Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 11:20:05 -0600 (CST)
From: Pat Buzby patb@inforel.com
Subject: 11-19-97 Champaign setlist + review
11-19-97 Assembly Hall, U of Illinois, Champaign, IL
I : Julius, Bathtub Gin > Llama, Dirt, Limb By Limb, Funky Bitch, Theme
>From The Bottom, Ginseng Sullivan, Fee > Run Like An Antelope
II : 2001, Wolfman's > Jam > Makisupa Policeman, Taste
Encore : Possum
BACKGROUND : This was the first indoor show I've seen since '94, and also
the first time since then that I brought a friend along (Ethan, housemate
and fellow member of Tautologic, a band soon to be terrorizing audiences
everywhere). Pleasant, flat ride out from Chicago, and the same coming
back except for a detour due to a big wreck along the way. I hope no
tourheads were involved.
Set I :
JULIUS - My first time seeing this and a great opener. I had
forgotten how much the lights add to the show - the bright lights on the
audience when the chorus arrived was an electrifying effect. Only flaw
was Fishman's oddly stoic drumming in the jam - Trey was gesturing
towards him as if trying to get him to do some fills. I was worried that
Fishman might be "off" tonight (as Page seemed to be this summer at Tinley
Park). Thankfully, this turned out not to be true.
BATHTUB GIN - Another first-timer. The jam was long and had a lot of
fine spontaneous harmonic architecture, edging up on Type B playing
without truly crossing the line. Eventually Trey sped up the tempo and
introduced...
LLAMA - Solid, fierce version.
DIRT, LIMB BY LIMB - Two welcome repeats of new tunes I saw during the
summer. (Now bring back "Vultures.") I enjoyed "Dirt" much more this
time than at Tinley Park, since the set actually needed the mellowing-out
effect that this song provides.
FUNKY BITCH - Slower than most versions I've heard on tape but great.
They brought the dynamics down a couple of times very effectively. I was
worried that they might end the set here, but no...
THEME FROM THE BOTTOM - Still not a personal favorite, but again (after
Alpine Valley), it was clear that this comes across very well live. Jam
was long and adventurous, though not too much out of the ordinary. Then
they went into more unusual territory...
GINSENG SULLIVAN - When did they last do this? Good version, although
Trey was a bit rusty on the guitar solo.
FEE - Another one I haven't thought about in a while. Got a great
response. Then there was an extended oceanic coda (*not*, IMO, a separate
jam or an allusion to another song), which continued until Trey
introduced the opening motive from...
ANTELOPE - Quite a generous first set. This version was not in the same
league as 10/24/95 or 11/2/96, but stood up to comparison with any other
version that I know.
Set II :
2001 - The jams before each theme segment were very minimalistic and
drawn-out. This also got a great response, but, truthfully, I was
waiting for them to finish this one.
WOLFMAN'S - Main difference between this jam and Slip Stitch is that
Fishman was doing some very cool, mixed-up stuff on the drums rather than
simply laying down a groove. This ended with some very memorable effects
work from Trey that could have made this a historic version if they'd
rode it out a bit more (and may have anyway), but the set took a left turn...
JAM - Trey started this by pulling out this hard rock motive in A Flat
that seemed to come out of nowhere. It confused me (and clearly the rest
of the band as well), but they went with it and produced a lengthy and
venturesome instrumental. I can't remember all the details, but there
was some serious venting from both Trey and Page (on piano and organ).
It reminded me of the jamming in 12/14/95 II (one of my favorite tapes).
Then the tempo sped up and it seemed like Trey was leading them into
"Walk Away" (that would have been something), but no one sang. (Perhaps
Page couldn't remember the words.) So instead, Trey changed the tempo
again, and after a rather awkward change of key to A we got...
MAKISUPA POLICEMAN - Trey's words of wisdom this time : "Stay kind."
This had an extended space/drone middle section, but just when it seemed
unclear where things were going they returned to Makisupa. Then...
TASTE - This was going along great until Trey's guitar solo, when a
problem appeared with the kick drum microphone. The jam seemed to go on
autopilot for a minute until Paul and the crew fixed the problem. Still,
they rode this to the peak that all versions this year seem to be
reaching. That was that for set II.
ENCORE :
POSSUM - No signals or other funny business, but a solid version with a
Trey solo that went on two or three choruses longer than I expected.
OVERVIEW : First, let me say that this was the best of the six shows I've
seen (even though three of the other five - 6/22/94, 8/13/96 and 8/9/97 -
are also commonly considered to be excellent). However, it was no
without its predictable aspects, and I can't avoid focusing on these.
Ethan observed that Page could have used a strong, mini-Moog style
soloing voice to cut through the loudest jam passages. That seems like a
good suggestion to add to my own personal list : Have one or two members
sit out at some point during the jams. Have someone other than Trey
"direct" a jam or a set. When tension builds, don't release it, or find
different ways of releasing it. Just my $.02, since Phish has
demonstrated that it's commited to evolving.
All that aside, a great show and I will be keeping an eye on what
transpires over the rest of the tour.
Pat Buzby
Hyde Park, IL
-------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 12:22:48 -0500
From: Timothy.H.Neagle.1@nd.edu
Subject: Champaign
Thats right my brother and I were at this show and I will tell you all
about it. The show opens with a Julius--normal tempo, Trye was noodling
in the jam, smae energy as we are used to in julius. Basically your
standard 95 style julius opener, tame but swingin'
The bathtub taht follows fubctions as a catalyst to bring us from the
standard mid nineties phish souns intot he 97 Wah funk. Bathtub was a
bit sketchy to begin with. i don't mean bad, I mean page was very off
and on with his rhapsody fills. Very hectic unlit right before "Here
coems the Joker" when he finally landed on the rhapsody progression.
Overall a great beginning to the gin. Trey vocally scatted solos at the
outse4t of the jam were syncopated and lovely spinning down to nice
resolution into the jam. Jam was again tame at first, mid nineties
style but as tehy climaxed it to a loud big full ride cymbal jam, the 97
funk broke free. Everyone knows what I am talking about, Trey on the
Wah, Page wvarying his keyboard choice to add ambiance or harmonize
Mikes bubbling Bass. Truly monumental as they brought it around a few
times and finally trey starts wailing on some ninth chord and
accelerating the tempo. For about two seconds they landed on the
Crosseyed and painless tempo that made me say wow, Crosseyed and
painless but the tempo kept accelarating into a Llama. The opening of
llama was odd becasue it involved them all dropping into the groove
after some initial games rather than the drums>guitar>full organ jam
into. Even the organ jam, and pages organ solo after the verse was more
laid back than most Llama's. I almost miss the 95 explosive maching
llamas. This one had trey playing wah-style rythym and page palying
more individual melodies onthe Hammond rather than big chords. Still
really big as llama should be. Don't worry, Trye's jam was not tame, it
was actually really hectic, Fishes alternative rythms to create tension
were less fill-oriented and more beat over the beat style. i hope you
understand what I mean.
Ah Dirt, this is beautifully emotional, more so than any other song they
play (for me). With all that positive energy fromthe people and the
music flowing through us all who would want to live beneath the dirt? I
understand where trey is coming from. The dicotomy of the wonder of the
world and the "push and shove" really drives the niceness of this song.
Limb by limb-nuff said
Funky Bitch was slower and funkier than a 96bitch. it was classic 97
style. Arranged a bit differently: Opening solo>first verse>page piano
solo>second verse (with a great breakdown)>trey funk Wah solo>trey
ripping solo.
Theme: also a bit slower than usual but theme inall its grandeur
none-the-less.
Ginseng: Mikes voice sounds so good this year
Fee: I haven't heard this in a while. First Megaphone-less fee in years.
Trey actually plays his guitar. I love those upbeats. After the song
the piano/harmonic breakdown got extended. It was real ambiant and
pretty. Fish grabbed his mike and started singing (improvising?) some
lyrics. It sounded good. Best Fee I've ever heard. Still nothing to
write home about (wait what am I doing now?)
Ahh Antelope, again a slower tempo, they like to do this these days.
Tray actually segued into the opening licks from the fee jam. It was
nice because at first the licks were real slow regae like. This
antelope rocked on, not as much as antelopes this summer but still
great.
The first set was wonderful. I like summer tour sets a bit better but
this was great. i was left wanting noise. I wished that they has busted
out the big sound more, the soundscape, the surrender to the air free
jazz noise, the stuff that makes your back hurt in ecstacy as you cringe
from the tension: In the second set we got all taht. YES YES YES.
Fish comes out and sits at his drums and begins a beat, stops, starts,
stops, tehn starts riding the 2001 beat in a groovy faxshion. BYt he
way this is never how 2001 starts, no noise, just funk. But eventually
they brought the noise in with treay's cycle flow pedel that just sits
inthe background. Trey used this thing about 4-5 times this set. i liove
it trips even the sober out. At one point during the set, the whole
band was silent except for this cycle in the back and trey was
contorting his body in the flow. It was cool.
After a 15 minute 2001 the Wolman's lasted about 30. It was so funky
for while in the typical 97 style. Then it got spacey (cycle flow pedel
thing again) Then we got into some heavy shit. Trey was playionmg with a
lot of distortion really fast. It seemed as if Fish spent a bit of time
figuring out how to groove with it. I think the issue was that it wasn't
as much a groove as a Hendrix style rocking jam.
This segued into the Makisupa. Ahh teh Ragu Festival. Teh Makisup
contained a "Woke up in the morning. Stink Kind" to go along with Trey's
Pepe La peu shirt. The makisupa contained what people call a space jam.
This was great as it lasted 5 or so minutes with a cycle flow pedel in
the background, The noise got big and trey looked around the the band
and dropped into the Makisupa groove again. We were in reggae extacy.
Finally a Taste to close the show. It was sick. Pages solo was
beautyoues . . . What am saying? This was a standard, GREAT taste.
Encore: Possum. Again, a slightly slower tempo. We loved it because it
was funky. Trey fucked aroud withit for a while before teh verse with a
funk solo rather than the typical noodling that we usually get. The jam
was the most hectic Possum jam I have ever seen. Really. It started out
funky and goovy but moved to some really hectic stuff ala the Llama of
the first set. Then it was over and we went home.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 12:52:48 +0000
From: "Ian W. Read" iread@shrike.depaul.edu
Subject: review of champagne show..11-19-97
This was my third show in four nights, the other's being the two in
Denver, and as seems to be the case this fall we were treated to one
song-packed set and one long, experimental fusion type of set. The
first set was the song packed set, and it started off pretty good with
an upbeat, although predictable Julius. Bathtub Gin followed and was
great, especially towards the end when they broke out into a total funk
jam that had everybody on there feet groovin with the band. The fact
that no alcohol was sold didn't seem to dampen the mood of the crowd at
the begining of the show, although towards the end some people seemed
like they may have been more into it had they had a couple cold ones.
After a groovy jam, Llama rocked the crowed and seemed to have even
the newest of phish heads at least trying to sing along. Dirt followed,
and was nice although I don't seem to like this song as well as most
people. Limb by Limb was next, but I can't give an honest opinion cause
I was waiting in line to get a much needed Coke. Made it back for Funky
Bitch which is always enjoyable and Mike is singing like there's honey
in his voice. Theme from the Bottom was my first time hearing this
tune, and it rocked! The boys still amaze me everytime they go from
totally rockin into their groove filled acapella jams, and this time was
no dissapointment. Ginsing Sullivan was pretty straight-forward, and
the highlight of the first set for me was the Fee they pulled out in
which I was sure was going to be the last song. It was great to hear
Fee, and this time everybody around me was singing along with every
word, seemingly as happy as I was to be hearing this classic. Did I say
last song...well, they jammed for a bit after fee which only hieghtened
my excitment for what I knew would be a big time first set closer. When
the notes of Antelope started to fill the arena, everyone seemed to be
pleased with the boys selection. I've heard this song at least a dozen
times, but I never seem to get sick of it and tonight was no exception.
As the boys took their break, the consensus seemed to be that they were
going to have a tough time pulling out a bigger second set than the
first.
Sadly, this seemed to be the case. Don't get me wrong, it didn't
suck, and actually started out huge with a long 2001 that had everyone
on there feet and really showcased what this band can do. As always
during this song, the light show hyped up the crowed and at the right
times put the focus back on the band, and credit should be given to the
light guy for pretty much keeping up with the band. A pretty funky 2001
overall, but I would have prefered a bit shorter version in exchange for
an extra song. Wolfmans brother followed, and was solid, but again I
felt the jam following was too long and lost peoples interest. Again,
don't get me wrong, I love a long trippy kind of jam, but there seemed
to be just a bit too much of this during this show. Makisupa Policeman
followed and was great...always a fun song to hear. What was it this
time, Trey??(STINK KIND!!!) Once again they took this song into a
pretty intense space jam, but then broke back into the chorus for a
final spin. Taste ended the second set, and I was happy to say this is
the only song I heard repeated in 3 nights. It's a good song and they
do a good job, but I think soon the frequent show goer will tire of it.
It isn't the strongest song to close a second set, and gave me high
hopes for a strong encore. Unfortunately, Possum just didn't do it for
me. Maybe I was feeling just a bit Phished out after travelling from
Chicago to Denver and back again for the shows. I'm sure many thought
Possum was great, but at that point I was thinkin about the drive back
to Chicago (2 hours) and my classes the next day. Oh well...
Over all, the guys are only getting better and it seems like if
you're going to see a lot of shows you have to allow the band the time
to try different stuff that not everybody will like. Taking this into
consideration, on a scale of 1 - 10, I rate these 3 shows a solid 8.
Hope you have fun at any shows you see, and thanks for reading my
thoughts about what is quickly becoming THE band to see live (for better
or for worse!!!). PEACE, LOVE AND GOOD TIMES!!!
Barry Brown
-------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 19:16:38 -0500 (EST)
From: Shawn Michael Bennett smbennet@indiana.edu
Hey their Phish Phans, If you missed Champaign, you missed out. The
Julius opener was surprisingly pleasing as the band started of on a
furious funk motif for the night. The Bathtub Gin was in usual form until
the "Jam" which blended into a Llama that had the place at Page's
fingertips. After three rock'n old school tunes you knew they had to slow
it down a bit with some new slower stuff, which was excellent don't get me
wrong, it was a much needed catch of breath. Funky Bitch follows the
"funk theme" of the show. Did I say theme, from the bottom of the floor
seats to the top of the area Phish had everyone in awe with the light show
and vocal jam. Ginseng Sullivan was a change of pace which was well
accepted in the mid-west atmosphere. Nothing could prepare me for what
was next, especially since I had expected the set to end after Theme from
the Bottom. Whooooooaaaa Fee!!!! That's right Fee. They could have ended
the show right there, but instead decided to drive me insane with an
antelope, in which Trey introduced Mike as Marco Esquandolas, with Mike
striking a single chord then sliding out of the spotlight. Needless to
say I didn't know how they could even come out and play after the first
set of funk. Well they did, and in big fashion. 2001 in which they
didn't enter into the begining of the song until at least ten minutes.
(I'm not sure but I think they teased a Split Open and Melt drum beat to
start the set, as if they just changed their mind). After a funkdified
jam after 2001 a Wolfman's Brother appeared out of nowhere. The next Jam
had me clueless, at times I thought they were going into some Hendrix, or
a Cross-eyed and Painless from Talking Heads, but whatever it was it was
made up at Champaign. A Makisupa Policeman, that Trey declared a "stink
kind", went on to a jam that made the place feel like it was taking of in
a space ship (which the venue does resemble from the outside). Back into
makisupa they jammed to completion. Closing the set, the boyz decided to
"step into space" with a little Taste. The crowd yearned for more as they
took the stage to wrap up a succesful show. What better way to end a show
than the song that completes Gamehenge, Possum. After leaving that show I
realized that they are in the best musical shape of their life. If you
haven't seen them yet this tour, you better get your tix!
Shawn Bennett
Indiana University
e-mail; smbennet@indiana.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 19:49:08 -0500
From: andy@gadiel.com
Subject: Champaign
This show was awesome. Right from the start I could feel the energy in
the room mounting. Even from behind the stage it sounded great!
The show began, happily, with Julius. This definately got me dancing and
grooving. It sounded awesome too. It's so nice to hear them jam out
again...this version, compared to others, seemed to extend for quite a
while and finally came to a close after a stellar build by Trey (and the
audience).
As I heard the opening chords to Bathtub Gin, I thought to myself, "The
last time I heard this, it was the greatest version this song has ever
known, and made me happier than any song has ever made me before" I was,
of course, thinking of the Great Went, which, although biased
completely, I'll use to compare to this Bathtub Gin. It started nice,
but we all know that this is Phish of '97, and it's not where the song
starts, but where it goes. And this one went. Literally. I could hear it
peeking through, that jam. The one. The one they played at the Went
during the Gin that just made your head want to explode as you ran full
speed ahead as fast as you were going. (in a good way). This Gin never
really exploded with the full force of the world which the Went exposed
to us, but, it opened the door and peeked through, showed us that it's
still there, waiting. I felt like they could have gone through the door,
but felt the jam smooth off into another direction and finally end up
at...
Llama. Best version, hands down. Put me out there and left me for a
while until I could smile to one of my two new favorite songs,
Dirt...standard (for now, until they add a 20 minute jam segment to it
in Summer '98)
Limb By Limb - My other favorite new song. This was especially jammed
out in the middle. I kinda reaffirm my theory that I'd like to hear a
limb by limb > taste > limb by limb. They just sound like they could go
together. Purhaps another for next summer tour.
Funky Bitch - Not as good without the fireworks (yes, I'm still in
limestone) but awesome nonetheless. I love dancing to this song, Mike
sounded sooooo good.
Theme From The Bottom - Very well done...always a pleasure to hear and
they hit the build very nicely.
Ginsing Sullivan...always a pleasure.
Fee - I had to go to the bathroom pretty much throughout the entire
first set. I heard Fee, thought Pee, and went. Got back just in time to
hear them go into the...
Jam...or was it Time, some people have been telling him. Whatever it
was, it was cool as all hell and myself, along with my emptied blatter
loved every minute of it...
As I heard the peeking twingles of Antelope come through the cloud of
smoke, I could just feel we were getting there. This one rocked, I got
lost in the jam (ala 12/31/96) Good intensity level and Chris is the man
on the lights. "Marco..." part was done solidly by Trey and a nice run
into intermission.
Assembly Hall is so cool. Those things on the walls just above the seats
look like the brake lights in the back mirrors of cars. Just a thought.
Anyways, on to set II.
Space Jam > 2001...This was awesome. Rocked out as hard, if not harder
than the went 2001 (see how it all goes back to that night?). Just such
a good groove being layed down, I got a really burst of energy, probably
because of my 2001 ritual. I always find myself doing it at Phish shows
during 2001. I don't know why, it just always happens. I guess it's
cause I know something awesome is coming up next.
The best Wolfman's Brother ever. It's gotta be. Not because of where it
started, as in Wolfman's....although the start was nicely accepted from
the peak of 2001. But this Wolfman's segued into a jam which covered the
entire spectrum of the evening. As Trey led the way we ventured up and
down across a pattern of interwoven notes. I could do nothing but submit
to the pull of this awesome force. Some of the peaks and valleys were so
well carved that I couldn't possibly try to even humm them without a
piano,dum,bass,guitar backup. I can't imagine any other band going where
Phish went during this jam. Nuff said..
and where did they end up? Makisupa Policement. stick kind.
It was a real slowed down version with an incredible space jam right in
the middle. The lights...man the lights. I kinda thought they were gonna
bust out the Harry Hood right now...man I could feel it, but instead,
and not dissapointingly...
Taste evolved out of the funkasupa policeman and, as always, jammed out
hard. Yes, there was an annoying sound coming from the drums during the
beginning jams, but I loved how the band played through it. The jam just
wouldn't stop, no way, why should it...we'll play around the unwanted
sound they said...I felt as though Taste, an awesome jam, differed only
from Wolfman's Brother jam played 20 minutes earlier in that it was
written before it was played. If that doesn't make sense to anyone, let
me try to explain it another way. Phish just jams, plain and simple.
Some of the jams have been written, others have not. I can't decide
which I like better, but I love 'em all. The taste exploded when the
soundman fixed the breakage and left a wonderful taste on my mouth.
Encore: Possum. I was pooped at this point and needed to just listen to
a great fun song. Rockingly jammed, of course, and had a few extra turn
overs at the end. A nice cap to the evening.
All in all, a fabulous show. Didn't see anything sketchy at all.
Security was lax and people were friendly.
I love this band.
Peace,
Andrew Gadiel
andy@gadiel.com
http://www.gadiel.com/phish/
---------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 20:11:24 GMT
From: Paul Chung chungp@UMICH.EDU
Subject: **11/19/97 Champaign Review**
Great show! The guys were real loose tonight, there jamming wasnt all
that tight, regardless, it was a hell of a lot of fun. I just can't wait
to see what they do this weekend, and for the next few weeks for that
matter.
We arrived into the lots at around 630 after an eventful car ride, which
was complete with a little Jer, a little Sinatra, and a little bit of
Axl :)
We were fortunate enough to hit the 4:20 not once but twice during the
car ride up. Thanks to the state of Indiana and to the central time zone
;) That was defintately one of the highlights of the trip.
Highlights of the show include the Bathtub-> Llama, Antelope, which
closed the first set (which was preceded by Fee!) and of course the
Wolfman's Jam which was segued out of a siiick 2001! Thanks to Chris
Kuroda for yet another spectular show!
Julius opened up the show to my surprise and I had no problems with it.
Some good old fashion Type I jamming was a great way to get the crowd
started off right. However, Julius is Julius, nothing spectacular. It
was a solid ten minutes. And then the inevitable...
BATHTUB!!! It seems as though I cannot avoid this tune, since they play
it at every show that I see. But I'm not going to complain. I guaranteed
a Gin, and they delivered as promised.
Gin intro was standard, might have been a little sloppy, I don't
remember exactly (and thats the reason we have tapes :) The begining
stages od the jamming segment had a real different kind of energy to it
in comparison to other 97 Gins e.g. Va Beach, Deer Creek, and the Went.
After a little while, Trey dramatically changed the groove that they
had, and suddenly went back to his bread and butter for 97, the deep
FUNK! You really need to hear this, to know the change that I am talking
about. Thats enough of that, Ill let the new digestifier handle this one
in detail... congrats Benjy! :)
This Gin, segues into the tension release jam we love so much Llama.
This Llama sugue was intense but it was 'nossin' compared to the Llama
that kicked my ass that ->'ed out of Cities at the Went. This Llama had
me going, but if Llama doesnt have you heart pounding, then theres
probably something wrong with it. Either way, ill probably fwd through
it on the the tapes.
Dirt was Dirt. I heard people behind me utter words like, "What the f*ck
is this?!?" and other such comments people had for the band. LxL was
nice, but Ive seen it 3 or 4 times already, and other than being a nice
vocal piece, the jamming doesnt really turn me on. But it is still a
young song. And if I see Ginseng Sullivan one more time, I think I will
throw up. I don't mean to offend any of you Ginseng Heads, but Ive seen
it way too many times, and id rather have them use the time for s'more
jamming. whatever...
Needless to say, Fee was probably the surprise of the night. I don't
recall the last time a Fee was done, but I dont imagine they will play
it anytime soon. To be honest, it was kindof annoying, 90 percent of the
crowd was singing it, and it just seemed real lame at the time, but who
knows, it may sound really great on tape. The Fee segued into a pretty
interesting jam, I had no idea where it was leading, except for the fact
that it was leading to something BIG! I think we got it when Trey slowly
busted out the begining riff to Antelope!
Having played Antelope in UT, I was not expecting an Antelope to close
the set, but to my pleasant surprise, the Boys were up for arguebly my
favorite set I closer. Really intense energy, as it should have. More
tension release jamming before setbreak, it was 'kick ass.'
First set was solid. It was fairly long; I didnt time it (sorry Jim) but
my guess would be that it was around 1 hr 20 to 1 hr 30. You really cant
go wrong with a Bathtub AND an Antelope in the first set. I was
definately set on something spectacular in the second set. I think I got
it, but others i.e. my roommates felt that set II was good but not
great.
The ASZ to open the second set was long (probably a good 12-15 minutes),
jammed (to say the least), and I loved ever second of it. It seems as
though every ASZ I see is better than the last. My last 2001 was at the
Went (which I thought was phenomenal); the Champaign 2001 was just as
great.
I think everyone I know, including myself, was *hoping* for a Mike's. I
definately felt MikeS energy, and when they opene up the set with 2001,
i was all but convinced that we were going to get one, but rather than
MikeS Groove, the 2001 segued into Wolfman's.
Wolfman's in one of the songs that I have been reinvented by the band,
along with ASZ, Cities, et al. The jams that I have seen come out of
Wolfman's this summer, and now this fall, have been phenomenal. The
Wolfman's-> Magilla from Va Beach or the Wolfman's-> Simple-> Odd Couple
Jam from the Went, and even the Wolfman's-> Free from Tinley (a show
that I have only heard shit reviews about) have all been incredible
jams. The Champaign Wolfman's is no exception. Trey was in Porno-funk
mode most of the night, and to be so blatant about it, imo was lacivious
behavior in front of the good people of Champaign ;) Type III jamming
was real nice. (For the story on the origin of type III jamming i.e.
who, where and why 'Type III' was coined, email me and ill let you know,
and I'm sure Jim Raras would let you know).
As far as WB is concerned, I really think someone should start a
Wolfman's Brother Files, you could be as famous as Charlie and Benjy!!!
The Wolfman's Jam segued into Makisupa, and at this point the show was
definately worth the money, time, etc... Trey's words were "stink kind"
which was to the crowds liking :) Makisupa segued into a spacey type
jam, quite possibly the Space Jam that they played in UT and CO, but I
don't know if it was the same jam. Ill have to hear the tapes.
Taste was average, nothing compared to the magic of 7/22 Walnut Creek
Taste. It was a solid closer to a really great set of Phish. Possum
encore was unexpected, but it rocked, and pretty much exhausted everyone
in the house, myself included.
If you were at the show, and have comments re: anything about the show,
including pre-show, post-show, funny stories, etc... I'd love to hear
about it.
peace,
paul
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 15:29:21 -0600
From: Tony Kubicek guyute@EXECPC.COM
Subject: 11/19/97 Champaign Comments/Review
Hey all,
My goodness, last night was an excellent show! I went into the Assembly
Hall for my 28th show, not knowing what to expect, and man did I get
blown away.
Befroe hand though, I saw some pretty disturbing stuff. The lot was full
of cops busting people left and right K-9 unit and all!!. I saw about 5
people get arrested. We were standing outside of our car and talking, we
had 2 chairs outside of my car. With us standing right there, some piece
of shit kid snags one of our chairs and starts running! I couldn't
believe it. It was one of the most dispicable things I've seen at a
show. The owner of the chair caught him though, and got his chair back
with no confrentation. It was like the kid had no conscience. I wnet to
this show wiht a last string of hope, but that was the last straw, I'm
never going to a show early again. We're from Milwaukee, so we had no
other place to go really, but when I go to Cleveland in a few, I'm
getting to the lot at 5 and going in right away. Enough of that.
Here's set one:
I: Julius, Gin>Llama, Dirt, Limb by Limb, Funky Bitch, Theme, Ginseng
Sullivan, Fee> Time > Antelope
'Julius' was a nice opener. It really got me moving. A strong overall
version. Next came 'Gin', and I knew we were in for a treat. Talk about
amazing! This version was beauty personified. Talk about being hosed,
the waves of energy bellowing from the speakers was more than I could
take, and this was only the second song mind you. This one was full of
tempo changes, and peaks. I had 8/13/93 in the back of my mind. That's
how this one came, in waves. The segue to 'Llama' was just a little
choppy. Not as choppy as it was from 'Cities' at the Went, but they've
almost got it. 'Llama', however was another jaw dropper. The tension and
release game was played pretty well with tonights version.
By this point alone, I could have left, and been satisfied. The boys
were playing with fire, and were completely in synche. 'Dirt' was next,
so I took a little breather. 'Limb by Limb' was another strong version.
I love Trey's soloing in that almost Arabic key. It's got that haunting
feel. They oh so 'Funky Bitch' reared it's head next. Not the best
version, but an all around strong one. 'Theme' has now become one of my
favs to hear live. I remember seeing it in Madison 2 years ago, and I
felt like I was floating underwater, tonight I felt like was flying
above the trees. I truely cannot believe how this band does it. I
thought the set would be over with after 'Theme', but 'Ginseng' started
and I had a feeling there was some more music to come.
The now rare 'Fee' was pulled out. No megaphone. I think this was a last
minute decision. I saw them discussing it. No lyric flubs or anything.
Then the jam at the end. Instead of just fading out, it was brought back
up, and changed into something that sounded very much like 'Jazz Wank'
from moe. I actually thought they were going to play it. This went on,
and I heard Fish mumbling something, but I couldn't understand what he
was saying. This was 'Time' I found out later, it was much different
than the 6/25/97 version, which I had only heard once. Then 'Antelope'
morphs out from underneath. Talk about strong version! I got so taken by
the hurricane of sounds that everything seemed to be moving in slow
motion. It was amazing. This set was one of the strongest I've seen. I
didn't know what to expect for set II.......
II: ASZ> Wolfman's> Makisupa> craziness> Makisupa> Taste
E: Possum
Set II, 4 songs 1hr and 15 minutes, what could be better. 'Also Sprach',
started out the set at about 10 minutes to 10:00. This song gets funkier
and funkier everytime I see it. Take a 93 version, and compare ti to one
from today. Then it acted as an intro, now it is a 15 minute jam. I'd
say this was about a 15 minute version itself, maybe a little longer.
Get funky!
'Wolfman's Bro' was next and the begining was you standard version,
until the jam. It took off right away. This version was a great example
of what Phish is all about. I remember thinking there was room for a
'Cities' in there. There was almost a 'Walk Away' thrown in there. I
could tell it was about to happen, but that was abandoned. The wolf was
definately on the prowl tonight, because at the 20 minute mark I was
thinking we were getting something reminicient of a Tweezerfest. Around
30 minutes, I though the whole set was going to be those 2 songs, but
out comes Trey with the 'Makisupa' bass riff on his guitar. At first the
rest of the band didn't want to follow, but Trey was persistant, and
Fish slowed the tempo. "Stink Kind". Now it was your typical 'Makisupa',
when it started getting really spacey. Then it changes into this jam
that reminded me of the 'Split open' at Deer Creek this summer, I wish I
could comment more on it, but I need to hear it again. Anyhow, the
tension was building (craziness) and I saw Trey talking to Mike and
Fish. I had no clue what was going to happen, and on the bob of Trey's
head, back to 'Makisupa'. I've never hear Phish do this before, and it
was really cool.
Out of 'Makisupa' came 'Taste'. I don't know, is it just me, or is it
ever since 2/17/97 in Amsterdam that this tune has blossomed into a
monster. Page's solo is so fierce and beautiful at the same time. I have
noticed that this one gets the spinners going. An excellent way to end
the set. And the encore of 'Possum'? I'll stop right now, because I'm
getting to excited thinking about the show.
This is a message to anyone out there. Go see Phish now! If you want to
see a band at some of it's best playing, now is the time to see them.
I've gotta run...
Tony 'Stoney' Kubicek
guyute@execpc.com
http://www.execpc.com/~guyute/Phishlst.html
"I'm sittin back here sharin in the groove"
-Mike Gordon
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 1997 13:21:09 -0600 (CST)
From: Casey Logan c695115@showme.missouri.edu
Subject: 11/19/97 Review->jam (ie,long) (fwd)
Assembly Hall is probably the second coolest indoor place I have seen a
show at (number one being the site of my first, at Des Moines Civ Center
in 94). Walking into the venue feels like walking into an alien space
craft. Assembly is an extremely cool looking building from the outside,
and awesome on the inside. Although the concourse area could be designed
better (anyone try to get into the bathroom pre-show?), the actual arena
is SO cool. Unlike the standard oval/rectangle shape to these places,
Assembly is perfectly round and has the feel of a coliseum. Due to the
shape, the floor space is small and just about any seat feels pretty close
to the stage. On the way in some girl asked me and my friend where our
seats were at. We told her section A and she offered to trade tickets and
pay us each $50. Now, if this was one of a series of shows I was seeing, I
probably would have snagged the money and enjoyed the show from section C.
But this is it until the Holidays, so I wanted to be as close as possible.
I don't regret it.
Apparently the show sold out that day, so the place was full when it
started. The Julius opener was cool, sounded a lot more like summer 97
versions than previous performances. Definitely did its job: get the place
movin'. At the end of the song, Mike was having troubles with his amp
(what's the deal with this place and sound problems with Phish -- last
year Trey had troubles with his amp). So some guy was screwing with it as
they started up Bathtub. Great version. This really should be labled,
IMO,Bathtub>Jam, as they go into the familiar of late (and welcome!!) porno
funk type jamming. I absolutely love shows that open in this manner. A
cool, get-you-dancin opener, followed by a tremendous jam.
Llama came next, with a cool, hesitant segue out of the jam. A lot of Page
on this one, and really throughout the night. While Trey had a great show
(and was very active dancing around), I paid a lot of attention to Page
first set and later Fish in the second. I really was looking forward to
hearing Dirt after this summer, so it was definitely welcome here. Limb by
Limb is just a cool new song. A lot of people hadn't heard this one yet,
as it was sort of funny watching people sit during Dirt, have Limb start
up and them continuing sitting like it will be another ballady type, then
spring up when it gets all cool in the beginning as Fish hits up the
"jungle-like beat" as a friend refers to it. Nothing wrong with this, just
funny to see.
So the set was solid this far, but it was when they started Funky Bitch
that I knew they weren't kidding around. Page played a nice piano solo
instead of his usual organ solo here, then when it came time for Trey to
play a bit he turned it (once again, and once again, very welcome) into a
porno-funk time jam. I thought this was very cool, something different
from the usual blues riff that is played around with in the song.
I wouldn't say the following Theme was one of my favorite versions, but it
was cool the same. I really like this song. Question: when did Page start
singing the "if I'm swimming by" part? Now that I go back, it sounds like
him on Billy Breathes, but I SWEAR Mike sung that part back in 95. I KNOW
he sung that part in 95. No big deal, it just got me wondering how they
decide to change something like that. Oh well.
Fee was a surprise (no megaphone) and went into a little mellow jam that I
guess is a song called Time (Phish o.g.). I though it was very cool
sounding, something to fall asleep to. The way the opening to Antelope
came out of Time almost put me into shock. I really didn't understand what
was happening. INCREDIBLE Antelope. I was witness to the 10/24/95 famous
Antelope and until last night, I hadn't heard a version nearly as fierce
as that one. Not saying (yet) that it takes the cake, but oh boy! The
ending just kept getting taken to another level, much the feel of a Bowie
ending. By the end of the jam, when they finally went into the "rye rye
rocco" part, I was completely exhausted. Trey announced Marco E. by
pointing to Mr. Mike Gordon, who took a bow.
The set break was a much needed rest time for this astonished spectator.
At the intermission, the one thing I had hoped for in the second set was
Wolfman's. Before the show I figured we could get Wolf's and possibly
Mikes, but here I was just really hoping for the latter more than
anything. I got it.
The 2001 that opens set two is difficult to put into words. I noticed
there were a couple misques in the lights first set, and I'm not sure if
Chris thought he had to redeem himself (not so) or what, but the lights
were unreal! I have never seen, nor heard a 2001 like this. There was no
distortion before hand, Fish just sat down and layed down the beat. From
there they jammed on the intro for a good ten minutes. Like last years
Vegas times ten. The lights were absolutely spectacular and the jam was
not at all, how to say, overdone (?) In other words, I never felt like,
"okay, just get to the damn song," but rather it was like a song of its
own. After they finally played the 2001 part, it went again into a jam.
The one thing that would characterize this PHENOMENAL set was the way they
would bring jams back into a song. The second jam just moved so well
into the 2001 part again, as the space jam moved so well back into
Makisupa.
If you are at all confused about how the Wolfman's is labeld, let me
explain. Yes, all Wolfman's have contained a jam afterwards lately. But
the reason this version is labeled Wolf's->Jam is because at one point
they completely leave behind the normal funtified jam of W's Bro and go
into a monstrous jam of SO many grooves, what seemed like SO many teases,
bringing SO much delight to these ears. The boys would just find a groove,
jam on it, then move to another groove. So much of my attention this whole
jam was on Fishman, who seemed to be in another world. His facial
expressions were just out there and his skills were definitely on display.
I thought I noticed several Crosseyed teases by Trey somewhere in the jam.
There were a couple parts where they were surely teasing something (I
guess it has been identified, but I can't remember the name). Towards the
end of the jam Fish is just jamming out this beat (arms swinging, face
contorted) and Trey plays along. This groove was like ONE NOTE from Walk
Away. For several seconds I thought for sure they were going to play it,
but it was for not. Very cool nonetheless.
When Makisuppa chimed in I think the place was brought back to earth. I
remember having this feeling of total helplessness, that things were
totally unpredictable. I mean, they just ripped out this insane jam and
put us right into Makisuppa. Too much, just too damn much.
One of my favorite moments of the show was the way the space jam just
dropped on a dime and back into Makisuppa. This occurred after a while and
I wasn't expecting a return to the song. It made for a head-nodding, "hell
yeah" moment, if you know what I mean. Taste was cool. I could tell it
would be the last song as they extended it even further than usual. Such a
great song with FABULOUS playing by Page -- few moments give me such joy
as the building section of that song after the lyrics where Page is just
going off on these beautiful piano runs.
Obviously I was about done by the encore. I was very happy with Possum
encore, just fits so perfectly. Didn't think it was by any means a
tremendous version, but good all the same. It went on for a while with a
tension and release jam to it (lot of noise and going nuts, then the 'big
hit' so to speak). By this point I was about to pass out both due to awe
and fatigue.
Overall, an insane show. If you are waiting to see them this fall, get
ready, you are in for a treat. I still can't believe I will be at MSG.
After Assembly, I don't know if I can handle it. But I'll manage ;^)
Casey Logan
--------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 1997 17:01:38 -0500
From: <@maroon.tc.umn.edu>
Subject: champaign
Arrived in Champaign at about 5:15 pm on wednesday and got a room at the
best western. Left at 8:00am wednesday morning from minneapolis
minnesota. Thanks for the ride ace! A smooth journey and we entered
the lot at 6:45 and walked towards the clam shell spaceship assembly
hall. Julius:good although I wish the opening guitar riff was as
strong as it is on hoist.Bathttub>llama:awesome good funky. dirt:nice
mellow short. limb by limb:I've heard this song 3 times now and I like
it alot. Funky bitch great mikes vocals were so clear and strong.
theme:good I've seen it quite a few times. ginseng sullivan:i love this
song. fee?who would have guessed it I thought the set might be over
with funky bitch but then it got stretched out. I liked fee this was
the first time I've heard it live it segued nicely into antelope.
AAfter seeing darien97 I love a first set closer like antelope.
set II2001>wolfmans>jam>makisupa wow amazing sticky kind. taste rocked
and possum was anice treat another first time live for me.
overall awesome show, assembly hall was great I was behind the stage
but did not care. The show was great, unfortunatly i witnessed a
violent act in the lot. My friends and i were talking when all of a
sudden this kid starts banging his hands on a car door. he said
"you can't knock me off like that" I thought they knew each other and
the kid was getting ditched. The driver unrolled his window and said
"whats going on?" he appeared innocent and did not no what he did to
this kid" The tourat gangsta replied "Bitch bitch, your're fucked,
bitch, you're not getting out of this lot" he proceeded to punch the
car window. The driver tried to back up but was blocked by a curb and
cars and the gangsta and henchman. The driver then proceeded to drive
up over the curb and into the exiting traffic. The gangstas then threw
their liqour bottle at the car we heard it smash.
The dipshit gangsta was arrested because he was so stupid. Another
person who di not witness the violence but only the arrest said this
"man if we had enough balls, we could start a riot, there ain't enough
cops in champaign" Why? I asked he thought he was getting busted for
pot. I love Phish, the show was magnificent. The band seems to be
getting better all the time, I even loved the clamshellspaceship.
but i cannot ignore the fact that there is a population of dumb asses
in the lot. I hate the notion of a "scene" there is no fucking scene
its bullshit. violent acts by tourat gangstas get out of the lot, did
you have a ticket? no! do you like phish or do you like fuckin' shit
up. I remember the went, a man with waist long dread locks also punched
a car window and threw a bottle of liqour at a car for apparently no
reason. this gangsta at champaign also had dreads. You wonder why i
shaved mine? this is a big fuck off to all violent drunks at phish
shows, go hang out in compton or south chicago, and raise hell. Don't
drag this awesome band down with you, Bitch
-------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 23:30:51 -0500
From: John Joyce
Subject: 11-19-97 Gin, Fee, Set II thoughts
OK,
first show of the fall. Not a full-blown review, but just some
thoughts. First, I'm surprised to read other posts saying "this was the
best of my 28 shows"...or at least one guy wrote that, and others seem
to be very very happy with this show. I thought that the first set was
very strong, for these reasons:
bathtub gin > llama: OK, practically everyone called this one, myself
included. The jam built up quite nicely, quite different than some from
this summer like Dallas because there wasn't that much funk. The major
portion of this Gin was in building up the jam. Trey did hit the wah
like everyone knew he would, but they really didn't groove out very
extensively to a funk jam like in Dallas or VA Beach. Rather the funk
led them pretty nicely into Llama.
Now, the reason I'm writing...Fee > Antelope, or Fee > Jam > Antelope if
you wish. So they start in Fee and the whole crowd starts singing along
in utter glee, leaving me (among others) to wonder what kind of people
were at this gig. I mean, for everyone to sing to the chorus made my
stomach churn. Nice to hear, even without the megaphone, but during Fee
I'm thinking "God, this couldn't get more lame". So they finish Fee and
go into that nice soft jam. Soon, Trey starts seemingly teasing the
opening notes of The Curtain. I don't know why I seemed to hear it that
way, but I did. I mean, for them to play the Curtain out of Fee would
have been odd I guess, but seriously, Trey was hitting some of those
same notes that begin the very beginning of The Curtain...to the point
where I thought I was hot shit for hearing that they were going to play
The Curtain before anyone else knew. So I heard the tease a few more
times and I started telling the people I was with that the Curtain was
coming, due to my overwhelming excitement. In retrospect, it
wasn't...but i really thought I heard it. So, those teases end, and I'm
feeling stupid, and I'm wondering how they'll end the set, when I hear
the chords to Antelope, so it went from being "can't get worse" to
"can't get better" quite literally. The Antelope built up quickly, but
also they built it up very very very high. The lighting was utterly
sick. I can barely remember all the gear shifts. So, they blew the
roof off during that Antelope....really a ripping version. Very very
sick.
Set II started about 10 or 15 minutes after that. Not. But Set II-->
2001 very nice, compare to an 8-93!!! or even 12-31-96. But Wolfman's
was pretty good, not as nice as Dallas, the jam got kind of wierd, and
then the band roared into some rock jam...with about 4 to 5 composed
sections. I would have loved this but i honestly had a hard time of
hearing the notes. No one I was with knew the exact name-->was this
Space Jam?? Maybe if Jake or Pat are reading they can specualte.
Anyways, went into a slow (dare I say lame?) Makisupa, and then
taste...blah. After taste, only Trey seemed to want to have
finished...it looked really lame that the other guys were planning to
play one more or whatever, but it seemed like trey told them to get off
the stage. Left me with a very empty feeling, but I knew the encore
wouldn't be bouncin rocky top. Possum...pretty cool.
thanks for reading. Who esle heard The Curtain teases?
JAJ
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 1997 01:49:48 GMT
From: Jonathan Price
Subject: jonathan's champaign review
hey freaky people
the show at assembly hall last night was my first US show of 1997. so
needless to say, it was a bit of an adjustment getting back to a large
venue, people asking me if i wanted to buy drugs, etc. as far as venues
go, i really dig assembly hall and was glad to be back there. phish has
played good shows there the last two fall tours, and i saw no reason for
this trend to stop - especially given the fact that we are deep into the
phishtoric waters of 1997!
i was feeling the tweezer reprise opener. obviously this is a bit of a
long shot, but i thought it was within the realm of possibility. my
rationale was the 12-14-95 curtain>tweezer>timber>tweezer business that
opened set two, and the reprise that opened set two the next evening in
philly. enough fantasizing. i was pleased as punch to hear julius, as i
figured we were due for a ripping version. as i see it, there are two
kinds of julius - a typically excellent raging julius, or a 10-24-95
julius ;-) well, this wasn't no madison, but it sure did get things
started off right. just nothing to write home about IMO given how awesome
julius is most of the time. gin was definitely on people's minds last
night. as far as the regular rotation "biggie" tunes, i think this was
one of the only ones that they had not played yet on the tour. i think
there can be a problem with gin if it is played too early in the show
because the potential of the tune will be dwarfed (see gorge first set gin
opener). when gin started up after julius in the number two slot, i had
the feeling things were going to get a little nasty! and if you want my
overall feelings on this gin, i'll give 'em to ya: it was fucking
awesome! i would approximate the overall length of the gin as 15-20
minutes. two words that i think appropriately describe the jam are smooth
and patient. once they launched into the jam, i felt like every moment
had a lot of purpose. there was not much pointless noodling, and they
slipped into a nice groove surprisingly quickly. it actually had some
qualities of the 12-29-95 real gin in that everything about it sounded so
goddamn smooth and not at all hasty. the jam did not quite build to the
same triumphant peak as the real gin, but how many gins do? two words
that would not describe this gin are directionless and disjointed. it was
not a dark jam, rather it was bright and groovy, and had me floating
through air in the midst of some serious "eyes closed ecstasy." one thing
i loved about the jam is the fact that it did not rely on the repitive wah
wah funking that has been pretty prevalent recently. trey did kick the
funk and page busted out on the clavinet, but it was not until very late
in the jam. they kicked the funk for a few minutes, and then trey found
his way to the opening llama chord. he did a cool stop/start thing a few
times before the band went full throttle into a sweet llama. needless to
say, this first set peaked pretty early. something noteworthy is that at
my last show, 7-10-97, we also got a first set gin>llama combo, but
marseilles and champaign were extremely different. the marseilles gin was
pretty dark and heavier on the funk, and then the llama was not finished.
the champaign combo was much tighter overall. as far as the gin is
concerned, it should definitely be heard! if you want a comparison to
another set one song two gin, i enjoyed this one *much* more than the
clifford ball gin. and considering last night's gin was the follow-up to
the majestic great went version, i would say it made a pretty nice
showing. dirt and limb by limb were nice to hear again. i think dirt
is a very pretty song, and i enjoyed it a lot. the limb by limb jam was
about the same as remembered from summer versions. i believe funky bitch
came next. i'll never tire of this tune, it was real fun to hear in the
middle of the first set. towards the ending breakdown, things got kind of
funky. good version overall. i enjoyed the hell out of theme, but then
again i usually enjoy the hell out of theme. the jam seems to get a
little better every time i hear it, and i like when the build has more
trey soloing and less "noise." trey was soloing nicely last night, and i
thought it was hot theme. i think ginseng sullivan followed. fun as
usual. i hadn't seen fee since the ball, and i knew the dreaded day would
come. don't get me wrong - i try to keep an open mind about setlists and
short songs and such, but i really hate fee. my main problem actually
doesn't even stem from the song itself (although i think it is pretty
stupid), and maybe someone out there could explain this to me: why does
fee get such a rise out of the crowd? there seems to be a relative lull
in the crowd when the band starts most tunes, but this all changes when
they start up fee. people are screaming and whooping and yelping and high
fiving and start grooving *really* hard. i guess this confuses me a bit
since most fans i know don't get too excited about fee. so who are all
these people at the shows getting crazy during fee? i'm pretty curious.
anyhoo, they did this very cool "harmonics" jam out of fee that melted
into antelope! the antelope was on fire, i think i liked it better than
the first set closer antelope we got last year in champaign. it was a
pretty straightforward hot antelope with a lot of machine gun trey,
nothing too out of the ordinary going on. what's that you say - nothing
out of the ordinary? patience, grasshopper - just wait for set two . . .
.
it will be pretty difficult for me to verbalize what transpired in the
second set. i had been kind of confused about the first few setlists of
the tour that contained four song second sets, and this set completely put
things in perspective for me. when they came out fishman sort of teased
the 2001 drum beat a few times, and it easily could have been a melt set
opener. one thing i found remarkably interesting was the fact that
fishman pretty much immediately started up the 2001 drums. on most recent
versions that i have seen or heard, the band does a whole lot (sometimes
several minutes) of spacey noodling before actually launching into the
tune. i know this is a minor detail, but it really surpised me. the 2001
itself was unreal - sooo long and sooo funky. the lights were killer of
course. i would say it was about 15-20 minutes long. wolfman's bro
coming out of 2001 was not what i was expecting. i kind of thought they
were just going to keep up the pace and *RIP* into a mike's song. i
enjoyed the wolfman's, and most of the jam was not repitive wah wah
funking. it was tight, with great soloing from trey, and mike g was a
monster! the jam eventually melted into some pretty serious spaciness.
after a few minutes, trey starts playing this heavy, high speed riff. i
thought it sounded like deep purple or some other '70s heavy metal. now
they were *jamming* and this jam had nothing to do with wolfman's bro.
they were playing the crosseyed and painless theme throughout this high
speed section, and this was the kind of jam that really works you up into
a dancing frenzy! i don't recall details of this jam, but it eventually
found its way into a theme that could have turned into walk away or take
me to the river. instead, there was a segue into makisupa that i was not
expecting at all. "woke up in the morning. stink kind." there was a huge
spacey interlude that segued *back* into makisupa! an outstanding version
of taste closed the set. it does no justice to the set to simply label it
as "2001, wolfman's>makisupa>taste." it is much more appropriate to write
"2001, wolfman's>JAM!>makisupa>spacey breakdown>makisupa>taste." the
encore was just perfect - OH POSSUM!!!!! extremely high energy, everybody
was really gettin' down! the show left me in a daze, and i know this tour
is only getting much better. i really hope i can make it to detroit and
cleveland. thanks for reading, and enjoy any/all shows you see this fall
. .
. .
peas,
jonathan
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 1997 00:48:04 GMT From:
Darian P Johnston Subject: 11/19/97 Champaign
Review (LONG)
Wow, what a show! The gala event started off with a pretty good
Julius. I wasn't all that excited to hear this but after Denver's Tweezer
opener everything else seems lame. It was a good high energy version
typical of most 97 versions.
Second song of the show and we're plunged into the bathtub! I was
really excited to hear this so soon in the show. This was the first of
the tour and had a lot to live up to as this was the first gin following
the legendary Went gin. Fortunately, it didn't disappoint. The band
locked on to a couple of really pleasing melodies similar to the went
version but Trey's soloing didn't fit as well as the Went. The gin was
still incredible compared to most mortal versions and filled a full 16 and
a half minutes before Trey started up the Llama chording. Everything was
pointing towards an ultra smooth segue into Llama when something unusual
happened... Everyone dropped out as Trey played the opening riff and
then... silence.... Trey played the opening riff again... silence... On
I believe the third time the whole band charged into Llama. It will
probably come out on tape as a really cool tension and release opening but
what really happened is that Fishman didn't play his drum fill and instead
of stumbling halfassed into Llama like at the Went, Trey saved the day by
making it look like it was planned. Talk about thinking on your feet! I
was impressed.
After a wild jam and fierce Llama the band slowed it down with a
pleasing version of Dirt. All of a sudden they remembered the new
material and quickly followed with the first Limb by Limb of the tour.
Once again a well played version. I can't really compare this tune to
others as it is still too new. Although I actual prefer the versions from
Europe where they segue out of Limb during the Jam. Something about
Fishmans drum outro doesn't sit right with me. Maybe it's because the
crowd always seems like they are fooled into thinking that Fish is taking
a solo. Oh well, I love the lyrics!
Funky Bitch! I thought this would end the set but we still had a
long way to go. Power version with a long solo in the middle, Trey even
brought it down into a cool little funk jam for a minute or so.
Theme was pretty good, I have trouble comparing versions of this
song also. Ginseng followed. I love Ginseng!
Next came some fun, the first Fee in a while! I didn't really
care much for this song when it was played every other show but now that
it is played more infrequently it's a lot of fun. Trey didn't use a
megaphone on this one, in fact I don't think he keeps it on stage anymore.
As Fee was winding down something amazing happened, they started jamming
off of Fee! I've never heard that before. Trey was playing one of his
high pitched stacatto solos while the rest of the band morphed from Fee
into a pretty little jam. Someone posted that this is the Time song from
summer Europe but I haven't heard that yet so it's anyones guess. After a
while Fishman starts singing some familiar melody that I can't place along
with the jam (this may be Time). Then, ever so subtlely Trey starts
playing the opening to Antelope. Ahhhh, the start of another beautiful
segue. Trey tripped up briefly when he switched to the exact Antelope
opening but it was still grand!
Antelope was energetic but a little brief. I had trouble
following some of Treys builds, I'll have to listen to the tapes to see if
I can follow him better.
What a long first set! Close to an hour and a half and the best
was yet to come....
The second set roared out of the gates with a long funk filled
2001. This one was around 16 minutes and contained a lot of jamming. I'd
put it against any of the summer versions, (Riverport, Starlake) It was
dense! I love 2001 openers, it just isn't the same when they're midset.
Next we dropped into Wolfman's. 29 minutes of Wolfman's to be
more accurate! The jam started out in typical pornofunk wolfman fashion
similar to most 97 versions. After a while it became Trey's "fun with
pedals" time and the jam seemed doomed to come crashing down in a sloppy
spacy haze. Now I like Trey's effects but I think he lost his bandmates
here.
THEN, like a pheonix rising out of the ashes (thank my brother for
that particular peice of imagery) Trey breaks out some ultra fast chording
which I assume must be a song. Unfortunately, it takes Fishman a while to
figure out how to drum to this but once he does we are off on a trip! The
rest of the Jam is more classic rock guitar chording and scorching solos.
I saw a setlist where someone labeled a Third Stone from the Sun jam and I
definitely heard that in there but the band locked on a few different
grooves during the 29 min jam so I'm sure there were other teases as well.
It even turned bluesy for a while. I believe it was around the 18 minute
point when they started playing Free, or almost playing Free as it turned
out. Fishman locked onto the Free beat and Trey was Chording in the same
tone as the other Free segues I've heard. In fact, Page even started
playing around with his Free part for a while. For at least a couple of
minutes the band was teetering on the edge of Freedom, Trey could've
dropped into it very easily but instead he refused to let the jam die!
Wow, what a tease. Free hasn't been played yet so I was sure it would
happen. Goes to show, expect the unexpected.
This really is a long fun jam FULL of variety, everything after
the near crash is amazing. What's really shocking is that for the most
part it isn't a funk jam or at least not what we have been getting. You've
got to hand it to Phish, they know how to mix it up. At around 29 minutes
Trey segued the band ever so smoothly into Makisupa.
The word for the day is STINK KIND. Trey then told Mike to break
it down. And he did. Next, Trey and Page launched into a "who can make
the weirdest noise with their instrument contest". Trey was having a
ball, dancing around with a big grin on his face. This soon became an
ultra spacy jam and we were off for parts unknown! Or were we...
After about five minutes Trey walked over and said something to
Mike and then Bam! we were back in Makisupa. Weird... All together
Makisupa was around 9 minutes. Really a lot of fun!
As Makisupa wound down for a second time Trey started playing the
opening to Taste and we were all brought back to earth. I was surprised
and maybe a little dissappointed to hear this so soon after Denver but it
was a good version. One slight technical glitch occured towards the
beginning. There was this banging/crackling noise coming out of the
speakers, very annoying. Apparently, the mic on Fish's bass drum came
loose and was laying against the drum or something on his kit and this was
causing the noise. It was fixed my mid jam and we could all enjoy the
rest of the song.
I've noticed that after amazing shows Phish usually caps it off
with a lame encore. Tonight, this was not the case! A raging Possum
caped off one of the most incredible nights of Phish I've ever seen.
It's kind of depressing, my tour is over and Phish just keeps
getting better and wilder! People, this may be the best year Phish has
ever had or ever will have! Get tickets, go to as many shows as possible!
This is not a drill, Phish is destroying America!
Darian
-- Darian P Johnston
----------------------------------------------------------------- Date:
Sat, 22 Nov 1997 20:34:24 GMT From: Melissa Agar
Subject: Champaign anyone? Part One
Well, I celebrated a milestone in my career as a Phishphan this week in
Champaign as I saw my dozenth show. I know a dozen doesn't sound like
much to those who are into the 20's and higher, but it seems pretty
significant for me. If you would have told me 4 years ago when I heard my
first Phish song that I would see this band a dozen times, follow them all
the way to Maine, and boast a tape collection of over 300 hours, I woulda
thought you were nuts. Now, here I am. I feel like I crossed a threshold
or something.
So, my kid sister and I arrived in Champaign around 4 after a slightly
stressful journey which included temporarily getting lost twice, including
a journey on the wrong highway for about 10 miles. We were too psyched to
care. It was my new car's first Phish journey, and she handled herself
quite nicely. WE hung around the lot a little, but there didn't seem to
be much to do there. We bought some very yummy french bread pizza, some
gloves (cause we had stupidly forgotten ours in her car at home), and went
to Will Call to try to hook up with our friends driving in from Chicago.
We headed into the venue a little before 7, found some friends inside and
got psyched for a great show. Our seats, which we had complained about
before the show, turned out to be really nice. We were up in C21, high
enough up that we could really see things nicely. My sister was really
happy. She's been to 4 shows and has never really been able to see the
stage well. We were behind the stage at Halloween '95 and on the lawn at
Tinley and Alpine. Plus, my sister is pretty short and can't always see so
well anyway. The people in front of us were short so she really got to
see her first show. Thank you, mail order!!
Right before the show, I asked my sister what she thought would open. She
shrugged. I thought about it for a second and said, "I think it'll be
Julius. That would be cool." Well, the boys came out and, sure enough,
it was Julius to open. Now, I know a lot of people aren't really into
Julius, but I love it. I think it's a great way to get the show rolling,
very up and pumping. It just is a happy song.
Next up, Bathtub Gin. YES!!!!!! I love this song. It always makes me a
little tingly. This was a solid Gin. I've seen better, but this was
still really good and then, when it segued into Llama . . . YES! What a
groovy show this was turning out to be. We were full throttle grooving at
this point. I was ecstatic over how great things were going so far. What
a super way to celebrate my twelfth show and my last show of '97. (Work
and money keep me from heading east for more shows.)
I knew they would have to slow things down a little after that raucous
opening. There was no way they could sustain that much energy that long,
I figured, so I wasn't surprised that they pulled out Dirt after that
incredible Llama. I like Dirt okay. I heard it a lot this summer. It
doesn't blow me away, but I like it. Same thing for Limb by Limb. I like
it a lot, but I think the versions of Limb that we're hearing now are
nothing compared to what it will be in a couple years once they've had a
chance to play with it and explore where it could go (ala Wolfman's and
Down with Disease).
I sensed during Limb that we were gonna go somewhere really great next. I
had no idea how freakin' great it was going to be. Funky Bitch has got to
be one of my favorite covers that they do. It always puts me in an
incredible mood. This had to be one of the best versions I've heard or
seen. It just cooked!!! I was seriously on cloud nine by the time Theme
started up. I like Theme and have grown to love it more and more each
time I've heard it. This version was very nice, not as spectacular as the
Hamburg version (which is my favorite that I've heard so far) but
definitely up there.
Ginseng was nice, but I have to admit I got a few too many Ginsengs this
summer, so it was kinda like, been there, done that. next! When they
started playing the opening notes for Fee, I was pretty blown away. It's
always nice to hear a rarity, adds a deeper level of specialness to the
show, I think. I know a lot of people don't like Fee, but I really do. I
like the sentiment and the story. I was excited, though, for another
reason. My kid sister was with me. Fee was her first favorite Phish
song, the first Phish song that really turned her onto the band. The look
on her face was worth the price of admission. She was utterly ecstatic to
hear the song that brought her there, the first one to really speak to
her.
I was hoping for an Antelope closer for the set. It's my favorite way to
close the set, one of my absolute favorite tunes, but I figured it
psyched, then, when I recognized where they were going after Fee. This
Antelope really cooked. It seriously brought tears to my eyes as I
listened to this song that has really become, for me, THE Phish experience
and which sums up so much of what Phish means to me. I was just
overwhelmed with joy that I was in this now, experiencing this band at
this moment. The first set ended, and I was emotionally exhausted,
speechless, and primed for a hot second set.
See Part Two for my thoughts on that set!
Love, Mel
Melissa Agar magar@knox.edu
******************************************************************************
"Choosingthe lesser of two evils is still choosing evil."
-- Jerry Garcia
******************************************************************************
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 22:42:45 GMT
From: Mark Hutchison
Subject: Review - 11/19/97 Champaign
Hello all -
First off - Todd, do you want to be added to the traders@umich.edu list?
I purposely did not want to read any reviews on this before doing
mine...so this is all based on my baises only. :) FWIW, this was my 20th
birthday (not really, just my 20th show - yippie!) and I am going to be
bold here and say that this was the best show of the 20. Now for the
justification:
SETLIST AND TIMES:
------------------
Phish - 11/19/97 Assembly Hall Champaign, IL (times are in parentheses)
Set I: (began at 7:51)
Julius (10), Bathtub Gin (17) --> Llama (6), Dirt (4), Limb By Limb (10),
Funky Bitch (7), Theme from the Bottom (10), Ginseng Sullivan (5), Fee (5)
--> Jam* (3) --> Run like an Antelope (13)
Set Break 38 minutes
Set II: (Began at 9:59)
Also Sprach Zarathustra (17) --> Wolfman's Brother** (11) --> Jam*** (17)
--> Makisupa Policeman (11) --> Taste (10)
E: Possum (14)
Set I: 90 min
Set II + E: 83 min
* Fee jammed out? Yes, or some tease/new song I didn't catch. Fishamn
was repeating something about "the rain must fall..." and Trey was doing a
bunch of harmonics.
** Wolfman's was a bit shorter than 11 min, or the "Jam" started earlier I
should say.
*** This strange jam had a CE&P tease, Trey playing the vocal
line (from the verse) on the guitar at about 20-25 minutes after Wolfman's
started.
REVIEW:
-------
We left Ann Arbor about noon, and travelled 5 and 1/2 hours in a kind of
cramped Probe, but no one cared anout the lack of space. We were all so
excited..."Fall Tour, baby!" as Reilly exclaimed during the opening lick
of Julius. Got to Champaign, had some great Fondue and Chardonnay (thank
you, ladies!) then off to the show.
Seats were sec B-11, Page's side on a big angle. 2nd teir off the floor,
10 rows back. We had a *perfect* for seeing Page's hands on Gin!!!
They actually came out at 10 till 8!
JULIUS: Good solid opener. So much better to hear this after Reilly's
scary prediction of CTB ;^) Nice jamming in thais song, made me smile to
think about what might be ahead. This song ended, and I was in the mood
to hear some *real* jamming. Phish didn't dissaopint as I crapped my
pants upon hearing the opening notes of...
BATHTUB GIN: Oh my god, Paul, we knew you were freaking out for this one.
This was a siiiiick Gin IMO. They did flub one of the holds (Fish came in
one beat early or Trey waited too long - not sure which) before the
singing with the Theme from the Faucet, as I believe it's called by the
illustrous Benjy...The jam went through three distinct sections that I
caught. The first and second were a happy, energy-driven jams
reminiscient of the Went Gin. The third section turned to that funk that
they've been grooving alot to lately, and that built up untill try started
teasing Llama really slow, then as the jam built over the next few
minutes, Trey finally all-out teased Llama, and the band had to stop to do
the key change. The sugue was excellent untill Trey actually stopped and
counted 2 beats of time, then...
LLAMA: started off. It seemed a little slower then it did at, say, the
Went or any summer show, and I know it was slowed down a bit for summer
in the first place. "I guess the slower, funkier" jamming that Phish has
evolved into has really manifested itself throughout all their songs.
This was your basic Llama, although I really didn't get into it as much as
last August. Good energy, though.
DIRT: The perfect release after that insane Gin --> Llama (all thought it
*was* a rough transition). I *love* Dirt. This song is so beautiful, so
melodious. I heard it 3 times this Summer, and I'm still not tired of it.
I don't think I ever will be. Mmmmmm....Dirt.
LIMB BY LIMB: I love jamming in 6/8 time. And the lyrics to this
tune...fantastic. I really have no specific comments for this song,
because I just put my head back, closed my eyes, and let the music
surround me. I *really* got into this song. Maybe the energy had fallen
a little bit at this point in the set, but they picked it right back up
with:
FUNKY BITCH: Niiiiice. I love this all-out blues jam. Who does the
original version agian? When Mike belted the "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevry
time I see her..." the second time, I couldn't contain myself. After
playing through the entire song once Trey said "break it down..." (I
bleive this occured here) and they started this slooow groove that the
audience atarted clapping along to. Now, I am usually one to yell "Damn
the clapping idiots!" but this time it seemed cool. Phish seemed to feed
off it. But just this once! Never again!! :) Then they kicked back
into the balls-to-the-wall jam. Very good version.
THEME: I got kind of distracted during this song, so I haven't got a lot
to say. No complaints with the song choice, though. I've always thought
of this as an outdoor song, but I think I changed my mind. The lights
were great here, trying to create the effect of being underwater.
GINSENG: Eeh, good tune. Standard, as always. But you need a tune like
this here in the set. The next song was a total suprise...
FEE: First one since 2/25 Munich, right? Wow, I never thought I'd hear
this for some reason. It kind of threw me when the ENTIRE STADIUM began
"Woah, Fee..." and made me wonder about the people filling Assembly Hall.
Were they happy to hear a rarity like Fee or were they excited to hear a
quirky hit from Junta? I guess it ultimately didn't matter, but it bugs
me to see people jump up for Fee and sit down for the Theme jam...but
these thoughts quickly drifted away as tey went into some crazy jam. I
turned to Reilly and said "Are they jamming out _Fee_???" It could have
been a tease, but it sounded like Fishman began saying something like "and
the rain must fall..." or something. Trey was playing a bunch of
harmonics. I'll see if someone else mentions it in Benjy's Digest :)
Whatever it was, it only lasted about 3 minutes, and then came the
chording to...
ANTELOPE: Holy shit. This Antelope was c r a z y . I cannot wait to
hear this one again. I wish I had taken better
notes, but this was incredible. I'm not ready to say that this was better
than the Darien Antelope, but it was definately above average...
*definately*.
13 minute Antelope to close the set, and then we settled back for a bit.
It was great seeing the old WWS clan, Steph and Kelly, I wish we could
have hung out longer! But the show started up again at 9:59, after an
*exactly* 15 minute setbreak ;^)
Set II
ASZ: Nicely jammed. This has always been a great set 2 opener, IMO. Even
better when it comes in the middle or end of a set, but about 1000 % than
the Waste opener off of Reilly's Picks-O-Shit. ;^) This jammed for a long
time before hitting the actual theme, not unlike the 2001s of Pittsburgh
and Limestone. Very exciting, and it got everyone groovin'. This had a
nice segue into...
WOLFMAN'S: Nice funky phat grooves. I can't believe I just used a phrase
like that, but it's true. Again, it was a little bit wierd to hear
*everyone* singing at the "Bru-huh-huh-a-oh-woah" part (thank you, SS&P)
but they did not dissapoint on the jam out of Wolfman's. Again, this jam
had 3 or 4 distinct sections, and during one Trey began playing the vocal
line from Crosseyed and Painless. No real band-wide tease, though. This
jam really went places, and again I can't wait to hear where all this
jam ventured in the 23 minutes (from the "end" of Wolfman's to the opening
of Makisupa) it took to to segue into...
MAKISUPA: Woke up in the morning...stinky dank is what I think he said.
You know when you look an a setlist and see a Wolfman's --> Makisupa that
something fishy (pardon the pun) is going on. Makisupa had a drawn out
jam in the middle of it...very spacy. I forgot that we were still in
Makisupa, but the tune came back sure enough, and segued nicely into...
TASTE: After LxL this was a bit much I though, but I *do* love 6/8
jamming. :) Nothing spectular in this Taste, just a regular fabulously
jammed tune.
POSSUM: Nice big jam as an encore. This Possum also went places. my
only negative thought during this was "Awwww...the show's almost over."
They did leave the house light down for a minute as if to tease us into
thinking we were getting another encore. Alas, no, we had to begin out 6
hour drive back to Ann Arbor. Now I just can't wait until Cleveland!
All in all, this was a tremendous show. I honestly believe that this was
a more intense show than Pittsburg, and I also think it tops Alpine,
which were my two favorite shows from the summer tour. I was very excited
about this show, especially after re-familiarizing myself with Champaign
from '96 and '95. They did not dissapoint, and I hope they continue to
kick ass all the way through Albany! Have fun all you guys going to
Hampton this weekend, and I'll see you in Cleveland (15 days! Wooo hoo!)
Take care,
- Mark
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 22:30:18 GMT
From: "DJ Saul T. Nutz"
Subject: ** Champaign 11/19 Review **
In light of the fact that there have been numerous recent posts which
berated those who refer to other shows &/or versions of songs in the
context of a show review, I have decided to write the following disclaimer
to this review:
This review comes from the mind & perspective of someone who has now seen
36 shows, heard approx.400 shows on tape. I will be referring to other
shows in an attempt to make this review more enjoyable & understandable to
those who were not there. If you don't like this, you have 2 options:
1. don't read it.
2. write a better review.
The following review should be taken explicitly as FACT, & nothing else.
Everything contained herein is 100% verifiable TRUTH. Trey told me so ;-) ;-)
Wed. Nov.19 1997, Assembly Hall, U-Illinois, Champaign IL
I: Julius, Gin > Llama, Dirt, Limb X Limb, Funky Bitch, Theme, Ginseng, Fee
} Antelope
II: Also Sprach, Wolfman's > Makisupa > Space Jam > Makisupa, Taste
E: Possum
I will only discuss the first set briefly, because compared to the second
set, it was like a steaming piece of dog shit. JULIUS opener was fairly
standard by 97 standards. It was good, but nothing special. I was happy
to hear GIN follow this, because who can complain about a Gin in the first
set?!? This version was longer & better than the version from 8/10/97 Deer
Creek. The DC version was too short, & although it had much potential, it
never really did much. This Gin was well-jammed, although it doesn't
compare favourably to the best-first-set-Gin-of-all-time, 7/21/97 VA Beach.
Nevertheless, a great version. The segue into LLAMA was a Trey segue.
Llama was fiery, but the crowd was so fucking loud, that I could barely
hear Trey's peaks.
THis was followed by DIRT, which I like. LIMB X LIMB was an excellent
version. This song really has a great foundation for some serious
Hose-like jamming, & I expect that we will be treated to many outstanding
versions in the future.
FUNKY BITCH... wait, you mean they play it without a special guest? =^]
This was a good version, with Trey playing a funky little solo in the
middle.
The THEME was magnificent. I enjoyed it as much as the Vega$ Theme, which
was the best one I'd ever heard, up until then.
GINSENG was up next, & it was fine. On the drive down to Champaign, I was
talking about how I didn't like Fee. So naturally, they played FEE, and I
deserved it. The coda to Fee segued into ANTELOPE. This Antelope was hot,
although clearly not in the realm of Madison 10/24/95 (AKA The Mother of
All Antelopes), 11/2/96 WPB, or the Ritz-like Antelope > Makisupa >
Antelope from St.Loo 8/6/97.
A solid first set, with some excellent jamming, which was soon to be
forgotten in light of the second set.
ALSO SPRACH is one of my favourites. If I go more than three days without
hearing it, I run the risk of going postal. This version was excellent,
although I prefer the 8/6/97 St.Loo version, probably because Trey played
some James Brown licks in that one. This song never ceases to put a big
shit-eating grin on my face. I really enjoy watching people who are Knee
Deep In The Funk. It was probably about 7-8 min long.
WOLFMAN'S was up next. I expected some nice jamming, but I wasn't prepared
for something like this. The jam that came out of Wolfman's is must-hear
improvisation. This is probably some of the finest jamming I have been
fortunate enough to have witnessed PHiSH perform. The jam was
looooooooong, & had many valleys & peaks. After the jam raged for a while,
it would then drop to a much slower, easier-to-handle tempo & energy level,
but then before I knew it, the jam was building up again to a frenzied
level of energy. The Wolfman's jam contained some explicit Third Stone
>From The Sun jamming, mostly played by Trey. During this jam, the band
sounded as much like One as I have ever heard them. Not four mortals, but
one Entity, capable of doing anything with their instruments. It brought
joy to my Being. This, undoubtedly, was some mind-numbing Hose.
MAKISUPA segued out of Wolfman's, & was a standard version, up until a
portion of the song that I felt compelled to label as SPACE JAM. The only
thing I can think of that comes even remotely close to serving as a just
comparison to this Space, is the jam that comes out of the Theme from
6/22/95 FLPAC, expecially the minute prior to the segue into Tweezer. I am
listening to that right now, & although it is not the same, it is similar
in certain respects. Last night's Space, however, was not as bass-filled.
The one word that best sums it up is "stunning." My jaw dropped as the
Space segued back into Makisupa.
A marvelous TASTE closed the set, & nearly made me wet my pants. This
version was as good as my other favourite version that I've witnessed,
8/9/97 Alpine. It was definitely a very satisfying end to an amazing set.
Now, of course, was the pivotal moment of the show: the Encore. I'm sick
of schwag encores like Rocky Top & Sample. The biggest dissapointment of
the Red Rocks Summer 96 run, was the encore on the last night. Why play
Bolgi when you have the opportunity to blow up the mountain side with a
Tube, or Bold As Love? The Vega$ Loving Cup was very satisfying in this
respect. If fellow netter Andrew Hitz had been at this show, he would have
proclaimed that PHiSH "put the biscuit in the basket" with this raging
POSSUM encore. This Possum was as good as the previous Champaign Possum
(10/22/95), & maybe as smokin' as the SPAC 6/26/95 Possum (although this
one didn't contain a Heartbreaker tease ;-( ).
On the whole, this is probably one of the best 2nd sets of PHiSH I've ever
heard. I can't wait to get a copy of this show. The 2nd set contains some
of the most exciting jamming I have heard, especially the Wolfman's jam, &
the Space Jam. GET THIS SECOND SET AT ALL COSTS!!!!!
For the 2nd set, I sat next to an older gentleman (ie.graying beard). It
was his first show, & after the lights went up, he was glad to be reassured
that "it wasn't just him" that was blown away. I told him I'd happily spin
him a D>A as soon as I got a clone of the show. He said that he had a few
tapes, but that this "was better than all his tapes".
Please cc me if you have any comments about this review. A review of Vega$
is impending.
Peace...
sauldude.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 1997 15:52:56 GMT
From: pHiL
Subject: pHiL's Champaign Review
Forgive me if you have see this, but I don't think it ever made it to RMP (I
originally posted it yesterday on a public news server from work). Anyway,
here's my review of the show.
------------------------
I wrote down a lot of notes from the Champaign show, plus I know that there
haven't been many reviews lately... so... here's my review (watch out... its
big):
*NOTE ABOUT LIGHTS- somebody PLEASE register www.kurodarocks.com and
dedicate a fargin website to this guy! Do they have some new lights? I was
ASTONISHED at the variety of colors, patterns and tempos that Chris used
during the light show. And ORANGE?! I don't remember orange lights. Maybe
I'm nuts (and maybe it has something to do with the fact that I sat STRAIGHT
on ALL THE WAY BACK from the stage, but MAN... Chris Kuroda was KICKIN' MY
ASS.
THE LOT: Well, I'm not a big fan of the "scene", but I was VERY early and so
I took my time strolling around. Met a nice girl who gave me a beer because
she didn't have change for a twenty. I played with some dogs (and reflected
fondly on benjy's fantasy all-dogs Phish set), and for the most part enjoyed
myself. There wasn't much going on out there though. In fact, I had trouble
finding people selling beer (!)
Once inside, I had the opportunity to chat with 4 or 5 people about Phish
(their musical direction, future of Phish etc), and reminisce about past
shows. All in all, a VERY NICE pre-show experience.
SECURITY: In the parking lot, I didn't see ANY security messing with people.
However, inside, they were everywhere- making people put out their
cigarettes and other smokeables. I didn't see anyone get arrested, but the
security WAS coming into seats DURING THE SHOW to ask people to put stuff
out. In one case, I saw a VERY NICE police officer simply TAKE weed from
someone and ask him to NOT smoke it anymore (lucky guy! Could have been
worse.)
*NOTE ABOUT VIDEO TAPING: There was a guy standing behind me asking people
to keep 2 seats clear in my row so that he could get a good shot of the
stage. He was video-taping the show. It pissed me off, because people paid
for those seats! In the middle of Theme from the Bottom, a security guard
rushed up to him, grabbed the camera and dragged him out. Please dont
videotape shows and put others at an inconvenience. Not only did I have to
be careful to NOT get in front of the camera (restricting the dance area),
but the commotion killed a pretty good vibe when Johnny Law busted the guy.
HENRIETTA: Yes, he was wearing the Mumu.
Ok, the show:
SET I
=====
JULIUS: Normally, I would say that it is a good opener. This version wasnt
really jumpin' though. Sure, people sang, danced and whatnot, but I've head
MANY better versions (see 10.24.95)
BATHTUB GIN: I felt pretty much the same way about the Gin. I was excited
when they started (I always think of the Ball Gin from '96 and get excited),
but Trey was sloppy during the composition. Page was pounding on the keys
during the intro (which was nice) and I wrote in my journal "Mike = fat."
The bass was up and you could really get into the groove, but it just didn't
grab me. Gin is ALWAYS great, but this one was so-so comparatively. *Quick
note: I noticed the Orange lights for the first time during Gin.
} LLAMA: The ">" part wasn't anything special (ie. Trey had the riff and
tempo but had to quickly change keys- killing the groove). Llama was great
from the tension/release standpoint, but fairly sloppy in my book.
DIRT: It just is. I like the song, but there's not much to say.
LIMB BY LIMB: Friends of mine think I'm NUTS, but I LOVE THIS SONG. Its only
the second time I've seen it live (also at Tinley from summer). I think the
composition with the vocal layering is top notch. Lyrics are definitely
cheesy, but I can look past that. I enjoy the boomerang effect too (i.e.
coming back to the "Limb by Limb" chorus at the end). I enjoy the Limb from
the Went much more than I did this version, but nonetheless, I had full body
shivers.
FUNKY BITCH: Whoa. At this point in the set, I was thinking: "throw it away
guys. Just leave stage now and save face." Thank God they stayed out there.
This was by far the best Funky Bitch I've ever heard. Complete with some
nice bass work by Mike, a solo by Page and "Type III" jamming (porno-funk
style) by Trey (which REALLY threw me for a loop). Funky Bitch is by
definition a "Type I" jam. Not this one however. Lots of the funky stuff
here. I saw jaws dropping all over the place.
THEME FROM THE BOTTOM: Theme didn't really do much for me here (especially
after an energetic Funky Bitch). The jam was weak and repetitive and I
didn't get the feeling that there was much energy on stage. Not to mention
that the dude with the video camera got busted right in the middle of the
jam. I did however have some time to ponder the composition of the song and
decided that I really REALLY love the lyrics that Tom Marshall wrote for
this one.
GINSENG SULLIVAN: Trey was messing around on stage for a second before they
started and I thought that he was going into Antelope. I PERKED UP, and
thought: "Oh boy!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!" But... to no avail. Ginseng was
(get this) LAME and I just didn't get the idea that they really cared about
what they were playing. Sure, I enjoyed it (who can't love a Mississippii
bluegrass number?!), but I've heard MUCH more energetic versions.
FEE: No megaphone by Trey (I've never seen him NOT use it). I sorta groaned
at the beginning of Fee (usually not a big fan), but when they got a minute
or so into the jam, I knew something special was happening. Hands down, this
was the best Fee jam I've heard (at least while I was in attendance). Near
the end, Fishman did a little vocal jam sort of thing (which I couldn't
comprehend), but it was really cool. I wish I could describe the jam better,
but I can't- it was just... good.
ANTELOPE: Standing amongst strangers, I blurted out: "Oh YEAH!" This version
of Antelope was a little sloppy, repetitive (from the jam perspective) and
downright... standard. However- Chris Kuroda should have been presented with
the key to the city of Champaign for his light work. I was IN AWE of the
light show during the Antelope jam. They have these new purple lights that
make like a blanket over everyone's heads and are... squiggly (?) Anyway- gr
eat light work. The vocals were cool because after "rye rye Rocco", Trey
stepped up to the microphone, pointed to Mike and said: "Marco Escuandolas".
Then, everyone paused, Mike stepped up to his mic, took a modest bow,
SMACKED a bass chord and WHAMMO! right back into Antelope. When Trey said:
"You gotta run like and Antelope out of control" I swear to God- 15,000
people as if instructed to do so, sang right along with Trey. I'm getting
shivers just thinking about it. THE CROWD WENT NUTS after Antelope and Trey
announced that they'd be back in 15 minutes.
SET II
======
2001: Well, this was my favorite part of the show. They must have been
funking on the "Type III" groove for 5-6 minutes before you heard any
evidence of 2001. Once they did get going on it- I thought the roof was
going to pop off. For me- this was the first time I really caught the wave
during the show. I thought the first set (aside from the Antelope, Fee, and
some other moments during jams) was a throw away. I guess they decided to
get down to business. By a minute or so into the jam, I was in full groove
arrest: eyes closed, feet moving, hips shakin'. People were moving away from
me :-) I can't really say enough about this 2001. It was brilliant.
WOLFMAN'S BROTHER: Please don't list this as > Wolfman's. It just wasn't so.
Anyway- the Wolfman's pretty much followed suit after the 2001. The jam
started out Type II style- trading solos, wall of sound at times, lots of
stuff to listen for. Then, Trey went down a different path (in terms of the
jam) and everyone followed. It almost killed the jam and I could tell that
there was some confusion up there on stage. Trey kept it going though, and
moved into "Type III jamland." I wrote in my journal: "Trey- pedal solo."
For about 2 minutes, Trey was just seeing what kind of messed-up sounds he
could get out of the Languedoc. After he got over it, Page started in on the
Moog, Mike was laying down some fat (no, not phat) basslines and Trey was
kickin it funkadelic. As someone else posted today to Phish.Net--- "you have
to hear it to believe it." By the way- near the end of the Wolfman's jam, I
was CERTAIN that they were going to break into "Walk Away." They were all in
key for it and I thought that Mike and Page were trying to pull Trey toward
it. But alas... no go.
} MAKISUPA POLICEMAN: This was a real seague. Blending very nicely, a little
sloppy when it came to the actual changeover, but well executed. "Woke up in
the mornin'. Stink Kind" was Trey's line and everyone laughed and cheered as
normal. The jam progressed in standard fashion until Trey stepped up to the
mic and said: "break it down" and pointed to Mike. Mike was a little
confused, but obliged Trey with a nice bass solo which lead the rest of the
band for a couple minutes during the jam. They Makisupa started spinning
into the cosmos. I don't know what happened, but next thing you know
Makisupa has been playing for a LONG LONG LONG time (for Makisupa). From
where I was sitting, it sounded like they couldn't decide where to go with
the jam (because as we all know, it usually >'s into something). So finally,
Trey signals to Mike and Fish and counts off (I thought they would break
into another song), but instead... WHAM!!! back into Makisupa. My jaw
dropped, I smiled and just shook my head.
TASTE: Nice jam here, but nothing to write home about. During the jam, the
mic that takes sound from Fish's bass drum fell over into the kit and so
everytime Fish hit the bass drum, a really annoying crunchy sound came from
the PA. This went on for a few minutes until (I think) Pete Carini came out
to set it back up. It threw Trey off for a minute though and I thought:
"Cool, my first technical difficulty at a Phish show." On that note- I love
the 12.28.95 technical problem during Rift. Because of the problem, that
Rift is by far my favorite version (with 8.6.96 coming in close second with
the "This is Red Rocks... this is the Edge!" comment).
Anyway....
E: POSSUM: Well, I was 2.5 hours from home and thought to myself: "Well, go
down to the tunnel and if they start playing Character Zero, Sparkle, Johnny
B. Goode etc... you can just leave and get a jump on everyone." Well, to my
MASSIVE dismay- I hear Possum. I walked out of the venue just as the jam
began and could have kicked myself. So I have no comments other than to say:
"WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING PLAYING POSSUM FOR AN ENCORE?!"
FINAL SCORE (1 to 10 Phishscale): SET ONE: 2.25 SET TWO: 7.25. Therefore, an
average Phish show.
FOR ALL OF YOU THAT HAVEN'T HEARD THEM YET THIS TOUR: Look out for that
porno-funk-jam-shit! Its out of this world. A couple times I expected a
disco ball to drop from the ceiling. Phish is no longer the YEM, Fluffhead,
Icculus, Lawnboy, Magilla Phish of 92-93. They're kickin' it funk-style now.
Barry White and Isaac Hayes would be proud.
Whew! Sorry about the long-windedness. I haven't written a big review in a
while so I needed to get it all out :-) Have a good weekend everyone...
peace-
pHiL
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