12-31-99 -- Seminole Indian Reservation, Big Cypress, Florida

Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 14:58:48 PST
From: Mike Walker mikew30@hotmail.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
 
-Though I'd pass along my thoughts on the 7 and 1/2 hour set too; thanks for
posting it.
 
Well, where to begin?  I saw these guys for the first time at NYE
1995-another phenomenal New Years show in itself-and they continue to amaze
me.  What I think that I love the most about Phish, besides the amazing
improvisation abilities, is their dedication to the audience.  The
showmanship that this band has maintained from the beginning is wonderful
and, as long as they can avoid any football stadium size showns, I'd be
willing to bet that it will continue.  A seven and 1/2 hour set with
virtually no breaks is, to me, almost incomprehensible.  Not only does this
take MUCH musical skill and physical endurance, but it absolutely requires a
love for the audience.  It's a rarity to see the band and the audience not
interacting in some way at a show.  Hampton, for instance, has become a
virtually unified atmosphere between the band and the audience.  With
regards to this year, it was like we all were involved in playing Harry Hood
on the second night (quck note: the best YEM that I have EVER
witnessed!!!!!!).  The dedication that it took to do this set and, in fact,
the whole damned thing, by far makes this event the best show that I've been
too.
     Musically, I was impressed by their choice.  I, like everyone, thought
that something funky would go down (an entire Gamehendge, Phil dropping by,
etc.), but what they did do, in my opinion, was even better--7 and 1/2 hours
of kickass Phish!  Did they seem to get tired at parts?--hell yes!  Who
wouldn't!  My Soul and Free to me sounded like fatigue was beginning to set
in.  But they bounced back with a Roses are Free that went ALL OVER the
place.  Highlights for me were: Down with Disease; Twist Around>Prince
Caspian>Rock and Roll (although, admittedly, a touch of MDMA played a small
part in that), Crosseyed and Painless, Sand, Bug, Velvet Sea, and Meatstick
Reprise (jeez Trey, you didn't have to cry--thank you!).  Overall though,
the set was truly a defining moment for this band.
     Otherwise, one small issue to bring up.  For the most part, I didn't
see any real littering problems--until the sun came up on 1/1/00.  Frankly,
this was embarrasing.  I know that the crowd moved around a lot, and that
it's hard to keep track of your stuff, but still...  This is just about
simple morality and respect.  And as for the empty syringes, all I have to
say is, if it killed Jerry, it WILL kill you.  Get help.
     Overall, a wondrous experience worthy to tell the grandkids about.
Best,
Mike Walker

Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2000 13:10:57 -0500
From: Amy Lamar alamar@vt.edu
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: big cypress
 
I think I can speak for everyone and summarize the whole weekend just by
saying:
 
                               THANK YOU PHISH
 
Dank hugs,  Amy
http://www.angelfire.com/vt/lamar/index.html
alamar@vt.edu
~let there be songs, to fill the air~

Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 16:19:23 GMT
From: James Powell gtbt@hotmail.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: Big Cypress Overall Review
 
My name is James Powell.  I am from Anchorage, Alaska and came 5,169 miles
to see the greatest musical event I have ever witnessed.  I had only seen
five shows before Big Cypress, but I would like to say the event was great.
I worked with Clean Vibes, and thank everyone who was on the crew, and Great
Northeast Productions for the opportunity to work for them with this event.
I donīt wish to go down the setlists and such, but I FINALLY got my Good
Times, Bad Times that I had been waiting for so long.  And being from
Alaska, Farmhouse, Tweezer and Tweezer Reprise were appropriate songs.  Now,
I donīt wish to harp on this issue, but I was a little UPSET at how trashed
the concert field was.  I do blame part of this to security, as they let
ANYTHING onto the concert field from the midnight to sunrise set.  All those
empty champagne bottles left on the field, come on people, if you brought
one or several, you should have had some consideration and brought them back
to your campsite!  And those cheap champagne glasses that shattered if you
breathed on them, picking up shards of them were also a pain.  I know,
everyone was partying, but still, I just wish people would have been more
considerate to Clean Vibes and made our job a little easier, but oh well.
Groundscoring was fun, as the crew found a lot of INTERESTING thing, but one
thing did SICKEN me, and it was used syringes.....:(  There were MANY of
them that were left in the campgrounds, and that was a disturbing sight to
say the least!  I made a lot of new friends with Clean Vibes, and we
exchanged phone numbers, addresses and e-mail addresses before we departed
Big Cypress.  Swimming in the backstage pool was fun, and we had a
Groundscore party for two consecutive nights before we left at 3rd and
Hampton.  EVERYTHING that was at the party was groundscored.....beer, lawn
chairs, torches, you name it!  It was a joyous time for me, and I am
thankful to be a part of this extraordinary event.  I will admit though, I
was kinda disappointed at the midnight to sunrise set, as I thought Phish
left out some songs that deserved playing.....Harpua, Loving Cup, Julius,
Divided Sky, Icculus, Sample in a Jar, Lizard, Sanity.  I was expecting an
album to be played, but did not get it.  Donīt get me wrong, I am not
blaming Trey, Mike, Page, or Jon at all, but I do think that the set was a
LITTLE more of hype than anything.  True they did play for 7 hours straight,
but some of the jams I thought became redundant, and at some point I thought
they just were trying to get to the sunrise.  I wish the band could have had
a better encore than Meatstick Reprise too.....staying up all night, and
getting that?  I wish they could have encored something lively, and sent us
on our merry way, but thatīs them, not me.  I know I sound like one of those
people who write these reviews and wish for everything in the world, but I
donīt know....the ending of the show was just a little too weird for me.
But maybe being dosed on liquid made things a little weird for me anyway, as
I must listen to the set again to get a better grasp of things, since I was
LOST, and I mean, LOST from Rock nīRoll through Free!  I was in the taperīs
section for both nights, and hung out with a taper, his girlfriend, and his
other friends from Milwaukee.  So, to end this on a good note, I hope to see
you on summer tour.  Take care, you lower 48īers, as I hope one day Phish
performs in Alaska, the Land of the Midnight Sun....what would be cool would
be for them to come up on the Summer Solstice, when the sun NEVER sets!!
The Grateful Dead came up in 1980 and performed on the Summer Solstice.
That would trip ya guys out, wouldn`t it?  :)  Take care, and whatever you
do, take care of your shoes!


Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 11:05:18 -0500
From: Steven Bowers SBowers@semtribe.com
To: "'dws@www.phish.net'" dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: big cypress millenium concert

To all Phishheads,

This e-mail is to thank all the partying people that are still left on
this planet.  I thought only Seminoles were the only people who knew how
to to party hardy but I am wrong as was evident from the Phish concert
held on our reservertion.  The Phish concert was my first and was truly
the best that I can remember. I guess I can declare myself as a
"Phishhead".  I am not a real concert groopie but since I had never heard
of the Great Phish (along with the majority of South Florida) I figured I
would attend this event along with my my cousins.  Many of your e-mail
people may have seen us. We were the guys that looked like the Earp
Brothers, cowboys hats and all.  No guns just hats.

Thanks to all Phishheads who came to our reservation.  As a tribal member
and having attended other events at Big Cypress I would like to
congratulate the "Great Northeast Production Company" for putting on such
a well organized event. That statement is not my own but was echoed by
many Seminoles who attended "Phish".  Many of my tribal members are still
in "awe" of the amount of people that came to visit and are still talking
about the Phishheads.  I have taken a "Bowers Survey"  of tribal members
who attended the event who saw Phishheads coming and going. "The surveys
says" and this survey conducted by the firm of "Bowers, Osceola, Bowers,
and Billie" reports are totally Positive.  The Phishheads were very
appreciative, outgoing, polite, well mannered and very respectful of our
culture and of our Everglades environment.  It is fact that the "Phish"
was the concert of all concerts so many of my people can appreciate a good
party after all the word Seminole means "wild people" and there was
definitely some wild people out there. The "Phish: was advertised in our
tribal newspaper as the "Woodstock in the Everglades" and since I was in
Vietnam during Woodstock I cannot compare "Phish" to Woodstock.  I
definitely had a good time meeting people from Connecticut, Boston,
Colorado, New Hampshire, New York.  I even met a few Phishheads from my
own backyard Ft. Lauderdale.  Thanks to all ya'll Phishheads and ya'll
come back now you hear.

Sho-Naa-Bisha,  Stephen

Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 16:03:18 EST
From: Capnslap@aol.com
To: dws@protos.lifesci.ucla.edu
Subject: BC 12/31/99 set I review
 
Hey hey mon, thought I'd send you another little snippet, preparing to tackle
the overnight set.  Hope today finds you well.:
 
Okay, yet another stab at trying to recall the tasy melange that we all know
as Big Cypress.  This time, the magical prelude to the overnight set.
 
12/31/99-I
Runaway Jim-Unfortunately, I was in the ATM line this time.  Luckily I could
really hear the music, and the view wasn't so bad either.  Jim started this
evening off with a bang.  While kind of short and no Worcester '97 Jim, it
still rocked and was dead on.  It definitely got folks in a bouncy mood.
Funky Bitch-Still in line having a great conversation with the 100th person
I've met from Georgia at this show.  What a crowd pleaser this
is...definitely setting a more upbeat pace for the set.  Treys leads soar and
wail, Mike is having a blast singing.
Tube-Almost done in line, I really wanted to get back to my friends and
boogie at this point, and I made it back while they were jamming.  This was a
great choice to bust out, it grooves hard and thick with interweaving little
funky notes that wrap you up and send vibrations into your body that fill
your heart and soul with joy.  This was already a great set.
I Didn't Know-Fishman on vacuum, YES!  I could be wrong, but this seems to be
one they bust out in more intimate settings, such as the half-full Vancouver
show.  It's great that we had that intimate atmosphere, despite the size of
the venue and crowd.  Always fun to hear their onstage banter and get a wild
vacuum solo from Fishman.  No matter how many times I hear that vacuum
screech I always trip out on just how weird it is that 80,000 people gather
in a swamp and groove on some guy in a dress sticking a vacuum to his head
and jamming.
PYITE-Tightly played, but different sounding.  I haven't heard this song in
concert much, but I remember the Vegas 98 Punch was thick with that gooey
sound, and the intro was a bit longer.  This Punch seemed a bit short, but
satisfied nonetheless with a more rocky sound than usual.
Bouncin-I never have much to say about this song, I usually don't get into it
until the end.  Hey, they sounded great.  Being the last song on the first
Phish CD I ever bought, it's not quite what sold me on Phish.
Poor Heart-Whoo-hoo!  Interesting that they're pulling out some short songs,
but Poor Heart was fun...getting 80,000 people in a swamp to jump around like
a bunch of hillbillies is always a good thing in my book.  Page smokes on
this tune...mixing a bit of ragtime with some fast blues.
Roggae-While not the most unique Roggae in the world (see 9/17/99 Shoreline
for a Roggae that touches down to the most concentrated reaches of our
hearing until there is almost no sound, but so much music), it still actually
managed to make me cry.  I really dug the post on RMP from someone called
"Circus of Light" where she ties the lyrics of the song to what we were doing
there.  It just rang so true as the sky in the west began to taint with the
electric colors of dusk.  tears of joy came from my eyes...here we are, safe,
loved, maybe even at home, on the last sunset of the year.  Mike has been
doing beautiful work on this song, and Trey gives plenty of room to do it as
he and Page lay down textures of gorgeous sound.  Fishman plays with tasteful
gentlenesss, creating an amzing dynamic for the song.  As the first notes of
Roggae emerged from the mire I let out a huge "Yeah!!!!" that will probably
show up on your tapes as I seem to be the most excited about it.  I think
this is definitely Tom Marshall's best.  What can I say?  I love Roggae and
I'm holding out for that 20 minute exploratory version.
Split Open and Melt->-easily the highlight of the set.  Not only was it
tighter than hell, but they ditched the 9/8 measures and just went off on
this spacey, very urgent sounding groove.  It went in all sorts of cool
directions, even changing progressions at times as if the jam was composed.
Then it started to get really weird, they locked onto a groove and started
chanting.  For a little bit I was thinking "I know this...doh!  What is it?"
Catapult-Then it hit me as the strange words of Catapult rang familiar.  I
had seen setlists where they have thrown it into David Bowie, etc., but I
have never witnessed it nor do I have any tapes with this madness on them.
It was strange, surprising, slightly demonic (although divine compared to
last night's Mike's) and funny all at the same time.  Quite possibly their
biggest show ever and they're really doing some experimental stuff.  Trey
summed it up best, "Only at the largest concert in North America can you do
something like that."
Get Back On the Train-This song just flat out kicks ass.  Filled with
Honkey-Tonk funk, a great melody and terrific clav work from Page.
Bell-bottomed line dancers is what comes to mind I guess.  So far this has
been a really fun set.
Horn-I love the guitar solo in this song, and what makes it for me is when
they get all the notes right...no problem here.  The song blended with the
cool evening breeze and made us sway like reeds in a swamp.  Bliss.
Guyute-Doh!  This song follows me around like the plague, but I'm glad they
did it now and not in the overnight set.  I say "doh" when it starts, but
after a while I'm pretty into this song.  They were tight, sounded great and
Fishman's evil growling is always fun.
After Midnight-They started this up and I'm thinking "this sounds
different"...then Trey busts out the first words and the whole place went
friggin' nuts!!!!  Everyone kind of looked at each other and nodded in assent
that indeed, after midnight we would let it all hang out and then some!!!!
great choice for a cover and they tore the roof off of the tune.  Sorry
Clapton, but that one note guitar solo in your version doesn't come close to
the firy jams that Phish laid down on this tune.  The wait between sets would
seem too long at this point because everyone was fired up at this point.  A
rocking set closer and a message to all of us.  The anticipation was killing
me, but the satisfaction of this set reminded me to rest before
tonight...because this set alone had kicked my ass.
-John Pett

Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 19:18:51 -0500
From: William Scott Jennings wjennings@adelphia.net
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: scooby's review
 
I'll make it short - the best concert ever !!! Let's do it again next
year & the next & the next.   same place - in the swamp.   please.

Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 12:29:32 EST
From: CHugel@aol.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: (no subject)
 
80,000 phans + 5 sets (including one 7 hour plus set, any of you ever seen
that one before?) + totally cool security + 0 injuries due to violence - one
traffic jam =  one blown-away New Years celebration
                      DO THE MATH AND QUIT COMPLAINING

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 15:07:54 -0600
From: Erik Nilsson nils0037@tc.umn.edu
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: show reviews
 
I have mixed emotions over the shows at Big Cypress.  The traffic in and
out of the venue really hampers my ability to remember clearly.  I don't
want to hear this crap about the traffic being inevitable becuase it
wasn't.  Sure I expected aroung a three to four hour jam but eight to
thirteen hours-come on!  I have become really sickened by the selfish
people that have recently become a part of the Phish. I have to get to
the concert first! Who has MY drugs. ME ME ME ME ME.  If you think for a
moment that by bombing around the left land only to horn in further up
line did not impede traffic even more then you are a selfish fool.  You
not only infuriated numerous concertgoers but also managed to block
traffic for the rest of the residents of Southern Florida. Good Job
guys, thumbs up!  I was also disgusted to see people throwing beer
bottles along the side of the road.  Is it so difficult to throw an
emtpy bottle on the floor of your car until you can find a trash can?
Everyone who has a fucking clue also new that there was only one gas
station on the alley so who were the idiots that did not gas up before
getting on the alley?Leaving the venue I can understand, but entering,
there was no excuse.  No excuse that is until the backup reached over
twelve hours.  Now that I have that off my chest let me get down to what
I thought of the shows.
    I was really pleased to see that Phish had gone all out in providing
a great atmosphere for the shows.The location and weather of Big Cypress
was truly a tropical paradise. I live in Minneapolis so to be able to
enjoy seventy and eighty degree weather in december/january was truly a
dream come true.  I was surprised to see that there really was not
anything shakin on Shakedown street- used to be the heart of the town,
but I've been to enough shows to not really care.  I go to Phish shows
for the music and strictly the music.  I guess that's why drinking next
to my car on I-75 is not my idea of a good time.
    I stood directly to the left or the right of the soundboard for
almost all of the five sets, and I found the view, as well as the sound,
to be quite satisfactory. I felt that both days had their highpoints as
well as lowpoints.  Water In the Sky was an appropriate opener, and as a
song I enjoy, I thought it was a good way to start the weekend.  I have
mixed emotions about the whole chief section of the first set, but since
it really did not cut into the overall set time I'm all for a little
something different on my plate.  I have never seen Light Up or Leave
live before, and I'm sure most people haven't even heard it judging by
the crowd reaction, but I felt it was one of the highlights of the first
day along with a ripping ghost.  There were several songs that were
played the first day that just did not seem to achieve the groove that
they are capable of achieving.  I felt the Wolfmans Brother, a song
which i feel has been really grooving over the course of the past year
just did not achieve the stellar porno funk it is capable of.  The Taste
seemed really uninspired and the jam was way to similar to the jam heard
in the first set's Limb by Limb.  I guess I compare every Taste I hear
to the version from Hamburg on Slip Stitch, and I rarely hear one that
rivals it.  The Sloth in the third set was also really uninspired, Sloth
is a song that needs to absolutely rip, and this slow tempo version
simply did nothing for me. The Mike's ripped as usual, but the Simple
completely lacked the energy it is capable of.  Hydrogen is always a
treat and I enjoyed it but the Weekapaugh never really blasted off.
Don't get me wrong I always like Weekapaugh, but this was one of the
weaker Weekapaughs I've had the priveledge to see.  I was really happy
to see the band encore with Boogie On Reggae Woman, but again they never
really achieved the funk groove this song is capable of.
    I felt the day set of NYE was the best out of the four standard
length sets.The setlist may not look spectacular but the set simply had
the energy that keeps me going to Phish shows.  I thought the Phish
spaceship took off during Split Open and Melt and hovered above the
ground until Midnight when is blasted off into hyperspace.  The After
Midnight closer absolutely rocked  I'm not even going to go into the New
Years set, because you really can't compare it to a standard set.  The
energy flowing through the crowd from the minute father time straddled
the bike untill well after midnight was complete and utter pandemonium.
I never thought I would see the boys ride in on the HotDog again, and it
was truly awesome and the jams of this set were trulyl sick.I also loved
the impromptu Meatstick rendtion that swept through the audience as
midnight approached.

Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 16:24:48 EST
From: Garrettph@aol.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: 12/31 review
 
May I first point out for you youngsters that before there was ever a "420"
in pop culture, there was "714".  This was a pill that was popular back in
the 70's that got you off, also known as a "lemon".  The sunrise for the
Phish NYE epic came at exactly 7:14!
 
NYE 2000 Overview:  Yes, the traffic sucked, but when it sucks that bad you
can just get out of the car, wander about, drink, smoke, and shoot the shit
with your phriends.  In case you didn't notice, that's what you did anyway
when you weren't in your car!  With the exception of the few that actually
missed show time---get over it, it's a party!  My biggest beef with a crowd
this size is something nobody can really control, though, and that's losers
that can't time their buzz properly and sleep in the venue.  It's very
difficult to get any kind of  "Hampton-like" vibe going when you're separated
from other people rocking out by a group of sloths laying around taking up
prime boogie space.  This isn't brain surgery folks: pace yourself so you can
be in it for the long haul or get the hell out of the way.  Special mention,
btw, to the idiot woman with the infant laying in front of her on her blanket
to the left of the soundboard around "Piper" time Saturday morning.  This
child was basically right next to the walkway amidst the sea of slugs that
people were tripping over and I nearly stepped on her.  After the fact, I
noticed that Mom had thoughtfully set down several glow rings outlining this
beleaguered baby's head.  This is perhaps to help the stumbling-drunk sixteen
year-old to make sure not to fall there when he drops into the picture?  But
I shall cease being negative now.  Overall, it was a great time and we were
blessed with perfect weather, although the tents did heat up quickly in the
morning due to the intense sun, (ed note: the author was in an air
conditioned RV). Every night, pretty much all night long, there was the
cacophony of music from all directions, fireworks everywhere and the best of
all: the spontaneous roars!  They would build from the probably world-record
size drum circles in the forest and just travel around.  By the way, how in
the hell did everybody avoid getting impaled by a stump in the red forest
anyway?  The coolest thing about this kind of thing, though, is that it's
just a shitload of cool people everywhere.  The kind of people you can talk
to as if you're in the middle of a conversation already.  Cruising around
shooting the shit and catching a buzz with friends new and old for three
straight days is a pretty fucking cool way to spend any time, let alone New
Years 2000!  And oh, by the way, did I mention there was a band on the 31st?
On with the review^Å
 
Set I:
Started with the benefit of clouds obscuring the intense afternoon sun that
would've been in our faces otherwise, and that was nice.  The sunset wasn't
as good as for Ghost last night, but whatever.  "Runaway Jim" opened a pretty
mellow set, compared to II and III last night.  It was cranking as usual and
"Funky Bitch" and "Tube" had me wondering if the boys were planning on saving
any energy for later---smokin'!
"I Didn't Know" was a damned good observation, given the onslaught of
intoxicants many of us had welcomed and the fact that we had only barely
passed the halfway point of songs for the festival---even after last night's
epic!  PYITE was another rocker that pulled me along despite my desire to
pace myself but my respite was right behind it, with Bouncin'>Poor
Heart>Roggea "nap time".  I still can't believe they like "Roggae" so
much---I just don't get it, but I digress.  SOAM was great old school to get
me back into things and the I was soon "Catapult"ed "Back On The Train" where
I heard I very oddly-placed "Horn" that somehow led into "Guyote".  BOTT is a
very cool new song, but, then again, which new one isn't cool?  I was
thrilled to hear "Guyote", 'cuz I've been missing it lately and it's good to
hear concise, to the point compositions get played perfectly.  Thirteen songs
in I'm thinking this is the closer, but it's not a real total rocker---you
bastards!  But Phish has spoiled me so thoroughly that they crank
into---"After Midnight", which may be the most appropriately-placed song in
the history of concerts!  And JAMMING!  I mean, this is right there with GTBT
from last night as the song of the whole thing, (as if I could really
choose!)  Compare this to Eric Clapton's version and you'll feel compared to
check E.C. and see if he actually has a pussy!  Anyway, to sum it up, this
was the fourth best set of the weekend, but it pounded the crap out of, say,
12/17 in Hampton.  The boys were on and my God, what a closer!
 
Set II:
If there was a more festive crowd in the world for the flip to three zeros, I
wish I was at the Yanni show.  It would only be a slight exageration to say
that more fireworks were in the parking lot than a lot of actual displays.
The spontaneous roars were going off about every thirty seconds and the
full-scale party was on!  The concert field was noticeably more full tonight
that last night, and I'd heard of wristband numbers exceeding 90,000 at this
point.  En route to my friends,  I had the misfortune of hitting the
barricade that had the path cleared for the giant "Airboat" that the boys
rode through the crowd, but I managed to make it back to them before Auld
Lang Syne was finished, so I guess it was OK.  The worst part was that I was
blazing through the crowd and thus pretty much missed the mind-boggling
fireworks display that must've taken a nice chuck of our $150+ entrance fee.
I have no memory of "Meatstick" here at all, so I doubt it was anything
special.  The first real song was "Down with Disease", which was
no-holds-barred and a poignant message for humanity in general as we crank
into the 2000's---but now I'm on my way, indeed!  "Llama" was played at a
blistering pace which I was guessing the boys might regret come about five.
(ed note: the band never did show fatigue)  We were all in this together for
a killer "Bathtub Gin" that led to what I thought was the funniest moment of
the show: getting it together for the worldwide broadcast of "Heavy Things".
The massive floodlights started coming on to illuminate the crowd as Trey
explains that we're about to go live and we should play a joke.  He decides
to have us not cheer after the song, but to instead simply say: "cheesecake!"
 As if we're somewhat upset.  Just "cheesecake!"  Then, as the moment
approaches he changes the plan and says we should instead chant "cheesecake"
over and over.  We then go on TV, with countless millions around the world
watching, and Trey takes the opportunity to chastise left-lane bandits.  I
think he tried to stick to the "peace" theme of the broadcast for a minute,
but then he said something like: "the right lane is for slow cars, the left
lane is for fast cars.  If you're not going fast, please stay in the right
lane!"  That may have been the coolest thing I've ever seen!  (But then
again, there was the "Roses Are Free" at 5:30, but I can't get ahead of
myself). The very cool "Heavy Things" was then played to a fully-lighted,
totally blissing crowd with pictures of us on the gigantic video screens with
the perfect pictures.  The end of the song comes and several thousand people
somehow forgot the instructions, cheering anyway.  "Twist" and "Prince
Caspian" were good, but my position made it hard to concentrate as we seemed
to be trespassing on the Phish VIP area, (Jon from Strangefolk was there),
and we were catching bad vibes. (ed note: the VIP's weren't partying worth a
shit!)  The Velvet Underground cover "Rock and Roll" was the last song I
caught in that area, and it was very disappointing for me because Page's
paper-thin vocals basically ruined the song for me.  I've been dying to hear
this song, and lo and behold, it sucked!  Oh, well, maybe the next twenty-six
will make up for it!  Moved away from bad-karma-VIP section for YEM, which
featured a vocal jam with tons of "cheescake" in it, and was mighty strong.
"Crosseyed" was a phatty break-out and an epic version as well. (ed note:
what song wasn't an epic version tonight?)  Trey then takes to the acoustic
for an intimate "Minestrone" for the 90,000 denizens, which must've been cool
from him, because it seemed like most people shut-up for the occasion.  This
was followed by "Sand", which at some point melded into something called
"Quadrophonic Topplin".
       It's at this point of the show when the men were separated from the
boys, so to speak.  This jam was reminiscent of the "ambient jam" at the
Lemonwheel---the seemingly endless noodling that left many people begging for
a song.  Yes, it did take seemingly forever and yes, it could rightly be
labeled self-indulgent on the part of the band.  That said, let's take a look
at what we're complaining about:  This is a band that does improv jams better
than anyone on earth and they now have all the time imaginable to jam out
songs, and people are irritated?  These guys have the best party on earth
going, and they can do whatever they want, as far as I'm concerned.  (ed
note: as if they would let you down in the end!)  People would've been
well-served to look at the big picture of this show and enjoy the fact that
almost every song had a ten-minute or more jam on it, 'cuz it's a
once-in-a-lifetime thing.  If you didn't gear up to be tripping your balls
off when this inevitability came around---bummer for you, better luck next
time, and don't get pissed when I step on you while you're laying there
taking up valuable boogie space!  But I digress---back to the music.
         "Slave" delivered us back to a discernable song, although it's jam
is a little too much like what just went on for an hour, and they might've
stuck something more rocking there.  I've seen better "Slaves", to be honest,
but the Neil Young cover of "Albuquerque", made up for that as it was done
perfect justice to the songwriting master that penned it.  A very happy
"Reba" got the party going again and the "Axilla" put to rest any questions
that the boys might be running out of gas because it rocked balls.  My first
"Uncle Pen" in 40 shows followed and reminded me of how fucking versatile
this band is 'cuz it was more or less a country hoe-down now.  A downright
sick, (as if there's any other kind) "Bowie" raged and then the recently rare
"My Soul" kept things up, to say the least, and this was my favorite version
ever.  Anyone that actually complained about the slow part of the show 90
minutes or so ago had to feel like and idiot as the boys steamed into The
Who's "Drowned", with Mike on vocals.  Although Mike's voice leaves a lot to
be desired here, the band made this point irrelevant because this may have
been the highlight out of 35 songs.  I'm not sure how long this travel
through about ten changes in one song lasted, (ed note: if you think keeping
track of time while tripping is hard enough, try it in the midst of a 7.5
hour show!), but it was a remarkable journey and I can't wait to hear this
shit on tape!  As if we needed our minds blown further, a reprise of "After
Midnight" was delivered roughly ten hours after the first-ever version and
boy, were those lyrics even more poignant now!  Indeed, now around five a.m.,
we are finding out "what it's all about" and I'm getting chills and tears
right now just thinking about it!  What a truly great band and how much
poorer would I be if I'd never seen them!  Anyway, letting it all hang out
were these guys ripping this song up with the same intensity of 22 songs ago
and I found out that what it's really all about is buzz-timing because there
were legions of people sleeping through this!  I've digressed, though, back
to the review!
At this point the band may have stood around for a minute bullshitting,
eating or drinking something, or whatever, because there were some gaps
between songs when it took a few minutes for the next one to start.  I don't
remember if it happened exactly here or not, but I do recall some idiots
yelling "play a song!" during these breaks.  I mean, there's ungrateful and
spoiled, and then there's ungrateful and spoiled, for christsakes!  Anyway,
now we go into a heart-warming, unbelievable beautiful "Horse>Silent In The
Morning" here at roughly 5:30 am and I remember thinking that a bonus here is
that every dickhead that would be talking through this normally is sleeping,
so we had that going for us too!  "Bittersweet Motel" kept the mood and was a
perfect place for another beautiful song.  (ed note: if you don't like this
song, it's probably about you!)   Paragraph break, 'cuz I moved at this point.
         "Piper" was cranked into here and was a complete joy to hear after
the weak version in Hampton this year.  It was a bit hard to concentrate on
this for a while because I was moving up and was in a bad sound area, (of
which there were many, due to the delay off the satellite-speaker towers and
the roof on the soundboard).  This, and I was busy barely missing stepping on
babies.  "Piper" totally raged and, although I'm no tape expert, I can't
imagine there was a better one played anywhere else, if so, let me know!  My
first "Free" in quite some time was about as perfect as a song placement can
get if it wasn't for the "After Midnight".  Every song at this point is being
jammed out to the hilt, and this was no exception.  We are now in a zone that
may never be reached again as far as that's concerned and you'll get no
complaint about that here.  I might add that now I'm basically looking right
over at CK5, so I had a pretty plum spot in which to really feel it; I know
that it's really hard to find a good vibe way out in the masses.  In any
event, Page then took his turn as lounge singer for "Lawn Boy", which is
always cool.  Not to be outdone, Fishman gets his chance to really fuck with
the people that aren't getting the joke and the jam-outs by tearing up a
vacuum solo in "Love You".  I mean, this most annoying of sounds lasted
seemingly forever and it was just the kind of absurdity that makes you stop
and contemplate what the hell you're doing.  You're at the bottom of Florida
in the middle of nowhere with 90,000 at six in the morning watching a dude
play a vacuum cleaner---not an everyday thing!  Next up was a truly stunning
"Roses Are Free".  This was my first in 40 shows, and I was now on cloud
nine.  The jam was so long that one could easily forget what the song was
before it came around again, and indeed I did!  It ocurred to me at this
point that CK5 is the only lighting director in rock history to have dawn as
a backdrop, for whatever that's worth!  "Bug" followed, and I'll be damned if
I remember anything about it because I don't really know it.  I suspect it's
just one long jam with no real verses 'cuz that's all I remember before^Å
"2001", which, if I can complain one time, would have been better off as a
"Divided Sky" because it's starting to get light out now and it's mostly
cloudy, but there are gorgeous red/pink clouds to the left-rear of us.  The
"2001" was good, but it was kind of aimless and I swear it used to better in
the past, but it could be just me.  The power of the lighting was reduced at
this point as well, because it's no longer anywhere near dark.  I'm still
assuming the "Divided" is on the way, but I'm having suck a great time that I
don't even car when they break into "Wading".  Now I love this song, and I
loved it at the time, although Trey could've really ripped the solo harder,
(you weren't tired, were you, you pussy!).  In retrospect, however, why in
God's name is there a "Wading" here instead of "Divided"?  A point to ponder,
indeed.  Again, I wasn't complaining at the time, probably because at this
rate I assumed they might play until nine or something!  "Meatstick", a song
I'd completely forgotten about, finished the most epic show ever off, and
they didn't bother to ask us to do the dance, probably because it just didn't
feel right.  I thought this was a great song to end with because it's such a
happy sound and a great melody to have in your head taking out of a show.  I
would like to point out again that I was dancing my ass off at this point,
and I'm proud to say that I never sat down the whole show.
       In summation, I've read some people that couldn't make it saying shit
like: "they'll say it was the best show ever, no matter what happens."  Well,
all I can say is, if that makes you feel better 'cuz you weren't there, good
for you!  You need all the help you can get because those of us that were
there need only think back to the only show of it's kind ever to feel good.
Amazing.  Epic.  Outrageous.  Ridiculous.  Thank you Phish, Seminole Indians,
and all the people that didn't lay around taking up space.  This was the best
New Year's I've ever had!


Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2000 11:18:04 PST
From: Alex Tamargo altamargo@hotmail.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: 12/31/99
 
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I must say that that I will always remember this past NYE weekends as one of
the highest, most wonderful times of my whole life!  EIGHT STRAIGHT FUCKING
HOURS OF PHISH JAMS!!!!!!!This was my dream come true, and I believe, a once
in a life time event.
    Just before the first set I had a most wonderful experience around a
drum circle that sent me into the show already energized.  Due to lack of
time, I won't go into detail because most of you probably just want ot hear
about the show, but if anyone's curious, pheel phree to email me because I
have never experienced anything so beautiful at a Phish show outside of the
music.
    Now to the show, the afternoon set is what me and my friends were
calling afterwards the FUN set.  There was nothing spetactular about it but
it was very high energy and very fun.  Clearly the boys were saving their
heavy jam tunes for the sunrise set, as well they should.  I won't do this
set song by song but I'll just share with you my personal highlights.
 
TUBE- phunky with a captital PH!!! What a groove!!!
 
SPLIT OPEN>CATAPULT- This has got to be the best jam out of Split Open I've
ever heard My buddy argued that Gorge this fall was far better, but
everyone's got their own opinion, for me this was the spaciest most far out
split open jam I've ever heard, and though I was a little dissapointed they
didn't go back into the climatic ending jam after Catapult, I can't complain
about what they did give us in this song.
 
AFTER MIDNIGHT-  The band's way of letting us know what was going ot be
going down that night.  This song rocked!!! and sent the crowd pumped and
ready for the eight hour marathon of endless jams.
 
The Midnight to Sunrise set is what it's all about. No there were no Destiny
Unbounds or complete Gamehendge sagas, but if you were'nt going to be happy
unless they did those things, you may as well not have gone because they do
not need to do anything like that in order for it to be the SHOW OF A
LIFETIME!!  They simple need to barrage us with endless jams and happiness
throughout the entire eight hour stretch, and of that they did a pretty damn
fine job.
 
I won't go into detail about the hotdog entry because it seems other
reviewers have already done that.  But I will say it was a pretty fun thing
to watch, and everyone was sooooooooo pumped for the music. And I think
there was no more appropriate way to end the millenium then with the
Meatstick, the song of 1999.
 
DOWN WITH DISEASE- To be honest, if I had my choice of the first song of the
milleinum, it wouldn't be this one, but considering that they were about to
play eight hours of music, they could have really played anything for all I
cared.  And as it turned out, this version absolutely rocked my world!!!
Wow!!!
 
LLAMA-  A quick rocking version of Llama is always nice.
 
BATHTUB- One of my favorite tunes which we were snubbed of in last years new
years run, so I knew they had to play it this year.  And what a version! The
vocal harmonies they did were nothing short of spetacular and the jam
afterwards was truly classic Bathtub style jamming. Right On!
 
ABC WORLD NEWS SPEECH/CHEESECAKE CHANT- If you don't know the details on
this, read other peoples reviews.  I just want to say that you notice how
Trey abandoned the silly idea of breaking the dance record with the
Meatstick dance(THANK GOD) but instead he had 85,000 people chanting
cheesecake on live tv? Now wasn't the cheesecake chant far more of a
wonderful thing than that silly dance ever could have been? The next day in
the Atlanta airport, the few Phish kids that were there would pass each
other and yell "CHEESECAKE!" which must have made innocent passerbyers go
HUH?  I will never again be able to look at a slice of cheesecake without
smiling.
 
HEAVYTHINGS- What a wonderful happy groovy tune. (Ooo ooo WA aa!) They
needed a short one to put on live tv and they couldn't have picked a better
one.
 
TWIST>CASPIAN- The Twist jam was sick and it segued beatifully into Caspian,
which I normally don't get into that much, but this was New Years, even the
Caspian is incredible.
 
ROCK N' ROLL- When they started playing this I had no idea what a fucking
sick jam was going to come out of it.  Wow!  My friend claims to have heard
a DWD reprisejam in there but I didn't catch it.  Did anyone else?
 
YEM-  Pretty standard version (which is a good thing as far as I'm
concerned). The only thing that was unique was the Cheesecake vocal jam.  I
was cracking up laughing at the whole thing.  Lots of cheesecake jokes from
all the people around me followed.
 
CROSSEYED AND PAINLESS-  I said CROSEYED AND FUCKING PAINLESS!!!!  This was
the song I thought that if they played it, the whole world could blow up
from this Y2k bug and I would die a happy man.  I can't believe they played
it and of course it rocked!!!
 
MINESTRONE- absolutely beatiful
 
SAND>QUADROPHONIC TOPPLINGS- I remember thinking that this was the sickest
most wonderful Sand jam I had ever heard.  Now I know that part of that was
a siket disc jam called Quadrophonic Topplings.  I'm not sure where the sand
jam ended and Quad. Top began, but it was soooo good.
 
SLAVE- one of the best ever!!!
 
ALBUQUERQuE- I love this song
 
REBA- my first since last years newyears run and it was blissful
 
AXILLA,UNCLE PENN-  I enjoyed these songs, but they're not songs I feel the
need to dance my ass off at so I took this oppurtunity to take a long needed
rest, and just sat down and soaked in the music.
 
BOWIE- absolutely sick!! After the Bowie, I looked up and realized it was
still pitch black out, which meant we still had a long way to sunrise.  So
even after a set that normally would have sent me home thrilled, there was
still hours and hours of jams left.  What a happy realization to come to.
 
MY SOUL- Mymymymymymymymymy soul It's my soul!
 
DROWNED>AFTER MIDNIGHT REPRISE>DROWNED JAM- Every version of Drowned I've
heard has really rocked the house, but when the went back into After
Midnight in the middle of the rockin jam, I had to stop what I was doing
(which was filling up my water bottle) and dance, dance dance!
 
HORSE>SILENT- I was slightly dissapointed because I had this vision in my
head of them playing Silent in the Morning when it was daylight.  But hey, I
can't expect them to read my mind, so it was good none the less.  Besides, I
was perfectly happy with what they did do for the sunrise.  More on that
later.
 
BITTERSWEET MOTEL- nice littel ditty, gave me a chance to rest my bones.
 
PIPER>FREE- The Piper was out of control and the Free was nice too, although
not unordinary.
 
LAWN BOY- Lawn Boy is Lawn Boy
 
HYHU>LOVE YOU>>HYHU-  I knew it was about time for a Fishman tune. After
taking a really long time to get started, Fishman looks up with a confused
look, "Oh I'm sorry, are we at a concert?"  You gotta love him.
 
ROSES ARE FREE- Like Crosseyed, a tune I really wanted to hear.  And this
version exceeded all my expectations of it.  I could not believe they were
pumping out such a long exploratory jam at freakin' 6 in the morning.
Unfortunately, about half way through the jam, my achin body could take no
more dancin and I had to sit down.  But I was fairly close to the front at
this point, so I sat there and looked up at the speakers and felt the
ambience of the jam surge through my body, and thought about how there was
no other place in the entire universe I would have rather been at that time
than right fucking there.
 
BUG- I never used to think too much of this song.  I thought it was okay I
guess.  But this time I had turned around to face the most beatuiful
wonderful sunrise I have seen in quite some time.  So when they started
playing Bug, a wondrous joy just filled my body and soul.
So I REALLY enjoyed Bug this time around.  I now have a whole new
perspective on that song.  From now on whenever I hear it I'll think of THAT
moment and smile.
 
2001- I still had my eye on the sky and all the colors and shapes and forms
it was taking when this one started.  Then I tryed to get up and dance but I
was still achin It was very frustrating because this was such a funky
groovin' version (how are they able to do that at 7 in the morning?).  But I
just sat down and watched all the happy brothers and sisters groove down and
let my spirit dance through them.  It was another unforgettable Phish moment
on the night of many unforgettable Phish moments.
 
WADING IN THE VELVET SEA- I had a feeling they were begining to wind it
down, which was confirmed when they started playing......
 
MEATSTICK- Of course!  They started it all with the Meatstick, without ever
having sung the whole thing, so of course they would end with it.  I was
finally able to gain a second wind and groove down.  Meatstick led into a
nice spacey ambient jam that faded off into the sunrise.
 
HERE COMES THE SUN- Not played by Phish, but it was the original Beattles
version playing over the PA.  Now that I had started dancing again, I
couldn't stop.  And looking around, I saw tons of happy kids dancing along
with me.  I don't think I've ever seen that many people dance for the entire
duration of the song playing over the PA.
 
Then it was off into the sun for 85,000 happy people.  The silence of the
crowd walking out was very surprising, and very very nice and peaceful.  And
so ends one of the most blissful times of my life.  I hope everyone (whether
you were at the show or not) had at least half as good of a time as I had.
Peace everyone, and CHEESECAKE!

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2000 17:32:12 -0600
From: Vicki Wittgraf wittgraf@ncn.net
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Cc: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: nye 2000
 
i just got back from florida.  rather than throw my opinions of the sets, i'm
going to describe all that transpired for those that weren't lucky enough to
find a ride to big cypress.  the first four sets were amazing in both quality
and variety.  phish kept them relatively uneventful- except for a guest
appearance by a seminole singing sensation.  big chief jim billie brought a
guitar player and a banjo player on stage-- it was an amusing scene.  trey
seemed particularly surprised by the guitar player's solo.  as you will
undoubtedly hear in the near future, thursday culminated with an incredible
third set.
 
i was within a few rows of the stage for the entire show.  my intention for
this review is merely to describe the midnight to sunrise set.  at precisely
11:30pm, the curtain dropped on stage to reveal a large clock with a pendulum
swing on its right.  on the left was a costumed old man peddling a bicycle.
his pedalling kept the clock going.  this hypnotic scene continued for twenty
minutes including the blaring sound of the bicycle and the ticking clock.
the old man was tiring and he stopped eight minutes before midnight.
suddenly, an enormous contraption emerged from the side of the field.  this
grey fan boat (much like the boat pictured on the concert ticket) stopped in
the midst of the crowd.  fireworks exploded around the boat as it fell apart
to reveal phish on their now-motorized new years hot dog.  the crowd
obviously erupted as phish rode toward the stage.  a recorded, new phish tune
accompanied their voyage.  i speculate that this upbeat song was the new
meatstick jam.  few people noticed the four female dancers on stage doing the
meatstick.  the new song slowed to the meatstick that we all know and love
and the dancers helped phish from the hot dog onto the stage.  the band found
a twenty foot long of meat (sausages or something) and force-fed the
motionless old man.  he regained his strength and pedalled like mad.  the
clock was speeding toward midnight as the band grabbed their instruments and
joined in with the recorded meatstick and eventually took over.  the new
year's countdown ensued and the band played a rockin version of auld lang
syne.  to add to the madness, hundreds of balloons (some as big as ten feet
in diameter) were released into the crowd.  an incredible display of
fireworks came from behind the stage and continued for several minutes.  the
scene is beyond description-- words can't do justice to the emotion and
intense joy spewing from everyone and everything.  when phish kicked into
down with disease, 80,000 phans danced like never before. it was a moment i
wish everyone could have experienced.
 
dwd jammed for approximately 20 minutes.  phish broke into a fevered llama
and followed with a 20 minute bathtub gin.  i felt that the bathtub jam
wasn't quite what it could have been because a member of the crew was
continually holding up signs signalling the number of minutes before the
concert went live on abc.  the band finished with three minutes to spare.
trey explained to the audience how they should scream "hi mom" and stuff.
just before going live, trey said that he and mike wanted the audience to do
something strange at the end of the song rather than clapping.  trey asked
the crowd to angrily yell "cheesecake" at the conclusion of their song.  it
was a hysterical moment.  phish went live on network television and trey gave
his message for the world.  abc wanted every live act to give advice for
peace and happiness for the next millenium.  phish conformed to the network's
wishes, but trey's advice for the millions across the world was for the
slower traffic to move to the left side of the road and for the faster to
stay in the right lane.  silly but profound advice-- it's a great analogy for
the various lives people live.  from what i have gathered, trey's message was
edited out of the program.  abc undoubtedly thought he was mocking them.  i
found the whole thing rather amusing.  abc did air the five minute version of
heavy things followed with cheesecake chanting.
 
the show progressed in typical phish fashion alternating between new and old
with a few covers in the mix.  with more than seven hours to fill, the band
was free to jam and experiment.  listening to tapes, you'll notice how
usually short songs were jammed for thirty minutes or more (roses are free
was a good example).  the set cruised into you enjoy myself.  it concluded
with a cheesecake vocal jam.  the audience joined in with their own chant.
get the tapes, it was a lot of fun.  at this point the show became a bit more
subdued.  the band relaxed and settled in.  they even took rotating bathroom
breaks as the band continued in their respective absenses.  these bathroom
breaks were curiously frequent and long in duration.  i could speculate as to
what went on in their lavish and large port-o-let but won't.  for those
interested, trey emerged with what appeared to be a balloon near his face.
he threw it aside after crossing the back of the stage.  he got into his
usual position on stage and abruptly exited seconds later to return to the
bathroom.  anyhoo, the band did what it needed to do to jam for more than
seven hours.  by 5:00am, a small portion of the crowd moved to the outskirts
in exhaustion.  i felt like the audience couldn't connect with the 30 minute
jams at this point.  maybe we were too run down?  maybe an upbeat little
number could have rejuvinated the crowd?  but the show went on.  it was an
amazing set.  as i predited, phish broke into 2001 just before sunrise.  i
think that phish was hoping to mirror kubrick's legendary film with the song
peaking as the sun emerged from the horizon.  unfortunately, clouds filled
the sky and marred our view of the sun.  phish's vision of a breath-taking
sunrise didn't happen.  they followed 2001 with wading in the velvet sea and
finished with meatstick.  once again, i think phish envisioned an 80,000
person sea doing the meatstick dance.  the exhausted crowd wasn't up to it.
i eagerly waited for the band to debut a new meatstick jam and a reappearance
by the dancers.  the band stuck to the old meatstick and brought it to a
slow, quiet close.  trey thanked everyone just before finishing.  i couldn't
help but see the exhaustion and dissatifaction in all four members of the
band.  the band left the stage and the crowd got a second wind (although at
this point it was more like a thirty-seventh wind) in expectation of the
encore.  to everyone's dismay, crew members came on stage and started
breaking it down.  where was our encore?  the incredible event that was new
year's eve 2000 needed some closure.  i shouldn't say it but i think the band
was upset.  they succeeded with their all night jam but didn't close the show
as the had envisioned.  they didn't get an awe-inspiring 2001 sunrise or the
80,000 person meatstick.  it wasn't anybod'y's fault.  blame the cloud or the
audience or the band.
 
i hope my description of nye doesn't give the impression that it failed to
live up to expectations.  with five great sets of almost 14 hours of phish,
this event will go down in history as one of the greatest moments for the
band.  each set was filled with great moments.  i think that the third set on
the 30th will be remembered as one the band's best.  if you are upset because
you didn't catch a ride to florida, you should be.  there was no place in the
world i would have rather been.  i still can't put it into words.  i just
hope we all realize how lucky we are to have festivals like this.  thank you
phish.

Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 00:55:46 EST
From: Mtstckr19@aol.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: 12/31/99 Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation
 
Im only gonna review 12/31, just because I wasn't particularly fond of 12/30,
it just seemed to lack the energy that creates a "good" Phish show, thats
just my opinion though, it had it's moments, but all in all I wasn't blown
away.
 
Pre-show: I had to pee, and I did!!!! Also, I had been calling a Sand opener
all day long, but then again I'm only right 96.435786% of the time, so I was
down with...
 
Runaway - not the greatest I've ever heard, but I dig the song with a
passion, so I was fired up
 
Bitch - I was psyched because my girlfriend had been calling this one since
Hampton, so it was great to see her with all smiles, plus its a sick jam so I
was extremely satisfied so far
 
Tube - cant go wrong with this one. Really tight version, tight jam, oh so
tight, simply sick, was almost rushed to the medical tent it was so sick
 
IDK - gotta love it, always a pleaser, then again it wasnt the best ive ever
heard but so far, the show was off to an insane start, no complaints so far
 
PYITE - once again, 100% insanity, tightness everywhere
 
Bouncin - ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, why????? Who cares, it is short and after the sick
start, I welcomed this custie classic with open arms and closed ears, my
favorite part was the ending, then came...
 
Poor Heart - always a fun tune to hear, by then I was guessing that the boys
were going ahead and getting the short ones out of the way, preparing for the
sick jams yet to come
 
Roggae - great way to keep a nice pace, great song, always is, was soothing
and relaxing, Trey's licks just melted in my ears and head, getting me ready
for...
 
SOAM --> Catapult - words cant even describe it. Sickest SOAM jam i've ever
heard, and to make it epic they kept the beat and spat off Catapult
lyrics...confusion was setting in in the beginning and I looked to my
girlfriend for assistance as to what the hell was happening, I knew she knew
what was up, and afer about the fifth or sixth or whatever lyric, I knew it
was catapult...these tapes are worth getting just to hear this over a
thousand times, gotta have it, SICK....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, what a jam!!!!!!
 
GBOTT - I knew we would hear this one sometime during the evening or morning,
always a great tune to hear, great beat, love what they have done with this
one, definitely a keeper, always a pleasure
 
Horn - I dont know what was going on in the boys minds, but I wish I knew,
because they were throwing curves left and right. This song is always
classic, and the past two times ive heard it, Trey just nails the jam to the
extreme, excellent rendition
 
Guyute - I remember when this used to be sort of a rarity, it just never got
that much playing time...those days are over, but I hadnt heard it since the
summer, and because I used to crave this song with a passion, it was actually
extremely nice to hear
 
After Midnight - two or three years ago, until 12/31, I had always wanted
Phish to cover this one..all hope was lost, and I was so stunned and ecstatic
to hear this one that my heart skipped many beats, pumped like a mighty fist
throughout the entire song, I knew this would be the closer, and what a
closer it was, definitely the most fitting and perfect closer I have ever
heard...man I was so damn psyched, ahhhhhh...only a few more hours and then
the true insanity would finally come forth
 
 
Midnight: The guy on the bike became a nuisance, I was too psyched to stand
around and listen to clocks tick, I was pumped and ready, so when I saw the
boat making its way through the crowd, I was in total shock
 
Meatstick - only over the pa, just totally fitting, perfect way to make an
entrance, I knew the sickness was soon to follow
 
DWD - my girlfriend predicted this one, and this was without a doubt the
tightest, sickest DWD i have ever heard, I also thought the fireworks would
go on all night long, the balloons making their way across the crowd was also
an incredibly sick sight to see. Definitely one of the most memorable moments
of my entire life, and I experienced it with the greatest person i've ever
known...karn
 
Llama - I felt this one coming from a mile away, and I heard it while
crouched down on my knees, doing who knows what...
 
Bathtub - one of my all time faves and I was psyched, jam was "different" to
say the least, but I was just still in complete awe as to what was going down
in Florida
 
Heavy Things - I love this tune, and the whole "ABC, Trey talking cheesecake"
everything, just had me in total ecstasy. very catchy song as my karen would
say, I totally agree with her, this is a great song
 
Twist - one of my all time faves, this whole midnight to sunrise set was
turning in to a "whip out Al's fave tunes" set, I was just in a state of
total awe, dont remember much about this Twist, but I remember enough to know
that it was tight and sick, almost every jam the band played that night was
tight as hell, oh so tight, complete cohesoin and unity
 
Caspian - ouch, I mean of all songs Twist could go into, this I didn't see
coming, but discovering that the band had only been playing for a little over
an hour, I was so psyched to realize that they were getting this whining song
out of the way, like bouncin, the ending was my favorite part, as it always
is...but I would soon discover that the ending held much more promise than I
had expected...
 
Rock and Roll - this would have to be one of my all time fave cover tunes, it
fits the band perfectly, totally represents and explains the direction in
which the band is going in, so powerful, the jam was the greatest rock and
roll jam ive ever heard, remember hearing a few moments in which the band
could have gone right into 2001 PERFECTLY, jam was tight, one of the tighest
jams i have ever heard, and this show was already on its way to being one of
the greatest
 
YEM - dont remember this yem all that much, hear it at almost every show I go
to, but you cant ever complain about a YEM, remember that Mike owned the jam
pretty much though, and the cheesecake vocals almost had me rolling on the
dirty ground beneath my feet,m laughing in hysteria
 
Crosseyed - i thought i would never hear it again, and that always sort of
made me a bit depressed, total shocker, and one of the highlights of the
night for me. this show was down right sick, they were just tearing it up on
stage and i was loving every single second of it
 
Minestrone - heard it in hampton, its not a song you can just go insane over,
but its a nice chill acoustic, and it is pretty damn good i think
 
Sand - i knew it was destined to be heard, and this is just a sick song,
definitely one of my favorite new ones
 
Quadrophonic Toppling - had never heard it live before, totally recognized it
from the siket disc, cant say much, was just spacey, nice chill noise to try
and build up some wind to groove for many more hours
 
Slave - i'd actually say that this is probably my favorite song, i have many
but this is definitely in the top 5 or 4, dont know, i'll get back to you on
that one. What i loved about this set was that they really jammed out these
songs to the max, dont remember how long this jam was, do remember that it
wasnt the greatest slave i have ever heard, but it was long, and was still
pretty damn good
 
Albuquerque - nice! didnt expect to hear this one ever again, nice to hear.
The pace had slowed a tad which was good, the musical pace as a whole that
is. the cheesecake reference had me laughing to death again also
 
Reba - band sort of gathered to figure out what to play next, guy about three
people in back of us yells reba, less than thirty seconds later they bust out
the best reba i have ever heard, the jam was flawless and kept getting better
and bettter, also pretty long jam, beautiful sounds echoed from the stage,
this show was already the sickest show ive ever seen, and ive seen around 55
to 60, i think maybe 60 shows, ill have to get back to you on that, not an
insane amount, but enough to judge which is the best out o the bunch that you
saw, and to begin with everyone has different opinions of a "good" "great"
average" and "bad" phish show, anyway, on to the next
 
Axilla - its not my favorite, but you cant help but move to the high paced
beat during this one, and I cant remember if it had an axilla pt 2 ending or
not, i dont think it did but i may be wrong, either way it got everyone
moving, i still was at a 167% energy level, as was my karen
 
Uncle Penn - hell yeah!!!!! i think its definitely one of the best bluegrass
numbers that they do, and the fact that the chances of hearing it are slim to
none makes it that much more special
 
Bowie - by now I felt that the band had been onstage only for a little over
an hour or two. This set seemed so short, actually as the sun was coming up
it did seem that the band had ben onstage for a pretty long time. Anyway,
this was a very tight Bowie, definitely one of the best ive ever heard, from
what i remember, and i dont remember all that much, but it was sick i do
remember that
 
MY Soul - maybe its just me, but i have never been too fond of this one
 
Drowned - I sometimes compare drowned to rock and roll, i think they sort of
have the same jammming structure, and they both possess an arena rock speed
quality to them, even though the velvet underground were hardly arena rock,
ive really only seen phish perform it in arenas, so ive branded it an arena
rock song. Plus, i never thought i would ever hear both of them played at the
same show, the intensity was just insane, this show was off the hook
 
After Midnight reprise - i heard it coming during the drowned jam, but i
thought it would just be an instrumental tease, not an all out reprise with
vocals. this got the entire crowd fired up, and the few people that were
sitting lifeless on the ground immediately rose to their feet, as the boys
blew the place out of the water, i was speechless, not that i had the urge to
speek anyway, i do remember that my girlfriend and i traded smiles during
this one though, it really got the place moving again, it did seem that
people were losing energy, but all was restored during this one
 
horse --> silent - have heard this one a lot lately, it was fitting i guess,
as were a lot of the songs they played throughout the weekend, such as the
water opener which I predicted the night before. Its still always nice to
hear and the jam is always soothing, i couldnt complain at all though, they
could have quit playing right then and there and i still would have left
totally satisfied
 
bitersweet motel - nice song, but i was hoping for something with much more
intensity
 
piper - wow, to hear this in the wee hours of the morning, close to the crack
of dawn, simply insane
 
Free - i vividly remember the free jams of '95 and '96, they really had no
structure whatsoever, and i always knew that the song had such promise as a
powerful jamming number, and in 97 when Mike turned up the bass, it must have
prompted Trey to get rid of the drumkit and just jam it out like a champion
in fine form. very tight version
 
Lawn Boy - yeah it is funny to see Page playing a sleazy vegas lounge singer,
but ive heard it way too much, i guess that my own problem, but i am just not
head over heals about this one, but for some reason i was just psyched to
hear it, more to watch it
 
love you - didnt see this one coming, was hoping for a sexual healing, and i
actually was almksot certain that it would be purple rain, but it was love
you, and i was still down for it ya know, ya know? fishmans actions at the
end when he just dropped dead on stage were the highlight for me anyway
 
Roses - great song, happy to hear it, long jam, tight jam, closely
reminiscent of the roses jam from 4/3/98, in my opinion
 
Bug - the sky was getting a bit brighter when the boys busted this one out. i
really like this one
 
2001 - ill never forget the look on my girlfriends face when we both heard
fishman rip into the Hood intro...I had no idea, I actually thought the band
had gone delirious during bug and had totally forgotten that they had done
this last night...then...suprise...excellent, superb transition into 2001
right off the bat, excellent placement, very nice jam, not incredibly long,
but i was psyched to hear this one after 6 in the morning, very special
moment. This is usually the song that gives them strength to play a killer
fast paced intense and tight song afterward...but
 
wading - it may as well be called The Return of Prince Caspian, the jams are
identical, and...well...i just have never been a big wading fan...thus, i
wasnt ecstatic at that point in time...ill never forget the look on my
karen's face...she looked as if she was a child deprived of candy, we both
took time to have an early morning session during this one, some, "down time"
 
Meatstick - this was a given. i knew that with a max of 80,000 people, the
record had no chance of being broken since we were about a little short of
20,000 plus people that were needed to break the record...plus it was so late
in the morning, that many people had forgotten the dance. I was hoping for a
longer jam, but to no avail, and it was also totally understandable, they had
given everything they had and im positive they were tired, so it was still a
pleasure to hear, i love this song, and it was a fitting closer
 
no encore - i truly beleived that they would no do an encore. the entire set
was basically an encore to 17 years of playing, i was already satisfied, but
it still would have been nice. no complaints anyway, this show rocked, it was
better and much more tighter than the first night and it was like a dream
come true, a chance to see phish play all night long, definitely something we
will never see again, and if they decided to do something such as a midnight
to sunrise set, yeah i would definitely be present at that show, but it
wouldnt be as special. this show was definitely a once in a lifetime event,
and i was in great company the entire weekend with my girlfriend, we had the
time of our lives, and we would do anything to do it all over again. props to
phish and to the devoted, and the wasay blasay, later
Al <><

Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 17:40:39 PST
From: Mike Oravec osmack@hotmail.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net, dws@gadiel.com
Subject: 12/31/99 show review

now that enuf's already been said, and after reading all 80+ pages of this
enormous 'set' review, i'm only gonna leave some of my
thoughts/memories/observations/thanks for a universally unfathomable week...
(was it shorter or longer? i still don't know).
 
i trekked from San Jose, California for this one, and the trip to the show was
more than worth it, i got to spend time with old phriends and new alike...
here's to the phamily! somehow, as if karma guided us the whole way, we hit
the little windows of time that got us in and out of the venue an hour each
way... i feel for all of you that had to wait, wish you could have been
directly behind us... but then again wasn't it worth the wait?
 
to the phans at the second to last rest stop (South 75) on Tues night/Wed
morning... thanks for the guitar jams, the buds, the footbagging, the taper
trades and the road stories, i will not forget...
 
btw, if anyone cares, i was with the guy selling the greeen "i will not spell
fish with a ph / Chalkdust Torture" shirt - great idea Pat... and i sure hope
your '7 year old' got to Chuckie Cheese!
 
i bow my head to the two poor brothers that fell from the RV and the jungle
tree...
 
anybody notice that after I-75 there wasn't a traffic light for miles?... no
slaves here!
 
curtis love, mighty quinn AND timber ho? -> now THAT's a sound check!
 
that damp mist, the divided morning sky, the beautiful sunsets, just
incredible.
 
that KILLER bus on shakedown! my eyes had lots to play with...
 
to that guy selling Meatstick shirts on shakedown that kept screaming "SHOCKS
MY BRAIN" -> yeah, me too buddy. me too.
 
HOLY MESSAGE BOARDS!!! and then finding the pholks we were looking for while
fixing our sign for them... yet another instance of the magic i saw all week.
 
was someone SUPPOSED to be checking for fireworks and N2O? i wasn't sure...
 
thanks for all the free hugs...
 
and how many people brought drums?
 
how many of you saw the girl of their dreams? i did, and she kissed me too...
my only regret was letting her walk away...
 
nuggs to Jay Brian, my closest phriend, who along with countless others
correctly guessed the festival's opening song...
 
to my newest and dear phriend MareShoob, whom i never met in person at NYE,
but have had many talks over the net with both before and since... there will
be a next time...
 
who IS scott m'nuggs? and did anybody else find him?  i guess that was good
karma workin' it again...
 
does anybody agree that taking a dump was one of the biggest challenges of the
week?
 
security giving carefree high-fives as we ran through the gates to catch the
'three-zero' change...
 
to the Antelope that stopped me for water on his sprint through the concert
area -> overjoyed i could help, happy fields...
 
everyone swaying together in the early light -> "FREE..."
 
how perfect was the closing song, and the one before it, and the one before
that, and the one before...
 
did anyone else see the girl that got lost inside the porta-john? i think i
giggled all night... what a horrible place to get lost!
 
or how bout the guy with a palm branch in his hand following his tripping
phriend playing the 'moving tree' joke early in the new year's first
sunlight... "he's got two good eyes but he still don't see!"
 
understanding smiles leaving the grounds after the big set... and all those
who never left their feet, but were never grounded in the first place...
 
did someone mention an acid test? yeah, it was... and i'd have to say we
passed.
 
to the guy behind me that kept screaming for a full Gamehendge (and all those
bitchin about it on the net): it wasn't need, if you want to hear it, email me
i'll getcha the CD -> this night was for dreamers...
 
non-phan behind me, who said to his wife four songs into the NYE set: "Phish
sucks, lets go!" and then the guy next to me mutters "No, WILSON sucks!"
 
to all the other phans i saw traveling on the long way home... cheesecake!!
 
to the tune of farmhouse: "thank-you, this was our Woodstock"... only we did
it better. oh yeah, and there was only ONE band...
 
and a last, closing thought as i sit here. I went to Big Cypress with many
expectations (none bigger than being with all of you), and although not all of
them were met, Phish still surprised me playing with a passion that ignited my
soul. i've tried to put the concert into perspective, but i cannot. nothing i
say does justice to the extraordinary and dynamic Quality that radiated from
this gathering. We came to share love, peace, happiness and music. We got more
than we bargained for. Thirty years from now we'll look back on this as one of
the many highpoints of our lives (both figuratively and literally speaking),
and for many of us, our lives are changed, forever the better because of the
community and experiences we made. makes me wonder if the boys in the band had
this planned all along (i even saw trey doing video of the scene) and thus
received the best vibe in the house... what a tribute to them as individuals
and as a group.  after those days in the woods, dancing, laughing, crying,
suffering, and learning together, it makes me wonder: can't it ALWAYS be this
good? i think so, don't you?
 
as a phriend said to me at daybreak: "All these people... here because they
believe..."  and me, with wide eyes, ears soaked with jam, face full of smile
and a groovin body in the pale light, knowing that he spoke truth.
 
peas, love, happiness and Quality to all of my phamily. we ARE winning. be
forever good. i'll see you again on the road...
 
Mike

Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 10:04:31 -0500
From: Jon Edwards JON@telemate.com
To: "'dws@www.phish.net'" dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: 12/31/99 review
 
I wanted to submit a review to say thank you to everyone involved in this
event, especially all of the phans.  My wife and I have come away from this
show with a new outlook on everything that we do.  Those of you who stayed up
until the beautiful sunrise and all of the tears know exactly what I am
talking about.  All of the songs were played to perfection and were just
absolutely mind-blowing.  The atmosphere was well worth the 14 hour wait on
alligator alley and I would get in my car and line up again right now if
anyone asked me to.  I experienced something that I have not experienced
before at a show, I was able to walk a way for a moment and see what was
going on around me without worrying about missing something, it felt strange
but was refreshing in a way.
 
I would like to also thank everyone who joined in on my birthday celebration,
I was born at 11:45 on new years eve and had a lot of people sing happy
birthday to me right at that time.  This was the best birthday gift I have
ever received and it will always be remembered.
 
Funniest thing I saw: About 5am Scooby Doo gets in front of me and just
starts to boogie, I laughed till it hurt.
 
Did anyone else think that they saw any of the band members in ridiculous
costumes?  My wife and friends swear they saw Trey in a really goofy get up.
 
Thank You PHISH.
Thank you phriends for reading and posting.
Jon and Billie Edwards - Atlanta, GA


Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2000 15:25:16 PST
From: Andrew Rose arose_13@hotmail.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: 12/31/99 Review
 
Well, there's no way I'm going to attempt to review this epic show in its
entirety, which in my books is now the undisputed number one show ever. (I
might justvote 12/30/99 as number two) Feel free to disagree, but I don't see
how you can argue with a 7+ hour set of insanity ... for those of you who
care, NYE was my 30th show since 94.
 
I just want to mention a few things that really made this show what it was.
Believe me, the quality of music easily matched the quantity.
 
First off, here's how I'd write the setlist:
 
I: Runaway Jim, Funky Bitch, Tube, I Didn't Know, PYITE, Bouncin, Poor
Heart, Roggae, SOAM*-> Catapult, Get Back on the Train, Horn, Guyute, After
Midnight
 
*w/ a Love Supreme jam
 
II: Meatstick theme -> ALS, Down with Disease > Llama, Bathtub Gin*, Heavy
Things**, Twist Around > Caspian, Rock&Roll-> jam, YEM^, Crosseyed &
Painless, Minestrone, Sand -> Quadrophonic Topplings, Slave, Albuquerque,
Reba, Axilla, Uncle Pen, Bowie, My Soul, Drowned->After Midnight
reprise->jam, Horse-> Silent, Bittersweet Motel, Piper->Free, Lawn Boy, HYHU
 > Love You> HYHU, Roses are Free->jam Bug, Hood intro tease->2001> Velvet
Sea, Meatstick
 
*w/vocal jam
**on TV w/ cheesecake chant
^w/ cheesecake vocal jam
 
Where to start ... well, I think the vaccuum solo in I Didn't Know was the
best one I've ever heard. They were jamming during a vacuum solo ... I almost
seemed like Fish had a song in his head hewas vacumming to.
 
The SOAM ... man the places this song has gone since Great Woods ... this
version was similar to the Jersey version from this summer (a must hear) but
better. There's no doubt in my mind that Mike was teasing A Love Supreme for a
good part of the jam too - anyone else hear this? Then into Catapult, which
along with Kung, ever since 11/29/98 has become a tool of the jam for taking
to the next level. Best Catapult I've ever heard, hands down. This little duo
is in my top four jams of the two days and a night at Big Cypress, along with
Light Up ..., Antelope (a new champion), and Rockn'Roll.
 
I love the new ending to Get Back on the Train. As funky and fun as ever.
After Midnight was the perfect set closer.
 
Things got crazy in set all-night once the boys hit Rockn'Roll. Don't get me
wrong, everything up to this point was great, but after Rock n' Roll, it was
20 minute jam after 30 minute jam after 40 minute jam, you get the picture ...
 
Rock n' Roll was about half an hour I'd say, and boy did it get out there. And
then there were those moments where you go, "is this composed?" ... "isn't
this a song? oh my GOD, it's just a jam ..." I love those moments ...
 
The breakout of Crosseyed and Painless was my peak moment of the whole
shebang. I'd waited so long to hear it, and hoped for it so many times, that I
just exploded when I heard the first note. I swear every show I seen for about
two years now with friends we always say, maybe we'll get our Crosseyed ...
and we finally did. And it was fucking awesome. Brought back at the end to the
"still waiting," and the wait was over. About 20 minutes I'd say.
 
There were three more HUGE jams and a monster Bowie:
 
Sand->Quadrophonic Topplings was phenomenal. The boys didn't take too long in
turning this baby into a jam machine. It was nuts, the techno groove weaved
its way in and out of loops and sound layers. Tasty. Got to hear this one
again in detail.
 
Bowie was tight, energy packed, original and uplifting. AND, I'm glad to say,
Trey nailed the ending like it was 1994.
 
I thought after My Soul, when Trey and Fish ducked out briefly and Page
started up some very chill piano, that we were in for some ambient stuff, and
then BOOM: Drowned->After Midnight reprise->jam, another 30 hour. Again, this
one was filled with countless "I can't believe this jam isn't a song" moments.
And the movement in and out of the After Midnight stuff was flawless.
 
I can't for the life of me remember the Roses are Free. All I know is, it was
about five to 6 in the morning, and they played it for 40 minutes. Friends of
mine were dropping like flies to fatigue, but I toughed it out. I know it was
good, really experimental and spacy. Have to hear it again to judge properly
though.
 
And finally, I love Meatstick, I love the lyrics, I love the song, I love the
dance, and I love the way the ended the show with it, and let a beautiful jam
just melt down really slowly until the sun was up, it was 2000, and we all
stood there dumbfounded.
 
Thank you Phish.
 
Andrew

Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 13:54:15 -0500
From: Matthew A. Scaramastra mxs513@psu.edu
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: the force was strong with this one...
 
Ok, where do I begin, um...traffic I guess. Traffic is traffic but when the
traffic is like 85% friends all pumped up for New Year's, it is bearable.
Place to meet good people. So by the time I got there I lost a passenger in
my car but found him at will call, wasting only minutes...Even the maps of
this place were remarkable to date! The heavy cardboardy book was durable!
and the way the place was arranged was genius. Great Went and Lemonwheel were
so easy to get lost in, especially when you're half whacked all the time.
Umm, the rythm jungle was so intense, the first night (29th) I knew it was
gonna be a momentous occasion, this year 2000. First day I found all my
friends I knew who were there without searching. Quuite a many different
groups all before the first set. Things just seemed to be happeneing in a
unususlly smooth groove. The music finally started a comfortable time after
afternoon tea time nad we were off...Sometimes at a show I will feel
uninspired but what I hear or won't pay real close attention. I failed to
find myself doing  this even once throughout the day. Every one  was as
excited as I was, vibes were pleasant and calm, it was the only place in the
world to be. FWD>the big set. Never at a show, or on a tape or on a disc or
would I ever beleive anyone if they told me was there ever music played as
perfect as that set. I felt like we were a wave of light or an ocean all
rolling to the rythm of the best rock band ever. I couldn't stop dancing
except a sunrise lounge to Velvet Sea. The Roses, 2001, the Clapton, The
Heads made me lose my shit, trying to act casual...DWD! Heavy Things is
fantastic, a new staple to a well balanced show, and yelling Cheesecake at
familiar strangers in Ft. Lauderdale was fun. "Sayit like you're pissed!
Cheesecake!" Bathtub Gin came from outer space. Fish's vacuum solos were ON!
I don't have a setlist in front of me right now. Morning has broken...like
the first morning...with a not eerie but strong presence of eagerness or
curiousity, purplely glows and intense jammimming. By the end I kept on
dancing to Here comes the Sun and when that stopped foung I was doing a
little dance to no music at all. I crashed on the ground after everyone split
and enjoyed the clouds. Met an Native American reporter for a reservation
paper who interveiwed Hossy & I. We were on unsimiliar levels but she stayed
all night long too so that helped. This is getting long. Picked up litter and
said duh a lot. All day long man, it was the greatest new years ever. Managed
to get by on honey-granola-coconut goo-balls and my beat needs were satisfyed
by the enchanting scene in the Big Cypress Grove. In describable. Hiked out
traffic a few miles, spoke philosophical babble, stumbled.  Waiting out
traffic weas a good plan.
    Big Cypress was a truly legendary show in every way. The scene was
beautiful, the weather was most permiitting, the vibrations were finast.
Phish fulfilled my expectation that they would play as well as they possibly
can this date, with every bit of soul and inspiration they had for a quarter
of a day.
    I didn't get home until Saturday, the rest of the time proved to be as
exciting and adventuras as NEw Year's...Gainsville, MGM/Epcot, Atlanta's 5
Pts. ...Now i am supposed to be in class. See ya in the summertime.
ScaryMonster!

Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2000 16:27:12 -0500
From: Austin Brownfield xeairo@earthlink.net
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: New Years Review!!
 
First, I must say that it was Uncle Penn, not Ginseng
Sullivan...alrighty...
 
WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW!
 
Alright, oh my I am very beat up and tired, but I am going to try and
give you as much as I can give...    : )
 
Afternoon set!!!!!!!!!!!SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Runaway Jim!! One of my favorites, and a powerful and sweet jam..
 
Funky Bitch!!  Sweet sweet blues, very well played excellent energy
throughout this whole set...
 
Tube!!!oh fuck yes!!  this was a sweet ass tube, very chunky funky and
powerful, simply wonderful!!
 
I Didn't Know!!  We all knew we would see some vaccum, always a very fun
song..
 
PYITE!!  Solid as this song comes!!!!
 
Bouncing:  Solid and I was smiling!!
 
Poor Heart:  Very well played, energy was great...
 
Roggae!!  I love this song, it is so beautiful, I just closed my eyes
and floated with the band...
 
SOAM--> Catapult!!!!OH MY GOD, HOLY BOOGER CAKES!!!!!  At first the band
was discussing for a while what to play, Trey picked up the cup to page
and said Mound!!! I was about to lose it, but Mike was shaking his
head!!  : P  Oh well, what came next was a fucking incredible SOAM jam,
intense, calm, beautiful, then into catapult, I was absolutely losing my
shit!!! they didn't finish melt, but who cares, this was fucking
great!!!
 
GBOTT!!!  This song has changed since summer and fall, it is so wickedly
evil now, it is just plain out fucking thick and juicy!!!
 
Horn!!  OH YES!!!  no flubs, excellent excellent excellent!!!
 
Guyute!!  They have this down so very tight now, loved every second!!
 
After Midnight!!  Crowd was going completely bonkers!!  Trey went off
like a wild man, he tore this song to pieces and left the entire crowd
drenched in a sweaty mass, and drooling over the thoughts of the amazing
night to come!!!
 
7.5 hours of emotion (cocaine snorting on trey's behalf, boy he was
playing with his little nose a lot wasn't he???...well, he can do
whatever he likes, I just hope he is careful..)...this was the most
amazing display of playing from the band that I have ever seen!!!  I was
completely sober for this entire day, and so at times during this set I
was tired and had to sit down, but I loved every inch and note that came
out of those speakers!!!
 
The curtain fell down at about 20 till midnight, and there was a huge
clock with father time riding his bicycle, then at about 10 till he
simply stopped...then there were lights flashing from the back of the
venue, what the hell???  everyone was turned around, and this fan boat
thing came floating about with fireworks busting off of it, out popped
the HOT DOG and the BAND!!!!  The crowd was going crazy, insane, the
worked their way up to the stage, throwing goodies out to the phans...on
the stage there were 4 girl dancers, dancing to the meatstick which was
being played over the PA system!!!  the band then picked up their
instruments and jumped right into the song, quickly at midnight they
went into Auld Lang Syne, balloons everywhere, then SLAM!!!!!!!
 
DWD!!!!!HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!  maybe the best disease ever, certainly the
most intense, the band was on, and they were tearing this song to
pieces, amazing, it slowed a little and Trey started to noodle on a
familiar sounding riff...mmmmm....FUCK!!!
 
Llama!!!!!  the DWD segued into llama, and this llama was super intense,
everyone was just going completely nuts, I couldn't believe it, they
were going to give us the best piece of heaven that they could this
night!!
 
Bathtub Gin!!!!!WOW!!!!  Are these boys fucking talented or what???  for
about 5 minutes during this jam, each member was vocally harmonizing
every note they played, it was fucking unbelievable....then they dropped
back into some soupy Gin jamming before bringing this amazing jam back
into the ever so loved Gin riff!!!!!WOW!!!!
 
Heavy Things:  Trey told the crowd about the ABC deal, and then Mike
said something to him, and he came up with the idea to have the crowd,
instead of cheering the end of the song, to just keep chanting
cheesecake, just to fuck with all the people watching it on TV...it was
pretty fun!!
 
Twist Around:  I really don't like the new arrangement of this song, but
I wasn't complaining, standard twist jamming, but completely solid,
never once the entire night were the boys the least bit off, powerful
powerful!!!
 
Prince Caspian:  Don't care for this song, but the jam was very well
played and I could do nothing but smile and enjoy what I was
witnessing...
 
Rock and Roll!!!!WHAT???!!!!  Evil evil evil jam out of this song, very
very long, and very evil sounding, mike pulled out a little voice thing,
and held it up to the mic during part of the jam, it was just great fun,
and powerful!!
 
YEM:  Solid YEM, nothing too crazy, the best part of this YEM was the
vocal jam, excellent with many CHEESECAKE references!!!!
 
Crosseyed and Painless!!!!!!!!!GASP!!!!!!!!  They were not fucking
around, crowd going bonkers, great jam, well played...woohoo!!!!
 
Minestone!!!!WOW!!! definitely a big highlight for me...this song is
wonder...very beautiful, Trey showing just how damn good he really
is!!!!
 
Sand:  I wish this song would not have Mike doing the same bass line
over and over again, although at the end for about 5 minutes he played
around with it, but all in all, this sand definitely went somewhere,
good effects, and very very nice!!
 
Slave!!!  Good Ole Slave!!!!
 
Albuquerque!!  Woohoo!!!!! first time hearing it, loved it, loving it
all!!!
 
Reba!!!!!TEARS OF JOY WERE IN MY EYES!!!!!!!  My favorite phish tune,
and fucking damn well played, only a couple of minor flubs in the
composed part, nothing bad at all, fast paced, fucking sweet ass jam, my
first Reba and I couldn't have been given a better first Reba, I was
grinning from cheek to cheek!!!
 
Axilla!!  whoa, where the fuck are these guys getting this energy??
this axilla just fucking slammed hard, well played, great!!!
 
Uncle Penn!!  Very tasty!!!  wonderful playing, extended a little, got
to love the bluegrass!!!
 
David Bowie!!!SWEET!!!!  good intro, trey found a nice little chord
progression, played around a little, and then into BOWIE!!!  Great Jam,
high energy, wonderful!!!
 
My Soul!!  YES YES YES, blues time!!  Loved it!!
 
Trey and fish then take a bathroom break ...page plays a little
something, then mikes joins in, then trey and fish come back out and we
were smacked with a sweet and nice...
 
Drowned-->After Midnight-->Drowned!!!!  Just wonderful, super energy,
they sounded so fucking great!!!
 
Horse-->Silent in the Morning:  Got to have it!!!
 
Bitter Sweet Motel:  A first for me, liked it, different but nice and
well played...
 
Piper!!!!OH MY SHIT NUTS!!!!  this was a rocked out crazy piper, very
high energy, and extremely nuts!!!
 
Free!!  Sweet!!!...pretty standard, but let me tell you all something,
standard on this night is fucking amazing!!!
 
Lawn Boy:  Always a big time pleasure..
 
HYHU-->Love You-->HYHU!!!  More Fishman!!!! YES YES YES!!!  he was
running around, introduced page, then mike and trey, and himself, fun
fun fun, he then told the crowd to sit back and enjoy the rest of the
show!!!
 
Roses are Free!!!!!!!!OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!!!!!!! this jam was
incredibly sick, this jam was a climax of the night's efforts, all over
the place, going in and out of just about everything they could, simply
sweetness!!!
 
Bug:  Standard bug, but this song is great to hear, oh my, I want to go
back!!!
 
2001!!!!!  Oh yes!! Trey started up Harry Hood, and everyone was looking
around completely puzzled since they played it the night before, but
then, BANG!!!  2001!!!  Excellent jam, excellent just like the rest, I
can't believe that they are playing like this, WOOOOOOOOW!!!!
 
Wading in the Velvet Sea!!  Beautiful, tears were starting to work there
way up to the surface, it was getting light and everyone knew it was
almost over, and everyone was pretty much very tired from the whole
experience as well...
 
Meatstick!!!  alright, no dance, no reference, some kind words from
trey, nice jam which just died out, but then everyone turned around and
looked at what had to be one of the most beautiful and tear jerking
sunrises I have ever witnessed in my life, the clouds were all painted
morning pink and blue!!!  They show the crowd over the monitors, then
page, who just has a look of complete exhaustion on his face, how can he
not!!!  : )  they walk off the stage...encore???  nope, can't blame
them, they put on Here Comes Sunshine, and everyone was crying and
smiling and hugging and kissing, one of the best nights of my life, I
was dead tired, but it was completely worth it, I never would have
guessed that they would be able to come out and play for 7.5 hours with
as much intensed as they did, they sounded so united, they were happy,
they played amazing, the crowd loved it all, and the whole moment in
time will go down as one of the greatest out pourings of love ever
witnessed!!!  I am still in shock over how wonderful it was,
WOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!
THANK YOU PHISH, THANK YOU MIKE, THANK YOU PAGE, THANK YOU TREY, THANK
YOU JON, you guys let it all hang out after midnight just like you
promised!!!  THANK YOU!!!!

Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2000 10:20:31 -0500
From: "Hug, Matt" Hugm@TimesUnion.com
To: "'dws@www.phish.net'" dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: phish, big cypress
 
This will not be the typical review.  The tunes that were played are already
posted and i don't think that it is necessary for me to write D w/D: ruled
Llama: ruled etc.. because that would grow tiresome.
 
Anyone that was there will have there own story for each tune that is
personal and cannot really be communicated to someone that heard the same
tunes but had a different experience.
 
I am sitting back in upstate New York after a phenomenal vacation which Phish
provided for me.  If it had not been for them a great number of us would have
been freezing our tails off, doing something extremely sub-par to what we all
were able to do. So I would like to thank the band, the crew, the Seminoles,
and anyone else that made the Everglades into the best place to ring in the
new millenium.
 
The time alotted to the band (as in all night) really allowed them to stretch
their legs and play.  They were not confined to the hours of an arena or
amphitheater.  This is the type of music that i hope for when i go to see a
show.  It was phenomenal and I loved every minute of it.  and to know that it
will never happen again that it was a once in a lifetime experience gives me
the gratification that i had the gumption to get off my butt and go, throw
caution to the wind and enjoy the time of the century.
 
        Hopefully they will have another festival there next winter, even if
they simply follow the parameters of their summer festivals.  I would much
rather sacrifice the end of summer for a middle of winter fest.  Trey, Mike,
Page, Jon.... if you go to Fla.  we will follow.  It is a great place to see
a show and a great time of year to escape to palm trees and cloudless skies.
 
        One last thing, about cheesecake.  Please can we put it to rest?
It was a joke by Trey and Mike to have fun with the ABC television audience
on national TV.  It is not some new greeting word that you shout when you see
someone from the show.  I heard it at the show, in Ft Lauderdale, Orlando and
all points in between. Can we stop? It was a funny moment and if this
behavior continues it will result in the same as what happened with the
Dead,  Jerry could not speak to his fans because they took every little thing
as scripture, so he stopped talking.  If that is what you want from Trey,
fine---go on misusing the word cheesecake.  It was a joke, and a damn funny
joke at that. But folks that is all it was, please do not use it as an all
purpose word!!!

Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2000 03:09:13 -0800
From: Joseph W. Donner jdon1@earthlink.net
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: UMHHHHHHHH...............AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I hope this show puts an end to this outragous Overindulgence! Thank You
Phish, You are as close to heros as anyone these days. Please take a 
Break and share this time with the ones you love. You have run with the
ball like OJ (Had to get that Dolfan thing in) and have let it all hang
out! Keep on keepin on!
JoeD.
What else is there to conquer....for ALL of Us! CLEAN VIBES


Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 00:10:59 -0600
From: Drew & Lisa aacree01@earthlink.net
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: SCHWING!!!
 
Since most of the other reviews have covered the setlists song by song, I
won't go into detail there.  What I have not seen in many of the reviews is
anyone mentioning how clean this event was.  People put cigarette butts in
their pockets!  Fans went out of their way to keep the scene clean.  I
struggled to find any inkling of trash lying around up till New Year's.
It made the scene even that much better.
 
I was shocked when strolling the grounds on the 30th to find freezer semi
trucks with bags of ice for sale.  The water stands looked long but moved
pretty quickly.  Just before the afternoon set on the 31st, an RV water/waste
truck pulled up asking us if we needed to dump any waste and replenish
water.  What a pleasure!  The ice pyramid was a hit and the city and forest
were a definite treat.
 
I just about shit in my pants when the band announced the first night that
they would play just before midnight until sunrise with no breaks for New
Year's.  Then they came out and played 7+ hours of what I can only call an
"experience".  I was particularly impressed by their selection of songs in
the set - no gamehendge, rarities, etc.  They played what they wanted and
what they felt.  For those of you who were not able to attend, I suggest
listening to the YEM -- Cross-Eyed.  Definitely a pinnacle - full fucking
rocket booster ignition.  We strolled towards the back of the concert field
to check out the scene and relax.  It had to have been 3:30 or so when I
heard the intro to Bowie.  It was so fitting - I knew the band was going to
wait until the middle of the night to unleash this one.  Also, highly
suggested.  By the end of the show I was ready to cry and started to
when "Here Comes the Sun" came over the PA.
 
All I could think about on the way home was how this band just keeps on
delivering.  As much as I would have enjoyed an Alumni or Harpua, I have even
more respect for Phish now by playing what they felt.  The first two and half
hours of the midnight-sunrise set is essentially a jam!  You don't "plan" a
two and half hour jam.
 
This event was awesome and shattered all of my expectations.  Phish pushed
the musical envelope on New Year's and set the standard for how a scene can
stay cool and clean.  I keep waiting to hear some POSITIVE press coverage of
how well the event went over (clean scene, etc.) instead of how long people
had to wait in traffic.  Still waiting...

Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 13:37:21 EST
From: Mobillyc@aol.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: (no subject)

Reba made me explore the universe and piper at 5:00 AM made me see god!

Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 02:21:30 +0000
From: jonathon blake jdb4y@virginia.edu
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: the end of the world as we know it

i'm not going to give a full review, hell, i'm not even going to give a
review at all, but i wanted to say thanks nonetheless. just to get it
out there.
what i keep thinking over and over again in my head is that i've never,
EVER been a part of something so....beautiful in my entire existence.
even now as i sit here typing, days after the conclusion of the magic, i
have tears in my eyes. it was all there. the hands i shook, the hugs and
kisses that i gave and received, the sacred ground i danced upon until
my legs and knees cramped up from exhaustion. it was all there.
the all night love jam (as i dubbed it as soon as it started) was in
full effect, and i want to thank not only phish, but all of those
brothers and sisters that danced right up in from with me all night
long. i was touched by everyone and everything that night, from the
beginning right down to the heartbreaking end.
so thank you. all of you. you're wonderful and i love you.
jonathon (the kid with the rainbow sword)
p.s. remember piper? i do. i will forever. there was one point when
trey's eyes locked with mine and i yelled up to him...."bad lieutenant,
bad lieutenant!!!" and then gave him a salute. he rocked back on his
heels for a second and then fucking started wailing and didn't stop
until the end of the jam. i'll see it in dreams.
jdb4y@virginia.edu


Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 14:02:04 EST
From: Hezus@aol.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: utopia

Wow, I am at lost for words here, but let me just say, i think we all died
at midnight on New Years Eve in Big Cypress Florida and got to see a 7
hour sample of what heaven is like.  Being on three hits I'd have to say
that I saw the most amazing show that has ever been performed on the face
of this earth.  The whole thing was just unbelievable from the Ferris
Wheel to the forest of palm trees.  It was nice as hell being able to
where shorts seeing it was snowing back home in Cleveland.  Even the 12
hour wait on 75 was interesting.  It was so amazing to see so many people
going to the same place all for the same reason.  Oh yeah and if the dude
with hash brownies reads this, thanks they were awesome and they made that
wait in traffic a lot more interesting.  Well, I'm not going to describe
the shows because, fuckin wow is all I can think of.  And the feeling you
had walking back to your campsite at 7:30 in the morning, you knew that
you had probably seen one of the most incredible events you would ever
witness.  I'm sure anyone who was there can relate to this.  This...was my
first phish show.....and all I have to say is,
 I am a Phan for life.  :)
    Kevin Wasik
    Brecksville,OH

Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 14:28:07 EST
From: Bill Witts witsy21@hotmail.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: NYE-12/31/99 Review

    Ok I'm going to write a very short review here and not even try and
get into explaining every song for every set. I must say I was very
impressed with this NYE. It took us just under 30 hours to reach it from
our homes in Massachusetts and then that "Fun, Fun, Fun" traffic jam of 12
hours. I was amazed at how no one realy complained about the traffic just
made the best of it. I was even more amazed at how I didn't complain being
one of the worlds greatest complainers. It was just something in the air.
Everything was positive as I saw it from picking up trash, to meeting
people you didn't know, and of course two days of unbelievable music. It
was great. Their were so many generations of Phans it was realy something.
At one point some 17 or 18 year old kid asked me what song was playing. I
told him it was When The Circus Comes... I rember having to ask people at
shows what a song was when I first got into Phish. I met another guy who
had been catching shows since 88' he was a wealth of Phish information of
the "old school" days. It made me see how this cycle keeps going. Years
from now maybee I'll be talking about the good old days of summer tour
97'.
     The one bad thing for me(or maybee it is just funny, I haven't
decided yet) was I got a pretty bad blister from all the walking I did. I
had to leave the all night set early because I was in so much pain. That
realy sucked! After the thirty hour ride home when I went to take a shower
I found that my foot had swelled 3 times its normal size! So I spent the
entire night and most of yesterday at the hospital. They told me it was so
infected if it spread any further I would have permanite damge. All to see
4 guys from Vermont play some tunes, Ha. Well Now that I'm OK I must say
it was definitely worth a trip to the hospital to experience NYE. I can't
wait till summer tour!


Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 14:47:41 EST
From: David Blevins playitleo99@hotmail.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: Nye 2000

This will be my last show.  I don't feel the need to see them anymore. I
have had my fill.  I never thought I would say that.  I don't need, or
really even want, to see them anymore (right now).  I want that to be it.
They are the best ever.  And that was there best show ever.


Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 15:04:08 -0500
From: Peter Mistele rider@ufl.edu
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: Phish 2000

It's too early to really put the New Year's experience into perspective,
but I have to communicate some of my feelings to my brothers and sisters
about the magic I witnessed.  I'm pretty new to Phish shows (July 3-4,
'99 were my first and only ones before this) but have been going to
concerts for years and count some of them as the best moments of my life
(Dead, Santana, Little Feat, MagnoliaFest in Live Oak, etc.).  The good
vibes from a great live performance can't be beat, and Phish gave
probably the greatest performance ever.  My soul has been inundated with
positive energy that will never fully dissipate, and I could not think
of a better way to start a new year than jamming with 75,000 + of the
most fun-loving, spiritual, kind people on earth.  Thank you everyone
for sharing so unselfishly whatever you had, and thank you Phish for
proving that it is possible to have hope for a wonderful future full of
love and joy.  Peace.

Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2000 06:33:25 EST
From: BuddhaChef36@aol.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: NYE2000
 
This review comes late but it really takes along time for everything that one
sees at an event like this to set in.
    First I'd like to comment on Heath Andersons comments:
Dear Heath,
    I just read about your tragic experience at the NYE show and wanted to
express my condolences because if you would have waited it out like the rest
of us you would have had the time of your life.
    Although I agree with some of your statements on the poor planning of the
traffic situation I think that your going way to far coming down so hard on
Phish. Phish has strived for years to create the best possible concert setting
for their Phans and all in all have done an excellent job in my opinion.  
They have probably put more thought into the planning of their large festivals
than any other band ever.  You try planning a party and inviting 80,000 of
your closest phriends.  There's going to be problems!
    We drove all the way from Seattle to spend New Years with Phish and we got
no special treatment.  We also waited in traffic for almost 10 hours but we
made the most of it and if you looked around you you would have seen alot of
people doing the same.  The party started even before we got inside!  And
that's what it is all about right? Going with the flow and being spontaneous.  
If you've been in the Phish scene for 7 years you should know that.
    I understand your anger and dissapointment on not getting in but I think
your comments about the band and its phans were completely out of line.  I
dont like to fight fire with fire but maybe Phish planned the whole traffic
scene to weed out the "little shits" like you.
    Anyways, enough negativity because that is certainly not what this event
was about.  The energy was unbelievable!  No one knew exactly what was going
to happen but everyone knew that it could have been anything.
    The site was gorgeous.  I'm not used to the everglades setting, being
from Washington and all, and let me tell you, it was impossible to filter
out!  I'm used  to the Gorge Amplitheater style campground which this
resembled greatly except on a huge scale.  Fortunately we ended up with a
site fairly close to the stage area (in the Hamptons) and we could hear the
music perfectly from our campground if we wanted to.  Usually at shows you
want to be front and center every second as to not miss a beat but at this
event there was so much music that you could afford to be a little more
leisurly.  We actually got three shows for the price of two being that the
soundcheck on the night of the 29th turned into a noteworthy show in itself
for those who were lucky enough to not still be stuck in traffic.
    I guess the elderly city of Naples had not been briefed on what was going
on judging by the look on all the retired wealthy folks faces when a buch of
dreadlocked Phishheads invaded their town to do last minute shopping and
such.  It was quite a funny scene.  It reminded me of some of the footage of
interviews with the residents of upstate New York when Woodstock was
happening.
    The scene in the campground was hilarious.  Debauchery in all its forms.
There was a mock town front with its own boardwalk going over a little swamp
and into a patch of woods which made for good shade in the day and at night
were strung with lights and drum circles.  Watch out for the stumps though,
I'm surprised no one was killed on those things.
    The vendors section was basically a joke unless you wanted to wait an
hour and pay $10 for a burrito.  I also thought the Phish merchandise stands
were lacking in good NYE memoraliabilia.  After all was this not have been
Phishs' biggest show ever?  So, as always, Shakedown street (3rd Ave) was the
place to go for good eats and treats of all kinds.  One particulaly animated
vendor stands out.  This guy must have sold about 10,000 veggie eggrolls and
fallafel sandwitches while keeping the hungry line entertained at the same
time.  A real entrepeneur.
    Good beer, opium, and doses were rampent at these shows but herb was
almost impossible to find.  I wish I would have known!  We brought some of
the usual Washington chronic but only enough to keep us happy on our long
trip and not to much to share.  If I would have known, i would have brought a
couple of pounds since I know people would have paid good money for quality
Seattle smoke instead of east coast shwag which is what we saw when we saw
any.  This has never been a problem at any other shows though.  I suppose
peole were not expecting the security to be al slack as it was?
    Anyways, other cool attractions included an ice sculpture (which I must
have missed because I dont remember seeing it) and the Meatstick Time Capsule
which was to be burried until the year 4020!  People were allowed to drop
anything they wanted into it as long as it was about hand size and one time
when I passed this spectacle a man was preparing to drop a Twinkie into the
whole and a group of people were surrounding him
chanting,"Twinkie,Twinkie,Twinkie."  Pretty hilarious stuff.  I wonder if it
will still be edible?
    The stage area was a trip and I was really hoping they would play Ester
because I really felt the fairground atmosphere.  Maybe it had something to
do with the carnival rides around the stage.  Thats right, they had a farris
wheel and some kind of  hot air balloon contraption that took you up a few
hundred feet into the air, not to mention the other, more daring
farriswheel-like ride that actually took you upside down.  The glowing colors
of the rides at night were definately nice eye candy for those of us that got
liquified but I don't know that the $5 fee was worth the wait.
    On New Years the fences on the side of the field opened and a large
object emerged which my friends and I still dissagree on what exactly it was.
 It was big.  And it was wooden.  I personally think it was a giant bathtub
(maybe foreshadowing of the smokin Bathtub Gin to come?).  The thing made its
way to the middle of the crowd and busted open to reveal the band who made
the rest of the journey to the stage on their signature meatstick-the hot dog
(ressurected from past New Years).  The Meatstick song is always fun and it
turned out to be the opener and closer!
    The fireworks display was handsdown the most impressive that I have ever
seen and everybody had fun when they turned all the lights on to do the ABC
thing with Peter Jennings.
    Only one word could possibly sum up this show and you can only fully
understand this word if you were there in person.  CHEESECAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've always loved the stuff but now it carries such a special symbolism.
    Right about now I need to send a shout out to the guy who looke like he
had way to much cheesecake judging from his size and state of mind.  This guy
must have weighed a good 400 pounds and was completely off of his rocker (I
suspect it was the green Molly Mesculine going around which I heard was not
particularly to good).  He decided to take all his close off and proceeded to
cause the biggest spectacle that I witnessed throughout the weekend.  He ran
around the crowd, Butt Naked, and from time to time fell flat on his face.
Eventually security was called in to wheel him away on a giant golf cart but
I will never forget the guy.  He definately changed my trip that evening and
quite frankly scared the shit out of me after I saw him grab some innocent
bystander and hump him while screaming,"Daddy!"  For future reference though,
to all the other guys who thought it was cool to start removing their clothes
after seeing this poor soul do it, It wasn't.  Maybe if there had been an
equal ratio of naked women but this was turning into a sausage fest quickly!
That's when we knew it was time to go back to the campsite to regroup.
    We returned sometime around like 5:30 AM to watch the sunrise on the new
millenium (one of the more beautiful ones I can remember) and caught a lovely
Velvet Sea and a trippy 2001.  Trey's goodbye brought tears to my eyes as he
said thank you to us and explained what an experience it had been.  Then it
was Meatstick again and the band was gone as soon as they came.  Were they
ever there at all?      Here Comes the Sun over the loudspeaker was a very
nice touch as everyone made their way back to their homes for the night (or,
as it turned out for us, the next couple of night because the traffic was
worse on the way out than it was ont the way in!).
    So there you have it.  I can't think of anywhere I would have rather been
on this very special occasion and it was well worth the drive from tip to tip
of the states.  I think Phish is the only band who could have pulled
something like this off and I just have to say, being a Deadhead also, that
Jerry would be proud that someone is carrying on the torch of playing all
night shows since thats what the Dead were known for back in the day.  The
spirit continues and on those faitfull nights there was definately a natural
mystic blowing through the air.  Peace


Date: Wed, 09 Feb 2000 23:19:39 EST
From: Nikolaus Hruska phishstick40@hotmail.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: A BEAUTIFUL BUZZ
 
thanks to everyone for the best 4 days of my life and thank you phish for
providing the backdrop for the most beautiful of buzzes.  AND ESPECIALLY
THANKS FOR THE 20,000+ HIGH FIVES!!!!
(they made my millenium)
 
nik h.
phishstick40@hotmail.com


Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 16:10:57 -0500
From: Allen Clark fiji@bellsouth.net
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: Phish in alligator alley..

There are no words to describe the time that was spent in the beautiful
land of the Seminole Indians.  Phish, phriends, and phans came together
to create one of the most amazing events that I have ever attended.
Tears came to my eyes as I watched the sunrise on the first day of
2000...it was the most beautiful moment in all of the Phish shows that
i've seen.  There is no other place on earth that i would have rather
been than right there with Phish, absorbing their energy as well as that
of the morning sun.  The music was awesome and the vibe was excellent.
Thanks the the members of Phish and there supporting cast for affording
me the opportunity to spend three wonderful days of bliss with phriends
both old and new.  Thanks to the Seminole Indians for their hospitality.

My thoughts and prayers go out the the phriends and phamily of our
departed brother.
Thanks to everyone who has sent in their comments and reviews...as i
read them, I feel as if i'm am there all over again...it overwhelms me.

PS. To all who where not there...i am trully sorry that you did not make
it for some reason or another...that's no reason to verbally trash the
event.  Get over it...it's not anyone's fault, especially not Phish's.
I hope that our new phriends from Philly  (Ben, Ian, and Mike) made it
home safely.

cheesecake.....

HAVE A PHISHY NEW YEAR!!!

Allen Clark

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 15:37:33 -0800 (PST)
From: Andrew Farbstein farbs_1999@yahoo.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: 12-31-99 review
 
First off, I just want to say that I was extrodinarily excited about all this.  
It took a lot, to say the least, to be able to go to this.  After sitting in
the monster traffic and then absolutely enjoying day 1, it was time for the
big thang.  New year's eve day.  The day set ruled:
 
My highlights were Tube and I Didn't know.  Trey and Mike just seemed like
they were in such a good mood, and the crowd, even with the less than perfect
acoustics, responded.  Also, I liked Bouncin, since I never hear that (can you
believe it), and Horn almost made me cry.  After a rockin Guyute and an
awesome After Midnight, it was time to relax and find some drugs before the
main event.
 
I will spare the details of what happened as they were coming on before
midnight, as others have detailed it well.  What I can say to anybody reading
this is that the moment of midnight was magical. Nothing I could ever write
could express my shear adoration and happiness at where I was and what I was
doing.  It was the culmination of many years of wondering where I would be and
what I would be doing.  I could never have picked a more perfect place to be.  
I honestly felt like I was in the Garden of Eden.  Anyway, DWD with the
fireworks kicked ass.  I saw that some people thought that these songs were
standard and not exciting, but I don't know what planet they were on. DWD,
although common, is a great NYE song and it rocked the house down.  Llama
continued that trend, and left me speechless.  Bathtub, one of my favorites,
kind of bummed me out because, in my world of dreams, I was hoping for all
real fast tunes to help keep me awake.  Heavy Things was just what it says,
heavy and meant for a worldwide audience.  It was made better by the fact that
we had a cheesecake mission at the end of the song.  Twist and PC are not my
favorites, so I won't discuss them.  Rock and Roll was a spiritual experience
for me, maybe because the E I was on was really kicking in, maybe because of
these awesome three people (one named Vanessa) that were also crazy on E who
did not know Phish that well, and maybe because of how they were playing
it...I don't remember.  I do remember that it was a definite highlight for me.  
YEM was short and sweet, with my all time favorite vocal jam next to the one
in Portland, ME earlier in December that was pretty much a Tweeprise.  I took
a much needed breather the next few songs, with the highlight being my second
Minestrone. It was so nice and sweet, and also gave the others a chance to use
the facilities for relieving themselves and probably a little drug use. Reba
got me groovin again, although when I stood up it seemed that almost half the
crowd was sittin or lyin down.  Axilla, one of my favorites, really woke me
up, and made me realize that the last half of this monster set was going to
rule.  Uncle Pen was nice, especially since this was my number 1 never heard
before (thanks zzyzx).  Then came Bowie.  AAh, Bowie. Not the best ever, but
just what I needed to keep going. Surprisingly, I hadn't heard this in like 10
shows, so I was psyched.  Nice spacey jam in the middle.  And, not too many
flubbs in the end part.  My Soul ruled, and so did Drowned, also with a nice
spacey middle jam.  Believe me, it was tough to stay up through all the space,
but I was appreciating the music so much that I didn't care.  After a typical
NYE horse-silent, and a not so wonderful Bittersweet, the moment came. I will
never be able to stress what Piper did to me. It has never been my favorite,
but that night, it changed.  I have never danced so hard and loved any piece
of music like that Piper.  For 5 in the morning, they pumped tons of energy.  
This song was an explosion of greatness.  I know some people don't like this
song because it's only 6 chords and they keep repeating and blah blah blah but
this just kicked some ass like I never have seen.  The rest of the show just
melllowed me out and made me appreciate even more where I was.  Especially the
all out thirty minute Roses are Free when the sun was jsut coming up and
Velvet Sea in this Pink Velvet Sea of a sunrise. Please see the pictures at
http://blueridge.etree.org/ to see what I am talking about.  Finally,
Meatstick ended the greatest Marathon in the history of music. Not too flashy,
and no Oh-Kee-Pah, but I cried as I walked away because I don't know how I can
ever go to another Phish show or any other show for that matter after
experiencing this.  I would like to thank everyone who made this possible,
including my ex girlfriend for giving me the lie to use, and the Indians who
kept us in traffic, just to make us appreciate that much more where we were.  
And I especially would like to thank the band.. I know you will probably never
read this but I love you guys for all you do for us.  I also just want to say
to the people who were upset about no Gamehendge or anything else that unusual
for that matter, you should not be at all disappointed.  You should be happy
that the band plays what they want to play well.  Would you like it better if
they just played what you wanted and didn't play it well?

Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2000 00:04:27 EST
From: Zshanna@aol.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: Attitude adjustment.

    I have to tell someone about what I went through for Phish, so bare
with me. First of all, I'm from Denver, Colorado.  Lately, I think being
from Denver means that there is no easy way to see Phish. Knowing this
wasn't gonna be simple, my boyfriend, friend and i hopped into this pimped
out 76 van that some former dead head bestowed upon us.  It had a pinup in
the back and a mattress and was so thoroughly pimpin' you would not
believe.  20 minutes on the road someone dies in a carwreck and we're
stuck in two hours of dead traffic.  Unbelievable.  What's even more
amazing is me waking up at 8 in the morning in Bowie, Texas to a van going
80 miles an hour, coughing out smoke and spinning out of control on an
exit ramp.  My friend is driving and screaming, I'm in my underwear
praying and my boyfriend's asleep.  We could have died! We could miss New
Years! Instead, the van spun A-team style into a gas station right off the
ramp.  A kindly Texan and his grand-children tie a chain to our van and
drive us down the road to a radiator shop.  It's fixed in 3 hours intil
we're back on the road.
 It took five minutes for the engine to overheat.  Again, thinking we
could miss New Years!  The guys who checked the oil checked the
transmission fluid instead and sent us on the road with no oil.  Some
other cowboy tells us she'll be fine if we just fill it with oil and baby
it.  So we do and the engine seizes on the side of the road.  The van is
never to be pimped ever again.  After a trip on the back of a towtruck
we're back to Bowie and in need of a rental and a ride to Fort Worth which
is an hour away.  A blessed man named Bob James offers us a ride and
plenty of advice.  So after spending the whole entire day in Bos a piece
of (forgive me) cheesecake.  We went through so much this month (Auburn
Hills, Cinncinnatti, NYE) in the name of Phish, and so much to get to
Florida.  I feel so rewarded and appreciative of everything that happened
there, even the traffic.  Watching them tower through the morning with so
many good jams and so much more energy than anyone in the crowd (who
wasn't trippin) was such a remarkable thing to witness.  At some point all
I could do was stand (on my toes all night long) and watch.  The look on
Page's face around 7 in the morning was priceless and halfdead.  Watching
Trey bounce up and down to wake himself up was great. Jon forgetting that
he was at a concert, HYHU!  The show as a whole was a once in a lifetime
experience that i will always treasure.  Not to mention the wonderful,
generous sack I hooked up.  This was the first show that i went into
completely sober and I only sat down once or twice.  Needless to say I'm
in love with this band.  Thankyou for SOAM, Silent in the Morning, YEM,
3rd set first night, llama, tube, MOMA (needed more MOMA).  This band has
balls.  I thank the band for their enthusiasm, endurance, trampolines and
choice of venue, though City Park across the steet in Denver would be the
nicest.

Zshanna Kristoff
Denver, Colorado

By the way, whoever had the grilled cheese stand set up the next day after
the show... i love you.

Date: Fri, 07 Jan 2000 16:34:56 -0600
From: Greg James 
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: 12.31.99

Let me just say that this was the most amazing experience in my concert
going career, if not my entire life. The fact that four people, along
with the finest crew in the biz, can bring 80,000+ people to the middle
of nowhere to celebrate life through song and dance will live with me
forever. Being surrounded by the people I Love most along with the music
I Love most brought tears to my eyes on more than one occassion. I will
never forget what went down for as long as I live. Truly a magical
night. Special thanks to Eric and his crew, Andy & Rachel, Kim from
Cali, the Michigan crew, the B-Town crew, the Chicago crew, the Seminole
Indians for letting our community congregate on their land,  and of
course the band and their crew for creating the greatest vibes I, as
well as everyone around me, have ever experienced. What a great way to
start 2000!!!!! See ya around.

Peace & Love
The Phunky Pharoah

Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 14:41:36 -0700
From: Eric Sommers Eric.Sommers@shlgroup.com
To: "'dws@www.phish.net'" dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: NYE Comments

There have already been enough terrific reviews of the magical night of
music we all experienced on Saturday morning, but I just wanted to send
out a big THANK YOU to all of the phans who attended and made this a
memorable event for all of us and the band.  The words that come to mind
for me personally are "Cooperation" and "Patience."  We really did need to
work together to make some difficult moments easier and we did.  
Obviously the Alligator Alley Crawl is a prime example.  Another good one
was during the set break on NYE.  I and a couple of my friends had secured
a spot dead center about 20 rows from the stage, and then about 20 of our
cohorts proceeded to meet us down in the trenches.  Thank you all for
being so understanding and letting us through to reach our destination, so
that we could all spend this special, special event together!  Especially
after they had created the lane for the Hot Dog to travel, it was even
tighter and more difficult to move through the sea of you all.  Still, you
all cooperated and were just wonderfully understanding and patient.  As
Trey said before they left the stage, we really do have something very
special here. Success in 2000!
ezz

Eric Sommers


Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 16:13:54 -0500
From: Troy and Angie troyc@yourlink.net
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: review

Phew!! After a few days battling "tour-flu" , I can finally put down a few
words about the great time my buddies and I (and hopefully most of you)
had.

Yes, traffic did suck getting in, we live 4 hours from the site and it tok
us 16 to get in. BUT, we cant really blame phish at all. I saw alot of
stupid driving going on. Whatever delays were only lengthened by people
driving down the shoulder and median just to get ahead of everyone else. A
few accidents is allit takes to make a shot delay a long delay. Those of
you speeding down the shoulder know who you are. It all worked out in the
end, those of us who didnt give up and turn aroun got in, had the time of
our lives and thats that. Needless to say my thoughts go out to the family
of the person who lost their life during this tarffic jam.

Ok now for the shows. Lets just say that I have never seen Phish play as
well and with as much effort as I did for NYE. Period. Those of you who
say they havnt been playing up to par should relisten to the tapes.

Great Opening set
Even greater Mikes Grooves.
A very fat afternoon set
Then the 7 1/2 hour set. This wasnt a half assed effort either.

Oh well. You know the story. I just wanted to thor in my 2 censt regarding
some peoples views that phish stole theier money b/c of the traffic

Troy

Phish NYE page
http://www.feemilli.homepage.com
tape list etc
http://www.feemilliproductions.homepage.com 

Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2000 23:46:48 -0500
From: Andrew Ellis Jones Andrew.E.Jones.146@nd.edu
To: markmolly@cybernet2k.com
Subject: your so-called review
 
well all you phish phreaks feel riped off?   nope.
 
spent how many hours in traffic, spent how much money? a lot; a lot.
 
was it worth it?  wouldn't have missed it for the world.
 
and no, i shouldn't have gone to see wsp.
widespread doesn't even come close to comparing.  what other band can pull
off a 7:45 set?  the truth: no other band.
 
and as an added point, the nature of your post is exactly why i'm glad i
wasn't at the widespread show.  think about it.
 
                            you, and many other people need thi