Date: Mon, 18 Aug 1997 14:16:28 -0700
From: "David M. Goldstein" DivSky333@snet.net
Subject: Review of 8/16/97

Thought I'd take a shot at day one of the Went. Maybe I'll tackle day two later.....

I could waste loads of space talking about the whole scene, the camping and the 
like, but suffice to say, virtually everything went smoothly, the vast majority of 
people and our tent neighbors were quite phriendly, and the experience would have 
been better had it not been for the deluge of H2O on Friday night (and the generally 
shitty weather on Saturday). One gripe, when the hell are heads going to learn that 
"nugs" simply aren't the end all to be all? Nothing against anyone's habits, but the 
guy who told me that he traded his 9th row Darien Lake tix for kind nugs has got to 
get his priorities straight!! Oh well! Here we go.

set uno.
Makisupa> 2nd half of Harpua, Chalkdust, Theme, PYITE, Ghost (20 min or so), Ginseng, 
YEM > Train Song > Character Zero, Squirming Coil.

Makisupa: I was hoping for a Divided because it's a great song, and the sun was just 
starting to come out, but hey. Standard Makisupa with some funky effects from Page's 
new Hancock-esque keyboard. Dank reference was found in "Gooballs!" refering to the 
growing popularity of "ganga gooballs" I guess (what the hell is in these? besides 
the obvious.).

Part of Harpua: This was appropriate. Unfinished business don'cha know! Basically did 
the Jimmy/Dad part and everything after. Finished what last year started.

Chalkdust: Longer than most with some spacy, Free-esque Trey loops in the middle. The 
band seemed to get a little carried away and lost in the midsection. This became 
evident when they totally bludgeoned the ending before the final vocals. Oh well! 
Still good.

Theme: This was much better than either of the 2 Themes I caught in '96. They 
actually tried to work melodic lines into the jam, and it had an eerie, dark feel to 
it. Would have been nicer to see at night because the lights were non-existent, and 
usually make the song for me, but this was a surprising highlight.

PYITE: This has the distinction of being the worst PYITE ever! Why you ask? Trey's 
amp was plagued by some high pitched feedback problems, and Paul spent most of the 
song trying to figure out how to fix this. Somehow this resulted in an unbelievably 
slow and sloppy PYITE. You could actually understand all of the lyrics! Can't win 'em 
all I guess!

Ghost: After a long welcome speech from Trey, Ghost kicks in. I really dig this tune. 
Nice, slow, catchy, Maceo Parker-esque funk. Embarked on a slow, funky, 70's 
blaxplotation like jam that has seemingly become par for the course with this song. I 
suppose it could use an actual ending though.

Ginseng Sullivan: Standard

YEM: Whoa. Composed segment performed smoothly without a hitch with Nirvana being 
particuarly long and spacy. Lots of dark effects triggered via Page's new 'quipment. 
The jam, like Phish's jams throughout the entire weekend, was incredibly bass heavy 
and funky. But above all else, contained a serious GROOVE. I'd have to hear it again 
for a more thurough look-see, but suffice to say, Mike was certainly earning his 
keep. A vocal jam that interestingly did not begin with WUFDMTF lyrics somehow 
dissolved into.... 

Train Song: Thought they were gonna end with YEM, but they opted to play this. Go 
figure. Ya know, it was Train Song. This lead into...

Character Zero: This is going to close what's already a really long set right? After 
the composed part, Trey seemed a little lost, a little like he was straining to find 
a repeating theme he liked. A little messy and noodly, I prefered the balls to the 
wall RAWK that came from Zero on NYE.

Squirming Coil: I thought the set was over with Zero, and I guess Page thought so too 
because he stood up and began to walk away, but they went for Coil. (why?) Standard 
Coil with a shorter than usual Page solo because well, I think he was pissed off or 
something. I don't think he wanted to play the song!

This set was about 5 minutes short of 2 hours, and while it contained several 
highlights (YEM, Theme, Ghost ), ending it with Coil was overkill, and the set 
seemed like an example of quantity over quality. Kind of killed the set for me. 
Anyone else agree? Another thing, I don't think the boys played this one with a 
setlist because they took more time discussing what to play next between songs than 
the Dead did fixing equipment between songs on their final tour. No such problems 
with set II though....;)

set deux: Wolfman's > Jam > Simple > My Soul, Slave, Rocky Top, Julius

Wolfman's Bro: Was hearing great things about this one, so I was pysched. Not 
dissappointed in the slightest. Normal composed section leads into a monster jam of 
what seems to be a new phase for Phish, slow, dank, groovy, FUNK. This means Trey 
using his wah-wah pedals and scratching techniques to the extreme, Page playing more 
clavinet than piano or organ, and Mike slapping more in one jam than he did on the 
entire Fall '96 tour. This is a good thing folks. Some people commented that it 
sounded like a Tweezer jam without the Tweezer, and I guess that's sort of accurate. 
Segued into...

Simple: Slower than any version I heard from '96, and for some reason, a heck of a 
lot powerful. Maybe I was just high coming off the Wolfman's extravaganza, but this 
Simple seemed to have a slow, grinding rock power that many lack. The jam never got 
quiet or spacy as many do, Trey simply kepy soloing over the chord progressions turns 
it into .....

My Soul: Sure, the basic framework of this tune is 12-bar blues, and it's not going 
to win any points for originality, but oh my god did it JAM. An example of how 
powerful the 12 bar blues can be. Trey just kept taking choruses over, and over and 
over, and the solos became more intense. By the last coda, even the most skeptical 
head was screaming, M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M! IT'S MY SOUL!! Sweet.

Slave: The beginning was slightly botched, but the ending progression was among the 
best I've ever seen. Trey was trilling like crazy, and fanning the heck out of his 
guitar. A friend compared the intensity to the titanic coda of Morning Dew from 
5/8/77....while that may be pushing it, I can see where he's coming from.

Rocky Top: Nice little break. I'd rather hear this than Poor Heart.

Julius: They tried to toy around with it a bit, meaning a virtually acapella 
beginning, a quieter midsection, and more attention to melodic soloing as opposed to 
the RAWK that it usually is. My advice? Leave it alone. I liked the wank style of 
Julius better, but this was still good. Maybe I was just annoyed because a rude 
female fan somehow shoved me from my dancing space, howled the lyics, and then 
proceeded to concentrate more on smoking her glass piece than watching the show. 
C'mon people! 

GET THIS 2ND SET!!!! God forbid NYE '96 set II would've been half this good.

set three...

I think it went....Halley's Comet > Cities > Llama, Lawn Boy, Limb by Limb, Funky 
Beeatch

Halley's : Oooh yeah. A nice surprise considering they didn't play it much (or did 
they ever play it at all?) in '96. First one of summer tour. I think they screwed up 
some of the lyrics, but the jam out was great. Longer than most and contained some of 
the funk that they had been doing throughout the night as well as some nice tempo 
changes and eerie "Central part of town" vocal jamming deep into the jam. Segued into 
....

Cities: A really slow, funky, almost reggae version. Basically the same thing they 
did in Amsterdam. This was ok, almost a little too slow for my tastes, but I like the 
song, slow, spacy jam, but then Fishman kicked the beat into double time and Trey 
scratched out...

Llama: Another first on the tour. Llama is usually good, but this one was downright 
insane. Much longer than usual with Trey using some watery, Free-like guitar effects 
in the middle of the jam. Page going nuts as well. Nice use of strobes and fog 
Chris!

Lawn Boy: Aaaaawwwww. What can you say? This one is always a guaranteed riot. Page at 
his lounge singer best.

Limb by Limb: Probably my favorite new tune. I like the odd time signature and the 
jam which evolved was quite nice and reminded me a little of Taste. I think the 
mid-section needs some work, and could benefit from more Trey/Page vocal interplay, 
but this one is promising.

Funky Bitch: Always a nice down and dirty jam. This was done to the sound of 
fireworks, but how can you see the fireworks when a large black screen is behind the 
band? Wierd. I thought this was cut a little short, but still good.

Overall, another excellent jam filled set that's worth the cost of an XL II.

E: Contact, Loving Cup

Contact caught me by surprise, and what's not to like? Cheese to be sure, but lovable 
cheese nonetheless. Loving Cup was great. An excellent encore choice as it sure is 
one hell of a powerful anthem. What a beautiful buzz.

In closing, the first night was great. Much more jam/improv. oriented than anything I 
saw on Fall '96, and the funk experiments are sweet. Not the same band you and I saw 
a year ago...much improved it would seem. Maybe I'll tackle night 2 when I can keep 
my eyes open.....all I can say about that is Phish needs to lay off the ridiculous 
performance art and BATHTUB GIN. Buh bye!

Dave G.

-- 
"If I die of vanity,
  promise me, promise me to bury me
  somewhere I don't want to be, or dig me up,
  and transport me, unceremoniously, away from the
  swollen sea breeze, garbage bag trees, 
  whispers of disease and acts of enormity,
  and lower me slowly and softly and properly,
  get Ry Cooder to sing my eulogy!!!!"

       -"The Tragically Hip"

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 19:16:17 -0400
From: Andrew Van Alstyne x0avana@music.stlawu.edu
Subject: WENT Review, PT. 1

Hello,
This is going to be a voluminous review, so I will be splitting it up
into chunks...
The Drive: The trip was enjoyable...The more north in Manie you went,
the more beautiful the view was.  Breathtaking.  My friend Dave and I
hooked up with some people that live in Maine so we were able to take
backroads most of the way there.  (Thatcher from Boston, if you read
this, keep in touch).
It was nice to see local resident s sitting by the side of the road
watching the traffic do by.  Everyone up there was so nice...it seemed
to be the most excitement that people up there had ever seen.  Normally,
local people give dirty looks to anyone headed for Phish.  One woman had
never seen NY license plates before.
We arrived Friday night after dark (around 8:30) and worked our way in. 
My bracelet number was over 31,000.
The weather for the drive was gorgeous, but once we started setting up
camp, the temperature dropped and it poured all night long.  Being
intelligent I slept outside in my sleeping bag without a tent. I woke up
in the morning and there was standing water in my bag :(
My only pair of pants and my only sweatshirt were soaked, but good cheer
returned after I bought some coffee from our neighbor.  Saturday morning
we walked to the gates at 10:30, and waited for them to open.  We waited
until after two thirty, but it wasn't a horrible wait because there were
entertainers (unicyclists, guys on stilts and a band).
I was the guy with red hair and a beard wearing my good luck "Wilson
Sucks" hand made tee, if anyone saw me.
Once the gates opened we ran in and staked out our spot: Page side, but
right next to the center split, so we were actually in line with Trey. 
We were closer to the stage than the Soundboard, and from where we were,
the sound was quite clear.  Hello to all the guys from Minnesota that
were on tour.
On to the Show:
8/16/97, Set One
Makisupa Policeman > Harpua*, Chalkdust Torture, Theme from the Bottom,
Punch You in the Eye, The Story of the Ghost, Ginseng Sullivan, You
Enjoy Myself, Trainsong, Character Zero, Squirming Coil
*Started @ "Jimmy. Yes Dad...)

This set was quite long, and was the best of the day.  When the band
first came out, the assholes in front of us held up there Tube sign. 
They couldn't just make one sign, they had to make a sign for each
letter.  Anyway, they were offended when we asked them to put their
signs down, but there reaction when Tube wasn't played was pretty
funny...they expected the band to play it because they held up their
signs.
I called the Makisupa opener, but considering that the band was coming
out at 4:20, it wasn't a risky prediction.
Makisupa was pretty standard; the buzz word was "Goo-balls"  The segue
into Harpua was gorgeous...I've never really heard a segue into Harpua
before, but considering that the song normally starts with an "Oom Paa
Paa," a segue would be difficult.  Page sort of teased the Oom Paa Paa
part on the key boards, and Trey slowly began playing the Harpu  melody
that comes before the "Bad News" section while Fish and Mike still
funked out Makisupa.
Harpua only containe the segment that was missing from last year's
ball...so, no story.  However, the segue made up for the lack of the
story.
The Chalkdust that followed Harpua was impressive.  There was some solid
jamming (Type I jamming, but still enjoyable, especially for a
Chalkdust).  Easily one of the best Chalkdusts I've ever heard.  
After Chalkdust, Trey said that they had just finished their soundcheck,
and that the show would now start for real.
The Theme that followed was decent, but nothing outrageous.
PYITE had some problems with the sound, and Trey completely missed the
lyrics to the last two verses.
Trey played something else (besides the normal Landlady theme) during
the Landlady segment, but I didn't recognize it.
After PYITE, Trey told the audience that we were the biggest city in
Maine... "bigger than Portland and a whole lot cooler, too."  Then the
band apologized to people from Portland.  Trey also talked about the
Port a Potty Piaza (sp?) that Fish designed.  He also told us about
bathtubs that Fish had christened by getting naked.  Trey continued "of
course that means you wouldn't want to get in them."
Ghost followed and was one of the the highlights of the set...so slow
and funky.  Fairly long, I believe it was in the fifteen to twenty
minute range, but the groove was in the house.  I can't remember the
specifics of the jam, but it was enjoyable  (and danceable :)
Ginseng Sullivan was as fun as ever.
After this song there was a long discussion between the band about what
to play next...they seemed to argue.  Trey wanted to play YEM, and Fish
wanted something else.  Right before YEM, Fish said "well if he wants to
play it."  It was all in good fun, though.
You Enjoy Myself...the song that was missing at last years Ball reared
its head.  The intro was well played, very nice Vibration of Life
attempt...the note was standard.  The jam segment started out slow and
rhytmic, but near the end Trey stepped up and started rocking.
Train Song--standard.
Charcter Zero rocked as always, but still standard.
The Squirming Coil started off well, but Page's solo seemed especially
short.
Well, Set one was a great start to the weekend.  On the Scott Jordan
scale, I'd give it a 7.5.  The set was over an hour and forty five
minutes long.  The segue between Makisupa and Harpua blew me away; Ghost
and YEM featured some excellent jamming.  Mike is cranked loud in the
mix, so thanks go out to the PLM (people for a louder Mike).  With the
focus on the funk, the loud bass reverberates through the audience.  I
could feel the bass as well as hearing it.

The next review will cover the rest of Saturday's show...stay tuned.
Andrew Van Alstyne
http://www.stlawu.edu/x0avana:http/home.htm

------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 01:07:29 -0400
From: Andrew Van Alstyne x0avana@music.stlawu.edu
Subject: WENT Review, Pt. II

Hello all, 
This review will cover set two of the first night.  Thise set was brief
compared to the first set, but the quality was there.
Just a note on segues (>), they are actual transitions between songs,
not start stop segues.
8/16/97, Set II
Wolfman's Brother > Simple > "Theme From The Odd Couple" Jam > My Soul,
Samson, Slave to the Traffic Light, Rocky Top, Julius
Wolfman's Brother has been the comeback song of the year.  In the past,
this song used to annoy the hell out of me.  But now that Phish has been
endowed with the FUNK, songs like Wolfman's take on a whole new life. 
The jam began immediately after the lyrics segment, and grooved.  Once
again, Mike's bass dropped bombs.  The sound at this show was amazingly
clear, and if you haven't heard yet, Mike was very prominent
(reminiscent of 4/92).
There was a clear, clean segue into Simple. his Simple was not as huge a
monster as some of the Fall 96 Simples, but the jam at this show was a
lot more fun than some of the longer Simples.  The Odd Couple Jam came
out of a lick that Trey played a few times and then Page picked up on
it...Then the whole band kicked into it.  This went on for about a
minute, and was a lot of fun, when My Soul slowly crept into the picure.
I need to preface this by saying that I used to dislike this song.  I
felt it to be as boring, as bland, and as much of a waste of time as
many other people have.  However, this My Soul was THE SHIT...I received
some serious hose from the end of the jam.  This was some serious Type
II jamming going on.  Unlike some of the other funk that came out this
weekend, My soul was fairly upbeat and I danced my ass off.  If only
every My Soul wwould sound like this....
Samson (I believe is the official name of this) was an extremely brief
instrumental that came before Slave.  Of all the instrumentals that
Phish does, this one is closest to Oh Kee Pah.  It's fun to listen to,
but is brief and there doesn't seem to be much room for improv jamming.
The Slave that came next fit the definition of teary-eyed.  The only bad
part was that a drunk guy in front of us insisted on performing animal
calls during the gorgeous part of slave.  He yelled and yelled at the
top of his lungs.  
The Rocky Top that came next was standard, but Mike lost all control
over the lyrics.  During the last verse, Page tried to bail him out, and
Trey and Page ended singing Mike's part.
The Julius that followed sucked. (Besides Bouncing) it was the only
disappointment of the weekend.  The energy simply wasn't there.  
Compared to the first set (which almost reached two hours) this set was
short..under an hour and ten minutes.
I'd give it a 7.0 on the Concert Rating scale.  The Wolfman's > Simple >
My Soul was amazing, and the Slave was above average.
I think the first set was the best set of the day, but all three sets
are worth listening to.
More to follow,
Andrew Van Alstyne
http://www.stlawu.edu/x0avana:http/home.htm

---------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 21 Aug 1997 13:11:04 -0400
From: Andrew Van Alstyne x0avana@music.stlawu.edu
Subject: WENT Review, Pt. III

Hello,
I left off at the third set of the first night, here we go:
The Great Went, 8/16/97...Set III
Halley's Comet > Cities > Llama, Lawnboy*, Limb by Limb, Funky Bitch
Encore: Contact, Loving Cup
*Mike bass solo

Halley's Comet contained one of the largest (Type II!!!) jam segments
that I've ever heard.  There was some BBFCFM type jamming in between
verses.  The band seemed to jam everything they could get their hands
on...a nearly fifteen minute Halley's that segues into Cities...
The segue was extremely well done.  The jam of Halley's was slowed down
until the extreme funk appeared, and then the Cities melody came out
slowly.  If you haven't heard the "new" version of Cities, it is about a
third of the speed of the original.  The band seems to be concentrating
on playing with each other (& with the space between each other's
notes).  Therefore, the music is tighter, funkier, and contains the
groove from hell.  Instead of "People sleep, sleep in the daytime," it
was "Fishman sleeps, sleeps in the daytime."  Also with the new speed,
Trey pays more attention to the words, and spits each one out with
maniacal glee.Near the end of the Cities jam, Trey began playing the
chords to Llama slowly in a different key.  He slid up the frets while
accelerating, and the rest of the band joined him when he kicked into
Llama.  Llama was its normal, high energy self.  A nice five minute
dance fest.
Page stood up, and picked up his mic as the rest of the band began
swinging Lawn Boy.  Page normally plays up the stage gestures during 
this song, but with the cameras on him, he was more of a lounge singer
than ever before.  He crooned the words, and acted them out, placing his
hand over his heart at times, and just basically being melodramatic as
hell.  Mike took a nice bass solo during the song, and it ended
normally. 
Limb by Limb was next.  This is a fun new song, but what stood out about
this performance was Fisman's solo section at the end.  Not only did he
pound out the changing rhythms of the song, but he also sang "Limb by
Limb by Limb..." along with his playing.  Haven't heard this song enough
to fully comment, but it has a lot of potential.
A fun Funky Bitch closed the set.
The Contact encore was pretty boring, and the Loving Cup was as gorgeous
as ever: what a beautiful buzz.  One of my only complaints about last
year's ball was the brief encores: an a cappella song one night, and the
aborted Harpua the next night.  Both nights featured two song encores,
and I have no complaints.
The third set was not even an hour long.  The Halley's > Cities > Llama
was great, but the second half of the set was standard.  Loving Cup was
a treat, and I enjoyed hearing it.  I would give the set a 7.0 on the
concert rating scale.
To sum up the first show, it was well played and above average.  There
some surprises, some impressive improv, but nothing extraordinary.  I
would give the whole show a 7.5.  The first set was the best, because of
a fun YEM and a Funky Ghost as well as an amaziong transition between
Makisupa and Harpua.  The My Soul in the second set was the best I've
ever heard, and the Halley's > Cities was fun as well.  I would advise
seeking out all three sets.
One question: anyone know if dSBDs were given out this year?
Stay tuned for a review of 8/17/97, what may be the greatest Phish show
ever played.
Andrew Van Alstyne
http://www.stlawu.edu/x0avana:http/home.htm

--------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 21 Aug 1997 16:01:17 -0500
From: Dan Mielcarz Daniel.W.Mielcarz@Dartmouth.EDU
Subject: Review of 8/16/97


Setlist first, comments follow:
[I don't use Charlie's segue notation because old habits die hard. The segues
indicated are all the kind that he calls ->. FWIW I've never considered the
start-stop thing a true segue anyway]

8/16/97
Set I: 
Makisupa>
Harpua 
Chalkdust Torture
Theme from the Bottom
PYITE
Ghost
Ginseng Sullivan
YEM
Trainsong
Character Zero
Squirming Coil

Set II: 
Wolfman's Brother> 
Simple>
Odd Couple Jam>
My Soul
"Off to the Carnival"> 
Slave to the Traffic Light
Rocky Top
Julius

Set III:
Halley's Comet> 
Cities>
Llama 
Lawn Boy 
Limb By Limb
Funky Bitch
 
E:
Contact
Loving Cup 



The Scene:

With all of the recent complaints about the scene, I expected it to be MUCH
worse than it was.  I of course saw people abusing (as opposed to USING) all
sorts of substances, but it was nowhere near as terrible as I thought it would
be from some recent posts. Either it was a lot worse at other shows, or some
people are more sensitive to problems with the scene than I am.

The locals were the greatest!  They were standing outside waving, put signs on
their lawns and otherwise acted as if this concert was the greatest thing
since the automated potato slicer. Yes, this was potato country - one of the
articles I read in the local (from Bangor, ~3 hours away) paper said that the
kids got Friday off from school but will have to make it up during the potato
harvest recess! This same article said that the local stores had their shelves
cleaned out several times. I think this bodes well for a return next year. 
(And I hope Phish does return, because the surrounding country was beautiful.
The sky was SO big. I've never seen anything like it, and I live in New
Hampshire which has some damn fine scenery.)

That said, I do have a complaint. WHY DOES EVERYONE LISTEN TO THE DEAD AND NOT
PHISH?  Especially when Phish runs their own radio station for the weekend?
Especially when this station is playing choice cuts from the Phish archives
(i.e.,. Spock's Brain and Reba from Lowell)? The vast majority of people with
stereos were playing the dead. I don't have a problem with the Dead, but Phish
had their own radio station. My only explanation that I can offer is that for
a HUGE number of people at the Went, Phish is just a replacement for the Dead.
Not that this surprises me, I just never imagined the amount of transplanted
deadheads. (I don't necessarily have a problem with transplanted deadheads, I
just think that 
if you are going to follow a band around there should be a little more passion
involved for the band you are following, not the scene that surrounds it).

Sorry, had to get that out of the way. 

The only other problem was the condition of the Port-o-Potties, and I have no
idea what can be done with this.  I think it comes down to people being too
fucked up to think that throwing trash into the urinal is a bad thing. Also, a
lot of people seem to have VERY bad aim.  I think that more port-o-potties
might help, but a quicker cleaning schedule would probably do more good. (Man,
when I think of the poor bastards who have to clean the damn things, I shudder)

Enough about the scene, I'm sure there will be MANY more posts about it. 

On to the music (I'm working off the FMs and my memory, no grovels please):

Day 1

I heard a little bit of the Gordon Stone Trio before the first set. They are
VERY good. Much better than "Touch and Go" which is the album of theirs that I
have (which is still good BTW, and has Mike playing on one of the tracks). 

Set 1:

Makisupa: You can all imagine the reaction from the crowd when the boys walk
out at 4:20 and start playing Makisupa.  Trey gives a little reminder that
Phish can still pull out the locker room talk when he sings "Woke up in the
morning...blue balls." A quick little jam takes us halfway into...

Harpua: the segue from Makisupa started Harpua at the point where Trey usually
says "Look, the storm is gone"  He didn't say it this time, but as the sun
started to burn through the clouds everyone at the show thought it.  They did
the goldfish dog stuff and finished out the song in standard fashion. I had
finally seen a complete Harpua!  The fact that Phish played this song just
shows that they really care about us fans and that they felt bad that the
encore last year confused some people and left them with a bad taste in their
mouths. Thanks guys!

Chalkdust: Was damn good, with the exception of some flubs by Trey. He
apologized for these afterward, saying that they hadn't had a chance to do a
soundcheck and that was it. There was definitely some GREAT jamming in here,
if you can ignore the flubs, I heard the NC Chalkdust (must hear) from this
summer on the way up, and I think this one is almost as good. Members of PLM
will want to check this out!

Theme from the Bottom: Was jammed out nicely, with some tasty melodies in the
jam. Not the best ever, and it ended in a piercing wail of feedback that
lasted at least 3 minutes. Then...

Punch You in the Eye: Trey hit the opening chord on PYITE just as the feedback
kicked out. It seemed like perfect timing. Then the feedback was back.  They
jammed over it a little bit (don't get excited the feedback was too annoying
to enjoy it) and when the feedback kicked out the rest of the song went off
without a hitch. At the end of the song, Trey gave everyone a welcome to the
Went, said we were the biggest city in Portland, said Fishman was had been
naked in the Portolet Piazza bathtub and that we were going to hear the story
of the Ghost.

Ghost: This song, of all Phish songs, has the thickest groove. Dancing to it I
felt like I was wading through molasses or the tar pits. The bass line just
overpowers you and MAKES you move. Mike was spanking the bass like there was
no tomorrow.  There were times when I felt like they could easily go into
Lucy.  It's a sweet song, and it's only going to get better. Listen to an
early Tweezer if you don't believe me.

Ginseng Sullivan: My favorite of the bluegrass tunes. I love to sing along to
it. I could have sworn this was the end of the set. But no!

YEM: My first YEM!!! It was definitely unplanned; Trey walked around the stage
to discuss it before they started up.  Having waited 13 shows for my first
YEM, I was in sheer ecstasy.  It's like going on 13 dates with someone you
really like, but not being able to kiss her.  And boy are Phish great kissers!
:-)  Everyone was ON in this YEM. It wasn't the longest version around, but it
had some DAMN fine jamming.  Mike was LOUD and laying down the funk.  Page was
dancing on the keyboards (not literally).  The tramps came out and Trey and
Mike did some stunt moves.  They were incredibly tight in the jam that follows
the tramps section.  It went on for a good 10 minutes. I really can't get over
how tight it was. I just can't. I'll lose all faith in our esteemed YEM
reviewer if it doesn't get at least an 8.5 (or A- or whatever you use for YEM,
Charlie).  Trey gets a little bit spacey over a hard, driving bassline.  It
kicks ass.  The vocal jam is short and fits the mood of the last part of the
jam PERFECTLY. One of the only vocal jams I've heard that has a steady beat to it.

Trainsong: Standard, non-acoustic version.  I really like the imagery behind
the lyrics of this song, and it was a welcome break from the funk. 

Character Zero:  A loud screaming rocker to close out the set, I thought.
Apparently Page did was well, since he stood up to leave the stage. Trey would
have none of that, however, and ran around the stage telling people what to
play next.

Coil: followed, as if to "punish" Page for trying to leave early. It was
beautiful as always, and the piano solo was a great way to wind down from the
2 hour first set!!! "Stick around" Page said as he finished his solo. I don't
think anyone was planning on leaving after a set like that, which so obviously
fed off of the tremendous energy of the crowd. I am firmly convinced that this
set would have ended with Trey's comments at the end of PYITE if he hadn't
felt the power of 60,000 people.

[Setbreak music: New Alison Krauss CD (the one where she looks like she is on
Melrose Place as my girlfriend puts it)]

Set 2

Wolfman's: Starts out as always, then headed into uncharted waters.  I don't
like to put "Jam" on setlists, but if it was ever justified, this might be the
case.  The other Wolfman's jams I have heard have seemed lacking in direction,
but not this one.  It was EPIC.  You know how you get the FEELING of other
jams in the Providence (12/29/94) Bowie like Hood and McGrupp, but they aren't
quite teases? That is exactly what this Jam felt like. I get a YEM feeling, a
DWD feeling, a Tweezer feeling.  I think I may have to use the word HOSE,
which I don't like to use lightly. This is one of those GLORIOUS moments in
Phishstory.  This Jam felt like it couldn't be improvised. It was just too
perfect. You could tell that the Hey Hole exercises were paying off. The
listening among the members of the band is unbelievable.  At the end of the
jam, Trey gives a slide up the neck of the Doc and kicks in with the riff to...

Simple: I love hearing this song at shows. It just tells me that the band
LOVES what they are doing.  Trey did the screaming guitar riff at the we've
got be-bop part; I loved it. So, they get to the end of the lyrics, and here I
am thinking that they are going to keep it pretty short because of the monster
jam they just came out of. But no. They keep it going. Another tight jam. I'm
looking at my friends in disbelief.  They are looking at me in disbelief.  The
jam slows down a bit and Trey and Page start to fool with a familiar riff...

Odd Couple Jam: I couldn't quite place it at the time, but one of my friends
filled me in at the end of the set.  This wasn't an all-out playing of the
theme song, but they just played with the riff and did crazy things with it.
This was not necessarily a space jam, but it was a little out there.  Then
Trey starts to play...

My Soul: The intro to this song has Mike playing the Odd Couple theme still.
Then the lyrics start up.  All I have to say about this version of this song
is that it is as far away from "lame" as almost anything I've ever heard. It
ROCKS. It rocks HARD.  If you think this song sucks, you obviously haven't
heard this version.  People were dancing like crazy.  Sheer FUN.

"Off to the Carnival":  Okay, so I named this myself.  You know that part on
the ALO tweezer where Trey uses some sort of weird effect to make his guitar
sound have a circus-like feel? Well, this was about a 5 minute song that was
played like this, and I felt sure that it would go into Esther (Hence the
name). It's really tough to describe this, and I'll let you all hear it for yourselves.

Slave: Slave has usually played second fiddle to Hood in my book, but this
version may have just changed my mind. I think it is safe to call this one of
the best Slaves ever. An amazing build up; great guitar work from Trey.

Rocky Top: FAST!! This felt like it had to be the fastest Rocky Top ever.  I'm
not so sure anymore, listening to the tape, but it is still DAMN fast. And fun
as always, if you enjoy bluegrass Phish like me.

Julius: Pretty standard, until they break it down into a quiet little jam for
Trey to talk over.  He says that they are going to play "a lot more strange
and weird music for you" and "to not forget to go to the disco." (WHY DIDN'T I
GO I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!!!!!) Then they get back into a normal Julius jam to
close out the set. 

[Setbreak music: Charlie Hunter Quartet "Natty Dread" (Buy this album!!!)]

Set 3

Halley's Comet: I thought we got a great jam out of this song at the Clifford
Ball. Well, the jam out of this Halley's puts that one to shame.  It is, and
you won't believe it until you hear the tapes, a Type II jam. They finish up
with the chorus (I'm going down...) going over a dark jam rather than the real
Halley's.  Then the jam keeps going into...

Cities: I've only heard one other version of this song, from 3/1/97.  Suffice
it to say, this version blows that one out of the water.  It is slower and
funkier and way more improvised. Trey, when speaking of London says that
"Fishman sleeps...he sleeps in the daytime" The lyrics seem to come out of
nowhere on this song, which I find very cool.  I didn't miss the symbolism
about finding yourself a city to live in, either, because that's what we all
did this weekend.  The jam out of Cities starts to sound like...

Llama:  After a neat segue, this is a pretty typical version of Llama.  But
the first two songs MORE than make up for one standard song.

Lawn Boy: Page stands up with the microphone and croons Barry Manilow style on
this one. Hilarious!  Mike then proceeds to sit down on his monitor and put
his feet up for his solo.  This is one thing I love about Phish. They can blow
your mind one minute and have you ROTFLYAO in the next.

Limb by Limb: Having heard only one other version of this song, I can't make a
comparison to other versions. However, it is a damn cool song with a fun jam
in the middle. 

Funky Bitch: This was a fairly standard Funky Bitch, but what made the song
was the fireworks during it.  Luckily I was in a position to see them. At this
point in the show, I was loving life. 

Encore

Contact: I'll always love this song. It was one of my first favorites. And it
doesn't hurt that I really did wake up one morning in November and realize I
loved my girlfriend :-) It was an amazing sight to see 60,000+ people waving
their hands at the request of Trey and Mike.  

Lovin' Cup: This is my friend's favorite cover song, and it was great to see
his face light up when they started playing. I normally don't like it when
people sing along at shows, but for this song we all had to.  And it was a
beautiful buzz. 

I'll give my review of Sunday night in another post, but I just want to say
right now that after this weekend, I have come to the conclusion that Phish is
what IT is all about.  They have their finger on the pulse of my existence. 
Their music transcends description, regardless of what I wrote here. Give your
soul to Phish. It will be in good hands.

-Dan
--------------------------
Dan.Mielcarz@dartmouth.edu
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~mielcarz/
"Hello, my name is Dan Mielcarz. I sniff lots of glue."-phishow@aol.com
Member of PLM-http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/4489/plm.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 1997 11:47:00 PDT
From: greg sand chez8@hotmail.com
Subject: Went Review set 3 day 1

Hey man I love checking out your review page. I always check it out when 
I am bored at work. It is very comprehensive and filled w/ good stuff. 
Do you ever add any of your own? Anyway, while sitting here waiting for 
my dam fall MO's to show up, I thought I would review one of the Went 
sets. Day1/III and Day2/II were probably my favorites although all were 
insane. I chose Day1/III to review b/c I find myself listening to that 
one most. 
Halleys>cities(slow)>llama,lawn boy,limbXlimb,funky B E:contact,lovn C

The halleys was a genuine surprise's and I was hoping to hear it. This 
version seemed a little slower then I am used to hearing.(I am still 
hooked on the jumpy 2001>halleys from 6/24/95) They seemed very patient 
and concious not to flub it. It sounded great and the solid jam made up 
for any slowness.
The jam went into a slow groove which was cities. I've heard one other 
version and this one was considerable slower. I still have yet to here 
the orignal talking heads version. How much/little does it 
compare??Treys lyrics were dynamic here. He really got into it. 
The llama was basically insane. I could go for hours about this one. 
They jumped into it shreding every note and nice guitar work by trey. 
When it was over I couldn't believe what just hit me.
Then came Funky B. This was amazing and kept the crowd going. 
Solid,Solid,Solid. I think I will compare the rest of my funky bitches 
to this funky bitch. Complete w/fireworks which were unrelentless.
Next came lawn boy which was a treat. It was great to see page come down 
front and get intamite.(sp)
Next came Limb by limb. This song is great. Definatly my fav. new song. 
The vocals/lyrics/music all blend together nice. I think the song is 
about 15mins long in "Lyrics>jam>chorus" fashion. If you miss the 
lyrical intro you may think your hearing Ya Mar at first but then it 
changes nicely.
Then came funky bitch. This was amazing and kept the crowd going. 
Solid,Solid,Solid. I think I will compare the rest of my funky bitches 
to this fine young lady. Complete w/fireworks that were unrelentless. 
This was the first time, at the 'went' at least, that I felt the crowd 
was there to see the audience and the aud. was there to see the band. 
Sure they played two great sets before hand but here, under exploding 
skies, people around me were high fiving, jumping, jigging, and just 
overall physced.  And the set wasn't even over...
The first enc. was contact. Once they picked up their instruments and 
fiddled around it was obvious contact would come up b/c someone played a 
few disdinct notes. Anyway it was a fun contact. This contact was averg. 
but alot of energy was still carried over from FB. I though they would 
end w/contact but then
My first lovn' Cup. I have always loved this song and to get to see 
Phish play it made it even sweeter. "don't you know I play a bad guitar" 
seemed fitting b/c in treys voice you could tell he meant bad meaning 
good not bad meaning bad. This truley left a great taste in my mouth.  I 
was singing it all the way back to the tent. I especially like it as a 
closer............."what a beautiful buzz"

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