combo vegas 2003 reviews

Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 17:08:48 -0800
From: Ryan Vandenbroeck rvandenbroeck@hotmail.com
Subject: combo vegas 2003 review


MY PHISH BACKGROUND:  I got into the band in late '95 and saw my first show 
on 11-29-96 (Cow Palace, SF); the Vegas shows were my 10th and 11th shows, 
overall.  In the past, I have definitely  favored the older days of live 
Phish, with 93-94 being my favorite years and things pretty much going 
steadily downhill from there.  (In other words, I was very much in favor of 
the hiatus.)  However, after seeing the Vegas run, I can honestly say that 
this is possibly the best I have ever heard Phish play.  The intesity easily 
matched anything I've heard on tape or CD from 93, 94, 95, or any other 
year, for that matter.  Anyway, here's a detailed review of both nights.  I 
was thinking of doing a song-by-song review, but decided to switch up the 
format a bit.  Enjoy!

2/15

PRE-SHOW: We got to the lot at about 6:45 or so (that's what happens when 
you walk all the way from the north side of the strip) to find a line longer 
than any I've ever seen at any show.  Holy smokes, was this a long line.  
Anyway, I'm not really one for a lot scene, but I figured if I was stuck in 
this line, I may as well have some fun.  There was lots of partying, lots of 
friendly faces, and not too many sketchy tour rats.

SET I:

SETLIST: Llama, Wolfman's Brother, Reba, Life on Mars?, 46 Days, It's Ice, 
Frankie Says> Run Like an Antelope

HIGHLIGHTS: Reba (excellent playing in both the composed and improvised 
parts), Life on Mars? (great surprise), It's Ice (ditto on the Reba 
analysis), Antelope (super high energy).

LOWLIGHTS: none

OTHER COMMENTS: Llama and Wolfman's were good, but they did seem pretty 
standard to me.  Frankie Says was a very welcome addition to the set.  
Llama, Reba, and It's Ice were all first timers for me and very welcome at 
that.

SET II:

SETLIST: Waves, Bug> Ghost> Free, Harry Hood

HIGHLIGHTS: The jams in Wave, Bug, Ghost and Free were the meat of the set; 
the songs, themselves, seemed to just be springboards to the jams and were 
definitely overshadowed by the jams.  Harry Hood was one of the highlights 
of the entire run.  Excellent playing in the composed part and the jam 
brought some particularly inspired, atypical free-form jamming before 
breaking into the raucous "you can feel good about hood" section.

LOWLIGHTS: none

OTHER COMMENTS: Free was a good first-timer for me.  Bug was a bit of a 
surprise as a second set jammer but easily one of the better versions I've 
heard.

ENCORE: Sample in a Jar
A nice way to end the first night of a two-night stand, IMO (others may 
disagree).  Like many other songs that night, Sample was played particularly 
well with a rousing outro solo from Trey.

OVERALL SHOW COMMENTS: The revitalized energy level was very noticeable from
the get-go and it never really died down.  This show reminded me quite a bit 
of my first show (as mentioned above- Cow Palace 96) with my first Life on 
Mars since then, plus a Harry Hood second set closer and a Sample encore.


2/16

PRE-SHOW: We got to the arena at about 3:30 or so and were among the first 
hundred or so in line.  Not a wild party scene where we were, but lots of 
good folks.  There was a lot of card playing and plenty of beers to go 
around.

SET I:

SETLIST:
David Bowie> Catapult> David Bowie, Horn, Guyute, Round Room, Golden Lady> 
Poor Heart, Pebbles & Marbles

HIGHLIGHTS: The Bowie> Catapult> Bowie was truly something to behold, Poor 
Heart had about as much energy as any non-jammer could have, and Pebbles and 
Marbles demonstrated how inspired the new songs and their jams can be.

LOWLIGHTS: none

OTHER COMMENTS: Horn and Guyute were played pretty flawlessly and were 
pretty fun, taboot.  Round Room was fun and had a decent jam.  Golden Lady 
sounded a bit sloppy a couple times but was a great surprise.

SET II:

SETLIST:
Down With Disease> Seven Below> Down With Disease Reprise, Anything But Me, 
Piper> Down With Disease Reprise> Makisupa Policeman, Character Zer0

HIGHLIGHTS: Down with Disease and the two Down with Disease reprises were 
very energetic and fun.  Piper was also energetic and included a jam that 
was not typical of the song (kind of like Hood the night before).

LOWLIGHTS: song placement of Character Zero.  (Enough already!  We know 
Phish likes to close sets with it!)

OTHER COMMENTS: Seven Below was good, Anything but Me was a nice break, and 
Makisupa was fun as well.  Character Zero, despite the predictable 
placement, raged and was perhaps one of the better versions I've heard.

ENCORE: Friday
Definitely a let down.  It's a well-written song, it was played well, and 
was fitting at the end of the long weekend, but I would have liked to see 
something a little more exciting.  Hardly the way I'd like to see a 
two-night run in Vegas end!  I would have rather them play Friday, then 
follow it up with something upbeat, wild, etc.

OVERALL SHOW COMMENTS: The two sets were very similar to the night before 
with the first set characterized by half composed songs and half songs that 
have both compositions and jams.  The second set consisted mostly of songs 
that were just used as springboards to jam.  The Bowie to open the show was 
about as good and any Phish I've ever heard and may be remembered for quite 
a while.  Other great jams included Pebbles & Marbles, Down with Disease, 
and Piper.  One more thing - it seems to me that Trey and Mike are turned up 
really loud and, as a result, Page's sound is suffering because of it.  The 
piano sounded distorted at times and Page was difficult to hear for almost 
the entire show (and I was sitting on Page's side!).  Can someone start a 
People for a Louder Page Web site?  We need to get some more Page-led jams!

Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 20:20:00 -0600
From: Aaron Greenbaum abgreenbaum@mail.utexas.edu
Subject: Vegas Review, both nights

Just got back from Vegas, these were my first shows and they were awesome.
I was on the floor both nights, first night midfloor, across from Page.
Second night 10 deep in front of Trey.  Here's what i remember...

Feb 15th

1: Llama, Wolfman's Brother, Reba, Life on Mars?, 46 Days, It's Ice, Frankie
Says -> Run Like an Antelope
2: Waves, Bug -> Ghost -> Free, Harry Hood
E: Sample in a Jar

Llama - I had a feeling we would get a rocking opener and this didn't
dissapoint.  I predicted a DWD opener, but that would come later.  You could
hear they were definitely on. Page and Trey were rippin shit up from the
opening.

Wolfman's -  Time for some funk groovin.  Page was layin it down hard on
this, but maybe i just noticed him more cuz he was  right in front of me.
Around the ten minute mark you could hear they were trying to go somewhere
but they weren't sure where to head.  Page began playing this beautiful
piano towards the end, almost something out of Reba, Simple, or The Curtain,
and sure enough...

Reba - Ah yes, everybody had been waiting for them to bust it out.  It was
obvious they had been practicing cause they nailed the composed section.
The crowd was attentive during that section and it was followed by a
gorgeous jam in which everyone just kind of basked in the moment of this
great song.  Not the best Reba i've ever heard, but it was still awesome.

Life on Mars -  I didn't know what this was at first, but i figured it was a
cover, i liked it.  It was a good breather after 30 minutes of Wolfmans and
Reba.

46 Days -  This song rocks, period.  It seemed longer than 7 minutes, maybe
because its so fun to dance to.

It's Ice -  It seemed like this one lacked a little intensity.  It was still
good, just maybe a little loose.  I'll have to listen to it again.

Frankie Says -  I really dig this song, chilled and relaxed.  I knew
something special was coming.

Run Like an Antelope - I've never seen lights like this in my life.  They
were going absolutely apeshit.  Pretty intense Antelope.  The lights just
intensified it even more.  I really like an Antelope set closer.

So, first set was very good, not great, but verrrry good.  Very good flow to
it, with 4 very noteworthy jams in Wolfman's, Reba, 46 Days, and Antelope.
The crowd was definitely stoked and ready to see if they could top this set.
So second set...

Waves - cool second set opener, probably my favorite song off Round Room.
For a few seconds it seemed as if the trend of  segueing into Divided Sky
might continue (or maybe it was just wishful thinking) but they continued
the song and closed it with some pretty cool vocals at the end.

Bug - I didn't see this one coming.  Page's piano kicked in the opening and
then Trey hit that chord that sends the song rocking.  And this one rocked
hard.  This song gets my vote for suprise jam of the two night run.  Shit
got pretty intense in this one as Trey took over (a theme which would start
at this point and continue into the next night).  Up until now, Page was
looking like he might take over the run, but Trey met the challenge.  Best
Bug I've ever heard, period.

Ghost - You knew they had to play this when you saw that sign saying "871
Days since last Ghost".  This was downright funky.  I wouldn't put this one
in the leauge of great ghosts, but it was really fun.  Nice glow stick war
too.

Free -  I usally notice Page and Mike a lot on this one, but Trey was
ripping that riff really loud and it seemed as if the song revolved more
around him this time, maybe making it seem a little more structured than
normal.  Mike went off as it got a little more into it with the spotlight
hitting him for 3 awesome bass solos.

Hood - People were in awe by the end of this.  The composed section was
nailed and the jam was simply monumental.  I got the feeling that the five
shows before this were building up jam-wise to something like this.  This
has to be one of the best Hood's ever if not the best.  I just listened to
ALO version and this one more than holds its own against that one.
Everybody was on during this.  Page was playing great piano, Trey was
tearing it to shreds, Mike was almost matching Trey in the amount of notes
being played.  Fishman, who had stayed in the background for most of the
show, really busted shit up for this one.  Like, i said, people were stunned
by this version, it clocked in at over 20 minutes and it seemed like it
would never end.

E: Sample - Fun encore, you knew they wouldn't do anything too long cuz they
just jammed Hood so hard.  This was rocking and welcome.

Second set was one of the best sets musically I've ever heard by any band.
It was definitely the set of the weekend for me.  The Hood ranks up there
with some of my favorite versions of Phish songs:  12/31/95 Reba, 11/17/97
Ghost, 6-11-94 Squirming Coil, 12-29-98 Free, 11-27-98 Mike's Groove to name
a few.

OK, second night....

1: David Bowie ≫ Catapult > David Bowie, Horn, Guyute, Round Room, Golden
Lady, Poor Heart, Pebbles & Marbles
2: Down With Disease > Seven Below > Down With Disease, Anything But Me,
Piper > Down With Disease >  Makisupa Policeman, Character Zero
E: Friday

Like I said, I was ten deep in front of Trey for this one which was awesome
cuz he took over this show.  I predicted a Punch opener, but I don't think
anybody was ready for what was about to happen...

David Bowie > Catapult > David Bowie - Holy shit.  There is no way anybody
ever predicted this in a million years. Last time Bowie opened was '93 I
think.  Trey teased a riff that might have been Julius, though I'm not sure.
That got people stoked and then he turned and talked to Mike and Fish.  Fish
started the Bowie beat and the crowd was stunned, people's jaws were
dropped.  The energy just built up and then finally Trey pulled the Bowie
opening off to perfection.  This was probably one of the most surreal
moments I've ever had.  The energy was amazing during this and it seemed as
if this went on for at least 20 minutes.

Horn - A little bit of a breather after that crazyness, but much.  Page and
Trey soared on this one.
Guyute - wow, played to perfection.  3 songs in a row where Trey just took
over.

Round Room - it took me a few seconds to realize what this was.
Unexpectedly nice little jam out of this.  It has a lot of potential.

Golden Lady - wasn't sure what this was for a while.  It was kind of oddly
placed in the set and brought the energy down somewhat.

Poor Heart - This got the crowd back into it big time.

Pebbles and Marbles -  Very good closer, although i wish maybe there had
been one more song before it. Rocks harder in person than on Round Room.
Its good to see that the new songs are capable of closing and opening sets
like this.

This set had a weird flow to it after Guyute finished.  Golden Lady was
oddly placed and I think the set could have used one more song, maybe a Melt
after Poor Heart.  The Bowie was amazing and i'm still stunned that they
opened with it.

set two...

DWD - wow.  they tore it up, flat out rock.  I don't remember too much cause
shit was so crazy at this point, all I know is that Trey and Fish were
tearin it up Bittersweet style. they then segued into...

Seven Below -  this song is awesome live.  Great coooool feel to it.  That
guitar riff was so loud and poinant.  They explored this for a while then
sped stuff back up and back into...

DWD - I vote this for high energy point of the run.  The second they sequed
back into this, everybody in Thomas and Mack went completely bonkers.  I
personally didn't see this coming.

Anything But Me - Good little breather after the DWD insanity.  I like this
song, I think it has great lyrics. Of course with a breather in the middle
of the set, you know something big is coming.

Piper - best Piper I've ever heard.  The buildup was beautiful.
  The crowd really appreciated this selection and it was very loud in
the arena.  At about the five minute mark Trey hit some rockin chords and
all of the sudden like a hundred glow rings went flying from this one spot
on the floor, and then it was on, one hell of a glow stick war.  Trey's face
was priceless and i think it was at this point he started jumping up and
down (although that may have been during disease, but i'm pretty sure it was
Piper).  There was such a great connection between the audience and band
during this song.  It went on for what seemed like a half hour, glowsticks
flying everywhere, lots of exploration in the jam, thought maybe they'd
segue into Guy Forget, but instead they decided to go into....

DWD - wow once again.  Thomas and Mack went apeshit once again, complete
insanity for like the 4th time this show.  I don't think they stayed in this
too long and they slowed it down and went into...

Makisupa -  what a set.  Great song, wasn't expecting it.

Character Zero -  Pretty good end to a rockin set, had everybody dancin.

E: Friday - Probably my least favorite song off Round Room.  I was a little
dissapointed in this selection, but the jam was pretty nice out of it, it
sounded like they were teasing "All the Young Dudes" at the end, but maybe
thats how the jam always goes with this one
Overall, this was my second favorite set of the run, barely beating out
first set first night.  Probably one of the more rockin sets I've ever
heard, can't wait to listen to it again.  Overall the show was sweet, first
set had a somewhat weird flow to it but the peaks in the show more than made
up for it.  This one will probably be remembered for the unbelievable Bowie
opener, the DWD madness, and the sweet ass Piper.  Great first shows and I
can't wait to see em again.

Aaron

Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 02:28:46 -0800
From: jrhodes10@cox.net
Subject: Suck balls

My Vegas review:

Two things:

Shut the fuck up when they are playing

and

shut the fuck up when they are playing.

Until you give these fuckfaces your full attention they'll be anything but
them......Sunday in Vegas was ridiculous.....you bubble gum stage jumping
bitches need to shut the fuck up when the boys are on stizzage.

J. Rhodes

Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 12:34:27 -0800 (PST)
From: Matt Reiter meatstick76@yahoo.com
Subject: Vegas Review in Haiku


Vegas great sets and

jams were on tight and flew high

but both encores sucked!

----MR

Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 13:33:23 -0500
From: Jim Mastre runawayjim423@hotmail.com
Subject: I've got to be honest about the Vegas run 


My review will not be breif but I feel worth listening to but when review
the 2nd night I will be more on the unsatisfied end ofthe spectrum.  when
you choose to like this band you have to realize because you have the
coveted ticket to this Greta Band it does not automatically mean you saw a
good one.  The first thing I'd lik to say is I am one of the lucky ones
who was seeing them in 1994 even though that is th later of the old school
era but I am still one of the minority to still be with for one reason or
another. I have seen over a hundred shows and I take my Phish very
seriously.  I know what I see and I know when they are on fire and as one
unit.  There have only been, at the most maybe 10 shows that I have seen
that I can say were not up to expectations that I had figured, but in
Vegas I saw many good things happen those nights.  They are bringin back
the old school, digging up buried songs and they are really coming out
strong.  I think they may be coming out to strong.  The second set of the
first night was going incredibly but really had difficulty with the Harry
Hood after really tinkering with it like no other hood before. And just
never really capped it off, they never got to really blow their load.  
The head off stage I figured to regroup and come out to make up for that
little bit of trouble in the end of Hood and the Sample ... encore could
have did it.  Sample is a song that we all know they can really nail.  
Not the case in the particular instence.  I was dissapointed with the way
the end of the HOOD and SAMPLE were dealt with but that was it on that
night.  The first set carried the show.  I like the old school stuff and
that is definately in that category.  You must appreciate a LLAMA opener
and a nice WOLFMANS in to a flawless REBA especially with them not doing
the whistling ending which I am not a big fan of. The steal of the night
for anyone looking for one of those songs you thought they forgot but this
song says so much in such a short time that this is one that is not done
nearly enough.  Keep it up boys!.  Next, 46 DAYS this has got to be one of
Fishmans favorites to play play becuse he was top notch in this one.
Another lost gem in IT'S ICE this song has always been of the ones I wish
they didn't put away on the shelf but if this is a sign of whats to come
out in the near future then I am glad the break up happened time to
recharge the engine.  The old school (1990-1995) is where it's at and I
prey tey thats where their going.  Perfect placement for the next song
FRANKIE SEZ new school but really not done much in terms of new school
compared to the Jiboo's, Piper's, and First Tubes etc.. so this was a nice
suprise and held it's own in this set of older songs. ANTELOPE doing what
it always does, satifies many.  ALL in all of the 2 sets I would have to
say more people will talk about the 1st set more than the 2nd set.  And I
say this without reviewing the 2nd set because what I need to say about
the 2nd night is far moe important than what I just told you again these
are only my opinions . On to the 2nd night in Vegas and I am going to tell
that I was COMPLETELY UNSATISFIED WITH NIGHT 2 SET 2 of LAS VEGAS.  They
lost the energy and never got it back and that makes me worry about them.  
I have never felt that much of a struggle during my stay.
    Night 2 set 1 When they open up with a BOWIE opener the first since
may of 1990 you know they are gonna lay it on thick which they did and
outof nowhere a CATAPULT which always comes out of left field which again
is reminicent of the old school days then slammed into BOWIE again, and
really finished this off.  No problem, to stay with the old school theme
HORN I have never met anyone who wouldn't want o hear this beauty. Nothing
different from the past as usual, perfect.  A GUYUTE that reflected the
early 94 and 95 ones.  Guyute I must admit was getting tiresome before the
haiatus they just went to it too much but they went back to their roots
for this one.  GOOD for you, GUYS! ROUNDROOM followed and it worked well
for them in this stellar set already. Now came GOLDEN LADY a Stevie Wonder
cover not done since 10-20-94 still with the old school theme but to be
honest the energy level dropped down a notch or two, but worth it to hear
some that rare. POOR HEART followed to pick up the energy although the
placement of that song was strange considering that always comes out early
the sets but fine because it worked and the PEBBLES AND MARBLES was
definately wanted to hear this oneand this one will only get better and
become a show stopper in the near future.  I can't wait to what happens to
this one for a new song great song and well worked even in the studio.
Summary 1st set Stellar Creative and Tight!  Beautifully Crafted Set
  Set 2 and this is where it went downhill from here.  I did like how they
took DWD and dropped it in 3 times, ala older days and song selection was
good also.  But the tightness lacked and the energy to carry this set like
set 1 just did not happen.  They did not drift off somewhere like usual
and came back strong back to where they left off.  We start with DWD way
to get things going and the 7 BELOW was well worked and things were good
and the transition back into DWD was also incredible how quick it took to
slam back into it. Still no problem.  ANYTHING BUT ME I really enjoyed
lyrically and musically a well crafted song, not a bad choice.  PIPER a
song that just goes with a great tempo from start to finish, butnot this
time this song in my opinion should be a twice a tour song to keep the
anticipation of catching it is worth it when it comes out, but to me the
struggling began hear.  The Jam out of Piper came out OK but the insuing
jam went nowhere and my take on the DWD REPRISE was to reload, regroup and
pickup the energy to level they left off with around Piper.  Now I am all
for a MAKISUPA but I don't want to hear this at the end of a set because
it does not carry itself to bring the energy to fuel the crowd, this
should have been in front of DWD
  not after the DWD REPRISE.  You tell me when they did a Makisupa that
late in a set and if they did ever and listen to see if they energy
followed was lifted.  CHARACTER ZERO did its job pickin up the pace, but
they should have followed that up with another ripper being the short set
that was already. But they chose to walk of stage , personally a bad
choice .  After their 56 minute set they chose to do only 1 song and it
was mellow song with plenty of noodling which is good but these guys base
how good they are on that particular night and each other night that they
play on the energy in the arena but for once in all the times that they
played and I was in the house I was dissapointed.  Without a doubt it
could have been a good solid set but this was without a doubt the worst
2nd set I have ever seen .  In fact at the end of the show I told the
other people who I went to the shows with in all over 350 shows combined
between 3 of us.  I told them "in my opinion if they did this 2nd set on
the east coast it would have become much easier to get tickets in the
future." and as much as I want that to happen again I don't want that
compromise for them to lower their level performance.  So remember when
you chose to be a fan of the JAM BAND community you are choosing a higher
level of music and it did not happen in this particular set.
    As a whole set 1 in both nights were phenominal but of these 2nd sets 
the 1st night went well until the HOOD and SAMPLE, but the 2nd was lost at 
PIPER and was never reclaimed.
    If "The Boys" should see this stay with first set theme and things
will snowball like the days of old or correct whats happening before you
guys hit the eastcoast.
     At the points I have stated they were the worst segments and song
selection I have ever seen and hope they remedy the problem at hand soon
or they wont get my money anymore I was left on edge.  To put it as simple
as can be.  MY friends know that if I had a chance to get laid or go see
PHISH!  I would choose the later and go see PHISH for the 2 1/2 hour
orgasm every time but on this particular evening with PHISH they gave me
BLUE BALLS !  Sorry If you disagree with me but that is my take on these
two shows respond if you would like I encourage but they are also gonna
shows that are not always top notch but they missed it in the 2nd set that
night.  Sorry PHISH PHANS but that's my opinion.  ENERGY AND TRANSITIONS
AND SONG SELECTION IS WHAT MAKES A GREAT PHISH SHOW AND THIS 2ND SET IS
NOT ONE OF THEM.  JIMBO


Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 15:56:35 EST
From: Mdh349@aol.com
Subject: vegas run

i knew that i was lucky when i got both nites of vegas.  it was going to
be only my 4th and 5th phish show so i was a little anxious to say the
least.  after the 2 nites i now understand phish and why they are the
largest band in the world!

the first nite started off rocky due to the hassle of getting in and
finding a seat.  once i got in my wife and i couldn't find any room to
boogie until mid way through the set.  it wasn't until reba that things
started to loosen up.  the first set was graet, but it wasn't until the
2nd that things really lifted off.  it seemed that everybody really
settled down during set break and the energy was much more positive.  
i really wanted to hear waves while in vegas becasue my wife and i had a
son while phish was on hiatus and we named him WAVE.  now is that cool or
what?  my wife totally called it.  i think its the best song o the new
album.  what a way to get it started.  next came bug which happens to be
ione of my all time phish favs.  but what came next really blew my mind.
 the ghost was huge!  they have the biggest lighting rig i have ever seen
and it was put to excellent use during this spacy, yet tight jam.  the
transisition to free was good with trey's guitar seemingly soaring over
the entire building.  the hood closer and sample encore was good, but
anyting after the ghoist would pale in comparsion.

the 2nd nite was even more explosive.  i was surprised to hear a bowie
opener, and everything was really good until we got goldenlady.  what a
breakout.  paige made it sound so loungy (in a good way) and i think it
was a perfect cover for vegas.  i kne what it was right away and think it
was one of the best songs of the run!  the 2nd set was really tight with
the highlites being dwd and piper.  i've never been in an arean where
everyone seemed to be on the same page, with the band.  i felt true
collective energy like i've never felt before on such a large scale.  i
was really satisiried wioth the friday encore becasue it was so
appropriate.  i wish it was firday also trey


Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 14:28:12 -0700
From: Aaron Grossberg aarongrossberg@hotmail.com
Subject: 2.15-16.03

I have never written a review...mostly because I never want to ruin
someone else's experience by droning on the negative.  I feel compelled to
write something, though, after reading the criticism of the Vegas shows.  
To give a little background and substantiate myself as a "phan" to any
sceptics, I have been seeing Phish regularly since '95 and have seen
something over 50 shows...and I, too, have been very hard and critical of
this band (especially in '99-'00) because we all know how good they can
be.  I also play in a band and completely surround myself by musicians and
artists, and feel that I have a fair and honest opinion.

Now, for the shows:  I am not giving a song-by-song, but rather I am
addressing some previous reviews.  Personally, I absolutely loved this
weekend.  The setlists would have turned me off if I didn't have such
great sounds associated with each song.  These guys have come off of a 2.5
year hiatus and played like they never stopped.  Any of you who play in a
band know how damaging even a couple of weeks can be to your sound and,
especially your tightness.  Two nights, new songs and a few old ones, but
each was played like they were proud of it...like they wanted to display
how cool each one really was.  Yeah, they played new stuff-if you wrote
some new stuff that you thought was cool, you'd want to show it off, too.  
And, for the most part, the new ones sounded great (esp. 7 below, waves,
round room, 46 days).  And their jamming has matured into a far tighter,
synchopated experiment with texture and intensity (think of ghost,
wolfman's, bug, hood, round room, dwd, 7 below, and the piper that really
was just another 7 below jam).  If you did not have good sound for the
shows, I can understand some disappointment, because I had .5 set of
mediocre sound and I could not enjoy the music nearly enough, focusing on
the song selection, instead.

Mostly, I really feel bad for those of you who could not let go and just
love the shows for what they were.  They were a hell of a lot better than
the new year's run, a hell of a lot better than most of '99 and '00, and a
hell of a lot better than almost any other band alive can do.  "Sitting in
Limbo" needing that huge, ancient kickdown to get off is a decision you
can make for yourself.  Personally, I was really impressed with their
precision (very few mistakes, relative to the late pre-hiatus phish),
better singing, and mind-melting jams.  Have you ever heard Mike and Fish
so tight?  or Page fill gaps so perfectly? or Trey actually step back and
NOT take a huge chaotic solo in favor of texturing well-timed notes and
arpeggiated chords;  feedback builds and sharp rhythm guitar?

Hey,I love the kickdowns, too, but some of those songs represent a Phish
that does not exist any more.  Like all things, the band changes, and some
of us like what we hear and some of us don't...but you cannot hold them to
an arbitrary standard of what Phish was when you fell in love with them
and expect a fulfilling relationship.

Remember Vegas '00?  "Gamehenge is a state of mind."

I hope to see you all in gamehenge next tour.  Those of you who insist of 
bitching can save your cash and buy the old shows off the livephish 
archives.

peace and open minds

Aaron

Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 17:17:28 -0500
From: "Freed, Andrew S" asfreed@statestreet.com
Subject: FW: a quick review of the 2 phish shows i wrote the other day whe
    n "stuck" in Phoenix...

saturday was my birthday and I saw 4 shows in 2 days.  moe. was
AWESOME!!!!!!  Here are my phish reviews:


llama opening (second time we saw this since the hiatus ended).  a nice
standard opening.  good fun fast rift.  then they got FUNKY with a nice
wolfman's brother.  mike and page were all about the funk saturday. 
after a nice 15 min wolfman's they broke out REBA.  no whisteling/ending,
but a nice jammed out funky version.  that was mu first Reba, so i was
pumped for that.  they broke out the David Bowie cover Life on Mars
next.  i didn't recognize it, but it was pretty good.  mer called 46 days
next.  that is off the new album.  we didn't see that in Hampton, so it
was cool seeing it there.  during the jam i took my bathroom break and
missed It's Ice.  i've seen it a couple times before and that is a pretty
standard song.  Frankie says à antelope ended the set.  mer's sister was
saying she has seen antelope just about every show (and so have we), but
it was still nice.  it usually takes me longer to recogni! ve it, but i
heard the opening few beats and got right on galloping (and then
running).  the setlist mentioned there was a stash tease, but i don't
remember hearing one.  maybe once i hear the show again i'll hear it.  1
hour, 15 minute long set.  second set opened with Waves off the new
album.  this was another song we didn't see in Hampton, but was nice to
hear.  the funk continued with a nice 10 minute Bug which segued into a
crowd pleasing Ghost.  there was a sign up (huge sheet) that said "871
Days since last Ghost" so i don't knw if they added this song in because
of the sign or not, but it was REAL FUNKY.  then mer's sister got her
Free.  Jessi is all about Billy Breathes.  pretty standard i thought, but
the set ending Hood was the song highlight of the weekend.  this jam was
AWESOME!!!!!!!  Sample in a Jar 1 song encore was fun.  a standard 7/8
minute encore, but Hood was a! wesome.  we sat Page side 1 section to
right from stage ! about 10 rows up.  we had GREAT seats.  the Hood was
the 1 song highlight, but the sunday show was a better show.

 

the ghost sign was modifies to say "1 Days Since Last Ghost"  i brought
my camera sunday, so when we get home i'll email a couple pictures if
they come out.  before the show i said i wanted a Bowie and they openeind
with Bowie!!!!!!!!  Horn was my early bathroom break tonight.  there was
such a clusterfuck in there i missed half of guyute.  it was hard to hear
in the bathroom, but what i heard when i came out was real nice.  Round
Room is still growing on me.  the jam was pretty good.  i think the bans
is still playing around with this one.  they broke out a Stevie Wonder
cover next.  Golden Lady.  i didn't recognize it.  in fact i thought it
was Go My Lady.  it was a fun short tune.  the set ending Poor Heart and
Pebbles & Marbels were awesome.  Pepples and Marbles is turning into my
favorate song off the new album.  they jammed this out awesomely in
Hampton, and even more so in Ve! gas.  this will be the new jam song this
tour and hopeully beyond.  this verson (at just under 15 minutes) was
about the same length as the Hampton one, but the band was tighter.  that
was the prevailing thought about these shows.  hampton was special, but
vegas was tighter.  the composed parts of songs were MUCH better in
Vegas.

 

set 2 was crazy!  DWD opener into 7 Below.  a nice funky DWD, smooth
segue, and a nice mellow 7 Below which got a bit ambient and then into a
DWD Reprise.  that 3 song jam was about 25 minutes.  after a mellow
Anything But Me they segued into Piper.  that is one of the better jams
off farmhouse.  mer + i have seena couple of these.  this one wasn't
absurdly jammed out, but it was good.  from there they segues back into
another DWD Reprise.  the crowd was LOVING this.  that last section of
chorus is just killer.  from there we got Makisupa.  i am really starting
to love this jam/tune.  we saw it in Hampton, but this version (like the
other 2fers) was better musically in Vegas.  then Jessi got another Billy
Breaths song with a Character 0 set closer.  this song just rocks!  i was
hoping for a 2 song encore with the whisteling and Reba ending but we got
Friday.  last night in Hampton they ! encored with this song.  it is a
good short jam/song.  the jam is kept incheck and the song is usually
about 8 minutes.  i think this song will turn into a Sleeping Monkey.  an
encore song.

 

Then to get "stuck" out west (home is Boston), so I had a couple days to
reenergize before heading home.  Now I have less than a week to get ready
for Woostah!!!!!!!

Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 05:54:03 -0800
From: Joshua LeBar joshualebar@hotmail.com
Subject: Vegas shows

Sorry so late.PLEASE post this

After seeing the first hampton show (my 39th)and hearing the rest of the
holiday tour.i expected that all the flubs that happened on new years
.....and in Hampton(YEM, Simple,CAveren just to name a few)would be worked
out.  I was smack in front where I love to be for both shows..in my comb
cap that I wear like a CROWN! First night of vegas the guys were in a
great mood...Anelope jam went throught the roof never ended...46days and
Ghost mega jammed...great show...but I thought night 2 would have the
special element...Boy was I wrong...trust me people.this show looks way
better on paper then it was. The Bowie opener...just Par.and the Catapult
in the middle was the most misplaced ..SOLO...bad sounding thing.its a fun
tune to put in but it did not work here..next the terrible choice to bust
out GOLDEN LADY...It ruined the mood...if there was any going at the
time...The second set started off with a sorta rockin DWD..not the best by
any means.....All of this is Trey trying to be the metaphor master.using
his songs ot tell the tale.The Piper could have evolved into one of the
best ones ever...But ALas Trey spaces out..never finishes Piper and
instead goes back into DWD...which in my opinion was just a LAZY mistake
and not something ....cool or planned out...Also "GUYUTE has red hair and
beard" get over it .we are...your wepons are dull on my throat! But it
never got so bad as teh set closer CHARACTER ZERO..COME ON>>SO WEAK
unbelievable...It was no accident that TREY busted it AGAIN!! New Years,
Hampton..and Again..to close the VEGAS SHOWS. I thought these were going
to be the show of shows...What I saw that last night was TREY..playing one
note forever acting like I cared..Trey should look take his CHARACTER ZERO
and look in the mirror..Your the one Bud!! Not me or anyone else..You show
us time and time again the size of your ego...I am just your reflection in
the ICE!! Lets not even waste words on the FRIDAY encore...Yet another
slap in the face...Then he goes to Denver and plays what the Vegas show
should of been ..fo a bunch of Frat guys.Cool! Well You can keep your
Character Zero.....things are true but I forget.....But Trey....not one
has taught that to YOU yet!!  SOrry the 20,00 in VIva had to see such a
display!! Hope we took the damage for the rest of the tour till
summer...maybe

peace
josh


Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 18:10:51 -0500 (EST)
From: George Laird george_laird@excite.com
Subject: REVIEW: BOTH VEGAS NIGHTS

2 nights in Vegas. Lots of high hopes, lots of madness, lots of
dissapointments.  I saw what happened from the 1st three rows in L.A. and
Vegas, and we know that Trey saw what happened in the first rows on a
nightly basis. 1st night was the breakthrough of finding the phish groove
for Trey.  They didn't really find it in L.A. and certainly didn't have it
on the holiday run.  Vegas night one was a perfect 10 show and you could
tell that all four of them were completly lit up. Found myself loosing in
a groove war in 46 days, perhaps It's Ice was inspired?  Antelope was a
little evil and might be one of the best I've heard. This is one of those
shows where you can't just look at the setlist and think you know what
happened. Something did happen here and it was a beautiful thing. I felt
like phish came back for real on the 1st night in Vegas.

...then it all became undone on the second.


2nd night.  Finding myself in the second row center this time I read the
expression on Treys face when he came out to start the show. Not good.  
Always takes that preshow stroll to the guitar while checkout whose here
tonight.  I can't really describe the look on his face right before he
picked up the guitar but I know that it wasn't "I'm ready to rock out!"  
The first set looks like it sounded. Uninspired and not tight at all.
Bowie/Guyute??  Bowie was not even close and did they forget that most of
us have seen Guyute just about enough. It just wasn't there. Zero
interaction this night. Should that have happened being right there in the
front?  Trey didn't want to interact with anyone this night. He was in
Treyland. All by himself. Second set had to be better. Now I firmly belive
that phish knew it was a bad set and made some sort of mental desicion to
play the second set either better or worse.  The entire set consisted of
bad song choices covered up with Down with Disease endings.  It was like
Trey realized the jams were going nowhere and figured if they just kept
going into DWD then everything would be cool.  The energy from the front
was very low and you can't not notice that from the stage. But Trey says
"Blame it on the satilite when your message can't get through."  Belive
me, he got it.  Thanks for Character Zero, again. Your message has gotten
through now.  Oh, they want to rub it in? Friday encore.  Yeah, we get it.

Just one more quick note.  At lease 10 times I signed NICU to Trey while
within plain view all three nights.  He saw it almost every time.  I
didn't go to Denver but NICU was the encore. Figures. And THAT message has
gotten through loud and clear.

Oh well, thanks for the 1st night in Vegas. It was really unbeliveable.

Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 17:53:49 -0500
From: John Chescavage johnch@gallerywatch.com
Subject: Vegas in review
 
Background:
 
I returned to Vegas after one of the most memorable weekends of my life
back in 2000.  While weighing the idea of going, I determined that if the
weekend were half as good as 2000, it would be 2X as good as any normal
weekend in my life.  Fortunately, this trip was well worth it!  Show
number somewhere in the 60's, first show in fall 95.
 
Saturday:  2/15/03 
1: Llama, Wolfman's Brother, Reba, Life on Mars?, 46 Days, It's Ice,
Frankie Says -> Run Like an Antelope*
2: Waves, Bug -> Ghost -> Free, Harry Hood**
E: Sample in a Jar
Notes: * - with "Stash" tease; ** - Towards the end of the song, the band
stopped playing and Trey started to do a little jig - after a few
moments,
Fishman began mocking him by doing something similar and as a result for
about a minute the band was just dancing instead of playing
 
The Wolfman's was probably my highlight of the set.  The first three
songs off the bat were a nearly perfect open for a show.  Wolfmans was
tight, not as loose as the drippy 97 style versions.  Sharp funky jamming
in this version, leading into Reba.  Some have questioned if this would
be a "retired song" but that was premature.  Good Reba, strong version
but not atypical of a good solid Reba.  Loved the Life on Mars, and had
been hoping this would be one of the return songs.  I can see how this
tune will get old and cheesy, but I for one still enjoyed the hell out of
it.  Go Page.  The 46 Days raged.  I have not heard Hampton but was under
the impression that this tune jammed for an extended period of time. 
This version was just straight Rock and Roll!  Strong, and would be a
worthy set closer so that we would not have to hear Zero every other
night....  Ice was great, but the slow and spacey jam segment was really
pretty weak.  I remember 96 versions that would get really far out there
and wicked, but this was just a short little spacey piece with good Page
work again.  Frankie Says wasn't bad, but that Antelope that followed was
an absolute rager!  Crowed ate this one up and it was a distortion filled
blast in your face!  Toward the end there was no discernable music, just
wild and chaotic instrumentation, but it was intense for sure. 
 
Set II:
Waves is a decent song, but not a good second set opener.  Not too
different than New Years, and just too mellow to open, especially in
Vegas.  Bug has never been a favorite of mine and was not on my
"want-to-hear-in-Vegas" list.  However, I was pleased that they moved
back to the original lyrics instead of simply repeating "It Doesn't
Matter" over and over.  Ghost started up and it occurred to me that I
hadn't heard or thought about one of my favorite songs in so long.  This
happened to me a couple of times on New Years, and happened again with
this Ghost.  I don't listen to nearly as much Phish, and when I do Ghost
never seems to be on any cds I have now.  That being said, it is one of
my favorites and I was pumped.  This Ghost was the highlight of the night
for me.  Awesome jamming with some prominence for Mike and Fish at
points.  Trey was more patient than in the 98-00 era, more like 97 this
weekend.  He ripped, but also held back when he should have.  This Ghost
had a lot of Trey, but he put the ego in the pocket and that led to great
funk/groove jamming.  Free came out of the ambience at the end of Ghost
and therefore was not a sick segue like it might appear, but this is a
great anthemic song.  Solid Mike soloing during the jam segment, but man
do I want them to just let loose on a Free jam.  It would be so nasty! 
Hood is a song that, no joke, follows me to every show.  I think I have
seen this song over 35 times alone.  That being said, this was the best
Hood I have heard since my first (12/30/95).  Great heavy metal section
in the jam, great work from Fish to vary the beat toward the "You Can
Feel Good" section.  The opening reggae section in the song had a silent
jam with Trey dancing around like a goofy child.  This show just had an
overall feeling of good times and sickness. 
 
Probably the best show I have seen since the Second night Philly 99, or
second night Hampton 99.  Should I be able to hear it again, this show
could easily move up to a Top 10 show rating for me.  Great all around,
maybe an 8 out of 10?
 
Sunday
1: David Bowie ≫ Catapult > David Bowie, Horn, Guyute, Round Room,
Golden Lady*, Poor Heart, Pebbles & Marbles
2: Down With Disease > Seven Below > Down With Disease, Anything But Me,
Piper** > Down With Disease > Makisupa Policeman***, Character Zer0
E: Friday
Notes: * - Stevie Wonder cover, last played 10/20/94 according to ZZYZX's
Phish Stats; ** - with glow war; *** - keyword was "spliff" but stretched
out ("sp", then a 3-5 second pause, then "liff")
 
Set I
Started out great with a solid Bowie.  I can't recall the last show that
started with a Bowie, and this version had a much spacier and better
intro section than the NYE version.  Not as spacey as old school, but
just good enough to get a frenzy started.  The jam was solid from the
start, but not completely exploratory.  Typical Bowie jamming until the
end when we started to get really nasty.  The nastiness moved into the
Catapult, and if you look at past shows with Catapult in them you will 
notice that most of them are some of the best shows ever.  Having known
this, I was believing we might be in for something epic on this night. 
The Horn and Guyute that followed dashed that dream.  Not bad songs, just
not songs that are played in epic shows, and mand have I heard Guyute
enough even after 2 1/2 years of hiatus.  I was pumped for Round Room and
believed that the song had great jam potential until they did jam on it. 
This was very typical 2000-style ambience, which I am not a fan of. 
Listen to any of the jams from the second set Hershey 2000 show and you
will know what this Round Room jam was like.  Golden Lady may have been a
bustout but it wasn't exciting.  That, my friends, is a cheesy song. 
Poor Heart was a welcome boost in energy as much of the crowd was
starting to look dazed.  P&M was a song I was hoping to see/hear and
thought it could be a second set opener.  It may have served better as a
set opener, because it just doesn't cut it as a set closer.  They were
working to get this to rock pretty hard, but I felt it was really choppy
and rushed.  I love the song, but this version didn't impress at all. 
Set 1 was the worst of the 4 this weekend.
 
Set II 
You could feel the spacey openings of Disease right out of the gate and
it was on!  The beginning of this Disease was rough to take.  The
sloppiness was akin to many of the composed sections of the Hampton songs
I have heard (see YEM).  There were some groans, but by the jam section
we had forgotten all about it as Trey was absolutely RIPPING this song
apart.  This jam got down to a groove pretty quick, not a typical
rock&roll Disease that can get repetitive and dull by some accounts.  I
for one like the Disease that can settle and groove, and this pleased me
just fine.  The segue into Seven Below was the first real segue of the
weekend and was the Phish I fell in love with so many years ago.  I think
Mike was playing the bassline to get the segue going and Trey moved in
quickly to follow suit.  I didn't think a Seven Below could be as good
without snowflakes and dancing Ice Fairys, but this one beat NYE.  Great
jam in this song, with Trey really getting the industrial, grungy guitar
going.  He jammed over the theme and then into open territory, brought
back into the theme, back out into uncharted territory, and back into
Disease!!  This was absolutely sick, and I was pumped to get a segue both
in and out of a great song like Seven Below.  Anything But Me was fine by
me, although it killed a little momentum.  I like the song, and at the
end it sort of sounded as though they were just going to pick up an
ambient jam.  At this point a couple of us were thinking/praying for a
2001, but when Piper kicked in we said we would settle.  The NYE Piper
raged and contained all the energy necessary for the first song back. 
Could it be beaten?  That Piper was Mike Tyson getting bludgeoned by
this Lennox Lewis of a Piper.  Hands down the best I have seen/heard and
I have seen/heard a ton of Pipers.  The thick gooey funk that worked its
way into this 20+minute jam was just what the doctor ordered.  The
start/stop Trey solo ala so many of those fall 97 shows is something I
have been dying to hear again for years.  The jam back into Disease,
which some have incredibly called lame, was magic to my ears.  This jam
is one that should be ranked with many of the best, and would fit
perfectly into the best sets of any fall 97 show.  The segue into
Makisupa was strong like the Disease-7 Below, and was entertaining as
always.  I am surprised I haven't read more people comment on how
prominently Trey was saying the "House" lyric because we were all
obviously finding out that "The House Always Wins" this weekend!  Did no
one else find this funny?  I got a good laugh out of it.  Zero could have
been something else to make this one of my favorite all-time sets, but
instead it rocked and this set makes the best set of the weekend.  This
set will likely be considered for best set of the tour, and if it isn't
in the running this tour will be sick, sick, sick!  Friday encore sucked,
no other way to say it.  I have come to expect shitty encores from this
band over the years, and this was a prime example.  Suck it up and send
us out into the streets of Vegas in a frenzy!
 
Overall great, great weekend.  Probably the best two-night run I have
seen since the Philly 99 run in terms of music.  Most fun since Vegas
2000.  Musically, this weekend had glimpses of some of the best Phish
jamming anyone has heard since Boise 99 and the best of 97.  There was
some looseness in the composed sections of some of the Phish standards,
noteably the sloppy Disease and some problems in the Ghost on Saturday. 
Strangely enough, these two songs produced the best of the weekend, 
which means I will surely sacrifice perfect composition for sick jams.


Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 14:59:35 -0800
From: John Warner john@iion.com
Subject: vegas review

heres my review

well folks all in all a great weekend of epic proportions.  The Vegas
experience was great but I do have some bad reviews for the Sunday show.

DISCLAIMER: This is only an opinion and an honest one so take it what its
worth


Friday Feb 14 Moe. at the belly up tavern Solona beach

Friday was alot of fun.  Got up to solona beach at like 7:45 and was
bummed to find out that Pizza Port was like an hour wait to get a Pizza so
went to sammys greek bar and grill instad,  had a nice dinner with Joan,
Matt and Mandy then went to the show

1: Waiting For The Punchline, Nebraska, Bring You Down, What I Got* >
Four >One Way Out > Bring It Back Home
2: Rise > Akimbo, Understand, The Faker > Kids > Moth > Paranoid* > Moth
E: Stand By Your Man*, Sensory Deprivation Bank
* First time played.

Really Really kick ass show  Punchline opener really got things going
right out of the gate.  Whate I got is the sublime cover "lovin' is what i
got." probably refering to valentines day. second set was where its at. 
The Faker > Kids > Moth > Paranoid* > Moth, Moe. at their finest. Didn't
stick around for the encore cause I got ejected from the venue for pissing
on moe.s tour bus.    BUT security saw me, Hey I had to go and the
bathroom line was too long so I slipped the gate by the smoking area to
piss.  what was I thinking?  I really got way too drunk at the BUT and it
was probably a good idea to bail anyway.  went home and went to sleep to
try to be well rested for PHISH!!!!!!!!!!!!! in Vegas. Saturday Feb 15
2003 Phish Thomas and Mack Center Las Vegas Nevada Woke up DRUNK!  Went to
7-11 bought a 12 pack and started drinking to even out my blood alcohol
content.  got to the airport at like around 2 and got on the plane.  The
flight was uneventful and when we landed we waited for a few friends to
meet us at the airport and took a limo to the Orleans. dropped off our
gear the hit the venue.  We met up with bowd and Jill at the double down
then headed to the lot.  sold all my posters i brought for Saturday almost
instantly and hung around and drank beer and get this I FOUND a Saturday
ticket on the ground.  I waited in the spot I found it for like 10 minutes
hoping the guy who lost it would come and claim it but no one did so I
miracle it away to some guy who need one for his girlfriend. Good karma i
figured cause Joan still needed one for Sunday.  the fucking line was
murder to get in.  what was up with that usually the T&M is pretty mellow
about getting in and security was way lax too.  we finally got in late and
got seats up in the terrace but I was totally fine with where we chose to
sit because it was a sweet spot for sound now the show.

1: Llama, Wolfman's Brother, Reba, Life on Mars?, 46 Days, It's Ice,
FrankieSays -> Run Like an Antelope*

Llama-great opener, played very tight and completly perfect.  I could tell
right away trey was on fire and was going to tear it up all night, 
wolfmans was great, nice and funky and then reba was some of the bet phish
i've ever heard.  Life on mars was a bust out and played extremely well,
does anyone know the last time they played this.  I'm guessing SD 96.  The
highlight of the set in a set full of highlights was definitely 46 days. 
God trey was like the devil releasing the demons playing this one.  46
Days is now firmly my favorite off the new album.  so rocking.  not a big
fan of its ice, even though it was played supremely I used this
opportunity for a piss break only to come back to frankie says.  again not
another favorite but it was good to get a break before the raging antelope
to close out the first set.

The first set in a nutshell was tight, well played and trey is a fucking
animal on guitar for sure.

chilled out during set break bought the fuck you Wilson t shirt and the
prehistoric sloth shirt,  bummed to see no posters but happy to find out
they weren't that good anyway. got a beer and awaited the next set

2: Waves, Bug -> Ghost -> Free, Harry Hood**
E: Sample in a Jar

I do not like waves.  I think its a cheesy song and it drones on and on.
Love bug though but what was up with the lyrics they sounded different or
am I just imagining things.  No this is where the second set took off,
Ghost -> Free, Harry Hood**  ghost is simply one of my favorites and it
was funked the fuck out and free was insane.  again this is a good example
of how the rest of phish is completely out of treys league.  that was the
theme of this show for the most part,  trey kept stepping up at time phish
just seemed like a back up band however mike dropped some good bombs in
this tune.  harry hood raged as usual and the encore even though I was
hoping for something special left me satisfied.  I love sample always
have.

After the show we were all completely worked and decided it would be best
to grab some eats and call it a night so we all wouldn't be completely
worthless for Sunday so we went back to the Orleans headed up to the room
drank some champagne and me and bowd scarfed some steak and eggs for $1.95
and passed out.   In retrospect after hearing about the moe. show i wish i
went and tried to get in.  mike and dickie betts both sat in.  oh well
can't win them all.  how was particle? anyone? anyone?


Sunday feb 16 2003 Phish Thomas and Mack Center Las Vegas Nevada (this is
where the disclaimer takes effect)

sunday proved to be a fun day all around that is except for the phish
show. We all woke up early and went to the orleans buffet and ate like
pigs.  I started hitting the tequila early  cause I was inspired by my
Mexican cousin shirt I bought the night before in the lot.  we met some of
Andreas friends at bourbon street then went to the belagio and the monte
carlo where I ordered and I'm not kidding either a 60 ounce margarita I a
glass the size of an army helmet.  it was great going down but it floored
me pretty good. mind you this was about 1pm too so i took it easy untill
the show.  we got to the lot early like 3:30 and i found a ticket right
away for joan and sold the rest of my posters pretty quickly,  115 total
and if anyone wants any they are gone but I'm doing another run for those
who missed out.  drank some beer then breezed right in early in contrast
to the night before.  we sat roughly in the same spot as the night before
because the floor was closed and waited for the show to start

1: David Bowie ≫ Catapult > David Bowie, Horn, Guyute, Round Room,
GoldenLady*, Poor Heart, Pebbles & Marbles

Right away was a dissapointment for me. I know david Bowie is an epic
phish song to most but I really never cared too much for it and the fact
that last tour they were playing it every other show just about makes me
want to never see that song again.  even worse it was played like a train
wreak and trey was flubbing notes left and right the catapult thing was
cool but all in all the song fell on its face.  Horn was all right but by
no means a raging phish tune.  Guyute was bad at first but the scary jam
gave me hope that the set would turn around only to fall short with round
room.  I went to the bath room and dropped a deuce for this piece of
crap.  Round room is the worse phish song ever.  I hope this disappears
and never comes back into rotation.  Golden lady should have been good but
again it seems trey and the boys indulged way too much in the Vegas party
and just couldn't find the groove they were in the night before.  Poor
heart picked it up a bit and pebble and marbles was BORING.  Trey raged it
out a little at the end but it was too little too late.

Over all in comparison to Saturday the whole first set blew like a cheap
Vegas hooker on crack. set break was uneventful.  I drank beer mostly and
hoped for a better second set

2: Down With Disease > Seven Below > Down With Disease, Anything But Me,
Piper** > Down With Disease > Makisupa Policeman***, Character Zer0
E: Friday

Ok second set looks mean as hell on paper but again they couldn't find the
groove.  DWD was average at best but i do have to say I really like 7
below now.  its a great tune and even though i've heard it only once live
other than the album i see this song has great promise.  I thoroughly
enjoyed 7 below. back to DWD which was cool but highly annoying at the end
of the set for the third time.  I call anything but me "skip the next
track"  yuck, horrible song.  Piper is another phish song i'm sick of. 
Even though I used to like it i was and every other show song for a long
time. however this particular piper was OK but what blew it was they were
teasing the hell out of guy forgot like they did in phoenix in 2000 and
never kicked it down which was a let down all together.  DWD again waste
of space and time. makasupa was good pretty standard though and trey
pretty much admitted to being fucked up by making the snorting noise after
the woke up this morning part. character zero is yet another stupid over
played phish song i can do with out and the encore had me running for the
door.  Friday is a shit song and is definitely a blue balls encore. I'd
rather hear velveta sea.

The second set though better than the first was pretty much a disorganized
boring hodge podge sloppy set.

Sundays show ranks about a 2 on a scale of 1-10 not the worst show ever
but it was pretty bad.  Saturdays ranks a solid 10

I finally saw a poster too and thought it sucked, they were $40 too  I
though it was supposed to be a pollack, guess not.  I though it
represented the mediocreness of the show.  it was pretty generic looking.

so after the show we stole a giant card board cutout of the pro wrestler
the rock from the Pepsi promotional booth because we were going to the
club the rock to see cubensis because we couldn't find moe. ticket which
was all right because by all accounts moe. sucked sunday night same as
phish and this comes from my friend mat who went to just see moe.  his
tales of moe. were very similer to phish.

anyway we almost get off the unlv campus with the rock in tow and the unlv
golf cart security team convereged on us shouting stop! thats our rock!
and took him away from us.  totally funny.  it was a swat team recovery
for a card board cutout of a pro wrestler.  You had to be there to
appreciate the hilarity of the situation we went to the rock and saw
cubensis and had a blast.  cubensis is a great dead cover band,  everyone
should go see them if you like the dead. everything was well played and it
was just one hell of a good time.  $1 beer too

after cubensis finished we left to the hotel and went to eat then i
decided to gamble.  I won about $250 off my $20 investment on black jack. 
I was unstoppable and scored 6 or 7 black jacks 2 split aces opportunities
and 3 double downs one on 12 too.  after my black jack luck spree I played
a Harley Davidson nickel slot and hit the bonus jack pot of $300 then went
an played real em in and took $200 form there then called it a night. 
Never had such a good luck streak in Vegas I tell you I was unstoppable
and everything I touched turned to gold. at least for about an hour
anyway.  I didn't sleep because we had to be at the airport at 8am but i
crashed after i got home till this morning,  all in all one hell of a
weekend indeed.

Phish will rock dever,  I wish I was going.  even though sunday was a bad
show this does not represent phish in my oppinion

John

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:15:49 -0800
From: kelly schaaf-brown mambazo26@hotmail.com
Subject: short and sweet

here are some thoughts....

sat night: having dreamt of "reba" the night before, I was pleasantly 
enjoying "life's pleasant game". "Ghost" into "Free" was hot.  some of the 
tunes showed low-ish energy but, OF course, fun to be back at the Mack.

sun night: my 100th show. quite fun. hot energy from the start. sound was
clear, while the night before seemed muffled. bowie was red-light-fun.  
what a start.  dwd brought tears to my eyes and a flood of memories from
the past thirteen years. golden lady? that was just right-nice. still
wondering about the encore but whatever. they have their reasons for
everything. gotta

kb
Kelly M. Schaaf-Brown


click here to return to the 2003 reviews page