1999-07-07 Charlotte, NC

 On to Charlotte today. This show looks downright incredible on paper and all the reviews appear to back this up, so I have very high hopes for this one!


7/7/99 Charlotte

Set 1

The show gets off to an easy start with a typically solid and laid back Back On The Train. Nothing impressive in the slightest, lacking even standard Trey soloing. Hm.

Getting its 2nd appearance in as many shows, the boys keep us on our toes by going right into a 9 minute Whats The Use. Ok! Thats a great move! Its a fantastic version - Trey sets a massive "screaming seagull" loop that lords over the song. Man oh man this is Haze Annihilation Supreme...... And of course it winds down beautifully into nothing. Wow!! That was absolutely sublime!

And into Billy Breathes. Normally Id complain about another ballad so early in the show, but good lord does it not work great building out of WTU like that?! Billy has a slow start, never really peaking like it should. Its a very good version but not an exceptional one.

The set finally awakens with a punchy My Mind before we go into a rare Sneakin Sally. Sally is the first must hear of the set. 12 minutes long, Trey wastes no time ripping it up before the whole band dive into a heavy funk jam led by Gordos popping bass and Treys loops. The funkiness eventually gets really quiet abd they slowly turn the volume down on this jam over the course of a few minutes, fading it out.... Sally was a resounding success! Must hear!

Up next is a raging Axilla 1 coupled with the Axilla 2 ending. Great blast of fire but kinda sloppy overall.

Really great and unexpected segue into Rift though! That segue was on point! Rift is very, very clean and Page's piano is surprisingly jazzy in a subtle way. Im calling this one a winner. Maybe not must hear, but worthy of a listen! Check this Rift out, its really, really good!

The hits keep coming with Wolfmans Brother. 10 minutes, this one reprises the the thick, soupy funk of Sally. I wouldnt call it must hear, but its a terrific type 1 banger worth checking out. Great stuff.
Page's jazzy piano shredding is awesome!

Wolfman fades itself out and we move into a 12 minute Maze. As expected. Maze annihilates in every way. Nothing to say!

Loving Cup is a great choice for set closer!
Trey really lets loose, going full nuclear bomb like its still Maze or something. KILLER!

All in all, this was certainly the most interesting set played in several shows, and the song selection was fine, but it felt like Trey, in particular, was not completely "on". Not excessively flubby, its a "feel" thing. Seriously, could this be drugs? Hard to explain.

Id say Sally and Maze were must hear but Rift and WTU were both top notch as well.

I feel like Set 1 of 7/4 is somehow better than this even though on paper this walks all over it.... This set feels less....INSPIRED, I guess. Does that make any sense? It feels a little tired in the slightest of ways - not tired, but its not FULL THROTTLE, ya know?

Just interesting stuff to compare and overthink about! This was an excellent set and Im thinking WAY too deeply about it!  

Set 2

Set 2 begins with a MASSIVE 23 minute version of 2001! Putting that "1999 sound" on full display, the first EIGHT MINUTES are a dark and tenseful ambient soundscape. Wow, they dont be playin 2001 like this anymore, eh?
---Finally, they launch into the drum beat and the jam begins its life. Very uptempo, this one! Egging on the audience, they build the jam slowly, working towards the theme but never dropping into it as if going "wait! wait! wait!" They tease the HELL outta that theme until it FINALLY appears at 13:45.
---Utter peaky madness ensues for the next two minutes with the crowd going insane and the band riding that theme for all its worth. Around 15:30 Gordo takes over and they all start to play around with the jam, messing with the rhythms etc
---The guys go back to vamping for a long while, Fishman leading the jam with his rhythm switchups until they decide to peak that theme again around the 20 minute mark. The song concludes afterwards with several minutes of screeching, ambient hellscapes to make our brains explode...

Um....yea. That was fantastic! Must hear!  

And out of the noise, Gordos bubbling bass intro signals the arrival of an 11 minute Disease. The overly "loose" Trey from set 1 is noticeable again (drugs?). Trey is rocking hard and soloing fine, but his playing has a noticeable "faking his way through it" quality that you cant ignore.

He's SUCH a good player that he can coast his ass off and fool everyone, basically. That is what this Disease sounds like. I mean, its still awesome, but REALLY LISTEN to Trey on this and Im sure youll catch what I mean....

All that being said, I would still put this in the must hear pile for this show. Even when faking-it-til-making-it, the pure heat and intensity of this version is something to behold. Hose annihilation....

This is the most SPECTACULARLY WORLD DESTROYING Disease of all time, and yet there is just something a little.....off about it.... 

So that nuclear bomb Disease melts down into a fascinating trio of My Left Toe>Velvet Sea>My Left Toe!!! This is freaking SICK!! MUST HEAR! Talk about a unique section of music!!!!! My Left Toe screeches and snarls like a scared animal in the night, waiting for its chance to bite. The perfect "outro jam" for that Disease!

I cant imagine being in the crowd for this - first that insane 2001, then that more-hose-than-Big Cypress-Disease into this strange, otherwordly piece of ambient soundscaping.....Welcome to 1999 Phish!

So, MLT fades down and they perfectly rise on into a beautiful Velvet Sea which in turn somehow returns to MLT. Dude.

After MLT fades away for good, they move into Bug. Normally Id complain about so many ballads in a row, but this just works!!! In the context of this set its perfect! And Bug is outstanding tonight, nearly rivaling the debut from Bonner Springs. FANTASTIC!

The set proper comes to a close with an ok YEM. It brings the party but its clear as day Trey is pretty "off his rocker" during this one, lol. No trainwreckage or major flubbage but it, again, wreaks of "fake it til you make it". Good but inessential.

Amazing encore of Possum and Funky B, both with Derek Trucks! Nothing I really need to say here!!

All in all, this show is SICK! Set 1 was great throughout but had few true highlights, while set 2 was pretty much flawless from start to finish with ridiculous jamming, inspired set placements and segue, and Trey losing his mind throughout.

And that damn encore!!

Hands down the strongest show of the tour so far overall, imo, even a tad above my much beloved 6/30 Bonner Springs

Alas though, it must be repeated, is this show a warning sign regarding Trey? He is just...he is clearly in some other world at times. Like a tipsy person walking around a party high fiving everyone, lol