3-1-03 - Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC

review submisions to me at dws@netspace.org or dws@gadiel.com

Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2003 22:21:57 EST
From: JasonBuddy@aol.com
Subject: Greensboro 3/1/03

This was an all-around awesome show.  other than a little mishap with my
friend nik and a security guy, the preshow had a good feel.  the crowd had
a lot of energy before we even got in so we were all more then ready for
the boys to come on stage.  when the lights went down a rush of happieness
seemed to blanket the entire crowd. 

CHALKDUST:  very tight. i knew from the begining that we were in for an
amazing night.  they played off of eachother well and mike and jon had
some good complimenting going on. a somewhat predictable opener but hey i
was glad to hear a classic.

THE MOMA DANCE: my friends andy, nik, and carrie had predicted that this
would come up at some point in time. when it did we all felt it.  VERY
funky and i thought that it was a good length. not too short or too long. 
very well done.

FOAM:  wow... they played this song perfectly.  trey tore the shit out of
this song.  i couldn't believe what i was hearing. this song REALLY let me
know that it was gonna be a kick ass show.

LAWN BOY:  good to see this song.  it was chill and a chance to sit down
while page entertained us.  when he grabbed treys mic it was pretty cool.

CHARACTER ZERO:  great song. a lot of people don't like it but i cant seem
to figure out why. it had a lot of energy and trey took it away. im glad
they played it despite its criticism.  its a good song for leading into a
masterpeice like...

DIVIDED SKY:  HOLLLY SHIT!  i love this song! it was unbelivable to hear
them, but i thought it was slave in the first moment.  no real flukes here
as there could have been in a song like this.  the glow-stick war blew my
mind.  there was SOOO much energy in that place.  trey and mike caught a
few and tossed them back.  a good moment.  when they came back in they
just flowed. the rest of the song was smooth as butter.  i loved it. 
easily one of the best songs of the night.

MIST: really chill.  a good catch-your-breath tune. i sat down and just
let the music do all the work. i might have chosen another song to follow
divided sky but well played.

WAVES: another chill, but great song.  i was glad to hear some new phish. 
i wasnt sure how they were going to play it but they surprised me by doing 
it really well.

SAMPLE: rockin song! good song to go out on.  once again a song that a lot
of people dont like but screw them cus it was good.  nice closer. it
really brought a good end to the first set.

SET I:  i thought that they did an amazing job in the first set. they knew
what they were doing and were on top of things.  i wouldnt changed a
moment.

not too long of a set break.  everyone was just kinda walkin around and we
were all thinkin "ya theyre on tonight" when the lights went down the
second time the fun really began.

ROCK AND ROLL: awesome.  it was one of the coolest versions id heard in a
while. a good song to come back with. itgot everyone pumped.

WILSON: the place nearly exploded on the first note.  i was surprised to
hear it. pleasently at that.  wilson is a great classis phish song.  im
glad they pulled it out.  it was a really good one too. high energy. -->

PIPER:  probably the best piper in a long time.  energy like crazy.  as
carrie would say it was "mack dawg" they really jammed it out and its a
good thing.  the build was unbelivable seeing as trey didnt go off too
much. great piper.

ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA:  as soon as they started playing ambient stuff my
thoughts were either 2001 or down with disease.  i was just chillin and
then all of the sudden fish kicked the beat out and i lost it. not just me
everyone.  iv heard better 2001's but i wasn't disapointed at all.  it
could have used a tad more phunk but it still pumped me up.  thank god for
chris karoda.  the fog and lights always make 2001 unforgetable.

WOLFMANS BROTHER:  good transition. page played the first chord and then
we were all in the groove. awesome song, well played, couldnt ask for
more. mike had some incredible shit that he was playin and then he started
to tease into... no way...

BOOGIE ON RAGGAE WOMAN:  hell ya! this song is one of my favorite covers. 
mikes 70s porno funk effect was crazy.  the groove was just right.

WADING IN THE VELVET SEA: this song is great.  the whole place jut chilled
out while phish carried us to new levels.  smooth solo for trey. i felt
it.

RUN LIKE AN ANTELOPE:  now THIS was crazy.  they built and built and kept
on building. so much tension and such good energy. one of the better
antelopes iv heard. fish was so on in this song. and then when he was
introduced as marco, it became an even better song.

CAROLINA:  they had me thinking that it was the end of set II but then
they walked to the mic and i knew what was comin. A CAPELLA! wow i couldnt
beleive that we got one and it fit seeing as we were in north carolina.
they sang really well as usual and THEN i was ready for the set to end.

SET II:  unbelievable.  there was a lot of energy in this set and they
just perfected all of the songs.  well done.

ENCORE: i knew we were gonna get something good.  but i didnt dream for
what we got.

FIRST TUBE: they know how to please the crowd.  this song is so pumpin and
treys bouncin only adds to it.  great groove song. amazing energy in the
end. perfect. then they ended it and trey said something to jon.
1...2...3...4

YEM!!!!!!!!!!!!   THIS WAS IT! the perfect end to an awesome night.  they
played it flawlussly save treys BOY, MAN, SHIT, SHIT. but it got a good
laugh.  then the funk came on. and to top it off TRAMPOLINES! no way this
isnt happening.  me and my friends looked at eachother like no fucking
way!  the vocal jam was awesome and then proud marry!  this was a yem to
remember.

a great show. im glad i went.



-jason kincaid

Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 15:11:16 -0500 From: dvs2@georgetown.edu Subject: GBror Review First of all, despite the rain, looked like there was a pretty decent lot scene with a decent Shakedown, but I was waiting in line since 2PM so I couldn't experience it unfortunately. Second of all, this venue was huge. Monsterous. I was worried about the sound, but being on the front row right in front of Mister Michael Gordon, I didn't have to worry about that. Boys took the stage and Trey and Page gave me huge smiles and nods when I held up my BROTHER sign for all to here. Thought maybe they'd play it. There were song signs EVERYWHERE! My friend had a PEACHES sing next to me, there was a BLOWJOBS 4 GUMBO banner, a STIIIILLLL WAITING banner, a TMWSIY sign (although they held it up and yelled obnoxiously during Mist, so I told them to shut up), and a huge Camel wearing tennis shoes banner for Camel Walk. Awesome stuff. On to the show. I predicted Chalkdust or PYITE as opener, and for the 4th time I've seen Chalkdust open a show. I will never complain about it either. This one ripped. Probably about 8 minutes long, and the most solid straight up Chalkdust I've ever seen (i've seen pretty much most of the jammed out CDTs-7/10/99, 7/15/99, and 1/2/03 in recent years). You coudl tell right from the get go that these boys were gonna be ON FIRE tonight. Peaked well and into the final refrain. MOMA was next. Hadn't seen this song since before hiatus, so I was very very happy. Anything with Mike playing a prominent role makes me happy, but he was prominent the ENTIRE SHOW. THIS WAS THE SHOW OF MIKE GORDON. Not just because I was standing in front of him. But he was leading EVERY jam, especially in Set 2, and even in Trey-dominated songs like Antelope, he pulled the jam into D-major once and was playing some ridiculous stuff underneath the soloing. I mean real dissonant, technical shit. He knew he was on too. He kept looking at me when Trey would be soloinng and I'd be fixated on him. He knew it. He was on. MOMA was short and to the point, which I prefer. Jammed out Momas aren't for me. I like them tight and funky. FOAM was next!!!! After the Hampton Massacre, I was hoping they'd redeem themselves. And boy did they. This was flawless. Trey soloed so confidently over the changes, and the composed parts were done beautifully. Excellent. This song can be a train wreck if screwed up. No complaints here. I love this tune. LAWN BOY to follow. Anytime Page gets to come to the center of the stage and belt out some lines, I'm a happy man. He's so cute (hey, come on, he is). CHARACTER ZERO. Looked at my watch and it was only 35-40 minutes into the set so I was thrilled. A mid-set Zero is fun and you know it's not ending the set, so whatever. Take it for what it is. Trey cumming on his guitar. It was fun. I've seen it 4 shows straight now. Whatever, it's still fun. DIVIDED SKY!! Wheeeeeeeeeee!!!! This one was gorgeous and the glowstick war was more massive than anything I'd ever experienced before. In the upper deck, these fiery red-orange glowsticks erupted all at once when the pause started. Seriously the crowd was freaking nuts at this point. Trey caught a couple glowsticks, Mike caught one and didn't look amused (does he ever? haha), and we were back into the swing of things. Much better than the NYE Divided Sky, which, quite honestly, wasn't quite as good as many people think. MOUNTAINS IN THE MIST. This song is beautiful, and it sure as hell is better than a Dreams or Anything But Me. I didn't feel like this killed any momentum. It's a pretty tune with fascinating lyrics. WAVES: Best tune of Round Room, and much happier this was played than another Pebbles and Marbles or something. Short and segued nicely into -> SAMPLE: Fine with me! Go out rocking. Overall, a solid solid first set. nothing earth-shattering. No unbelievable jams. But god damnit was it well played. it was energetic. and the boys KNEW they were on top of their game. Seriously, they knew. I had high hopes for Set 2 and I wasn't disappointed. ROCK AND ROLL: It was alllllllright baby. They began to take this jam out there, and I thought we might get a 9/17/00 affair where it melted into Theme, but Trey brought it back to the main theme and that was that. 10-12 minutes of pure joy. I've never been so excited to hear a WILSON. Jesus Christ. I like my Wilsons short and raging, and this was just that. Here's where the set took off: PIPER: THE BEST DAMN PIPER THEY HAVE PLAYED IN A LONG LONG LONG TIME. Piper is often, or at least on this tour, an excuse for Trey to go off for 10-15 minutes. There was NO Trey solo in this version, thank GOD!! It reminded me of the collective groove they had going in 1997. Mike dominated this jam and totally led it. Finally! This is EXACTLY what I was looking for out of 2003 Phish. This was a piece of art. It was intense, even if it was mellow. It was intensely mellow like 12/30/98 Set II (Disease especially). If you've heard that, you know what I"m atlking about. Jesus Christ, I could have walked out right there and been happy. As the jam began to creep into space, I knew 2001 would come out. Sure enough, Fish kicks the drum beat.. -> 2001. I've been wanting this since the last time I saw it in Philly 99. It's been way too long. I lost my mind. The lights. The lights. The lights. The lights. > Wolfman's Brother. Believe it or not, this was my first Wolfman's, and although I never really liked the song, I always appreciate the jam that comes out of it. This version converted me. I love the song now hahaha. the jam was short but christ was it funky! Again, Mike was ALL OVER this jam. I thought they were gonna keep funking it out until they took it into Sneaking Sally, but Mike had other plans, and at about 8-9 minutes, he totally switched keys taking it right into... -> BOOGIE ON! Oh my God, Mike had this crazy porno-funk effect going on his bass. I've never heard him play Boogie On (or anything for that matter) with this effect before! Is it new? He had it again during the bass solo going into the YEM vocal jam. It's like SUPER envelope filter + Meatball + crazy shit. It was tight. Short Boogie On. Thank you. I'm not a fan of the 9/18/99 Boogie On or lengthy ones for some reason. VELVET SEA. As long as it's not an encore, I have no qualms with this tune. Page was really really into it, so that made me happy. ANTELOPE. Mindfuckelope. Good lord. Trey was very active in the pre- jam section, and Mike ruled the jam. They pulled it into major territory so much I thought they could drop a Have Mercy on us or something. But Mike jumps back to E-minor and provides the foundation for Trey to explode. And explode it did. This Antelope was crazy. Seriously. crazy. CAROLINA. Just when you thought the set ended, out they step to the front of the stage to do acapella! YAY!!!!! Seriously, they sing REALLY well when they're doing barbershop. Soemtimes I wonder why they dont' always sing like that haha. Oh the encore...always a guessing game this tour. Would it be Friday? Anything But Me? Golgi and done? FIRST TUBE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!! First one post-hiatus and I couldn't have been happier to hear this song. I LOVE it. You can retire Jiboo and Sand, but give me my FIRST TUBE BABY!!!!! Trey jumping up and down like usual and being the guitar god that we all aspire to be. For me, this would have been a wonderful way to end the tour. But....Trey goes over to Fishman..I'm thinking "sweet! A bonus Golgi or Cavern!" oh no..ohhhhhh no you don't...I've missed this song by 1 show for the past 3 years...you're not really going to are you? are you serious? 1..2..1, 2, 3, 4 YEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Page saw me practically jump over the railing at the start of this one, and gave me a huge laugh. Composed part done very very well. Anyone else notice that Trey sustains the "NOTE" the 1st time around and solos the 2nd now, rather than vice versa as he had always done? AHHHHHH BOY!!!! MAN!!!!! SHIT!!! SHIT!!!!! hahahahahaha. Who fucks up 4 words that they've been singing since 1985? hahahaha i love Ernesto G. the III. hahahaha he looked thouroghly embarrassed. Seriously, who forgets God hahahahahaah. Awesome. I love lyric flubs. This was a great one. Jammy jam...Another One Bites the Dust post-tramp section. This was fucking sweet. Not quite as pronounced as the 9/14/99 Gumbo, but we all knew what it was. Nice Trey solo, then porno-funk Mike slaps it out until... Washa Uffize Drive Me to Firenze. Vocal jam started out in sync to the spinning lights ( i love you CK5). Then they start getting on the "whoooa whooa whooa" theme they like to do. EXCEPT...this one devolved into PROUD MARY!!! A more or less full rendition of PROUD MARY in the vocal jam!!!! You kidding me???? YES!!!!! I walked out of this show happier than ever. Granted most of the songs were repeats, granted Wolfman's and Carolina were the only 2 songs I'd never seen before, but who the hell cares. This show raged, and Mike was so prominent and so dominant at times that I lost my mind. That's what I look for in Phish. Collective groove. This show had it in the 2nd set, and the 1st set was just solid well-played Phish. A 35 minute encore 1st Tube>YEM is just more than one can ask for. Thank you for an amazing tour. Philly was fun too, although this show kicked Philly in the balls and sent it into its corner where it belongs. Salvo
Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 03:31:51 -0500 From: Lutz lutzda0@wfu.edu Subject: review of 3-01-03 (sorry it took so long) I normally post under blutz@covad.net or sometimes wakkondot, but this is my school addy 3-1-03 1: Chalk Dust Torture, Moma Dance, Foam, Lawn Boy, Character Zero, Divided Sky, Mist, Waves, Sample in a Jar 2: Rock and Roll, Wilson, Piper, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Wolfman's Brother, Boogie on Reggae Woman, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Run Like an Antelope, Carolina E: First Tube, You Enjoy Myself>Proud Mary Well, how do i start this long review? how about at 3AM on friday night. after checking out rmp and finding out that they played destiny, i called up longtime show goer salvo of rmp fame and discussed. Anyways, me and my buddy Hugh left Wake at 3AM with jello shots for the lots. we arrived there to see many dixie chicks fans awaiting their show to go on sale. we wandered around, inside and outside of the arena, checking out all possible ways to get in fastest. we talked to a groundskeeper and set up our bags at a lower entrance. There we slept, on the concrete, determined to get front row - for as all my fellow rail lovers know - once you see a show there, nothing else is acceptable. We slept there for about 4 hours, to be moved by the cold and security to another location. Long story short, we kicked it alone at the collesium for about 14 hours prior to the show. if that is not determination, i don't know what is. So eventually we make our way to the main gate. This is at about 1 and we had eaten some mickey d's along there somewhere. We were cold, tired, yet managed to make friends with Blithe, and a few other nice folk. We met up with Salvo there, thought about predictions, etc. Unfortunately, the man opening the gate opened the left side first, thus eliminating our 12 hours of waiting for a front row seat. DOH! somehow i managed to sit through the line and make my sign - alas not a slave sign this time, bc of the philly show, but instead a peaches. I knew they wouldn't play it, but hey, if youre gonna go, you gotta make a sign. So, i sprint in, and somehow, i dont know how, get front row rail in front of Cactus himself...great place to be. enough pre-show info, heres the real review... Set I Chalkdust: Salvo Called the opener. Very high energy - I noticed Fish playing well and you can even hear it through the tapes. They lost their way at one point, but managed to kick back into it fairly strong. The main idea was how much energy they had. This Chalkdust was rather long - trey threw in some major rippage and although there wasn't a huge peak, it was good enough to let me know that we were in for a stellar show... very high energy!!! Front row was the place to be where you can control the band by giving it your all... Moma Dance: Not expecting this one yet it was performed well i remember. I remember the sound being very very crisp. much more than both nights of cincy. This one was really it, this is what did it. Man i've never seen a moma like this, they were really really on at this point - more so than hampton although it was too early to compare to pre-hiatus shows. anytime fish is singing at the end of moma, thats a good sign. Foam: Now i really don't like Foam. and my 1-3-03 review of foam shows that it can get me excited, but this one...well, i was really not looking forward to, however, however, trey NAILED his part. dang, they must have practiced it, it sounded 90's esque, which is quite rare. I really noticed what he does with his part, it is absolutely nuts. do yourself a favor and examine the tabs and see what trey plays for this song. There's a reason why trey calls it the hardest in their repetoire. Anyway, the playing was fascinating, so crisp and clear, no real flubs, and high energy, even for a FOAM! Trey was hitting the high notes, no flubs this time, man and page was on fire too...wow. at this point i looked at salvo and knew 'twas over Lawn Boy: Lawn boy, yah yah i've seen it a billion times, but page seemed a little more into it this time. ok at this point - take note - Mike started his dominance of the show. I mean, i was right next to him, but wow, he DOMINATES this show, he is everywhere, i'm talking april 92 levels here. anyways, page stood up and whatnot, it was good but i was paying attention to the groove machine...gotta hate 17 year old girls who sing instead of page though Zero: A muffled intro, not a bad zero. quite the energy level. that is really what its all about for songs like that, who cares if they rip it right...there's always a better version, as long as they're playin hard it'll lead to better jams later. this version had a fair amount of intensity Divided Sky: Now if you listen to the first 1 second, Trey is definately playing Slave to the Traffic light. this caused me to leap out of my seat and have mike look at me. It was a let-down but i mean, divided sky isn't that bad either. Mike was everywhere in this version, i just couldn't believe how on he was...man. At the glowstick part, these fire-like glowsticks appeared in the back left and lit up the arena, it was by far the nastiest glowar indoors i've seen post-hiatus. there weren't any flubs at all though, which is always good. There were some problems in the mid-late section, but otherwise they nailed most of it. I heard lots of Waves soloing stuff from trey, so i called that later...good version - Fish was nailing his touches which is great for me to watch. Mist: Ahhh. I love slow songs anymore and Mist is a great one imo. Being up close really just makes the experience so intense, i really felt like the whole band was into this one, you could see it on their faces. version wise i'm sure there's better but man this just seemed so honest and true, an excellent choice I thought and the playing was meaningful. Waves: Yes. I love this new song, it's my favorite by far and was dissapointed at not being able to hear it in cincy bc chi-town stole it. this version wasn't ecspecially great in my opinion, but i was soooooo excited to hear it it didn't matter. I just don't get how people don't like it...oh well. Like everyone else says, watch out, eventually they will NAIL this with like a 30 minute version and blow a show apart. I was pretty damn happy from hearing this and didnt expect: Sample: man. that A chord confused me again. Once again i thought - SLAVE! DOHHHH. another sample, i could really get along wihtout sample. It was pretty good but i thought the cincy version was much much better. anyways, you could tell that it was a good set. and LONG! that's always a good sign. when they leave early, you can never tell. Annoying girl sang again during sample. setbreak i didn't move...i couldn't improve my spot, so why bother? Set II Rock & roll: YES! this is the kinda song selection i want. They nailed this one. Man mike was everywhere, the whole band was on fire! Me and salvo knew what was up. We were jumpin trying to get trey onto it. I got several looks from him, and they upped their play immediately. Things didn't really start to jump in intensity until i'd say about halfway through there, then at one point they just upped it, into a different gear...Fish increased his speed i guess and then we were off to a set of craziness. trey was very very much on and using the crowd as was mike. Great Type-I jam in here, it really was nice ot hear them play like that again. Mike was grooving. Wilson: Again, like sample, i couldn't really be bothered by another short rocker, the rock and roll showed me that they were on so i didn't mind the wilson which normally i would've been frustrated with. anyways, regular wilson but then... PIPER: WOW. Definately the song of the show. This was the best piper i've heard in terms of exploring and it was very very very well founded. Mike laid down some great grooves in here. Trey picked up quickly and Fish was going back and forth on this cowbell beat, damn it was nasty. Check this one out, i really can't explain the ideas they were bringing about here, it was just one after the other. GREAT PIPER - made the show, wow, it was really really good. Man they were listening to eachother really well, you could tell. Perfection really, a perfect piper in my opinion. The best comparison i can give is a latin-funk beat dominated by mikes groove but essentially set up by fish's use of the snare. please check this one out, it it nuts 2001: salvo was screaming at this point to the band - "2001! we know you are going ot play it, just do it now". so they did. he freaked, it was a pretty good 2001, not very long but mike was just so on fire that it didn't matter. i just LOVED watching him move up and down on the fretboard, he was out there, man not a single bad note. the lights were amazing as they alwasy are when youre close Wolfmans: more spotlight on mike. people say page was on tonight, but damn MIke was the man, we all knew it. listen to your tapes when you get them...i am sure he is everywhere. absoluetly everywhere, filling left and right. This had some typical 99 trey-chords from sneakin sally and wolfmans, reminscent of Oswego, except mike was SO ON! WOW! he completely led it into.... Boogie On: This is notable because mike turns on the effect that is on the original stevie wonder album. if you don't know what i'm talking about, check it out, it sounded EXACTLY like the album and fits it so much better. A shout out to my friend Dre who helped move the momentum at this point - trey was staring into his soul and grinning. What a funny scene. Wading: Oh god. I absoluetely hate this song, every time they play it. there is no exception save cypress. i hate it, i will never like it and this version i just sat there, i mean, i just don't get why they play it. anyways, i just hurried them into Antelope: you knew it was coming. This climax was similar to 12-29-97 which i'm particulalry fond of - just straight up NOISE! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Climax. good ending but a little short, overall pretty good antelope, better than most. Fishman had a little solo in here it was pretty funny Caroline: great a capella part in here. thats always the sign of a good show encore First Tube: I liked it but was hoping for more and then... YEM: OH MY GOD!! YEM!! OH MY GOD!!! this was nuts. we were not expecting this one...at ALL! everyone freaked out. i couldn't believe it. What a great great great surprise. This version is particularly crisp too. You should check it out. They brought back the B+D segment and Mike grooved throughout. They also teased another one bites the dust ala 9-14-99. The vocal jam actually materialized into a song, thats rare anymore so it seems, but it was very very well played What a show! what an event. man i miss front row shows! you really need to get this show just for the piper, it was sweet, plus i think this was by far the best show i have ever seen mike play in 20 shows. He was everywhere, maybe its just my placement in front of him, but listen to your downloaded shn's, he is no doubt everywhere in this one. Great show. thanks for readin, i know it was a long review... and yeah i really did sleep over hit me back with pictures if you got em unfortunatamente i will be in peru most likely for summer tour - enjoy it all ~ SlavePhanLutz (dave)
Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 12:42:03 -0500 From: Kelli Okuma kbokuma@mchsi.com Subject: Greensboro This is the first review I have ever written, but then this is one of the funnest shows I have ever seen.  Not too many treats out of the ordinary for me except for Foam, Carolina, and Proud Mary, but this was the perfect show considering that it was the only one in the south.  Of course they have to throw in some of the favorites like Character Zero, Sample and Wading, but everything was perfectly placed and perfectly played.  Nasty ass Divided Sky, Foam, Wilson, Piper, Antelope, YEM and everything else was awesome too.  I was a little surprised Pebbles and Marbles didn't come out though, but Waves was nice.  The boys know exactly what they are doing and they hit me very deep with this show.  What a memorable show!  When do we get to see Phish again?  Man wouldn't another 3 day Phish festival be nice this summer?
Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 14:31:35 +0000 From: Michael Marks jawaka202@hotmail.com Subject: 3/1/03 Greensboro I have to put my two cents in on the "messed up lyrics" in YEM. I'm a Yankee living in North Carolina and one thing that I learned pretty quick was that this is a very Christian culture down here. Phrases like "Jesus H. Christ" and "God damn" are much worse to say in the South than the "F" word. It's silly, but true. My opinion is that they left out the "God" lyric so as not to offend anyone in the audience that may take offence to that. In Charlotte, the religious community was successful in getting Howard Stern off the air and maybe Phish didn't want to get a bad reputation with the people running the Greensboro Coliseum. Who knows, someone like Billy Graham or Pat Robertson may have some financial interest in the arena. It's not as far fetched as you might think. The rest of my review is on another section of this page. God bless, Rev. Richard Spurtz
Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 08:18:53 -0800 (PST) From: chong yim To: dws@phish.net Subject: review 3-01-03 I drove back from the Greensboro show enveloped in a soupy fog, a bit tired and entirely satisfied. It seemed like I had been waiting forever to see the boys come alive again, and beyond that instant of light and music, I had a bittersweet epiphany. Phish connects me to a time when the world was more innocent. Before we knew the fragility of our sense of security. Before the warning lights had turned us into cattle. Phish is a sweet release from this barbed wire mesh, if only for a short while. One of my companions had been dreaming of Chalkdust ever since we had the tickets in hand. So when Trey started stroking the first notes...I felt giant sparks of energy from everyone around me. I was hoping for a My Soul opener, but CHALKDUST got the crowd in the right frame of mind for the ridiculous set to follow. The boys definitely brought some funk into the MOMA DANCE. It's not my favorite tune, but choosing between songs is like choosing between Kool-Aid and Sunny D. Either way, you win. FOAM was a nice old school song to throw into the rotation, and Page was sounding mighty fine as usual. One of my friends had bought a Lawnboy shirt earlier that day, so the LAWNBOY was a nice treat. Which brings me to CHARACTER ZERO...Why all this playa-hatin' on this tune? Sorry. I mean, why am I hearing negative comments about the song? I know it is one of "those" songs that appeals to everyone with ears, but is that a bad thing? Can't we all just get along? I love the song, and it got me bouncing up and down entirely too much. Divided Sky was the best song of the first set. Period. I haven't heard something that beautiful since Clinton was in office...such a long, long time ago. MIST and WAVES were nice, but I haven't quite developed a flavor for them. But I'm sure that I will. SAMPLE was a nice crowd-pleaser and a good change of pace from WAVES. End of first set: sweaty, disoriented, ears ringing, grinning like a madman. Excellent. The second set was a fantasy set. ROCK AND ROLL is always a great tune. But I started feeling the tingles during WILSON. It really is a spectacle to hear an entire venue shouting "Wilson!" at the top of their lungs. By the way, the orange glowsticks (you know the ones) were causing me severe joy throughout the show. PIPER is the name of my car, so I always root for a good one. The long jam during PIPER was some of the best atonal noodling from Trey that I have heard in a while. 2001 (or sprchtengustenoodle zathustrachastra) is one of my favorite concert songs. They always use this song to turn it up a notch on the lights. It really had my buddies moving like Richard Simmons in a blender. WOLFMAN'S BROTHER was a nice sing-along. But REGGAE WOMAN was making me move muscles that I haven't used in...well, a long time. VELVET SEA is one of my favorite songs. I am a sucker for Phish ballads, and this one was beautiful. I had a feeling that they were going to play ANTELOPE. It was the one song I was expecting all night. And it's always a great set-closer. The climaxes in the song were driving me crazy. CAROLINA (predictable but wonderful,like the X-Files.) End of second set: drenched in perspiration, dangerously dehydrated, imminent bladder explosion, grinning like a madman. Most Excellent. Encore mania. FIRST TUBE is a nice encore. It always makes me feel strange, like I'm lost in the middle of a sea of vinegar in a pickle raft. But the YEM was more than I could hope for. I had three newcomers along for the ride, and I really wanted a YEM to blow their minds. The song represents both the seriousness of their musicianship and the zany eggplant-like humor that Phish represents. PROUD MARY came down from the aural limbo and blanketed me like a warm friend. To quote my friend Joe Bell (first show), "My faith in humanity is reaffirmed." What more could I say?
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 09:06:02 -0500 From: "Mulgrew, Julie" MulgrewJ@advisory.com Subject: my Greensboro review Shit.  Shit.
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 17:35:26 -0800 (PST) From: Annie Price anniekm@yahoo.com Subject: Review 3-1-03 Hello fellow Phish friends. Although I am worn out from a difficult day back at work after the fantastic weekend I feel like I have to put some of my thoughts out there about Saturday^Òs show. I am so grateful for all of the experiences that I have had in the surreal world of Phish over the years and I am thankful for all of the positive people that are on the scene who are there for the music and to share in the collective groove. On Saturday our extended circle of Phish friends were able to all sit together a few rows up from Page and we were treated to a high energy, beautifully composed show. That being said, here are a few particular highlights for me. I had been thinking about Chalkdust in the days prior to the show and was hoping for a rocking opener and this one really fit the bill. Then my greatest hope was for the funk to come our way and Moma Dance helped us to get loose and limber for the rest of the show. Foam tickled me because of very silly memories of a night in Hampton and reinforced how each and every song has a contingency of fans who cherish it for their very own reasons and how much we share between us as a whole without words. Lawn Boy was lovely. I really thought Page was on top of his game throughout the whole evening. He seemed to bring in a complexity that helped to tailor the whole show. Character Zero was solid and enthusiastic and managed to convert a Zero basher next to me that it is a song with merit. I will probably never think that there is a Divided Sky that will surpass the Gorge in 97 but I sure enjoyed it on Saturday, it always feels like a gift to hear it. Waves was a big show highlight for me, I had not heard it live yet and found myself completely enveloped in melody. Sample is sounding better than it ever has, I didn^Òt know if I really ever wanted it back but they proved me so wrong. However, the second set is where I believe that the real action took place. I couldn^Òt have asked for a better set opener, Rock n Roll has been the song I have been waiting to hear for awhile. I always happen to miss it and to be so close to Page and remember how it felt to first get turned onto rock and roll in general was a buzz in itself. The versions of 2001 and Antelope were up there for me as some of the very best that I have heard, I could have taken a tad more funk on 2001 but it was really very well played throughout. I really didn^Òt want it to end at all, and it seemed as if they felt the same way. The First Tube and YEM encore was so well done and the lights and the Proud Mary vocal jam enhanced it immensely. Trey and Mike were dialed in on their trampolines. I must say that I was almost nervous about returning to the Phish scene after the hiatus because I feared that it couldn^Òt possibly contain the same level of intimacy and raw excitement that it once did. However, when the lights go down and the music begins I feel myself transcend to the place that I have access to only during a Phish show. One in which I can find myself laughing out loud, voyaging to other areas of my life that bring me happiness, and loosening places within that are in need of grease. Today I was once again reminded that nobody outside of it ever really gets it no matter how you try to explain it. Even with all of this rambling I still haven^Òt quite put my finger on exactly why I had such a good show. Annie Price Blacksburg, VA
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 17:52:53 -0800 (PST) From: Alex Subject: 3/1/03 show review , 03/01/03 Greensboro, NC 1: Chalk Dust Torture, Moma Dance, Foam, Lawn Boy, Character Zero, Divided Sky, Mist, Waves, Sample in a Jar 2: Rock and Roll, Wilson, Piper, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Wolfman's Brother, Boogie on Reggae Woman, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Run Like an Antelope, Carolina E: First Tube, You Enjoy Myself>Proud Mary After just looking at the setlist, you can already see that this was quite an amazing show to attend. What made it even more amazing, is that it was my first ever. I had probabally one of the best nights of my life that night. It was freakin incredible. I'll start the review by telling all the pre-show crap we saw too, so that i can look back on this review archive in 50 years and hopefully 500 show later (at least) and remember my first show and what an amazing night it was. That morning i had 4 lacrosse games, which i left from in the middle of one of the games. Thats right, at 11:30, I walked off the field and within thirty minutes we were on the road to greensboro. I was so excited that morning that when i got to my friends house to go to the show, I just started giggling and i couldn't stop for about 15 minutes all from the show. We got to Greensboro in about 1.5 hours and checked into the hotel and we walked the mile and a half from the HoJo to the venue. Now i had heard that the lot scene was cool, but i was completely unprepared for what i saw we walked around the main tent area for about 15 minutes until we saw all these people getting busted by narcs, so we headed up at about 4:05 and got in line for the show. We were on the far left of the bridge and we were right at the edge of the last metal fence/ divider. When it started to rain we all put on the empty trash bags and put the trash cans over our heads, it was really funny. We also met some cool canadian heads in line too. About every 15 minutes up until doors, people in line would start cheering and clapping. The energy level was so high. I just was dancing in line because i was so excited. So if you saw some big goofy looking guy bouncin around in the line with a plastic bag and blue and grey toboggan on, it was me. When they opened the doors, we ran through as fast as possible. Security was so light at this show, they let me bring in a sandwich. We ran up the hallway and down into the arena and we got sat down on the floor about 15 feet from the stage, dead center. I stood up to look at the stage and just started laughing maniacally and yelling. Up until the show started, there was all sorts of antics. Cool signs being put up, Crowd waves around the arena, random cheers and clapping fits, lots of laughs, lots of good people, lots of fun. When the lights dropped, the real fun began. All of a sudden, the house lights came down and the stage was covered in this cool blue light. When Trey, Mike, Page, and Fish walked out, the crowd went nuts. Now for the real fun 8:00ish Chalkdust: Perfect opener in my opinion. It really got the energy up high. The lights were amazing Trey was really ripping it up on this one, he kept pulling everyone else higher and higher. It was great Moma Dance: Nice, I love the cow funk. A nice groove that got the whole crowd bobbing their heads It was a really fun song, and when i turned around and saw 23,000 people grooving behind me, i just danced as hard as i could. Foam: Foam!!! no way i thought i would catch one of these. This song is where page really shined he tore this foam up. it was great Lawn Boy: Ahhhh perfect placement. I love this song, Page has such a voice. no phatty bass jam from mike, but it was real tight and sounded great. He is just the coolest dude when he gets up front singing this one...Ah...olfactory hues indeed Character Zero: I don't know what everyone was complaining about before. I like this song, and the solo that trey had brought the energy way up. Very nice selection and perfectly played Divided Sky: this was another amazing song. So good sogood sogood. I don't know how else to describe it, it took me to another level, the lights, the huge glowstick war, the MUSIC, it all took me to another level, i felt like i was flying through a sky. btw: my friend caught the glowstick trey threw back. And to the people with the orange glowsticks: that was the coolest looking thing ever Mist: didn't know this one, a nice chill song, allow me to catch my breath Waves: eh, i don't really like this one too much, but they played it well Sample in a Jar: Ah yes, classic phish rock. I loved it, i called it the set closer during the show it was so rockin, trey was on fire tonight. all in all, damn good set, a nice start on a fine evening, but the second set was where things were taken to another level. We moved from the floor up to the top of the second level b/c we were so tired and a guy puked on us, and we wanted to see the lights and have seats. 10:00ish Rock and Roll: I didn't know this song either, but it was a nice opener, i was still so tired so i didn't really dance during this one, i just enjoyed it and chilled. very good song WILSON: the song that made me love phish. That E-Chord and the whole crowd was roaring WILSON it was so loud. It was so cool. I loved it, this got me all my energy back and more. Piper: No freakin way, i couldn't believe it, they did this funny jam at the beginning that made me think that it was just a piper tease, but then they got into it and jammed it very well not the best piper ever, but quite a good one. Also Sprach Zarathustra: No Way, i lost it on this one. i was just jumping up and down in front of my seat, my friend thought i was crazy. oh my god, they were grooving so hard. And the lights were incredible, on that climax note the wall of fog and white light. I was about to pee my pants the energy on this freakin skyrocketed. Wolfmans Brother: SWEET! more funk. they really dug into this one too. I loved every second of it i don't really remember much more from this song besides the sweet groove. and then mike hit the bass notes to: Boogie on Reggae Woman: Insane, i love this song, and this version was really great imo. Mike just kept going and going. He was really kicking this songs butt. And hearing 23,000 people yelling "I want to do it to you...until you holler for more" was cool too. Wading in the Velvet Sea: What perfect placement. A beautiful song during a beautiful set. i loved everyone in that room as well as the rest of the world at that moment. i would have been more than happy if the show had ended there, but the boys had more tricks up their sleeves. Antelope: I jumped out of my seat on the first chord. I started screaming, omg, get this show just for this antelope. I have heard quite a few antelopes from my collection of show discs, and they all pale in comparison to this sucker. They just kept building and building it before the release. Soooo thick, so badass. It was incredible. I just kept expecting the drop, and it never happend by the last run through of that part of the song, the room was dripping in tension. I was jumping up and down, and then they hit it. So good, so so good, unbelievable. GET THIS ANTELOPE Carolina: i love the barbershop quartet. The whole place got so quiet for this. the band sounded great, it was the perfect set closer. utter bliss is what i was feeling. Now time for the most insane encore ever: First Tube: Sweet!! really jammed and funkified to the max trey tried to set up his digital delay loop, but it just wasn't working too well with the song. but the other three lit this up while he was screwing with his effects. YEM: holy crap. I saw trey turn around and say something to everyone else. I thought the show was over, but when he turned around, i was saying to myself YEM...YEM...YEM, and they played it. The first notes came out and the place went nuts, everyone went crazy. insane done to perfection. Soooo good mike really nailed the bass jam, and took it to a new level. They jammed the crap out of this. trey said shit instead of god on accident, and then he said shit again. everyone laughed. at the ending jamming right before the vocal jam, trey took off his guitar and let the others take the instrumental home. Then the truly amazing stuff started: Vocal Jam>Proud Mary: Kuroda's lights were insane, flying all around the whole stadium in varying speeds and the band changing speed with the lights. It was so great. And then they sung proud mary i heard the beginning of it and went nuts. It was wonderful, a great end to a great night. it ended at like 11:50 I just want to thank everyone who went with me: blair, rob, taylor. I also want to thank everyon at the lot who made it into such a fun experience. I want to thank everyone inside the show everybody was so nice and made me have such a great time. I will definitely be back for many, many more. What a great night. -Alex sorry this was so long, i just want to remember it all
Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 15:03:22 -0500 From: Julai julai@charter.net Subject: Greensboro 3-01-03 Phish Greensboro NC 3-01-03 Bryan Steele dean@steele.org My goodness what a show. Except the terrible luck we kept having. Before the show, my friend locked his key in his car with his TICKETS. The staff helped open his window and got inside. I have loved Phish for years now, and sadly I have only seen them once at Lakewood 06/23/00.  I have spent so much time in my life getting my mind blown by the beautiful music that comes out of the speakers in my room as I played a great Phish show. Now I can finally see them again.          The trip started off driving to NC in my brother's car. We knew they were going to play a sick show, and along the way down we were thinking of the songs they might play. We even thought Forbins> Mockingbird might appear, but what they did play perfect sets to set the night in stone. The only bummer, and it really did get me mad and sad that it happened at a show I have been waiting years to see, was inside the coliseum I was running and I guess my glasses fell out of my pocket and I lost them. When I got to my seat, I noticed and was bummed. Not only do I have to but new ones, but I also can't even see the band or the stage at all. That had me bummed and depressed the whole time until.......           CHALKDUST- Hell yeah, the sound could have been better from where I was but it was awesome. They seemed to play the song pretty well and it was a solid opener.           MOMA DANCE- As soon as I heard them blast into the phunk, I knew Moma dance had arrived. This was funky as hell in the beginning and end, and had a very intense jam in the middle. Great job phish. Great song to follow Chalkdust. I was waiting to hear the opening notes to their next song. Soon all I heard was some slapping by Mike and I knew it was...          FOAM- I Love foam. The first part was great, lyrics were good. The jam came up and Mike and Page let us know who is boss. Trey, I thought was not playing good in this jam, which is sad because I love where Trey goes in that jam section. Next up...         LAWN BOY- Great place for the song. Page got up for the last verse and it was funny to see.         CHARACTER ZERO- I love this song, but I always thought of it as a set closer. It was great though. Trey was playing pretty good, and Fish was doing some great fill-ins. I turned to my brother who also thought this song to be a closer, and sorry to say, thought the set might be over. But I knew there was no way, I was remembering Trey's short first set at the Tabernacle, but all of a sudden I hear...         DIVIDED SKY!!!- Oh MY GOD!! I could not believe what was happening. This was a moment in my life that will never be erased. The played it perfectly. The silent part had a pretty good glow stick war, and Trey even caught one of the bright orange ones. They came ripping into the sustain part and it was really beautiful.         MIST- I really love this song. I think the lyrics are great and the jam was beautifully done. Great choice.         WAVES- I was hopping they would play this. I heard it from NYE and it was awesome. This time it was a great jam in the middle of the verses and it really had me dancing >         SAMPLE- I knew this was the set closer and what a closer it was. Trey was playing really good and they played the song extremely well. I am glad to see they are playing good again, because I'm sorry for those who liked it, but Hampton Sucked. Plain and simply they were way too rusty and their jams were not PHISH. It sounded like they needed practice. This show they had enough practice to make it golden and they did so. Set break we sat and talked about how awesome that was. Once again, our luck went bad. My brother lost his car keys. We were fucked. The whole set break we were thinking about what to do.  To top it off we didn't have a phone to call anybody. All of a sudden....         ROCK AND ROLL- "It was alright". That was good as hell. When I saw them at Lakewood, they opened the 2nd set with this, and this was a perfect song to end our problem. The jam was unbelievable. I was amazed by how good they were all playing. I knew from this moment, that phish has a long career ahead of themselves. After some good improv, the song ended and we heard....         PIPER-  I used to not be a big fan of piper until I hear it from NYE. This piper had everyone dancing and having a great time. The jam was EXTREMELY AWESOME. This is a jam band. No other jam band around can improvise like this and peak a song, take it to a new formula peak it again, new stage and peak again and again and again.... I was in musical heaven. Fish was playing a seven below type of beat and it had some serious phunky grooves in it. This bled into what was a visual orgasm thanks to CK5....          2001- I have always dreamed of seeing this song live because I knew the light went insane, but I had no idea. The silhouette of the band playing an awesome 2001 on stage, with lots of fog pouring out and the lights changing and going insane let me realize that no other band has a light show like this. Not only is the music extremely awesome at a Phish show, but the lights are something to pay attention to. Now  I understand why Chris is the fifth member. After some serious dancing, and by the way PAGE WAS PLAYING AWESOME AS HELL, serious groovin, I could not expect they would play...         WOLFMANS- Could this be the best moment of my life? It was like a story that was written in 20,000 BC. This night was going so well that I could not ask for more. It was " like a cross between a hurricane, and a ship that’s run aground". The crowd behind me kept saying "what song is this" and hardly moving at all, while I was fucking groovin to Mikes excellent playing and the solo and place that Trey took them to was absolutely perfect. This Grooved into...         BOOGIE ON- The funk in this song was really think. I could smell this foul stench coming out of the speakers and a thick purple phunk cloud drifting over head. The solo could have been better, but after what they did to me tonight, It would be selfish of me to complain about a little mistake.         WADING- Great time to hear this song. This was one of the best, if not the best Wading I have ever heard. The lights were as smooth as the song and the guitar solo was glorious. I could feel a Mikes groove coming in but what we got instead seemed like phish were telling me, " thanks for being a fan even during the hiatus, here you go Bryan; enjoy".         ANTELOPE- The intro gave me bumps, and they went solidly into the jam and built it up like a statue. Trey's solo was ripping like a ton of bricks to the face. I felt myself want to scream obscenities to Trey for bleeding away at the guitar. The climax could have been done better, and Trey really messed up in the end of the jam, but Marco Esquandolas came and they had the place pouncing with energy as the Antelope part came. I had an enormous smile on my face the whole time I was yelling "RUN LIKE AN ANTELOPE OUT OF CONTROL". It was insanely awesome.         CAROLINA- Great closer, and reminded me of phish's vocal talent. Before the encore Phish played a sick joke to me. I have noticed their weak encores this tour and was anticipating a great one for their last show. What I anticipatingly waited for was...         FIRST TUBE!?!?- I'm not at all a fan of this song. It's good to dance to, and the jam was pretty god in the end. All I remember hearing were some trendy's behind me saying " I’ve heard this on the radio, cool I didn't know they played this song" This got me bummed. They had to go and play what I thought of as their most mediocre song for an encore and I’m going to leave not fulfilled. Little did I know.......          YEM- OHH MYY GOD!!!! Phish put the exclamation point to this show with this song. I can't explain how much this had me going. I LOVE YOU PHISH. Thanks for making greensboro, GREENSBORO!!!!!!!!         After the show we remembered about the car and walked to it and chilled for a while borrowing cell phones trying to think of what to do. Then we see our friend Chris come up from nowhere. We haven't seen him since set 1, and he had the keys. We drove to my friend's hotel, nut instead got lost for 2 hours. We ended up at a ghetto gas station getting gas, and asking a hustler with a box of churches chicken in hand, how to get there. It was one of the strangest and best nights in my life. THANK YOU ` Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 15:46:39 -0500 From: James Houck james_houck@hotmail.com Subject: greensboro review Well, well, well....Phish in good ol' G-boro.....i lived here for four years, pre-hiatus, always hoping they'd make a trip to the colesium, always having to settle for shows at Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Charlotte (great shows to boot).....Having known the G-boro Colesium to be a decent place to catch a show (Furthur Fest, BB King, etc...), i didn't care much for the rumors of "southern inhospitality" regarding security, the po-po's, etc....I was proven right by the fact the scene was chill, there were zero hassles, little complaining (save for the bad weather).....a side-note, i noticed more xtras for this show than many i've been to in years past......   The energy leading up to the show was wonderful, absolutely gorgeous....the most i've seen since Hampton 98....outside=soaked pholks in line with nothing better to do than yelp continuously in anticpation....inside="the crowd wave" going round n round the rafters.....so much fun and the music hadn't even started......Then the lights drop and a sick Chalkdust follows suit.....the build-ups and releases were taut and hit with precision.....So, it was a great start to what would be a great show.....We got some rock to start, some funk in Moma, some trippy jazz with Foam, loungin' kicks with Lawnboy, rockstar solos n vocals thru Character Zero, and then the best part of the set in my opinion.....the three-song selection of Divided Sky, Mist, Waves was incredibly chill and relaxed with some fantastic interplay between the band and the audience and between each of the bandmembers themselves.....The boys were smiling, clearly enjoying themselves onstage....The Sample set closer was alot of fun, raw energy abound....i felt great for a couple of my friends who were seeing these guys for the first time (this was about my 30th show).......   Set break was very enjoyable for me.....i wondered around the colesium, circling maybe two or three times, enjoying the smiling faces.....bathroom lines weren't as bad as some pholks would have you believe....again, the scene was very positive.....   Second set was a kick in the ass from start to finish.....Mostly ol' school Phish...a couple songs led into lengthy jams (Rock n Roll, Wolfman's to name two), but for the most part Phish was short, solid and hard rockin' with each selection....Piper  was boisterous and quick, even 2001 was short, played in similiar fashion as in 1993-94.....It was a fantastic selection of songs overall, giving everyone and anyone the chance to show off their best dance moves......The double encore (triple, if you exclude Proud Mary from YEM's vocal jam) couldn't have been more of a delight.....perhaps the most jammed and lengthy encore of the tour....Overall this was one of the best shows i've seen...or maybe i'm just saying because it had been 2.5 yrs. since i last saw them....either way, this is one to download....worth the $15, no doubt.....This show will stand the test of time as one of the better shows of this tour.....peace~J
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 16:26:47 -0500 From: raj mitra raj@thirteen.net Subject: 3/1 review I saw Phish three times this week--in Jersey, in Worcester, and finally in Greensboro. As a standalone show, Greensboro is great. The first set contained some great songs, including "Foam" and "Divided Sky". However, none of the tunes were "jammed out". All were straight ahead, rocking songs with lots of energy coming off the crowd. The second set kicked off with a great version of "Rock and Roll", although I don't know if this version is any better than that Hampton '03 version, which was stellar. I'll have to wait until I hear the tapes to make a judgement like that. But it was a fun song and I was quite happy to hear it. Wilson was another rocker, which everyone was into. The Piper alone, however, made this show worth it. I had been complaining during setbreak that there was no grooves in any of the songs. Piper had THE groove. It took some great turns and twists, and featured amazing GROUP work by the band. 2001 is a fun song, but this version was pretty standard. (Standard, when it comes to Phish, by the way, means "Very good"). Having just heard Wolfman's at NJ, I must say this version didn't really do much for me. NJ and Hampton's versions were much better. Mike quickly forced the band in to "Boogie On", which is a great dance number, but again, no groovy jam. "Wading" was nice, and "Antelope" was a very high-energy version, but "Carolina" was the real treat. Obviously, there is no jam in this song, but to hear the boys do the acapella thing again was great. I knew 1st Tube was going to be the encore, and it rocked, but the YEM topped it. Fantastic Trey solo, including Another ONe Bites the Dust jam, and Proud Mary vocal jam. Possibly the best setlist of any show this tour. However, given the lack of jams (save Piper and YEM), the show doesn't edge out Worcester, which had amazing jams in 5 of the songs played (versus 2 here). Worceter's Moma blew this one away (and most others!) and the YEM from Worcester is as good as this version (although very different, I must say, since one was an opener and one was an encore!). Greensboro was definitely better than NJ, overall, but Worcester wins out as the best of the three. Seek out the Piper and YEM from the Greensboro show, and also go get the whole Worcester show.
Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 14:17:37 -0700 From: Jon Kirsch kirschjon@hotmail.com Subject: review of 3-1 Greensboro I read the glowing reviews of the Nassau show. Wow. It surely seems like the love between band and fan is alive and well in the world of Phish. I flew to Greensboro Saturday morning by myself to catch the show. I read someones review that said tickets were easy to come by. They were not. I was ticketless and fruitlessly worked it real hard for almost four hours without so much as a nibble. The only tickets available were >$100, although I did see someone get miracled. Plus, it was cold and very rainy. I finally scored a ticket after I worked some magic at the will call booth at about 6:30. It would have been such a bummer to fly in from Boulder and not see the show. The show opened with a short but raucus Chalkdust. During the next few songs, I had my problem for the evening. The show was GA and I was sitting way up there on Page's side of the rafters. Before the show started, I made friends with the people around me and everything was very cool. However, during the Moma, this couple invaded our space and the girl asked if they could dance there. I said they could as long as there was enough room, which there wasn't already. I decided now was as good a time as any to use the restroom. When I came back, the couple was still there. At this point I told the female that it was actually crowded. Rudely, she said, "Come On, Dude!" So I decided to dance a few rows above us where I spotted some open space. Anyways, about ten minutes later, the rightful owner of the seet I had taken returned. I told the couple they had to move. They got angry and started to call me an asshole. Anyway, they moved. I was irritated at this point. It reminded me of the 2-18 Denver show, when during the spiritual quietness of the YEM, a fratboy behind me was screaming his guts out. I told him to curb the enthusiastic screaming, at which point he started to act like he wanted to kick my ass. The point of this diatribe about show conduct is as follows: Use the golden rule always. Treat your brother and sister phishheads the way you want to be treated by them. Those that impose their energy on others in a negative manner risk making the Phish experience less than it can be. Back to the music. Thank God! After the imposers left, the people around me made me feel real good again, especially Cassie and Matt from Georgia. Thanks so much! The first set repeated the gems from the Denver show: Moma and Divided sky. They were played real well. Unlike others, I love Mountains in the Mist. However, I must admit that Mist followed by Waves followed by sample left me wondering if the boys had lost the energy of the crowd. However, I knew the second set would blow the 24,000 cavernous arena up. It did. Rock and Roll wailed, with a loud intense "Alright!" section. It was awesome! Wilson followed suit. Then the mothership took off and we all went deep into outer space. From Piper through 2001 into Wolfman's, Phish explored territory where no band has gone before. This is why I love Phish. The energy was palpable with lots of APPROPRIATE enthusiasm, love, hugs. and high fives going around. Boogie On was so cool. Everybody's getting off. Velvet Sea was perfectly placed. Everyone needed a cooldown before the Antelope ripped our heads off one last time (I thought). What a second set! What a show! Even though it was tour closer, I wasn't expecting much from the encore. In true Phish fashion, they gave us the unexpected. First Tube was incredible. The jam kind of resembled a DWD jam. Then came the YEM, where the quiet spiritual part remained so. Noone was screaming like a banchee and disturbing my prayer. And pray I did. After 11 years, Phish still has the magic. And if we're lucky and open to it, we can have it too. After the show, it was still cold and rainy and Greensboro's hotels were booked because of power outages in the area due to an ice storm. I had no plan. I called the taxi company that dropped my off their earlier. I was picked up by an old black man. He asked me where I was going and I said the airport. He said I was cold and rainy and the airport was not the place for me. He invited back to his home. He was such a nice man. We talked and puffed. It turns out he's a minister. I brought an XXL Trey batik from Boulder to try to get into the show with. I still had it. I gave it to my man. He was so happy. I woke up the next morning and thought to myself, indeed, how nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina on this morning. Now, there will be a black preacher man walking around Greensboro with a smiling Trey on his shirt. Is this not what it's all about?
ate: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 17:27:14 EST From: Yamar81374@aol.com Subject: greensboro review here are some of my reflections and experiences from greensboro.  I have chosen to focus less on the music (which was pristine!!!) and more on the crowd and how it effected my concert experience. When we got to the lot it was cold and raining.  This didnt dampen our spirits at all.  Talking to the people next to us we realized it was their first show.....I have to say that it was like half of the crowds first show.  After getting nice and toasty I decided to embark to the doors to catch Phish for my 14th time....my first show since Lakewood run from 2000.  Did anyone else notice that at the convention center right next to the venue there was an actual "FISHING expo" going on?  It was crazy to see all these rednecks carrying fishing poles.  They had no idea who PHish was.  It was funny. Once inside the venue (security was a joke.....laughed as i lifted my pant leg) we went right for our seats our friend from the ATL saved us in section 123.  Now this is where my experience gets a little jaded.  One thing i noticed at this show was the utter lack of respect by the fellow fans sitting by me.  I was excited about being the end of our row of people.  I wanted to meet some cool new people.  This was going smoothly untill it backfired in my face.  This guy who i was sitting next to seemed like a cool guy at first.  He told me he was shrooming or something which is fine....each unto his own.  But before the house lights went down i could tell this guy wasnt the best person to be stuck next to.  His personality quickly changed from someone excited to be seeing phish to a guy who should have left and went to the lobby to freak out.  Since i was on the end of our row i wanted to include this guy in on a huge smokey treat I had brought.  So I handed it to him instructing him to blaze it once the house lights went down.  So he takes it and proceedes to lose my J.  So when the lights went down i asked this guy to fire it up.  He looks at me funny and tells me he lost it.  i said fuck it and decided not to let this bother me...heck one J went down for the cause.  It was what happened next that totally put my first set experience in check.  THis guy who was obviously not in his right mind decides to fall over into my seat during foam.  It was cool i didnt mind him sitting down.....but when he landed in my seat and took over my room I had no room left to dance and i was crushed up against my friend on my other side.  I tried to be courtious and explain that he had mistakenly taken my seat but this guy was drooling or something and he wouldnt respond.  I tried to tell the people who he was with that he had stolen my seat and my space.......they looked at me like i was crazy.  So for the entire first set i was really crushed and not able to dance.....THe music sounded great and i finally got my first foam and divided sky but was not able to fully appreciate due to this person ( and his whole group of little girlfriends) being rude, yelling at me to move ect....who sits down during a phish show anyway? So during set break I try and explain what happened to this tripping guy's friends...and they start yelling at me saying "Your being a dick....i thought people were nice at Phish shows ect...."  So then i decided that i wasnt going to let these ignorant people ruin the rest of my show (which i paid over $150 on ebay to see).  So i decide to tell my buddies that these people are destryoing my show. So i went to move up into the back rafters.  Apparently when i was gone these people i was stting next to kept yelling at my friends....and they actually found the J that their tripping friend dropped in his beer (last time i checked beer and fire dont mix too well).  They then proceede to give the wet J back to my friends with a mean ass "HERE is your J!" with an attitude problem.  Eventually my friends that i had left told me that they had to tell these people to leave them alone because they were bothering them too during the second set.  The people up in the rafters were the people i expected to find at a phish show....courtious, friendly, and just happy to be there.  THe show was awesome...exceeded my expectations......and the view from up top was unreal. So what i came away with from this show really jaded my view of the Phish crowds these days.  If it is your first show...please dont be an asshole to the people who are sitting around you who are there for the music. And to all those assholes who like to hurl glowsticks at trey's face when he is soloing...what the hell are you thinking?  If i were trey and somone threw a glowstick in my eye i would stop playing.  Think morons think! I know this was supposed to be a review of the show.....but the ignorant people almost destroyed my experience.  I atually had the idea that Phish shows should have to be 21 and up like a bar to cut down on the ignorance and stupidity a little. I thought this was a monster show..Over 20 songs played extremely well....super tight encore.  The now infamous double shit YEM! greensboro rocked....thank you PHISH and crazy tripping people...next time be aware that you might be infringing on other people's good times by acting all drugged out and stupid....have some respect. mike s
Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 19:57:10 -0500 From: Matthew Baetz MBaetz@tgcinc.com Subject: Greensboro, March 1st 2003 1: Chalk Dust Torture, Moma Dance, Foam, Lawn Boy, Character Zero, Divided Sky, Mist, Waves, Sample in a Jar 2: Rock and Roll, Wilson, Piper, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Wolfman's Brother, Boogie on Reggae Woman, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Run Like an Antelope, Carolina* E: First Tube, You Enjoy Myself ** My review is simple. I'm 24 and I live in Florida. Phish shows are rare to begin with and I consider myself lucky to get in the door. Therefore my review is this and only this . . . Greensboro was classic. I got to see a show with my brother and our girlfriends for the first time since Merriweather when they played Sabotage. Side Note: I just saw John Daly, the golfer, I said hey, he said whats up? Sorry, back to the review. Phish to me means, good times with friends, a few extracurricular activities and hopefully a few solid numbers from some great musicians. Greensboro was all of this and if you guys from Phish ever read this, Thank you for providing a fun night full of good times and great oldies. Seeing these concerts will always be something I treasure. Matt Baetz
Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 21:04:31 -0500 From: Zack Brown loukrs1@hotmail.com Subject: review This was my first show of the tour and mine and my girlfriend's first show ever, although it had been a long time in the coming.  I've been an avid fan since around the time the hiatus began.  So, needless to say I was stoked.  We got to the lot about four and wandered around for a little while.  The scene was pretty cool, but it was rainy.  We got in line at around 5:30 and got seats on the floor about halfway back, center.  The boys came on pretty late but it just added to everyone's anticipation.  Finally, they came on and...   Chalkdust: yes, very nice way to get the show started.  Very energetic, but pretty standard.   Moma: funk-ee to rockin and back to funky again, very fun, but also pretty standard   Foam: wow, cool.  Didn't expect this one.  Very tight and right on all the changes.  Page is playing beautifully.  Actually, I was very impressed with Page's performance the whole show and his decision to step up.  Everyone's levels are about right.  Mike could've been a little higher though.    Lawnboy: cool, more Page.  Very fun and everybody was singin.   Character 0: got the crowd pumped.  Standard but always rockin.   Divided:  wo!  My phirst show is turning out to be a dream come true, so many good solid songs already.  This was definately the highlight of the first set to me.  Executed very nicely and great climaxes. Beautiful.  The point in the song where there is silence was surreal.  Glowsticks rained from the sky.  The connection between everyone in the room and the band was amazing.  This was a truly magical musical moment when no music was being played.   Mist: very nice slow down song.  Great tune and not very common (it just keeps getting better.   Waves: I like this song and I think it has potential, but it didn't really regain the energy after mist.  I think they want to use this song kind of like Piper in that it's a slow buildup.  But it just never got to the point that I think they were shooting for.  It wasn't bad mind you, just a tad slow but it's all good because they close with...   Sample:  always rockin.  Great way to end the set.  I did have a moment of enlightenment during this song.  I finally understood what the song was about.  I must have heard a hundred times but not until I saw it live did I grasp the meaning.  Anyways...    A great first set.  Solid song selection and placement.  Couldn't wait to hear what they gave us next.   Rock and Roll:  verrry nice.  Rockin but also with a good jam with some great explorations.   Wilson:  I had a dream that they would open with this.  They didn't, but it was still in there.  Kept the place jumping.   Piper: got off to a slow start but picked up after the vocal section.  Very nice jam.  Would've enjoyed a lot more if the kid behind me would have stopped yelling in my ear and leaning in to me to talk to his buddies.  grrrr.  But anyways, very good, slowed down into...   2001: funk-ee.  Pretty standard, but hey, standard 2001 still kicks ass right?  Let me say that everything I heard about Kuroda is true.  He is a part of the band when they play live as far as I'm concerned.  The lights were unbelievable.  He was right on every change and captured every mood(created new ones).  Damn! all I can say. Wolfman's: much more emotional live than on any recording.  Very fun and then...   Boogie On: oh yeah, another great tune.  Both this and wolfman were pretty short but good.   Wading: a very much needed breather.  And I don't care what anybody says, I love this song.  It's so beautifull and I think Trey shows so much emotion during his soloing on this song, probably more than any other.  Excellent placement to because look out! here comes an...   Antelope!: raging!  Kept climaxing, never thought it was going to end.  Very sick antelope.   Carolina: how cool is that.  This just shows how talented and diverse the band really is.   Encore: First Tube: very good, energetic.  Before I even had time to think, "ok, it's over" they start playing...   YEM!!!!:  shit, I was so excited I was jumping up and down.  Very tight on the changes and good jam.  Vocal jam was almost too much to handle and then with the segue into an acapella Proud Mary, what an encore.   I was so dehydrated and overheated by this point I could barely stand.  I danced my ass off.  I know everyone in the crowd and the band had to be just as tired.  But they finished up unbelievably strong, look at the encore.  Phish kicked our asses and we loved it.  Overall the show was great, for a phirst show it was unbelievable.  Although, the band could have literally "pissed in my eardrums and I would have lapped it up."  The show by far exceeded all my hopes and expectations.  Except for the guy behind me ("what song is this?") the crowd was awesome, very into it. So, thanks to Phish (esp. Mike for getting the guys back together) and thanks to crowd for making my phirst show an unforgettable one.  Hello to Mike and to the Slippery Rock crew.
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 21:29:38 EST From: Hale84@aol.com Subject: greensboro review 03/01/03 - Greensboro, NC 1: Chalk Dust Torture, Moma Dance, Foam, Lawn Boy, Character Zero, Divided Sky, Mist, Waves, Sample in a Jar 2: Rock and Roll, Wilson, Piper, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Wolfman's Brother, Boogie on Reggae Woman, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Run Like an Antelope, Carolina E: First Tube, You Enjoy Myself>Proud Mary Finally I get to see Phish. Yes, this is my first show ever. I waited 4 years for this night, and I was very happy with what I saw. I skipped a soccer game for this, and I will pay dearly for doing so, but it was worth it. I would do it again without a doubt. I was able to first crawl my way to about 15 rows of people back from Page. If I was asked to pick the songs for the night I would have picked almost all of them, it was unreal. chalkdust-opening with this told me that i was in store for a great night. i went nuts, and felt feeling i have wanted for such a long time. trey was making the guitar scream moma dance-very funky, i loved to hear it, one of my favorites from the ghost cd foam-a guy i talked to for a while during set break said i was lucky to be at my first show and hear foam, i agree, only if i had known what was to come after they jammed this one really well lawn boy-this one gives me chills, whenever i hear page sing i always get so overwhelmed character zero-one of my favorites, i was pumped to hear this song, the crowd was rockin' as was the band divided sky-wow, the song was made that much better by the glowstick war, again just another one of my favorites, the night was shaping up for a huge second set mist-good song brought it down after an awesome first 5 songs, pretty chillin song waves-i haven't listened to round room too much, but this is one of the better songs on the cd, i like it, pretty chillin song sample in a jar-man, what a way to end my very first set, just a great song to sing and dance to, another one of my favorites glad i was able to see it in my first show rock and roll-an amazing start to the second set. my friend that was with me is a huge velvet underground fan. by then i was 2 rows back, and i was in such aww, i had one of those unreal jolts of energy, i loved every minute of it. wilson-what a classic, i always pretended i was in at the show when i'd listen to this song yelling wilson with the crowd, it was pretty much a dream come true piper-my all-time favorite song, period. i really had made the connection with the 4 on stage, it was chilling when i heard the first few chords, i had to slap myself to make sure this wasn't just another dream 2001-oh shit, it couldn't be. my friend joe and i were in shock when they started. the fog machine made the boys seem larger than life, it made the hair on my neck stand up, the band was rockin' wolfman's brother-by then, it was kind of like trey was reading my mind with what i wouldn't mind hearing next. then again, i would have loved to hear anything, because then i was satisfied with what i got, but fortunately for me and everyone else, they weren't. boogie on a reggae woman-great cover, a great song to boogie to, the band was clicking on all cylinders. wading in the velvet sea-a great song to bring it down some, i fell in love with this song that night. run like and antelope-this set was huge, and playing this all-time great jam just added fuel to the fire, amazing. being that close to trey playing the guitar was something i can't put into words. carolina-i love the acapela numbers they do. i was right in front of the band when they sang. if laid down i would have been at their feet. what a night, but there were still two songs left... first tube-man, this song is awesome. they set up the grand finale perfectly yem-tears came to my eyes when this song started, because i knew that it was going to be over in 20 minutes, but i lived those 20 minutes to the fullest. what a great way to end an unreal night of music. the vocal jam was all-time, i was like a little kid on christmas day. -I was finally in, I had seen Phish, and I can say just a few of the songs at my first show were chalkdust, momma, foam, zero, lawn boy, divided sky, sample, wilson, piper, 2001, wolfaman's antelope, and yem. -Hale McGranahan
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 01:48:57 -0500 (EST) From: Adam S. Rogers asr5z@unix.mail.virginia.edu Subject: Greensboro 3/1 review heyall, this is my first review so here goes, i'll just preface a little saying i've been into the band only since 98, seen about 15 shows now, saw the last night at hampton and this the only one on this tour. needless to say checking out the woosta and nassau setlists i was psyched. overall, i had a fun time. CHALKDUST--pretty rippin', but nothing extraordinary, this is a TV song. energy, but only teen spirit. gotta admit i love yellin out "can't i live while i'm young?" with a bunch of kids to our invisible parents though. MOMA--nice. diggin dancin' (in my 1.5ftX1.5ft human cubicle on the floor) and i like trey to play rhythm FOAM--nice. there was one point where they were about to spill over into nirvana but they didn't... a nice trippy sound nonetheless LAWNBOY--highlight number one: lovely page serenade and nice mike solos... "I get so overwhelmed..." CHARACTER0--No sir, I did not like it. Bad placement, maybe? Too much trey rockstar, esp. after chalkdust, and right after a short focus on page & mike. DIVIDED SKY--nice tune, but not a particularly good version... the silence (if you can call it that)/one note section was a very long period of trey feeding the crowd's plastic glowything fetish and I thought it weird. made divided really long and i got tired of it (!). the end of this song rocks, though. perfect phish punchline. MIST--one of their better "new" slow songs, but with some cheesy lines. there was a line "now i'm soaring far too high" where i was like, "no shit"... but really, i kinda like this tune except for the "I'm on the road again" line. WAVES--more cheesy lyrics "if you could see the waves" but the jam on this song was really sweet from what i remember, or maybe i just dug hearing something different since they weren't improvising much. SAMPLE--another trey rocker. --SETBREAK-- well, i wasn't very impressed, not too pleased with the chaldust-character-sample and the lack of jamming. it seemed all trey getting to high notes and playing composed stuff, all soloing and no jamming. what happened to the group improv? maybe i was grumpified because this place was PACKED. they sold more tickets than had ever been sold at this place before, an absurd amount, all the seats (literally, all the seats) were taken and the floor was a sea of bodies. getting to the bathroom was no fun. they need to sell like 5000 less tickets to play here, unfortunately. so they can't play here again. it especially pissed me off in light of recent happenings in RI and chicago, it is absurd not being able to move around at a concert. Rant off. Funny, in the bathroom this guy had the hiccups and I said "Shit, used to be Phish could scare away the hiccups." SET TWO: up in the seats, back page side, pretty good sound, and a nice new view of kuroda's mastery. by the way, kuroda killed during chalkdust. ROCKNROLL--great to hear page singing again, i love his voice. not much of a jam here, from what i remember. more treycentric stuff, someone said in a review last week that try being high in the mix and playing long high notes tends to drown out and/or draw focus away from the rest of the sound and i totally feel that. PIPER--nothing too special, though i love this song. there was a second i thought what's the use was coming next and i wasn't looking forward to that. 2001--standard, somewhat short, hope i'm not sounding too negative here, i just really wanted to hear a segueway jam, really wanted the band to loosen up and take risks, risk making mistakes, and they weren't doing it. 2001 seemed really predictable and not fulfilling. WOLFMAN'S--was nice because it showcased a little more bass and keys jamming, got me dancing again and thinking about trey with hair growing out his ears VELVET SEA--softy feelgood. the chicks and guys with chicks love it. ANTELOPE--alright... dug it. had to cringe when trey rushed to "rye rye rocco" because pre-rocco part of the 12-31-99 antelope (best part of all of cypress in my opinion) is forever etched in my brain and i heard page moving towards that jam, really getting there and then "rye rye rocco" i felt like he'd stepped on a cool-looking bug or something. argh, stretch it out! but then they took the outta control jam to the edge much like foam had and i was diggin it, actually hoping it would end the set. CAROLINA--wonderful and was wonderfully placed, literally. --ENCORE-- FIRST TUBE--too much trey, thank god for the fan with the big YEM sign on the floor (by the way, whoever was holding the TMWSIY DAMNIT sign, you suck, but if they had played it i wouldve loved you) because trey let the hyperdrive end of 1sttube trail on while he told the boys to get into YOU ENJOY MYSELF--hey, this WAS a good show! highlight: mike's solo section was fing awesome. mike gordon is the true rockstar hidd under a floppy mop. i wanna see him play with bela fleck. page, fish, all of them sounded great. even trey. and the best part of the night? VOCAL JAM>PROUD MARY--vocal jam was intense, kuroda turned the place into a planetarium of sorts, a dark night sky of people with swirling circular constellations and the boys did what they do best when they do it, improvise. after all the whoos and wahs (and a minute tease of Raffi's "Down By the Bay"--look for it) someone came up with ooowen, rowwing, rollin on a river, and i was singin' along left a good job in the ssssitay, woikin' foi the man evey nightindayand they fulfilled with the whole song and a nice soft creamy ending. had to run down to the bars and watch the band hop down from the stage, just four guys. had to heckle trey, callin' him TINA! TINA! (Turner, of course) fun time. got some negative vibes in the parking lot, basically there are some scrappy kids who are with you so long as you do what they want, but if you don't give them what they ask they can be mean.... hey, you guys have a right to be pissed at this tour, given its stingy two-weeks-coast-to-coast dates, the total lack of extra tickets and few miracles, police hassles, everything, character zeroes.. just, please, don't circulate negativity, don't take it out on me when i won't let you use the back of my car to cut up ten-strips, for example. all in all i had a great time with some of my favorite people in the whole world, and gotta say my end thought was love. I love this band, and it's great to have them back. Peace, Adam Rogers Charlottesville, VA
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 20:32:08 -0500 From: Heather and Peter To: dws@gadiel.com Subject: 3/1/03 Review Having seen approximately 80+ shows over the past 11 years and Nassau's epic show the night earlier, we were extremely excited about the tour closer. The first set, imho, was a complete wash. Sample is pure trash and is completely overplayed junk. Phish is so much greater than a Sample closer. Other than Moma Dance, the song selection seemed to please the throngs of glowstick throwers and clappers alike. I know some feel that D-sky was good, however, this D-sky never really fully blossomed and was mediocre at best. Any real music listening would be relegated to the second set. 3/1/03 Greensboro Set 2 aka what you'll remember! Rock & Roll, Wilson-->Piper-->2001-->Wolfman's-->Boogie On-->Wading, Antelope, Carolina E: First Tube, YEM(with Bites the Dust jam)-->Proud Mary Set 2 of Greensboro provide some of the most memorable and creative music that Phish has ever performed. Rock & Roll was explosive and a perfect choice to kick off this great set. Wilson was..well...Wilson! Piper, now the real shit starts. There was 10-15 of a groove that was thick with interesting twists and turns. Not typical crescendos, but smooth silky funk patterns that propelled the energy in the arena. At this point I remembered why i flew to see this show after Nassau. The segue into 2001 was excellent. 2001 was very strong and super high energy abounded. This 2K1 was not too long, but was just right....then bam into Wolfman's Brother. This song is a whole new beast. They have finally figured out how to really play this song. It was not over the top but accentuated the strong syncopation that we so love about this diddy. The jam that ensued and flowed into Boogie on Reggae Woman was of epic proportion. I feel that this was clearly one of the strong points of the show. The Funk just got thicker and now the band was really in a full-on groove. Finally, after checking my pulse and just overall freaking out at the pure joy of this moment they brought it down and went into Wading. I for one, feel that this is one of Phish's greatest slow numbers. They have worked and crafted this into a real gem. The song placement was perfect...ala Grateful Dead placing a Morning Dew towards the end of a second set. I feel that this song gets overlooked and is Phish's Morning Dew. This version was very tight with a shining solo from Trey...just pure beauty coming of the stage. He is getting so much better at fabricating soft cascading solos. Thinking this could be the end of the set, Phish deilvers a true classic version of Antelope. This one , like all, was for the ages. This Antelope raged and truly tore my head apart. What a great way to cap a great set. Then Carolina!!!... How obvious...and how great to hear after so many years, I have always loved this one. The encore of First Tube and YEM was excellent. The YEM was so strong and incrediby funked out. Oh yeah, Boy, Man, Shit?!?, Shit was how they decide to screw up the four lines of this beauty. Who cares? The jam is why we listen. This jam was excellent, it had real direction that was set up by the "Another One Bites the Dust" theme running thoughout the song. Ultimately climaxing through a vocal jam in to Proud Mary. Fully song with a crowd singalong by the conclusion. Great show, amazing second set. Not quite the level of Nassau, but still incredible nonetheless.
Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2003 20:41:00 -0500 From: hoge ronemus hogeronemus@hotmail.com Subject: Greensboro Show First of all I still can not believe Phish played the tour ending show in my backyard. After a few tour runs in the summer and fall of 95 and Europe in 98, I finally did not have to travel miles to get to a show. Phish has always been a medium that has connected my friends and I and for them to come to Greensboro was fantastic. The show was fabulous in my opinion and the best one I have been to. I am getting older now and although the scene is the same the music has evolved and the maturity of these four musicians have too. I believe the hiatus was the best thing for the band. It has given them the chance to grow and experiment playing with different styles. I could evaluate every song but I am not going to. I definately enjoyed the carolina and the encore. The yem was outstanding and the band looked as if they were having a great time and when the trampolines were brought out the youthfulness I used to feel at shows resurfaced and delighted me. The weather was the only downside of the show as we have been hit with numerius ice storms and clouds. This was actually the first show I have gone to in the coliseum, so I did not know what to expect from the sound. The coliseum sounded great and I was pleased that the coliseum finally brought some quality music to our town. So as life goes on and I cannot travel all over to attend shows like in my younger years, I cannot thank Phish enough for the ten years of fun, and exposure to improvisational creativity. The band has given me the ear to explore Jazz, bluegrass, funk and other non mainstream music. I wish the band well and hope they will play until my kids can experience the same feeling I had when I checked out my first show in chapel hill in 93. Thank you Phish and all the fans that make the show such a positive experience and hope Greensboro was kind to you.
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 02:02:40 -0500 (EST) From: Adam S. Rogers asr5z@unix.mail.virginia.edu Subject: RE: 3/1 Greensboro review totally forgot wilson & boogie on... guess i was in the glow of the encore which eclipsed the second set, boogie on was tight and nice, brought me back to hampton 1/4/03, and everytime page hit his top right keyboard i said yes, keep doing that, yes. wilson i remember being good... seeyall soon, peace, adam
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 07:23:45 EST From: FlyersMS31@aol.com Subject: Let's Stay Together: 3/1/03 Just a note to point out the nice book-ends from Phish. Both the post-show music at MSG after New Year's and the tour closer in Greensboro, NC included the song: "Let's Stay Together" Ain't that sweet?  Show was a lot of fun, read the reviews, but more importantly, listen to the music for yourself. -Matt
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 06:25:34 -0800 (PST) From: Archie DeLoach aldeloach@yahoo.com Subject: greensboro review I thought I'd try my hand at a review since now having such capability.  Being the idiot that I am and never learning from my past experiences naturally I stayed out the night before this show until around 3:30 am and had to get up at 6:30 to pack and such.  Finally got on my way about 8 am and picked up my traveling companion at 9:30 am.  It's about a 4.5 hr drive to Greensboro from where I live in Hampton, SC.  We had a nice drive up and landed in Greensboro around 2:30.  We had a coupon for Econo Lodge but it had expired by one day.  After trying 3 or 4 motels with no luck, we decided to hit the lot and worry about accommodations later.  Getting into the lot was quite a hassle although not as bad as previous experiences I've had at Horizon in Charlotte, Lakewood in Atlanta or Merriweather Pavilion Columbia, MD.  Finally we're in the lot.  Nice oh so nice to be in this culture again.  We met some people from Columbia, SC which was cool (I use to live there).  Some of them went to USC.  I couldn't resist my old USC joke to them of; "Hey, they'll let you in that place with an expired fishing license right."  I later felt their pain as they locked the keys in their car.  What a bummer.   We did the lot scene and patiently waited having a few brews.  Kudos to the girl that sold me those chocolates.  I have cussed chocolates before for being bunked but I certainly was not cussing these.  They were straight.  I ate the first one kind of early but anyway.... OK it started to pour so since the doors were now open we went inside.  This place is quite large I thought.  First set, we just found a set.  Way up top.  Not all the way but quite high.  We had some  cool neighbors.  Sweet girl named Cathy sat behind me.  We hugged constantly.  Other people from Columbia, SC again around us.  This is strange, I thought.   Now I'm sitting here quite pleased with myself and the surroundings.  I just keep saying,  "Lights go down now please!!!!" Finally.>>>   Chalkdust.  I've seen Phish open with this quite a few times.  It kicked good.  A lot tighter than Hampton on 01/02.  I turned to the sweet gal Cathy and said; "I think there might be something to this."  She said, "Something to it, yeah there's something to it alright, awesome that's what it is." She gave me a big sweet hug and started messing up my wet hair which felt really good.  Moma Dance next.  The funk was alive, I'm feeling the funk, the funk is in me, dance fool dance.  Then comes Foam.  Hampton was my first one in 18 shows.  Now I can't get away from it.  Not my favorite song except for the fact that it's old Phish.  Lawnboy:  Welcome to Pageland.  The crowd was generally pleased.  Mike doing his thing on the bass solo.  Character Zero, A lot of Phish Heads bash this song but I enjoyed it>>>great guitar work.  Divided Sky; first time ever for me.  Scary.  I felt for poor Trey bombarded by the glowsticks.  He really should not have tried to catch them and throw them back because that only caused more to fly.  "Oh wow let's see if he'll catch mine and throw it back."  What a bunch of morons.  Mountains of the mist had the good slow groove.  Again better than Hampton. I especially like the harmony at the end.    Waves:  I didn't recognize this song.  I hadn't listened to the new cd for a while. I knew I had heard it before though but not at a show.  Sample:  I knew the first set was about over.  Not since 98 for me.  Good choice to close.  I turned to my friend and said this is nice but I want to get closer.  Boy did I ever get my wish. Grabbed some beer at intermission and just started walking down the wet steps very cautiously.  I envisioned myself falling down and spilling both my beers but the gravity gods just didn't want me at that point.  I get almost to the floor and see that you have to climb down.  My friend Jerry climbs down first.  I hand him both my beers & start to go.  This big fat shaved head asshole security guard says: "Use the steps, if you climb down I'm throwing you out of here."  I then looked up and noticed that I had an unobstructed view of the stage about 30 yards away on Mike's side.  I thought this is perfect.  As close as i have ever been in now 19 shows.  I was happy.  Thanks, asshole dude.    Second set.  Rock-n-roll.  Velvet cover.  Trey really looked like he was having a good time and Mike with his scraggly little beard.  I've never seen Mike when he wasn't clean shaved.  Wilson, the evil king of Prussia.  Bang bang bang I'm having phun now.  Piper next.  I have to admit I never really thought much of this tune before although most heads brag on it.  I now have a renewed sense of respect for it.  That was the heaviest Piper I have ever heard. 2001>  the spaceship's taking off again.  Nice smoke from behind and I could hear it going off every time too.   Wolfman's Brother> always a good scene for sure.  chilly and funky.  Boogie on >>another treat for me>  The crowd goes nuts when they want to do it to us until we holler for more. So we did.   Velvet Sea>>ok don't ruin this show for me.  Well at least it's not the encore.  I nearly cried at Deer Creek in 2000 when thy left me with this song.  Antelope>>now we're going somewhere.  This version seemed a bit shorter than some I've heard but  the lights  Oh god the lights especially near the end.  Carolina>>I kind of figured we get this as I did at Greenville in 98.  Funny> I know it's got to be hard to pick up the harmony with all the crowd noise and again kids throwing things.  Why do they do that??? Encore:  1st tube, first of the tour.  Trey jumping up and down and the crowd bobbing with him.  Now I realize why he's so happy.  The tour's almost over.  It's like the last day of work before vacation again.  Then YEM>sick>sick>sick.  I knew this was the last song.  Such a way to close the tour.  Proud mary and another one bites the dust teases which picked up us all. Musically and scene-wise this was one of the best show i have attended.  Right up there with Winston/Salem 98, Birmingham 99, second night Hampton 99, 1st and 2nd night Deer Creek 2000.  Peace and Love to you all>  I hope to get to some summer shows  Atlanta and Raleigh hopefully.  Archie AKA Busternutbag.
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 08:49:43 -0700 From: phil plucks@attbi.com Subject: 3-1-03 gboro review I usually dont write reviews, but this one made me do it! On the wensday before the show, i decided to buy a plane ticket to go out to NC and meet up with some friends how had an extra.  After the vegas and denver show i was having second thoughts about making the trip and risking another mexican cousin encore....little did i know We got to the venue at 3:15 and got in line hoping for a pollock, but there was no poster at all.  It started to rain, but we were all in good spirits and remained relatively warm and dry uner the ripped up cardboard trashcans, now used as roofs.  Finally, 6 pm and the doors open.  Since we were second in line in our row, we were stoked.  The plan was 2 of us get posters and the other grab a spot in front...but i didnt get through security b/c i had a bag w/my dat deck and they made me walk to the otherside of the building!  i was pissed...not a good way to start off.  Anyways, i got it after 20 minutes of walking and standing in line to find out there werent any posters and that we had a spot 3 rows back dead center.  Sweet! Slowly the southern teenies tried pushing through and still momements before the show, people are trying to get in front of us because it's their right to and i quote "since it's g.a., we can do what we want."  That's not the right kind of mentality.  Anyways, the lights finally go off and chaos begins. Lets just put it this way, during chalkdust, there were punches about to be thrown by the same wasted girl who jumped on stage in bonaroo, so my review of chalkdust is not good...too crowded.  Then, once the wasted girl had everyone tell her to leave, things got a lot better.  Moma was good funk-rock and didn't break any ground, but carried on the good energy.  Then came Foam!!  hell yeah, since 96 i have missed this song at every show i've been to...so i was stoked.  third row and they nailed it!  perfect version.  The only downside?  the 30 kids standing there with their arms crossed because they didnt know what it was and couldnt sing along with it, well at least i got some good pics since everyone around me was standing still...damn newbies dont know whats up Then LawnBoy....i've seen this in denver and i thought the devner version had a better cactus solo, but then again, in the 3rd row, it was great to see them having fun! Character 0...none of us were really excited to hear it, but the kids around us had a fun time singning the chorus...it was a good version though.  Trey loves being a rock star Divided!  This was the first time in a while that i got chills from having a great time and good energy.  The section in back with the industrial strength glowsticks got trey's attention during the pause and a huge glowstick fight ensued....just out of curiosity, does every show have to have one of these?  People were hucking them at the stange and mike was getting pissed. Anyways, this divided was great, and flawless...way better than denver's.  I have managed to catch all the divided's played since they've been back.  What are the chances?  before the hiatus, i had seen 2 in 4 years, now it's 3 in 3 months! Mist was a good song to hear up close....Waves is a good song...one of the better of the new album.  Wasn't as good as the nye version, but still a fun song.  Sample...the kids next to us were on their phones calling their buddies!  "they're playing sample dude!"  i can do nothing but shake my head and laugh.  After the set we decided, no more front row!  so we moved back and i ran into my friend who i hadn't seen in 3 years.  so i kicked it with him for the second set.  We knew they had to throw down for set 2 and boy did they! Rock and Roll was a sick opener and trey was in his fine form of machine gunning it!  great version.  the one from hampton was awesome too...is this their new fav? Wilson is wilson, but i swear trey missed a verse...was it me? Now is when the shit started to get crazy...the beginning of piper had me go take a piss break, which was nice b/c no one was there.  When i got back, they had just started into the jam...it wasn;t the normal raginng piper, but had more of the funk element to it.  i leaned over while page was on the clav and said, 2000....Then the funk escalated, the blue lights went on stage and it quieted down, until fishman laid down the beat...2001!!!!  Yess!  The intro was funky and i was finally able to get down.  haven't been able to truly get down at a show in years.  12-29-98 was the last time i had a feeling this good.  THis was a solid version, but a little shorter than hoped.  But its OK, they kept the groove going and went into a wolfmans...totally didnt expect this.  Nice version with some licks by page and trey.  i am starting to remember why i loved this band so much.  When they play well, it's the best thing out there... then they bust into boogie on...not my fav, but it kept up with the them of the set, funk!  it was good to hear mike slapping his heart out on the bass.  they kinda faded out and then page starts into velvet sea....how many groans did i hear?  a lot...almost as many as the damn clappers who don't realize that they are musicians and they dont need help keeping beats.  Anyways, i like velvet sea.  but not as an encore (nye) and not in the middle of a set that is raging.  Oh well, i guess a breather was needed after that intense playing so far.  So, what's next?  i was thinking...Antelope.  This one was ripping and roaring and i haven't seen such perfect timing between kuroda and the band when they stop and the blue lights come on...perfecto!  Carolina acapella was a great way to end the set...couldn't have asked for anything else.  And the rush of people who moved up front to try and get closer!  i didnt think there was room to do that after the first set.  Awesome closer! Now, this is what capped off the night as best as i have seen since 12/30/97.  first tube>yem!  I woulda been happy with the first tube, but when i saw trey whirling the finger around to signal another song...i began having flashbacks to the crap they ended vegas and denver with.  But then...is that what i think!!!??  Oh yeah!  Busting out a yem as the second song in the encore?  it ended up being a 30 minute encore, at least, and it was a fine fine fine yem.  they nailed it again, as did denver's version.  The buildup to bmgs was actually boy, man, shit, shit!  funny shit!  The tramps were solid and trey has been getting risky with those 270's in both directions.  The jam was sick, but too short.  i understand they had a time issue ( wonder if they went over) and the vocal jam with the proud mary singing was as good as it gets to end a tour in the south.  Well, i have to say, this was the best show i saw post hiatus.  The best i've seen since nye run 98, maybe 10-2-99.  About the scene, i really do miss the days of crowds that knew more of what's going on in the show.  it just adds to the intensity of it.  i dont have a problem with new kids coming, b/c everyone has a first show, but a lot of em concentrated in a small area, sitting down during rock and roll, standing w/arms crossed during foam...come on!  that's not how it's supposed to be.  anyways, this show left me off feeling good about the boys again.  they are much tighter than any of the shows so far since they've been back.  I've got some pictures up:  http://lucksp.tripod.com/showpics thanks for reading
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 11:54:54 -0500 From: Matt Allen mallen@hpidirect.net Subject: The Greensboro Imprint I have never been so mentally and physically drained after a show excpet for Big Cypress, but nothing really compare to that. This was my second show of the tour and was hoping for some extreme energy which eluded us in Chicago. Wow - the energy of this show was of epic proportions - it reminded me of Hampton of years past. We arrived late, about 6:30 and missed out on any lot scene there may have been despite the cold rain. I just made it back to my seat when the lights went down - my wife was so excited she threw her arms up punching me in the eye and knocking my contact out. Not the way I had hoped to begin this event. While I struggled unsuccessfully to regain my vision in one eye, Trey started shreading. From the first note of Chalkdust he never looked back all night feeding us tremendous amounts of high octane. Moma was equally as high pitched, hard, and fast. Like most of the jams of the night, it was short and fueled by fire. Then came the first of my favorites for the night - Foam was played to near perfection. When Page is on fire nothing can go wrong. The interplay here was beautifully defined with some improvisational play - Trey could have peaked his jam a little more at the climax, but I am definately not complaining. I had perma-grin from ear to ear. I finally got a Lawnboy where I was close enough to see the stage and Page pimping it out. It was a blast. Now I must admit when Trey started Character my first thought was, "Atleast it's not closing the set." Again, like the entire show, the jam was loud and hard and full of energy. Then came the next miracle of the evening - it's been so long since I've heard a Divided Sky that I almost passed out. It was as moving as ever. The interplay was there - weaving in and out. A glowstick war ensued for the first half of the song thru the long pause. Trey was just egging them on by catching the glowsticks and throwing them back. After he hit "the note" Trey got hit with a glowstick and scolded us with a hard feedback thrust on his guitar telling us "That's enough!" The energy in the crowd was insane throughout the rest of this jam. Mist was very nice and soothing & could not have been more prefectly placed followed by another beautiful Waves. The whole Sky, Mist, Waves portion of this set was euphoric - even for someone like me who was mostly sober. I heard this in Chicago and loved it. Well it was even better here! Trey's sweet singing guitar licks sent us floating thru the ocean and the sky. Then another amazing, short, high energy jam hit us with Sample. Somehow this song has eluded me for the past 24 shows and I embraced it with open arms. This set may not look fab on paper, but when you listen to this recording you'll hear the excitement and energy. The were ON tonight. Rock & Roll could not have been more perfect of a opener for the 2nd set. They showed us what pure Rock & Roll was about all night. This jam was as tight and wild as ever. The place was booming as they hit the first few cords of Wilson - NUTS!!! This place was about to explode. The jam reflected it, too - it was straight adrenaline. Loud, hard, & vicious - just like Wilson. The sweat and energy are just oozing by now - could this get any more crazy? Ah, yes it can. This is how I love Piper, when they take their time building the intro much like they used to do in 97 and 98. The main jam to this didn't last too long, but they finally took off into the nights only real type II jam. The boys were very patient with each other giving each other time do develop a crazy jam and passed it back and forth very carefully. Fish and Mike laid the foundation(s) while Trey and Page were like two ferocious kids on a junglegym. It was as close to sheer perfection as I can ever remember hearing. I thought they were heading into a Twist Around until it slowed down to an ambiet jam and Fish kicked in the beat to 2001. Wow - could this be anymore perfect? While it was a short 2001, they laid down the funk here. The lights were phenominal and the crowd wild. The Wolfman's could only be defined as a pleasant surprise. Mike and Page got the funk out and the jam that ensued was just plain FUN shakin' and goovin'. Then came Mike's teases into Boogie on - now this is when it officially became a huge party. This jam was nothing remarkable, just a fun groove. Velvet Sea was VERY dramatic. This song tends to get a bad rap, but it was perfectly placed here and Trey nailed it. Then it came - this was a rocketship into space. I have heard some great Antelopes, but I didn't know this was possible! This song killed me, brought me back to life, and killed me again. It started fairly normal, pretty upbeat. The jam took off and was heavy with Trey's guitar, then it built up and up and up...........my eyes popped out of my head, I don't know how Chris kept up the lights but they were incredible. It was like an explosion. Trey turned to Fish as if to introduce him as Marco, and we all thanked him thouroughly. I almost forgot about Carolina. This was one of the best a capella version of any song I've heard, and a nice tribute, too. By now the show was pretty lengthy as it was about 11:30. I was stoked to get the 1st 1st Tube back. I thought, man, how can they keep up this level of energy? But what better way to end such a high powered show than with one of the most high powered tunes there is!? But somehow they created more power and energy as they climbed higher and higher. I couldn't jump high enough! When it finally peaked with a boom, out came a thick YEM. Holy Shit!!! More!!! By now they could have pissed in my ear and I would have enjoied it. Ofcourse it was very energetic - the lights and the build were perfect. I actually thought that I had screwed up singing the Boy, Man, God, Shit verse. Then came to realize Trey said Shit twice which was rather humourous. Mike showcased the jam with some heavy funking thumping. I loved the Another One Bites the Dust tease. The vocal jam started with some very weird sounds and then came the Rolling.....Rolling.....Proud Mary vocals that actually segued into a full song a capella Proud Mary ending. This one was a total crowd pleaser. The set list was long and solid. While it wasn't your exploratory long jam-based improve show, it was a phenomial Punch-You-In-The-Eye, sheer explosive rock n' roll show. I have rarely heard them when they jammed together this well - they were very clean and sharp. This is why we do this and why I keep coming back. Thanks guys, can't wait to see you outdoors................ Matt Allen
Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 17:25:46 +0000 From: Michael Marks jawaka202@hotmail.com Subject: 3/1/03 Greensboro Review This was the first show I've seen since Darien Lake 2000. I have been hearing a lot of mixed reviews about the Post-Hiatus Phish. I thought Saturday's show was definitely a good show. Not the best I've ever seen, but real good. The first set was really good up until they played Mist. This was the first time I heard that song and I've heard nothing but bad things about it. I'd like to hear it again before I say if I like it or not, but it just seemed to zap the energy out of the crowd. Waves seemed pretty tame and I'm not a huge Sample fan, so it seemed that the band sort of tapered off at the end of set I. But, Foam, Divided Sky, Lawn Boy, Character Zero & Moma were great as usual. Set II started off with one of my favorite covers, Rock and Roll. Wilson got nasty and Piper thru Reggae Woman kept everyone's ass shakin'. Velvet Sea was a nice breather and I think it may have been, technically, the best played tune all night. Antelope was sweet to hear and Carolina was a nice way to close the set. I kept yelling "Dale Jarret's comin' out with the band tonight!" For those of you that don't know, Dale Jarret's a NASCAR driver. Obviously he didn't come out, but I thought that the Southern Phish Heads might get a kick out of hearing a NASCAR reference at the show. I thought that First Tube would be it. I would have been happy with it like that, just because they weren't closing with a slow tune. So, when they busted out with YEM I was flabbergasted. They kicked ass on that and the vocal jam was one of the best I've heard since Vernon Downs. If I had to rate the show, I'd give it 7 out of 10. But don't listen to me, listen to the show yourself and make up your own mind. Richard Spurtz
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 14:03:19 -0800 (PST) From: G Antczak g_antczak@yahoo.com Subject: 3/1/03 Review Last night's show at the Greensboro Coliseum had been highly anticipated for some time. As the tour closer, many phans would have high expectations. We left my friend's house around 4:30, allowing us enough time to make the short trek across the urban wasteland. We could see the gargantuan structure hovering in the distance. The lot scene was a bit subdued from the cold drizzle, but the crowd gathered at the gates remained focused and undeterred. Congrats to Berto, whom we met in line before doors opened for calling the opener. We staked out piece of front-of-board real estate we dubbed the 'G-spot'. The acoustics were excellent. Time seemed to grind to a halt waiting for the show. The opening Chalkdust set the tone for the evening. The jam built and climaxed several times, despite being of modest length. Moma Dance kicked off in classic funk fashion. It was delicate and all the changes were tight, Fish's vocals sounded great and Mike's tone rang deep and bright. The slap of Foam came off next, and though it's not one of my favorites, the sound was excellent and Page's piano riffs were crisp and clean. Lawn Boy was one of three slow numbers of the night, and as the others came at an appropriate time. Foam had lulled the crowd into a hypnotic stupor, and Page's swoons brought some relief, with help from a clever Cactus solo. Character Zero brought back the hard rock Trey leads that would be the feature of the evening, each crest soaked with riveting fills from the rhythm section. The mood was then set for the sets main event, the epic Divided Sky. A full-on glowstick war occurred around the time of the Pause, with some of the attack being trained at the band, one even hit Trey's guitar during one of the more delicate passages. The ending jam to Divided brought more awe inspiring peaks and made for a strong overall execution. Mist gave some rest and proved a peaceful and serene contrast to soaring jams that dominated the show. Waves was charming and calm, less spectacular than the other jams, but it complemented the overall flavor of the set well. A Sample closer was strong, but still left plenty of space for second set. The first set primarily showcased long composed sequences separated by swelling and energetic jams, though lacking in explorativity. Strong showings by Moma and Divided^×songs that rely on structured improvisation^×were not supported by anything exceptionally creative. Overall C+. The opening chords of Rock and Roll broke the second set out with force. Writhing and furious, it set a strong precedent for the set. Wilson was hard, dark and brooding with thunderous pulses. Then came the jam of the night, Piper. It came in soft and patient, slowing building into the lyric portion. The jam soon turned away from the Piper and worked its way to a theme reminiscent of 'Twist' or 'Oye Como Va'. The group interplay wound around several themes and Page, who played shotgun for much of the show, continued to step up and pull off enchanting clav, piano, and organ leads. As the jam wound down, the sound settled briefly into ambient peace before kicking in 2001, a solid version with the usual sick funk grooves. Wolfman's was tight and followed suit with more pumping and pounding bass lines that eventually jumpstarted Boogie On. Trey delivered solid vocals, but the jam seemed to stall, and gave up in a soft decrescendo. A brief rest was in order and Wading fit the bill. The arena was lulled and the bouncing intro to Antelope breathed life back into crowd. The Antelope did justice to the evening's themes. The jam broke through the crowd like a torrential flood. I was swept up and tossed asunder in a maelstrom of crashing waves, each one more violent and terrifying. The band didn't quite make it offstage before a pair of microphones were set in front of Page's rig. The crowd let forth shouts of glee between the verses of Carolina. A delicious treat indeed. The second set was built on forceful, arc of peaking style jams. Piper boasted the only remarkable deviation from conventional jamming, but the songs selection was well balanced and had a good overall flow. Overall B. A First Tube encore looked to close out. The song really just sounded good, and as for most of the show the way the tones of the instruments blended made every piece more enjoyable. Trey was absolutely tearing it up and remained passionate and focused as he had throughout the night. Someone mid-floor held up a YEM sign during the final surge, and as it was already nearly 11:30 this seemed highly unlikely. As First Tube died off, it was YEM after all. As YEMs go, it was good. Not perfect but not far from the mark either. The jam came on with Mikes liquid bass and teased Another One Bites the Dust. The vocal jam was interesting, but the boys did seem a little tired, which was not surprising after so many high-energy jams. Finally a sweet acapella Proud Mary rose to round off a delightful evening. The show featured a heavy guitar-oriented rock and roll theme, and though I prefer more exploratory group oriented jams, this show was in no way a disappointment. On the contrary, this show had more balls-to-the-wall high gear energy than any concert I've seen in recent years, certainly a feat for a show that went five minutes shy of midnight. Overall A-.
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 15:43:26 -0800 (PST) From: C Thomas champsmom27@yahoo.com Subject: Phish - 3/1/03 Greensboro NC. I wasn't able to get tickets Hampton, my back yard, but, I did get tickets to Greensboro. Since it was the first time since Hampton 98' I have been able to go with my ol' Phish friends, our first time back together at a show was OFF THE HOOK. Here is how I took it from the first level of seating, front row, even with CK5 on the Right hand side of the stage. At 7:53pm on my watch, the lights went out. Chalkdust opened up and set the pace for some good stuff. Got the crowd buzzing. Moma was so funky I thought someone farted. Foam was similar to the Hampton 2K3 but, a bit punchier. I think it was Mikes bass. It was great to see Page ham it up front and center with Lawnboy. Sorta like Radio City 2000.. good clean crooning. Character Zero came in with the quickness and made you remember it was Phish on the marquee. As the energy was drifting on cloud 9 with so many strong songs, Divided Sky opened up the love and poured down A+ playing by all. Damn fine song. The glow stick war was in full effect. I got pelted in the head, picked it up and heaved it forward. Even Trey was bare handing them and chucking them back into the mix. Made me think of the chess games of 95' with interaction like that. That's why Phish rules. Mt. in the Mist was similar to Hampton 2K3. Great to see that song played again. Always a good tune. Waves was a very melodic and was a great transition set up song for Sample. Sample in a jar always rocks. What a way to end a strong set. What ever could set two provide that set one hasn't offered?? At a little after 10, the band took the stage to show us. Rock N Roll started up set two and reminded us it was all right. Wilson came after and was the heaviest, most powerful sound I have ever heard. I thought there for a second it was a Slayer ballad instead of Phish's Wilson. Heavy and strong. Piper was a good way to open the door for another show stopper (as always) 2001. I watched as CK5 light the room into a frenzy and the band provided every other sense needed to float around space a bit. Nothing like hearing it in the Mothership but, close. Solid shit going down. Wolfmans Brother was a great way to loosen Mike up. He tore it down. Sweet runs and full funk approach. Boogie on was a good cover to toss in the mix. Velvet Sea made me grab a seat and collect myself. I love that tune so much it's a sit down and take it all in sorta song for me. Sounded so good. Then, (after Divided Sky tore it down and 2001 lifted it off).. Antalope comes prancing through the fields. I love this song and, they played it like they heard me talking about it on the drive down from VA. Full on, no holds barred, pulling out all the stops. Killer tune. At the end of it all I admit, I was winded. When the guitar went down and the side mic got set up, I was thinking Freebird. Then, I though.. we're in NC. Sure enough, Carolina came through crystal clear in full throwback barbershop style. Them boys sure know how to put on a damn fine show. I was dumbstruck. Set two was over, I wasn't quiet sure what I just saw and the room was lit up like a thousand stars waiting for the encore. At 11:15 on the watch, I knew it would be a long encore... First tube came out and pulled the crowd into a overdrive frenzy. Strong as hell. Pulling out every bass thump as Trey laid guitar licks like a ninja dismantling enemys. Fat ass tune. Fat I said. Just as Phish made you beleive that First tube was the end, YEM busts out of nowhere like a angry pimp and bitch smacks the crowds wig straight. I saw jaws drop as the band began to lay into it. Thinking it was a last chance hooray (since I middle floor in Hampton for their "re-start" to which they killed it), this had to have been one of the tightest renditions of YEM I have ever seen. Every note, break, tempo change, run, twist and turn was on the money. The "Another One Bites The Dust" teaser got picked up as the jam progressed and the "Proud Mary" ending made me think the band was bringing it full circle from their first show singing Proud Mary over and over to this show ending it up with the big wheel still turning. I have seen many a show and know, this show proved why they are still number one in my book after all these years. Thank you Phish for being the band that links us all. Thank you black haired natty dread with the kindness dancing near the handrail and sharing your goodies. Thank you Greensboro for allowing me to travel to your town and feel welcomed. Thank you everyone for making that show one of the greatest experiences yet. I look forward to the next. Glad to glide, Shane T. Newport News, VA
Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2003 17:29:35 -0500 From: sam kennedy kennedys@email.unc.edu Subject: review for greensboro 3.1.03 LISTEN TO THE PIPER!!!!! this show, while having a strong first set, with some great tunes--FOAM anyone? and a spectacular divided sky with a glowstick avalanche from the upper level that left trey and mike looking out at the crown in awe, last night at greensboro was all about what happened after set break . the second set started off with rock and roll, always a fun time, and super tight with serious explorations by trey during the end segment. just rocking. then a wilson which got the crowd riled up (as if we werent pumped already, cause everyone definitely was)and ended with a very evil end section. we were all quite impressed with the energy of the band and couldnt wait to hear what was next. then came the piper. now normally, piper is a quiet unasuming kind of guy. he sneaks up quietly, then gently, slowly, gracefully raises his voice shakes your hand and you both go off skipping through the flowers and have a fun time for about 7-10 minutes. the piper we met on saturday night was no ordinary piper. he came on strong at the beginning , with all the energy from wilson already being funnelled into the youthful body of little piper. he was LOUD, INSISTENT. he needed to be heard. then something happened. he got funky. groovy, just groovy, with trey sporting a huge shit- eating grin and laying IT DOWN!! PIPER WAS A MAN! HE WAS GETTING FREAKY!! this definite piper->JAM was why i came to see phish. lasting a good 20 minutes, it was the highlight of the night for me. the guys really were walking out on the tigh rope in this one, with some strange, strange, beautiful jamming by everyone in the band, especially mike and page. it reminded me of the runaway jim of worchester 97 ( i know that is a bold comparison but it was that good). i would have never expected them to take piper to this level. please get the cds. for your own good. if you ahve any doubts that phish is back and at the top of their game, look no further then the second set of this night. how could they follow such a bomb of a piper? well they did a hell of a job, with some funky FUNKY 2001>wolfman's>BORW which had me hugging everyone in my immediate vicinity. the transition into Boogie On is amazing too. trey just looked back at fishman, and suddenly there it was. absolutely seamless, and with the tempo and key change that is quite a feat. reminded me of the excellent wolfmans>makisupsa from 11.19.97. please forgive all the fall 97 comparisons but that is the only way to describe the weiht of the FUNK that was dropped on greensboro. i wont even go into the antelope, but lets just say it was antelope. wow. the encore was a surprise for me, no one expected a first tube, but this was was exceellent, adn when trey looked back to fishman and said "you enjoy myself" i think i may have wet myself. seriously. they could have stopped with first tube, but they obviously were having a ball, and didnt want to quit just yet. please get the tapes. the vocal jam is the tighest ive ever heard, and ive listened to a good 400 hours of phish and countless YEMs (all of the ones from 97, and many spectacular ones like the 5-5-93 with aru) even charlie dirksen will agree that this YEM was something special. phish came to play yall. and we came to listen. thats the way it is supposed to be.
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 12:18:46 -0800 (PST) From: Nathan Coblentz phrodo41@binarycortex.com Subject: greensboro Set I: Chalkdust: solid, strong opener, but nothing memorable. Just good. Moma: again, solid, danceable, and strong. These are good, low-risk warmup songs so far. Foam: as tight as ever. Page's solo was absolutely sublime. Lawn Boy: got a huge response from the crowd. Page is having a great night so far. Character Zero: well, at least it's not a set closer. Divided: This is when things started to get good. Flubs were kept to a minimum. At some point mike and Trey started jumping together. There was a Glowstick Apocalypse during the pause, like none I've ever seen. Apparently someone hit trey's guitar with a glowstick after he played the note, so I heard this chord from out of nowhere (I was standing on the floor and couldn't see much) and thought something else was going to happen. But trey recovered, and the ensuing jam was inspired. Definately the best part of the first set. Mist: good placement, we needed to breathe for a minute. One of my favorite chillout songs. Waves: I liked this alot, but they seemed to be losing the crowd. Everyone was like, oh, new song. I don't think Waves has reached its full potential yet. Still, I was enjoying this Waves immensely, probably much more than everyone around me. Secondary first set highlight. Sample: high energy, trey led rocker. Good set closer. This first set gets a solid 7 for tight and focused, but low risk playing and no major flubs, with a gorgeous Divided Sky and Waves. Set II: Rock and Roll: Huge jam out of this one. Went into some type II territory and just when we thought it was gonna segue into something, reprised the main theme. Lots of sloppy All Right yelling. Wilson: evil, evil, dark, red lighted wilson. Piper: This was unlike any piper I've heard. It departed away from the traditional build very early into the jam and went into a throbbing, morphing minor key trance-metal thing (for lack of a better term) that was very reminiscent of the 46 Days in Hampton. Soon Trey was toying with Oye Como Va. This jam just kept going out and out until it melted away into some space, leading up to:. Also Sprach Zarathustra:can phish ever play a really bad ASZ? I don't think it's possible. A big crowd pleaser Wolfman's Brother: and the crowd pleasing continues! This jam went into a minor key with lots of slick clav work, and then revisted some of the same jam territory from Piper. More vague oye como va teases. Boogie On Reggae Woman: And then out of nowhere comes a Boogie On! I don't know how they pulled this segue off. It was pretty jolting because of the key change, but the band somehow didn't miss a step. The groove-fest continues. sooo much grooving. Wading in the Velvet Sea: probably the only song they played that I don't really care for. But I had to sit down so it was a good change of pace. I think Phish has been getting better with their set placement, and relearning where all the slow songs should go. Of course velvet was pretty and all. Run Like An Antelope: I think we all knew this was coming. Beautiful interplay between page and trey during the buildup. The big tension part was excruciating. It built, built, built, and gave a few measures of release before building some more. I could have used some more release. But this was a perfect set closer. Carolina* - I sort of halfway called this in the lot, given the location of course. Encore: First Tube: first first tube since the haitus, if I'm not mistaken. Totally peaked out, blissful closing. Then nobody put their guitars down. I figured we'd maybe get a golgi or something. But instead: YEM!!!: if anyone complains about this encore, they should be banned from the phish world forever. This was a GREAT yem with all kinds of quirks and teases. Trey accidentally said shit instead of God, and everybody laughed. The jam was thick and chunky, leaning more at first towards the "playing as one" style. But then that same oye como va started creeping in again, only this was a full-blown quote. At some point there was a big Another One Bites The Dust tease. A nice trippy vocal jam followed by a full-blown proud mary. Possibly the best developed vocal jam I've heard. all in all, a strong 8.5 show, and the best one I've seen yet. First set gets a 7 for the divided and overall solid playing. Second set/encore gets a 9. We were all hoping for a reba or a gamehenge story, but couldn't have asked for anything better than what they gave us. And to all you phish snobs out there, this was SHOW NUMBER SIX for me. If you want to send me hate mail because I'm reviewing a show here and I haven't dedicated my life to following the band around since 91 like you probably have, feel free, but I will probably post our correspondence on a message board so people can make fun you.
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 16:33:19 -0500 From: Brian Davis Subject: greensboro review My body still aches from all the dancing I did last night! Last show of the tour and those crazy cats from Vermont brought the house down. First off, I live about 30 minutes down I40 from the Gboro coliseum, so this was pretty much a hometown show for me. So many familiar faces from places near and far. Didn't see everybody, but it didn't matter. The lot scene was packed and positive, even though occasional cold showers would send many scurrying for cover. Still, there weren't too many people with their finger in the air and it seemed like there were plenty of miracles to be had. A friend of mine almost got screwed when she drove two hours to raleigh for a ticket from someone off of ebay only to be stood up. Luckily, the ticket I had saved for someone else was given up at the last second, so my friend managed to get one for face despite the Raleigh experience. After selling enough crystals on shakedown street to pay for my ticket, I grab some friends on return to the cars. After a quick session, about 10 of us roll out and get in a THICK line at the top of the stairs. Some confusion with other doors opening and venue staff who like to mess with the Phish kids, but we finally got in and scoped out the arena. Floor was already packed and it was barely 6pm. We settled on the 200 level on Mike's side back around the soundboard. Found some more peeps and next thing you know we've got 4 rows of 6 seats each all to ourself. Wonderful to be surrounded by family. As for the music, I don't remember any of that. Who goes to a Phish show for the music anyway? Just kidding! I've seen some big Phish shows in my time. I got a late start, but I've been to every NYE show since 98...along with some other gems. This show stands as the best two sets from Phish I've ever heard. Nothing compares to the 8hour madness of Cypress. Frontrow at Roseland Ballroom might be on par, but I got my three favrote phish songs last night so I might be a little partial to Gboro. It started off with chalkdust. I knew this was coming when, right before the lights go down, the girl I had a ticket for turned to me and asked if they had played chalkdust the night before (because she didn't want to hear it), "At least they're getting it out of the way," I tell her as Trey starts into his favorite song. Despite my friend's feelings about the song, it rocked. "Can't I live while I'm young," resonates strongly with Phish's fanbase. I don't think it would fly as high with a Dead audience. Probably be some broken hips and heart attacks from trying to keep up Trey's blazing 'try to steal the show' guitar prowess. Not that Jerry couldn't teach him a thing or ten, but that's a whole nother story. Next up is Moma Dance. Somewhere in here it becomes apparent that Paige is ON tonight. Filling space with melodious movements, he knew just when to let up and let beat take over. This one let everyone settle into their groove after the Chalkdust accelerated everyones pulse. As it wraps up I hear something I'd never experienced before: FOAM. Somehow this gem had eluded me for years, but with the limited visibility created by the fog in the preceding 24 hours....it seemed to be an appropriate pick. Really tight version, with Paige really going to town. This put a smile on a lot of peoples' faces. And then a Lawn Boy. Nice and slow we go. Sit down, take a breath, and pack it up, not neccessarily in that order. Next up, character 0. Not a big phan of this one for some reason, but still a good song nonetheless. When it's followed by Divided Sky, well it simply doesn't matter what they play. They could play fart noises with their armpits, and I wouldn't be disappointed so long as they followed it with a Sky. My second one ever, and first since NYE. This one might have been better. I really need to hear the tapes. I certainly felt some transcendental joy during this one not unlike what I felt when Barraco laid it down during the UJB from the Kaiser two NYE's ago. For me, that was the climax of the first set right there. During the pause, a plethora of bright glowsticks emerged from the nosebleeds up amongst the rafters of the Greensboro coloseum. As they made there way down to the floor, sticks were thrown at the band. Trey was eating it up, catching what he could and tossing it back out into the crowd. I'm sure someone was slinging Trey's glowstick on Shakedown later that night. They followed with Mountains in the Mist, which I had last heard in Cincinnati a week before. Not bad, and definately a reference to the western half of the state. They took us to the beach next, however, with a nice rendition of Waves. Towards the end, it started getting spacey, much to my delight. Before they could explore the underwater world that they had manifested with their melodies, a familiar first set closer was wensed. Sample in a Jar. Good, typical version, I suppose. Everyone was upbeat during intermission. Smiles everywhere, except the lines to the bathroom. Was barefoot, so I sure as hell wasn't going in there. Eventually returned to my seat and soon enough the second set started. I was really hoping for a Mike's sonf, but I guess I was lucky enough to hear it and a Groove 13 songs later during the two nights in Cincinnati. Instead, they threw their cards on the table and showed us what they're all about. Rock and Roll. Everything was allright for this tune. The energy in the house was incredible. Last set of the tour....don't know what else is coming, but it's gonna be good. They decided to rock the house even more with the next one. The familiar Wilson rift got the chant going and trey played rock god when it was time to unleash a sonic onslaught upon the feverish crowd. Things got even hotter when the Piper started playing his tune. Without a doubt, one of the best Pipers I've ever heard. Everybody was on and locked in, pumping out a groove that grew into a giant red worm the likes of which few have ever experienced. 5th gear, rocking out, rhythm replaced by sheer propulsion. Gotta bring it back to a sustainable speed. Trey's train slows down a bit, and Mike brings out the funk. Sick 2001, with Paige and Mike showing that they got the goods as well. The whole time, but here especially, Kuroda is showing that he too is part of the band. Instead of giving us a much needed breather, the funk keeps coming with a soulful wolfman's brother. This got the goosebumps going and the crowd exuberant, with lots of singing along. Right into Boogie on Reggae Woman. A good version that fit in well with where the set had been going. Not quite as funky as in cincinatti, but there wasn't really much space for Mike to get his sound in. Everyone was doing there part. Much needed opportunity to sit down during velvet sea. Not really a favorite, but they can time it well. Definately prefer it as a breather in between dancing than as an encore. As it ends, what's that I hear? ANTELOPE! Oh man, this brought it back into 5th gear. One of the best antelopes I've ever heard. I can't even begin to describe it other than orgasmic. That's the energy that this one generated. An explosion of euphoria. Absolutely must hear this one again in order to properly evaluate. I thought that might have been it, with everyone putting down their instruments. Instead, they come to the front of the stage and sing an acappela Carolina. Man, nothing could be finer. Encore was amazing. First tube, often an opener and not yet played this tour i believe, was powerful as usual. Definately surprised everyone. Everyone thought it was over, but then it came. I'd been calling a YEM encore all weeklong, and we got it. The third of my three favorte songs. Divided Sky in the first, Antelope in the secong, and YEM in the encore. Life doesn't get much sweeter. Vocal jam was reminiscent of the one from 98 LJVM, only right were heloise williams came on in 98 with some real spookiness, they started singing rolling.....rollin.......rolling on a river. Riiiiiiight. I wonder if that says something about Phish lot. Anyway, a great show all in all. Would write more, but it's 4:19...peace!
Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2003 20:07:42 +0000 From: Mike Walker mikew30@hotmail.com Subject: 3/1/03 review This was the only show I attended on this tour, so I was hoping for brilliance.  Of course, I witnessed brilliance.  First of all, the drive up from Richmond was terrible (endless construction and delays), and the weather was horrendus (cold and very rainy).  But everything was a-OK once we entered the coliseum.  By the way, the police and security from my view were very tame and friendly throughout the show.  As I just got back from Greensboro, I'll offer some comments on what I thought were highlights of the show. Chalkdust: standard, well-played.  But it was the perfect compliment to the audience's very high energy. Moma: Very well-played, no flubs.  Unfortunately, it was awfully short.  Nonetheless, a welcome tune. Foam: This was all Paige; excellent piano work.  That said, however, I was a little disappointed with Trey's solo.  Frankly, it was a little monotonous and boring. Divided Sky: This is the gem of the first set.  The entire band was in to it and extended the final section/jam to the crowd's delight.  A monster glowstick war erupted at the pause in the middle.  Trey and Mike caught some glowsticks from the numbskulls that threw them on stage.  Fortunately, the seemed to take it in stride. Overall, the first set was tight and well-played.  But I didn't sense anything extraordinary.  But then came set II.... Rock & Roll: Extremely tight and jammed out just enough to get the audience moving with their fists in the air (and it's alright....ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!!) Wilson: Again, very tight.  Trey was in to it (as was the audience).  Kuroda bathed the stage in blood red lights.  Actually, it was a little creepy when taken in the context of a nation on the bring of war... Piper: GET THIS BOOTLEG AND LISTEN TO THIS PIPER.  At the very beginning, one could tell that this would be no ordinary Piper as the tempo from the outset was slower than normer.  Actually, the beginning seemed to resember the old-school 1997 openings.  The band was playing together throughout the whole Type III exploratory jam.  Trey backed up and let Paige and Mike take control for a good portion of the jam.  Just wonderful!  Then it's feedback into... Also Sprach Zarathustra: Extremely tight with Trey complimenting Mike's hard-hitting base.  Kuroda's lights (and fog machine) were INCREDIBLE.  I thought that I was going to have to sit down :) Wolfman's: Trey signals to the other three to jump into Wolfman's and Paige plunks out the opening notes coming out of the feedback from 2001.  Nice and meandering (a-la Hampton).  I even think some of the security guards were grooving. Boogie on: standard, not much to say Antelope: a perfect ending (or would it be??).  The band was gentle at the beginning the jam; in other words, they didn't rush and gradually increased the tempo to a stellar climax.  Trey points to Fish during "Marco Esquandolas;" Fish stands up and waves.  Everyone is having a blast. Carolina: a nice touch; well-received by the audience.  You could tell that all four of the guys were ecstatic about this show. Encore: what could it be?? First Tube: Wow!  What a way to close the tour.  At this point, I'm exhausted and am drenched in sweat, but I dance my little heart out thinking that this it for the tour, but then Trey starts to give Fish and Page a strange swirly signal with his finger.  Hmmmm................ YEM!!: AHHH!  I had to sit down for a second.  I pushed my sweat-drenched hair back and just shook my head.  Oh my god!  So wonderful, but so much!!  The YEM was perfect; I detected no flubs (outside of a minor lyrical mistake by Trey).  Mike and Fish lead the YEM throughout the jam.  Right before the vocal jam, Trey removes his guitar and lets and Mike and Fish take it home.  The vocal jam was even off the hook, with a little Proud Mary sing a long at the end. In summary: The second set is an absolute gem; the second set is why I love Phish and improvisational music in general.  Were I to rank the show as a whole on a 1-10 scale, I would put it around a 8.  But the second set clearly is a 9.5 or 10.  Kudos to all four (and to Kuroda).  But Paige was clearly dominant in the first set and Trey mastered the second set.  Until the next time....... Mike
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 11:06:26 -0800 (PST) From: John Kern jwkern3@yahoo.com Subject: 3.1.03 Review What a show, what a dance party.  I'm half awake right now, just trying to get a handle on what happened last night.  Whew. The energy level of the crowd was Hampton level, possibly higher.  People screaming every lyric, dancing their asses off.  It was a beautiful thing.  I was lucky to be a part of it all. And it was really nice to be able to bring more than 2 or 3 other people to the show.  Every 2003 show I've seen has been with a skeleton crew (for ticket scarcity reasons), so it was a real treat to roll out there with 10 kids, albeit it was total chaos once we finially got the group assembled.  (chaos in a good way though...) It has occurred to me that there's two ways to look at how "into it" the crowd is.  There's the energy level on the micro level, that's just concerned with how good a time your friends are having, and there's the macro level, that's the total audience.  For the first time since the hiatus, my crew's eagerness topped the rest, and I think it both frustrated and inspired people around us.  Hey, it the floor at a GA Phish gig, it's gonna get rowdy, right? Anyhow, Marlan Brando, a semi quasi lurker/infrequent poster of the foley board, forgot his ticket in Raleigh, and din't figure it out til lot time.  He proceeded to bend time and space in his accord and was able to get back into the venue by show start.  He even managed to find us by Sample, something we were sure wouldn't happen.  We had written him off as a tour casualty. Oh yeah, the show.  Carolina breakout.  Very smooth.  No 'puas or Gamehenges, but to be honest, I didn't really care.  The Divided Sky was rare & nice, a first for a few of us.  The glowstick madness erupted during this one, and the band literally stopped playing while the mayhem was taking place.  I think they didn't play a note for at least 2-3 minutes, seemed like a long time to me.  The highlite of the evening for me was probably the Piper.  I've always long consdiered the Oswego piper as the best, and now I'll need to do some analysis to figure out whether it's been dethroned.  I'm leaning toward saying the G-boro Piper was the stuff you tell your grandkids about. The Wolfmans was great again, it came off very much like the Hampton one, only the band didn't take the song to the high tempo rock star ending, which to me, was better.  That smooth, crunchy, Wolfman's jam is where's its at, and was a great segue into Boogie. The Cinci Boogie was better.  It had band dropouts with Mike fills.  Nuff said. Antelope was great.  I put it up there with the Hershey cut.  Great tune, insane build up, great lights. The encore was fucking fan-tigggity-tastic.  I was positive the show was over post 1st tube, and then BAM!, we get 20 more minutes of great music.  The YEM jam had "Another one bites the dust" teases and slowly morphed into Proud Mary.  They did Ike and Tina proud by pretty much doing the entire song.  Again, lots of crowd sing along and clapping. When the lights came up I was totally spent, shit I still am.  What a great show.  Musically, it was top ten for me, Phish crowd energy level it was top 5, and my hometown friends pushed this one to the top.  We must have group hugged 10 times last night.  (Which might have had something to do with the decent looking girls that got drafted into coming along with us.)  A great show, a great time.  Much thanks to the band and all the cool people who check em out.  I really feel lucky to have stumbled across such a great scene.  see you guys this summer. - Jack

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