Subject: Vegas Review...
From: Paul Santinelli
Reply-To: psantinelli@narrative.com
VEGAS REVIEW...
I have not seen a show like this in years. The band came to play and
have fun, the phans came to listen and have fun, and the crowd control
at the Alladin was very laid back! It was a good time had by all!
Wilson, Peaches, Poor Heart, 2001, Llama, YEM, Cars..., Down with
Disease, Frankenstein,
The first set was where they laid down the groove thang for the entire
show. Surprise Wilson to open it up and the Peaches rocked! Poor Heart
was a perfect strike for the town that was hosting the National Rodeo!
It had some great Page jams on keys. GROOVY 2001.... it was the
catalyst of the greatness to follow. It was beyond any previous 2001...
Trey kepy laying down this funk/blues riff which got everyone bopping,
jumping and dancing. Llama was on a jet propulsion engine.... it moved
very fast! I had a drummer friend next to me who said -- I play this
song all the time... and there is no way that I could keep up with
this. My arms would fall off! YEM... no broken strings -- enough
said. Cars was a filler with a good jam, but nothing spectacular. Down
With Disease started off with it's normal face... but, developed into an
incredible jam. (at this point we are at the 1:10 mark on the tape).
SURPRISE-- FRANKENSTEIN! It was surely a treat and Page was hitting the
keys hard. He had the Moog synth movin'and groovin'... and not to
forget that fishman hit every cue and the drums solo was solid.
Julius, Sparkle, Mike's Song, Simple, Harry Hood, Weekapaug, Sweet
Adeline (no mics), Good Times, Bad Times
Strap in and hold on tight...the second set was INCREDIBLE. Julius was
not an ordinary Julius. IT alomost seeme dthat the entire second set
was a JAM! They looked like they were having an obsolute ball on
stage... great VIBE. Sparkle was nice... and Mike's song gave Gordon
the opportunity to lay down his groove tracks on Bass. Mike's song was a
lonnnggg Jam that had a perfect transition into the next song. BUT
picture this... the Alladin balcony is bouncing and a huge sign drapes
from the railing -- SIMPLE, a place for shoes! What a nice decorating
touch! YES... Mike's song into SIMPLE... and the transition was crisp
and clean. SIMPLE took on a mind of it's own. It went into this sultry
jam with Page and Trey playing harmonics softly and enjoying the every
minute of the jam. It was the pefect time for tweakers... to TWEAK
really hard.... because they opened up into an allout jam and Fishman
had a sweet little beat going. Then... HELLO HARRY! Hood had Trey
engaged in his little drum kit... which gave Mike and Page the
opportunity to have some fun. Trey kept playing his kit for about the
first 2 minutes of the song... at times his xylophone playing was a
little out of key... but it was the effect that counted! The jam at the
end just carried everyone closer to the climax. It was very melodic and
at times the energy was enough to light the stage. Weekapaug was the
less-than-typical groove! They were having a real good time by this
point and Gordon hit just about every note. At that time... we thought
the second set was over... but they tickled us with Sweet Adeline and no
mics! It would have been awesome... but some fools who needed to have
their voices heard kept screaming. In any case... it was very sweet for
those of us who were FOB. Good Times, Bad Times closed the second set.
The highlight of this was Page's vocal accompaniment! He was so on and
wanted to just let it ring!
enc.
Harpua**
Suzie Greenberg**
** - w/ Les Claypool (bass) & guitarist (primus), Mom and Daughter team
yodelers and 4 Elvis'
So... harpua had an interesting beat to it. Les added a little story
about finding weeds in the woods ;) He was having a jammin' time.
Then... Trey begins to tell everyone of Little Jimmy's discontent with
being home and describes his trek to the city of glitter, lights and
dancing girls. Well... Jimmy and his cat (poster nutbag?) decide to
take a rest in Red Rocks (not CO, but outside of vegas), lay out their
bed rolls and begin to yodel.. enter yodelers. The band met them during
a dinner Phoenix. They we're performing and the band invited themto
vegas for the show. then Jimmy and his cat decide to beging the morning
trek to Vegas and they run into not one... but 4 elvis' who challeng
Jimmy to a sing off w/ Suspicious Minds. SO.. picture 4 elvis
impersonators singing and FISHMAN saves the day in his sequins lighted
cape.. to finish up Suspicios Minds! Jimmy gets to Vegas and poster and
harpua have a little tangle... which results in Jimmy getting a DOG!
The big surprise was Suzie Greenberg with Les, the yodelers and the the
4 elvis's... one of which began to sing Suzie Q (the creedence tune)
when he got the mic.
Rumor has it that the band planned to have a few extras that didn't make
it -- a white tiger (which the Alladin would not lety in the hotel) and
dancing girls (which turned out to be cheesy strippers that the band
would not let on the stage).
I had the pleasure of talking to Les the morning after the show -- he
and his guitarist (excuse for not knowing...but I'm not too familiar
w/Primus) we really nice guys. they talked to us for a little while and
said that they had an absolute blast playing with Phish and anytime
Elvis is involved... it's worth the trip ;)
Hope you enjoyed this.
------------------------------------
From: Phil Goldsmith
Subject: vega$
wanted to drop a line about this show, because it was one of the most
unbelievable things I've ever seen. I am a classic jaded phish fan, but
this show truly blew my socks off. It was pure phish, without any
bullshit, and all of their previous, innovative, mischevious, obnoxious,
and incredible chemistry that I was used to seeing back in '92-'93, when
phish didn't need to satisfy an entire arena of mostly-new fans. In any
case, they brought several songs (which I've seen countless times) to
levels I've never experienced. I've seen 2001 many, many times, but the
Aladdin version was one of the funkiest, grooviest, insanely jam-acious
songs I've ever seen phish play. The Disease was equally transcendental,
as was the Julius that opened the second set. The repeat of Mike's Song
(from san diego) couldn't have been more welcome...the energy in the
place was so intense, it reminded me of small east-coast venues of years
back. As if the mid-Mike's Harry wasn't skull-popping enough, the
Weekapaug that capped it off was one of the tightest jams I've ever seen
the boys dish out. At a few points in the jam, Phish completely STOPPED,
mid-jam, and jumped back in, without missing a beat. THIS tight after
playing for nearly 3 hours already? Unbelievable. The Good Times Bad
Times, which I hadn't seen in quite some time, was better than I've ever
seen it. Trey wailed and wailed like he never wanted to put that Paul
Languedoc custom axe down.
The encore was more like a bonus mini-set...I think it was more than a
1/2 hour long. The whole show I'd been thinking about how cool it would
be if I could hear Harpua...I haven't seen one since last new year's.
By the end of the show, I figured I'd have to wait some more...but
whadaya know, after Trey brings out Les Claypool (holy shit!)and his
guitarist buddy, Trey and Mike step up to the mics and...OOOM PAH PAH
OOOM PAH PAH OOOM PAH PAAAAAAAAAH! I realized that I needed to pack
another bowl after all--and Les rewarded me (and everybody else in the
place...I swear it was like an opium den in the Aladdin that night)by
doing one of those trippy Les-rants about weed and stuff. The surprises
kept on coming, with those elvises and the yodelers and the welcome
return of John McCuen's lap steel pedal guitar, on which he wailed with
Les and the other boys in a ridiculous rendition of Suzie. I sincerely
doubt if there was a single person in the place who wasn't smiling from
ear to ear after (and during, for that matter) this
blew-my-expectations-straight-to-hell concert. Thanks, guys...after
this show it'll be very hard to be cynical about Phish anymore. As long
as there are shows like 12-6-96, I'll always be a devoted phish head.
Jon Herman
joats@aol.com
Date: Mon, 7 Dec 1998 02:02:05 GMT
From: Touringuy
Subject: Two years ago tonight...
...Phish played in Las Vegas for the first time. This is
a review in memory of this show.
>From the Helping Phriendly Book:
--------------------------------------------
12-06-96 Alladin Theatre, Las Vegas, NV
1: Wilson, Peaches en Regalia, Poor Heart, 2001 > Llama,
You Enjoy Myself, Cars Trucks Buses, Down With Disease ->
Frankenstein
2: Julius, Sparkle, Mike's Song-> Simple, Harry Hood-> Weekapaug Groove#, Sweet
Adeline, Good Times Bad Times
E: Harpua* > "Wildwood Weed" Rap$* > Harpua* > I Wanna Be a
Cowboy's Sweetheart# > Harpua*-> Suspicious
Minds^-> Harpua > Suzy Greenberg**
#With vicious start/stop jamming.
*Most of Harpua had Les Claypool and Larry LaLonde from Primus.
After the opening, Les did a rap about a weed or something like
that. Then more Harpua and the Jimmy story (Jimmy and Poster
Nutbag going to Vegas). They stop and camp. At the campsite, they
start yodelling.
$Based on the song from Jim Stafford's "Spiders and Snakes" album.
#With yodelers. John McEuen and Heather and Anamiekl August did
a country/yodel tune.
The story continues, Jimmy & Poster meet up with four "Elvii" on
the edge of Las Vegas and have a duel. ^The four "Elvii" sing the
first few verses of "Suspicious Minds" and then Fish continues.
Jimmy (Fish?) is victorious. Then the dog/cat fight. Harpua wins
and the song finishes.
**All of the above musicians; with "Suzie Q" jam lead by one of the Elvii.
--------------------------------------------
Phish 12/6/96 Two-Year Anniversary Review:
It was two years ago tonight, on December 6th in Las Vegas,
when Phish played to a sold-out crowd at the Alladin Theatre.
This was hands-down at the time one of my favorite all time
shows, and still is today. From the frenzied Peaches en Regalia,
Down With Disease and YEM in set one, to the ultimate second set
groove-a-thon with beautiful renditions of Mike's Song, Simple,
Harry Hood and Weekapaug Groove, Phish's first show in Vegas
was a scorcher!
On this anniversary, not to take anything away from the '97 show
and this year's Halloween run, I know '96 Las Vegas show was a
momentous concert. First, there was the Mike's Song in Set 2
which blew the top off the tiny, spectacular venue. Phish had
just played Mike's in San Diego the previous show, two nights
earlier! Unexpected, to say the least, but greatly appreciated!
The Weekapaug bookends the Mike's > Simple > Hood elegantly,
featuring stop/start jamming ala the '91 Somerville Theatre
"Weekapaug Reprise" where they really do take it to Weekapaug!
The encore is almost an entire set's worth of music, with Primus
joining in for an unbelievable Harpua. Everything is so different
for this Harpua, especially the tempo which is way slower than
normal and funkier! That has a lot to do with Les Claypool, no
doubt, who is hilarious in his 'wild weed rap. The story behind
the Harpua is no less signicant, seeing that Trey chose to refer
to it in the Utah Fall '98 Harpua. Jimmy left for the wild streets
of Las Vegas with his pet Poster Nutbag and ended up camping
in Red Rocks Canyon (not Red Rocks, Colorado, Trey emphasizes)
just outside of Sin City. As he lay by the campfire, he was
serenaded to sleep by a group of yodelers and John McEuen who
played slide guitar. (Note: John McEuen also played slide guitar
in Sacramento a few days prior. The band had met the yodelers
during the stop in Arizona prior to Las Vegas and invited them
to come to the last show of the tour) Before Jimmy can even
continue on to Las Vegas, he encounters four Elvis impersonators
who challenge him to sing "Suspicious Minds". Since the Fall
'95 Shoreline show Fishman had been covering this, complete with
the lightbulb-studded jacket! Of course, this song was was
perfect for Las Vegas it being the home for all the legendary
Elvis performances. Well, Fish was up against some veteran
performers for this one, but he gave it his best effort and won!
You had to witness the impersonations, each guy looked just
like Elvis and could really get the crowd fired up - one guy
starts singing "Oh, Suzie Q, baby I love you" during the Suzy
Greenberg after the Harpua, you can hear it on the tapes too!
Even better than the Harpua may have been that Suzy Greenberg
encore, as it completed the band's first show in Las Vegas and
finished off the tour. The line about Suzy Greenberg being like
a slot machine drew a roar from the fans! It was as if the whole
Vegas experience was brought out for this final number as Elvis
impersonators, yodelers, and most of Primus joined Phish on
stage. Even Malachai (see Phish Book pg. 35) got up and started drumming on
Trey's percussion kit! What an extravanganza :)
And that was the grand finale of a show filled with spectacular
moments.
Well I hope this brought back some memories for those who
were there, but most of you have heard the show on tape or
seen the video which circulates. Now I figure this would be
the best place for a B & P offer, so I will offer a recent show
which shared alot of the same spirit of the Alladin show,
the Friday night Worcester Wipeout-fest! I can take three
of you from RMP for this offer, but the requirement is that
you review for me the Friday night Worcester show and
also post it to RMP. If this sounds good to you, email me
at Touringuy@aol.com.
Peace,
Mike