1997-07-05 Como, IT

 Onwards with 1997 this Monday morning!

Next up is 7/5/97, Como, IT
*Free, one set, 2 hour outdoor show

On paper, this show looks utterly boring from a setlist perspective. Thank goodness we dont judge books by their covers, though!!!!

The show opens with a red hot Julius and its apparent immediately that the boys are EXCITED to be playing this show!!

Julius, Bouncing, Uncle Pen and Sample are all perfectly ordinary type 1 excursions, but there is a definite sense of "oomph" to proceedings.

With Theme, however, the set ascends to the friggin stratosphere!!! Liftoff has been achieved!!

Theme and Caspian are both, honest to god, A+, 10/10 type 1 versions rivaling any you can think of. Trey is absolutely melting faces on both of them. The Theme is particularly must hear. Absolutely ESSENTIAL listening!!!!

Building upon this newfound sense of X Factor, they move out of that blazing Caspian and into the MVP of Europe 97 (well, next to Ghost...), Twist. 14 minutes on this one, it is the jam centerpiece of the show. Exploring multiple different sections of extreme funk workouts with fun vocal scatting abound, this is like the Dicks 2014 Simple dance party on super steroids.

Or something like that. Total X Factor Magic baby. Essential!

They lead out of that with another "does nothing" Piper, BUT, it must be said, I actually really dug this one. The slow-build was executed at exactly the perfect pace, allowing you to just melt into to building maelstrom. But then of course it aborts right at the point of liftoff....* Sigh *

Thankfully the hits keep coming and we get a perfectly placed Hood in the next spot. This Hood is pretty exceptional, imo. Not sure if it tops my fabled 2/13/97 London version, but its up there. A truly excellent reading full of passion and patience and energy in the exact right amounts....A+!

Now for the final stretch, the hijinks begin!

The Love You/HYHU vacuum medley is followed by a ripping Poor Heart. Character Zero and Good Times Bad Times smash our faces and send us out with a smile!!!!

Terrific choice of Squirming Coil for the encore. Page's piano outro will never not be amazing as an ending....



Wow! I am honestly REALLY surprised by this show! Considering that so many of the PROPER Europe 1997 shows (spring AND summer) have been, honestly, less-than, its quite a shock that this little side-gig rises above the pack to stand in the lower rungs of the top tier of shows from the two tours.

I will honestly replay this again sometime. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed it! The pacing was perfect, the energy and enthusiasm was sky high, there was enough X Factor where needed.....

Also, this show is FUN!! They lay into "having a good time" part but also deliver the goods musically.

If you're looking for something to really SURPRISE you, go check out this show!!!

WOW!!!

****Also, major props to the taper - no exaggerating, this has to be the single finest AUD of 1997 to this point. EQ in some bass and its super clear, up front, damn near SBD like capture. They mustve been right next to the stack or something....

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

1999-07-04 Atlanta, GA

 7/4/99 Atlanta

Set 1

A spirited My Soul is a fun kickoff to this show. The vibe is kinda laidback and relaxed in a great way! Page rips it up on the piano. Then Trey takes over and melts faces. Excellent opener! That was great!
This version SMOKES!

The relaxed party atmosphere is cemented with the following Ya Mar. A torally must hear rendering, Trey's solo is delightfully patient and slow building while Pages organ playing is outta this world. A+!!!!! This sucker even goes type 2 for the final few minutes! It dissolves into a weirdo jungle groove fest that is incredibly unique and strange. MUST HEAR!!!!!!

A terrific Farmhouse keeps the laidback vibes a coming. Standard but powerful. I wouldn't call it must hear but its genuinely excellent.

Following a rare Oh Kee Pah Ceremony we get a 10 minute AC/DC Bag. Bag builds some major heat and rages red hot. In the end, it never surpasses ordinary, but its downright excellent all the same!

The Wedge is a great choice for this feel good and laid back set. Inessential, Trey is kinda flubby on this one.

Vultures (potato to the throat!) is absolutely evil tonight, Treys soaring seagull lead work giving such a vibe to this. Fantastic! Must hear!!!!! This Vultures is friggin ridiculous!!! Holy bird squealing apocalypse!!!!

The crowd goes insane for the following I Didnt Know, vacuum solo and all. Feels weird after that Vultures, but hey, its great either way!

Back to the laid back vibe, we get an always welcome Fast Enough For You! Terrific version, Trey delivers an outstanding solo, making use of/controlling his squealing feedback like hes Frank Zappa or something. Really excellent. Must hear!!!!

In classic fashion, the set concludes with a giant 16 minute David Bowie.

All in all, this was a pretty great set. The big word is CONSISTENCY! It was CONSISTENTLY great! Unlike set 1 of 7/3 which was all over the place. They set the vibe from the get go and stuck with it all the way through!!! Like a straight line!!!

This wasnt the worlds most amazing set, but it was 20 miles more enjoyable than the majority of the previous show!!!!

Ya Mar, Vultures, FEFY and Bowie are all must hear!!! 

Set 2

Set 2 gets off to a great start with a 13 minute Ghost. This one goes deep and fast, covering more ground than you expect in the time that it has to do so. From the outset it is oddly uptempo and rocking. It turns in a dark and grimy kind of jam that morphs into some ethereal bliss type playing during the final stretch. That was excellent! Felt like they crunched a 20 minute jam into 13....

Ghost begins to morph and change and an all timer segue into Slave occurs!!! Boy, that was FRESH!!!! Slave, of course, is excellent. Loaded with dynamics, its downright magical, posessing that mysterious X Factor that modern Slaves can only dream of touching. Must hear, this is a stellar version. Wow! Full of yearning and passion, this one just builds and builds, slowly climaxing in the greatest way. An absolute show stopper. INCREDIBLE!!! HOLY CRAP!!!

Horse/Silent is the odd choice to follow that epic insanity. Hell, anything is a letdown after that. Solid stuff, nothing special. Actually, the slow build into the uplifting Silent chorus works wonderfully, flow wise, coming out of Slave! This version isnt special, but the pairing of Slave into Silent is worth a listen!

In a bit of a satisfyingly strange move, the cheerful peakage of Silent gives way to the dark intensity of Whats the Use. The drop into the song will hit you over the head! This version is outstanding!!!! Trey quickly sets a loop that gives them extra space to play on top. Even better, this is the debut! Wow, talk about coming out swinging on a debut performance! Just like the Bonner Springs My Left Toe, this is terrific and must hear. Grab this!! Spooky and strange ambient bliss rock. Or something like that....

Unfortunately, its over WAY too quick and they move jarringly into Wilson. Reliable choice though to quickly get everyone on their feet again. Interestingly, they go nuts with lots of whacky rock and roll jamming on this, completely breaking down the rhythms and going nuts. Very fun and weird!!!!! Maybe not must hear, but its certainly worth a listen!!!

A ridiculous Mikes>Monkey>Groove closes the set proper. Self explanatory. Weird and killer. Mikes has a spectacular funk jam that unfortunately peters out all too quickly and they go into Monkey. Out of Monkey is Paug. Excellent but inessential.

An interesting encore of Carini into a Meatstick reprise followed by thr Star Spabgled Banner closes the show


All in all, this show curbstomped the living daylights out of night 1!!! At the same time, it was not flawless. Set 1 was excellent and had genuine highlights but still felt "lesser" than a truly great should would, ya know?

Same with set 2. Set 2 had a lot going on but it seemed like a lack of certainty was their downfall during it. It was like they lucked into the incredible Ghost>Slave to open and then had no idea how to follow that, spending the rest of the set playing "catch up".

Set 2 was loaded with red hot energy but the song choices often felt completely random. Not that it lacked flow (it flows better than youd think given the songs played!), but the song choices all feel totally disconnected, if that makes any sense.

Anywho, enough blathering. This was a great, if imperfect show. For set 2 grab Ghost, Slave and WTU.

You know what? This was like one of those shows where its a great listen in and of itself, but at the same time you can clearly recognize its not at the upper echelon level (does that make sense?).

Check out the highlights! A fine show!

1999-07-03 Atlanta, GA

 Onward with 1999. Lax day in the truck allowing for sub-par (echoey...) AUD listening....

7/3/99 Atlanta, GA

Set 1

An absolutely blazing Chalkdust sets off the show with a bang. All fire, just face melting. This one really, truly goes the extra mile in that regard. Its downright apocalyptic in the amount of heat given off. Sweet Jesus, say your Rosary!

Up next is an 11 minute Gumbo in the 2nd slot. Gumbo is TERRIFIC!!! Well deserving of its Jam Chart entry, it quickly (and SMOOTHLY!) morphs into a dark, funky type 2 that is kind of tense, keeping you on the edge, guessing what they are going to do next. Dark Gumbo, if you will. Absolutely fabulous!!!!! Spooky Gumbo!!! It proceeds to dissolve into a scary, ambient space outro and fade itself out of existence....

Wow!!!

Unsure what to do, they awkwardly launch into Sparkle and, it kinda, well, is awkard! Lol. I dont really think it fits here tonight but maybe it was great in person.

Cavern fits nicely out of Sparkle. Smooth transition like its 1992 or something. Cavern is standard.

After that dual setlist "interruption", we reach the next heavy hitter with an 11 minute Taste. Trey takes his sweet time with the solo, beginning slow and quiet, milking it for everything its worth. Absolute patience on this sucker and its glorious! He takes minutes before the whole thing slowly builds to an EPIC and fiery nuclear bomb explosion of a finale! BRING ON THE HOSE! This was absolutely ridiculous!!! Must hear!! Shredtastic!!!! Oh my goodness!!!!!

A too-early Circus appears next, but ill forgive the placement as we just had our faces melted by that insane Taste. Circus is Circus. Its actually really nice but nothing special.

This up and down set gets going once more with a slightly lengthy Tube (almost 8 minutes). This thing is all over in the best way. Terrific "kaleidoscopic" playing where they bounce from sound to sound. Keys to piano, loud to quiet and dark. For 7.5 minutes, they cover a lot of ground and turn in a terrific little version of Tube. Definitely a major highlight, if not must-hear completely.

A typically killer Funky B follows and builds on the heat of that Tube. Now its a party! Trey absolutely tears this sucker a new one times infinity like that opening Chalkdust. Absolutely awesome!!!! Probably must hear!

A fun NICU keeps the "old school" vibe of the set going. Not essential but its always great to hear! A bit flubby but thats ok.

After an ill timed Waste (2 ballads in set 1?!), the set closes with the US debut of Meatstick. The first since that one 1997 Euro "version". Meatstick is actually really nicely played with a good solo from Trey. But it so WEIRD to close with it and the audience mustve been like "wtf is this?!".

In other words, slightly anticlimactic, I guess, lol


All in all, this was a flawed but still enjoyable set. Id say Chalkdust, Gumbo and Taste are what you need, with Funky B and Tube being enjoyable side pieces. A very up and down set, it felt like it had a hard time achieving liftoff, lacking "flow", in my opinion. Gumbo was the only true JAM and the other stuff was on the "incredibly hot" side of ordinary. Id rank this a B+ set.

Good but not incredible.

GUMBO AND TASTE! GET THOSE!

 Full disclosure, Im preparing to "suffer" through this 2nd set just based on the song selection/placement. Forgive me.

Set 2

A Twist opener. Definitely not my ideal choice. And its not anything noteworthy tonight. It basically stays in an unimpressive type 1 vamp for its rather boring duration. Let me put it like this, every version of 2023 is better than this.

And this enjoyable but utterly unremarkable Twist concludes and they move into Piper. EXTREMELY long intro - this Piper is 10 minutes and they reach the halfway point before beginning the vocals! Ok, get to the point.... Unfortunately, despite the raging power, this Piper, like the Twist before, is a complete and utter snoozefest. As soon as it begins to lift off finally, the damn thing is over. And they didnt "do" anything with it AT ALL except just play the song faster and faster! Im not sure which Piper is worse - that 7/3/97 one I complained about the other day or this "huffs and puffs but goes nowhere" version.

Ugh! What a lame double whammy to ruin the start of this set!

10 minutes seems to be the buzz term of the night as thats the length of the following Moma Dance. Interesting to see it in set 2. NOT interesting to get it after the previous two songs....Moma is just ok. It neither offends nor impresses. Solid with some average heat. If this was early set 1 Id be kinder, but after the double whammy of crap that opened this 2nd set, we deserve more than a lukewarm reading of a typically first set tune!!!

What is this B.S.?!

Oh goody! Now we have to sit through a dang Mountains In th Mist! Ugh! I love this song, its beautiful as ever, but this is NOT what this sinking ship needs right now! To be fair, this is the best thing of the set so far by quite a margin. Its exquisite!!!!

Thank christ we get a 14 minute Antelope next. Will this finally be the shot in the arm this set so desperately needs?! And thank Icculus it delivers!!! This sucker is nuclear!!! I mean, its Antelope, you expect as much. But they really take it next level, Trey coaxing squealing seagull sounds and dying cat shrieks from his guitar. The whole thing just explodes like you cant even imagine. Even by Antelope standards, this one is next level. Essential listening!!! Must hear!!!!

Revisiting the old school vibe of set 1, the scorched earth Antelope gives way nicely to a rare Contact. Good stuff. Contact is Contact, but they do a fun Little Drummer Boy outro jam which is a hoot.

Double encore tonight - Pretty noteworthy to mention we get a rare Bill Bailey with Page's father at the helm. Very nice!

And of course Hood to close.


Yo, screw this set. Set 1 wasnt perfect but it was always pretty good. The first half or so set was just purely NOT up to snuff at all! Twist and Piper were shockingly boring/uninspired and Moma was ok but not even up to the level of most first set versions. Bad ballad placement yet again led to the final stretch feeling like they were grasping as straws..... Thankfully, Antelope is terrific and worthy of Must Hear status. Insane version. But ONE great song does not redeem one of the most flawed sets Ive had the displeasure to sit through.

UGH!

Maybe on another day Ill enjoy this show but today I friggin hated it!  

 

1997-07-03 Nuremburg, GER

 7/3/97 Nuremburg

Set 1

Piper - The show gets off to a terrible start with a complete nothing-burger of a Piper. Still in it's infancy, they play the "song" at a lazy, midtempo pace for 4 minutes, just repeating the dang words over and over and over again ad nauseum. Boring and pointless. NEXT!

My Soul - Of course, being Europe 1997, they have to shove a My Soul in there! After that terrible show opening, at least we get an actual SONG now! Everyone delivers solid solos and this version is pretty lengthy, nearing 7 minutes. But it never truly impresses or goes that extra mile. It's merely adequate. Such is life. Admittedly, it does start to gather a nice head of steam near the end, but it's too little too late.

>Divided Sky - I guess I'm gonna call that a segue. And into the ONLY Divided Sky of the tour, apparently, what a welcome setlist diversion it is! Compositionally, they nail all of the complex parts just fine and it sounds well-rehearsed! Thank goodness! As mentioned by another reviewer, is there a possible cut in the recording during the "break" section? It becomes ABSURDLY silent. Beyond the usual. Good lord, you'd think this was a Japanese audience! The rest of the song is positively powerful and downright energetic when it wants to be. Not an all timer, but I'd say this Divided Sky has some legs and is worth a listen. Being the only one of the tour, there are a few "loose" moments, but nothing you'd really call a flub. I'd call this a big winner overall! Around the 12:30 mark, Trey absolutely loses his marbles and LET'S IT FRIGGIN RIP! SHRED THAT SUCKER, BIG RED! Excellent Divided Sky!!!!

Beauty Of My Dreams - Not essential, but it feeds off the energy of that Divided Sky and turns in a roaring performance. Good stuff!

Taste - Another very strong Taste from Europe 1997! 11 minutes on this sucker! As expected, they lay hard into this one and deliver a smashing rendition. Page just TEARS IT UP on the piano before Trey comes in all sly and smooth-like, building the jam up quietly again. He takes his time, slowly letting it evolve, until around the 7 minute mark Trey steps on the wah pedal and the thing absolutely EXPLODES! Taste has gone nuclear!!! This is one of the most powerful, melt-tastic Taste's I have ever heard. Absolutely must hear!!!!! Seek this out, PRONTO!!! TREY SHREDS THIS SUCKER TO A PULP!

Train Song - is Train Song

Theme From the Bottom - Excellent version worth a listen. Not much to say, but I thought it delivered. The back section gets very "sonic noize explosion" in the best way. Awesome!

Rocky Top - is Rocky Top


All in all, this set wont win any awards. The Divided Sky and Taste are both must hear and Theme was very good, but on the whole, the word that comes to mind is "average". Not bad, just ok. Solidly enjoyable.

Decent set. Wtf is that stupid opening Piper though..... 

Set 2

Ghost - For a show that's a been a little bit....lacking compared to the 2 Amsterdam masterpieces immediately preceeding it, one can't say they held anything back with this 2nd set opening beast!!!! 30 friggin minutes!!! Is this the longest Ghost ever?! Funky yet rocking as ever, the initial round of jamming, circa 6 minutes in, sees Trey leaning hard into some growly guitar bending, accented by Page's synths in the background. Around the 9 minute mark, this initial "growly" rock jam gives way to a little more spacious and melodic noodling. Page asserts himself more on the piano and Trey's playing becomes more "typical".
---Dead on at the 11 minute mark, as if on perfect cue, the entire band drop down into a quiet area of playing. Still melodic soloing, but they are keeping the "volume" of the jam very low key and quiet. By 12:45, Page begins to layer in backing synths, giving this a bit of a spooky kind of feel. Fishman is keeping the fire going but we are still laying down low. This is sick.
---Over the course of several minutes the start to build the intensity back up, almost returning to "normal" volume, before deciding to keep things low and spooky! By the 15 minute mark, some darkly blissful quasi-ambient kind of jamming starts to emerge. Suspenseful piano chords, Trey repeating chiming motifs, the whole kinda starting to swirl in that way. It's not out of control, but it's heading down that path. It's like a beautifully restrained chaos or something to that effect.
---By 17 minutes the "swirl" is in full effect - Trey has set a looper, Fishman changes up the rhythm, and the blissfulness turns into a some kind of strange, rhythmic jamming instead. This slowly evolves into a strange, blissful-yet-suspenseful, uptempo kind of quasi-latin jam sequence. Huh, this is pretty interesting!!!! By 19:30 it coalesces a bit into something more solid and sounds like a twisted jam off of a Runaway Jim or Buried Alive. Very cool!! They why they are SLOWLY just morphing from one section to another is so satisfying! Zero "ripcording" or forcing of ideas - this is full on GO WITH THE FLOW jamming at its finest!!!
---Around 20:30, the entire band sync up together on this one motif (you'll recognize this when you hear it.). An intense kind of funk rock oddity evolves. Rock and roll soloing ensues like this is the back half of a good Loving Cup or something. How the hell did it morph into this?! That's what I'm talking about!!! Solid rock and roll riffing follows, the whole band rocking the hell out, Trey getting in good with a "classic rock" kind of vibe going on. I think there are even Ghost vocals happenning in the background as well. This is badass!
---Right at the 24 minute mark, the rock and roll jamming slows back down on a dime and they return completely to an ultra-funky, stuck in the murk funk jam!!!!! COMPLETE GHOST JAM REPRISE! LET'S GO! For several glorious minutes, they play Ghost again, slowly deconstructing the song/vamp into near nothingness. They are just getting it on the down-low, ya dig? Absolutely FILTHY Trey and Page during this section complemented by great Gordo fills during the stop-start portion around 27:45.
---And this is how the jam concludes, with each guy slowly deconstructing their part, bit by bit until Ghost is all but demolished. They quite literally laid this one to rest in the finest way possible.



Oh, my, good golly. That was one of the finest pieces of music I've heard the boys put down. If that's not in contender for Top 5 or 8 versions of Ghost ever played then I don't know what the hell would be. This was as close to PERFECTION as an improv based jam can get! It was downright orchestral in the way it moved through multiple styles and sections, each given time to grow and expand properly before evolving flawlessly into the next part of the piece. And the way they returned the song proper, only to tear it apart and finish it off like it was being tucked into bed at night....FLAWLESS!

X. FACTOR. MAGIC.

The Nuremburg Ghost, Ladies and Gents.........

 >Cars, Trucks, Buses - So, the Big Daddy Ghost Supreme finishes up and they boys perfectly launch into CTB like it's just the next part of the jam. And this is a stellar reading!! Page shreds the hell out of it and Trey goes nuts with the wah pedal. The extra funk flavor works much better than you can ever imagine and this version feels like it carries significant heft that you would never expect. Fantastic reading!!!

Billy Breathes - Out of CTB comes a much welcome breather. A very strong (what version isnt?!) reading of Billy Breathes is just what the doctor ordered. This one feels very powerful and full of extra spunk. Trey lays into it particularly hard, giving it everything he's got and it ends up being a terrific reading!

Sparkle - Is Sparkle, but in the scheme of this set, even this feels like it has extra mustard to it!!!! And it's a perfect placement to get us up and moving quickly after Billy Breathes. No need to highlight it, but it's an excellent version!!!!! Really!

>Harry Hood - Heck yes, into Hood we go! Reading online, nobody seems too excited about this Hood, but it kills in my book. Not an all timer, but it really shines with the perfect slow-build nature on display. This version is like watching someone take the intensity knob starting at "1" and slowly click it upwards, one number at a time, until they reach "10" and rip it off. I'd say this is worth a listen or two!!!! If you're in the mood for an underrated Hood, check this one out!

Cavern - Is Cavern. Closes the set.

Character Zero - is the sole encore tonight. Hot as ever. Funny to hear Trey complain about his monitors during the final song of the show!


All in all, set 1 was pretty lukewarm - not bad in anyway, but Divided Sky and Taste are what you need. Set felt much more cohesive. The Ghost is an absolute masterpiece. It's 30 minutes and feels like 10 - it just FLIES by! A definite all-timer version well-deserving of much recognition. ESSENTIAL listening for ANY fan! The rest of the set keeps the vibes going and delivers the goods, even if they never manage to get things truly next-level again. That Cars, Trucks, Buses is worth a definite listen and I'd wager the Hood is worthy of attention as well.

I'd call this a strong B+ show with the massive weight of that Ghost looming large over the entire rest of the music played. If it wasn't for that Ghost it'd be among the weakest shows, but thankfully Ghost serves as a great "anchor" for the other songs to draw from. The 2nd set is honestly a much better listen on the whole than you might expect - definitely give the whole 2nd set a listen through!

1999-07-01 Antioch, TN

 7/1/99 Antioch, TN

Set 1

Punch You In the Eye is my always-preferred choice of opener. Typically excellent version, this one sounds like its out of 1995, rather than 1999 - a total 180 from the 7/23/99 lightspeed version with keyboard intro jamming. Excellent, if not exactly all that special. Gets the job done but it feels like they have their foot on the brakes a little bit.

And unfortunately, having Billt Breathes in the 2nd slot does nothing to dissuade that feeling. Love the song and its great as ever but Im sorry, this placement is just not kosher. Honestly though, as with Punch, this version just kinda sounds like its lacking that certain something....like Trey is struggling big time with his solos and it kinda just feels a little stiff. Swing and a miss, unfortunately!

Guyuute follows this trend. An overall excellent reading of the song that is just "loose" enough around the edges to prevent it going next level. Think small flubs, struggles with guitar bends, etc. Its nitpicky stuff but thats the dividing line sometimes.

Up next is a wonderful treat - dobro master Jerry Douglas joins the guys onstage for an all timer reading of Wolfmans Brother. Obviously the dobro gives it a more laid back, country/americana kind of vibe. Its fantastic! Like, dang, I could see modern Bob Dylan whipping out a version like this as a cover or something. Just terrific. Obviously must hear!!!!
----About halfway through, Wolfman starts to jam - hearing the emerging cow funk mesh so nicely with the country vibes is just downright strange and satisfying as hell all at once. Its like 2 jams happening at the same time.
---Its particularly awesome hearing Jerry and Trey riff off each other, egging one another on. This jam is COOKIN!!!!

The hootenanny fun continues when they
bring on Ronnie McCourt and Tim OBrien on mandolin and fiddle -

Beauty of My Dreams, Doin My Time, Roggae, Water in the Sky, Back On the Train and Poor Heart continue the fun all the way to the finish line!!!

Of course, this is hands down the GOAT Beauty, what with the shredding fiddle and dobro. Just spectacular. Must hear stuff!

Rinse and repat for Doin My Time. It doesnt even sound like Phish is still on the damn stage for this one!

Roggae is MUST HEAR!!!! The extra instrumentation turns the song into a lowkey, bluesy kind of swamp stomp!!!! This is spectacular - Ive got goosebumps!!! X Factor Magic on this one. It almost starts to sound like 1972 Dead at points.....wow!!!! Trey and the fiddle and the mandolin all swapping phrases...this is outstanding!!!!!

Water In the Sky is already a country song, pretty much, so its amazing to hear it as Im assuming they might have heard it in their heads while writing the piece. The fiddle just sends this one into the stratosphere. Holy moly.

Repeat the above for Back On The Train. Its as if....this is what it should always sound like. I mean that in the best way. Just fantastic.

And of course the ripping Poor Heart to close.


All in all, holy moly this set is essential Phish listening!!!! The first few songs were just ok but felt very "going through the motions". As soon as the guests came on it was GO time! I would say Wolfman and Roggae are both truly MUST HEAR while the rest of the sitin set is not far behind.

Definitely not the kind of set Ill purposefully seek out, but Im sure glad I listened to it!!!! Wowzers!  

Set 2 - the 3 song, beat-the-storm set

The set opens with a BANG with an roaring, 18 minute Disease. And my freaking goodness this sucker doesnt just smoke, it buuuurrrrnnnssss. Big Cypress Disease, you have met your match.
---Its full throttle all the way to the 12 minute mark whereupon Trey pumps the breaks. The jam enters a more spaciously psychedelic zone. Still guitar meltdown annihilation, but there is room to breathe. Kinda.
Trey, what did this guitar do to you?! Somebody help the poor thing!!!!
---The jam slowly goes into outer space psych shred mode. Or something like that, I dont know what the hell you want me to call this. Its ridiculous and incredible.
--- Suddenly the synths comes out to play and things take a turn towards a brooding darkness. Exactly like watching storm clouds slowly approach on the horizon.
---After about a minute languishing in the haze of destruction, Trey begins to reintroduce the Disease lick from nothing and the guys launch flawlessly back into the song proper to close

Wow!!! That was one of the fastest, "hurry up, we need to go deep QUICKLY!" kind of jams ever! 18 minutes sounds like a long time, but that jam made it feel like 5! See, Phish was microjamming back in 1999!

And into Caspian we segue. That Disease was spectacular but definitely FELT kinda rushed, if you will. Excellent but "typical" version. Felt like a "coda" to Disease in the best way. Gets really nice in the last few minutes with a great Page solo section. Good stuff.

And into a 28 minute YEM to close the set! Gotta say, that non-segue was a little awkward. YEM OUTTA NOWHERE, haha. And the initial composed sections feel a little disjointed - not flubby, just loose.
----During the cymbal rat-a-tat section, they really lay hard into that vaguely ambient 1999 thing. To glorious effect. Piano inserts and squiggle effects abound!
---Despite the incoming storm, there is ZERO sense of rush and the jam displays the utmost patience from start to finish. This YEM is absolutely phenomenal. The final few minutes of hose explosion are maybe the finest music played all show!
---This YEM is ESSENTIAL listening of the highest order. Its pretty much PERFECTION. I cannot rave about this one enough. Its OUTSTANDING!

Sloppy hot C Zero for the encore to get us offstage quickly. C Zero is absolutely NUCLEAR IN THE EXTREME. NEXT LEVEL! MUST HEAR!

Funny, Im actually playing this as a storm is approaching and the sky is getting darker. How fitting!

All in all, this was definitely a UNIQUE show!! And musically it mostly gets a pass! I mean, the whole guest section in set 1 is essential and the Disease and YEM is set 2 are both bonkers good. Thats about 75% of the show being firmly in the "top tier" category, so.... Its pretty difficult to "rate" such a different show like this. Definitely worth a listen for anyone curious - Roggae and YEM and C Zero are worth the price of admission!

1997-07-02 Amsterdam, HOL

 Home from work today for extended holiday weekend, its time to take my dialy walk before everything melts (was 96 here yesterday!), and its been 3 months since I put my 1997 see-how-far-I-make-it marathon on hold.

Next show is 7/2/97 Amsterdam - aka 30 minute Stash show

Im feeling the renewed vibes so lets strike while the iron is hot! Lets go!

7/2/97 Amsterdam, HOL

Set 1

Mikes Song - Only 10 mins but absolutely crushing. The song itself is a tad slow and ordinary, but the INSTANT they move into the jam portion, you know ITS ON. Very dark and growly and funky playing on this one. No all timer, but its a gnarly little beast that will light a fire under your tail. Sick! Complete face melter!!!

>Simple - and just like that Trey leads us perfectly out of raging guitar ripping into the Simple riff. "Standard" version of Simple without much unique about it, except that it just has that feel about it. You know, where everyone is LOCKED IN with each other, playing exactly the right stuff at exactly the right moments. As perfect a type 1 version as has ever existed. Excellent! The chill outro jam is extra long and has all kinds of extra mustard about it, fading the song into strangeness for the final minute or so.

Just at the point of "jam liftoff", they slowly wind down Simple and do one of the finest ever segues into....

>Maze - GOOD LORD THATS YOU DO A SEGUE!!!!! And its 14 minutes at that!!!! The song proceeds as usual until the initial round of solos, Page jumping on the church organ. Trey does his excellent jazz chord thing underneath while they SLOWLY build Page's solo from a tiny rumble up to a massive explosion over the course of 4 or 5 incredible, tension filled minutes!!! This is one the best slow burn Maze's EVER!!! This is NUTS!!!!!! Then Pages solo peaks and Trey takes over, doing the same thing, going back to square one. Relying on patience and choosing his spots, he darts in and out, slowly working and kneading his solo like a baker. Of course it jist gets hotter and hotter and hotter until the whole thing EXPLODES like you expect .
Its 1997. Its Maze. Its incredible. What do you expect?!

Holy moly that Maze was SERIOUSLY next level, even by Maze standards. Now THAT is how you annihilate worlds. Holy mother of crap....1998 Prague Ghost move the F over!

Strange Design - Unexpected but excellent set placement. Great cool down after the previous 35 minutes of destruction. Terrific version played flawlessly. Cant see how one could be much finer than this!

Ginseng Sullivan - is Ginseng, but as with the rest of the set, its got that extra "something" about it and just sounds downright terrific anyways.

Vultures - Feels a little short and never goes next level but is otherwise as excellent as anything else. Very tight, strongly played, hot Trey. Good stuff!

Water In the Sky - Great stuff. See above.

Weekapaug Groove - The set ends with a SPECTACULAR 13 minute Paug!!! This version is a damn masterpiece, a friggin FUNK TORNADO SUPREME!!!! It proceeds at lightspeed through a myriad of vamps and solos, all led by that X Factor Magic. A true 10/10 version. Think Talking Heads meets Weekapaug. Or something. Nuts....


All in all, this was a nearly flawless set. There wasn't a single weak spot, though Id say Maze and Weekapaug are the true "must hear" takeaways. Everything was played tightly, energetically, and with seemingly extra pizazz, if you will. No inconsistency here! A stellar set from top to bottom - and supposedly the best is yet to come!!!

 

 

Had to wait a few hours for set 2 of 7/2/97 - had some early afternoon errands to run....

On with the show!

7/2/97 Amsterdam

Set 2

Stash - The one, the only, the 31-friggin-minute long Stash Odyssey!!!! This sucker opens the set with a lengthy and extended spiral of ambience. Screaming seagulls and loopers while Trey slowly toys with the Stash theme. Finally at the 3 minute mark they LAUNCH into the song at once. Let's go! They rage the standard Stash jam excellently until somewhere around 15:45. Trey begins this circular kind of riff motif and the jam turns into a more rock and roll vibe for several excellent minutes.
----After a few minutes of rocking the hell out, things turn towards a more blissful and lowkey feel around the 18 minute mark, eventually sounding like the kind of jam early 3.0 Phish might stumble into. This slowly continues to evolve for the next several minutes, getting ever more elegant and grand!
---Around the 21:30 mark Trey has yet another new "motif" happenning and this whole other level of blissful happiness takes over the jam - this is kind of like some crazy hardcore-yet-lowkey bliss peak. Or something like that. Whatever it is, this jam is damn incredible. It has this almost "nostalgic" feel about it, like something that might play during the farewell scene at the end of a movie or during a scene of two friends waving goodbye....Spectacular!!!!
---This section lasts a LONG time, until somewhere around 24:45 or so, Trey begins a loop, Mike's bass comes to a fore, and we begin to slowly move into the next zone of this jam, very, VERY slowly quieting down to a whisper by the 27 minute mark! Eventually, at said 27 minute mark, everyone drops out aside from Trey's continuing loop which very slowly fades away.
---From here, we descend into the depths of pure, unadulterated, Type 2, blackhole, wormhole, outerspace ambience insanity! Droning guitars, what sounds like power tools (did Mike have a drill yet?!), random rhythms on the drums. In other words....DARKNESS.
HOLY MOTHER OF HOLD ON TO YOUR BIBLE AND YOUR CRUCIFIX. WE HAVE ENTERED THE HELLSCAPE!

And just like that, this insane, magical journey through both Heaven AND Hell takes a twist and moves into...

>Llama - Yes! All my friggin yes!!! Coming out of that damn sonic vortex was an INCREDIBLE call!!!! This Llama is insane. It's fast and upbeat, but at the same it's also incredibly FUNKY!!!!!! WAH PEDAL ABUSE! "YEA!!" If you can picture the PERFECT go-between between what we call "fast" and "slow" Llama these days, this would be it. This is freaking incredible. SHRED THAT SYNTH, PAGE!!!! POP THAT BASS, CACTUS!!! DANCE ON THAT WAH, TREY!!! LET'S GO!!!! Then Trey unleashes one of the gnarliest, sickest, most perfectly face melting guitar solos this side of that Maze in set 1. Absolute annihilation! IS THIS THE GOAT LLAMA?!?!??!?!?! (A goat-llama, picture that, lol). BANG YOUR HEAD AND PICK YOUR MELTED FACES OFF THE FLOOR!

>'Wormtown Jam' - So Llama makes it all the way to the 6 minute mark and instead of coming to a close, Fishman keeps the beat going, and they IMMEDIATELY drop into some kind of strange, bass and drum-driven semi-ambient darkness. Spooky droning guitar abound. And then they start Singing Swingtown, except instead of Swingtown its, you guessed it, WORMTOWN. "You're on the back of the worm!!!" So basically, we have Phish playing an utterly demented cover Steve Miller's "Swingtown" with "worm" replacing "swing" and all kinds of ridiculous synthesizer and black hole guitar droning. How the hell would you even begin to describe what the F this jam sounds like?! It's damn incredible, but I don't know what to say! It's just ridiculous in the most demented and screwed up kind of way. Pure ridiculousness. Drug fuelled? Most certainly. Don't get sucked into the porta johns when you leave the show!!!!
"Wooooooorrrrrmmmmmttttooooowwwwnnnnnn.....". Eventually, around the 5 minute mark, everyone drops out except for Trey on droning guitar, and we enter spooky, scary ambient space once more. "I think you know where you are....". "You're on the back of the wooooorrrrmmmmmm!" .

Holy moly once more. What the crap were they smokin' in Amsterdam......

>Wading In the Velvet Sea - And out of the insanity we slowly fade into the most delicate Velvet Sea intro of all time. Good lord this is like a lullaby....The boys take the song at about half the regular speed. And it is so ridiculously glorious. Yet another true all-timer rendition. Trey's patient guitar soloing over this sad melody.....ugh, this is spectacular.

And just like that, set 2 proper comes to a conclusion....

Free - A MASSIVE 13 minute version is our first encore of the night! Immediately, the jam descends into the funkiest, gnarliest, grooviest, SICKEST groovefest mother effer of all time. Bass and wah FX all over the friggin place. I have heard some funky versions of Free. I have never heard one that was THIS funky!!!!! This is the DIRTIEST, GRIMIEST, FILTHIEST Free of all time!!! Holy crap, everyone is sinking in the MUD! Slow and murky and SLUDGY! This is another legitmate, X Factor Magic, ALL TIMER version. Jesus..... Incredible....

David Bowie - And this all-timer, epic cluster-F of a show/set comes to a proper conclusion with a second encore of a whopping 16 minute Bowie! Excellent Type 1 Bowie until the final few minutes when they lay into the strange just a little bit. But really, this is just a terrific "classic" Bowie all day long. The final shred-fest from Trey needs to be heard to be believed - absolute guitar annihilation!!!!


All in all....the hell ya want me to say?! This show is incredible!!!! Set 2 was just one jaw dropping moment after another! I didn't think a show could surpass night 1, but I think they might have done it!!!! An obvious class in EVERY sense of the word. What the corn took me 6 years to finally hear this?!?!?!