Sunday 08/09/2015 by tmwsiy

ALPINE1 RECAP: SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALRIGHT

The Front. Nectar’s. Hampton. MSG. Unquestionably a handful of the most storied venues in Phish’s long history, and not a coincidence that they all happen to be the most played venues in the band’s history. After this current two-night run, Alpine Valley Music Theater, in the rolling hills of East Troy, Wisconsin, jumps past Hunt’s and into the Top Five of Phish’s most played venues. Though, better watch out Alpine! Dick’s is quickly knocking on your door!

Lots of fans have a love/hate relationship with Alpine. And let’s be honest, many of them skew more towards the hate side of that equation. Yet, despite some of the drawbacks of the venue – heavy handed law enforcement, preposterously steep lawn, nightmarish traffic jams in and out – I for one love Alpine and every single trip I’ve made there.

As it is for Phish, it was a special venue for the Grateful Dead, too, and one of their most played venues as well. There is just something magical about Alpine. There’s character and history dripping from its distinctive wood roof with an elegance and charm simply not found in the cookie-cutter, tin & cement shit that defines the Live Nation era of outdoor sheds.
Photo by Rene Huemer © Phish From the Road

The massive amphitheater, one of the largest in the country, with pavilion seating nearing 8,000 (larger than some venues this summer tour) and overall capacity of 37,000 has now hosted Phish sixteen times. Its breathtaking views, unusually beautiful sunsets, sprawling lawn, and spectacular sound for a venue of this size keeps the crowds returning. I am excited and happy every year that Phish announces summer tour and Alpine is on the list and breathe a sigh of relief knowing that another great chapter will likely be written.

While it is impossible to highlight all the memorable jams, debuts and special moments from Alpine, a handful that come to mind since Phish’s debut almost exactly nineteen years ago on 8/10/96 include:

  • Their second performance on 8/9/97 with an incendiary set-closing “Weekapaug Groove” that concluded the near set-long “Mike’s Groove” and showcased the magnificent hose of 1997.
  • Debuts of Zeppelin’s scorching “Ramble On” as well as Jane’s Addiction’s “Been Caught Stealing” on one of the very first webcasts on 8/1/98
  • The debut and single performance of the quirky track “Happy Whip and Dung Song” from the Siket Disk on 7/24/99. An overall outstanding show with liberal doses of extended jamming (in particular, check out the jam out of “Fluffhead”) and the massive bustout (324 shows) of “Alumni Blues” in the four-song encore.
  • One of the very first “LivePhish” releases (Number 5) from 7/8/00.
  • And from the last time they performed here on 7/1/12, a personal all-time favorite in the fantastic “Fee”.


Photo © @tweeprise

Alpine is for sale and many people think the future is tenuous and challenged by its newer, more modern, and more convenient cousin to the south in Northerly Island. I, for one, hope that Phish fits Alpine into the schedule every few years so more and more people will gleefully be able to say, “I saw Phish at Alpine!” Now that the first of the two-show weekend set has concluded – every Phish show here has always been on the weekend – what will they be saying about last night? Was it another show with Good Wood?

The show kicked off with a perfunctory take of “No Men In No Man’s Land” for the first time in the show opener slot and quickly into an energetic “Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan.” Up-tempo bluegrass tunes always seem to fit like a glove in summer shows and “Poor Heart” filled the role well. Another thing that works well is when “Julius” comes early in the first set. I’d much rather it give a good kick of energy early in a show, as it did here, than late in the second set or encore slot.


Photo by Rene Huemer © Phish From the Road

Since 2009, “Frankie Says” only pops up about once a year (or not at all!) and was a great treat. And of course a tour debut. While lyrically interesting, “Frankie Says” is not a very demanding song musically, but great juxtaposed next to one of Phish’s more complex and demanding tunes in “Maze”. This spirited version was nailed pretty good and even featured a fun Mission: Impossible tease by Page.

Is this where the “Wood” really gets good?

After “Mercury” debuted at the second show in Bend, it has been one of the new songs that most fans have most been eager to hear again. They have sound checked it many times, extensively re-worked it during the Nashville soundcheck, and came to Alpine armed and ready to play. Focusing on the breakdown and jam part of the tune (at least in Nashville) seems to have paid dividends. At times light and airy, almost like a Jethro Tull song, “Mercury” also has the “Canterbury sound” of early Floyd with Marimba Lumina sprinkled in. Mercury’s day may indeed be longer than its year (depending how you define year) but it may have been longer than the attention span of much of the crowd at Alpine, too. In time, I’ll hazard a guess that that won’t be the case for most crowds. No fear, though, as the crowd was instantly brought back in by “Reba” and a hot set-closing “Possum” (Phish’s 500th performance) that featured especially bright and prominent keys by Page.


Photo © @tweeprise

Down with Disease” has already spectacularly opened the second set in Tuscaloosa this summer. Would this set opener bring the same great results? Just after the ten-minute mark it seemed to be ready to really launch into some interesting space, with Fishman kicking out an interesting beat and an overall contemplative pace with just the right amount of Mu-Tron pedal by Trey. No sooner had “Disease” settled into its groove, it segued into “Halley’s Comet”. Extended jams coming out of “Halley’s#x201D; are a rarity these days. Given the placement here in the second set and the way Phish has been playing this tour, hopes were high and fans on the edge of their seats, like they were when “Mike’s Song” started in Nashville. Yet, while fun, the “Halley’s” didn’t deliver terribly much more than it does typically these days. It was a touch longer and did have a nice little jam that many likely heard a bit of Trey’s “Fare Thee Well” influence. It nicely devolved into “Twist” that had been portended a couple times earlier in the set. Again, like the “Halley’s”, “Twist” was enjoyable and a decent, “syrupy” jam but no real legs.


Photo by Rene Huemer © Phish From the Road

In the power clean-up spot in the set, “Light” also had the potential to be the first candidate for a Phish.net Jam Chart addition from the show. The second half of second set has had such monsters this tour, and Trey seemed particularly spirited with his vocals so again, hopes were high. When it seemed as though “Light’s” light was dimming and heading into something different entirely, a nice curve-ball thrown and the elusive, loved and magical “What’s The Use?” enthralled the crowd. Another, Siket Disc tune for the annals of Alpine history and its second helping in “3.0”. This is really one of those songs that always buoys up the song that preceded it. One of the best things about “What’s The Use?” is the impossibility of when to predict it will be turn up. In this case, the first time following “Light” and as always “What’s The Use?” delivered its signature spacey, mind-fucking goodness (albeit a brief fucking).

In the homestretch, “Fuego” segued nicely out of “What’s the Use?” and offered up its normal fire, albeit again without any jamming. The anthematic “Backwards Down The Number Line” had the crowd singing along and the always sublime and enjoyable “Slave to the Traffic Light” closed the set. The double encore pair of “Meatstick” and a raucous “Character Zero” closed the show.

Will this be looked back and remembered as another legendary Alpine show? No, most certainly not, but “Saturday Night Special” shows have their place. Crowd pleasing numbers, rock-show theatrics and boisterous numbers with crowd sing-alongs and engagement pleases many fans. Phish summer 2015 has had some incredibly great moments. And while lots of tonight may not have elevated to the “incredible” level, the crowd was treated to a couple of rarities, a great take on the new “Mercury,” great mini-jams in both “Disease” and “Light” and the almost return of a jammed out “Halley’s.” I think it sets us up perfectly for a great Sunday night show, and another hopefully historic Alpine show. Enjoy the Wood.


Photo © @tweeprise

Phish Summer 2015 – Setlists & Recaps
07/21/15 SetlistRecap – Bend 1
07/22/15 SetlistRecap – Bend 2
07/24/15 SetlistRecap, Recap2 – Shoreline
07/25/15 SetlistRecap – LA Forum
07/28/15 SetlistRecap – Austin
07/29/15 SetlistRecap – Grand Prarie
07/31/15 SetlistRecap – Atlanta 1
08/01/15 SetlistRecap – Atlanta 2
08/02/15 SetlistRecap – Tuscaloosa
08/04/15 SetlistRecap – Nashville
08/05/15 SetlistRecap – Kansas City
08/07/15 SetlistRecap – Blossom
08/08/15 SetlistRecap – Alpine 1
08/09/15 SetlistRecap – Apline 2
08/11/15 SetlistRecap – Mann 1
08/12/15 SetlistRecap – Mann 2
08/14/15 SetlistRecap – Raleigh
08/15/15 SetlistRecap – Merriweather 1
08/16/15 SetlistRecap – Merriweather 2
08/21/15 SetlistRecap – Magnaball 1
08/22/15 SetlistRecap – Magnaball 2
08/23/15 SetlistRecap – Magnaball 3
09/04/15 SetlistRecap – Dick's 1
09/05/15 SetlistRecap – Dick's 2
09/06/15 SetlistRecap – Dick's 3


Alpine Valley posters by Brad Klausen.

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Comments

, comment by gpain
gpain Great review! Thanks.
, comment by Philbombs77
Philbombs77 As you mentioned, this was the 500th Possum. Additionally, Alpine was imparted with the 50th rendition of Meatstick and 5th NMINML tonight (thanks phish.net!). I can't be sure, but that has to be some sort of crazy statistical first (3 songs perfectly factored by 10 on the same night). Also, a very fair review. I wasn't at the show tonight, but I was at the '99 and '00 shows the author referenced. The second night of Alpine '03 was also very tight and consistently underrated by many. Tonight's show was nothing to sneeze at - especially with some scorchers in the first set like Julius and Maze. But (at least from streaming the show) it lacked the magic we have all come to expect in the second set, especially given what's occurred thus far in the Summer of '15. What's The Use? might've actually been the highlight for me. Here's hoping Sunday is better.
, comment by Forbins1978
Forbins1978 The review started out a bit rushed, but then it finished in classic Saturday Phish form..acceptable (thanks for doing it). I'm on the outside looking in on this run (due to a great friend's wedding), but this is the only Phish run i've missed at Alpine, and I know they are going to melt faces on Sunday. To those of you going tomorrow...buckle up!

Much love!
, comment by lumpblockclod
lumpblockclod Nice review, Parker. The Halley's jam, though brief (and the ensuing -> into Twist) was the unquestioned highlight of this show IMO. Which probably tells you all you need to know about last night. But, though it was short, it was great to see them do anything with Halley's and the jam itself sounded atypical for 3.0 (to my ears, anyway).
, comment by raidcehlalred
raidcehlalred Great review. Your writing is insightful, fair, and illustrates perfectly what this show was.

I still maintain that Saturday night (or substitute a night) shows must not merely be 'all right.'

Some have suggested a bit of travel fatigue. Be that at all the case (I agree; plus, there is that following a really great show aspect, too....), perhaps ANOTHER Disease opens because of a certain comfort level? I think this lends to very similar sounding playing, and a cessation, rather than infusion, of ideas. Open with the Halleys, or, better yet, What's the Use? Neither are technically demanding, and the band can use the time to communicate - as they did so well in Ohio - and see where that leads.

Or why not BDTBL; or, more interestingly, Possum 500?

I'm still just a bit stymied by the constant go-to choices (which have now been so clearly illustrated).
, comment by YoureAHosemaster
YoureAHosemaster Very fair assessment (I attended the show). Maze and Halley's -> Twist were definitely highlights. There's a lot of meat (no pun intended) left on the table for Sunday night.
, comment by Jestinphish
Jestinphish Bueno review. Love Alpine, one of my favorite venues of all-time. I predict an AC/DC Bag opener tonight and a Fluffhead encore.
, comment by nichobert
nichobert "As you mentioned, this was the 500th Possum. Additionally, Alpine was imparted with the 50th rendition of Meatstick and 5th NMINML tonight (thanks phish.net!). I can't be sure, but that has to be some sort of crazy statistical first"

I think it's just the prophecy of the 55 minute 555
, comment by nichobert
nichobert Always irked by the "This jam was short! I guess with a gun to my head i'd admit it was also really well played and unexpected but it was short!"
, comment by raidcehlalred
raidcehlalred @nichobert said:
Always irked by the "This jam was short! I guess with a gun to my head i'd admit it was also really well played and unexpected but it was short!"
Your posts are amusing; in particular, your 'philosophical' set lists are creative. Aside from a broad generalization, though.... Re: 8/9/15: Where are you pointing when, ire raised, you mention 'short yet well-played?' By now I get that you like 10 minute, tight, well-executed versions.... (one of my favorite Dusts is Ventura '97). Aside from hearing the show, I read the review a couple times.... Where are you coming from?
, comment by andrewrose
andrewrose I think you're underselling the Disease-> Halley's-> Twist. Lots of excellent unique jamming and tight maneuvers.
, comment by hdorne
hdorne Thanks for the excellent review. I didn't realize Alpine was for sale. I really hope it keeps going as a venue, because it's an amazing place. I went to 6/30/12 (good show) and 8/14/10 (amazing show) when I lived in Chicago, and there's just something magical about the place. Northerly Island, on the other hand, is a blacktop lot with a cookie-cutter stage and the worst lawn in existence. Absolutely zero character, which is a shame given its location. I was glad to see they chose Alpine this summer.
, comment by DudeBroMan
DudeBroMan Twist> Light> What's The Use> Fuego

Are they trying to tell us something?!
, comment by pzerbo
pzerbo @andrewrose said:
I think you're underselling the Disease-> Halley's-> Twist. Lots of excellent unique jamming and tight maneuvers.
Let's leave aside the relative quality of that sequence for a moment; I happened to think it was good... not great and not something I'll be turning back to often if at all, but certainly good. Even very good.

That said, what it definitely was not, especially relative to this tour, was unique, or tight. I happen to love the current jamming style to which they most often turn. It has a flow and balance and warmth to it, with major key hose at the ready and liberally deployed. I've been thinking how it is more, for lack of a better term coming to mind immediately, "feminine," very "Hood" jam like, a point that I offer as an unqualified positive. They turn to it... often! The power hour from Shoreline, Dallas CDT, Atl2 Tweezer, all over everything from Blossom's spectacular second set.

Where you'd look for "unique" jamming in this tour would IMO be to something like the Nashville Weekapaug. That's dark space that doesn't get nearly the attention of what I view as the same general target range that last night's Disease and Twist occupy.

Anyway, I don't often like to comment here because I bloviate sufficiently in the recaps themselves and like to leave this space to everyone else, but that comment struck me as not aligned with what actually took place.

Cheers.
, comment by Doctor_Smarty
Doctor_Smarty @raidcehlalred said:
Great review. Your writing is insightful, fair, and illustrates perfectly what this show was.

I still maintain that Saturday night (or substitute a night) shows must not merely be 'all right.'

Some have suggested a bit of travel fatigue. Be that at all the case (I agree; plus, there is that following a really great show aspect, too....), perhaps ANOTHER Disease opens because of a certain comfort level? I think this lends to very similar sounding playing, and a cessation, rather than infusion, of ideas. Open with the Halleys, or, better yet, What's the Use? Neither are technically demanding, and the band can use the time to communicate - as they did so well in Ohio - and see where that leads.

Or why not BDTBL; or, more interestingly, Possum 500?

I'm still just a bit stymied by the constant go-to choices (which have now been so clearly illustrated).
Another great contribution to the ongoing discussion of this tour. Thanks again for being another strong voice with good perspective.
, comment by FunkyBdawg
FunkyBdawg For me, set 1 just absolutely came out on fire with a bad ass NMINML (my personal favorite of the new ones this year), and it was a super fun set that made me want to dance all night! Trey and Page were not messing around - hot, tight licks all the way. Set 2 was the more jammy set, and had some nice moments, but I didn't get the energy back from set 1 until the Character Zero encore. Not exactly a top 10 show or anything, but a solid summer tour show that will be fun to go back and listen to.

Props to the FOH sound crew, I was Cactus side pavilion and it sounded amazing despite the wide angle to the stage.
, comment by InsectEffect
InsectEffect Fine recap, @tmwsiy -- I especially appreciate the historical context for both venue, various songs and the music as a whole, which imo distinguishes the best .net recaps and always keeps me coming back for more. Thanks!
, comment by raidcehlalred
raidcehlalred @pzerbo said:
@andrewrose said:
I think you're underselling the Disease-> Halley's-> Twist. Lots of excellent unique jamming and tight maneuvers.
Let's leave aside the relative quality of that sequence for a moment; I happened to think it was good... not great and not something I'll be turning back to often if at all, but certainly good. Even very good.

That said, what it definitely was not, especially relative to this tour, was unique, or tight. I happen to love the current jamming style to which they most often turn. It has a flow and balance and warmth to it, with major key hose at the ready and liberally deployed. I've been thinking how it is more, for lack of a better term coming to mind immediately, "feminine," very "Hood" jam like, a point that I offer as an unqualified positive. They turn to it... often! The power hour from Shoreline, Dallas CDT, Atl2 Tweezer, all over everything from Blossom's spectacular second set.

Where you'd look for "unique" jamming in this tour would IMO be to something like the Nashville Weekapaug. That's dark space that doesn't get nearly the attention of what I view as the same general target range that last night's Disease and Twist occupy.

Anyway, I don't often like to comment here because I bloviate sufficiently in the recaps themselves and like to leave this space to everyone else, but that comment struck me as not aligned with what actually took place.

Cheers.
bloviate, bro. keep banging that unique clarion call - simply couldn't agree more. not a dig at the band; your points are salient. a lot more of the same, and MORE unique....
, comment by jasong_iheardtheoceansing
jasong_iheardtheoceansing Alpine will need a bit more time (w/no further spac or Hampton shows) to make it to the top 5 venues played - Deer creek is missing from your list (probably due to the multiple renamings of the venue). After tonight, Alpine will be tied @ #6 w/ spac.

While on the topic of #s, maybe the folks in attendance tonight will get the elusive GD tribute (in addition to the happy bday tease on 8/1), being the 20th year since Jerry's passing.
, comment by chooglincharley
chooglincharley Umm, as a student of architecture/planning and landscape architecture, I can safely say that you have had more input on any development of amphitheaters than Live Nation (although I hate them) in the past decade or so. The "cookie cutter" venues have been the same for the past 25 years and I would venture to say that Phish really hasn't played many new venues in the 2.0 and 3.0 eras. Yes, the venues changed names (which companies pay to have the naming rights) but the venues themselves have remained nearly constant. To make a ridiculous statement like that is just ignorant.
, comment by tmwsiy
tmwsiy Did I say that LiveNation had any say in the development of the "modern" amphitheater? And yes: the "LiveNation era" was indeed 20-25 years or so ago as the industry was transformed (and consolidated) from uniquely built venues from the 60's and 70's that featured architectural beauty, natural elements (lots of wood!), and wonder to amphitheaters that simply were "cookie cutter" and could have been built anywhere. Yes, there were demographic and economic reasons for that but it happened.

Happily, there is a shift again and we get venues like Ascend in Nashville as developers need to respond to modern concert goers needs, wants and ticket sales. Alpine would of course not be built today. But then again, nor would Great Woods in Mansfield. As a student of architecture, I'm sure you understand how things ebb and flow. Perhaps you are young enough not to experience any of this yet, and for you, venues have always been the same.

End of the day, my simple point was that Alpine is a gem of a throwback that I'd prefer over concrete. If you disagree, fine, but it doesn't make me ignorant.
, comment by EvenCarlSagan
EvenCarlSagan This was my first show but i am not too much of a n00b to not realize that it was a very good,solid show...maybe not quite a super "stand out" epic one,but so what? It's a privilege to see them in 2015 on this tour...and at Alpine.
So,with that said,i had a great time up near the front of the lawn & i only got tapped by a few marshmallows & glow-sticks...haha!
I wore my Phish cap & a SpongeBob SquarePants "Here to party" t-shirt that my wife bought for me for my birthday...& some Hunter S.Thompson style white Chuck Taylor All Stars.
I was ready for any kinda fun & weirdness to happen! Bring it on!

The set one favorites for me was seeing a nice Reba & a very fun,energetic Possum closer...also Julius and Faulty Plan!...A rare Frankie Says threw me for a loop but listening back on the SBD now as i type & then digesting those lyrics,it seems fitting to me with a Maze on it's heels...don't they both refer to the "Eternal Return" concept?

I was scared a bit for Trey's guitar when (what looked to me like) he got his foot tangled on the underneath side of it & it's stand...almost knocking it over completely after putting it down...right after set one finished! Nice Catch Trey!

Set 2 had a very crowd motivating Disease> Halley's Comet & Twist (Singing along was a must! & sing we did!)...What's the Use? had Page turning into the Wizard! Stupendous!...and then a seemingly, more mellow than usual Backwards Down the Number Line...Birthdays! Friends! Cheers! Love this song!
...the double Encore of Meatstick > Character Zero left us wanting more...even though our feet & legs were sore from the steep-hill-dancing...no pain,no gain!

I can't complain about anything really though...for a first Phish show,this one is a keeper to me. Alpine was a great place to see a show & going there with an old buddy of mine & his daughter for their first Phish/Alpine show was just too much fun!
, comment by tmwsiy
tmwsiy Image
, comment by TnJedHead
TnJedHead Congrats on your first show Jerome. I wish you many, many more.
, comment by tmwsiy
tmwsiy @EvenCarlSagan said:
This was my first show but i am not too much of a n00b to not realize that it was a very good,solid show...maybe not quite a super "stand out" epic one,but so what?
Any Phish show you are at is Epic! Especially getting to experience Alpine. Glad you got such a great show for your first one and hope for many more to you! Was just listening to the end of Disease again....good stuff.
, comment by andrewrose
andrewrose @pzerbo said:
@andrewrose said:
I think you're underselling the Disease-> Halley's-> Twist. Lots of excellent unique jamming and tight maneuvers.
Let's leave aside the relative quality of that sequence for a moment; I happened to think it was good... not great and not something I'll be turning back to often if at all, but certainly good. Even very good.

That said, what it definitely was not, especially relative to this tour, was unique, or tight. I happen to love the current jamming style to which they most often turn.
It has a flow and balance and warmth to it, with major key hose at the ready and liberally deployed. I've been thinking how it is more, for lack of a better term coming to mind immediately, "feminine," very "Hood" jam like, a point that I offer as an unqualified positive. They turn to it... often! The power hour from Shoreline, Dallas CDT, Atl2 Tweezer, all over everything from Blossom's spectacular second set.

Where you'd look for "unique" jamming in this tour would IMO be to something like the Nashville Weekapaug. That's dark space that doesn't get nearly the attention of what I view as the same general target range that last night's Disease and Twist occupy.

Anyway, I don't often like to comment here because I bloviate sufficiently in the recaps themselves and like to leave this space to everyone else, but that comment struck me as not aligned with what actually took place.

Cheers.
Well first of all it wasn't a sentence. I apologize for the lack of care in cobbling together those qualifiers. Sometimes you only have a minute and want to throw in your quick two cents for those who might be skimming the details wondering what to check out. You're right about the Disease jam. It's lovely towards the end but certainly familiar territory. (I don't know how I feel about calling it feminine but that another matter..) I was alluding to the Halley's jam and the rather interesting funky stuff (and was probably also unconsciously thinking of some of the spacier work in Light too, even though it wasn't alluded to; Page had a great show I thought). 'Tight' in this case was qualifying 'maneuver,' in reference to the pretty skillful land in Twist, which I think is second only to the Chalk Dust-> Tweezer this tour in terms of segues.

Does that make more sense now? I'll try and keep the unstructured adjective farts for Twitter and stick to the bloviation here I guess...
, comment by raidcehlalred
raidcehlalred @andrewrose said:
@pzerbo said:
@andrewrose said:
I think you're underselling the Disease-> Halley's-> Twist. Lots of excellent unique jamming and tight maneuvers.
Let's leave aside the relative quality of that sequence for a moment; I happened to think it was good... not great and not something I'll be turning back to often if at all, but certainly good. Even very good.

That said, what it definitely was not, especially relative to this tour, was unique, or tight. I happen to love the current jamming style to which they most often turn.
It has a flow and balance and warmth to it, with major key hose at the ready and liberally deployed. I've been thinking how it is more, for lack of a better term coming to mind immediately, "feminine," very "Hood" jam like, a point that I offer as an unqualified positive. They turn to it... often! The power hour from Shoreline, Dallas CDT, Atl2 Tweezer, all over everything from Blossom's spectacular second set.

Where you'd look for "unique" jamming in this tour would IMO be to something like the Nashville Weekapaug. That's dark space that doesn't get nearly the attention of what I view as the same general target range that last night's Disease and Twist occupy.

Anyway, I don't often like to comment here because I bloviate sufficiently in the recaps themselves and like to leave this space to everyone else, but that comment struck me as not aligned with what actually took place.

Cheers.
Well first of all it wasn't a sentence. I apologize for the lack of care in cobbling together those qualifiers. Sometimes you only have a minute and want to throw in your quick two cents for those who might be skimming the details wondering what to check out. You're right about the Disease jam. It's lovely towards the end but certainly familiar territory. (I don't know how I feel about calling it feminine but that another matter..) I was alluding to the Halley's jam and the rather interesting funky stuff (and was probably also unconsciously thinking of some of the spacier work in Light too, even though it wasn't alluded to; Page had a great show I thought). 'Tight' in this case was qualifying 'maneuver,' in reference to the pretty skillful land in Twist, which I think is second only to the Chalk Dust-> Tweezer this tour in terms of segues.

Does that make more sense now? I'll try and keep the unstructured adjective farts for Twitter and stick to the bloviation here I guess...
both of you are talented writers - i've read your posts for a while (i've only recently 'found' the time to post) - and this is a wildly amusing back and forth. moreover, i respect both of your opinions re: the band.

concerning this lady-like hood. well, 'hood' is a noun. so we take the noun-class system in which the division of noun classes forms an agreement system with another aspect of the language, such as adjectives, articles (we'll leave out verbs, since you're discussing modifiers.) since every noun inherently carries one value of the grammatical category - or gender - we arrive at the values present in a given language - say, for this thread, two.

like gatO - he cat

or

gatA - she cat

maybe we'll start seeing hoodO - he Hoods

and

hoodA - she Hoods

it'd be more interesting - to me - than discussing Type-II (which emerged.... when did that designation emerge anyways?)

both of you keep writing, please - were it not for your back and forth, i'd not have been in a hurry to check out the aforementioned run of tunes.

you both give valid reasons as to why i should take the time (no offense DWD, i'm just a bit weary of you).

when are they going on?
, comment by Dressed_In_Gray
Dressed_In_Gray I'll tell you one thing Alpine got right that Blossom got wrong - the volume.

Blossom was unpleasantly loud at the back of the lawn with Trey's vocals way too high in the mix, but it was perfect at the front of the lawn at Alpine. go figure.

Meh show. Nice writeup.
, comment by Piper72
Piper72 @Philbombs77 said:
As you mentioned, this was the 500th Possum. Additionally, Alpine was imparted with the 50th rendition of Meatstick and 5th NMINML tonight (thanks phish.net!). I can't be sure, but that has to be some sort of crazy statistical first (3 songs perfectly factored by 10 on the same night).
=555?!?!

That CAN'T be by accident.
, comment by SteakSauce
SteakSauce Frankie Says is always a treat, and that stretch through Reba was very fun. I'm impressed with Mercury- seems to have good potential. It seemed for a minute that the band was going to bring back the Halley's "second jam" as they did with Mike's earlier in the week, but sadly it was not to be. I think the place would've exploded if they had. Maybe next time.
, comment by mjg0104
mjg0104 If you have never been to Alpine, it's a place you just have to see your favorite band play shows at during the summer tour. Phish has played incredible shows in the 90's as mentioned above, and Alpine's revered place in the Deadheads' collective mind makes it a must see for this reason alone. A caveat for anyone going, they don't love to let Phans camp anywhere near this place - ever it seems. The complete opposite of what we have found at Deer Creek where the farmers themselves love to rent Phans camping for $20.00 a car and then sell everyone nitrous from the front porch - themselves. LMFAO. No the land owners around beautiful Alpine Valley seem to want you to suffer and drive in the dark on those skinney roads wandering around after a great Phish show trying to figure out where the hell to sleep, and they don't want to make any easy $$ off of tired, kind, folks. Never can figure that one out. If ever an area called out for a Chief Hosa campground, it's Alpine Valley.
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