The O.G. Live Phish Series In Review - Vol. 5: 7/8/00 East Troy, WI

 Onwards to Live Phish Vol. 5

7/8/00 East Troy, WI

On paper, as I mentioned earlier, this looks like a really "unspectacular" show. But the show DOES have a 4.1 rating, so that's pretty good by .NET's often warped rating standards

Song-wise, other than The Horse/SITM late in set 2, this show is right up my alley so no real complaints there.

Basically, I'm looking for issues where there probably aren't any. I'm shutting up and playing the darn show now


Set 1 -

Punch You In the Eye - MUCH better than the later 9/14 Darien version. Love Trey's sludgy 2.0-esque guitar tone. It's gritty and metallic without the "squeaky" mid range I hate in his 2.0 tone. This one has that slightly slower and groovier pace like the Fukuoka songs had. I'm not well-versed in 2000. Is this a 2000 "thing"? Overall it's an excellent version that is tight without being super special. Highlight-list worthy because it pretty darn flawless on the whole! Great way to open the show!

NICU - Perfect choice for slot two!! The energy is great!!! PLAY IT LEO!!!!! This version is head-bobbing and smiles all around. I'm grooving hard to this one at my Starbucks table. Trey has a small flub on that NICU "lick", but other than that this a really good Type I version. Nothing super special, but if this was 2012, it'd probably be a show highlight. Great stuff!!

My Soul - Wow!!! This is killing like a hot 3.0 Funk B or Reggae Woman! Great energy!!!! Page delivers a terrific bluesy piano solo that is pretty darn long!!!! This is really freaking GREAT!!!!! The vibe is just awesome. Total party! And of course Trey then takes it to a whole 'nother lever with a lengthy guitar hero workout like we expect. Terrific. A+ MY SOUL!

My Poor Heart - LET'S FREAKING GO!!!!! So much FUN!!! Love Fishman hollering in the background! I can't stop grinning, this is exactly what I needed today. A+

Wolfman's Brother - Another really excellent Type I excursion. So far the "theme" of the show is "nothing special" versions that are just exceptionally well-executed or have excess energy and enthusiasm in spades. Similar to some of those "nothing" shows from 2012 (Pelham!!!!) that are nothing memorable but are just really freaking good in the simplest of ways. It's like, you don't always need an $80 steak. Sometimes that $20 cut from Outback Steakhouse is just what the doctor ordered, you know?

First Tube - Very weird but also refreshing to get it in the middle of a first set!!! I think it works better elsewhere (it's the perfect raging closer, for sure!), but I do like them switching it up on me. Super high energy, looper sirens abound. It's a 2000 First Tube, it's everything you expect, and it's friggin' EXCELLENT!

Llama - I think this is better than the Fukuoka one. This one is just NASTY and gnarly as always but it feels next-level like that Dick's 2011 Llama or something. A+ insanity. I mean Trey is losing his god-D mind on this one! There's a section where he is shredding so fast IT SOUNDS LIKE KEYBOARDS!

Guyuute - Trey's darker tone tonight really adds a menacing air to this one. There are a few flubby sections, but on the whole this Guyuute is a success and up to the level of the rest of the set. Awesome stuff!

Run Like an Antelope - Outstanding Type I rager of the highest order. There really isn't anything to say. It isn't anything you haven't heard before, but with everything else in this set, it's just REALLY freaking good!


All in all, this set blew me away!!! I was prepared to be disappointed, but in the end I ended up getting the best 3.0 first set ever played by 1.0 Phish That's basically the gist of this set. Just very tight, ultra-high energy, FUN out the wazoo....No marquee jams, but all of the Type I here was of the highest order. Nothing to complain about here!!!!  

Set 2

Heavy Things - Not my choice for 2nd set opener. Fine, excellently played version, but not next-level like the Fukuoka one. Nothing to complain about either. If this wasn't in the lauded "set opening" slot, I might have more to say about it. But being set opener, you expect a bit "more". Kinda like when I had "The Connection" to open a second set in Charleston in 2019. It was great, but that was the worst set placement of all time and that definitely knocked it down for me. If this was in set 1, I'd probably highlight it.

>Piper - Hmm, odd-seeming choice out of HT. Now this is more like it! Right away, the guys waste no time getting back into the raging Antelope fire from outer space energy!!! I mean, the jam has no build up at the start - it's not jarring, but's funny having them just friggin' LAUNCH us into the sun out of nowhere. Pretty SICK!!! My god, we are barely 4 minutes in, and already this is like that warpspeed 11/27/98 Weekapaug or something!!! They didn't just snort a line - they did ALL the cocaine! For the next several minutes Trey cuts to the chase and absolutely UNLOADS every bit of MACHINE GUN AMMUNITION in his arsenal!!!! "Hey guys. Watch this. I'm going to play EVERY note all at once for several minutes, faster than you can yell LLAMA!" At 6:30 we get an unexpected return to the Piper "theme", taken at ludicrous speed. Around 7 minutes they return to the jam, but it goes proper Type II. Synthesizers are making their appearance, whale siren loopers are cropping up, and the insane tempo is held steady by Cactus and Fish, allowing Page to jangle along on piano while Trey noodles with his whammy pedal. You guys know exactly what I'm talkin' about. Around 9:30 things "settle down" ever so slightly. The tempo is still super fast, but things are calming down. Trey and Page are playing upbeat, melodic noodles. Fishman is doing some very cool drum-roll patterns and Gordo is holding down the fort like the mother effing MVP he is. By 11 minutes Trey is doing Birds Of a Feather-style porno vamping and the jam sounds like it could easily turn that corner. Kinda like how we went into Llama in Fukuoka. Thankfully the guys avoid drifting into ambience and proceed to give us several minutes of killer, uptempo funk jamming. At 12 minutes Page jumps on the organ and the whole band locks into sync. I really love how much you can hear Mike in the mix!!! The mix is PERFECT!!! Hell, I'm actually paying more attention to him lately than ever!!!! By 13 minutes we are slowly heading back into Machine Gun Histrionics Land. Trey is shredding it up, but also takes the time to add it tasteful whammy pedal "swells". The whammy pedal is never tasteful - sorry for lying! He's doing some cool metallic "riffing", tossing in swells here and there. Cactus is TEARING IT UP - he's not walking up and down the bass, he's friggin' SPRINTING! But then around 14:30 the jam quiets down and quickly reaches it's transition point into....



>Rock and Roll - Gotta say that "segue" wasn't terrific. I will always welcome RnR (probs my fave Phish cover besides Loving Cup) but that segue/song choice coulda been a little smoother. But I digress, the crowd is lapping it up and goes BONKERS upon Page beginning the vocals. KILLER. Only 7 minutes, but holy freaking hell do they make use of it. It's unfortunately 20 million times shorter than it should be and ends with no jam, but what is here is one of the best versions of all time. If you were to make a "non-album songs" compilation, this is the version you want!!!! INCREDIBLY KILLER!

>Tweezer - And after having our collective brains melted into our feet, we get a well-deserved cool down! After the lightspeed ridiculousness of the prior two songs, this sounds like a downright dirge! This Tweezer is one of those jams like the 12/14/95 Melt that doesn't stray far from home base, yet it still takes you on a JOURNEY. This isn't one to micro-comment on. This is one you just put on and let wash all over you like a glorious wave of awesomeness. One of the best Type I Tweezers I've ever heard. A+ all the way around. Absolutely terrific!

>Walk Away - Check out that segue! Now THAT is how you do a segue!! This one is sludgy and heavy and, yet again, over WAY too soon! What gives?! A nerfed RnR AND Walk Away?! Boo!

Twist - See the above comments for Tweezer. This is literally the Twist equivalent.

So far, the Piper>Twist sequence was excellent, with the Piper through Tweezer being STAND OUT. From Walk Away on it seems like the set is taking a dip unfortunately. And now we reach my favorite set killer.....

The Horse/Silent In the Morning - Fine version. Is it over yet? NEXT!

Possum - What did I tell you!!! They mislabeled this show!! It's really *insert 2009-2012 date here* All in all, this is a terrific Type I rager, the kind that is a dime a dozen in Early 3.0 (and the conspiracy builds!) That being said, I still have to highlight it because, jesus christ, just listen to Trey absolute mutilate his poor guitar. Incredible.

Suzy Greenberg - See Possum. Also, IT'S 3.0!!!

>Tweeprize - Holy mother of god. Check out the ATOM BOMB dropped on us immediately. Thanks Cactus! Greatest Tweeprize ever??!!! Freaking incredible raging peak for a peaktastic Type I kind of show.

ALL HAIL EARLY 3.0!!! I mean, ahem, 7/8/00!!!

All in all, if you like HEAT and ENERGY and ENTHUSIASM, this is the freaking show for you! Holy mother of hell it was just straight fire from start to finish. For musical standouts, the absolute must hear section is the Ludicrous Speed Piper>Rock and Roll and the Tweezer>Walk Away>Twist is well worth your time as well.

In other words, minimal "standalone" highlights, but a terrific full-show listen!!!!