled out of the (deleted), thankful to be done with Ernie'
s caterwauling for the time being.  The scene, such as it was, was in its
infancy, but would in due time blossom into the usual foolishness.
 
Little of note occurred prior to showtime.  You the experienced show-goer
can certainly use your imagination about what was going down.  Begging,
intoxication, general misbehavior and disrespect, unattended animals,
underground commerce, brutish security, low-browed, knuckle-dragging NC law
enforcment goons.ah summertime Phish.  Mmmm boy, the awesomeness of it all
is just too cool, man.  I tell you what, though, there was a buttload of
folks looking for tickets, as many fingers in the air as I've ever seen at
one of these shows.  I hope every one got in that was meant to get in, if
you know what I mean.
 
Now onto the show.  Let me say that I am firmly of the mind that Phish
peaked in '94-'95, and while there have been numerous worthwhile moments
since then, of late they have been stuck in a rut, stuck in a rut, stuck in
a rut of digital delay loops and short, poppy, radio-friendly songs.  The
last time I came to Walnut Creep I was given a blast of old-school Phish
wonderfulness, in the form of Forbin's->Mockingbird.  I held out hope for
such an event today. (Now, bear in mind that my last show, also in Raleigh,
on 12-16-1999, was my least favorite phish show that I have seen, out of the
987,217 and one quarter shows that I have been lucky enough to attend. No
shit man.)
 
Well, I gotta say, this was a much stronger attempt than the last raleigh
gig.  I thought that everything in the first set was pretty damn strong, and
culminating with the big "Melt"-down, I was satisfied beyond all
expectation.  I haven't listened to the tape yet, but I swear I can't
remember anything that was less than good.  Things like NICU, Horn, The Old
Home Place, PYITE...this was the stuff that I was hear to see.  The good
seats didn't hurt, nor did the crowd around me, who more or less all seemed
to be there for the right reasons, i.e. the music.  The vibe was loose and
friendly, and I was digging it in a most righteous manner.  Of course the
seven or eight beers plus two goo balls didn't hurt.  As a matter of fact,
nothing hurt.
 
Second set came out of the gate strong as well.  Jiboo is a cool tune, as
far as the new tunes go, but the jam that developed out it was the
highlight.  Same for FEFY, a big driving buildup and release that had the
crowd grooving.  The biggie was next though:  Scent of a Mule was the kind
of shit I was hoping for, classic phishy nonsense at its finest.  Meat was
kind of good in its own weird way, but I thought the triple-pump faked out
endings were a bit goofy and self-indulgent.  Maze had things back on track
though, a stellar version to say the least.
 
At this point I was wondering if we would get the Mike's Groove that a
number of folks seemed to be anticipating, and when What's the Use started I
sort of knew somehow that the show was winding down.  Didn't really dig this
one that much, which was disappointing considering how good I thought it was
last summer in Charlotte.  Slave popped up next, and was an obvious set
ender.  This version was solid and tight (like that turd I had one time
after eating an entire cheese ball in one gulp, on a bet), but there was a
huge fuck up by Mr Anastasio in the climactic moments of the tune, totally
blowing the big ending that I love so much.  It really was like the home
team fumbling the ball in the last seconds on the fucking goal line, man!
Everybody in the band knew it was fucked up, and they all sort of looked a
trey for a few seconds as if to say, well, we screwed the pooch on that,
maybe another tune to make up for it?  No dice, trey takes a half-hearted
bow, and the rest follow suit.
 
The encores were generally good. I had heard the soundcheck, so Uncle Pen
was cool but no surprise.  I was not thrilled to hear Bold As Love, as I
seem to have caught that one too many times.  Trey was not at peak ripping
capacity during either encore, but not too terrible.  It really seemed like
he kind of ran out of steam at some point, which isn't too crazy considering
that this was the fourth of four shows, in miserable, muggy weather.
 
So, all bullshit aside for once, I did like this show quite a bit.  It's
still light years from the best shows that I have seen, but good enough to
make me wish I was going to see something else this summer, or even this
year for that matter.
 
See you next time faithful readers.

Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 02:03:43 EDT
From: Vinegar99@aol.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: review of 6/25/00
 
I have a review for the Phish 6/25/00 at the Alltell Pavilion at Walnut Creek
in Raleigh, North Carolina.
 
 
Hey all I'm a newbie and I've only been listening to Phish for about a year.
I have friends who taped the Big Cypress show and play it for me so most of
what i know is off those like 16 cds or some crazy number from Big Cypress,
and some from a show at Denver, CO that I had on tape and that's about it.
The Raleigh show was my first and I thought I'd post a review so you can see
what us "newbies" think for a little change of pace!
 
the trip was really long and I drove the whole way.  I didn't even have a
ticket, i was mostly going because my boyfriend had a ticked and needed a
ride at the last minute so i offerend to give him one.  We scalped me a
ticket (and I was lucky, there were soo many people with their fingers in the
air) and what I saw was an amazing show.
 
NICU-  This was good. I'd never heard it before, but it surprised me with its
energy.
SAMPLE IN A JAR- I really couldn't tell it was a different song than the one
before it, but I remember liking it
OLD HOME PLACE-  I was really turned on to this grassy tune.  it made
everyone dance including me
PYITE:  this song whigged me out because earlier that day in the parking lot
i saw this guy wearing a Hawaiian Punch shirt that said "Punch You In The
Eye" and had no idea what it meant, then when I heard this song I was like
"ohhhhh..."  I really liked it a lot, especially the "hey's!!"
WATER IN THE SKY: Ohh what a gorgeous song. i've heard this off of the Big
Cypress cd's and Live in Florida myself, so I cheered along at the 'filter
out the Everglades' part.  great version
FUNKY BITCH: This has always been a shared favorite amonst my friends; the
first chords are just awesome.  it blew my mind to hear it live
HORN: another favorite of mine, the song is so pretty. short but sweet
HEAVY THINGS: i really like this happy bouncy little song.  short and studio,
but Trey sang a little lower and less scratchy than normal. i liked it!
DIRT: i really don't remember this song...... sorry?...
SOAMelt:  This song was an awesome, well deserved jam... I completely melted
 
Set II
GOTTA JIBOO: this was fabulous! I love this song
SOAMule: oh man! this blew me away, and the mule dual was incredible.  was it
just me or do you think Page was playing Trey's solo backward?? I should get
the tapes....
MEAT: Incredible. at the end they kept stopping and starting the song in
lengthening gaps. I would think "the song's got to be over" then the chords
would kick in and i was caught completely off guard. i was like "whoa..."
MAZE: there was a glowstick war going on over my head, so i was a little
destracted from the music. i remember thinking "this music goes perfect with
these glowsticks" but that's all
SLAVE TO THE TRAFFIC LIGHT: a little choppy, but still pawerful, jamming  all
the way until the end
 
ENCORE
UNCLE PENN: i soooo love this song, and almost died when they played this
bubbly little bluegrass tune.
BOLD AS LOVE: I can't believe i heard them play Hendrix! I guess it's not
that rare but wow... i love that hendrix song
 
All in all I pretty much really liked this show. i was so impressed and i
know a lot of Phisheads were unhappy with it, but I thought it was kickin.  i
feel i got a treat for it being my first show.  the atmosphere was great, i
thought i was on another planet! peace and love all around.... except for the
punks that trampled the flowers and stuff. didn't your mother's teach you
manners?
peace and thanks for reading!
Kristine

Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 00:43:20 -0400
From: cmlareau sunship@peoplepc.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: Walnut Creek review and general comments about the "new" scene around
us...

06.25.2000 Walnut Creek, Raleigh, North Carolina...
 
Ahh, could we see more humor than last night in Atlanta?  No talk and all
play was the order for the foursome last night in Raleigh...As for the
elements outside the music...temperature was much more reasonable compared
to Atlanta but then again it is the summer so embrace the humidity.  On a
disappointing note, why are there so many who feel that flower beds and well
kept gardens are for short cuts to and from the venue?  And you wonder why
security increases and the availability across the country diminishes...I
wish most of those who carry themselves this way could read this.  Let's
treat these places with some care and maturity!  Anyway, the music, the
music, the music...
 
Set I proved to be high energy nearly all the way through...Having missed
the first ever NICU opener a few years back in CA due to traffic snarls, it
was nice to see it in it's entirety.  It was well played and it was clear to
all that Trey and the guys are having a blast this summer.
 
Sample is Sample and I don't particularly care for it, but this version was
concise and short and remained true to the energy of this set.  Trey always
seems to love this tune and last night was no exception.
 
Ahh, a lil bluegrass!  I love when they pull tunes out like My Sweet One and
last night's My Old Home Place...a beautiful tune with great melodic
textures mingling for 3-4 minutes.  It's so refreshing to see such
versatility in this band and their ability to change stylistic gears so
abruptly...The energy was at a fever pitch and you could tell that an angry
phish would soon emerge before the show ended...
 
Sure enough, Punch You In the Eye erupted the crowd as the "responsorial"
fueled the fire.  the beginning of this version was accented by a triplet
comping idea by Trey.  Haven't seen it done quite like this before and I
enjoyed the experiment.  They were in no hurry to get to the "Hey!, Hey!"
response.  I look forward to the musical endeavors that these guys explore
in any given night, and even this little, seemingly simple idea is why.  I
can never say too many times that I'm just in it for the music!  Great
version of Punch and it was complemented by the relaxing/refreshing Water In
the Sky.  I prefer this version much more than the original version a few
years ago, and it provides a nice break from the intense, driven melody of
the tunes that preceded.
 
Some funk! Funky Bitch, wonderful groove and the crowd loved this version.
A solid 8 minutes of Mike led groove that had all dancing ...
 
Needed to cool off a bit and the first of 3 Rift album takes showed in Horn,
a lovely tune with great melody and beautiful, uplifting guitar lines.  Rift
is my favorite album by far...love the concept album...and I can never get
enough of hearing those tunes (I'll take a Lengthwise at Alpine guys!!!)
Horn was sweet, the fog and lights started to take effect and  the sun was
on its way down...
 
I guess they need to push the new material...Heavy Things and Dirt,
respectively were tight, pop laden demonstrations that this band can play
radio friendly material - just don't get too comfy guys...like that'll ever
happen.  Heavy Things always makes your feet move but I've heard it often
and with all the versions this past year, I wasn't overly excited.  Dirt,
was also a short rendition, Like HT.  I do prefer the revamped way versus
the older version (like the changes in H2O in the Sky over the past 2 years)
but it just doesn't get it goin for me.  Again, Trey clearly enjoys the
simplicity of this tune just like Sample earlier.  Of course, with the
short, must come the loooong!
 
Split Open and Melt was great!  Although not so Trey solo oriented, it
provided some great aural pictures and was a smooth version from start to
finish.  I love the idea of taking a fragment and "tossing it around" - if
you will - until all are one and the idea surfaces unified in harmony.  It's
a great experiment in group improvisation and this version was no exception.
Waiting for that 3 note chromatic idea to surface is a true joy to this jazz
player's ears!  18 minutes of melting was a perfect way to finish up set
one.
 
All in all, lots of music and lots of twists and turns...although not
entirely all geared to one place, this set provided the listener with some
great variety and tight musicianship by all on board - not to say that
sloppiness has its merits too (My Sweet One, Atlanta).  Having looked back
at last summer, the different tunes in this set were a nice change to the
"expected" list(s) that folks carry around in their heads...
 
On to Set 2...Once again, beginning the second set with another from
Farmhouse...Gotta Jiboo got everyone jibooing but, again, it's a regular in
the summer rotation and one of those that falls into a groove that can
become stagnant if the guys aren't really feelin it.  This one stayed within
the context of an intense groove and lasted around 13/14min.  Nothing
phenominal here but it did lead to one of my personal highlights of the
night - Fast Enough For You...I just love these all too rare Rift treats.
It was relaxed and fluid and they could have played out the final chorus
lines all night as far as I'm concerned.  This made it clear that big things
were to come in this set.
 
Scent of a Mule - wow!  It's a tune that I used to shrug at but having not
heard it in a great while, it was refreshing and downright fun.  That middle
jam section was filled with tomfoolery and Trey was experimenting with his
pedals, making use of the waa waas going up and waaay down in pitch.  Great
stuff...Although not your "typical" long Scent, this one had a lot to say
and all were very pleased.
 
Time to play something off of Ghost. Meat.  Now, as a vegetarian, I have
some issues here...however, this song is one of the coolest from that album.
It's slinky, funky, and has enough silliness with all the starts and stops
that it almost makes me want to....nawww.  They stopped for about
2minutes...most folks were cheering away awaiting the next tune when Fishman
lays down that groove again.  They've always seemed to place this one right.
Never played it to death and always chose a nice set placement.
 
A la Japan, the Meat/Maze combination works to perfection.  Maze is awesome.
I'll take it over Bowie any day.  More Rift please...Maze rocked the second
set and Trey was blazing away.  This was the moment that Chris punched his
card.  Spinning the lights like a YEM vocal jam...Bright white lights going
around and around - they wouldn't stop - and either did the guys, just
building and building until they got all the way through the mind bending
puzzle.  Apparently, it led to some dark, somber place in What's the Use.
This was a nice change from the exhausting (and I do mean exhausting-ask
anyone who was there!) Maze.  Slow, and deliberate,  this tune gets frowns
but I always liked the ferociousness of those dark timbres.  They were
taking there time in this one, letting each chord hit you and vibrate until
the next one slams in right next to it.  They really let this one take its
own course, almost pulling it out of us and them (no Floyd remarks
please)...
 
Well, almost like an encore of Tweezer Rep., you know the set is probably
coming to a close when you hear those initial notes of Slave to the Traffic
Light.  It is a beautiful tune and when done well, like the Live One version
(the date and locale escape me), it is sonic majesty.  This one seemed to
slip into the set rather unsure of itself.  The guys were playing it but it
didn't sound too convincing.  It didn't take them long to build it up, and
it almost felt forced at times.  The end seemed to shock Mike and Page, as
Trey just sort of finished it up.  I think the other guys wanted to extend a
little more but when Trey moves on these days, the rest usually are forced
to follow.  Hmm, what would the encore bring?  After 4 in Atlanta, anything
was possible...
 
Uncle Pen, yet another great bluegrass tune - as a present Kentuckian, this
was well received from my camp - that was fast and happy.  I've never seen
it as an encore and it was great to see in this slot.  Plus, although not
always, if bluegrass creeps into the encore, more is to come.  Great lines
from Trey and the guys were having fun, an all to clear observation from
this summer's tour.  That's when Phish truly becomes an experience.
 
To finish it all off, the selective Bold As Love.  They do Hendrix well and
although I'm still waiting for another rocking Isabella, like Star Lake a
few years back or the Texas show in 97, I love to hear this.  They even
extended a little more than I remember and it was tight and pure Hendrix
rock...intent on closing this wonderful night and a great send off to my 9hr
drive back to Kentucky that night.
 
Overall, this show was less humorous than the preceding night, but provided
some great moments fast and slow, bright and dark, sullen and sinister.
Rift music gets me smiling and they made me smile wide that night.  Compared
to other shows this tour, all with great music, this show seemed to exude an
all encompassing quality.  They played differing styles and tempos and
blended them wonderfully throughout the night.  I'm looking forward to
Alpine (note, I finished this review after E. Troy and I wish the folks
around me in Raleigh were the same ones up north...very discouraging, but
I'll save it for the Alpine review...) as I have been to all 4 of their
previous shows there...never disappointing and always inspiring.  In other
rambles...please extend your fingers to the tour comments section of
reviews...I've seen a lot of good things this year, yet sadly, many more
disheartening acts are taking place in "our" scene.  Please help those who
obviously can't or refuse to see the light.  Trampling beautiful flowers and
hurling glowsticks at your musical idols and especially urinating in row R
at Alpine (believe it...) are absolutely shameful.  Pick yourselves up and
for those of you who are what this scene is all about (and thanks be that we
out number the others) keep it going and continue the all around good ole
vibes...see ya'll on tour!

Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 03:11:50 GMT
From: sachet upadhyay atri89@hotmail.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
 
Since lot of people have already given their thoughts on each of the songs ,
I thought I would just highlight some of the things that I thought was
important. I thought the Raleigh show lived up to its potential. It seems
that they have worked up on their songs and have given them a different
makeup. I thought the first set was really well played especially SOAM which
was just "sick." The repetitous melody that trey played brought tears into
my eyes as I saw the sun going down.  Such mystical experiences are the sole
reason why we go to phish shows. The second set was well played. Once whats
the use came out I had expected something extraordinary. I felt that delay
loops weren't working or something not going right. I could be wrong. Maybe
someone knows better.  There is a segment everybody comes down and trey
fires up those loops. You could really hear it well in Merriweather show of
99. That did not take place and you can't expect it work every show. But
neverthless It was still great. I was not dissapointed. Show gets 8/10.
Ishvaku

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 00:29:58 -0400
From: cmlareau sunship@peoplepc.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: Walnut Creek...
 
06.25.2000 Walnut Creek, Raleigh, North Carolina...
 
Ahh, could we see more humor than last night in Atlanta?  No talk and all
play was the order for the foursome last night in Raleigh...As for the
elements outside the music...temperature was much more reasonable compared to
Atlanta but then again it is the summer so embrace the humidity.  On a
disappointing note, why are there so many who feel that flower beds and well
kept gardens are for short cuts to and from the venue?  And you wonder why
security increases and the availability across the country diminishes...I
wish most of those who carry themselves this way could read this.  Let's
treat these places with some care and maturity!  Anyway, the music, the
music, the music...
 
Set I proved to be high energy nearly all the way through...Having missed the
first ever NICU opener a few years back in CA due to traffic snarls, it was
nice to see it in it's entirety.  It was well played and it was clear to all
that Trey and the guys are having a blast this summer.
 
Sample is Sample and I don't particularly care for it, but this version was
concise and short and remained true to the energy of this set.  Trey always
seems to love this tune and last night was no exception.
 
Ahh, a lil bluegrass!  I love when they pull tunes out like My Sweet One and
last night's My Old Home Place...a beautiful tune with great melodic textures
mingling for 3-4 minutes.  It's so refreshing to see such versatility in this
band and their ability to change stylistic gears so abruptly...The energy was
at a fever pitch and you could tell that an angry phish would soon emerge
before the show ended...
 
Sure enough, Punch You In the Eye erupted the crowd as the "responsorial"
fueled the fire.  the beginning of this version was accented by a triplet
comping idea by Trey.  Haven't seen it done quite like this before and I
enjoyed the experiment.  They were in no hurry to get to the "Hey!, Hey!"
response.  I look forward to the musical endeavors that these guys explore in
any given night, and even this little, seemingly simple idea is why.  I can
never say too many times that I'm just in it for the music!  Great version of
Punch and it was complemented by the relaxing/refreshing Water In the Sky.  I
prefer this version much more than the original version a few years ago, and
it provides a nice break from the intense, driven melody of the tunes that
preceded.
 
Some funk! Funky Bitch, wonderful groove and the crowd loved this version.  A
solid 8 minutes of Mike led groove that had all dancing ...
 
Needed to cool off a bit and the first of 3 Rift album takes showed in Horn,
a lovely tune with great melody and beautiful, uplifting guitar lines.  Rift
is my favorite album by far...love the concept album...and I can never get
enough of hearing those tunes (I'll take a Lengthwise at Alpine guys!!!)
Horn was sweet, the fog and lights started to take effect and  the sun was on
its way down...
 
I guess they need to push the new material...Heavy Things and Dirt,
respectively were tight, pop laden demonstrations that this band can play
radio friendly material - just don't get too comfy guys...like that'll ever
happen.  Heavy Things always makes your feet move but I've heard it often and
with all the versions this past year, I wasn't overly excited.  Dirt, was
also a short rendition, Like HT.  I do prefer the revamped way versus the
older version (like the changes in H2O in the Sky over the past 2 years) but
it just doesn't get it goin for me.  Again, Trey clearly enjoys the
simplicity of this tune just like Sample earlier.  Of course, with the short,
must come the loooong!
 
Split Open and Melt was great!  Although not so Trey solo oriented, it
provided some great aural pictures and was a smooth version from start to
finish.  I love the idea of taking a fragment and "tossing it around" - if
you will - until all are one and the idea surfaces unified in harmony.  It's
a great experiment in group improvisation and this version was no exception.
Waiting for that 3 note chromatic idea to surface is a true joy to this jazz
player's ears!  18 minutes of melting was a perfect way to finish up set
one.
 
All in all, lots of music and lots of twists and turns...although not
entirely all geared to one place, this set provided the listener with some
great variety and tight musicianship by all on board - not to say that
sloppiness has its merits too (My Sweet One, Atlanta).  Having looked back at
last summer, the different tunes in this set were a nice change to the
"expected" list(s) that folks carry around in their heads...
 
On to Set 2...Once again, beginning the second set with another from
Farmhouse...Gotta Jiboo got everyone jibooing but, again, it's a regular in
the summer rotation and one of those that falls into a groove that can become
stagnant if the guys aren't really feelin it.  This one stayed within the
context of an intense groove and lasted around 13/14min.  Nothing phenominal
here but it did lead to one of my personal highlights of the night - Fast
Enough For You...I just love these all too rare Rift treats.  It was relaxed
and fluid and they could have played out the final chorus lines all night as
far as I'm concerned.  This made it clear that big things were to come in
this set.
 
Scent of a Mule - wow!  It's a tune that I used to shrug at but having not
heard it in a great while, it was refreshing and downright fun.  That middle
jam section was filled with tomfoolery and Trey was experimenting with his
pedals, making use of the waa waas going up and waaay down in pitch.  Great
stuff...Although not your "typical" long Scent, this one had a lot to say and
all were very pleased.
 
Time to play something off of Ghost. Meat.  Now, as a vegetarian, I have some
issues here...however, this song is one of the coolest from that album.  It's
slinky, funky, and has enough silliness with all the starts and stops that it
almost makes me want to....nawww.  They stopped for about 2minutes...most
folks were cheering away awaiting the next tune when Fishman lays down that
groove again.  They've always seemed to place this one right.  Never played
it to death and always chose a nice set placement.
 
A la Japan, the Meat/Maze combination works to perfection.  Maze is awesome.
I'll take it over Bowie any day.  More Rift please...Maze rocked the second
set and Trey was blazing away.  This was the moment that Chris punched his
card.  Spinning the lights like a YEM vocal jam...Bright white lights going
around and around - they wouldn't stop - and either did the guys, just
building and building until they got all the way through the mind bending
puzzle.  Apparently, it led to some dark, somber place in What's the Use.
This was a nice change from the exhausting (and I do mean exhausting-ask
anyone who was there!) Maze.  Slow, and deliberate,  this tune gets frowns
but I always liked the ferociousness of those dark timbres.  They were taking
there time in this one, letting each chord hit you and vibrate until the next
one slams in right next to it.  They really let this one take its own course,
almost pulling it out of us and them (no Floyd remarks please)...
 
Well, almost like an encore of Tweezer Rep., you know the set is
probably coming to a close when you hear those initial notes of Slave to the
Traffic Light.  It is a beautiful tune and when done well, like the Live One
version (the date and locale escape me), it is sonic majesty.  This
one seemed to slip into the set rather unsure of itself.  The guys were
playing it but it didn't sound too convincing.  It didn't take them long to
build it up, and it almost felt forced at times.  The end seemed to shock
Mike and Page, as Trey just sort of finished it up.  I think the other guys
wanted to extend a little more but when Trey moves on these days, the rest
usually are forced to follow.  Hmm, what would the encore bring?  After 4 in
Atlanta, anything was possible...
 
Uncle Pen, yet another great bluegrass tune - as a present Kentuckian, this
was well received from my camp - that was fast and happy.  I've never seen it
as an encore and it was great to see in this slot.  Plus, although not
always, if bluegrass creeps into the encore, more is to come.  Great lines
from Trey and the guys were having fun, an all to clear observation from this
summer's tour.  That's when Phish truly becomes an experience.
 
To finish it all off, the selective Bold As Love.  They do Hendrix well and
although I'm still waiting for another rocking Isabella, like Star Lake a few
years back or the Texas show in 97, I love to hear this.  They even extended
a little more than I remember and it was tight and pure Hendrix rock...intent
on closing this wonderful night and a great send off to my 9hr drive back to
Kentucky that night.
 
Overall, this show was less humorous than the preceding night, but provided
some great moments fast and slow, bright and dark, sullen and sinister.  Rift
music gets me smiling and they made me smile wide that night.  Compared to
other shows this tour, all with great music, this show seemed to exude an all
encompassing quality.  They played differing styles and tempos and blended
them wonderfully throughout the night.  I'm looking forward to Alpine (note,
I finished this review after E. Troy and I wish the folks around me in
Raleigh were the same ones up north...very discouraging, but I'll save it for
the Alpine review...) as I have been to all 4 of their previous shows
there...never disappointing and always inspiring.  In other rambles...please
extend your fingers to the tour comments section of reviews...I've seen a lot
of good things this year, yet sadly, many more disheartening acts are taking
place in "our" scene.  Please help those who obviously can't or refuse to see
the light.  Trampling beautiful flowers and hurling glowsticks at your
musical idols and especially urinating in row R at Alpine (believe it...) are
absolutely shameful.  Pick yourselves up and for those of you who are what
this scene is all about (and thanks be that we out number the others) keep it
going and continue the all around good ole vibes...see ya'll on tour!

Date: Sun, 09 Jul 2000 21:04:52 GMT
From: Thomas Laxson exit14_99@hotmail.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: review submission
 
6/25/00
Altell Pavilion at Walnut Creek, Raleigh, NC
 
I'd like to begin by saying how disappointed I am to read so many negative
reviews of this show.  Yes, it was only my second show, and I only have a
very meager tape collection, but this makes me no less of a phan.  It is not
my fault that i don't have opportunities to see many shows or to collect
many tapes.  And it seems, from some of these reviews, that too many phans
that have the opportunities to do these things take phish for granted.  Some
people trashed this show, and seemed to feel that it was a waste of their
time.  I say to these people, would you rather be at Oz fest or a Backstreet
Boys concert?  So what if the slave jam was slow?  Just because it didn't go
the way you expected it to doesn't mean that trey "screwed up."  Maybe he
was just going for something different that night.  And Trey's portion of
the mule duel may not have been "jamming," but you could look for its good
points, like the fact that it broadened the songs range of moods so it's not
the same every time.
 
Now, here's what i thought of the show:
 
NICU: My second show, my second NICU.  I must say this is the perfect way to
begin a show.  it's a great transition from the relaxed setting of
anticipating the show to the vicious jams soon to come.  It's got a groove
to it, but not too much, and no one's ready to take too much just yet.  It
seemed pretty standard, but it just seemed get the crowd prepared.
 
Sample:  I personally love this song.  I have never heard a live version of
it, but this was just what i expected.  It was extended from the studio
version, but it didn't outstay its welcome.  Seemed perfect for me.  Of
course, I would prefer the band's more epic songs like Forbin's->Mockinbird,
or fluffhead, or David Bowie, but that would be a dream come true.
 
Old home place:  I didn't like this song until this show.  I don't like it
now, but there's just something about a live show that can make any song the
best song you've ever heard.  When people start to lose that sense of magic
then they should stop going to shows and let the actual phans have the
tickets.
 
PYITE:  One of my favorites.  Anything associated with Gamehenge is my
favorite.  Nothing stellar but the song itself doesn't really have stellar
potential written into its range.  But how can you not enjoy yourself with
all of those "hey"s!  That's my idea of a party song.
 
Water in the Sky and Funky Bitch:  I honestly don't even remember these
songs being played.
 
Horn:  Why does the crowd die down during slower songs.  It seemed like I
was the only person dancing during this song.  Fine, maybe it doesn't leave
any room for improvisation, but it's got such a great melody to it.
 
Heavy Things:  I don't seem to remember this one either.  Sorry.
 
Dirt:  Oh, Good God!  This was amazing.  Everyone sat back down for this
one, but this was probably the wildest I got the whole night.  This song is
so full of emotion in every single note.  I almost cried it was so gorgeous.
  Trey has really learned to maitain a sense of melody during improv.
 
Split Open and Melt:  Typically I fast forward through this song.  Of course
I get to the steam dream part and then skip the rest, so i pretty much did
the same here.  Right after the song picked back up for the reprise of the
chorus, i mosied on to the bathroom.  The song seemed to get pretty bad when
i was gone, but as soon as i made it back to the lawn, something in the vibe
clicked.  All that i can remember is that i was pleased.  When it was over i
couldn't imagine a better first set.  That's the magic of phish.
 
Gotta Jibboo:  This was awesome!  Between sets i was beginning to feel the
consequences of dancing too hard too long.  I couldn't imagine myself
dancing anymore.  I was praying for a laid back second set.  However, as
soon as trey strummed those opening chords the pain vanished.  Once again,
this is an example of a song that i didn't favor all that much until i saw
it live.  I had more fun during this song than I've had in years, and that
is not an exageration.  Hearing this song that night contributed a major
change in my life.  Along with maze, dirt, and what's the use this song
helped me find something that i've been searching for my whole life,
happiness.
 
Fast enough for you:  Beautiful song, but, once again, I can't remember.
The whole night was so amazing for me that my mind can't contain all of the
joy that i felt.
 
Scent of a mule:  Get Down!  God!  I'm a sucker for bluegrass tunes.  This
song put a huge smile on my face.  That says enough.
 
Meat:  Memory?
 
Maze:  Now, here we go.  This was mind blowing!  The jam on this song was
better than any jam I've ever heard.  It's just indescribable.  This was the
one time of the night that every person in that crowd seemed to be on the
same wavelength.  I just felt some kind of spiritual connection with all
20,000 of them during this song.  Of course, the pain of a glowstick in the
eye is a little distracting from this vibe.
 
What's the use:  This was probably my favorite song of the night when you
only consider aural value.
 
Slave:  Fine.  It wasn't amazing.  I didn't skeet in my pants, but it was
damn good.  How could this song not be damn good?  I don't remember any
specifics about it, and i was disappointed with the fact that they ended the
set with it, but it's better than any song you or i could ever write, and it
contains some ambiguous emotion that makes any version of it very
intriguing.
 
Uncle Pen:  By this song I could barely stand up, but not only was i
standing, i was jumping around and dancin' like a wild dingo-man.  There was
definitely some groove present in this song.
 
Axis:  It was a solid song to end the show with.  It didn't linger too long.
  It seemed to just be saying, "Goodnight."  It wrapped things up and didn't
leave the show unfinished.
 
 
Final thoughts
Since this concert i have been a very different person.  It taught me what
truly is important in life.  It was the greatest day of my life!  Literally.


Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 13:04:25 EDT
From: Shaun Funk brewfunk@hotmail.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net, rmp@archive.phish.net
Subject: Phish 6-25-00 Review
 
06/25/2000 Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek - Raleigh, North Carolina
 
 
Three friends and I got to the lots just before 4:20.  It was a blazing hot
day.  The few porta-johns in the lots were like little stinky
ovens.  Without exaggeration, I would guess it was over 120 degrees
inside those things.   I drank 3-4 bottled waters while in the lot.  I
felt sorry for the fools who insisted on pounding a 6-pack or so of
beer in this sweltering heat.
 
I had purchased lawn seats a couple of days after the tickets went on
sale.  I new better seats would be released closer to the show date,
and I scored nice reserved seats about 30 rows back, dead even with
Trey, on Thursday before the show.  My boss bought two of my
extras for his kid, and I knew I'd be able to get rid of the others at
the show.
 
Boy was that easy.  I sold them to the guys in the van parked next
to us, for face.  We rambled on down to will call to pick up our other
tickets, and it was obvious that this show had sold out.    I'm pretty
sure that this is the first sold out Phish show I've been to.  People
were getting pretty antsy for tickets, but there were very few to be
had and plenty in need.  The box office was barricaded and event
staff was only allowing people in for will-call.
 
There were several guys riding around on bicycles with yellow
golf shirts that said "Event Staff" on them, and there were a few
uniformed police officers around, but the only trouble I saw,
was right across the first lane from the main entrance.  Someone
was selling beer from a cooler.  They obviously did something
that these event staff ( or maybe cops ) folks were not too happy
with,  because the guy's bikes were on the ground and they were
popping the caps off of about 2 cases of Killians bottles and
dumping them right on the spot.  I obviously missed something,
because I could see no ratoinale in this.  While I understand that
it is not legal, there was a lot more beer being sold in the lot, and
dumping the contents of this one cooler was not going to make a
dent.
 
After getting our tickets, we headed back to the car and got our
stuff together to go into the amphitheater.  I grabbed a falafel
and about my 4th bottle of water and found a little of the fairly
limited shade to eat my grub.
 
After eating we headed inside and hung around for a while.
I saw a few folks that I knew.  The sun was moving down on
the horizon, and we were in an area that was shaded by trees
and the cover on the pavilion.  The weather was much more
bearable.
 
We made it down to our seats around 7:10.  Show time was at
7:00, and we knew that the show wouldn't start for another
1/2 hour, but we didn't want to have to compete for our seats.
 
At 7:37 the house music stopped and the band came on.  The entire
first set was played before darkness fell.  This has an unfortunate
result on Chris Kuroda's fantastic light show, but that's what you
get at an outdoor show.  One thing I did notice, was that all of the
rigging holding up the lights seems to grow and change with each
show that I see.  This time around it was almost in the shape of  a
wagon wheel, directly above the stage.
 
Set I (1:09):
 
7:37 NICU -- at 7:36 guess who had to pee.  I have the worlds smallest
bladder, so this song started before I had even made it to the bathrooms. I
made it back quickly, but it was quite a different
adventure getting to my seat this time.  This song was a good start got
everybody going.  It was standard.  "No left turn unstoned".
 
7:43 Sample in a Jar  --  this was standard as well, but rockin.  I
enjoy the composed stuff.  This was about the same as the version \
played at my first show ( 11/19/98 ).
 
7:48 The Old Home Place -- ahh bluegrass.  I am more familiar with this
song from String Cheese Incident's rendition.  It was also standard and
good.  Having really gotten into SCI in the last year or so, I realized
how good they actually are at the bluegrass stuff.  Phish played this
song well, but^Åoh well, we don't need any "my band is better than your
band" here.
 
7:52 Punch You in the Eye -- Trey played a long scratchy intro to this
one.  Just stroking the strings in a funky rhythm, while he damped the
strings on the fret board.  Mike and Trey did their little dance in
this one.  I'd never seen it and it got a good cheer from the crowd.
Trey missed his entrance to the second "Landlady" section because he
was goofing with all those dang pedals.  As the song came to an end it
slowed down to Trey playing this alternating theme that sounded a lot
like the emergency vehicle sirens that you here in europe.  And from
there it just faded to silence.  I really like The Landlady, and I'm
disappointed that it doesn't get played by itself, but it's nice to
here it juxtaposed with PYITE.  I enjoyed this song, but I still can't
get the "HEY!" right.
 
8:01 Water in the Sky -- This one had a real nice grassy sounding
guitar solo. The Everglades line got a nice cheer from the crowd as I am
sure it will continue to get for a while.  The jam built up very
harmonically with both Trey and Page participating equally.
 
8:05 Funky Bitch -- Last summer in Charlotte, Derek Trucks sat in on
this one.  It will be a long time before another FB tops that memory.
That being said this was very enjoyable with both Page and Trey playing
their solos as they usually do.  Page stuck to the piano ( does he
always do this? ) but I was kind of hoping he'd switch to the organ.
Trey came in two beats early ( I know, nit picking ) for his solo, but
I doubt many noticed.  He played an excellent solo and this one was
over.  I wrote Fantastic! on my notes, so it was still a great
rendition.
 
8:13 Horn  -- ahh, repeat from the December 99 Raleigh show.  I love
this song. I am a sucker for a nice melodic song.  But just as in
December, when I heard the opening lick, a little fear struck my heart
that Treys' beautiful composed solo would be struck by a sour note or
two.  Not so.  He played it note perfect.  Even better than 12/16/99
which was basically flawless as well.
 
After a little conference to figure out what song would be played next, Trey
hit the bell pedal that signals^Å
 
8:18 Heavy Things  -- this started out standard, and was pretty much
standard throughout, but It felt to me they Trey was trying to take it
out a bit more, than what they had done at Raleigh in December.  He was
a little slow getting started but by the end of the song he was bopping
pretty good.  It was obvious that he was enjoying himself.
 
8:24 Dirt -- I didn't write any notes next to this song.  But I do
remember a few things.  First of all, I'm a habitual whistler, so I
love songs were there is whistling.  Not just from Phish, but anybody.
Phish have several slow songs which have a building jam at the end,
that make you forget that this was a slow, quiet song to begin with.
Dirt is one of those songs, and it ended powerfully ( relatively
speaking ).
 
Well, I figured if they were really going to jam one out, and they did it
now, it would be the set closer.  And then came the opening to^Å
 
8:29 Split Open and Melt -- Although I've heard this song many times on
some of the recordings I have, I'd not seen it live.  Being at the show is
so different.  This one seemed to have lots of dissonance
throughout.  More than I recall. The a capella section was nice.  I am
sure there were others singing a long with me, Trey, Mike, Page, and
Fish. Trey let go an evil sounding  loop at the beginning of the jam.
The jam took on a groove flavor before descended into a spacey
section.  The whole band was jamming on this.  It got quite dissonant
and was interesting, but a tad boring.  Trey added a bunch of reverb as
they worked toward a more harmonic strain.  This went into the standard
ending of Split and they built, and built, and built to a frenzied
climax.  I really enjoyed this one.  It seemed that most folks did.
This 17 minute SOAMelt was a great way to end the first set at 8:46.
 
At setbreak, we decided not to all leave our seats at the same time.  A
quick dash to the bathroom and a refill of the water bottles, was
pleasantly interrupted by a meeting with one of my net friends that I
seem to see at a lot of shows, and then it was back to our seats.
 
Set II (1:22):
 
9:35 Gotta Jibboo >  I thought this was a great way to start the second
set.  The groove in this song is so thick, and looking over the crowd,
I could see that everybody was bopping by the second measure.  My
second set notes are a little more sparse, which I think indicates that
I was having too much fun to write!  This song was nicely jammed and
clocked in around 15 minutes.
 
9:50 Fast Enough For You > This was a surprise to me.  I didn't know what it
was for the first 20 seconds or so.  I love the vocal
harmonies. I don't think I have a lot of tapes or CD's of this song.  I
am most familiar with it from Rift.  They seemed to take it out a
little further than I expected.  I'm not sure what a standard version
of this song would be, but I enjoyed it, whatever standard means for
this song.
 
9:58 Scent of a Mule  -- wow, they played both SOAM's in this show.  The
the lyrics are so rapid-fire in this one.  It was finally dark enough
during the second set to be able to enjoy the lights more.  Chris was
right on with this one.  The spots illuminated both Mike and Trey at
all the right moments.  I think Chris hit all the "notes" on this one.
Page took a long piano solo, without accompaniment.  It lasted quite a
while.  Then Trey took his solo, which also want on a while.  He kept
messing with his effects pedals and this part of the show got a little
stagnant.  I would have to say this was the lowest point of the show.
It seemed kind of stuck.  The music worked it's way back to the Mule
theme and ended on an up note.  I guess what I witnessed where was a
"Mule Duel"?  I want to hear this again, and see what I think.
 
10:11 Meat -- ahh, the Funk!  I made an interesting observation during
this song.  Of course I'd heard this many times before, but I was
really focused on the music since I was right there on top of it.
Phish is a jamband.  No news here.  They play extended improvised solos
in many songs.  Meat does not have much of a place for improvisation.
But it still appears to be quite a crowd pleaser.  Why?  Two things.
First, the vocal arrangements are technical and interesting.  At some
points you have 3 of the band members singing different lyrics
simultaneously.  It^Òs sounds great, but it makes it hard to sing
along.  The other thing is the starting/stopping that they do as they
get to towards the end.  This adds a lot of anticipation and dramatic
effect.  The first time they stopped, and then started right back up
with another "verse" within 10 seconds.  They did the same thing
again, and started up in about 30 seconds.  After the second of third time
doing this, there was an obvious conference going on on stage to
figure out what would be played next.  There was no music for about 2
minutes, and you could see Trey talking to Fish and Mike, and talking
into the coffee mug with the mic in it.  After this two minute break,
they played another verse of Meat.  I was caught totally off guard. So
were many of the other 15-20,000 people.  It was very cool.
 
10:20 Maze -- OK, this is the third time out of 4 shows for me.
Fortunately it wasn't Bittersweet, or Wading in Velveeta Cheese!  I
like Maze and it was some really great climaxes throughout.  They
jammed this one out great, and a glow stick war  ensued on the lawn.
This was the first time I'd seen one, and admittedly it's quite a
splendor.  But it ruined part of this song for me, because I was more
occupied with preserving my safety with all the hard plastic
projectiles in flight,  than I was with enjoying the music.  Chris
really had the lights going as  they came back from the jam.  The
jam was great and they really played this one well.  Stop throwing
those damn things!
 
After a break for a song choice^Å
 
10:35 What's the Use? > -- I got to the Charlotte show last summer a
little late and missed the first 3 or so tunes.  Very disappointing for
me.  This was one of the songs I missed.  I've listened to it over and
over on CD hadn't seen it.  This is a dark, melancholy kind of song but
it has some strains which resolve minor key sound of the song and sort
of bring blissful resolution.  This one started with a couple of loops
that Trey let go. After playing through the main theme for a about 1/2
the song, it descended to almost nothing, and then came back out to the
main theme.  Following this the song dissolved to space jam and then to
silence.  I really liked the way this one built back up.
 
10:45 Slave to the Traffic Light -- the only notes I wrote for this one
was that the band was jamming full force, all four members.  Last
December's Raleigh tweezer had what was described as a "Slave"
jam to it by one reviewer.  I think I understand that statement now.
I could definitely hear the similarities in the jam of this Slave.
They built it up to a big finish, as all set closers should.  Very
enjoyable as the set ended at 10:57.
 
Encore:
11:00 Uncle Pen -- after the obligitory screaming, yelling and applause
the band came back out for the encore and started into a grassy tune.  I'd
heard this one before as well, but couldn't peg the name.  I have
to say that, for the bluegrass tunes played, I liked this one better than
Old Home Place.  It has a much better arrangement, and the band
seemed more comfortable with it.
 
11:04 Bold as Love  -- this was a tune that I'd heard very little, but
obviously recognized it by the lyrics.  After Trey played a nice jam
the song worked it's way down to silence.  Then it came back up for the
climax.  It was a little rough, but I enjoyed it.
 
We hung out in the parking lot for a short spell, before heading off
for the 2 hour drive home.  Temperatures had settled down into the low
to mid 70's and there was a nice breeze blowing .  I couldn't believe
the contrast in the weather.  We can have some hot sticky nights in NC
after a hot day, but it was really nice.
 
I've already read several reviews of this show that did not quantify
this show as remarkable.  I must have been in the right mood, because
even though it had it's farts, I think I enjoyed this one the most of
the 4 I've been to. People always ask what show is the best.  For me
it's usually the last one I went to.
 
 
Thanks to a great guy named Jimbo, I should have a CDR copy of the show
next week sometime.  I will take a few grovels for b&p, but only if they are
dated after 7/11.
 
See you at the next NC show!
 
Shaun Funk

Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 01:03:53 -0400
From: Harryman harryman@bellsouth.net
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Newsgroups: rec.music.phish
Subject: 6/25/00 Raleigh review
 
Hi all! I just got my tapes of Raleigh yesterday, and have listened and
taken notes on some really fine music! The show was three weeks ago
today, and it was hotter than hell in Raleigh that Sunday! The lot scene
was expansive, not necessarily a good thing in 98 degree heat. My buddy
and I got great seats just outside the taper's section (that's how I
wrangled the tapes) and we sat down waiting for the show to start, which
it did around 7:43 PM.
NICU--Trey came out all smiles and just launched into NICU, and his
sudden start had given the others just enough time to take their places.
You have to love a show that begins with "Play it Leo!!!" This was no
exception to that rule! This was a pretty standard version, though props
to Leo, excellent organ work! >into
Sample--Great tune, interesting placement. I have always thought this
was great toward the end of the first set, or it could work really well
just before Tweeprize in the encore. Standard fare.
Old Home Place--I knew, being in the south, that we would get some
bluegrass, I hadn't counted on four bluegrass tunes, though. My first
time seeing this one. Great song, Mike was singing nice.
Punch You in the Eye--I had been wanting this so much! Great version, a
little funky at the beginning when Trey started messing around with the
muted string thing, adding triplets. Landlady dance is great, much more
spirited than the Roseland one :). Leo put a great piano solo in here,
and Trey looked at him early in the song and let him know to funk it up
and play for us.
Water in the Sky--Bluegrass #2 recalling 8/7/98's opener and the rain of
previous Walnut Creek visits. Too bad no Drowned :). I love this tune,
singing was excellent.
Funky Bitch--Oh yeah! Mike sings again, Trey wails, and Leo again steals
the show!! This will obviously be compared, unfairly, to last year's
version in Charlotte with Derek Trucks. Page attacked the piano for a
blues solo that floored me! So far, it is Mr McConnell dominating this
show! Last year in Charlotte, it belonged to Mike, then December at
Reynolds was Trey's with the best Chalkdust I've ever heard.
Horn--A repeat from December, and a welcome one. A beautiful song,
really mellowed the crowd from the excitement that had built up from
reggae, pop, bluegrass, funk/reggae, bluegrass, blues. A time to dance
in a slower time.
Heavy Things--My mother has on occasion said that if you can't say
anything nice, don't say anything at all.
Dirt--Another mellow beauty. Totally left me unprepared for Melt which
started up right out of the end of this. I love this tune, man.
Split Open and Melt--At first, for some reason, I didn't recognize the
drumbeat, then, I got it! This was an awesome version, though very very
spacey, and prophecying the second set, which was full of space, looping
and distortion. I actually thought this should have been labeled
Melt>Jam>Melt, b/c the jam section was really ambient and had nothing to
do with the song at all. The I listened to the tapes! Boy, was I wrong!
The jam was great, and the ending is amazing! Trey was definitely trying
to take back control of the show here at the end! The ending was the
best to a Melt and the most exciting that I've yet to hear! I would
definitely get this show for this Melt and the second set!
Overall--Highlights: NICU, PYITE, Bitch, Melt! 8.0 out of 10
Why so high? Well, I think because there wasn't a real downer in the
set, everything was well placed, excepting that one song which could
never be played again, and I wouldn't care. Great energy, great playing,
great time had by all.
Setbreak was pretty short, though I've heard others say it was long, I
didn't really notice, I just sat down and chatted, then all of a sudden,
they were back.
Gotta Jibboo--I was happy to hear this song, my first. It had a really
spacey jam in it, but it maintained the Jibboo theme throughout the jam,
a fact I can attest to through the tapes. If I went to Deer Creek
tomorrow and they opened set II with it, I would rather not hear it
there, though. Good jam, nice lights! Trey starts playing with pedals
and making some noises
Fast Enough For You--I admit to not knowing what the hell this was for
quite a while. It's been a song I skip over on Rift, and on cdrs, but
the strange beginning reminded me of Pink Floyd, and the vocals did,
too. Nice tune, I think I sat down during part of it.
Scent of a Mule--Show me a person who says they called this, and I'll
call them a liar! Where the hell did this come from? It, too, starts out
with feedback and delay loops and effects, then Trey starts playing more
bluegrass, but what, thought I, could they be playing in the second set?
Second set is for jammed songs. Then, Mike began singing, and I knew. I
tried to remember the last time they played this (forgetting 12/11/99) I
thought 11/15/98 and then 7/24/98 (w/ Ha Ha Ha). Nice treat for
everyone, a real rarity. Mule Duel was appropriately Page vs Trey. Page
plays an excellent solo, surrounded by weird noises coming from Trey.
Trey's part of the duel started with more of these weird noises. I told
my buddy that I thought what he was doing was doing the backward note
thing he played with last Fall. My buddy thought he was possibly playing
Page's solo backwards, and it certainly sounds like it on tape!
Incredible! The whole solo was backward! And if he did actually play
Page's solo backward, that would just actually blow my mind. Back into
Mule and great singing by Mike!
Meat--This is one of my favorite songs from SOTG, well, one of my top
ten songs probably. I love the funk in it. This version did not
disappoint at all! The song is written with false endings, but this was
ridiculous! During the second one, Trey has a little funk solo, really
low on the guitar. The funny thing was, when they came back into the
song and stopped again, it seemed like it was definitely over as Trey
picked up the cup and began talking to Page. He also chatted with Fish
and Mike. Then right back into it after 1:43 of chatter and cheering by
the crowd. The reprise at this point was all Fish! His playing is
incredible! But he does a quick roll after the chords ring out, ensuring
the end of the song. If you listen closely, you can hear it on the tape.
Amazing!
Maze--I thought it would have been perfect if they had stopped the
hi-hat intro to reprise Meat again, and joked that they would probably
encore the "end" of Meat. This Maze was great. There was a
mini-glowstick war out on the lawn, and it spilled into our seats,
actually hitting one mic. The glowstick war came during Leo's stealing
the show again! His solo was much like the 10/18/96 Phantom of the Opera
Page! It was sick! It really transfers well onto tape, too! Trey doesn't
take his usual solo at first, he actually tries to space out Maze,
continuing the theme. The first solo after Page is spacey, then it goes
into the standard build up and kick your ass solo.
What's the Use?--I had bugged my buddy to death about this every time
they did something spacey, mentioning how in Melt's Jam WtU? would have
been perfect, then again in the FEFY weirdness, and the end of Mule. I
did not expect to hear this gem again, I am so glad they brought this
back! It was the third repeat from last year in Charlotte (along with
Bitch and Maze). I just love this tune, this version is flawless! It
segued into
Slave to the Traffic Light--Did not hear this segue working at all. On
tape my friend sounds correct in calling Free. It sounds like Trey
decided at the last second to start Slave instead of Free, listen to the
tapes and you'll hear it. Slave was really well done, up until the end
of the climax, when Trey ended a little early. The band was surprised
when he took his guitar to his right side and bowed to the crowd. They
expected at least one more song.
Set II 9.5 out of 10 I don't think I have overrated this, or that it can
be overrated! Jibboo was good, Mule!!!, Meat was kick-ass funk, Maze
built up some intensity that was let loose by What's the Use?, which
segued into a Slave that built it right back up.
Encores: Uncle Penn--Another bluegrass tune? Well at least we knew it
wouldn't be a one-song encore, though unfortunately, incomparable to the
previous night's four song encore, which included Guyute! Great little
tune! Totally danceable.
Bold as Love--Page has a great voice, and I wish he sang more often, or
wrote tunes with the vocals in too high a key for Trey to sing. Trey is
great on rockers, but ballads like this are totally Page's territory!
The lighting here was showcased, as was Tubbs's playing (wher is his
nickname for this tour? he didn't have one last year, either!).
Encore: 7.0 out of 10 Uncle Penn was predictable (it was soundchecked)
Bold as Love made up for it!
Overall show: 9.0 out of 10 Get the tapes! It is a keeper!
Thanks for reading this long and boring review.
Peace,
Dave


Date: Sun, 02 Jul 2000 22:02:43 GMT
From: jason poulton jpp622@hotmail.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: 6/25/00 raleigh review
 
6/25/00 Walnut Creek
 
First I'll start with a few comments. I've never posted a review before.
I've been seeing phish since spring 92. Raleigh was show number 202. I've
seen every U.S. show this summer though hartford. Personally, i love this
tour i think through hartford it is the best most varied and impressive tour
since fall 97. But by far i feel raleigh was the worst of the summer it just
wasn't there that night. My girlfriend and myself thought either that the
band was simply overly tired, especially trey or that maybe trey was a
little under the weather.
   first set:
nicu-good version. i feel that it is a better transition song and not an
opener but that's my opinion. glad to hear it though.
 
sample-good sample
 
old home place-don't hear it too often, good tune
pyite-good opening. i liked what trey was doing with his scratching effects,
whatever he does with all those pedals
water sky-good version. becoming obvious that this set is going to be on the
slower, non-jamming side. The band has the right to do that especially after
1st 3 nights.
 
horn-heavy things-dirt: to many slow songs in a row. It really seemed to
deflate the crowd
 
split open- i thought they would tear it down due to the amount of slow
songs. but they really didn't. trey was trying for a few minutes to play
this serious of like 7 notes. it was a really cool idea. it just didn't
work. the band seemed to ignore his direction and then by the time the band
was coming around trey dropped it. it went really mellow for a bit and then
came back to the split theme, which was alright. then trey just started to
grind out the ending chords which i like but it seemed like he did it a few
too many times, for emphasis, frustration, who knows?
 
Thought for sure second set would be a rocker to contrast first set.
 
jiboo-really nice. this song is the new fav. all four versions this summer
have been excellent. and i feel that they have all been different, far
exceding my expectations for this song after last fall. trey was definately
on in jiboo.
 
fast enough-the intro was not usual. i thought it sounded like trey missed
the opening but i really need to listen to the tapes. also, brought the
crowd down from the really solid jiboo.
 
scent-haven't heard it in a while. i think trey got a little lost in his
solo, playing with his new 2000 effets too much. i thought he brought it
back abruptly and really threw himself and the band off a little.
 
meat-good meat, odd placement. i thought the last time they went back into
it, fishman was playing awesome stuff. fills i've never heard in a  meat
before.
 
maze- i thought it was a little off and went nowhere. but once again it
wasn't like it was passive or something. it seemed like trey was trying to
create to much or really nail something and was maybe too aggressive and the
band couldn't stay with him. I'm all for this though. Becaus e9 times out of
10 the band clicks and it's amazing. i feel these shows that are a little
off can help appreciate how impressive phish really are. and if they were
all technically perfect you'd probably get really sick of them and there
would be a shortage of creativity from mistakes.
 
what's the use-I feel that that was what trey and the band were feeling
then. I like this song a lot though, and haven't seen it since boise last
fall(polar opposite of this show).
 
slave-intro messy, middle section got pretty but then trey butchered the
end. again i think they/trey were tired. my girlfriend thought maybe trey
was sick because mike sang so many songs, very unusual. and during encore he
was barely singing his backup parts.
 
encore-uncle penn-axis: i really didn't like the axis solo, blah, blah.
 
Final thoughts: i thought the show was sloppy and unimpressive, very
unimpressive, but not for lack of effort and ideas. sometimes it just
doesn't work. they more than made up for it in holmdel and hartford. See you
in camden. jason

Date: Fri, 07 Jul 2000 04:43:28 -0700
From: Greg Peeler harpua13@theglobe.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: review Raliegh
 
Walnut Creek

Words of the day:  "We got shade, you suckers." Said before a nice gentleman
from Walnut Creek threatened us with severe GBH if we didn't move our car into
the roasting ass lot from the nice little shade spot we had.
 
Wow a clear day in Raliegh NC. That doesn't happen much (only other time in
Phishtory was '95) and we are back at good old Walnut Creek, a truly
underrated venue that I missed dealing with BBuster last year (yuck).  Nice
hot lot scene but with squirt guns at the ready it was very tolerable. Inside
again and I really like the Creek inside. This place is clean and classy, with
a nice nice lawn to dance on.  Seen some awe inspiring shows here (95 and set1
to 98) and some less...(94, most of the 97 fiasco) If only the boys could come
through and send me off on the kick ass note they should.  ER...not quite.
Extremely up and down first set with decent takes on NICU, PYITE (both easy
calls), and SOAM. FunkyB was just standard and there was lots of flat out
garbage like Sample (cringe), Heavy Things and Dirt that just killed all flow
and mood very average pedestrain song selection. I will say that the PYITE was
damn good and the SOAM was excellent. The past three SOAMs (Hampton and NYE
the others) have all been damn good and this one almost saved the set by
itself.  Oh well, things didn't really improve any after another long ass
setbreak (I was chomping at the bit. At least somebody had some energy
there...) Good Jiboo to open up Set 2 better than Antioch IMHO good start, but
a repeat in the same song slot. Not very creative. Now that Im all wound up
and I just KNOW Mikes is on the way....Gotta be dammit gotta be....nope. An
unexplicable FEFY (WHAT???? Give me a break you lazy bums wake up) and a
"should have figured out a better idea four years ago this schtick is getting
way old" Scent that had all the extreme newbies happy but was dull and didn't
go anywhere at all same old shit to me Sorry Capn Cool but those two songs
destroyed all the momentum for the set all of it. Meat didn't help either, but
was at least an inspired choice and was played super funked out. Maze was the
centerpiece jam of the set (Maze? Centerpiece of the second set? Puh-leeze)
and delivered the goods. The only time all set they got into the hyperkinetic
overdrive that sets Phish apart from everybody else. Good good Maze, but where
is my damn Mikes Song?  this makes no sense...Whats the Use? was cool, but a
little slow and slightly rusty after a while on the shelF. Once again very
mellow leading into a Slave that I was at first psyched to hear, but
immidiately it fell apart. This was the worst Slave I think I have ever heard.
Worse that my first one, a seriously botched version on 10/24/94 and the
mangled one from the Went. They pulled about 4 minutes of coherant jamming out
of it after Trey blew the intro and first section but the ending was almost
painful it was sooooo bad people. Shit Im sorry but it was BAD. I love Slave
but that performance was like having to shoot your old dog in the head.  Trey
almost made up for it in the encore (after another ridiculous freaking Uncle
Pen (no creativity, none at all, a horrible call) ) by tearing up Axis Bold as
Love. Probably the best Ive ever heard it. But its only Axis, not a real fave
of anybody Im aware of, still it saved the show some face so i CANT COMPLETELY
trash it, but this was not by any means a classic worthy Phish show. If they
get too tired to work hard after four shows, they need to take a night off.
Well Im off to Camden tomorrow I think its gonna be Nuts!!! Im soooooooo
psyched
 
 Peace,
Thanks for reading ,
Luv Ya All:)
Greg

Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2000 02:08:02 EDT
From: Justsayno5526105@aol.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: raliegh show
 
I had a terrrrrrrible time at this show!!!!!!! Now this is not due to
dissapointment of the set list or the performance of the band  but I had A
VERY VERY BAD TRIP!!!!! I could hardly imagine a worse experience at a show
so if you have had one I feel your pain. I was flipped out of my gourd and
presumed to wander around duringWHAT'S THE USE and somehow stumbled into the
clutches of  some asshole security guards.So I missed the rest of the show .
The rest of what happened has a somewhat dream-like quality so I don't know
what exactly happened. Well I do know that I was subdued against my will and
forced into an ambulance where I was rushed to a hospital in FUCKING CAREY,
NC. I don't think I even fully realized what had happened until I was in leg
and arm restraints on a hospital bed at about 3:00(that's just an estimate).
I'm pretty sure those COCK-SUCKING, scamless Raliegh security guards stole
the remainder of the money in my wallet ($180). If not it was the EMS people
or the people in the hospital. OK, I was not injured but those fucks cut off
my fucking shirt and would not even give me one when they released me at
10:00 in the morning. So here I am in a hospital waiting room in Carey ,NC
with no money(not even 35 cents for a phone call), no shirt, and no ride back
to greenville ,SC because my friends left when I didn't show up for 3 or 4
hours after the show. I have never been so depressed and hopeless in my
entire life. I met a lady there who went to wal-mart and bought me a shirt
and gave me money for food. She is probably one of the most generous, kind,
and overall wonderful person I have ever met. She just saw the look on my
face and approached me wanting to help. God bless the good will of people.
Eventually I was left with little choice, but to call my mom collect and tell
her the whole story. She convinced my father to make the 4 hour drive to
Carey for 60 bucks(which I had to pay back,naturally) and we got back at 5:00
in the morning on monday. I got the ambulance bill today. It was THREE
HUNDRED AND TEN FUCKING DOLLARS FOR FUCKING BULLSHIT THAT WAS FORCED UPON
ME!!!!!! I'm expecting the hospital bill soon. I can't wait to see that one.
Needless to say that was my last trip and will continue to be for the rest of
my life. I don't know if anyone will ever read this or care, but at least you
guys got to see trey screw up slave. I would have rather been with you. If
anyone has had similar experiences I would love to here from you. Colonel
Bruce was in town and I just caught the show. It rocked!
 
                    Be good children,
                                                Ryan

Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2000 10:40:00 -0400
From: Jason.Beckwit@wcom.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: review of Alltel Pavilion, 6/25/00
  
Hello.  It's a couple days after this year's Raleigh show, and I think I've
finally had time to take it in and recover.  I wanted to get this review up
before all of Phish's critics come on here and bash the show for not playing
Ice or something, cause I really thought this show was immaculate.  I know
the vibe and the fact that I had a great night had something to do with
this.  For one, my buddy who was with me was in a wheelchair for a broken
foot and for that reason we were able to sit in the handicapped section.  I
don't know if you've ever sat here, but it's fifteen rows back and level
with the stage.  This was quite a treat.  I was also amongst great friends
and with great treats, as well as my girlfriend, and the vibe just kicked my
arse.  I personally thought the show was damn near perfect, and soooo much
better than all the other Walnut Creek shows.  I can overlook the flubs and
the mellower jams.  I can't beleive people actually spent paragraphs of
reviews just to critique Trey's little "bubble jam" in the middle of Mule.
I mean, come on, let the guy have a little fun.  It's like, if his every
move isn't just perfect and intensely jamming, the show deserves a bad
review?  Seriously, get a life.  I was just happy to be there, and very
thankful for the fact that they even played Mule.  No offense intended, Mr.
Minor, but you've seen Phish WAY too many times.  Also, let me tell people
that despite all the negative occurances in the lot, and there were a lot,
that Raleigh really isn't a thug ridden cestpool, and I do appologize for
those schwag locals who showed up and made the scene suck.  I've lived here
over 25 years and have really enjoyed it.  I know there were a lot of
problems, but to be fair, a lot of those were caused by kids, not cops.  I
did see people getting kicked out, and a friend of mine was jumped and had
his ticket stolen.  Again, I appologize for the bad locals, and I know they
really suck.  However, for me, it was one of the best nights of my life, and
the show blew my brains out.  Show number 36 it was for me and the only show
I get to see on this tour.  Let me first say that I've seen all the Walnut
Creek shows, and this one was my favorite.  When was the last time (besides
TN) that three bluegrass tunes were played?  That in itself made it such a
special show.  This whole attitude of "the song was standard" or "too
misplaced" is ridiculous, there were a lot of people who would have
appreciated your ticket, try to be thankful for what we have in phish.
Also, it didn't rain, the show went till 11:30 instead of 10:30, the second
set consisted of more than four songs and they were all pretty energetic,
and the Velvet Sea curse has been broken.  Now, on to the songs.
 
NICU - A superb opener if I do say so myself.  Very widely played tune, and
for good reason....it rocks.  Play it Leo, oh yeah, this was sweeeeet.  I
couldn't have asked for a better opener.
 
Sample In a Jar - Normally, I'm not a huge fan of this one, but this had me
flailing.  Such a hot version, you could so easily tell that Trey was having
the time of his life.  That handicapped section offered an entire dance
floor worth of room, and I took full advantage of all of it.
 
Old Home Place - Oh, hell yes.  I wish I could've been in TN cause I love
bluegrass.  I was so happy to see them bust out this traditional bluegrass
classic for the first time in four years.  Mike was sooo on, and this proved
to be one of the show's highlights.
 
 
Punch You In the Eye - Okay, at this point, if they didn't slow down I was
going to explode.  This was incredible and the little Landlady dance was
more energetic than usual.  I thought the song placement couldn't be more
perfect.  Damn, was I having the time of my life.
 
Water In the Sky - Well, I can't say I really like this one too much, but I
can't get everything I love.  I needed a chance to breathe anyway, so this
was a good time to do so.  I figured it was coming, it seems to be tradition
at Walnut to play this one.  At least they didn't open with it :)
 
Funky Bitch - A bit of a strange intro, but a blistering version.  I was so
happy to see this as not an encore.  Another NC tradtion, this one didn't
dissapoint.  I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
 
Horn - Ahhhh yeah, only my third in 36 shows.  I soooo love this song, and
love to hear it live.  I do wish it was a little longer, but  the fine wine
was runnin through my blood.  So heavy yet so heartwarming.  I absolutely
loved it, another highlight.
 
Heavy Things - Wahhhh, they played it again, wahhhh, I'm gonna cry about it
(immitating most reviews)  This version was awesome.  Trey finally broke
down and took his vocals down an octave, and it sounded great.  His voice
wasn't cracking and the solo was tight as all hell.  Great way to pick
things back up, heavy things that is.
 
Dirt - Ohhhh yeah, this tune rules.  Only one of the two or three slow ones
of the night, and a prime choice for a slow song.  I love the new
arrangement, I haven't seen it since Atlanta 97.  The whistling and the
backup vocals (like on farmhouse) were sweet as could be and the lyrics cut
me like a knife.  What a treat.  Could we actually get a first set in
Raleigh without Stash???
 
Split Open and Melt - Hell Yes!!!!!!  Now we're talkin jam!!!!  The PYITE
jam was cool, but this was through the roof.  Eighteen minutes of pure Trey
consistancy.  The energy of this jam never died and the tightness increased
to a point of practical inhumanity.  Could they have had a better set
closer?  Sure, but Carini had already been played the night before :)  What
a jam and what a set.
 
Setbreak:  I never leave my seats at setbreat, too may folks to try and
avoid and too long of lines.  I sat and took it in as the sun went down.  A
cool breaze blew through the pavilion leaving the smile on my face to grow
even bigger.  I ponderd what the second set would hold, a little worried
that it may be another Velvet Sea, Mikes, DWD twinged Raleigh set.  Boy, was
I ever wrong, they came out as the lights went down and went directly into:
 
Gotta Jibboo - MY GOD!!!  This was soooo phat, I was just blown out of the
water by how superb this was.  I was expecting maybe a 2001, but this was so
much better I thought.  The tight ass funk jam that was extended to about
fifteen minutes and gave Kuroda a wonderful excuse to kick those lights into
gear. This was my first time in years being this close to the stage and the
lights were something to remember.  Jibboo deffinitely a highlight.  My
first time seeing it live too.
 
Fast Enough For You - Another of the few slow ones, and another prime
choice.  I couldn't tell what it was at first.  Was I just wasted, or was
the intro a little different?  Either way, when the vocals started, I was
very happy to see what the song was.  It was slow and awesome.  I did my
slow jig and melted to the solo.  Love this one, still such a hype show.
 
Scent of a Mule - Holy Shit, good god.  My first one since the Clifford
Ball, and so damn good.  I personally loved Trey's little bubble effect
antics during the mule duel, it showed he was having a great time.  More ass
shakin bluegrass and Mike was dropping bombs all over the place.  I mean, at
this point we were even getting rare treats on top of world class jams.
Anyone who was complaining at this point is simply spoiled.  Love the mule,
I do.
 
Meat - Jesus allmighty, it just doesn't get any better.  I wish this song
wasn't so rare, cause I love it.  It was so much funkier than usual, and
Mike got the spotlight once again, and used it well.  The pauses between
funk outs at the end were longer than usual which made for some amusing
antics.  Loved every moment of it.
 
Maze - At this point, I just blew it off as a dream, they were playing all
my favorites.  It's like they could read my mind.  Besides the Split, this
was the epic jam of the evening.  At the end of the jam as it got really
intense, and Kuroda took the oppurtunity to go nuts with the lights.  They
all turned white and spun as fast as could be.  It went so well with the
jam, and Maze proved to be a highlight as usual.
 
What's the Use? -  If they're gonna play a Siket Disk song, I'm so glad it
was this one.  Very dark and spooky, this had the quality of old Pink Floyd
with a very Phishy twinge.  It was extened longer than usual and made me
sway to the dark bombs being dropped by Mike.  Love this jam, very glad to
hear it again.
 
Slave To the Traffic Light - Yes!!!!! I really wanted this to close the
show, and alas, I got my wish once again.  This is one of my three favorite
Phish songs, and I always love to see it.  Granted, it wasn't as energetic
as versions I've heard in the past and Trey did screw up the ending a
little, but so fuckin what???  It was a great closer to a phenominal set.  I
accept that Phish isn't perfect and screw ups just mean that they're human.
I thought this version was as good as any, the mellow side didn't make it
bad by any means.  I loved it and wouldn't have asked for anything else.
Thank you so much, Phish.
 
Now, the crowd was probably the most intense I've ever seen at The Creek
(walnut), and it got outrageous as we awaited the encore.  I didn't care
what the encore was, as long as it wasn't Velvet Sea.  That second set made
me so happy, and could quite possibly be the best set I've seen in years.
On to......
 
Uncle Penn - Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!  Only my second time hearing this and first time
since Gainseville, VA, 1995.  A third bluegrass tune?  Could it really be?
Mike really took the spotlight at this show and this was the icing on the
cake.  I love this tune and they tore it up with a vengance.  I heard it
from the soundcheck, but really didn't think they'd play it.  Made me so
happy, and I thought the show was over since it was after 11, but......
 
Axis: Bold as Love - Damn, what a way to close a superb show.  This reminded
us of the wonderful encore from walnut creek in 95, and gave Page his first
oppurtunity of the night to take to spotlight.  I was so into this, and so
was the crowd.  The lights were as intense as ever and the sound was
impecible.  This had me smiling as I wheeled my buddy out of the show and
made it home safely.
 
I was blown away by this show, thought it was incredible.  Gave me hope for
Walnut Creek shows in the future, cause the place never has had the best
shows.  Only dissapointment would be that they didn't play Vultures, but who
cares, the show ruled.  Thank you, Phish, my faith is completely restored.
Also, I saw they finally put speakers on the lawn.  Hopefully the sound is
better down there.  Great night, one of my best.  Loved it, can't wait till
Merriweather.
 
Jason

Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 15:21:06 -0400
From: "Tookey, Jack **CTR**" Jack.Tookey@mmt.bellhowell.com
To: "'dws@www.phish.net'" dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: 6-25-2000 Raleigh Review
 
Well, I'm finally recouped enough to attempt a review of Sunday nights
pretty dang good performance.  I'm not an extremely experienced reviewer,
but I'll give it my best shot:
 
The scene: One word dominates-HOT.  I heard rumors of some ruckus, but I
didn't see much first-hand- One car being searched, and someone in cuffs.
Met a LOT of happy people, though.  After making the long hot walk from the
back of the rear parking lot to the venue, I was engulfed in a sea of people
looking for tickets.  Raleians always wait til the last minute.  I got lost
from my friends early on, and so wandered around making new friends and
completely enjoying myself.  We got in pretty early to nab some good lawn
seats, and settle down to wait for....
 
NICU:  OH MY GOD!!!!  This blew my mind, because two weeks ago I had a dream
that they would play this as opener here, and had told all my friends that
it was my choice for opener.  They all had looked at me with those "NICU,
opener, raleigh?!?" eyes, and shrugged it off.  When the first chords rang
out, they all turned and looked at me in amazement, and then...on cue...we
all began to dance.  You know its going to be a good show when they play
your opener.
your opener.
 
Sample:  Nice little song.  Nothing especially special, though...still happy
they played it.
 
Homeplace:  I've been getting really into the bluegrass lately, so this was
pretty fun for me.  I really like dancing to bluegrass.
 
PYITE:  My first, actually, and man, did it rock!  Everyone was really into,
dancing crazily.  This is one of my friends favorite songs ever, and I
looked at him while the Landlady dance happened and he looked in heaven.
 
Water in the Sky:  This was a really fun little interlude for me.  I like
the song, but its not one of my favorites, so I just sat back and watched
the crowd get into it.
 
Funky Bitch:  This was pretty nice...my not-quite girlfriend didn't like it
to much (I had dedicated it to her before the show, just in case they played
it)
 
Horn:  I just don't remember all of this for some reason...the intro was
good though!
 
Heavy Things:  Not too excited about this one, but I really liked the tight
jam.  They really were exceptionally tight...but gee, I guess they've gotten
a lot of practice on it.
 
Dirt:  This is not one of my favorite songs, but they played it beautifully.
A really strange earthy-airy feel to it.
 
SOAM:  BLAM---Jack goes down!  I'd had this in the same dream as NICU, but
this was a LOT better than dream.  The jam started slowly, but then just
kind of wrapped itself up into an incredibly intense climax which busted
straight into the remainder of Melt, leaving everyone dancing like fiends.
Still dancing into...
 
Setbreak:  Couldn't stand anymore, so I sat down.
 
Set II:
 
Jibboo:  Yep, you guessed it...had a dream about this one too (and yes, it
was the same dream, same night...weird dreaming about raleigh even before
Antioch).  And wow...I really love this song.  Its such a great dance tune,
and this jam was all over the place---but pretty much upbeat most of the
time.
 
FEFY:  Wow, I needed a break, and I wanted to hug a certain someone, and
this was the perfect time.  It turned out to be a LONG hug, too, with
incredible music the entire time...I really think I like this song now.
 
Scent:  and POP went the weasel---I really love this song, but never
expected to hear it live, and was amazed.  The duel was awesome, I
absolutely loved the Page solo, and the wahs by Trey just made me happy.
Phenomenal!
 
Meat:  Wasn't very strong, but I really like this song.  I really wish they
would make an effort to play it more...it has a lot of promise.
 
Maze:  GREAT!  I love this song, and it didn't disappoint.  With the
glowsticks flying, they just took this song floating. Up and up and up
into....
 
What's the Use?:  ummmm...well....I like this song, but the placement was
off in my head, so I couldn't get that into at first.  However, it did
slowly segue into-
 
Slave-  yahoo! It wasn't the best version, but it's still one of my favorite
songs of all time.  And they were playing it very well too.  And then, when
everything was just about perfect, an anticlimactic flub.  It really wasn't
that bad of a flub at all, but Trey took it hard.
 
Encore-
 
Uncle Penn:  A very upbeat version, with Mike grooving like heck.  A great
little bluegrass tune.
 
Bold as Love:  I LOVE this song.  And they played it tight.  It was a great
way to end the night.
 
All in all it was quite a tasty little show, the highlights being SOAM,
Jibboo, and Scent.
 
Jack
Can't wait until Vegas!!!!
 
Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2000 20:36:58 -0400
From: pajasper@impop.bellatlantic.net
Reply-To: pajasper@bellatlantic.net
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: 6-25-00
 
I  read the reviews all the time and never had had an urge to submit
one.  However this effort by the group warranted some type of response.
 
I have, now, only been to 15 shows (including Lemonwheel and New Years
2000 as two a piece) and this was the worst!  From the pay extra for
parking and the heavy cop appearance outside to the bobmbardment of ads
and delivery of NJ Mike's inside, the atmosphere was lousy!
 
To give the show some credit, the song selection was good.  The
execution was lousy.  It reminded me of the first three songs of the
December 11th show in Philly last year.  The tempo of the songs was way
too slow and Trey's playing was way off.  No crescendos at all.  I play
myself and two things were painfully apparent.  The band seemed
exhausted from "three nights in the heat" (as someone else put it) and
Trey played like he was friggin' trashed!!!
 
All of the first set had that lethargic pace to it with "go nowhere"
jams except for maybe Punch You in the Eye and the latter part of SOAM.
Even soam was painful at the beginning.
 
The second set started with one of the few tour repeats to that point.
Followed by Fast enough for You.  FEFY was still a bit slower than I
have heard it but Trey played some nice melodic colourings to accent the
pace of it.  I would have to say it was my high point of the night.  The
only other song I particularly enjoyed was MEAT.  This song shows what
true patience and capibility the band has.  Paige's organ should have
been pumped (like at Cypress for this song).  More bland until Slave.
When they started this song, I felt maybe they would pull one out like
in set two at Lemonwheel.  They would have to in order to save the
night.
 
What we got was a derailment.  Once the infamous jam started in oh so
slow fashion, it never recovered.  Trey appeared as if he was nervous?
He was missing notes (and effect pedals) as he tried to make the jam
happen.  I have played with severeal guitarists and it appeared as if he
was drunk as he played.  I do not know the man and sorry if he does not
drink, but that is how he came off.  Maybe Fishman is to blame for
setting the tempo too slow, who knows?  And, into the climax he totally
muffed the first note!!  WOW!
 
If this was the only show I had seen on tour (for one person I know it
was) I would have really been upset!  Luckily, I had witnessed the
previous three nights.
 
Now ATLANTA second night......that was incredible!
 
Enjoy the rest of the trip everyone, I had to get off.
 
Paul Jasper

Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2000 15:47:41 -0400
From: Kaye Darren J A1C 83 CS/SCYS darren.kaye@langley.af.mil
To: "'dws@gadiel.com'" 
Subject: AllTell Raleigh '00
 
First show since Hampton of last Dec. and what a blast.....Had a 3hr drive
from Hampton to Raleigh both ways but the anticipation brought me there and
the elation of another fine show took me all the way home.  The first set
had some definite highlights for me.   First time seeing NICU and it brought
me into the right frame of mind to boogie on......SOAMelt rocked.....PYITE
was sweet with the digital loops Trey seems to be having so much fun
with....Never heard Sample before live so that was alright too......I just
wonder why there have been so many slow songs like FEFU and Jennifer Dances
and When the Circus....Oh well I am always stoked to see the boys and the
slower ones just give me a good opportunity to use the bathroom or get a
beer!!  Bold as Love was sick and I think Page should take the spotlight
more.....I liked the fact that Mike was so vocal in this show too.  Scent of
a Mule was awesome with the middle jam war and since I heard 12/11/99 I've
been hoping that one would pop up at a show that I was at.  Maze fucking
rocked and its a shame the lights don't show up when you listen to the tapes
cuz Chris was on....I didn't think the 2nd set was ever gonna end, it was
really smooth with lots of funked out groove filled musical expressions that
I will not soon forget...Well worth the 7 hour drive round trip and by the
time the sun came up on Monday morning and I was finally winding down enough
to go to sleep, I was glad to have another opportunity to see the boys and
my 15,000 closest friends again.  Have fun this Summer and I'll see you out
there......Darren

Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2000 01:06:27 EDT
From: Nathan Coblentz phrodo77@hotmail.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: show review 6.25.00
 
This was only my second show so I don't really have much to compare to.
They did seem a little tired from atlanta, as did the crowd as well.  The
selist was cool but a little too mellow at times, esp. at the end of the
second set.  But it was still an overall good show with some definite
highlighs.
 
NICU - an ok opener, it took me a minute to recognize it, since I just got
hampton a couple weeks ago and hadn't heard it before.  For a second I
thought it was meatstick.
Sample in a Jar - again, ok, but I had heard it at the last show and was
never crazy for it.
The Old Home Place - anything Mike and bluegrass will make me happy, and
this was probably the first pick up of the nite.
Punch You in the Eye - this made me very happy, I wasn't expecting it, but
wow.  my friends were into it too.
Water in the Sky - nice, happy, sweet guitar.
Funky Bitch - good to hear, got everyone dancing pretty well.
Horn - the slow part was nice, I guess . . .
Heavy Things - i always like this one, ooh-wah, waaaah!
Dirt - I didn't feel like hearing slow songs, but this wasn't bad
Split Open and Melt - the first real jam of the evening.  Air tight
beginning, then they got a little muddy and were starting to lose people,
then they really started cooking it up, to a climatic and explosive ending.
 
The second set was way jammier than the first, of course.
 
Gotta Jiboo - a good 12 or so minutes of groovy trey noodling, very
danceable
Fast Enough For You - ack! another slow song.  Leave these in the studio for
awhile
Scent of a Mule - WOW!  The last thing I thought they would play.  This was
the show highlight for me.  It went out into page space, then some trey
space where he just played with one of his pedals for awhile, then they did
the gypsy thing and reprised the whole thing.  Airtight performance, and
extremely rad
Meat - kinda fun, they'd keep acting like it was finished.  After the second
period of silence we all knew they were done, and about two minutes later we
hear those sharp 7th chords AGAIN.  Those guys know how to play with our
minds
Maze - Lotsa fun, and a mini glowstick war erupted.  I'm not sure if it was
a WAR per-say, but it as fun.  This one went on for awhile, good all-round.
What's the use - of playing this so late in the second set??? c'mon, you're
supposed to be building up for something big.  It was much better placed in
charlotte last year, as the second song of the first set, but it just left
me wanting alot more.
Slave to the Traffic Light - again, a little slow, but a nice sweet buildup
and ending.  I hoped this wouldn't be the closer but it was.
 
Uncle Pen - again, anything bluegrassy will make me happy, this one had some
good solos from page.
Bold As Love - good closer, beautiful soloing from trey and a nice huge
sound for the ending.
 
It was mostly a good show but the slow closing to the second set left alot
to be desired.  I guess I would be tired too if I just played two nights in
atlanta with no time to breathe.  We were supposed to go to atlanta where I
would have heard My Sweet One and the newly legendary Tweezer, but that's
alright because I got my mule and my pyite.  I'm gonna have to make to more
shows someday . . .

Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 15:36:26 -0400
From: Jason.Beckwit@wcom.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: comment on the reviews of Raleigh
 
I just gotta say that I do think it's so awesome how this wonderful band can
effect so many people in different ways.  How this show was phenominal for
some, average for others, and awful to some.  I remember a show I saw in 96
at Coral Sky Ampitheatre in West Palm Beach, FL.  I found the show rather
boring, but so many people were just blown away by it.  I'd like to thank
the creator of this page for giving us the opportunity to voice or opinions,
and I appologize to anyone who's reviews I have attacked.  I think this is a
super forum, and I love to see the different opinions of different people.
Peace out.

Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2000 10:28:00 -0400
From: rheros@mindspring.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Cc: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: 6/25/00 Review
 
Hey there everyone, just some quick thoughts on the show 6/25/00.
 
the scene - all in all a very good scene i thought. a lot of good vibes in the
lot, but we did see one poor girl getting hauled away. other than that it was
layin' back, tossin' the frisbee, having a couple cold ones and dealing with
that north carolina heat! man was it hot. inside there were a lot of older
people and even a bunch of kids running around. i liked that alot, and am glad
to see people of all aged enjoying phish. a good family atmosphere, with
everyone treating everyone else pretty well.
 
Set I - I thought set one started a little slow. NICU was average but a fun
way to start things off. Picked up shortly with a nice PYITE which the crowd
really got into, especially when Mike and Trey stepped forward to dance. Funky
Bitch was aslo decent but not spectacular... maybe I am jaded, as I've
recently been listening to the FB from 8/21/87 which is just cosmic. In any
case, Dirt was a nice one to hear and IMHO one of the best new tunes - sort of
the "Velvet Sea" of Farmhouse. Clearly, however, the set highlight was the
closer, SOAM... shit, they just tore this one up! Good grooves got everyone
VERY pumped up for the second set!
 
Set II started right where I left off, with a phat, jammin', funked out
Jiboo... segued into FEFY, and although Trey was way off key on the first line
(you could see him look down and frown), he slowly got back into it and soon
the song was cruising along and really was a nice way to welcome the cool
night. Mule was incredible, with some really wacked out jams in the middle,
with Trey totally fucking with us all. He had the reverb and delay peddle
whipped out in full force, and anybody rollin' or trippin' must have thought
the sky was crumbling! They pulled out an ace with this one, and pulled the
space back into mule at the end. Meat was also a highlight with several
stop/starts that had everyone kind of going "whoa...", and Maze was, in a word
or 3, mind bogglingly good! Glowsticks with Maze. The set ended strong with
What's the Use > Slave. I really dig what's the use, the way trey just
controls that feedback and pulls you around the outer rings of saturn with
such peace an! ! d power at the same time. this song just reaches into my
heart and squeezes hard.
 
Encores - uncle pen and bold as love, both very strong and a very fun way to
end the show. i was hoping for a rarity such as reba, but oh well. All in all
this was a great, great show... seemed pretty old school to me and my buddies,
and we enjoyed the hell out it!
 
Only problem now is my next shows are Shoreline! Everyone else enjoy the
shows!
 
Peace,
Rob

Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 21:11:03 EDT
From: BowiePHISH@aol.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: 6-25-2000 Review
 
After being spoiled by the most amazing music I've ever heard and best
experience of my life at Big Cypress, I was coming to Walnut Creek expecting
a very good show.  I wasn't let down.  Once again, PHISH finds a way to
please everybody, even when putting on a show that became a little wierd as
it went on.
 
I: NICU, Sample, Home Place, PYITE, Water in the Sky, Funky Bitch, Horn,
Heavy Things, Dirt, SOAMelt (1:09)
 
NICU- I wasn't expecting it, but it was still a good opener.  Played pretty
basic.
Sample- I love this song!  PHISH played it great and it was positioned
perfect.  The whole crowd got into the groove and started dancing and singing
along.
Home Place- A great little bluegrass number to get the crowd swingin'.
Little did we know that there was much more like that to come from this show.
PYITE- A classic!  A drawn out intro gave it the eerie feel of something
great to come, but it ended up being a pretty basic PYITE (not that I'm
complaining, I loved it anyway).  Trey and Mike's little dance during Page's
circus type piano solo was great.
Water in the Sky- This one always seems to be a crowd pleaser, and it
certainly was here.  There were definitely a lot of Big Cypress attendees
there (lots of cheers for "filter out the everglades").  It lightened up the
mood a bit (away from evil king Wilson) for what was to come next.
Funky Bitch- This is such a great song.  The bluesiness sends shivers down my
spine.  I love to see Page solo and he did a great job.  My only wish is that
Mike had held the "haayyyy" a bit longer.
Horn- Not a favorite of mine, but Trey still got me moving with his perfect
execution of the solo.
Heavy Things- I'm sorry, but I can't stand this song.  Only about half the
crowd cheered for it and less danced for it.
Dirt- What a great song.  It had the crowd in awe as they swayed and listened
to the beautiful calm.  Such a great set-up for what was next!
SOAMelt- Amazing!  The crowed roared as they started playing.  After moving
from the standard song they entered a kind of stand still jam.  Then, as if
out of thin air, the mood started to lift as the music sounded happier and
got faster.  The crowd started jumping around and cheering as the jam
continually increased into an astonishing climax that brought it back into
the standard version of Melt!  An amzing closer to a good set!
 
II: Jibboo, FEFY, SOAMule, Meat, Maze, What's the Use -> Slave (1:22)
 
Jibboo- A great way to open the second set.  As they went off into the jam
the phans started to get into the groove and knew they were going to get a
good set.  Not the best Jibbo I've heard (2-15-99 Trey Solo is my favorite),
but nonetheless very good.
FEFY- This didn't start out as usual, and seemed a bit slow at first.
However, they got into it and played a great song for us.
SOAMule- A great song!  The Page and Trey duel type solos in the middle were
great.  Both got about 5 min. to themselves where only they were spotlighted.
 First went Page (amazing, I love it when he steps out and shows what he's
made of), and then Trey (equally as amazing as Page, the use of feedback from
the amps was great!).  This then led into a band jam which then led back into
Mule.  Amazing!
Meat- As usual, a great song.  However, before the last refrain the band
paused for a very long time.  It looked as if Trey was arguing with Fish
(possibly asking him to come out and do something? vaccuum?), and then Fish
started the drumbeat for the refrain again, which the band didn't seem ready
for because they were all off at first.  Even so, they couldn't have been too
mad because what was next blew me away!
Maze- Definitely the highlight of the show.  It started pretty standard, but
when Page started his solo, the glowsticks started flying over the lawn!
Then, in a fashion similar to Melt, the music got faster, louder, and
happier.  As the crowd started moving with the groove the intensley insane
and awsome lightshow began.  Kuroda was on the ball for this show.  He sent
Maze to another dimension!  As Maze rocked to an end the crowd wailed,
eagerly awaiting what was next!
What's the Use- At first it seemed like they were gonna play 2001, but then
the familiar sound of Use hit us.  The crowd seemed to slow down
tremendously.  A good substitute for this song would have been Chalk Dust.
Slave- I like Slave, but I thought they could have used a much better (and
peppier) closer.  Harry Hood would have been nice or Mike's Groove (wishful
thinking).
 
E: Uncle Pen, Bold as Love (0:12 ?)
 
Uncle Pen- Again we hear that sweet bluegrass sound to get our bodies moving.
Bold as Love- Awsome!  Page is a great singer.  Once again Kuroda captures us
with his amazing skill with the lights.
 
Overall, I say that it was a good show.  It's worth getting a tape of.
A few suggestions:
Don't play Heavy Things
Keep playing the bluegrass
Give us a Harpua
 
Well, that's my two cents.  Thanks for reading, and enjoy the tour!
 
                                            Peace,
                                            Sanders Pearsall

Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 10:01:44 -0400
From: John Spratley thesloth@alice.zzn.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: 6-25-00 Raleigh,Nc
 
Hello all I've never posted a review on here and thoguht I would just drop
this off for the 1st time. I'm gonna tell you there is really no review from
me just basically wanted to tell Jason (you kow who you are) that I love his
post and am glad I finally read a post worth reading. He has the point which
is always on my mind about being perfect nobody is and knowone will ever be
perfect sorry its just a FACT! I will let you all know that this was definitly
one of my favorite shows I have seen thought it was played very well of course
a few flubbs but like Jason said who the hell cares? I will also tell ya it
was grate being in the south for a show since I have only seen west coast
shows and a couple northeast shows. Something I noticed that was not mentioned
to much was PAGE was very on all night and of course MIKE yes MIKE with his
incredible bombs. Ok thats about it sorry there is no review but heres a
thought. WATER IN THE SKY I HATE THIS VERSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Play like ya
did in 97. nobody get pissed just my opinion. Peace, Love, Smiles & Cheese!!
               
John Spratley =D

Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2000 10:59:32 -0400 (EDT)
From: Raj Mitra dkm9k@cms.mail.virginia.edu
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: 6/25 Show
 
Ok, I'll bite. I've never reviewed a show before, but no one seems to
have written too much on 6/25 yet...
 
Let me start out by saying I had an awesome time. I've never been
disappointed with the experience I've had a phish show. the people, the
vibe--it's all so wonderful. Up till this show, I've also never been
disappointed with the music, either.
i thought the first set was fun--NICU, sample, water in the sky,
funky bithc--all great
great tunes that had me smiling. But i kept waiting for the song they
would just jam out and take in new directions. That finally came at the
end of the set with SOAM. UN-fortunately, my friend had to go to the
bathroom/makea phone call so we ducked out. i really wasnt expecting much
out of this SOAM, but as i'm waiting for her to call her sister, I hear
some wacked out stuff for the end jam in SOAM. goddamit! the one song i
sit out the whole show is the one thye do some cool shit with. great.
second set--i was praying for a hood here somewhere. or a mike's. nay--but
jiboo was fun and had a good groove. fast enough for you was interesting
and sound a little changed, but whatever...mule was alright. the duel was
decidely short, i felt, and was kind of a tease, I feel. but still a good
mule. Meat was good, but I felt like they left a CD player on repeat, they
way they kept reprising it. Maze was very cool--nice job on the lights
chris! What's the use was just too much for me--i like it but it's too
slow and spacey for the end of the second set. i had to sit down. Slave
was cool, but again, too slow for me--I needed to rally! (in raleigh!)
so again, I am hoping for a hood encore...or even better-- a
mike's->anything->weekapaug...but uncle pen came instead. my first time
seeing this one live--i enjoyed it. i enjoy anything that mike does
really--and this show had a lot of that. then came bold as love, which i
also had not seen live. page was good. a good show closer.
ok, so i had expectations, and whenever you have expectations that aren't
met, you get let down. but i think most people would agree that Raleigh
was just not on the level of tenessee or Atlanta. not that I was there,
but from the setlists, it's pretty obvious...
but whatever--i had fun, bottom line. can't wait to catch them again...

 
Date: 28 Jun 00 13:21:56 PDT
From: penn webster pennw@netscape.net
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: Review of 6/25/00
 
I have never seen a "bad" Phish show, so it is hard to critize them.
I began going to see Phish in 1993(Benton Convention Center, Winston-Salem)
and I have to say that the band seemed a little tired during the show. If I
was somewhat unhappy with the second set it was more than off set by the Split
Open and Melt of the first set which was by far the best one I have ever
heard. I too, was coming to a show fresh from the euphoria of the Everglades,
so I was expecting magic. Over all, the boys in the band always make me happy.
To whoever said this show was the best Walnut Creek show, are you fucking
crazy? 7/22/97 was fuckin awesome dude!
I usually would not attack the opinions of another Phish fan, but Skutch,
whoever you are, you dumb fuck. If North Carolina is so bad, why don't you
stay in that shithole town of Columbia SC and wait for Phish to play there and
stop coming to shows in NC.

Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 22:11:00 EDT
From: KatrinaRamquist@aol.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: Raleigh Show
 
A mixed bag of vibes were felt by me at the Raleigh show Sunday night.  The
band started the night hot, even the though sound wasn't really carrying.
The first set had the band exuding positive energy onto the crowd.  This
place (All-Tel) was packed and I think many of them found there way in free.
The highlights of the first set included NICU, Sample, Funky B., PYITE and a
jammin' Split Open.  Something happened (to the band?  to trey?) though
during intermission.  As if the same band that left stage (after a 55 minute
intermission) was not the same one that returned in the second set.  Negative
energy was felt from one band member in particular.  It's only my opinion,
but Trey gets down on himself too QUICKLY and it unravels from there.  And
that's what happened, the set unraveled until the point Trey abruptly ended
the Slave jam, quickly bowed to end the show and exited.  As he turned to
exit stage, I could plainly see Mike and Page look at each other and then
bow.  Trey was gone.  Another show that starts hot and fizzles at the end.
The second set featured a nice Fast Enough For You, Meat, a sic Maze, and
beautiful Slave ('til the strange ending...).  The Uncle Pen encore was a
surprise, but when Trey pulled out of a quick solo during second encore, Bold
as Love, that WAS a surprise!  What's going on Trey???  Later Days, Jason.

Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 02:43:11 EDT
From: Ben Shirley mcbenesq@hotmail.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: 6/25/00 review
 
Here^Òs a quick review of 6/25/00 (please keep in my mind this was done at 2
AM right after the show)^Åthis was my 5th show since 11/23/97 (an amazing
show everyone should check out).  I went with a friend who mainly listens to
straightedge metal type stuff but appreciates jazz and other shit a lot.
Getting into walnut creek totally sucked, we didn^Òt get parked and ready to
go until like 7:10. We were on the lawn, which I think is great (it sounded
really nice).  We walked up right as the band walked onto stage.  Anyway,
I^Òll do a song by song breakdown:
 
I: Hoping for a Bowie or Mike^Òs to open, but I mean its all hood so^Å
 
NICU- I^Òd say a pretty standard to better version, nothing spectacular
though (good opener)
Sample- They played this one great, Trey seemed to mix things up a bit on
the solo
Old home place- I love this song, and I was psyched to hear it, standard
version I guess
PYITE- awesome, really got the place going, kinda weird placement but It
still rocked though, they kept it going and going at the end
Water in the sky- First time I had heard this one live, seemed to be longer
than older versions, played real well for the most part
Funky bitch-  wooo hoo, this was damn good, although not nearly as good as
last summer^Òs Bitch at Blockbuster pav in Charlotte w/ derek trucks
Horn- Trey pretty much nailed the solo, so beautiful
Heavy Things- arg!! Don^Òt get me wrong, I actually like the song^Ånicely done
Dirt- This was great^Ågood cool down to get ready for^Å
^ÅSOAMelt!!!- WOW!!  What a damn good jam this had in it^Åit got all happy
sounding for a while like the B.C. one and then just slammed back into the
SOAM groove^Åworth getting tapes of the rest of the set for this.
 
1st set- Pretty average I^Òd say, but that SOAM made my day.
Set II:  I was thinking, they^Òve got to play Mike^Òs Groove, I mean they
havent played one in the states yet, but it was a great set nevertheless
 
Jiboo- I was hoping for this, and it was a pretty good version, a great
opener in my opinion (although I was hoping for an ASZ for my friend)  ->
FEFY- this started out really weird sounding, not like a normal FEFY.  Trey
sounded a little off singing in the beginning, but it got much better as it
went on.  What a beautiful song.  ->
SOAMule- thought this was going to be the ASZ, but then trey started the
Mule licks and I was really hyped.  The middle ^Ómule duel^Ô was really fucked
up^Åsome really crazy effects going on from Trey (really spacey and trippy).
This was turning out to be a weird show.
Meat- this song is fucking awesome, they should play it more often.  Heavy
funk grooves^Åand the false stops. There were lots of them^Åthey totally faked
everyone out like 3 times with long stops
Maze- I love maze, but I^Òve seen it many a time but this one still raged^Åthe
lights were amazing as always during the second set.  There was a nice
glowstick war on the lawn during the jam^Åit was nice.
Whats the use- saw this one last summer in Charlotte, it^Òs a very cool
song^Åstarted out a little sketchy but turned out awesome^ÅI could totally
tell that they were going to segue into Slave->
Slave- This was awesome, the jam was really nice, it had a nice build and
trey wailed at the end.  The ending was a little messed up (trey started the
closing chords right before everyone else), but I still enjoyed every minute
of it.  Great closer.
 
2nd set-  I was much more into it than the 1st, my friend told me he enjoyed
the 2nd set more because of the lights, and they did less singing (he really
liked the instrumental stuff like whats the use and slave and maze) sorry
for all the stuff about my friend I just thought it would be interesting to
hear a 1st timer^Òs point of view
 
E:   I was hoping for a Reba or Bowie or Ice or a nice old epic song (I^Òm
not complaining by any means though!)
Uncle Pen- totally rocked out, everyone was bouncing^Åmike^Òs solos were
beautiful god do I love mike
Bold as Love- what a great encore, they really nailed this one, page has a
great voice.
 
On the whole, I thought it was a great show, although I^Òve seen better.  My
friend had a great time at  his first (and probably only) show.  I recommend
getting the tapes^Åthe SOAM, Mule, Meat, Whats the use->slave are all worth
it, as is the rest of the show.  Okay, I^Òm tired as shit.  Thanks and have a
great tour, Ben

Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 13:59:44 -0500
From: Patrick.Donahue@us.wmmercer.com
To: Jason.Beckwit@wcom.com, dws@gadiel.com
Subject: raleigh review comment
 
 
     Jason,
 
     How can you refer to the raleigh show as "one of the best night of my
     life" and also say that "mister minor" has seen WAY too many shows?
     Maybe he is just determined to have the best night of his life as
     often as humanly possible.
     And maybe he takes the time and effort to write about those great
     nights (the next morning, en route to the next show) because he wants
     to share some of that joy with guys like you. despite knowing that
     some jackasses will presume to comment on the life of someone they
     don't even know.
 
     Think about what you say
     and why you say it.
     Patrick

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