7-9-03 - Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA

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 17:13:47 -0700 From: eric tipton To: dws@phish.net Subject: Phish 7/9/03 review Dan, the review for 7/9 on Phish.net from me is actually from 7/8.  Here is the correct review for 7/8... 7/09/03 - Shoreline Amphitheatre - Mountain View, California Set 1: You Enjoy Myself* -> Simple > Mist, Chalkdust Torture**, Bathtub Gin Set 2: Boogie On Reggae Woman > AC/DC Bag, Piper^, Twist, Scents & Subtle Sounds, Mike's Song^^ > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove^^^ Encore: Loving Cup * unfinished; ** followed by several vamp endings (inc. the final bit of Big Ball Jam); ^ segued into 2 or 3 distinct jams before ending; ^^ w/ heavy fog; ^^^ w/ Mike on foot bell After the Chula Vista show we drove to some point north of L.A. and holed up in a motel. We made the long drive to Shoreline the following day. Got to love driving by Gilroy, CA - garlic capital of the world. We checked into our hotel in Mountain View, hit a liquor store and rolled into the lot around 5:30. Cops were being complete pricks making people pour out coolers of beer. That's how it was on 10/6/00 but they got more mellow for the next day and the same held true for this two day Shoreline run. So we are sitting there drinking beer when a ticket broker tells us he has 3rd row tickets. Malcolm and I talk him down to $90 for the pair. So I take off to sell my sec 201 or 202 (whatever it was it was in the 200's: not a bad seat). The extra situation was unreal, so many people had them and lawns were being miracled left and right. After 45 minutes I found some dude that gave me $25 bucks for it. I lost $20 bucks on the whole thing but as this night turned out, I could care less. I ambled in and found my seat. Saw a friend of mine Brent from Boulder that I had met at Trey in Berkeley in '01 and that I see at every damn West Coast Phish/Trey show I go to (gotta love that!). OK so the Ticket Broker guy was incorrect in saying we were 3rd row; we in fact were 7th row, just a couple of rows in front of junkbondking. Great fucking seats, better than the 8th row seats I had for Phoenix and Chula; the Shoreline seats were much more centered. Malcolm walks in and sits down next to me and a few minutes later out walks the band. Shit eating grins all around us not too mention on stage. First set: YEM: Jesus, you've got to be kidding?! Is this a dream? You have to love a band that does this kind of stuff: 10/7/00 last show before hiatus at Shoreline and they encore w/ YEM. First time back at Shoreline and what do they open w/? That's right folks, freakin' YEM! Damn I love this band! This was a smoking YEM, Cactus dropping bombs all over the damn place - woo hoo, 17 minutes of bliss for this guy! There were a couple of Simple teases in there somewhere, no vocal jam and segue into > Simple: We indeed have it Simple! Pretty good version - not too long clocking in at 10+ minutes. Mist: After the blistering start to this show, I was pleased w/ this selection. Trey's vocals sound great. Chalkdust: I kid you not when I say this Chalkdust is the fire. Shotgun Trey at his finest here. Awesome. Gin: The band really means business tonight as was made apparent here. Holy cow, this Gin is just insane. This was my 63rd show and I love the fact that twice in this almost 27 minute song that I had to look at my setlist notes to realize "Oh yeah, this is still Gin!" No other band has ever been able to take me on such a roller coaster ride w/ songs of this nature; and alas they are still doing it to me! Love it! The whole band was such an intense groove machine throughout this monster, always listening to one another while maintaining their own distinct playing. Setbreak: First set highlights: All of it - yes; including the Mist. Phish is back mofo's and boy do they mean business. Malcolm went to get a beer, I chilled out where I was and talked to Chris for awhile. Second set: Boogie On: At this point I am thinking; yep this show will be one for the ages - no doubt in my mind. This stayed short and sweet w/ a segue into > AC/DC Bag: Oh hell yes it is so on now. Hold on to your hats kids 'cause it's going to get nuts in here under the tent! This Bag features Mike laying the funk down and Trey shredding my poor brain. Damn this was hot! Piper: It became clear to me during the intro to Piper that there would be no breathers; no let-up's to this second set: just pedal to the damn medal all the way. Bring it boys and man did they during this Piper. It goes into all kinds of directions, I loved every minute of it and I can't say that w/ most Pipers I see. 19 minutes of bliss (yeah you may see me use that word a couple of times in this review and for good reason!) Twist: I am not a fan of this tune in the least bit anymore. With that being said this was a very good Twist. They didn't extend it to 20 minutes of boring, getting lost jamming. They capped it at 11 minutes and there was some really good jamming in there. Hell, I kept boogeying throughout it! Cool segue into > Scents and Subtle Sounds: I was excited to hear this after seeing the Phoenix debut a couple of nights ago. After reading a review on Phishnet I have realized what that middle jam in this song sounds like to me: Sparks. It is very similar. I know very little when it comes to the technical side of music. All I know is that the middle jam does have a similar sound to Sparks and the end jam is similar to a Hood or a Slave. It matters little to me. What mattered to me this night was the way this song MOVED ME. The lyrics are beautiful number one. But during the jam I found myself getting very verklempt. I was so touched during this tune and couldn't help but feel that this song says alot about the upside of Phish's future. [smile.gif] Definitely a classic in the making. A long pause after Scents is over, band conferring... Mike's: Shit Malcolm you called it buddy! I didn't think the night could possib ly get any better and then they drop this atomic bomb on us! The place just erupts as the opening notes ring out. YEEEEEEEESSS! This Mike's would be relatively standard but very well played at the same time. Just the fact that they were playing Mike's this deep in the set, shit I am at a loss for words. 10 minute Mike's w/ a segue into > Hydrogen: Thank you, thank you, thank you Phish. So classic, so old school. Pretty well played and a segue into > Weekapaug: Mike just brings the house down as usual. Again pretty standard Mike's Groove as a whole but very solid too. A ten minute Weekapaug ends the set. The band says nothing after first set and after second set, they didn't need to. They looked pretty pleased, we sure were! What a night! At this point after dancing HARD all night I was still feeling pretty damn good. I think Malcolm called the encore too: Encore: Loving Cup. A more appropriate song could not have been played in this spot. Yeah, it's played alot maybe overplayed. Didn't matter tonigt one bit. "What a beautiful buzz" indeed. After my dissapoint w/ the Phoenix and Chula shows, I felt like this show completely validated just why I was on tour -> you never know when the band is going to sneak up and grab you. Well they did tonight and this guy was back on the train (yes I am a dork). Second set highlights: Boogie>Bag, Piper, Scents, MikesGroove. Malcolm, I am real glad I was able to share this show w/ you bro - I will never forget it. People, haggle w/ ticketbrokers - trust me on this one, it just might be worth your time like it was for us tonight. The energy of the band just rolling off the stage was incredible. It was like a heatwave coming off the band and enveloping the whole ampitheater, the boys were FEELING it tonight! Back to our sweet hotey (good work on that one Malcolm) for some late night partying. Ah, the best of times this night folks; the best! I give this show a big, fat 9 on the Tipton-o-meter. You heard me: a 9!!! peace, et
Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2003 16:43:59 -0700 From: Brian O'Malley Subject: Shoreline 7/9/03 After seeing quite a rockin show the previous night in Chula Vista, I was very excited for the first night at Shoreline. I had never been to this venue and it certainly didn't disappoint. Got to the lot at a reasonable hour and enjoyed the northern cali scene quite a bit. Walking up to the show, I needed to go to will call to get my ticket, but some very kind person just gave me a ticket and saved me the hassle, so in we went. We were very pleased with our seats as they were right behind the light board and right in the thick of things. So as I walk away from the beer line at 7:43, I hear the opening notes to YEM. Now this is cool for everyone in the venue, but extra special for me as it was my first YEM after 17 shows. So I ran to my seats and settled in for the night. YEM was its usual wonderful self and to my listening pleasure, no vocal jam, but straight into Simple which I picked up early. What an amazing combo to start the show. I was happy to hear Mountains in the Mist because it was on my friends wish list and it was a nice downer before the madness of Chalkdust ensued. I don't remember much about Chalkdust accept that it was raging and tight. As soon as I heard the first notes to Bathtub, I knew it would be legendary. I was reading someone's review earlier and they said that at one point they had to ask what song was playing. I myself got lost in the song as well. So many ups and downs, can't wait to hear it on CD. Overall, first set was great. Great balance of composition and varied jamming. The crowd was into it from the first notes of YEM and as I looked around the entire set, everyone was enthralled and ready for more. Little did we know the second set would be one of the best from front to back I've ever seen. When they opened up with Boogie On, I was stoked. I was really excited for it to get dark out and see what the lights looked like under the tent. The Boogie On was standard and got everyone goin and then into AC/DC. All night, there were great combinations and song choices that left you wondering what they could put together next. AC/DC was ragin, great guitar from Trey and enough can't be said about Mike. He was thumping away in San Diego and kept it up through Shoreline. Piper was a song that I used to not get into, but since the one I just saw in Vegas and now this one, it has climbed to the top of my charts. Such beautiful jamming and they have been throwing in a lot of reggaeish, decadent rock that just gets me entranced. Can't wait to see how this song continues to evolve. Probably one of highlights of the night, amongst many would be the Twist>Scents and Subtle Sounds. I have heard about 3 Twists before this and by far this was my favorite. They kept it very bluesy and laid back. The ones I saw in the past have been Trey dominated with so many notes. This was a free for all that everyone contributed to. Mike was thumping, Trey was laying down some bluesy/funk and being very patient. Overall it was just perfectly placed in the set and rolled into Scents. In Chula Vista, I remember thinking to myself that they haven't come up with any new composed classics recently. When they started playing Scents, I loved the opening reggae groove, the lyrics and then into a beautiful ambient jam. As I was taking it all in, I was thinking that I could hear this song a ton and not get sick of it. Can't wait to hear it on CD. After a long pause by the boys, I along with everyone in the venue was shocked to hear the opening notes to Mikes. What a great version, straight forward but fun with the fog machine and lights that were entrancing. Right into Hydrogen, which was a first for me, and then of course Mr. Michael Gordon and Weekapaug. No disappointments in the second set. Every single song they played was played to the best of their ability and it is one of those shows that you walk out of and can't believe you just witnessed one of the greats. Loving Cup was the icing on the cake. What more can you ask for than being sent home for the night with such a rager. Nothing better than a song that ends a perfect night with Trey singing "and I know I play a bad guitar". Perfect. This show is one for the ages and let everyone know that the boys are here to stay. After the long drive from San Diego, this was quite a treat and definately solidified itself into my top five shows. All the nay Sayers that have bagged on second night in Shoreline should realize that after seeing this show, anything would be a disappointment. Keep it up boys. Thanks. O'Malley
Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2003 20:49:22 -0700 From: Mike Indgin 7/9/03-Shoreline So happy to report that Phish is back at full strength. The best news is that the harmonies are back! Trey's voice is strong and back in tune and their voices are melding nicely. Maybe the singing lessons they took before the New Jersey Star Spangled Banner paid off. They are also a tight and cohesive unit once again, making my soul so happy. Regarding this show, yes, the setlist is unbelievable, but even more outrageous is the fact that the show was actually better than the setlist! Things started out a bit sadly for those of us with extra tickets as beggars could be choosers and name their price for a ticket. I had trouble GIVING away my extra lawn seats. The weather was perfect and the boys came on at 7:40. I couldn't believe my ears when they broke into YEM. Two YEMs in a row at the same venue. Has that ever happened before? The fighter jet pass-by added a nice touch to the middle of the jam. Interesting descent into Simple...the whole night was filled with exploratory jams and segueways (not to be confused with the Segway Mike was driving thru the crowd during the setbreak of 7/10). My buddy Frank actually was hoping for a Mist, probably the only person in the venue with that as his top request. Chalkdust was blistering and the Gin was out of this world. Didn't even feel cheated at a 5 song first set, although it was quite a contrast to the long, epic 9 song first Shoreline set on 7/31/97. Boogie On>ACDC BAG paired two of my favorite songs. Then came Piper with the highlight of the night--the jam that followed. And then I finally got my Twist (my first since Trey's birthday in 2000). Bring back Bug, Jiboo, First Tube and Sand please! Love those farmhouse songs. Scents and Subtle Sounds is an interesting new song, although the middle jam is too much like Sparks and the end jam is exactly like the one in Harry Hood. Of course, any time you hear the opening notes of a Mike's Song this deep in a set, it comes as a delightful shock. At least this time I still had some energy to enjoy it, unlike what happened to me in Red Rocks 96. The climax to Mike's had Trey doing some weird funk licks instead of the typical heavy metal meltdown. I knew Hydrogen was coming because of the soundcheck video on their website. They pretty much nailed it. And Weeks was typical shake yur ass perfection. Loving Cup as an encore proved they were out to get an A+ in song selection. Overall the best show IMO since the return and one of my top five since my first show in 93. All this and I got my Divided Sky the next night. Thank you for not giving it to the Gorge this year. Yippee!!
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 16:21:32 -0700 (PDT) From: Dave Shumate Subject: Shoreline 7/9/03 Review 07/09/03 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA Set I: You Enjoy Myself > Simple, Mist, Chalkdust Torture, Bathtub Gin Set II: Boogie On Reggae Woman> AC/DC Bag, Piper, Twist, Scents and Subtle Sounds,Mike's Song> I am Hydrogen> Weekapaug Groove Encore: Loving Cup Set I It seems like only a short time ago that I was sitting on the lawn at Shoreline watching Phish close out 17+ years of touring before going on hiatus. Based off last night's performance, I think it is safe to say that the boys were glad to be back and they wasted no time by busting right into YEM to open the first set. This was definitely an appropriate choice considering they closed out the 2000 before the hiatus tour with YEM at Shoreline. This version was on point from the very beginning and featured some nice work by the Cactus on bass. No question about it, Mike is much louder these days and the funk is permeating from his bass. As they approached the end of the jam, I turned to my friend and said, NO VOCAL JAM PLEASE!!! Ask and you shall receive! It wasn't long before the opening chords of SIMPLE started and the place was ready to Bee Bop. I doubt many people would have predicted a YEM > SIMPLE opening combo, but this let everyone know from the very beginning that it was going to be a classic night. Some nice solo work by Trey at the end of SIMPLE which seemed to be a nice transition to MOUNTAIN IN THE MIST. This song is not normally one of my favorites, but I did think this version was much better than the one I saw in Vegas earlier this year. Not only were Trey's vocals better, but the song also just seemed to work well after the Simple jam and who can complain that things slowed down for only a second, because the boys turned the intensity right back up with a smoking CHALKDUST TORTURE. All I have to say about this version of Chalkdust is that it was simply powerful. Trey locked into the jam and didn't let go. I'm looking forward to hearing this version again once the show becomes available on LivePhish. After letting the crowd catch their breath for a brief moment, it was definitely time to take a bath. Nice and long, jammed out BATHTUB GIN to close the first set. I know I must have been only 1 of many people who turned to their friends during the jam sections of Bathtub and asked, "what song is this again"?. Great work by all the band members thoughout this song, especially Leo and Mike. I couldn't believe it when they ended the set with this song, but that only goes to show you how jammed out the first set was. After 80+ shows, I can't remember the last time I saw a 5 song first set, if ever. And I'm not complaining, this first set was the Phish I have grown to love over the last 10 years. Set II As night fell over Shoreline Ampitheater on a beautiful Northern California evening, the opening chords to BOOGIE ON REGGAE WOMAN started the second set off perfectly. This version was pretty standard and nothing like the Chula Vista monster from a few years back, but well received as we all danced "Under The Stars Above". As the jam slowed down, the boys once again delivered a knockout song combo by morphing right into AC/DC BAG. This BAG was a nice, tight version that featured some great work by Trey. When Trey starts pushing his glasses up on his nose and staring into the sky, you know he is locked in and laying it down. I always forget to mention Fishman because he just controls the show night after night in a behind the scenes sort of way, but he was definitely as smooth as ever last night. After the opening 2 song combo, I thought they would break out something from Round Room and maybe slow it down a bit, but alas that wasn't happening last night. It was all about keeping the energy going, and that is exactly what happened as the first soft chords of PIPER began. PIPER over the years has turned into a monster jam song, and the boys got evil with it last night. Trey and Leo were doing some real nice stuff throughout this version. I think this Piper was the perfect length as it finished up and the boys started into TWIST. I turned to my friend when TWIST started and said "I hope they keep this version kind of short". I'm not the biggest fan of Twist, although I wouldn't say that I don't like it. I thought this TWIST was simple and to the point, and didn't turn into one of those versions where the band seems to kind of get lost. Once again, I though the length of this version was perfect. As the beginning of SCENTS AND SUBTLE SOUNDS began, the audience started looking at one another to figure out what they were starting. Little did they know, they would be properly introduced to one of the best new songs Phish has written since coming back on tour. I though SCENTS AND SUBTLE SOUNDS was one of the highlights of the evening with its many changes and various genre influences. From the reggae-esque skank of the first section, to the soaring solos by Trey, to the great vocal works by the whole band, this song was fantastic in my opinion. Anytime I get to see Fishman signing with a grin on his face can be cosidered a good night and all the guys seemed to be excited about how this song sounded. I haven't heard the Phoenix version yet, but this song is going to be a crowd favorite for years to come!! So what's next????? MIKE'S > HYDROGEN . WEEKAPAUGH -- Are you kidding me? This late in the show and no slow songs??? I FUCKING LOVE THIS BAND!! Just keep the pedal to the medal all night long boys. Mike was once again off the charts throughout this combo and his bass probably had the Bay Area residents thinking an aftershock was shaking the city. Nothing super about these versions, but tight and to the point. As the boys walked off stage to prepare for the encore, my friend annouced that without question, they were going to encore with LOVING CUP. Once again, ask and you shall receive. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL BUZZ!! That pretty much sums up the night. See you all for round 2 tonight!! Jah Gude, RAS DUB!
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:51:17 -0700 From: Guichard, Alex R Subject: 7-9-03 Shoreline Review Here is my review. So maybe it has been a long time since I have seen the band, and this night was like a phan's first amazing phish show experince all over again, but that was the best show I have ever seen. Maybe I was a little overly-excited to see the band again. Maybe it was my body chemistry at the time, but whatever it was, I had a blast in every aspect of this show. I arrived to the lot early, and the various people I met seemed in a really upbeat and happy mood. I really never saw that at other band's shows that I went on during the hiatus and since (ie SCI, moe). We got in to the venue rather early aswell. When the boys got on stage and ripped into YEM, I was in the beer line. Needless to say, I left it to go to my seats. I YEM>Simple: YEM was great. I like that song sans vocal jam and transitioning intoanother. They YEM>Simple transition was nailed tonight. Mist: Round Room is not my fav album, but I still didn't really mind Mist here. Itdefinitely let everyone catch their breath after a sick opening pair of songs. Chalkdust: damn. They have truly perfected the jam on that song. I got the shivers a couple of times on that song. Bathtub: sure. the jam was really good, and extremely tight. The band really looked like they were enjoying themselves. Five songs and ~70 minutes long! SICK FIRST SET! II Boogie on Reggae Woman: My personal first time seeing the song. I have been waiting to hear it, and I thought a solid and thankfully short version. Ridiculoustransition into . . . AC/DC Bag: Amazing jam on this one. I loved the break into Piper here. All I cansay. Piper: This song worked here. I've seen it a number of times, and it is not always my fave, but I can definitely not fault its placement. Twist: Once again, good placement of a song I have seen so many times, so I wasn't mad. The jam was pretty awesome, it got kind of dark. Scents and Subtle Sounds: I think this could be a new classic Phish song. The opening was almost prog rock/Genesis sounding, but the end was beautiful. Ending reminded me of Hood/Slave style ending. Mike's>H2>Weekapaug: Another set of songs I have heard a few times before, but once again, I didn't mind so much cause they were so well done. E: Loving Cup: PERFECT ENCORE! Emotional release to an intense night! I think I have figured out the band, and the key is when Fishman is on, the entire band is on. Fish was on tonight. Trey can have a great night, but the rest of the band will sometimes be playing catch-up if they are not roght there with him. This entire show sounded almost composed, it was so well-played. Flawless execution, Flawless night! Good setlist (although I have seen some tunes TOO MANY TIMES), the performance of the setlist made this show great. I had a BLAST! I am stoked for Thursday, although I don't know how they can top this one just one night after. Definitely get a copy of this show. I have a feeling people will be talking about it for a while. Thanks, Alex
Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2003 11:21:46 -0700 From: "Pomeroy, Matt" Subject: Shoreline 7/9 I will post a short review: This was my 21st phish show and I came into shoreline thinking the boys would be a bit rusty but, still perform a good setlist. To my amazement the setlist was stellar IMO (even with the short 1st sets) and they appeared loose and fluid in all of the jams. The YEM was a great start (song they ended their tour with at Shoreline 3 long years ago) and the segue into Simple was a great unusual choice. the Chalkdust and Gin were great extended jams as well. No real highs and lows, just a great groove the whole time. The new Trey sound is interesting to hear. Opposed to his previous years, he is using a cleaner sound in 2003 (less pedals, distortion, and no more loops). What you get is a nice crisp tone that equals the volume of the other 3 pieces. Sounds great I think. The second set was the highlight for me. The Boogie on had the whole crowed dancing like crazy and the AcDc>Piper was fun. What impressed me was the new tune "Scents and Subtle Sounds" This is a great sound and will be a welcome addition to their repertoire. The twist was sick as well. What was great is the Mikes. Sitting in the 10th row I noticed Trey laid down the riff for this song, and Mike turned to Trey in complete shock, clearly not expecting this song. Trey was kinda laughing him like "ok this is for you, go for it!" Great Rocking "Loving Cup" closer. A great way to end the gig. Overall a good solid show. For those of you that will be attending the rest of the tour, you should be excited and are making me jealous! Have fun!
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 08:42:30 +0000 From: Raphaael Aglietti raglietti@hotmail.com Subject: Review of 7/9/03 Shoreline show I was a bit skeptical about attending the Wednesday night show. I hadn't seen Phish since their final show at Shoreline before their hiatus. I hadn't been too enamored with the reviews about the Round Room. Granted I haven't purchased a studio album past Billy Breathes. After having had read the 7-7 review about the Arizona I was somewhat concerned about shelling out lots of cash for Phish. People were desperately trying to unload tickets at less than face value which led me to believe that there would be a small crowd. All of these factors made me serious question my purchase of a ticket not only for this eveing but also for Thursday. I'm happy to say that the rumors of Phish's demise have been greatly exaggerated. I arrived extremely early to the venue and walked up to the box office and picked up a reserved seat. This shocked me because I had been under the impression that there were no seats available for tonight's show. I arrived at my seat at around 6:00pm and just chilled watching people and thinking about potential set openers. Eventually the venue fileld up nicely and Phish walked out at around 7:45pm. I was figuring that I'd get a fairly standard opener but boy was I wrong .... YEM- Wow this opener shocked the hell out of me. I was expecting something more along the lines of Ya Mar, My Friend, My Friend, or First Tube. Trey flubbed some of the notes and was a bit tentaive at the beginning but this Yem began to take off in the free form section. The intensity was extremely high and Trey's licks were fast and furious. The Yem jam was moving at a frantic pace and suddenly broke down into chaos from where .... >Simple emerged. There had been Simple teases in the YEM so it wasn't coming >from nowhere. Again Trey seemed tentative in the composed sections but the >jam again moved back to a frantic guitar jam. Mountains of the Mist followed Simple which gave Phish some time to rest and plot their next attack. Mist was quite pleasant and despite utter disdain for most of Phish's ballads I felt that Mountains was a great fit in the set. From a ballard to .... Chalkdust- By this point I think the crowd sensed that the band wanted to jam and jam hard. More frantic guitar play by Trey and extremely explosive "wind-ups" to the finish of Chalkdust. Not the most precise version of ChalkDust, but moreso an alternative Chalkdust in that it was much more chord based jamming rather than individual notes. I have a feeling this Chalkdust will come off very well on the tapes as being extremely high energy. What could possibly be next...? Bathtub Gin- Ridiculous. Intense jamming. Trey was on fire. This one was up in that 30-30+ minute range. I have to hear the tapes but I'm prety damn sure that this is the best Gin I've ever heard live or on tape. I was actually stunned after the end of this Gin and I think Phish was as well. Phish didn't really end the jam but rather just decided to end the set. 5 Songs in a set. Unbelievable first set. It's in that 8.5-9.0 range and the tapes should bear it out. Set II I was stunned and I wonder what could Phish pull out of it's bag of tricks in the second set. I was thinking along the lines of ASZ as a set opener becuase it had been teased in the Gin but instead got Boogie on Regae Woman- The crowd was stoked and it was certainly a big change of pace from an absolutely devastating Gin. Funky fun tune that ets people moving. I was having fun and that was cranked up a notch when Phish jumped into .... >AC/DC Bag- Always one of my favorites and damnit I wish they would play it >more often. Bag was played in the same jammed out manner of the big hitters >in Set 1. Extremely fast and furious with Trey buring up the guitar. I >figured the band would need a break after this blazing Bag but they went >into Piper- Great placement of this song and it certainly put the crowd into a frenzy. More crazy jamming but this time with some "spacy jamming" and a few "breakdowns". Phish needed a breather so they moved into Twist Around- Some Breather. Granted this song isn't insane like some of th eothers in this set. However, it didn't really give Phish much of a break and it was a great thing. I've begun to really like this song and find that it's almost always welcome just about anywhere in a set. Towards the end of Twist the jam got really spacey and very weird Scents and Subtle Sounds- This was a very strange song. I did like it but there was a section that sounds very much like part of a Who song. I was intrigued by this part of the show because I was curous what direction the show would continue in and then the band began to talk amongst themselves Mike's ->Hydrogen> Weekapaug- Fairly Standard and played well. Strangely enough I think I've seen too much of Mike's that I've been spoiled by it. I think I prefer seeing Mike's if there is something interesting sandwiched in between it and Weekapug. I'm not complaining mind you but I would have loved to have seen Mike's go into something crazy. E: Loving Cup- Nice way to finish a very good show. Crowd was quite pleased by this choice and I think it was a good way to get them psyched up for Thursday's show. Second Set + E =7.0 First Set =9.0 Overall 8.0 Get a tape of the first Set Thanks, Raphael Aglietti
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2003 10:16:56 -0400 (EDT) From: Phish Review Page To: Mrs. God Subject: Re: 1st night of shoreline review by KB SHORELINE JULY 9TH 2ne set review We had good seats; 103 level; Page side. The boys opened up with a succint Boogie On wherein Trey sprang up five minutes into the tune and went up to every member of the band and said something with great exuberance which made each of them give him a look of, "Fuck yeah, let's crank it up, you red-headed fuck face!" They immediately shut off Boogie On and segued into an upbeat and raging AC/DC Bag replete with maniacal strobe lighting by The Master of the Dark Skies, Mr. Chris Kuroda. The ship hovered nicely into Piper wherein we all awoke last night to the sound of the storm. They jammed out the signature chord progression and into an ambient free form jam featuring teases of 7 below (which was played the next evening 2nd set). But where, oh where did this take us? Just why in the Larry Hell or Sam Hell are we here? Why do I want to dip my nards in grape Fun Dip and lick my balls until they scab over????? TWIST!!! No fucking way, no fucking way!!!! 'Whoooo! Wouldn't twist around'......oh fuck yea, it would twist around like a titty twisting Conway Twitty tangled up in a game of Twister with the Olsen Twins. Oh, God, I want to bang the Olsen twins, long and hard...... After the chorus and the jam began, it was wholly agreed we were seeing unparalleled musicianship. They were up there smiling and whacking it, long and hard..... Then Gordo took over with the sweet thumps of Mike's Song which took it to the otha level. I say this for two reasons: (1) get the show and tell me otherwise and (2) the stage crew whipped out the smoke machines and left them on, thusly blowing mad smoke for at least five minutes. They never fucking whip out the smoke!! Special O-MotherFucking-Ccasions only, you silly bitches!!!! (Although, I do believe there was a brief smoke the next night in the 2nd set which leads me to believe they may be whipping it out more often this tour. But fuck, THE SMOKE, MAN, THE FUCKING SMOKE! I kept telling my buddy Mikey that, THE SMOKE, MAN, THE FUCKING SMOKE….ahhhhh, yes, the good old days.) OK, the boys steered the ship sweetly into Hydrogen. If you were there and didn't cry during I am Hydrogen, you needs to check yo' self before you wreck yo' self 'cause big deez in yo' mouth is bad for yo' health. Serriously. And rightfully so, they stuck the pig with a clean segue into a monumental Weekapaugh. Why monumental? Only those people who were there will know that there were four distinct cow bellish type dings in this tune that did not come from Fishman. Where did they come from, you ask? Michael Jordan Gordon has a foot bell that he only uses when they are firing on all cylinders. I read an interview with him in Bass Player magazine and he talks about how he has foot percussion devices he only whips out when he feels that they are dropping dirty bombs. Nasty, stanky, dirty bombs on that ass. So there you go. Oh yeah, during the Loving Cup encore this crazy mother behind me was breastfeeding her baby but with both tits out. I had my buddy get a picture of me with my tongue out as I turned around so it looked like I was licking her floppy jalopy. Her crazier, acid-head hippy husband saw it and smacked me on the back of my freakin' noggin, open hand. It felt awesome cause I was totally spun off molly. But I ain't no sucka so I snatched his glow wand off his grubby neck, chewed it until the glow juices dribbled down my face, and told him, "Your baby looks like a retard, you smelly smelly pumpkin belly!!" All in all, it was the best set I've seen in quite some time and I've been to every Phish show that has ever occurred. ---- Kurt Buddelmeyer
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