7-26-03 - HiFi Buys Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA

please review the show, not the other reviews....

Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2004 17:24:26 -0700
From: eric tipton 
Subject: Re: Phish 7/26/03 review


from Phish.net:

07/26/03 - HiFi Buys Amphitheatre - Atlanta, Georgia

Set 1: Wilson > Cars Trucks Buses, The Wedge, It's Ice, My Mind's Got a
Mind of It's Own, Wolfman's Brother, Mexican Cousin, Guyute > Taste

Set 2: Piper > Mist, Waves > Tweezer > NICU* > Cavern > You Enjoy Myself
#

Encore: Wading in the Velvet Sea > Tweexer Reprise^

* Trey called out: "...play it, Cactus!" # - Instead of the traditional
lyrics, Trey said: "Boy...Man...God...IT." for the upcoming festival. ^ -
with "Happy Birthday" teases

Ah, back at Lakewood. I was here for the 99 4th of July run and after
that promised I would make it back. Phish always seems to throwdown here
in this great city, tonight would be absolutely no exception.

The lot scene was sweet. No security presence at all - anything goes and
everything did. We got a brief rain shower which produced:



I was lucky enough to be 7th row DFC tonight (thanks Lee) w/ Tony. Great
seats. Best I'd had since first night Shoreline.

First set:

Wilson: Great opener, really gets the blood pumping.

CT & B: Sweet, tour bustout! Page's playing is sweet and this one
actually gets jammed to the 7:37 mark, longest I've seen.

The Wedge: Sweet, tour bustout (last played 2/18/03 in the fair city of
Denver). Trey falters w/ the opening licks. Page comes to the rescue and
shows Trey the way. Trey hops back on the horse and it's all good from
here on out.

It's Ice: Sweet, tour bustout! Very well played. One thing about this
version that I have never seen or heard on disc. The middle jam which is
typically dark and evil instead on this night turned rather upbeat and
almost ambient. It worked well though and I liked it.

My Mind's: Sweet, tour bustout! 4 of 'em just like that! So fun watching
Mike sing this from this distance!
Wolfmans: Ah the repeats will rise again! I didn't mind it a bit though
as this Wolfman's both funks and rages throughought. Great Wolfman's! I
personally think this is the song of '03 behind Gin. Call this Wolfman's
second revival, the first being in Winter '97.

Mexican Cousin: Good spot for it, I don't mind this song a bit really; it
gets a bad rap.

Guyute: What can I say? I'm sick of it. But it was in fact very evil and
well played.

Taste: Quite standard.

First set highlights: CT & B, The Wedge, Ice, Wolfmans. Very, very solid
first set!

Second Set:

Piper: 3rd second set Piper opener and 4th of the tour overall. I
personally thought this Piper rocked pretty hard. It gets Very ambient
for the last few minutes and segues into >

Mist: Sweet. I saw this debuted from the front row in front of Page on
7/3/99. Nice vocals from Trey and a nice little solo too.

Waves: Like a fresh summer breeze, in rolls Waves. Love the choice here.
This Waves is wonderful, I loved every bit of it! Great, great segue into
>

Tweezer: This segue just blew me away, I'm at a loss as to try and
describe how good it was. This Tweezer just rages the whole way thru. No
ambience. No white boy cow funk. Just nasty, machine gun Trey going to
work on my dome. Shredding people, just shredding. Wow. The most amazing
segue into >

NICU: SEGUING IS BACK MOTHERFUCKERS! Seriously, the Waves>Tweezer>NICU is
some of the slickest seguing you will find on this whole tour. Not too
mention on a tour filled with LOTS of excellent segueing. So very tasty.
Trey calls out Play it Cactus instead of Leo and Mike takes a nice solo.
Page actually looked a tad bummed out at first but then looked to be
enjoying Mike's solo. Sorta segue into >

Cavern: Ah Trey, I hope you've continued to practice. We can't have
another debacle like KS now can we?! He comes in a bit late on the
porthole pirate line but otherwise this is an impeccable version. Sorta
segue into >

Y EM: Jesus H, bless you boys! The nirvana segment just puts me into the
biggest trance. Page manages to break that with his soft playing and
brings the band back to life w/ him. Boy! Man! God! IT!!!!!!! NICE!! I
love that the band is having fun with the fans again. All the banter at
KS and Alpine night one and all the runners on stage at IT - keep up the
chatter boys! Trey struggles just a bit pre tramps (a little off key).
Page just funks it up during the tramps section, dirty Page! Post tramps
sees and utterly and completely Trey led machine gun jam. Sick as all
hell. At one point I had some nice eye contact going w/ the red headed
one. With arms out and up in front of me, palms up I'm telling him to
bring it, BRING THE HEAT TO ME TREY. Going on memory from the show and
now listening to the tapes, this at around 15:20. No lie, he laughs at me
and he proceeds to fucking shred it man. Wow, special moment to be sure.
Shortly thereafter the jam breaks down and Mike proceeds to funk away at
the foundation of the venue. Crazy YEM right there folks. The vocal jam
(which I did not catch at all at the show) was based around the Star
Spangled Banner. CK5'S lights at this point are seriously driving me to
my knees. I've never been so completely blown away by Chris's lights, I
felt like I was going to end up in a straightjacket before too long!! A
mellow end to the vocal jam allowed me to maintain some sanity, but not
much. That was just too damn good.

Encore:

Wading. What I said about the Alpine Wading encore pertains here as well.
After that hot of a show, Wading is a perfect choice. As long as the band
puts heart and emotion into it, then I am fine with it; and pleased to
see it actually. Page sounds wonderful, I love to hear the man sing and
tickle the ivory. It was played exquisitely.

Tweeprise: I found myself mustering some sort of energy to again break
out the flailing angry chicken dance. CK5 again putting the screws to my
dome. This sent me out the doors all warm and fuzzy. Tha nk you Phish for
another extremely entertaining evening in the ATL.


Second set highlights: Piper, Waves > Tweezer > NICU, YEM.

Such a hot show down in the ATL.

Bill Bina, sorry about seeing you real briefly and then taking off and
not waiting for you to go to the box office. At that point it was nearing
7 and I still had to find Tony to get my ticket and I was starting to
freak a little. I couldn't find him after like 10 minutes at will call
then realized there was another will call on the other side of the venue
so I hauled ass over there and luckily found him. Sorry bro!

Gladys, sorry we didn't meet up. I was seriously running on empty after
this show and just went back to my car and laid down. Couldn't even crack
a beer, especially w/ the thought of driving to Raleigh in my head.

Tipton-o-meter: A big fat 8, this show rocked my socks off.






peace,


et


Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 07:16:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: mark rick 
Subject: atlanta

I want to thank Phish for making it down south! Unfortunately, we Florida phans
must trek to the far corners to see a show. TREY, MIKE, PAGE, FISH--before big
cypress it was like 1996---PLEASE COME BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!
On to the scene- FUCK ATLANTA AND THEIR FUCKED UP CONCERT TRAFFIC PLAN! I've
been to Atlanta for many shows and i do prepare for the worst traffic has to
offer but this was a mess beyond all other experiences--Who thought it could
take three hours to travel less than 2 miles! People on foot walked past us
came back to their vehicles and passed us yet again-repeat this process for
three solid hours and you have atlanta--did they forget there was a SOLD OUT
EVENT?
Usually i can overlook the bullshit because the lot and the venue are
chill--security being just that to protect the phans--however the first thing i
see is a violent bust--cop slams phan into car and arrest him and unsuspecting
friend--this in addition to the absolutely uncalled for tackling and
brutalizing behavior of the inside security! I kid you not, there were three
incidents of an asshole jumping the fence and the security and police--chasing
them down and slamming into fans trying to enjoy the show. Something should be
done about this. I mean, i know people do stupid things but should we
jeopardize the SAFETY of all the phans to catch one person?--this relates to
the philosophy of police car chases in busy metro areas. Just wanted to say to
the people that lost their glass, smokes, etc. to the harsh Atlanta security--i
hope you don't think these punk ass rent a cops turned the shit in--yeah they
went home to toke up on YOU!!!!!!!!! FUCK YOU ATLANTA (again)! I too lost my
glass--as i lent it to some very, very kind people! i just want to say hey it
really wasn't your fault--i mean i thought we were at a Phish show, last time i
checked. If you read this contact me!
The show--fucking awesome--the phunk, phish style was on! TWEEEEEEEEEZER! my
personal highlight!  The wedge kicked ass and that YEM was YUMMY! and ya know i
like this waves tune alot! overall i give a 9 musically. They sound great, they
are having fun and they continue to keep this community alive and well! the
venue i will have to say a 1 and i think people should boycott this shit
hole--preparation is not a word in their vocab!
LATE!

Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 16:22:23 EDT
From: Jessotr@aol.com
Subject: Atlanta Phish Show

I thought that the show last night was great. Phish put on the caliber of show
that we as fans deserve to hear, which hasn't always been the case in Atlanta. I
must admit that when they started playing Tweezer, I was less than thrilled. But
they kept it nice and funky and just the right length. I also felt as though the
band members were having a good time and truly enjoying the show. I definately
didn't feel the negative ambiance that other fans and concert-goers have
complained about lately. I am not by any means a Phish-head, but I have been a
fan for close to a decade now and I was very pleased!!! Jess from Atlanta


Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 16:46:18 EDT
From: JWpsb@aol.com
Subject: Phish review Atlanta 7-26-03

The lots were jumping. For some ungodly reason everyone was going in the east
side of the venue instead of taking the west entrance. This made the line
stretch back for miles. If you took the west exit of Langford Ave. you strolled
right in. Took us about 10 minutes. Had a some rain brew up around 5pm. Cooled
everyone off and made a great double rainbow. Shakedown Street was crazy.
Vending is nuts. Everything under the sun is for sale these days. Securuty was
very cool. Not bothering anyone unless you stayed in an isle for too long. They
were late as hell starting. i think they took the stage at 8:15. We were 20
rows back center.
WILSON- Short and too the point. No frills but rocked hard. I'd say 4 minutes
topps.
CTB- Very cool. It seems like they are toying with different songs now. They
jammed out this song in a very cool way. Almost sounded like a Reba jam for a
second but somehow wound back up at CTB. very tight.
WEDGE-solid tight version. Always a crowd pleaser. no jam.
ITS ICE- Played to perfection. This is when I new that it was going to be a
solid show. This is a hard ass song too play and they nailed it. Very good
guitar work by Trey. Lights starting to kick in.
My MIND- A rare one too hear but don't remmeber it all that much. Pretty short.
Go Cactus!
WOLFMANS BRO- As stated by others. Highlight of the set. So funked out and
tight. This is why I come see Phish. Trey was on fire.
Mexican Cousin- Great live song. Too the point and one of the better songs off
round room.
GUYUTE- A crowd pleaser. They are ususally the same from show to show but the
ending on this was just nailed. Trey was working the crowd with his enthusiasm.
TASTE- Tied for highlight of the set. Best version I have seen. A great set
closer in my opinion. The lights dazzled and the music just kept lifting people
up. It raged. Phish is back for sure.
Set break was the usual social beer rush. not too long.
II
PIPER- crowd loved it. huge glow stick war that you could tell the band
enjoyed. Long jammed out version but not too long. Maybe 15 minutes.
>MIST- nice transition into this tune. Phish debuted this song here in 1999 so
it was nice to see it return. One of the better slow tunes being played these
days. Great lyrics and jam. For some reason, lots of phans want to talk about
what they are doing next week during these slow songs. It was a very chatty
crowd. A big social. Not complaining. I just don't get it.
WAVES- So cool. This is destined to become a classic Phish song. It has such a
great smooth jam build-up with great hooks. I loved this song and am so glad
they played it. Great lights.
TWEEZER- Hell yeah! Not expecting this late in the set but I guess after they
teased it the night before, he had to bust it out. A rockin tweezer. not funked
out. Just solid guitar riffs.
>NICU- Nice transition into this. PLay it CACTUS.
Cavern- Nailed the lyrics. It rocked hard.
>YEM-A set maker. Who doesn't want to see this. There is a reason why this was
the last song they played before the hiatus. It is what Phish is all about. The
bread and butter. A nod to "IT" Great long vocal jam. awesome lights.
Encore
Velvet Sea- People hate it as do I but I loved the guitar solo. They only
played 2 slow songs so deal with it people. How can you complain after that
setlist. You are seeing too many shows if you are complaining.
>Tweeprise- Rocking set closer with the birthday nod to CK5. Awesome show!
I give this show an 8 outta 10. Very solid, High energy show which is typical
for a saturday night. Post show lot was nutty with lots of fireworks and
traffic. Long live Phish. Have a great tour folks.


Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 18:21:28 -0400
From: D. C.
Subject: 7/26/03 show

My first show since haitus, and missed plenty of opening set due to major 
traffic nightmare and obsolete venue logistics.  Did make it in in time to 
catch Wolfman's Brother on.  I confess, I always go into shows with songs I 
want to hear, but at least with Phish I'm not ever too disappointed with 
what I get, and boy did we get it.  What I did catch was Wolfman's Bother 
(always a fav of mine), Mexican Cousin, and a very fun and energized Guyute. 
  It was during this that it became really clear the band came out to play, 
literally and figurtively. The place was jumping and they were spot on. On 
to Taste and then intermission, which seemed to come too early, but it's 
only b/c I got in so late.  Did some investigative reporting to find out 
exactly what i had missed, and basically found set one a tease hinting that 
general concensus and expectation was, as one guy said, "a GREAT second set 
to look forward to!" I waited with baited breath, and the second set was 
indeed one of the best I've ever seen.  It wasn't the songs, it was the way 
they were playing, telling the audience undeniably "we're BACK!" Starting 
with Piper (just sick) all the whole way through YEM - all i can say is 
"Wow."  They are in gear musically and just playing their hearts out and 
having fun.  They were some playful trampoline tricks which led me to think 
"Bouncing Round the Room" was in the cue, but it wasn't - oh well. They were 
having fun, and so were we.  MITM gave time to pause and regroup, then away 
we went with Waves; onto Tweezer, which infused everyone. Tweezer glided 
into NICU (another personal fav) and I could not stop smiling and dancing 
right through Cavern.  And then it  just kept going...sweet opening to YEM 
and a great version of it, but i knew the whole time in the back of my head 
it was the last song of the set.   So good to be back, yet, like others, i 
was left wanting.  At the end of one of the best YEMs i've heard, I was 
ready for the encore, really looking forward to a dizzying encore.  I was 
expecting something to just raise the roof and set it off into space.  I was 
dreaming along the lines of  Down with the Disease, Suzy Greenberg, Golgi 
Apparatus, Character Zero, Harry Hood -  get the picture?  Anything driving 
and rocking to cap off a super show.  It wasn't just me, the whole damn 
place was tingling with sweet anticipation that was palpable.  They came 
back onstage and Wading was sweet, to be sure, but everyone knew it was 
going to be the penultimate song and we were left hanging - and then got 
Tweezer Reprise.  Don't get me wrong, it was rocking, but not ROCKING!   
Best way to explain? Like having sex and not the orgasm - fun and a great 
way to spend a few hours, but you just don't end up truly satisfied.  They 
teased, caressed, and had their way with the audience for almost three 
hours, building it up and then....i can't say they rolled over, b/c Tweezer 
Reprise was a good ending,  just not a mind blowing ending when that's what 
you were ready for. When all was said and done, we just weren't "done." I 
know, I know,  i shouldn't complain, but I'm just trying to relate the 
situation as i saw it, and i sure wasn't the only one with the sentiment.  A 
great show, top ten, but could have placed better with a better finish.  I'm 
sure Phish has their reasons, it just seemed like a waste of adrenaline to 
me.   But I guess that's why I keep going to shows, b/c no matter what, it's 
always a good time and it's never the same twice. Peace.

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 05:09:46 -0400
From: JOHNROYMUSIC@aol.com
Subject: Atlanta 7-26-03 Review

Phish Atanta 7/26/03
 
   This was a great show.  Phish can STILL bring it.  I've heard some people
saying that the energy isn't there anymore and that things have slowed down .
Maybe.  The music does seem more laid back now with less "bomb dropping," the
very thing we come to see.  True, the slow encore trend is popping it's face
more often.  I say this...people get older.  Things slow down, physically,
mentally, and emotionally.  "Takin it slow" starts to become more satisfying
than the high speed lifestyle and, in this case, music, many exhibit in their
younger years (think of how much faster, tempo-wise, the music was in 1992-5 and
how many more dates the guys played every year-it must've been tiring).  
Whether slowing is true or not, Phish proved they can still bring the high heat
in ATL.
  WILSON-Heavily jammed out opener.  Always a fun sing along. Got everyone
smilin'.  Segue in to CTB was nice too. I thought they wouldn't jam it out.  
Wrong.  This CTB had a couple of build and releases that got everyone shakin'
their butts.  Certainly worth a listen.  THE WEDGE- Yes!!  Fist since my first
show in 98.  The song was perfect with some great soloing by Trey .  I remember
commenting to my buddy Chaz how great the sound was at this point.  Props to the
crew and the HiFi people.  Another stop/break to confer.  IT'S ICE- Not my
favorite Phish tune but musically extrememly solid minus a minor guitar flub a
minute into it.  For you guitarists out there, Trey is master of the arpeggio.  
This Ice proves that alone.  His guitar work here was incredible.  Fish stood at
the same time my buddy Brent fell down.  Hilarious!  The ending was a dragged
out spacey/flanging effect to another dead stop.  MMGAMOIO- First one ever.  
Trey's bluegrass leads sounded like 'trademark Phish' to me.  Reminded me a lot
of the guitar work on Hoist's 'Mule.  Perfect version. Into >WOLFMAN'S!  A lot
of folks knew this was coming.  Everything sounded great.  Everyone sang along.  
2/3's of the way thru I got lost in the song.  It no longer sounded like WB.  
Welcome to that chaotic place.  The comeback solos and jams were decent but
ended a little sooner than everyone wanted.  I think the end of the 2003 Hampton
WB was better but the guitar jams here were great.  Page's piano work caught my
attention several times.  Gorgeous.  MEX CUZ- A lot of people complain about
this song.  I don't know why.  Mex and Halley's are two of Phish's happiest,
feel good, sing-a-long tunes.  I mean, how great is it to have everyone at the
gig singin' at the same time!  Phish's voices sounded great together.  Another
stop then...GUYUTE-This Guyute was my only disappointment.  Trey's whistling
even sounded out of place.  I missed a lot of the long jam while bathrooming and
getting the crew a round of beers/water.  I made it back for the last coupla
minute s and for the flow into TASTE.  Again, I thought, "this is gonna be short
and routine. boo-hoo."  Wrong again.  This Taste is off the hizzle!  The guitar
is just going off and off and off.  I never thought I would rank Taste as a set
highlight.  This one IS period.  Get the boots and taste it...it's definitely
what we came to see and more.  The break was a good time for a us to fly the
bird and take a well needed sit down.
   PIPER-Great placement and energy.  Began the beginning of a sick, sick Phish
set.  The gradual volume swell at the beginning got everyone geared and singing
again.  This was, by far, the heaviest Piper I've heard, certainly a lot harder
than 3/1/03 Greensboro (which I was at and a lot of people bragged about).  
Tonight's Piper was just strong.  That's all I can say.  If you were there, you
know.  Trey was diggin' the pentatonics and just rippin'!  I literally had my
jaw dropped, no shit.  Seems like this is one of "THE songs to hear these days."  
Hell yeah!  With the Piper finally piping down we were led into a gorgeous MTNS.
IN THE MIST.  I remember thinking again how great and clear the sound was at
this venue.  There was a small Trey flub during the first bridge but barely
noticeable.  Vocals where crystal, everyone enjoyed themselves.  Mist comes to a
stop and then...WAVES-Yeah!  After the textbook verse and choruses the solos
took center stage.  Trey pulled off a series of extremely fast 6-string solo
riffs, hitting what seemed like a millions notes between six strings and five
frets (sorry if you don't know guitar lingo). The aforementioned licks reminded
me a lot SRV's 6-string riffs in his version of Hendrix' "Little Wing."  Even if
you hate Waves, do your self a favor and check this one out.  Awesome!  The
crazy Waves glided right into an insane TWEEZER. At this point, I seriously
could have left being happy to see the Taste, Piper, and Waves.  All three were
primo Phish.  Like I said...what we come for.  Tweezer kept that level going and
more.  The musicianship was there folks, please listen to it.  The jamming kept
building and building.  Tweezer takes the second set gem award just a hair in
front of the Piper opener and the out of control Waves.The feeling everyone was
going through at this point doesn't happen at every Phish show.  Atlanta's
history seemed to now be repeating with the potential for a truly one of a kind
Phish show.  Folks, the segue from Tweezer > NICU was perfect.  I mean, perfe
ct.  The engine is running perfectly now.  NICU was just beautiful.  More
singing along, everyone just eatin' it up.  Mike played a short and sweet bass
ditty after Trey called him to "Play it Cactus!" I love Phish's bullshit!  
Into...CAVERN- What a great tune!  The lyrics were nailed this time.  A lot of
people really liked this Cavern.  I thought is was good but nothing compared to
some of the early-mid 90's Cavern's.  It definitely didn't shine like the three
bombs before it.  Cavern fell into the epic >YEM. Heck yeah!!  What better way
to cap off an incredible set than with Phish's best song?  Trey said "It" istead
of the "Shit" lyric.  The vocal jam was very similar to the YEM endings in
Hampton and Greensboro....Kuroda used the "360 lights" to follow the 'ghostly'
effected vocal harmonies, moving in tandem.  Very crazy sounding....they seem to
be into this type of ending now.  The second set finally ended and everyone
realized what an incredible set had just been witnessed.  A killer encore could
make this show one for the ages.  Could it happen?
      Lots of people were looking for a Tube or Fluffhead...anything to
complement the insane Piper, Waves, and Tweezer.  It wasn't going to happen
tonight.  WADING IN THE VELVET SEA rolled out and, I hate to say it, but, a lot
of people were really let down.  It was a gorgeous, soaring version but everyone
still wanted to shake their butts a bit.  Eveyone was just standing there.  I
actually saw several people leaving during the first notes (Shame on you guys!).  
Velvet fell into the expected TWEEPRISE which was too short for the potential
the encore could have been.  It was an OK version, nothing compared to 7-8-00.  
Happy B-Day teases by Trey for Kuroda's B-day.
       Overall, Taste in the first set was nothing short of monumental!  Piper,
Waves, Tweezer in the Second set.  The whole 2nd set was fire.  I'm definitely
going to get the boards from this show.  For those of you that think Phish has
lost it, go to another show.  You're wrong.  I was the happiest I've been at a
Phish show since Merriweather 1998.  As for the slow encore trend: If the boys
work their asses off and play us just ONE set per show like set #2 in
Atlanta...well for all this fan cares, they can play as slow an encore as they
want.  Everyone needs a rest after a hard day at work.  Thanks for the ride
Phish!  Chaz, Brent, Claire, Russell, John, Mabe, Christi, and Steve:  It was
awesome to share the groove with you guys!  Happy B-day to Peter McGrew who
wasn't the only birthday boy at the show!  Soon!

-John Roy


From Eric Habib
Sent: 7/27/2003 8:59:43 PM
Subject:Atlanta Review

 What a night. After 4 hours of traffic ( you'd think these idiots would
have figured how to get people in a sold out show by now) with a pregnant
wife and 4 year old, we finally got in. I was appalled at the amounts of
trash and lack of disrespect I encountered in Hotlanta. I don't wanna
sound negative, but it was a rough start. I wasn't able to meet my buddy
from Florida I haven't seen in 2 years because of the traffic. It
reminded me of New Years in the Everglades- and was the worst experience
entering a Phish show in 60+ shows ( at least the Everglades was fun
traffic). But the show -WOW!!!  We knew we could count on the boys to
lift our spirits. The first set was incredible! My first Wedge in itself
was great- and the entire set was smokin'. I'm not gonna break down each
song, but I've been seeing them for 13 years and know when the energy is
there.  All my bad thoughts vanished as Phish took me THERE. My family
and I had a great time in the show. They didn't do any extensive jams in
set 1 but the setlist was excellent and every song was played great. The
second set was a little more jammy and lifted alot after Caverns. My boy
loves that song. I'm a west-coaster who was in town for a family reunion
and had to check out the show. Afterwards our rental car was damaged and
we saw real live COPS as 20 or so police cars surrounded a vehicle and
the cops pulled a guy out of his car at gunpiont. There was a dead body
under a sheet nearby. I'm sorry to print this but I can't get it out of
my mind. People complain about the wind at the Gorge- HA! I'll take the
beautiful west anyday. Was it worth the amazing show? I'd like to think
so. Peace and love to you.
 
--- Kara Habib

Date: Sat, 28 Jun 2003 11:47:32 -0500
From: Mitchum Province 
Subject: ATLANTA

This show was fuckin hot!!!  The Wilson opener was just what i needed to get
pumped for what was about to come the rest of the night.  The Wedge and It's
Ice were right in time adn the fact that they played M.M.G.A.M.O.I.O,  made
me laugh i was so happy they pulled it out.  Mexican Cousin, well i have to
admit, that when round room came out, this was one of my least favs,  but
trey jammed that shit so hard, i have a whole new respect for that song.
its funny how a song sounds totally different live than the album version.
Guyute went on for like 20 minutes, and then the Taste to close just made
the set break seem longer.  This was my first show since '00, and my first
glowstick war.  It was fuckin beautiful!! (so was the Piper!)  Waves is one
of my favorite Round Room songs, and i couldnt have been happier that they
played it.  I would have liked a Seven Below, but you cant hear everything
you want at a show unfortunately.  Tweezer>NICU!!!!!!! i guess i dont need
to say anything else aobut that.  YEM, i love it!!!  Then comes the encore,
and they just had to play my absolutely favorite slow song!! Treys guitar
and Pages piano brought me on the verge of tears they played so soulfully.
I was in GA, so couldnt really see them, but luckily there was a screen and
Trey was having the time of his life, and really feeling the groove
throughout the whole show.  Im so happy to see them back together and puttin
out shows of this magnitude.  Oh, Phall tour isnt coming soon enough!!

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 19:13:11 -0400
From: Matt Allen 
Subject: ATL. review


This was the last of the 2 shows I caught on this tour.  While Charlotte was
great, I had a huntch that Atlanta would be the ticket. Wow, was I ever
right.  They were tighter, and more of 1 than I've ever heard before.  Pure
psycho-rock with incredible improvs.
The opener and closer seemed like bookends of fire - hard, ranting, pulsing
rock.  I can say there wasn't a dull moment all night.

When I say that the intensity of The Wedge was higher than I've ever
experienced before,  then you can only imagine how amazing the rest of the
night was.  It's Ice was, like all the others of the night, perfectly placed
& executed.  The Wolfman's jam was the first full out kick your ass jam of
the night.  While Mike thumped, it raged. We all ate it up and gave it right
back.  Did anyone else hear the Walk Away jam at the end?  While that would
have also been very exciting,  Mexican Cousin was far better than I
antipated.  This song made the show a party, and we were all singing along
together.  I love hearing a Guyute late in a set.. This is where I feel this
song usually fits best, kind of a pre-quel to the closer.  And what a closer
we had!  I've always wanted to hear Taste bang out the close of a set.  It
twirled and raged at the same time, twisting into new depths.  Then it all
came back together with a huge bang.
I couldn't have asked for a more perfect start to the night.

After a very short set break,  they wasted no time getting back to kicking
our ass.  I have always been a bigger phan of the older 8-10 minute sleek,
hard versions of Piper where they build it slowly and delicately.  But I
must admit this was, along with the Big Cypress version, Piper's best hard
jamming version I've heard.  They laid into the rock and roll, never losing
each other for the entire 15 min. or so of the jam.  It slowed into what
could have lead to a 2001 before resting into Mist.  This song is so
beautiful, it leaves quite the peaceful feeling.  Waves was the perfect song
to follow such a peacful Mist.  Trey and Page tossed their delicate sounds
around and over and through.  I was actually shocked at how crazy everyone
was going during this jam.  Tweezer kept the explosiveness flowing.  And
like Piper, Wolfman's, and Taste,  they rocked harder and tighter than I've
ever heard.  I'd say after 12 min. I heard one of the coolest segues ever.
Fish was going nuts and then trey busted into one of the best placed NICU's.
Everyone was nicley surprised to hear this.  After the Leo fiesta in Alpine,
Mike got the nod for the solo after and seriously stressed "catussssssssss"
in the song.  Cavern was  as intensed and loud as I can remember.  The place
was on fire.  I hoped we'd get just one more treat and, well, thank you guys
for the offering.  YEM busted out and everyone seemed in tears of overjoy
for the offering.  YEM was tight of course,  but I swear the build to "Boy!"
lasted a full 3 seconds longer than normal.  What F@#cking intensity and
release!  I was exhausted from some seriously hard dancing.  I don't think I
could have sat down for a second all night even if I had to.  Again, the jam
was pure fire and R&R.  My sister was experiencing her first show and said
this was the coolest song she'd ever heard, and had never heard Junta
before.  She asked me during the vocal jam if they were singing the song
backwards!

I have really come to love the late show feeling brought on by Velvet Sea.
It used to disappoint me, but it's so emotive that you can't help but love
it.  I actually had a friend in tears during this song.  I was so lost in
Trey's amazing sounds that I thought this was the last song, completely
forgetting we had earlier heard Tweezer.  Trey laid into the opening riffs
and I became so stoked that I was surprised that I think I jumped 10 feet
high.  So they blew the ends out of the show.

This was definately one of the best 3 shows I've ever seen.  Thank you boys
for such a powerful treat!  I really envy those going to the upcoming shows.
They boys have never been on such fire!

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 19:24:00 -0400
From: Sam Welch 
Subject: 7-26 ATL Review

This is my first review and I never read the long song by songs myself so
this should be short....
Being from the Atlanta area I've been to many shows at Lakewood (Phish and
others) but have never experienced traffic like on Saturday.  What in the
hell happened?  Anyway, I missed Wilson and CT&B but walking in to the Wedge
is never a bad thing.  This was a good show all around with a great
funk-nasty Wolfman's highlighting the first set and the entire second being
great, especially from Tweezer on.  Definitely take a listen to the segue
from tweezer to NICU which was (to me) one of the coolest I've heard.  The
only disappointment to me (to reiterate the previous review) was the encore.
Everyone in the place new Tweezer reprise was going to be part of the encore
and I'd say most people were pretty excited to hear it.  But from the
opening notes of Velvet Sea the energy and anticipation were sucked right
out of the place.  This is my second time in three shows (Cincinnati in
Feb.) that I've seen Velvet Sea as an anticlimactic encore to an otherwise
energetic and fun show.  I agree that this song has its merits but when
people start leaving the amphitheater as soon as Page hits the first notes
that's not a good sign.  One song should not be able to totally steal the
fire from another but the Atlanta encore proved this can happen.  As hyped
up as the crowd usually would be for Tweeprise it just wasn't there as a
direct result of Velvet Sea.  I think I can understand why the boys feel
this is an appropriate encore as the song does have a certain sentimental
quality which could be used to cap what they felt was a great show
themselves appropriately.  But coupling this with a high-energy crowd
favorite just didn't work.  I probably sound like an over-critical ass who
can't enjoy a show because of one song that I don't particularly enjoy, but
I just can't stand walking out of a great, high energy, funky,
rockin-and-rollin show with a bad taste in my as well as most everyone
else's mouths.  So anyway, check out the Atlanta show for another great
show, just don't expect much from the encore.
Sam

Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 10:20:23 -0500
From: Jonathan Barrineau 
Subject: Hotlanta Review

This is my first review, so please bear with me. I will preface my comments
by saying that I am one of those who hasn't seen many shows, I have traded
alot, but my job and my life have not really allowed me to catch all that
many shows.On to my review.........

Started in from Birmingham, This was my girlfriends first show, and I was
glad to finally be able to show her what this band and community are all
about. Cruised right on in to Lakewood, no problems here but I heard from
multiple people that the traffic getting in got worse as the show
approached.Oh well, get there early I guess.

I could tell right off that there was a great amount of energy pre-show,
Shakedown was on, and there was a buzz in the air. A note about Shakedown
though...those fries sucked!(There was some guy yelling at everyone to try
his buddies' fries, seemed like he never stopped, pretty hilarious if you
ask me, very Tony Little-eque energy if you knw what I mean, which made it
even more hilarious).
This was my first show sober and I must say that this is the way to go,
definitely had a better time and picked up on more stuff during the show.

What would they open with?, I was calling Tube, but.......WILSON!Fit the
mood very well,I was digging the chant and off we go! I love this rocker and
this was definitely indicative of the energy of the night which went into a
fun CTB. From this point I proceeded to shake my ass off until sometime late
Sunday night in Raleigh. Wedge was a nice treat and I think Fishman was
gloating a bit after this one. Next up, It's Ice. Great stuff going on here,
a nice little jam, more ass shaking.MMGMIO was tight as was the band the
ENTIRE night giving us little time to cool off.Wolfman's was Wolfmans, who
am I kidding?!? This was the highlight of the first set for me, incredible
jam, a little short, but they brought the funk that made this a monster in
97.Damn that was a great song to hear. Mexican Cousin was well played and to
be honest, I needed a breather so insert any song here and me and my body
are happy.Guyute aghh Guyute. At this point I would like to go off on a bit
of a tangent. I was not happy at first to hear this tune, there were so many
others that I wanted to hear, but when this Phish is on and clicking on all
cylinders, it can make you throw that attitude right out the door. I enjoyed
this Guyute probably as much as any other tune that they could have
played(except for Maze or YEM, I wanted a Maze or YEM more than anything).
They were tight all the way through the first set and I was sure this was it
for Set 1. Nope...Taste and if there is a better version of this out there,
prove it, I don't think I have heard one. Great extension to the set.On
paper one might say that this first set was on the weaker side, but I am
here to tell you that it was tight from beginning to end. All about energy,
just a great time all around.

I kept bumping into old friends at setbreak, it was nice. I ran into my old
college buddy Brett who was with me at my first show, so that was special to
me.

On to the 2nd set.Get the tapes(or discs in this day and age). Don't ask,
just get them.

Piper?? Again, I wanted some other stuff here, but the jam out of this one
rocked me so hard that I took my "I don't wanna hear this" attitude and
chucked right out the door. Another example of what a well played tune can
do to you. Amazing jam, went out there for a while, came back and gave us
some Mist. Beautiful tune, very glad I got to hear this one. Waves was next
and I remember my girlfriend asking me what it was, I told her it was new
and to just relax and catch the groove that they were about to throw at all
of us. I was right, they did. Waves was a personal highlight up to this
point, I had heard alot about it from one of my friends( we are always
debating on which RR song has the biggest jam potential),Waves was beautiful
and really hit the spot.Winding it down........Calling a
Tweezer...........Got a Tweezer!!!! I love this tune and I had a friend of
mine bring up a point that I would like to make about this tune. He thinks
and I agree that they tend to go a little too far with Tweezer sometimes. If
you need an example...2.20.03 is a good example. Not every 20+ minute
version is a masterpiece. This band has to take risks to get that great
reward, but sometimes during Tweezer jams they lose me and the rest of us.
That being said, This Tweezer was on point, nothing fancy, just a straight
up rocker of a jam that had a tight little groove behind it.Tweezer was to
the point, which I think has been the theme of the tour from what I have
heard. I was off in never never land shakin my body and my girlfriend, at
her first show, tapped me on the shoulder and called her first segue!! NICU
mother fuckers!!! They definitely tore this version up. Mike was on all
night and we were treated to a gratuitous bass solo...PLaaaaayy it Cactus!!
And that he did. >>>>>Cavern, a flawless version(is there such a thing
vocally?)This tune made me happy and sad at the same time. I thought that
this was the end or beginning of the end of a short set, but no. Hell no! Y
E   M!!!!!!! This was one I thought the most about on the way in to Atlanta
and I probably would have given anything I had to hear it. Bliss from here
on out. Nice opening segment ,it was nice to hear them nail this one
compared to the 7.9.03 version. Very fluid during the delicate opening
sections, Nice work from Page, IT reference and off we go into a funky jam
segment. Gotta love the tramps, it blew my girlfiends mind that they
actually have a tramps segment. The vocal jam was dark and spooky and CK had
fun with this part, good to see him get some action. That single moment when
I heard them start YEM was the greatest live band experience that i have
ever had. No drugs, no distractions, just a great moment(I saw the 10.7.00
encore and can't remember a note of it).

For the encore we got a nice Velvet Sea, my girlfriend was really excited to
hear this one. I heard more groaning in here than I have ever heard at a
concert in my entire life. Get over it, leave, or do whatever you want, cry
me a river for all I care. This isn't YOUR band, they will play what they
feel like playing so get over it. Wading was sincere and well played and I
couldn't be happier with the selection, but what do I know, I haven't seen
50-800 shows like some have.Nice review above about the whole encore thing,
I can see it as being what they want to play and what they feel at the
moment. Tweeprise got us all rocking again and it was nice to see Trey
jumping up and down rocking his ass off like the show had just begun.


Sorry about the long winded review and the rants, I haven't heard the discs
yet, so I was unable to give many specifics on the jams.The energy of this
show epitomizes what I think this band and fanbase are all about.


Thank you Phish for playing for us, and playing so well.

Jonathan

Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 00:32:21 +0000
From: Michael Crail Rice 
Subject: Atlanta sucks!

.Hey phans!

Where do I even begin. I have been to 17 Phish shows counting Atlanta. 
Our trip took us to Charlotte first with what I thought was a sick-ass 
show! The Bathtub was unbelieveable. After leaving Charlotte we 
finally made it to Atlanta and sat in traffic for 2 hours, it would 
have been 3 without the shortcut. This is why I am so pissed! What is 
the only real southern show this summer and they put us to sleep! 
Granted the first set had its moments. The Taste was quite good, that 
was the moment. Guyute was standard and I wasn't sure how I liked 
Wilson as a first set opener. The crowd was huge and by Mexican Cousin 
you could feel the dissatisfaction in the air. In my stooper I 
hollered "give me some ac/dc bag!" Everyone around agreed. It was time 
for the boys to give us something to really move to.

Second set was filled with high hopes as the lights once again went 
down. Open second Piper, not a fan personally; but this version had 
some real soul to it. Allright, maybe they are gonna bounce back. To 
no avail. MTITM, talk about a let down! Fuck the breather, I came to 
get down! Then it happened, Tweezer kicks off a hell of a remainder 
for the second set. Everything was great, called the Cavern, loved the 
NICU, and you just can't beat an old school YEM including tramps and 
creepy vocal jam. 

O.K., the anticipation for the encore is thick. We know the Tweeprise 
is coming, but what are they gonna put in front of it? Ideas started 
flying, what about Haley's Comet, or Possum with a sick jam into 
Tweezer Reprise? Everyone on thier feet like kids on Christmas 
morning! Here it comes!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wading in the Velvet Sea. I could have shit my pants I was so let 
down! This was also the first time I have EVER heard Phish boo'd. Fuck 
it, they deserved it! And I don't want to hear any of that fair 
weather fan shit! Thousands of people drove a long way, sat in hours 
of traffic, and wasted time and money. It was like they were telling 
the south to go fuck ourselves! I wouldn't be so upset if the Raliegh 
set list wasn't so fucking good! I just hope I never witness that 
again! 

I don't want to talk bad about the most talented musicians in the 
history of rock bands, but come on! If you're gonna be the best you 
have a standard to measure up to, and in Atlanta the boys fell way 
short of that!

-- 

Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 01:35:26 -0500
From: Eric Scott 
Subject: Review of 7/26/03

id like to post a review, im assuming this is where you send them.


7/26/03 Phish@Hi-Fi Buys Ampitheatre, Atlanta GA

This date will stand out in my memory as the most incredible experience of 
the 16 years I've existed. The atmosphere at the show was just my idea of 
paradise. There were good vibes from everyone there, and they were all just 
like me. It made the town that I live in really look like what it is...a 
true shithole. My town is the opposite of what a Phish atmosphere is. The 
complete opposite. I would not have missed this show for anything, I'd have 
traded the whole summer for this one day. I enjoyed the trip over there 
thouroughly, I listened to mix CD's that I had made over the years, and just 
kicked back and enjoyed seeing the country. None of the songs on the mixes 
were phish songs however, I wanted to be starving for phish by 7:30. I 
remember standout songs on the trip that I listened to were American Pie, 
Tiny Dancer(I really wish phish would cover this, i bet page could blow 
elton john away), I Shall Be Released, and Scarlet Begonias. Those are 
phenomenal songs and they really put me in a musical mood. I arrived in 
Atlanta about 4:30 and met up with my freind that went to the show with me. 
It was obvious that the show was going to be packed, the place was crawling 
with phisheads. I hung out in the lobby of Best Western Airport East for a 
little while waiting on my freind, and must have seen about 15 or 20 people 
go by me every ten minutes that were wearing phish shirts. We started 
talking to a few of them. I remember some guy said NOT TO TAKE A CAR to the 
show, he said it was backed up for miles and the show would be halfway over 
by the time we got there. I believe the total number of people at the show 
was in excess of 34000. He suggested to call the hotel bus fair. So we took 
his advice and asked the hotel to call a van to get us. They arrived in 10 
minutes or so. The bus took us to the marta station. My freind's parents as 
well as mine road along with us until the end of the marta.

But this was when I truely knew that this night was going to be 
life-changing. I saw an INCREDIBLY beautiful rainbow that stretched all the 
way across the sky, it was so perfect, I believe it was a sign from 
God...it's true, I have pictures. That rainbow truely Divided the Sky into 
this astonishing severance of gray and blue that was truthfully a sight to 
see no matter who you are or what day it is. The fact that it just so 
happened to appear hours before my first show is proof that phish is unlike 
anything else to me.

When we got off the marta we headed to the bus where several more phans were 
hanging out. I remember overhearing two guys talking about phish's music, 
and how they hated when people talked throughout the whole show, that they 
were there to listen to music and they didnt want to listen to people 
talking, and I totally agree, I get pissed when I'm listening to a song and 
grooving in an awe of a jam, and someone taps me on the shoulder and tells 
me to turn or something, being interrupted is a bitch. The bus driver 
finally came. It was 6:00. One hour and 30 minutes until showtime. Every 
passing minute just increased my exitement level by 10%. The bus driver 
started to slow down, and the trees blocking the view cleared and I saw 
hundreds of cars in the lot on either side of the road, with lawn chairs and 
grills and tables with pipes and necklaces and shirts that people were 
selling. It was just what everyone had said it was, a sight that you just 
stand in awe of. I got off the bus, and saw all of these people holding 
signs up saying they needed tickets, and then right eside them were people 
holding tickets up saying tickets for sale. Kinda cracked me up. Everywhere 
I walked there was a cd player playing some awesome music. I remember 
specifically hearing the curtain, stash, and uncle johns band. I walked into 
the gates to the main parking lot, and heard someone come up behind saying 
he needed a big black furry ticket. Before I made it to the ampitheatre I 
thought there would be some chance of me running into someone that i knew, 
but those chances got slimmer and slimmer as the rest of the 34000 fans 
showed up. I asked someone for the time as I headed toward the enterance. It 
was 6:45. I decided to go on into the ampitheatre. I got up to the gate and 
they were checking everyones pockets, and I had a camera there that I wasnt 
supposed to have, and it had the picture of the rainbow on it and I wasn't 
about to give that one up very easily. I took the camera out of my pocket 
and put in my pants so that if he touched me it would be like sexual 
assault, but when i noticed that it was poking through my pants like I had a 
4"x5" boner, I decided to just put it in my back pocket and take my chances. 
And then i got checked and the guy that was checking everyone had dreadlocks 
and looked like as much of a phan as anyone there, and he checked all of my 
pockets except for the one that I had the camera in. then they checked my 
ticket and I was in. camera and all. I must say though, i didnt have the 
worst attack of paranoia at the checking station, i talked to some guy who 
said right as he realized that he had drugs in his pocket it was too late to 
go dispose of them and the guy found, just gave him a really pissed off look 
and said, and then just said HAHA ok man go on ahead it's cool. Anyways, i 
got in the place and saw these concession stands and people selling shirts 
and stuff and it was cool. I just kind of hung out there in the place, went 
to the bathroom, and then asked someone for the time, it was 10 minutes to 
showtime. Exitement was officially abound. I found a nice spot on the lawn 
in the shade and had a seat and listened to the music they had going and 
talked to some people, they were tuning the guitars and shit, and some guy 
was doing something with the drums and it sounded like fee, and a group of 
people sang the chorus to fee. There was this hot girl and she was cool as 
shit, and she went around blowing glitter in everyones face, I thought it 
was coke at first, but it wasn^Òt. one guy talked with me about how we had 
gotten into phish and he told me about some of the other shows he'd been to, 
particularly the nassau of 03 winter tour. He said that after tonight I'll 
be hooked for life.

I just laid back for a while then, and then I heard the crowd go nuts, and I 
looked up and saw the four greatest performers in the world. I was just 
beyond pumped at this point, and then my ears picked up 2 quiet notes...then 
two more. this pattern repeated in a gradual crescendo each time in the 
pause, the crowd and I screaming Wilson at the top of our lungs until 
finally they started tearing the place to peices with one of the best 
wilson's Ive ever heard, WHAT A WAY TO OPEN MY FIRST SHOW. This wilson led 
right into a CTB which had a very nifty jam, but then when i heard the wedge 
being started, i was grooving like a madman, i love that song. after that 
song ended, this cool girl looked at me and said I looked like I needed a 
high five, so I gave her a high five. she was freindly and a great dancer as 
well, very cool just wanting to have fun like i was. I then heard It's ice, 
which has some of my favorite lyrics, and i have never in my life seen a man 
move his hands as fast as trey does on that song. the my mind was a good 
breather, I love it, it's a great little bluegrass song, and then the 
wolfman's brother. the second verse of this song gives me chills. "It isn't 
who it would be, if it wasnt who it is". these lyrics show tom marshalls 
ingeniousness. Mexican cousin followed the wolfmans, and this song is 
growing on me very nicely, It's much better live than on the studio I have 
to say, but it's a good song i think and just keeps getting better. Guyute 
came next, which is one of the first phish songs i ever heard, and it really 
blew my mind and I was delighted to hear it, it was one of the highlights of 
the show in my opinion even though it was rather standard. Chris Kuruda 
worked the lights with extreme excellence. I saw phish's music in the
lights, He is truly the fifth member of the band. This led into taste, which 
I never really have liked......until now, this taste was unbelievable, the 
jam must have gone on for longer than 15 minutes, a very nice way to close 
out a set.

Had a few good laughs in the bathroom during the setbreak. The place was 
packed. I went to the back stall where i thought the least people would be. 
This guy came out of the stall and is like, hey man could you flush that 
toilet for me, some guy pushed him aside quite forcefully and said "Why 
don't you just get the fuck out of the way and let me take a piss?!" I 
thought that was pretty damn funny, but then on the way out, i had a laugh 
that surpassed that one, when i saw a guy who had gotten tired of waiting 
and just decided to piss on the wall. I almost fell down laughing so hard. I 
made my way back out, and got a chicken sandwich and tried to weasel my way 
into getting a daquari, but they asked for my card so i just got a coke 
instead. I remember standing in line, some girl went on forever about how 
bad she was wanting a pizza, and then when she got up there she got a 
chicken sandwich instead of ordering a pizza.

I went back and sat in my spot and ate and as soon as i finished the crowd 
went wild again and the four best musicians came out again. I heard a very 
silent Piper begin and this is one of the best pipers I've ever heard, 
incredible piper, one of the highlights of the show. This is where the 
glowring's/glowsticks were brought out in full force. I got a picture, it 
was quite a sight. the piper had a sick segue into mist, which i had a never 
heard before. Mist was a very quiet song with beautiful lyrics. I remember 
during this song I just sat down and laid my head back and admired the 
beauty of the bands playing. I did the same for most of waves, I love waves, 
my favorite song on round room, and the jam is just so peaceful as are the 
lyrics. Chris did a masterful job on the lights on this song as well, the 
lights were perfect, swirling green and cerulean blue, totally gave me and 
image of waves, plus I had just gotten back from the beach, so I was 
especially delighted to hear this song. Tweezer was then cranked right out 
of waves. This is a song that I believe you have to see live to apreciate. I 
can't stand hearing it on cd, it's just boring, but live, it's just a 
bouncing funfilled jam, and I was just in awe of the lights. NICU came out 
of tweezer, and this song has my favorite lyrics. Excellent song always a 
delight to hear, but then the cavern came right out of it, 3 segues in a 
row! the cavern was a good one, this particular version sent me to another 
dimension, when they started singing the chorus at the end, i forgot where I 
was, I forgot that they were playing. It was unbelievable. and then, omg, 
out of the cavern came YEM!!! i jumped so high I nearly broke my foot coming 
back down. a flawless version, with a great jam. in the wierd part in the 
beginning, right after the intro, i just sat down and relaxed a little. 
stood back up when page and trey played in unison, and then they just 
flawlessly played until the jam, and what a jam it was. I got a picture of 
Trey and Page jumping on the trampolines. that is phenomonal that they can 
do that, i dont see how they synchronize there moving. It's amazing. the jam 
came to an end, and then they got the vocals going. it was a funny little 
vocal jam, the vocal jams always crack me up. but then it was over. they 
left, and then the lighters were lit, wanting an encore. they came out and 
played wading, which was ok, wouldnt have been my first encore choice, but 
it was a great version, and page has my favorite voice in the band. the 
tweezer reprise was a perfect finish to an awesome night. I got the guy's 
attention that said I would be hooked and said that he was definitely right.

we made our way out then and just kind of chilled out in the lot, everyone 
got ran out of the ampitheatre by security. out in the lot they were 
shooting off fireworks and listening to music and selling all kinds of 
stuff. me and my freind were walking around looking for something fun to do,
i bought a mountain dew and went and talked to some people selling shirts. 
It was really fun, everyone was so freindly, and carried on cool 
conversations. like the crowd is so accepting. I guess thats an advantage of 
living in a shithole, I get to appreciate good people that much more. Then 
me and my freind started trying to look for a way out, on the way out I 
bought an antelope sticker and got a tour date poster. i heard some people 
comparing the grateful dead and phish, and it was the best way ive ever 
heard it said. They are two completely different types of music, both are 
great, but they are different. it's the spirit and the atmosphere that is 
the same. We made our way up to the street to the marta bus stop, but 
something crossed our mind as we got there. It was fucking midnight, the 
buses didnt run this late. so we didnt panic, we just went up to the shell 
station up the street with the rest of the phans. i got a slushie and used 
the payphone. some guy out in the front of the building was handing ginger 
ales out, saying that since we were too young to have real beer, wed have to 
settle for that. we just kind of chilled out there for a while. I couldnt 
get the damn payphone to work, it kept saying i needed to add the area code 
with the number and when i did that it said the number was disconnected. I 
was getting pretty frustrated at that point, as were other people by the 
payphone, this guy got his car towed started cussing out his mom, he was 
pissed. then i just went and found these cops up the hill and thought i 
would ask for some advice on what to do in my situation. he says, "Well, 
there is a bus stop up the street, but I wouldnt go there, kids like you get 
robbed and murdered all the time in this neighborhood." thats all he said, i 
mean what an asshole cop, so much for serve and protect. we just headed back 
to the ampitheatre at this point. I was asking around for a cell phone, 
though no one seemed to have one. i was also offering the ginger ale that 
guy gave me, i wasnt thirsty and i was tired of carrying it. no one wanted 
it either. we made it back to the lot without getting buttfucked by 
crackheads, and we found some freindly phish phans again. we started asking 
around for cell phones again, still no one had any. we saw this one guy who 
needed someone to jump his car. these other guys were right beside him and 
there car was working and they were like, well, we wont help you, but why 
dont you ask that tow truck over there, im sure he'll give you a hand. i 
also saw some drunk guys get in a fight, and they were like rhyming insults, 
one called one a snitch, and then the other one called him a bitch. they 
started fist fighting in some guys tent and the guy who owned the tent 
kicked both there asses because he had a two year old in the tent they were 
fighting in. im glad he did, dumb fucks shouldnt fight, it's stupid. we saw 
a girl who was threatening people who wouldnt let her get on the road. we 
finally ran across a guy that let us use his cell phone. he said we were 
lucky cause it was free that late at night. he started talking to us about 
the show and our predicament. i called up the number of the hotel, and i got 
an answer. this guy picked up and i was like oh yeah finally we get through 
to them. im like "where have you guys been, come and pick us up the bus 
doesnt run this late." hes like, "who in the fuck is this" i was like, oh 
shit, i started asking him what room number he was in, hes like im not 
giving your drunk ass my room number(i was sober btw), i asked him for the 
number to the hotel front desk, and he hung up on me the prick. then i asked 
what the number what again, and i got the last number wrong, and then i 
laughed my ass off. then i tried calling the real number and it had been 
disconnected. then the guy suggested calling information, and i guess i had 
breathed in a little too much second hand pot smoke because i dialed the 
area code and then the info number and no answer, and the guy is like, 
man..are you ok..you look a little whacked. i thought that was funny. then 
he and i and my freind just started talking. he said he went to college in 
LSU, and was a fourth year freshman, making 3000 a month delivering pizza. 
he said he fails because he doesnt like missing shows for class. He said the 
atlanta show was rather weak compared to some other ones he had seen that 
tour, but it was great I thought, or good enough for me. i was still trying
to work with the cell phone and some of his freinds just said, ok lets go 
man, so he wished us luck and apologized for not being able to help us and 
then we were stuck in the ghetto's of atlanta at 3 in the morning, two 16 
year old boys with fresh tight ass just waiting to be raped. we decided to 
just go back to the bus stop and hang out, we got so bored sitting there 
that we decided to pull out these walky talky's we had and talk to eachother 
like 5 feet away. then i saw something fucked up, i didnt know what the hell 
was going on. i saw this woman and she was pushing a baby stroller around in 
the middle of the street, in the middle of a 4 lane highway, cars pulled up 
behind this psycho and followed her going about 5 miles an hour, instead of 
just passing her in the other lane. i didnt know what the hell was going on. 
then we just started fucking around on the walky talky's, and cussing and 
making fun of people who were on the same channel as we were, and then all 
of a sudden we here......"JOSEPH AND ERIC!"(our names). i was like, !FUCK! 
it was his and my dad they were within two miles of us looking for us, so we 
started talking to them we are like, GET US PRYOR STREET! PICK US UP! then 
they eventually pull up and pick us up and i was terrified of them being 
like, so guys, how the fuck are you(we said fuck a lot on channel 10). but 
they didnt, and we looked at the clock and it was 3:30. we about 4 hours 
give or take walking aroun the streets of atlanta in the middle of the 
night. we made it home finally, and just hung out in the room, i still have 
the can of ginger ale as well as my ticket and all the other souvineirs i 
bought. we got home and then went and ate at ihop and made it out of there 
about 5, and then i just went to my room and sat on the back porch singing 
songs and watching the sun come up. it was easily the best day of my life. 
The concert was everything i hoped it would be and much much more, and im 
hooked for life, and what a life it will be. Phish truely is the greatest 
band ever

If by some miracle, Phish will read this, THANK YOU FOR THE LIFECHANGING 
EXPERIENCE!

Eric Scott

Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 09:34:00 -0400
From: garrett phillips 
Subject: 7/26/03


7/26/03 review

Oh, the irony that is Phish.  If anyone needs a handy reference for what
actually is ironic, look no further than 7/26/03 in the ATL!

First of all, this was my 42nd show, 1st, (and only), of this tour, and my
first since the reunion.  It occurred to me that I was basically getting away
with murder by catching of show of this magnitude on a one-in-twenty shot, but
hell---I^Òll take it!  But I digress---on to the show^Å

I^Òll sum this up quickly for those of you who were at Big Cypress, (and stayed
awake), for the music at dawn.  Remember right at daybreak, after an epic night
of jamming, when the moment just screamed for something like The Divided Sky
and you were hit with the opening notes from Wading?  Well, that sums up what
we got tonight, and the irony I referred to earlier. 

Having a show absolutely smoke from beginning to, (almost), end.  Having a Deer
Creek hangover wholly blown out of the water with some just on fire versions of
everything they played.  Having an energy level so fucking high and a sense,
even from the first set, that we may be enjoying an all-timer and then somehow
feeling utterly cheated in the end is the definition of ironic. 

The fact that I^Òm actually complaining about a show that had the sickest
Cavern I^Òve ever heard, the sweetest, most well-placed NICU, a great set
one-extending Taste, the who-planned-for-this?, super- kind It^Òs Ice that
followed a sick little Wedge, of all things, is really ridiculous; but if you
were there, you know exactly what I mean.  I^Òve never seen so many people just
plain pissed off at a song placement and words can^Òt justify how palpable the
energy drain, the fucking chance wasted, that the sinister opening to Wading
brought down on this affair. 

Now to be fair, Wading is a sweet song.  It has it^Òs place, and lots of bands
would do well to have a kind little ballad like this in their bag o^Ò tricks. 
When I^Òve been on a multi-show run, I^Òve actually enjoyed the ditty, but not
here, not now!  Anyway, for those who wonder what vagueness makes or breaks a
show, this is a fine example: song placement.  It was truly mind-boggling to
see what would have been revelers screaming, skipping and spinning into the lot
instead left with a look one exhibits after a bird shits on your freshly-washed
car. 

As an aside, coincidentally enough, I encountered a guy, (completely unrelated
to the show scene), who^Òs a sound engineer/stage manager guy later in the
evening, who actually worked with Phish in Athens in the late 80^Òs when they
were doing ^Óhome and home^Ô shows with WSP.  (He also told a great story about
Mike busting ass off his trampoline, but that^Òs neither here nor there).
Anyway, he made the point that the encore is what the band wants to play, plain
and simple.  The whole show up until then is to please the crowd, but the
encore is what they want to do and the statement they feel like making at the
time.  This guy even went so far as to say that when the likes of last night^Òs
crowd drops off and dismisses the song they^Òre playing that it^Òs a slap in
the face to them.  They feel as if it^Òs a crowd of fair-weather friends, if
you will.  I^Òd love to hear Phish comment on this matter, that^Òs for sure. 
In any event, there^Òs certainly a life^Òs lesson in all of this
somewhere---that us Phish phans are just musically spoiled beyond belief is
perhaps one of them. 

All negativity aside, though, if you are on the rest of this tour, I envy you. 
The band is heat right now!  I^Òd put this show in my top five even with the
unfortunate conclusion---amazing stuff!  It feels like they^Òve never been
gone.  If they^Òre headed your way, get you some tickets and let one of the
greatest guitarists anywhere blow your mind all over again!  Oh, and whaddup to
my boys from Gettysburg---sorry I couldn^Òt take up with you^Å

 

Garrett Phillips

garrettph@hotmail.com

Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 09:05:24 -0400
From: Randy Ory 
Subject: July 26, 2003 -- Atlanta Show

Ok. I am going to admit upfront that I am not the seasoned Phish phollower that
generally chimes in on the review page. I came to Phish late in life and while
I have a significant amount of their music (live and studio) on CD, my concert
count is not one to be boastfully shared.  >From the perspective of many, this
level of naiveté may render me disqualified to properly judge this show.  So,
judge I will not. Just a few musings.....
 
If you look at the setlist, you'll find no Lawn Boy....no Pebbles & Marbles nor
Walls from Round Room....one track from SOTG, no Possum, no Divided Sky, no
Bowie, no AC/DC Bag, no Mike's Song nor Weekapaug.  Damn, how could this show
measure up? However, in the spirit of that old 70s tune, "....if you can't be
with the one you love, love the one you're with....", let me pass a few humble
observations on what we did hear.....
 
From the opening thumps of Wilson to the fading frames of the Reprise of
Tweezer, this show pulsed, in my opinion. First set highlight was a toss up of
Wolfman or Taste.  The back to back Rift pieces were nice and Guyute, while
typical, was great.  (I hate all the review comments that call some live
material "typical" or "nothing new here." ----- seems equivalent to say, "it
was a typical springtime in Paris)
 
Opening Set II with Piper was outrageous. It raged for nearly 20 minutes.
MITM gave the crowd some breathing time, after the Piper run (would like to
hear comments from those more experienced on how this Piper compared).  I
really like Round Room (geez, don't tell anybody), but Waves would have not
been my first choice.  Foolish me.  This version was nearly the gem of the
entire show and kicked off about 50 minutes of pure musical bliss.  Being about
20 years older than the average Phish phollower, I am guessing I have seen a
much wider range of concerts. But across about 30 years of concert experiences
(including Allman Bros, Yes, Genesis (with Peter Gabriel), Tull, Frank Zappa,
Todd Rundgren, The Who) I would be hard pressed to find a better live sequence
than Waves-Tweezer-NICU-Cavern-YEM.  To be sure, there were probably far better
interpretations of each of these individual pieces from previous shows (and to
be sure, we're sure to hear that from some of the phaithful) ---- but this
particular string, oddly fitted together, put an ear-to-ear smile on my face
for what amounted to nearly 1/3 of the total show time.
 
For those counting, I had the first set clocked at 1:18, the second set at 1:23
and the encore at 12 mins.
 
I'd would really like to go to Raleigh tonight, but I have to work in the
morning.  There, I said it-----confession, is good for the soul.
 
Randy

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