7-26-03 - HiFi Buys Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA

review submisions to me at dws@netspace.org, dws@gadiel.com, reviews@walfredo.com

please review the show, not the other reviews....

Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2004 17:24:26 -0700 From: eric tipton Subject: Re: Phish 7/26/03 review from Phish.net: 07/26/03 - HiFi Buys Amphitheatre - Atlanta, Georgia Set 1: Wilson > Cars Trucks Buses, The Wedge, It's Ice, My Mind's Got a Mind of It's Own, Wolfman's Brother, Mexican Cousin, Guyute > Taste Set 2: Piper > Mist, Waves > Tweezer > NICU* > Cavern > You Enjoy Myself # Encore: Wading in the Velvet Sea > Tweexer Reprise^ * Trey called out: "...play it, Cactus!" # - Instead of the traditional lyrics, Trey said: "Boy...Man...God...IT." for the upcoming festival. ^ - with "Happy Birthday" teases Ah, back at Lakewood. I was here for the 99 4th of July run and after that promised I would make it back. Phish always seems to throwdown here in this great city, tonight would be absolutely no exception. The lot scene was sweet. No security presence at all - anything goes and everything did. We got a brief rain shower which produced: I was lucky enough to be 7th row DFC tonight (thanks Lee) w/ Tony. Great seats. Best I'd had since first night Shoreline. First set: Wilson: Great opener, really gets the blood pumping. CT & B: Sweet, tour bustout! Page's playing is sweet and this one actually gets jammed to the 7:37 mark, longest I've seen. The Wedge: Sweet, tour bustout (last played 2/18/03 in the fair city of Denver). Trey falters w/ the opening licks. Page comes to the rescue and shows Trey the way. Trey hops back on the horse and it's all good from here on out. It's Ice: Sweet, tour bustout! Very well played. One thing about this version that I have never seen or heard on disc. The middle jam which is typically dark and evil instead on this night turned rather upbeat and almost ambient. It worked well though and I liked it. My Mind's: Sweet, tour bustout! 4 of 'em just like that! So fun watching Mike sing this from this distance! Wolfmans: Ah the repeats will rise again! I didn't mind it a bit though as this Wolfman's both funks and rages throughought. Great Wolfman's! I personally think this is the song of '03 behind Gin. Call this Wolfman's second revival, the first being in Winter '97. Mexican Cousin: Good spot for it, I don't mind this song a bit really; it gets a bad rap. Guyute: What can I say? I'm sick of it. But it was in fact very evil and well played. Taste: Quite standard. First set highlights: CT & B, The Wedge, Ice, Wolfmans. Very, very solid first set! Second Set: Piper: 3rd second set Piper opener and 4th of the tour overall. I personally thought this Piper rocked pretty hard. It gets Very ambient for the last few minutes and segues into > Mist: Sweet. I saw this debuted from the front row in front of Page on 7/3/99. Nice vocals from Trey and a nice little solo too. Waves: Like a fresh summer breeze, in rolls Waves. Love the choice here. This Waves is wonderful, I loved every bit of it! Great, great segue into > Tweezer: This segue just blew me away, I'm at a loss as to try and describe how good it was. This Tweezer just rages the whole way thru. No ambience. No white boy cow funk. Just nasty, machine gun Trey going to work on my dome. Shredding people, just shredding. Wow. The most amazing segue into > NICU: SEGUING IS BACK MOTHERFUCKERS! Seriously, the Waves>Tweezer>NICU is some of the slickest seguing you will find on this whole tour. Not too mention on a tour filled with LOTS of excellent segueing. So very tasty. Trey calls out Play it Cactus instead of Leo and Mike takes a nice solo. Page actually looked a tad bummed out at first but then looked to be enjoying Mike's solo. Sorta segue into > Cavern: Ah Trey, I hope you've continued to practice. We can't have another debacle like KS now can we?! He comes in a bit late on the porthole pirate line but otherwise this is an impeccable version. Sorta segue into > Y EM: Jesus H, bless you boys! The nirvana segment just puts me into the biggest trance. Page manages to break that with his soft playing and brings the band back to life w/ him. Boy! Man! God! IT!!!!!!! NICE!! I love that the band is having fun with the fans again. All the banter at KS and Alpine night one and all the runners on stage at IT - keep up the chatter boys! Trey struggles just a bit pre tramps (a little off key). Page just funks it up during the tramps section, dirty Page! Post tramps sees and utterly and completely Trey led machine gun jam. Sick as all hell. At one point I had some nice eye contact going w/ the red headed one. With arms out and up in front of me, palms up I'm telling him to bring it, BRING THE HEAT TO ME TREY. Going on memory from the show and now listening to the tapes, this at around 15:20. No lie, he laughs at me and he proceeds to fucking shred it man. Wow, special moment to be sure. Shortly thereafter the jam breaks down and Mike proceeds to funk away at the foundation of the venue. Crazy YEM right there folks. The vocal jam (which I did not catch at all at the show) was based around the Star Spangled Banner. CK5'S lights at this point are seriously driving me to my knees. I've never been so completely blown away by Chris's lights, I felt like I was going to end up in a straightjacket before too long!! A mellow end to the vocal jam allowed me to maintain some sanity, but not much. That was just too damn good. Encore: Wading. What I said about the Alpine Wading encore pertains here as well. After that hot of a show, Wading is a perfect choice. As long as the band puts heart and emotion into it, then I am fine with it; and pleased to see it actually. Page sounds wonderful, I love to hear the man sing and tickle the ivory. It was played exquisitely. Tweeprise: I found myself mustering some sort of energy to again break out the flailing angry chicken dance. CK5 again putting the screws to my dome. This sent me out the doors all warm and fuzzy. Tha nk you Phish for another extremely entertaining evening in the ATL. Second set highlights: Piper, Waves > Tweezer > NICU, YEM. Such a hot show down in the ATL. Bill Bina, sorry about seeing you real briefly and then taking off and not waiting for you to go to the box office. At that point it was nearing 7 and I still had to find Tony to get my ticket and I was starting to freak a little. I couldn't find him after like 10 minutes at will call then realized there was another will call on the other side of the venue so I hauled ass over there and luckily found him. Sorry bro! Gladys, sorry we didn't meet up. I was seriously running on empty after this show and just went back to my car and laid down. Couldn't even crack a beer, especially w/ the thought of driving to Raleigh in my head. Tipton-o-meter: A big fat 8, this show rocked my socks off. peace, et
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 07:16:22 -0700 (PDT) From: mark rick Subject: atlanta I want to thank Phish for making it down south! Unfortunately, we Florida phans must trek to the far corners to see a show. TREY, MIKE, PAGE, FISH--before big cypress it was like 1996---PLEASE COME BACK!!!!!!!!!!!! On to the scene- FUCK ATLANTA AND THEIR FUCKED UP CONCERT TRAFFIC PLAN! I've been to Atlanta for many shows and i do prepare for the worst traffic has to offer but this was a mess beyond all other experiences--Who thought it could take three hours to travel less than 2 miles! People on foot walked past us came back to their vehicles and passed us yet again-repeat this process for three solid hours and you have atlanta--did they forget there was a SOLD OUT EVENT? Usually i can overlook the bullshit because the lot and the venue are chill--security being just that to protect the phans--however the first thing i see is a violent bust--cop slams phan into car and arrest him and unsuspecting friend--this in addition to the absolutely uncalled for tackling and brutalizing behavior of the inside security! I kid you not, there were three incidents of an asshole jumping the fence and the security and police--chasing them down and slamming into fans trying to enjoy the show. Something should be done about this. I mean, i know people do stupid things but should we jeopardize the SAFETY of all the phans to catch one person?--this relates to the philosophy of police car chases in busy metro areas. Just wanted to say to the people that lost their glass, smokes, etc. to the harsh Atlanta security--i hope you don't think these punk ass rent a cops turned the shit in--yeah they went home to toke up on YOU!!!!!!!!! FUCK YOU ATLANTA (again)! I too lost my glass--as i lent it to some very, very kind people! i just want to say hey it really wasn't your fault--i mean i thought we were at a Phish show, last time i checked. If you read this contact me! The show--fucking awesome--the phunk, phish style was on! TWEEEEEEEEEZER! my personal highlight!  The wedge kicked ass and that YEM was YUMMY! and ya know i like this waves tune alot! overall i give a 9 musically. They sound great, they are having fun and they continue to keep this community alive and well! the venue i will have to say a 1 and i think people should boycott this shit hole--preparation is not a word in their vocab! LATE!
Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 16:22:23 EDT From: Jessotr@aol.com Subject: Atlanta Phish Show I thought that the show last night was great. Phish put on the caliber of show that we as fans deserve to hear, which hasn't always been the case in Atlanta. I must admit that when they started playing Tweezer, I was less than thrilled. But they kept it nice and funky and just the right length. I also felt as though the band members were having a good time and truly enjoying the show. I definately didn't feel the negative ambiance that other fans and concert-goers have complained about lately. I am not by any means a Phish-head, but I have been a fan for close to a decade now and I was very pleased!!! Jess from Atlanta
Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 16:46:18 EDT From: JWpsb@aol.com Subject: Phish review Atlanta 7-26-03 The lots were jumping. For some ungodly reason everyone was going in the east side of the venue instead of taking the west entrance. This made the line stretch back for miles. If you took the west exit of Langford Ave. you strolled right in. Took us about 10 minutes. Had a some rain brew up around 5pm. Cooled everyone off and made a great double rainbow. Shakedown Street was crazy. Vending is nuts. Everything under the sun is for sale these days. Securuty was very cool. Not bothering anyone unless you stayed in an isle for too long. They were late as hell starting. i think they took the stage at 8:15. We were 20 rows back center. WILSON- Short and too the point. No frills but rocked hard. I'd say 4 minutes topps. CTB- Very cool. It seems like they are toying with different songs now. They jammed out this song in a very cool way. Almost sounded like a Reba jam for a second but somehow wound back up at CTB. very tight. WEDGE-solid tight version. Always a crowd pleaser. no jam. ITS ICE- Played to perfection. This is when I new that it was going to be a solid show. This is a hard ass song too play and they nailed it. Very good guitar work by Trey. Lights starting to kick in. My MIND- A rare one too hear but don't remmeber it all that much. Pretty short. Go Cactus! WOLFMANS BRO- As stated by others. Highlight of the set. So funked out and tight. This is why I come see Phish. Trey was on fire. Mexican Cousin- Great live song. Too the point and one of the better songs off round room. GUYUTE- A crowd pleaser. They are ususally the same from show to show but the ending on this was just nailed. Trey was working the crowd with his enthusiasm. TASTE- Tied for highlight of the set. Best version I have seen. A great set closer in my opinion. The lights dazzled and the music just kept lifting people up. It raged. Phish is back for sure. Set break was the usual social beer rush. not too long. II PIPER- crowd loved it. huge glow stick war that you could tell the band enjoyed. Long jammed out version but not too long. Maybe 15 minutes. >MIST- nice transition into this tune. Phish debuted this song here in 1999 so it was nice to see it return. One of the better slow tunes being played these days. Great lyrics and jam. For some reason, lots of phans want to talk about what they are doing next week during these slow songs. It was a very chatty crowd. A big social. Not complaining. I just don't get it. WAVES- So cool. This is destined to become a classic Phish song. It has such a great smooth jam build-up with great hooks. I loved this song and am so glad they played it. Great lights. TWEEZER- Hell yeah! Not expecting this late in the set but I guess after they teased it the night before, he had to bust it out. A rockin tweezer. not funked out. Just solid guitar riffs. >NICU- Nice transition into this. PLay it CACTUS. Cavern- Nailed the lyrics. It rocked hard. >YEM-A set maker. Who doesn't want to see this. There is a reason why this was the last song they played before the hiatus. It is what Phish is all about. The bread and butter. A nod to "IT" Great long vocal jam. awesome lights. Encore Velvet Sea- People hate it as do I but I loved the guitar solo. They only played 2 slow songs so deal with it people. How can you complain after that setlist. You are seeing too many shows if you are complaining. >Tweeprise- Rocking set closer with the birthday nod to CK5. Awesome show! I give this show an 8 outta 10. Very solid, High energy show which is typical for a saturday night. Post show lot was nutty with lots of fireworks and traffic. Long live Phish. Have a great tour folks.
Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 18:21:28 -0400 From: D. C. Subject: 7/26/03 show My first show since haitus, and missed plenty of opening set due to major traffic nightmare and obsolete venue logistics. Did make it in in time to catch Wolfman's Brother on. I confess, I always go into shows with songs I want to hear, but at least with Phish I'm not ever too disappointed with what I get, and boy did we get it. What I did catch was Wolfman's Bother (always a fav of mine), Mexican Cousin, and a very fun and energized Guyute. It was during this that it became really clear the band came out to play, literally and figurtively. The place was jumping and they were spot on. On to Taste and then intermission, which seemed to come too early, but it's only b/c I got in so late. Did some investigative reporting to find out exactly what i had missed, and basically found set one a tease hinting that general concensus and expectation was, as one guy said, "a GREAT second set to look forward to!" I waited with baited breath, and the second set was indeed one of the best I've ever seen. It wasn't the songs, it was the way they were playing, telling the audience undeniably "we're BACK!" Starting with Piper (just sick) all the whole way through YEM - all i can say is "Wow." They are in gear musically and just playing their hearts out and having fun. They were some playful trampoline tricks which led me to think "Bouncing Round the Room" was in the cue, but it wasn't - oh well. They were having fun, and so were we. MITM gave time to pause and regroup, then away we went with Waves; onto Tweezer, which infused everyone. Tweezer glided into NICU (another personal fav) and I could not stop smiling and dancing right through Cavern. And then it just kept going...sweet opening to YEM and a great version of it, but i knew the whole time in the back of my head it was the last song of the set. So good to be back, yet, like others, i was left wanting. At the end of one of the best YEMs i've heard, I was ready for the encore, really looking forward to a dizzying encore. I was expecting something to just raise the roof and set it off into space. I was dreaming along the lines of Down with the Disease, Suzy Greenberg, Golgi Apparatus, Character Zero, Harry Hood - get the picture? Anything driving and rocking to cap off a super show. It wasn't just me, the whole damn place was tingling with sweet anticipation that was palpable. They came back onstage and Wading was sweet, to be sure, but everyone knew it was going to be the penultimate song and we were left hanging - and then got Tweezer Reprise. Don't get me wrong, it was rocking, but not ROCKING! Best way to explain? Like having sex and not the orgasm - fun and a great way to spend a few hours, but you just don't end up truly satisfied. They teased, caressed, and had their way with the audience for almost three hours, building it up and then....i can't say they rolled over, b/c Tweezer Reprise was a good ending, just not a mind blowing ending when that's what you were ready for. When all was said and done, we just weren't "done." I know, I know, i shouldn't complain, but I'm just trying to relate the situation as i saw it, and i sure wasn't the only one with the sentiment. A great show, top ten, but could have placed better with a better finish. I'm sure Phish has their reasons, it just seemed like a waste of adrenaline to me. But I guess that's why I keep going to shows, b/c no matter what, it's always a good time and it's never the same twice. Peace.
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 05:09:46 -0400 From: JOHNROYMUSIC@aol.com Subject: Atlanta 7-26-03 Review Phish Atanta 7/26/03 This was a great show. Phish can STILL bring it. I've heard some people saying that the energy isn't there anymore and that things have slowed down . Maybe. The music does seem more laid back now with less "bomb dropping," the very thing we come to see. True, the slow encore trend is popping it's face more often. I say this...people get older. Things slow down, physically, mentally, and emotionally. "Takin it slow" starts to become more satisfying than the high speed lifestyle and, in this case, music, many exhibit in their younger years (think of how much faster, tempo-wise, the music was in 1992-5 and how many more dates the guys played every year-it must've been tiring). Whether slowing is true or not, Phish proved they can still bring the high heat in ATL. WILSON-Heavily jammed out opener. Always a fun sing along. Got everyone smilin'. Segue in to CTB was nice too. I thought they wouldn't jam it out. Wrong. This CTB had a couple of build and releases that got everyone shakin' their butts. Certainly worth a listen. THE WEDGE- Yes!! Fist since my first show in 98. The song was perfect with some great soloing by Trey . I remember commenting to my buddy Chaz how great the sound was at this point. Props to the crew and the HiFi people. Another stop/break to confer. IT'S ICE- Not my favorite Phish tune but musically extrememly solid minus a minor guitar flub a minute into it. For you guitarists out there, Trey is master of the arpeggio. This Ice proves that alone. His guitar work here was incredible. Fish stood at the same time my buddy Brent fell down. Hilarious! The ending was a dragged out spacey/flanging effect to another dead stop. MMGAMOIO- First one ever. Trey's bluegrass leads sounded like 'trademark Phish' to me. Reminded me a lot of the guitar work on Hoist's 'Mule. Perfect version. Into >WOLFMAN'S! A lot of folks knew this was coming. Everything sounded great. Everyone sang along. 2/3's of the way thru I got lost in the song. It no longer sounded like WB. Welcome to that chaotic place. The comeback solos and jams were decent but ended a little sooner than everyone wanted. I think the end of the 2003 Hampton WB was better but the guitar jams here were great. Page's piano work caught my attention several times. Gorgeous. MEX CUZ- A lot of people complain about this song. I don't know why. Mex and Halley's are two of Phish's happiest, feel good, sing-a-long tunes. I mean, how great is it to have everyone at the gig singin' at the same time! Phish's voices sounded great together. Another stop then...GUYUTE-This Guyute was my only disappointment. Trey's whistling even sounded out of place. I missed a lot of the long jam while bathrooming and getting the crew a round of beers/water. I made it back for the last coupla minute s and for the flow into TASTE. Again, I thought, "this is gonna be short and routine. boo-hoo." Wrong again. This Taste is off the hizzle! The guitar is just going off and off and off. I never thought I would rank Taste as a set highlight. This one IS period. Get the boots and taste it...it's definitely what we came to see and more. The break was a good time for a us to fly the bird and take a well needed sit down. PIPER-Great placement and energy. Began the beginning of a sick, sick Phish set. The gradual volume swell at the beginning got everyone geared and singing again. This was, by far, the heaviest Piper I've heard, certainly a lot harder than 3/1/03 Greensboro (which I was at and a lot of people bragged about). Tonight's Piper was just strong. That's all I can say. If you were there, you know. Trey was diggin' the pentatonics and just rippin'! I literally had my jaw dropped, no shit. Seems like this is one of "THE songs to hear these days." Hell yeah! With the Piper finally piping down we were led into a gorgeous MTNS. IN THE MIST. I remember thinking again how great and clear the sound was at this venue. There was a small Trey flub during the first bridge but barely noticeable. Vocals where crystal, everyone enjoyed themselves. Mist comes to a stop and then...WAVES-Yeah! After the textbook verse and choruses the solos took center stage. Trey pulled off a series of extremely fast 6-string solo riffs, hitting what seemed like a millions notes between six strings and five frets (sorry if you don't know guitar lingo). The aforementioned licks reminded me a lot SRV's 6-string riffs in his version of Hendrix' "Little Wing." Even if you hate Waves, do your self a favor and check this one out. Awesome! The crazy Waves glided right into an insane TWEEZER. At this point, I seriously could have left being happy to see the Taste, Piper, and Waves. All three were primo Phish. Like I said...what we come for. Tweezer kept that level going and more. The musicianship was there folks, please listen to it. The jamming kept building and building. Tweezer takes the second set gem award just a hair in front of the Piper opener and the out of control Waves.The feeling everyone was going through at this point doesn't happen at every Phish show. Atlanta's history seemed to now be repeating with the potential for a truly one of a kind Phish show. Folks, the segue from Tweezer > NICU was perfect. I mean, perfe ct. The engine is running perfectly now. NICU was just beautiful. More singing along, everyone just eatin' it up. Mike played a short and sweet bass ditty after Trey called him to "Play it Cactus!" I love Phish's bullshit! Into...CAVERN- What a great tune! The lyrics were nailed this time. A lot of people really liked this Cavern. I thought is was good but nothing compared to some of the early-mid 90's Cavern's. It definitely didn't shine like the three bombs before it. Cavern fell into the epic >YEM. Heck yeah!! What better way to cap off an incredible set than with Phish's best song? Trey said "It" istead of the "Shit" lyric. The vocal jam was very similar to the YEM endings in Hampton and Greensboro....Kuroda used the "360 lights" to follow the 'ghostly' effected vocal harmonies, moving in tandem. Very crazy sounding....they seem to be into this type of ending now. The second set finally ended and everyone realized what an incredible set had just been witnessed. A killer encore could make this show one for the ages. Could it happen? Lots of people were looking for a Tube or Fluffhead...anything to complement the insane Piper, Waves, and Tweezer. It wasn't going to happen tonight. WADING IN THE VELVET SEA rolled out and, I hate to say it, but, a lot of people were really let down. It was a gorgeous, soaring version but everyone still wanted to shake their butts a bit. Eveyone was just standing there. I actually saw several people leaving during the first notes (Shame on you guys!). Velvet fell into the expected TWEEPRISE which was too short for the potential the encore could have been. It was an OK version, nothing compared to 7-8-00. Happy B-Day teases by Trey for Kuroda's B-day. Overall, Taste in the first set was nothing short of monumental! Piper, Waves, Tweezer in the Second set. The whole 2nd set was fire. I'm definitely going to get the boards from this show. For those of you that think Phish has lost it, go to another show. You're wrong. I was the happiest I've been at a Phish show since Merriweather 1998. As for the slow encore trend: If the boys work their asses off and play us just ONE set per show like set #2 in Atlanta...well for all this fan cares, they can play as slow an encore as they want. Everyone needs a rest after a hard day at work. Thanks for the ride Phish! Chaz, Brent, Claire, Russell, John, Mabe, Christi, and Steve: It was awesome to share the groove with you guys! Happy B-day to Peter McGrew who wasn't the only birthday boy at the show! Soon! -John Roy
From Eric Habib Sent: 7/27/2003 8:59:43 PM Subject:Atlanta Review  What a night. After 4 hours of traffic ( you'd think these idiots would have figured how to get people in a sold out show by now) with a pregnant wife and 4 year old, we finally got in. I was appalled at the amounts of trash and lack of disrespect I encountered in Hotlanta. I don't wanna sound negative, but it was a rough start. I wasn't able to meet my buddy from Florida I haven't seen in 2 years because of the traffic. It reminded me of New Years in the Everglades- and was the worst experience entering a Phish show in 60+ shows ( at least the Everglades was fun traffic). But the show -WOW!!!  We knew we could count on the boys to lift our spirits. The first set was incredible! My first Wedge in itself was great- and the entire set was smokin'. I'm not gonna break down each song, but I've been seeing them for 13 years and know when the energy is there.  All my bad thoughts vanished as Phish took me THERE. My family and I had a great time in the show. They didn't do any extensive jams in set 1 but the setlist was excellent and every song was played great. The second set was a little more jammy and lifted alot after Caverns. My boy loves that song. I'm a west-coaster who was in town for a family reunion and had to check out the show. Afterwards our rental car was damaged and we saw real live COPS as 20 or so police cars surrounded a vehicle and the cops pulled a guy out of his car at gunpiont. There was a dead body under a sheet nearby. I'm sorry to print this but I can't get it out of my mind. People complain about the wind at the Gorge- HA! I'll take the beautiful west anyday. Was it worth the amazing show? I'd like to think so. Peace and love to you.   --- Kara Habib
Date: Sat, 28 Jun 2003 11:47:32 -0500 From: Mitchum Province Subject: ATLANTA This show was fuckin hot!!! The Wilson opener was just what i needed to get pumped for what was about to come the rest of the night. The Wedge and It's Ice were right in time adn the fact that they played M.M.G.A.M.O.I.O, made me laugh i was so happy they pulled it out. Mexican Cousin, well i have to admit, that when round room came out, this was one of my least favs, but trey jammed that shit so hard, i have a whole new respect for that song. its funny how a song sounds totally different live than the album version. Guyute went on for like 20 minutes, and then the Taste to close just made the set break seem longer. This was my first show since '00, and my first glowstick war. It was fuckin beautiful!! (so was the Piper!) Waves is one of my favorite Round Room songs, and i couldnt have been happier that they played it. I would have liked a Seven Below, but you cant hear everything you want at a show unfortunately. Tweezer>NICU!!!!!!! i guess i dont need to say anything else aobut that. YEM, i love it!!! Then comes the encore, and they just had to play my absolutely favorite slow song!! Treys guitar and Pages piano brought me on the verge of tears they played so soulfully. I was in GA, so couldnt really see them, but luckily there was a screen and Trey was having the time of his life, and really feeling the groove throughout the whole show. Im so happy to see them back together and puttin out shows of this magnitude. Oh, Phall tour isnt coming soon enough!!
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 19:13:11 -0400 From: Matt Allen Subject: ATL. review This was the last of the 2 shows I caught on this tour. While Charlotte was great, I had a huntch that Atlanta would be the ticket. Wow, was I ever right. They were tighter, and more of 1 than I've ever heard before. Pure psycho-rock with incredible improvs. The opener and closer seemed like bookends of fire - hard, ranting, pulsing rock. I can say there wasn't a dull moment all night. When I say that the intensity of The Wedge was higher than I've ever experienced before, then you can only imagine how amazing the rest of the night was. It's Ice was, like all the others of the night, perfectly placed & executed. The Wolfman's jam was the first full out kick your ass jam of the night. While Mike thumped, it raged. We all ate it up and gave it right back. Did anyone else hear the Walk Away jam at the end? While that would have also been very exciting, Mexican Cousin was far better than I antipated. This song made the show a party, and we were all singing along together. I love hearing a Guyute late in a set.. This is where I feel this song usually fits best, kind of a pre-quel to the closer. And what a closer we had! I've always wanted to hear Taste bang out the close of a set. It twirled and raged at the same time, twisting into new depths. Then it all came back together with a huge bang. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect start to the night. After a very short set break, they wasted no time getting back to kicking our ass. I have always been a bigger phan of the older 8-10 minute sleek, hard versions of Piper where they build it slowly and delicately. But I must admit this was, along with the Big Cypress version, Piper's best hard jamming version I've heard. They laid into the rock and roll, never losing each other for the entire 15 min. or so of the jam. It slowed into what could have lead to a 2001 before resting into Mist. This song is so beautiful, it leaves quite the peaceful feeling. Waves was the perfect song to follow such a peacful Mist. Trey and Page tossed their delicate sounds around and over and through. I was actually shocked at how crazy everyone was going during this jam. Tweezer kept the explosiveness flowing. And like Piper, Wolfman's, and Taste, they rocked harder and tighter than I've ever heard. I'd say after 12 min. I heard one of the coolest segues ever. Fish was going nuts and then trey busted into one of the best placed NICU's. Everyone was nicley surprised to hear this. After the Leo fiesta in Alpine, Mike got the nod for the solo after and seriously stressed "catussssssssss" in the song. Cavern was as intensed and loud as I can remember. The place was on fire. I hoped we'd get just one more treat and, well, thank you guys for the offering. YEM busted out and everyone seemed in tears of overjoy for the offering. YEM was tight of course, but I swear the build to "Boy!" lasted a full 3 seconds longer than normal. What F@#cking intensity and release! I was exhausted from some seriously hard dancing. I don't think I could have sat down for a second all night even if I had to. Again, the jam was pure fire and R&R. My sister was experiencing her first show and said this was the coolest song she'd ever heard, and had never heard Junta before. She asked me during the vocal jam if they were singing the song backwards! I have really come to love the late show feeling brought on by Velvet Sea. It used to disappoint me, but it's so emotive that you can't help but love it. I actually had a friend in tears during this song. I was so lost in Trey's amazing sounds that I thought this was the last song, completely forgetting we had earlier heard Tweezer. Trey laid into the opening riffs and I became so stoked that I was surprised that I think I jumped 10 feet high. So they blew the ends out of the show. This was definately one of the best 3 shows I've ever seen. Thank you boys for such a powerful treat! I really envy those going to the upcoming shows. They boys have never been on such fire!
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 19:24:00 -0400 From: Sam Welch Subject: 7-26 ATL Review This is my first review and I never read the long song by songs myself so this should be short.... Being from the Atlanta area I've been to many shows at Lakewood (Phish and others) but have never experienced traffic like on Saturday. What in the hell happened? Anyway, I missed Wilson and CT&B but walking in to the Wedge is never a bad thing. This was a good show all around with a great funk-nasty Wolfman's highlighting the first set and the entire second being great, especially from Tweezer on. Definitely take a listen to the segue from tweezer to NICU which was (to me) one of the coolest I've heard. The only disappointment to me (to reiterate the previous review) was the encore. Everyone in the place new Tweezer reprise was going to be part of the encore and I'd say most people were pretty excited to hear it. But from the opening notes of Velvet Sea the energy and anticipation were sucked right out of the place. This is my second time in three shows (Cincinnati in Feb.) that I've seen Velvet Sea as an anticlimactic encore to an otherwise energetic and fun show. I agree that this song has its merits but when people start leaving the amphitheater as soon as Page hits the first notes that's not a good sign. One song should not be able to totally steal the fire from another but the Atlanta encore proved this can happen. As hyped up as the crowd usually would be for Tweeprise it just wasn't there as a direct result of Velvet Sea. I think I can understand why the boys feel this is an appropriate encore as the song does have a certain sentimental quality which could be used to cap what they felt was a great show themselves appropriately. But coupling this with a high-energy crowd favorite just didn't work. I probably sound like an over-critical ass who can't enjoy a show because of one song that I don't particularly enjoy, but I just can't stand walking out of a great, high energy, funky, rockin-and-rollin show with a bad taste in my as well as most everyone else's mouths. So anyway, check out the Atlanta show for another great show, just don't expect much from the encore. Sam
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 10:20:23 -0500 From: Jonathan Barrineau Subject: Hotlanta Review This is my first review, so please bear with me. I will preface my comments by saying that I am one of those who hasn't seen many shows, I have traded alot, but my job and my life have not really allowed me to catch all that many shows.On to my review......... Started in from Birmingham, This was my girlfriends first show, and I was glad to finally be able to show her what this band and community are all about. Cruised right on in to Lakewood, no problems here but I heard from multiple people that the traffic getting in got worse as the show approached.Oh well, get there early I guess. I could tell right off that there was a great amount of energy pre-show, Shakedown was on, and there was a buzz in the air. A note about Shakedown though...those fries sucked!(There was some guy yelling at everyone to try his buddies' fries, seemed like he never stopped, pretty hilarious if you ask me, very Tony Little-eque energy if you knw what I mean, which made it even more hilarious). This was my first show sober and I must say that this is the way to go, definitely had a better time and picked up on more stuff during the show. What would they open with?, I was calling Tube, but.......WILSON!Fit the mood very well,I was digging the chant and off we go! I love this rocker and this was definitely indicative of the energy of the night which went into a fun CTB. From this point I proceeded to shake my ass off until sometime late Sunday night in Raleigh. Wedge was a nice treat and I think Fishman was gloating a bit after this one. Next up, It's Ice. Great stuff going on here, a nice little jam, more ass shaking.MMGMIO was tight as was the band the ENTIRE night giving us little time to cool off.Wolfman's was Wolfmans, who am I kidding?!? This was the highlight of the first set for me, incredible jam, a little short, but they brought the funk that made this a monster in 97.Damn that was a great song to hear. Mexican Cousin was well played and to be honest, I needed a breather so insert any song here and me and my body are happy.Guyute aghh Guyute. At this point I would like to go off on a bit of a tangent. I was not happy at first to hear this tune, there were so many others that I wanted to hear, but when this Phish is on and clicking on all cylinders, it can make you throw that attitude right out the door. I enjoyed this Guyute probably as much as any other tune that they could have played(except for Maze or YEM, I wanted a Maze or YEM more than anything). They were tight all the way through the first set and I was sure this was it for Set 1. Nope...Taste and if there is a better version of this out there, prove it, I don't think I have heard one. Great extension to the set.On paper one might say that this first set was on the weaker side, but I am here to tell you that it was tight from beginning to end. All about energy, just a great time all around. I kept bumping into old friends at setbreak, it was nice. I ran into my old college buddy Brett who was with me at my first show, so that was special to me. On to the 2nd set.Get the tapes(or discs in this day and age). Don't ask, just get them. Piper?? Again, I wanted some other stuff here, but the jam out of this one rocked me so hard that I took my "I don't wanna hear this" attitude and chucked right out the door. Another example of what a well played tune can do to you. Amazing jam, went out there for a while, came back and gave us some Mist. Beautiful tune, very glad I got to hear this one. Waves was next and I remember my girlfriend asking me what it was, I told her it was new and to just relax and catch the groove that they were about to throw at all of us. I was right, they did. Waves was a personal highlight up to this point, I had heard alot about it from one of my friends( we are always debating on which RR song has the biggest jam potential),Waves was beautiful and really hit the spot.Winding it down........Calling a Tweezer...........Got a Tweezer!!!! I love this tune and I had a friend of mine bring up a point that I would like to make about this tune. He thinks and I agree that they tend to go a little too far with Tweezer sometimes. If you need an example...2.20.03 is a good example. Not every 20+ minute version is a masterpiece. This band has to take risks to get that great reward, but sometimes during Tweezer jams they lose me and the rest of us. That being said, This Tweezer was on point, nothing fancy, just a straight up rocker of a jam that had a tight little groove behind it.Tweezer was to the point, which I think has been the theme of the tour from what I have heard. I was off in never never land shakin my body and my girlfriend, at her first show, tapped me on the shoulder and called her first segue!! NICU mother fuckers!!! They definitely tore this version up. Mike was on all night and we were treated to a gratuitous bass solo...PLaaaaayy it Cactus!! And that he did. >>>>>Cavern, a flawless version(is there such a thing vocally?)This tune made me happy and sad at the same time. I thought that this was the end or beginning of the end of a short set, but no. Hell no! Y E M!!!!!!! This was one I thought the most about on the way in to Atlanta and I probably would have given anything I had to hear it. Bliss from here on out. Nice opening segment ,it was nice to hear them nail this one compared to the 7.9.03 version. Very fluid during the delicate opening sections, Nice work from Page, IT reference and off we go into a funky jam segment. Gotta love the tramps, it blew my girlfiends mind that they actually have a tramps segment. The vocal jam was dark and spooky and CK had fun with this part, good to see him get some action. That single moment when I heard them start YEM was the greatest live band experience that i have ever had. No drugs, no distractions, just a great moment(I saw the 10.7.00 encore and can't remember a note of it). For the encore we got a nice Velvet Sea, my girlfriend was really excited to hear this one. I heard more groaning in here than I have ever heard at a concert in my entire life. Get over it, leave, or do whatever you want, cry me a river for all I care. This isn't YOUR band, they will play what they feel like playing so get over it. Wading was sincere and well played and I couldn't be happier with the selection, but what do I know, I haven't seen 50-800 shows like some have.Nice review above about the whole encore thing, I can see it as being what they want to play and what they feel at the moment. Tweeprise got us all rocking again and it was nice to see Trey jumping up and down rocking his ass off like the show had just begun. Sorry about the long winded review and the rants, I haven't heard the discs yet, so I was unable to give many specifics on the jams.The energy of this show epitomizes what I think this band and fanbase are all about. Thank you Phish for playing for us, and playing so well. Jonathan
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 00:32:21 +0000 From: Michael Crail Rice Subject: Atlanta sucks! .Hey phans! Where do I even begin. I have been to 17 Phish shows counting Atlanta. Our trip took us to Charlotte first with what I thought was a sick-ass show! The Bathtub was unbelieveable. After leaving Charlotte we finally made it to Atlanta and sat in traffic for 2 hours, it would have been 3 without the shortcut. This is why I am so pissed! What is the only real southern show this summer and they put us to sleep! Granted the first set had its moments. The Taste was quite good, that was the moment. Guyute was standard and I wasn't sure how I liked Wilson as a first set opener. The crowd was huge and by Mexican Cousin you could feel the dissatisfaction in the air. In my stooper I hollered "give me some ac/dc bag!" Everyone around agreed. It was time for the boys to give us something to really move to. Second set was filled with high hopes as the lights once again went down. Open second Piper, not a fan personally; but this version had some real soul to it. Allright, maybe they are gonna bounce back. To no avail. MTITM, talk about a let down! Fuck the breather, I came to get down! Then it happened, Tweezer kicks off a hell of a remainder for the second set. Everything was great, called the Cavern, loved the NICU, and you just can't beat an old school YEM including tramps and creepy vocal jam. O.K., the anticipation for the encore is thick. We know the Tweeprise is coming, but what are they gonna put in front of it? Ideas started flying, what about Haley's Comet, or Possum with a sick jam into Tweezer Reprise? Everyone on thier feet like kids on Christmas morning! Here it comes!!!!!!!!!!!! Wading in the Velvet Sea. I could have shit my pants I was so let down! This was also the first time I have EVER heard Phish boo'd. Fuck it, they deserved it! And I don't want to hear any of that fair weather fan shit! Thousands of people drove a long way, sat in hours of traffic, and wasted time and money. It was like they were telling the south to go fuck ourselves! I wouldn't be so upset if the Raliegh set list wasn't so fucking good! I just hope I never witness that again! I don't want to talk bad about the most talented musicians in the history of rock bands, but come on! If you're gonna be the best you have a standard to measure up to, and in Atlanta the boys fell way short of that! --
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 01:35:26 -0500 From: Eric Scott Subject: Review of 7/26/03 id like to post a review, im assuming this is where you send them. 7/26/03 Phish@Hi-Fi Buys Ampitheatre, Atlanta GA This date will stand out in my memory as the most incredible experience of the 16 years I've existed. The atmosphere at the show was just my idea of paradise. There were good vibes from everyone there, and they were all just like me. It made the town that I live in really look like what it is...a true shithole. My town is the opposite of what a Phish atmosphere is. The complete opposite. I would not have missed this show for anything, I'd have traded the whole summer for this one day. I enjoyed the trip over there thouroughly, I listened to mix CD's that I had made over the years, and just kicked back and enjoyed seeing the country. None of the songs on the mixes were phish songs however, I wanted to be starving for phish by 7:30. I remember standout songs on the trip that I listened to were American Pie, Tiny Dancer(I really wish phish would cover this, i bet page could blow elton john away), I Shall Be Released, and Scarlet Begonias. Those are phenomenal songs and they really put me in a musical mood. I arrived in Atlanta about 4:30 and met up with my freind that went to the show with me. It was obvious that the show was going to be packed, the place was crawling with phisheads. I hung out in the lobby of Best Western Airport East for a little while waiting on my freind, and must have seen about 15 or 20 people go by me every ten minutes that were wearing phish shirts. We started talking to a few of them. I remember some guy said NOT TO TAKE A CAR to the show, he said it was backed up for miles and the show would be halfway over by the time we got there. I believe the total number of people at the show was in excess of 34000. He suggested to call the hotel bus fair. So we took his advice and asked the hotel to call a van to get us. They arrived in 10 minutes or so. The bus took us to the marta station. My freind's parents as well as mine road along with us until the end of the marta. But this was when I truely knew that this night was going to be life-changing. I saw an INCREDIBLY beautiful rainbow that stretched all the way across the sky, it was so perfect, I believe it was a sign from God...it's true, I have pictures. That rainbow truely Divided the Sky into this astonishing severance of gray and blue that was truthfully a sight to see no matter who you are or what day it is. The fact that it just so happened to appear hours before my first show is proof that phish is unlike anything else to me. When we got off the marta we headed to the bus where several more phans were hanging out. I remember overhearing two guys talking about phish's music, and how they hated when people talked throughout the whole show, that they were there to listen to music and they didnt want to listen to people talking, and I totally agree, I get pissed when I'm listening to a song and grooving in an awe of a jam, and someone taps me on the shoulder and tells me to turn or something, being interrupted is a bitch. The bus driver finally came. It was 6:00. One hour and 30 minutes until showtime. Every passing minute just increased my exitement level by 10%. The bus driver started to slow down, and the trees blocking the view cleared and I saw hundreds of cars in the lot on either side of the road, with lawn chairs and grills and tables with pipes and necklaces and shirts that people were selling. It was just what everyone had said it was, a sight that you just stand in awe of. I got off the bus, and saw all of these people holding signs up saying they needed tickets, and then right eside them were people holding tickets up saying tickets for sale. Kinda cracked me up. Everywhere I walked there was a cd player playing some awesome music. I remember specifically hearing the curtain, stash, and uncle johns band. I walked into the gates to the main parking lot, and heard someone come up behind saying he needed a big black furry ticket. Before I made it to the ampitheatre I thought there would be some chance of me running into someone that i knew, but those chances got slimmer and slimmer as the rest of the 34000 fans showed up. I asked someone for the time as I headed toward the enterance. It was 6:45. I decided to go on into the ampitheatre. I got up to the gate and they were checking everyones pockets, and I had a camera there that I wasnt supposed to have, and it had the picture of the rainbow on it and I wasn't about to give that one up very easily. I took the camera out of my pocket and put in my pants so that if he touched me it would be like sexual assault, but when i noticed that it was poking through my pants like I had a 4"x5" boner, I decided to just put it in my back pocket and take my chances. And then i got checked and the guy that was checking everyone had dreadlocks and looked like as much of a phan as anyone there, and he checked all of my pockets except for the one that I had the camera in. then they checked my ticket and I was in. camera and all. I must say though, i didnt have the worst attack of paranoia at the checking station, i talked to some guy who said right as he realized that he had drugs in his pocket it was too late to go dispose of them and the guy found, just gave him a really pissed off look and said, and then just said HAHA ok man go on ahead it's cool. Anyways, i got in the place and saw these concession stands and people selling shirts and stuff and it was cool. I just kind of hung out there in the place, went to the bathroom, and then asked someone for the time, it was 10 minutes to showtime. Exitement was officially abound. I found a nice spot on the lawn in the shade and had a seat and listened to the music they had going and talked to some people, they were tuning the guitars and shit, and some guy was doing something with the drums and it sounded like fee, and a group of people sang the chorus to fee. There was this hot girl and she was cool as shit, and she went around blowing glitter in everyones face, I thought it was coke at first, but it wasn^Òt. one guy talked with me about how we had gotten into phish and he told me about some of the other shows he'd been to, particularly the nassau of 03 winter tour. He said that after tonight I'll be hooked for life. I just laid back for a while then, and then I heard the crowd go nuts, and I looked up and saw the four greatest performers in the world. I was just beyond pumped at this point, and then my ears picked up 2 quiet notes...then two more. this pattern repeated in a gradual crescendo each time in the pause, the crowd and I screaming Wilson at the top of our lungs until finally they started tearing the place to peices with one of the best wilson's Ive ever heard, WHAT A WAY TO OPEN MY FIRST SHOW. This wilson led right into a CTB which had a very nifty jam, but then when i heard the wedge being started, i was grooving like a madman, i love that song. after that song ended, this cool girl looked at me and said I looked like I needed a high five, so I gave her a high five. she was freindly and a great dancer as well, very cool just wanting to have fun like i was. I then heard It's ice, which has some of my favorite lyrics, and i have never in my life seen a man move his hands as fast as trey does on that song. the my mind was a good breather, I love it, it's a great little bluegrass song, and then the wolfman's brother. the second verse of this song gives me chills. "It isn't who it would be, if it wasnt who it is". these lyrics show tom marshalls ingeniousness. Mexican cousin followed the wolfmans, and this song is growing on me very nicely, It's much better live than on the studio I have to say, but it's a good song i think and just keeps getting better. Guyute came next, which is one of the first phish songs i ever heard, and it really blew my mind and I was delighted to hear it, it was one of the highlights of the show in my opinion even though it was rather standard. Chris Kuruda worked the lights with extreme excellence. I saw phish's music in the lights, He is truly the fifth member of the band. This led into taste, which I never really have liked......until now, this taste was unbelievable, the jam must have gone on for longer than 15 minutes, a very nice way to close out a set. Had a few good laughs in the bathroom during the setbreak. The place was packed. I went to the back stall where i thought the least people would be. This guy came out of the stall and is like, hey man could you flush that toilet for me, some guy pushed him aside quite forcefully and said "Why don't you just get the fuck out of the way and let me take a piss?!" I thought that was pretty damn funny, but then on the way out, i had a laugh that surpassed that one, when i saw a guy who had gotten tired of waiting and just decided to piss on the wall. I almost fell down laughing so hard. I made my way back out, and got a chicken sandwich and tried to weasel my way into getting a daquari, but they asked for my card so i just got a coke instead. I remember standing in line, some girl went on forever about how bad she was wanting a pizza, and then when she got up there she got a chicken sandwich instead of ordering a pizza. I went back and sat in my spot and ate and as soon as i finished the crowd went wild again and the four best musicians came out again. I heard a very silent Piper begin and this is one of the best pipers I've ever heard, incredible piper, one of the highlights of the show. This is where the glowring's/glowsticks were brought out in full force. I got a picture, it was quite a sight. the piper had a sick segue into mist, which i had a never heard before. Mist was a very quiet song with beautiful lyrics. I remember during this song I just sat down and laid my head back and admired the beauty of the bands playing. I did the same for most of waves, I love waves, my favorite song on round room, and the jam is just so peaceful as are the lyrics. Chris did a masterful job on the lights on this song as well, the lights were perfect, swirling green and cerulean blue, totally gave me and image of waves, plus I had just gotten back from the beach, so I was especially delighted to hear this song. Tweezer was then cranked right out of waves. This is a song that I believe you have to see live to apreciate. I can't stand hearing it on cd, it's just boring, but live, it's just a bouncing funfilled jam, and I was just in awe of the lights. NICU came out of tweezer, and this song has my favorite lyrics. Excellent song always a delight to hear, but then the cavern came right out of it, 3 segues in a row! the cavern was a good one, this particular version sent me to another dimension, when they started singing the chorus at the end, i forgot where I was, I forgot that they were playing. It was unbelievable. and then, omg, out of the cavern came YEM!!! i jumped so high I nearly broke my foot coming back down. a flawless version, with a great jam. in the wierd part in the beginning, right after the intro, i just sat down and relaxed a little. stood back up when page and trey played in unison, and then they just flawlessly played until the jam, and what a jam it was. I got a picture of Trey and Page jumping on the trampolines. that is phenomonal that they can do that, i dont see how they synchronize there moving. It's amazing. the jam came to an end, and then they got the vocals going. it was a funny little vocal jam, the vocal jams always crack me up. but then it was over. they left, and then the lighters were lit, wanting an encore. they came out and played wading, which was ok, wouldnt have been my first encore choice, but it was a great version, and page has my favorite voice in the band. the tweezer reprise was a perfect finish to an awesome night. I got the guy's attention that said I would be hooked and said that he was definitely right. we made our way out then and just kind of chilled out in the lot, everyone got ran out of the ampitheatre by security. out in the lot they were shooting off fireworks and listening to music and selling all kinds of stuff. me and my freind were walking around looking for something fun to do, i bought a mountain dew and went and talked to some people selling shirts. It was really fun, everyone was so freindly, and carried on cool conversations. like the crowd is so accepting. I guess thats an advantage of living in a shithole, I get to appreciate good people that much more. Then me and my freind started trying to look for a way out, on the way out I bought an antelope sticker and got a tour date poster. i heard some people comparing the grateful dead and phish, and it was the best way ive ever heard it said. They are two completely different types of music, both are great, but they are different. it's the spirit and the atmosphere that is the same. We made our way up to the street to the marta bus stop, but something crossed our mind as we got there. It was fucking midnight, the buses didnt run this late. so we didnt panic, we just went up to the shell station up the street with the rest of the phans. i got a slushie and used the payphone. some guy out in the front of the building was handing ginger ales out, saying that since we were too young to have real beer, wed have to settle for that. we just kind of chilled out there for a while. I couldnt get the damn payphone to work, it kept saying i needed to add the area code with the number and when i did that it said the number was disconnected. I was getting pretty frustrated at that point, as were other people by the payphone, this guy got his car towed started cussing out his mom, he was pissed. then i just went and found these cops up the hill and thought i would ask for some advice on what to do in my situation. he says, "Well, there is a bus stop up the street, but I wouldnt go there, kids like you get robbed and murdered all the time in this neighborhood." thats all he said, i mean what an asshole cop, so much for serve and protect. we just headed back to the ampitheatre at this point. I was asking around for a cell phone, though no one seemed to have one. i was also offering the ginger ale that guy gave me, i wasnt thirsty and i was tired of carrying it. no one wanted it either. we made it back to the lot without getting buttfucked by crackheads, and we found some freindly phish phans again. we started asking around for cell phones again, still no one had any. we saw this one guy who needed someone to jump his car. these other guys were right beside him and there car was working and they were like, well, we wont help you, but why dont you ask that tow truck over there, im sure he'll give you a hand. i also saw some drunk guys get in a fight, and they were like rhyming insults, one called one a snitch, and then the other one called him a bitch. they started fist fighting in some guys tent and the guy who owned the tent kicked both there asses because he had a two year old in the tent they were fighting in. im glad he did, dumb fucks shouldnt fight, it's stupid. we saw a girl who was threatening people who wouldnt let her get on the road. we finally ran across a guy that let us use his cell phone. he said we were lucky cause it was free that late at night. he started talking to us about the show and our predicament. i called up the number of the hotel, and i got an answer. this guy picked up and i was like oh yeah finally we get through to them. im like "where have you guys been, come and pick us up the bus doesnt run this late." hes like, "who in the fuck is this" i was like, oh shit, i started asking him what room number he was in, hes like im not giving your drunk ass my room number(i was sober btw), i asked him for the number to the hotel front desk, and he hung up on me the prick. then i asked what the number what again, and i got the last number wrong, and then i laughed my ass off. then i tried calling the real number and it had been disconnected. then the guy suggested calling information, and i guess i had breathed in a little too much second hand pot smoke because i dialed the area code and then the info number and no answer, and the guy is like, man..are you ok..you look a little whacked. i thought that was funny. then he and i and my freind just started talking. he said he went to college in LSU, and was a fourth year freshman, making 3000 a month delivering pizza. he said he fails because he doesnt like missing shows for class. He said the atlanta show was rather weak compared to some other ones he had seen that tour, but it was great I thought, or good enough for me. i was still trying to work with the cell phone and some of his freinds just said, ok lets go man, so he wished us luck and apologized for not being able to help us and then we were stuck in the ghetto's of atlanta at 3 in the morning, two 16 year old boys with fresh tight ass just waiting to be raped. we decided to just go back to the bus stop and hang out, we got so bored sitting there that we decided to pull out these walky talky's we had and talk to eachother like 5 feet away. then i saw something fucked up, i didnt know what the hell was going on. i saw this woman and she was pushing a baby stroller around in the middle of the street, in the middle of a 4 lane highway, cars pulled up behind this psycho and followed her going about 5 miles an hour, instead of just passing her in the other lane. i didnt know what the hell was going on. then we just started fucking around on the walky talky's, and cussing and making fun of people who were on the same channel as we were, and then all of a sudden we here......"JOSEPH AND ERIC!"(our names). i was like, !FUCK! it was his and my dad they were within two miles of us looking for us, so we started talking to them we are like, GET US PRYOR STREET! PICK US UP! then they eventually pull up and pick us up and i was terrified of them being like, so guys, how the fuck are you(we said fuck a lot on channel 10). but they didnt, and we looked at the clock and it was 3:30. we about 4 hours give or take walking aroun the streets of atlanta in the middle of the night. we made it home finally, and just hung out in the room, i still have the can of ginger ale as well as my ticket and all the other souvineirs i bought. we got home and then went and ate at ihop and made it out of there about 5, and then i just went to my room and sat on the back porch singing songs and watching the sun come up. it was easily the best day of my life. The concert was everything i hoped it would be and much much more, and im hooked for life, and what a life it will be. Phish truely is the greatest band ever If by some miracle, Phish will read this, THANK YOU FOR THE LIFECHANGING EXPERIENCE! Eric Scott
Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 09:34:00 -0400 From: garrett phillips Subject: 7/26/03 7/26/03 review Oh, the irony that is Phish.  If anyone needs a handy reference for what actually is ironic, look no further than 7/26/03 in the ATL! First of all, this was my 42nd show, 1st, (and only), of this tour, and my first since the reunion.  It occurred to me that I was basically getting away with murder by catching of show of this magnitude on a one-in-twenty shot, but hell---I^Òll take it!  But I digress---on to the show^Å I^Òll sum this up quickly for those of you who were at Big Cypress, (and stayed awake), for the music at dawn.  Remember right at daybreak, after an epic night of jamming, when the moment just screamed for something like The Divided Sky and you were hit with the opening notes from Wading?  Well, that sums up what we got tonight, and the irony I referred to earlier.  Having a show absolutely smoke from beginning to, (almost), end.  Having a Deer Creek hangover wholly blown out of the water with some just on fire versions of everything they played.  Having an energy level so fucking high and a sense, even from the first set, that we may be enjoying an all-timer and then somehow feeling utterly cheated in the end is the definition of ironic.  The fact that I^Òm actually complaining about a show that had the sickest Cavern I^Òve ever heard, the sweetest, most well-placed NICU, a great set one-extending Taste, the who-planned-for-this?, super- kind It^Òs Ice that followed a sick little Wedge, of all things, is really ridiculous; but if you were there, you know exactly what I mean.  I^Òve never seen so many people just plain pissed off at a song placement and words can^Òt justify how palpable the energy drain, the fucking chance wasted, that the sinister opening to Wading brought down on this affair.  Now to be fair, Wading is a sweet song.  It has it^Òs place, and lots of bands would do well to have a kind little ballad like this in their bag o^Ò tricks.  When I^Òve been on a multi-show run, I^Òve actually enjoyed the ditty, but not here, not now!  Anyway, for those who wonder what vagueness makes or breaks a show, this is a fine example: song placement.  It was truly mind-boggling to see what would have been revelers screaming, skipping and spinning into the lot instead left with a look one exhibits after a bird shits on your freshly-washed car.  As an aside, coincidentally enough, I encountered a guy, (completely unrelated to the show scene), who^Òs a sound engineer/stage manager guy later in the evening, who actually worked with Phish in Athens in the late 80^Òs when they were doing ^Óhome and home^Ô shows with WSP.  (He also told a great story about Mike busting ass off his trampoline, but that^Òs neither here nor there). Anyway, he made the point that the encore is what the band wants to play, plain and simple.  The whole show up until then is to please the crowd, but the encore is what they want to do and the statement they feel like making at the time.  This guy even went so far as to say that when the likes of last night^Òs crowd drops off and dismisses the song they^Òre playing that it^Òs a slap in the face to them.  They feel as if it^Òs a crowd of fair-weather friends, if you will.  I^Òd love to hear Phish comment on this matter, that^Òs for sure.  In any event, there^Òs certainly a life^Òs lesson in all of this somewhere---that us Phish phans are just musically spoiled beyond belief is perhaps one of them.  All negativity aside, though, if you are on the rest of this tour, I envy you.  The band is heat right now!  I^Òd put this show in my top five even with the unfortunate conclusion---amazing stuff!  It feels like they^Òve never been gone.  If they^Òre headed your way, get you some tickets and let one of the greatest guitarists anywhere blow your mind all over again!  Oh, and whaddup to my boys from Gettysburg---sorry I couldn^Òt take up with you^Å   Garrett Phillips garrettph@hotmail.com
Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 09:05:24 -0400 From: Randy Ory Subject: July 26, 2003 -- Atlanta Show Ok. I am going to admit upfront that I am not the seasoned Phish phollower that generally chimes in on the review page. I came to Phish late in life and while I have a significant amount of their music (live and studio) on CD, my concert count is not one to be boastfully shared.  >From the perspective of many, this level of naiveté may render me disqualified to properly judge this show.  So, judge I will not. Just a few musings.....   If you look at the setlist, you'll find no Lawn Boy....no Pebbles & Marbles nor Walls from Round Room....one track from SOTG, no Possum, no Divided Sky, no Bowie, no AC/DC Bag, no Mike's Song nor Weekapaug.  Damn, how could this show measure up? However, in the spirit of that old 70s tune, "....if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with....", let me pass a few humble observations on what we did hear.....   From the opening thumps of Wilson to the fading frames of the Reprise of Tweezer, this show pulsed, in my opinion. First set highlight was a toss up of Wolfman or Taste.  The back to back Rift pieces were nice and Guyute, while typical, was great.  (I hate all the review comments that call some live material "typical" or "nothing new here." ----- seems equivalent to say, "it was a typical springtime in Paris)   Opening Set II with Piper was outrageous. It raged for nearly 20 minutes. MITM gave the crowd some breathing time, after the Piper run (would like to hear comments from those more experienced on how this Piper compared).  I really like Round Room (geez, don't tell anybody), but Waves would have not been my first choice.  Foolish me.  This version was nearly the gem of the entire show and kicked off about 50 minutes of pure musical bliss.  Being about 20 years older than the average Phish phollower, I am guessing I have seen a much wider range of concerts. But across about 30 years of concert experiences (including Allman Bros, Yes, Genesis (with Peter Gabriel), Tull, Frank Zappa, Todd Rundgren, The Who) I would be hard pressed to find a better live sequence than Waves-Tweezer-NICU-Cavern-YEM.  To be sure, there were probably far better interpretations of each of these individual pieces from previous shows (and to be sure, we're sure to hear that from some of the phaithful) ---- but this particular string, oddly fitted together, put an ear-to-ear smile on my face for what amounted to nearly 1/3 of the total show time.   For those counting, I had the first set clocked at 1:18, the second set at 1:23 and the encore at 12 mins.   I'd would really like to go to Raleigh tonight, but I have to work in the morning.  There, I said it-----confession, is good for the soul.   Randy
click here to return to the 2003 reviews page