The folks at this show are PUMPED! I love listening to Japanese people scream. They had me laughing A LOT while listening to this show. I also enjoy listening to Japanese girls giggle and talk. Well, the creepy old-man side of me does anyway. Great way to start the show with the NICU->Chalkdust Bag sequence. I would take it any day. I love this Ghost! Holy poop. For some reason I just can’t get the image of hang gliding during this version. Some nice smooth drifting around way up in the clouds with the sun shinning and birds singing and all the other happy shit. Love a long build up…this song just soars. The rest of the set is fine. I especially like how quiet everyone is during the “pause” part of Divided Sky. The energy, again, is great during this Divided. I really enjoy Frankie Says. To my ears it’s such a trippy song. I LOVE TRIPPY! I wish they would play it more often.

SET II!

Wow…DWD. Trey’s sound during the first part of this jam is probably my most favorite of his sounds. Dark and dirty. Super gritty delay/ flanger/phased out dirty space rock. Totally pumps my nads!!! What doesn’t pump my nads is Trey on that stupid keyboard. Did he ever sound good on that thing? I think a toddler could do a better job. Lizards is great and I’m sure a lot of the Japanese folks were happy to hear it. Bike is my favorite Fishman song with I Wanna Be Like You coming in at a close second (which hasn’t been played since 94 so we’ll probably never hear it again…boo). Bike really works here. It’s a nice break after the DWD/Lizards and it’s another reason why I love this band so much. It’s really silly, weird and totally awesome all at once. The YEM that followed was a great treat for the Japanese fan and as far as I can remember was pretty standard. I’ve been in a YEM slump recently so maybe it’s just me. I do love the really quiet vocal jam at the end though. Don’t think they could pull that off in front of a 16,000 person crowd here in the states. The Jibboo encore is a lot of fun and has some really nice guitar work by Trey. I’m more of a fan of later Jibboo’s than earlier ones. I don’t like when Mike plays that same line over and over and over.

Will we ever be able to see Phish in small clubs like this again? Even if they did a Europe tour these days I bet they could fill some pretty big places. I’ve always thought about how much it would suck to be a fan overseas. Whenever I see those commercials on TV about starving kids in Africa or crazy civil war ripping apart countries, I always think to myself “sure food and clothes are good to have but what these people really need is some Phish!”. I know it’s a completely ridiculous thought but I guess I feel really lucky to live in the time and place I do. USA! PHISH! USA! PHISH!

BB
Jibboo Crew

Ah, the memories. I was 18 years old and fresh out of High School. Bring on the party! For some stupid reason my parents let me and my two friends borrow the car and drive it across the state to see this show. My best friend Nate and Craig were with me. Nate is the guy that I have to thank for getting me into Phish in the first place....but that my friends is another story!

Having seen the "Fleezer" show a few days earlier my mind was still recovering and in a fragile state. This was only my sixth show so there were still a lot of surprises and songs that I've never heard before on tape or live. I believe I heard my first Tela and Sloth but I know it was the first time I ever heard Free, Strange Design and Sleeping Monkey. The DWD is simply awesome. So weird and all over the place. Amazing raw improv. I was SOOO lost during this song that I was certain that Phish were aliens and that I was now dead and I was going to spend the rest of my life within this confusion and lights. The Free saved me. This was the first time that I heard that riff. Instantly fucking loved that song. INSTANTLY. I wish I had a video of my face during those first lines of Free, I probably had tears running down it. Soon after the bliss I was again launched into fright and amazement by the mind-fuck that followed. Poor Heart brought me back to reality but I was again off into the stratosphere during YEM and Strange Design. I remember really liking Strange Design and thinking how fucking weird of a song it was. Trippy shit! I also remember the lights really well during the song. It was a Strange Design indeed and of course it blew my mind a litte further. I've seen Antelope more times than any other song and I never get sick of it. I can only imagine how excited I was to hear Antelope this night. At this point in my Phish career I was still hearing songs I've never heard before and the ones I did know where always such a treat to hear. I was still figuring out the how, why and what and didn't fully "get it" until a few shows later.

I remember after the show talking to an older Phish guy (he was probably in his late 20's...OLD) who was doing the whole tour. He told us about Free and Strange Design. I remember telling him how much we all loved Free and how fucked up the DWD and Free were.
At one point he stopped and looked at us with his knowing and knowledgeable face and said
"You guys totally got your minds blown tonight didn't you?" Yes sir. Yes we did.

After the show the cops drove around to us like 5 times and asked us to leave. We kept yelling at them "just eatin' and leavin'!". It was extremely funny at the time. Eventually they got out of their cars and, started grabbing all our shit and started packing it up for us. Again, it was REALLY funny. Can't see how they allowed me to drive out of there. Being 18 and not able to make any long term plans, we ended sleeping in some farmers field outside of town. I had a towel for a blanket and no pillow but everything was SO right with the world at that point. What a night.

BB

Jibboo Crew
JSW#1

This was a very solid show that doesn't get much recognition, hence, this being the 1st review, and the show happened in 1999.
The 1st set looks pretty standard on paper, but it was full of energy, and very well played.
The 2nd set just seemed to flow so perfectly. And of course, you thought Fluffhead would surely close it out, but good ole Slave decided to put an exclamation on the night. I'll take any 2nd set that includes Antelope, Fluff, and Slave. And a little Hendrix for an encore? Please and thank you.

Check out photos from the show:

http://tinyurl.com/6waaspt

Easily one of the best Phish-related nights I've been to. The way the setlist plays out, this little tour seems like a nice culmination of Trey's orchestral work from the past decade. And Don Hart's orchestrations work wonderfully -- they end up sounding a little like Phish conducted by Igor Stravinsky if Stravinsky had jumped out of a Disney movie and said, "Sure, I'll hop on Phish tour."

The first half flowed beautifully, with a nice mix of old school compositions like Divided Sky and Stash alongside the prettier numbers like Let Me Lie. Guyute Orchestral was stunning live, and it was nice to hear the early bits of My Friend My Friend melding with the ugly pig's theme. Divided Sky was everything I hoped it would be after hearing the Scorchio Quintet version.

Things got real in the second half. TTE is a completely different beast at the symphony, and I came away with a better appreciation for the work. Definitely meant to be a large-scale orchestral piece. I wasn't checking my watch or anything, but I feel like this was close to 30 minutes long. If I Could was achingly beautiful ... complete with a mid-song marriage proposal by someone in the middle of the crowd! She said yes, of course. The response from everyone else nearby was ecstatic, loud enough for Trey and the orchestra to look up and wonder what the hell was going on. But after the song the musicians figured it out, and Trey offered his congratulations, dedicating YEM as the couple's first "post-engagement/pre-wedding" song. Icing on the cake: nice little tease of the Bridal Chorus during the space section.

And then for an encore the second half of the Abbey Road suite and a perfect Inlaw Josey Wales. I'm extremely grateful to the ASO musicians for such fantastic support. Walked out a happy listener.

I don't want to get into a terminology argument, but I think you can go ahead and call it a "Tweeprise" jam rather than a tease; it takes up a good two minutes. Not much else going on in this show, but this "Piper" is must-hear Phish. Also, what is the point of labeling a "Seven Below" as "Unfinished"? Shouldn't you also put that label on "Piper" then? What about "Rock And Roll"--that was definitely not finished.

Set 1
Jim – This is a nice short, frenetic Jim that serves well as a show opener. I really like what Trey does during this with nice complements from Page’s trailing keys.
Golden Lady – Nice, groovy Stevie Wonder song.
Poor Heart – The juxtaposition next to Golden lady is hilarious. Page fires away on the keys in this one.
Guelah Papyrus – Someone in the forum once said that they think Phish was much more technically proficient in 1994 than in the 3.0 era. While it is desirable to argue that statement, this Guelah would be good evidence for the person’s claim. It is perfectly played while retaining the energy and fierceness that 3.0 Guelah’s don’t have.
SOAMelt – Nothing too amazing here, but a thrilling SOAM nonetheless. From 5 minutes on is where it gets interesting and very fast-paced. Around the 6:35 mark I believe Mike teases Simple. I may be incorrect, but it sounds eerily similar to me.
Kung – I was almost disappointed when SOAMelt transitioned into this because the former was about to get exciting. Oh well, I can’t stay upset when there’s a Kung playing.
SOAMelt – Oh wait, SOAM isn’t over! I forgot this is the year of sandwiches, and I don’t have any problem with a Kung sandwich on SOAMelt bread!
Esther – Oh boy do I love Esther. This is one of my favorite purely compositional tunes. It also includes a fun random note signal as well as a Simpsons signal.
Julius – Trey shreds the hell out of this song starting at about the 4:50 mark. Eventually the jam gives rise to a chaotic, slow-paced drum fill which ends in a climactic jolt of energy by Fish and Trey. A short, but truly sweet type I.
Guyute – Something about the short pause between “scampered quickly out of range” and the next segment really wows me. This goes for the pause between “I hope it happens once again” and its succeeding segment as well. It seems so simple, but it’s one of those little things you come to appreciate about Phish. The ugly pig doesn’t disappoint here.
Golgi – Golgi is Golgi.

Set 2
Lengthwise – Sweet start to a set!
Maze – The transition from lengthwise to Maze is cool with the guys still chanting “when you’re there, I sleep lengthwise, and when you’re gone I sleep diagonal in my bed” as the signature high hats begin. An overall well-played maze.
McGrupp – McGrupp is a great tune. 3.0 needs more McGrupp!
Rift – Also one of my favorite compositional songs. The vocal work in combination with phenomenal lyrics is always something to be taken away by.
Hood – This Hood is built up extremely well. Around the 12 minute mark is when the bliss begins! 13 minutes in, a darker progression begins with a more rock-oriented feel. The band will roar in loudness then quiet down, then roar in loudness again, only to quiet down and return to Hood’s main theme… for a bit. Near the 16 minute mark it quiets down completely with only Fish playing the high hats. Then Trey mimics the rhythm of Fish. The two swap playing until slowly Mike and Page join in building tension when Trey starts ripping the hell out of the main Hood theme. At around 18:10 the Trey treatment begins and doesn’t stop for the remainder of the song. I’m not very good at describing jams like these, but let’s just say you can feel good about this Hood. Highlight for sure.
Nellie Kane – Played acoustic, and if you ask me, it’s not as good as electric. Still, it’s Nellie Kane and is warming as can be.
Foreplay/Long Time – Wow! I’ll take the Phish acoustic version of this over Boston’s original any day. The harmony is a lot more natural and clear than the original. This is a super cool way to cool down after the monster Hood.
Chalk Dust - Once again the juxtaposition of songs in the setlist in 1994 was genius, and this is no exception. CDT being the wall of energy it is works perfectly coming out of an acoustic pair. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – half the genius of Phish from 1992-1995 was setlist brilliance and no other era rivals that genius. As for the song, it should be assumed that Trey shreds it like always, but other than that there’s not anything spectacular. It is very short-lived.
Encore:
Sample in a Jar – You know that thing I said about 50% of Phish’s genius in this era being setlist brilliance? Yeah, maybe it’s a bit less. After a show that feels like it was missing one good jam, Sample aggravates me a bit in this slot. Of course I don’t expect a hose YEM or anything, but c’mon. Not even a tasty little Cities? Can’t complain too much, though.

Highlights:
Set 1 – SOAMelt -> Kung -> SOAMelt, Jim
Set 2 – Hood, Foreplay/Long Time, Maze

Overall: This show was borderline awesome. It had the setlist, energy, and goofiness, but missed something. It had a great jam in Hood, but outside of that there was nothing to get lost in. My verdict: a fun and appeasing show with a decent amount of IT to offer, but not well-rounded enough to merit over a 4-star review. 4/5 stars.

My first show. I didn't know as much about the live shows as I should have. Tickets were almost impossible to get. I bought one out front for $35 and the three guys I traveled with from JMU were shut out and left me there. So I had to hope I found a ride home the 4 hours back to school.

I walked in during Mound, I think, because I remember the clapping. I immediately recognized Stash and Coil, so that was fun, but I spent the entire time walking around trying to find friends.

Set 2's stand out was Avenu Malkenu, because I didn't know Phish performed it and I remembered it from when I was a kid. And it's funny to think that the highlight of the night for me was Cavern, which was my #1 wishlist song at the time.

Literally on the way OUT of the coliseum, I found my friends. We packed 6 people into a little sedan for the ride back. Good times.

This show is often overlooked, but it will always hold a special place in my heart.