9-17-00 -- Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland

Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 13:59:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Muir mikeythebull_99@yahoo.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: 9/17/00 Review

It has been about 10 months since the fall 2000 tour, so i figured it was about time to
write some reviews.  The 9-17 show at Merriweather Post was, in my opinion, the best of
the fall tour.  Many may talk about about Trey's birthday and all the breakouts, or
Shorline for its sentimental value, but based on the music alone, Merriweather is the
most mind-shattering.  The show began with Guyute.  This was basically a sound check
because many people were still arriving from the horrible lot scene.  So I consider this
show to begin with Back on the Train.  Pretty standard version, also contained hints of
the Free to come.  Next was Bathtub.  Also standard.  Nothing groundbreaking here.
 Limb gave Fish the oppourtunity to really warm up, good jamming, but again, nothing too
crazy.  Then came Moma.  Gordon had been feeling it since the Darien Lake show.  He
rocked on the Suzie jam there, and it continued on to the Tube jam in Hershey.  But this
was truly his night to shine.  Moma had a great feeling from the start.  Good pace, nice
space between everyone, and excellent trades between Trey and Mike.  The fact is everyone
had warmed up and was ready to deliver.  Moma finished at about 10 minutes, standard
length, but it contained some excellent grooves.  Then we got the first lawn boy of the
tour.  Always fun to see Page, and a nice break to prepare for what was to come.  The
next 30 minutes are some of the best i have ever heard.  To start we got treated to the
first Fluffhead of the tour.  Gordon was filling in like he really wanted to be there.  
Fish was a machine, and Trey was flawless.  Every section was played to perfection, with
a particularly wonderful "arrival."  Trey led the outro jam like none I have heard.  
This version blows Darien Lake '97 out of the water, my previous favorite.  They didn't
string it out either.  At 15 minutes, the length was perfect.  Then, if that wasn't
enough, then continued to bust out the old school tunes with the second Curtain With
since 1988.  Now, don't get me wrong.  The Deer Creek version was spectacular and played
to the letter.  But being the second song in that first set, it just didn't have the
impact that the merriweater version did.  Placed perfectly as song 8/9 in a 1:45 set,
this was it.  For some reason i knew they were going to play the With, even though they
hadn't in New York.  The Curtain was perfect.  Good pace, good fills from Mike, and a
tightness that has to be heard to understand.  But then came the With.  This was slower
than the Deer Creek version, and everyone seemed much more comfortable.  I could see how
they were nervous having not played it live for 12 years.  But this time they were right
on.  They moved through the composed section effortlessly, and then came the jam.  This
was also less structured than 7/12, probably because they felt more comfortable.  
Everyone was taking turns, feeding off each other beautifully.  It was the 4 headed
monster at its best.  The points of arrival in the 7 minute jam are amazing, with Trey's
playing standing out above the others.  They all created so much room for each other that
it's almost inhuman.  Many people talk about the Bathtub from the Went as the definition
of Phish.  I agree that is an outstanding piece of work.  But when considering the
context in which the Curtain With was played, (following a perfect Fluffhead, taking us
back to 1988 with the 2000 style,) I would have to say that this takes the cake.  If
aliens landed on earth and said, "who is this Phish we've been hearing about," I would
play this Curtain With for them.  This is Phish.  At 15 minutes, it was perfect.  Trey
seemed to speak with his playing, writing paragraphs and finishing every thought.  Now,
they should have ended the set right there, but Trey wanted to play Chalkdust, and the
others obliged him.  Good version, some flubs, but excellent jamming.  I just felt that
it didn't fit the flow of the set, but either way, a high energy way to end.  Then came
set 2.  The girl behind us said she really wanted to hear Rock n Roll, and this was the
only show she was seeing in the fall. (Boy did she pick a good one.) And what do you
know, they opened with a 15 min Rock n Roll.  Excellent version, wonderfully slow pace
compared to other versions of the year, and the jam that followed was great, almost
ambient.  This led smoothly into the first Theme of the tour.  Played very well with
Gordon obviously making his presence felt, the ending jam was superb, with mike taking
leads and filling in places i had never heard him before.  While technically unfinished,
they played it to completion before Mike took over.  The jam out of theme was absoulutely
sinister, that's the only way to describe it.  Now, mike had been toying around with this
theme in Hershey in the Tube jam.  He and everyone else knew exactly where they were
going.  They ended up at Dog Log.  They wanted to kick us one, probably since the
beginning of the tour, but waited for the night when they had it, and having all ready
pulled off a perfect Fluffhead and a monumental Curtain With, they went for it.  After a
quick key change, we got treated to a dark, funky version of the phan favorite.  Again,
an excellent pace and wonderful communication made this a standout version, like none
played before.  When looking back, Mike was playing Dog Log since they started Theme From
the Bottom, but we had no way of knowing.  With the intro jam included, this came in at
about 7 minutes, way long by Dog Log standards.  They wanted to jam, that's all there is
to it.  Next came Mango.  Hard to play well, they pulled it off with minimal problems, a
nice break after another sick 30 minutes of jamming.  And while Mango was also
technically unfinished, they played it out and into a rave style trace jam with Trey
fooling around on the keyboard.  While this is something i normally don't care for, this
jam was great.  It seemed like everything they did had a purpose and destination.  After
about 5 minutes of crazy lights and trace techno, we got what we knew was coming since
Get Back.  This version of Free, very similar to the Deer Creek one, was very structured.  
After the opening and verses, mike took off again, leading the way.  He was bubbly as
everyone jammed around him.  We all knew this was the end of the set, so we enjoyed it to
the full extent.  Great pace, (that seems to be the theme of the night, ) and a good
length, coming in at 10 minutes made this the best Free of the year.  With a soulful
ending that truly left us feeling free, this night was one for the books.  And since the
second set belonged to mike, they gave him contact and rocky top for the encore, making
this a no repeat second set.  Upon reflection, this was a truly monumental night.  We got
kicked definitive versions of three pre-90's songs, the first Free to ever close a show,
and a collective energy that would not be matched by any of the shows that followed.  Of
course they were gonna blow our heads off at least one night on the east coast, and this
was it.  Chris was amazing, and the pavilion of merriweather lent itself to his
abilities.  Paul was way on with his mix, and the crowd gave off some great vibes that
the boys obviously felt. In my opinion this was the second best show of the year, coming
in closely behind an unhuman performance in Tennessee which can not be compared to
anything.  Merriweather was a night for the phans, and the boys truly delivered.  If you
weren't there, get a copy and be prepared not to move until it's over.  P.S.  Thanks to
Keith.  Your generosity is truly appreciated, and we will never forget fall 2000.

Michael.


Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 15:55:48 -0500
From: Nick S. charactero@hotmail.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: 9-17-00 merriweather review (if you would like to use it)
 
Well, here I am sitting and reflecting on Merriweather and still can't
believe I was 2nd row.  Anyways, I think it is about time I let out my
feelings about this phabulous show.  First of all the lot scene was fairly
bad but not as bad as Hershey.  I was with 3 car-fulls and unfortunately; I
only had two 2nd row tix.  Anyways, Phish was on a tight schedule because of
the Merriweather curfew so my friend and I trucked it through the multiple
ushers, proudly showing our ticket stubs.  We get to the seat and I am
already trembling from a mixture of anxiousness and amazement, all from just
soaking in the stage set-up from a matter of a few feet away.  I knew I was
in for the ride of my life!  All of a sudden, we spot the boys entering the
stage and everyone stands up and goes nuts. They start the ride off with:
GUYUTE - One of the most beautiful songs in the Phish arsenal.  Pretty
standard version but super tight.  Didn't expect this one so quick in the
show but a great song to get the head spinning.
BOTT - A really fun dance/groovin' song when they jam it, which they did on
this occasion.  Danced my happy ass off!
BATHTUB GIN - Again, a fun song.  Page showed us his stuff and I was still
dancing harder than ever!  Really tight version.  Fun, happy songs so far...
LIMB BY LIMB - (A little side note: The 2 minute delay before Limb was due
to Trey getting a new processor hook up.)  Anyways, I am almost sure that
this song is my favorite.  My license plate reads: LMBXLMB so I am partial
to this song, but can you have just one fav.? Doubt it.  By the way, they
ripped this song for me:)  I am loving this show at this point but lucky for
me I didn't know what was in store later on.
MOMA DANCE - I always have loved this song.  Sooo energetic..."...mind the
skipper, we will not fail!"
LAWNBOY - Page took the mic and walked to the edge of the stage to sing his
song lounge style, and where were my seats?  Behind Page.  He sang the whole
song right in front of my friend and I. When Page finished, he glanced over
to Trey and Trey had his hand in his pocket making rubbing motions (like
playing pocket pool) towards Page and Page just smiled back.  I didn't think
anything of this at the time except for a chuckle, but when I saw the
Bittersweet Motel movie, there is a scene where Trey is poking fun at Page
backstage about him singing lawnboy. (Those who saw the movie should know
what I am talking about.) It was the perfect song for everyone to spark up
before the long awaited (by me):
FLUFFHEAD - I was feeling real nice at this point and this is how they treat
me, with a sick fluff.  Man, no wrong could be had on this night.  So far,
this show has been a bundle of joy! What is next from Vermont's Phunky
Phour???
THE CURTAIN WITH - NO WAY!  What did I do to deserve this?  The second
curtain with since 88!! I saw The Curtain on 7-7-00 so I was happy to hear
it again but when they busted the slow rift in there, my jaw went through
the ground.  Phriends, it was so beautiful.  Reality had slipped me by on
fluff and this song just kept me in a trance.  A trance that was soon to be
broken by a traditional set closer and probably one of the most energetic
Phish songs:
CHALKDUST - This was your standard Chalkdust but in the second row, nothing
is standard.  This one had my heart going 1000 miles a second and had me
grinning from ear to ear.
Poof!! The lights come back on. Back to reality for the moment and time to
find all of our friends to have a quick sess. in the lawn.  I could have
left right then and be happy with what I just had seen.  What a nasty first
set from the boys.  They are Gods of music!  Well back down the trail to row
BBB:)  Well, I knew the second set opener wasn't going to be Jiboo since I
saw it the show before.  I was guessing Runaway Jim but to my surprise it
was:
ROCK AND ROLL - I love this tune.  It is such a happy riff.  Once again I
was dancing my ass off and my face was starting to hurt from all the
grinning I was doing:)  R&R ended in a melodic fashion with Henrietta
smacking the high hats.  Is it Theme or Bowie??? It is:
THEME - what a sweet song.  I love this one.  Nice all the way through.
Just as they were about to do the build up part at the end, they eased off
of the build up and segued into an extremely crazy song:
DOG LOG - oh man, this song is so dark and eerie (in an outstanding way).  I
love it!  Time to slip away once again to another world.  Another segue on
the way, right into:
MANGO > JAM - This song brought the mood back to a colorful and happy state.
  All of a sudden, Mango morphs into a Spacey mind-boggling jam that all but
paralyzes me.  So far, the whole set had been segued into one long
continuous thrill ride, however, they would seg. one more time for us.  Out
of the Jam came:
FREEEEEEE - Yipeeeeeeeee!!!! This is the one song in the summer and fall I
have been waiting to hear!  Free just kept avoiding me.  They just wanted to
save it for me on my big night:) A beautiful glow-stick war ensued during
Free so I threw the few I brought in to add to the streaking colors of light
flying throughout the air.  Please someone tell me what I did to get so
lucky. "I'm Freee, Freeeeeeeeee!!!" WOW!
Time to grab my lighter to hold high in the air!  What a set!  Here they
came, back on stage to the glow of thousands of lighters.  What is next??
CONTACT - Get'um Mike!  What a nice song.  Sooo pretty.  Trey and Mike led
the phans in the arm wave, back and forth.  Thank you phellas!!  Wait, one
more?!
ROCKY TOP - Fun song to send us on our way.  Good ole Rocky Top.
 
Well, I love you Phish for the electrifying experience of this show (and
each and everyone I have seen thus far)!  Sorry the review was so long but
when you are as close as I was, there is much detail to get out.  Thanks for
your time my phriends!
                                                        Nick Sgroi
PS---What made this night even better was that my friend and I were on the
jumbo screen all night long.  My friends on the lawn saw us on screen and
couldn't believe it.  I was on there at least 5 times for like 10-second
intervals (according to my phriends).  What a reception us two got when we
met back in the lots with all of our phriends!  Truly priceless!!  Trey,
Mike, Jon, and Page: Keep on, keep-onin^Ò!!!!!

Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 23:28:57 EST
From: Phish7799@cs.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: Merriweather Post 2000
 
This review is a few months coming, but I felt that I am finally ready to
give a perfect review of this killer show - after hearing the CD.
{note to reader: this is gonna be pretty long so skip it if you want}
First off, me and my friend had to drive to Philly to pick up my friend Frank
and deliver him to MD and then drive him back and drive another two hours
home.  So this show had a lot of bitching behind it and prayers for a great
show.  After Hershey's Circus > ZERO to end the set, which I believe is the
worst set ender i've ever seen - musically it was great but i've heard Zero
at almost every show and they always encore or end the set with it and i
would've rather heard Jesus instead of Circus whick they were about to play.
But on to Merriweather.
Frank led us past the traffic and after a quick stop, where i lost my ticket
at this corner store and found it - thank you saint patrick and frank - we
went straight into the mall parking lot.  A lot of people selling extras for
like sixty bucks, but hey, whatever - it's your karma.  We walked around the
lot and were treated to he site of an entire patty wagon filled with phish
heads.  There was nothing in the lot so we headed in the venue where we
waited for ten-twenty minutes while these lame workers kept us there to ease
the flow of people - come on, man.  Anyway, we walked up this big ass lawn
and found ourselves at the top of the lawn where i heard the single funniest
thing ever said by someone working at the venue.  This lady said, "so this is
Phish", as all this people including myself skipped down the lawn durring
Guyute, laughing and dancing at the same time.  Hahahah
GUYUTE:  was awesome, best version i've ever heard and they freaked me out
durring the "elf" part.
BACK ON THE TRAIN: i used to love this song but this is way overplayed - but
this was an extremely funked out version of this and i hope they keep it like
this.
BATHTUB GIN: completly blew me away - got lost in the jam and MIKE was
playing his heart out and this kind of melted into:
LIMB by LIMB: rocked out version.  they really have taken a liking to this
song.
MOMA DANCE: they brought the funk plus i really forgot about this song for a
while and they just brought it out and everybody was dancing.  Fishman was
awesome on vocals
LAWN BOY: second time seeing this.  was a really clean and stunning when page
did the vocals.
FLUFFHEAD: yes!  this was Frank's pick.  and this was a great version of Fluff
THE CURTAIN WITH: love the song and the jam was phenominal
CHALKDUST: brought this out with a vengence, awesome version to end the set.
now my heart was absoultely racing and we found a nice place to sit down and
relax
but then they came back on
ROCK and ROLL: never heard this before {at all} and now find myself a huge
fan of this tune and then melted into
THEME: i called this one almost a month before hand and this was great and i
loved every minute of this.
then the unexpected came
DOG LOG: where the hell did this come from, my buddy dave said that they were
gonna play this and i laughed him off - who's laughing now!  this was a
really slow version and it quickly went into
MANGO: another song i forgot about, and the jam was really freaking trippy
them along came one of the best hard-rocking songs
FREE: mike was going nuts and these people around me were going Screw Dave
Matthews durring this song.  i guess they now know what phish is.
when the show ended, i hoped for an encore to remember because this was my
last show for however long their gonna rest, and when hey came back on and
began to play the number one song i've ever loved, a tear came to my eye
CONTACT: they must be telepathic - i was so overjoyed that i thought that i
would die then and i would be happy.  no one knows what this song means to me
except for frank and matt, and frank was there and shook my hand as they
began to play the best version i've ever heard.
ROCKY TOP: sent us away with a smile
this show was the number two or one show i've ever seen.
i can't believe they played all of my favorites and my favorite tune next to
MIKE's but hey this is what phish is all about.
ps: my buddy said that he knows the dude that's the roadie for JMP, and the
dude said 17-24 months.  see ya then,
Ryan
phish7799@cs.com

Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 16:58:24 -0400
From: Raj Mitra dkm9k@virginia.edu
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: 9/17 review
 
It's been a while since the show, but I wanted to let it sink in and look
back at it after listening to the tapes. I am now positive that the second
set was absolutely phenomenal. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
 
I: Guyute, Back on the Train, Bathtub Gin, Limb by Limb, Moma Dance, Lawn
Boy, Fluffhead, The Curtain With, Chalkdust Torture (~95 minutes)
II: Rock 'n' Roll > Theme From The Bottom, Dog Log, Mango Song > jam > Free
(~55 minutes) Encore: Contact, Rocky Top (~10 minutes)
 
 
I was scrambling to get to my section (Right Loge) during Guyute. So I only
caught the last half. It was cool. Not much else to say, you know.
 
BOTT: the begining of this song reminds me of possum. And vice versa. In
any event, a solid, rockin' version
 
Bathtub: This rocked. Awesome jam without heavy noodling. I enjoyed it.
 
Limb: Also very cool. But not as cool as:
 
Moma Dance: This rocked. I love this song, and trey played some excellent
rythm guitar. He had the wah on and would go down chromatically with the
chords...I can't explain it right, but it sounded cool as hell.
 
Lawn Boy: I've nevre seen it live, so I was psyched. It looked like Page
was happy to be doing it, so that was cool. Mike took a wonderful solo.
 
Fluffhead: Everyone was psyched, FLUFF-HEAD!
 
curtain With: I've never seen curtain live, much less curtain with. It was
cool though. At this point I was wondering if they would close with it,
asit was getting LATE for a first set....
 
Chalkdust: Nope, they bust into the definite closer of chalkdust. I dont
think there was anything notable about this version, just a rockin'
chalkdust to get us riled up.
 
Set II:
Rock'n'Roll: It was alright. wait a second, it wasn't alright...it was
awesome!!! they were having fun up there, you coudl tell. the jam that came
out was awesome...Just solid. I'm actually listening to it right now.
Trey's keyboard work is acutally pretty cool.
 
Theme: Never heard it live, but I love this song. it evolved so perfectly
out of rock'n'roll....rock'n'roll ended with fishman doing a beat on the
hihat, and then page busted in with the melody. although it seemed like it
could have gone into anything, like bowie. But i was quite happy with
theme. The jam they had going was tight! Page was playing this cool
arpeggio and Trey had some cool minor chords over it. But it was all about
mike. He had total control over the jam, and pushed it gently into Dog Log.
Check out the tapes, you'll see what I mean. He gingerly eased his way into
it, and once he was there (well once fishman caught on and changed from the
ride to the hihat) , he just grooved it.
 
Dog Log: Like i said, this rocked. My second dog log (12/18/99 being the
first I saw), and I think this one rocked harder than hampton. they seemed
to be more improvisational. Anyway, it kicked ass, and just as before, Mike
had some awesome grooves going.
 
Mango: I like this song a lot, but I dont know about hearing it live. I
mean it was cool, but I'd rather see...something else, I suppose. But the
jam that came out of mango was unlike anything I've heard or seen before.
Really cool. When Trey hopped on the keys, I was prepared for noodling that
I probably wouldn't be able to even hear. NOPE. instead, we got a really
cool groove/beat from mike and fish, and layers of texture from trey. Lots
of people have compared it to a rave, and I almost agree. It had a backbone
beat and trippy synth sounds. Definitely a welcome jam, and I was pretty
astounded that for once trey's noodling on the keyboard was audible.
 
Free: Trey totally set up the background for this. Then you can hear his
guitar whispering the muted chords....and bam! they break it out. Awesome
closer, great jamming, Mike's bassline, as usual, was just groovin'! Even
with all his effects, you can tell he's just an incredible musician. It was
just great!
 
Contact: Haven't heard this one in forever! This show was all about mike,
and I was happy for that. It was definitely fun, and the jam sections were
smooth! I would have been happy to leave after this, but...
 
Rocky Top: Never seen it live! It rocked! Just made everyone so happy! and
throw in the "PLAY IT LEO!!!!!" from trey, and you know they're happy
too!  Page stole the show from mike with this one, just ripping it up on
the piano! Phew!
 
Yeah, well, like i said, get this show and give it a listen.
 
Peas!
-Raj

Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 22:03:52 EDT
From: SloMan99@aol.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: hello there
 
i went to merriweather this evening with my daughter... her first phish
show....
she is 9... we were all excited... handed the security guard our tickets....
"These are counterfeit sir".... we didnt get to see phish... totally
bummed... totally upset...this is our last phish show for a while, and my
daughter was so diasppointed...
 
Thanks
Aaron

Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 08:00:59 -0400
From: SHANE THOMAS SHANE.THOMAS@FERGUSON.COM
Subject: My Phish Review: Merriweather Post 9/17/00
 
Fellow Gliders,
 
Let me start by saying there is no combination worse then the mixture of
cops and helicopters.  For those there.. you know what I mean.  For
those that experienced it all first hand.  Got Bail?  Now on to the
show.  The scene was excellent.  Oldschool Run DMC pumped proud in the
parking lot and delectables scurrying through the crowd.  I hope the
girl I hooked the ticket up with had a blast too.  Once inside, the temp
was set.  Hanging on the lawn in the thick of things.  Then the lights
go out..
Set 1.
They enter the stage to ruckus and answer it with that ugly pig GUYUTE.
Sounded great.  Siket style break in the middle made us aware of what
was to come.  The sound was rich and robust and Mikes bass thumped.  No
comparison to Hampton 98 but on that level.  After the grand Guyute left
the area, BACK ON THE TRAIN pulled in.  Again, tight and solid.  BATHTUB
GIN got us bouncing up and down like Jokers sporting the 3 horned caps
and the funkyness of LIMB BY LIMB broke us down.  By the way- Phishmen..
your cranium looks round.  Fresh cut.  Just when you though it was too
funky, MOMA DANCE rocks the vibe.  Nasty bass made me check my pants for
poo it was that stinky.  As the crowd gurgled with pleasure, Page hooks
it up with LAWNBOY.  Classic haming it up with the Vegas style
chirping.  Then it really hits the fan..  FLUFFHEAD came strolling
through and phish sure had "some powerful pills.. oooh yeah."  So tight
is was mindblowing.  Great jam.  CURTAIN dropped the scene with strong
vocals and CHALKDUST TORTURE made us older folk feeling like a
highschooler again.  Great first set. Very Pleased.
 
Then we chilled for about 45 minutes.. getting stoked up for the lights
to drop again..
 
Pow! Set 2.
It was on again.. ROCK & ROLL 1 opened it up and reminded us "it's
alright."  Right into a incidious tapping by Phishmen to link into that
dreamy THEME FROM THE BOTTOM.  I saw a ton of things I would have given
a shot jamming out that tune.  DOGLOG chopped the tempo and gave those
seasoned phans a shot of love.  Felt good.  MANGO was the next to open
up the arena for the Siket style to re-appear.  The transitions between
the tunes and the tangents they take us is remarkable.  True musicians
on their own level.  Compared to no other.  Just as the spacey vibe was
flowing, FREE busts out.  It layed it all out there and wrapped up a
solid second set.  Tight.  Real Tight.
Encore:
CONTACT opened it up with a classic style and taught those who were
tweaked that the tires are the things on your car that make contact with
the road.  ROCKEY TOP brought out that hillbilly in all of us and gave a
great vibe at the end.  Great show.
For the rest of the evening I couldn't get the CURTAIN line out of my
head.  They called me out in the first set, making me grin and hum
fragments of a song.  Strong show.. hope to seem them soon.  Keep it
live.  I'm proud to be a phan..
 
Struting out of stride,
Shane Thomas
By the Hampton spaceship that failed to make the PHISH tour cut.. whats
up with that??

Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 23:15:08 -0400
From: apackman apackman@gwu.edu
Subject: Merriweather Review
 
I've read the reviews already posted and i'm pretty surprised...i got to the
scene a bit later, like 6, and parked in the parking garage down the road on
the other side of the pavillion.  After sitting in tons of traffic we parked
the car with no problem.  In this parking garage there was a decent
scene..some bbq's...a few people selling things...a couple of nitrous
tanks...and NO COPS AT ALL.  After leaving the lot i walked to another lot in
what seemed to be a field with trees...shakedown was nothing..i walked up to
the guy holding my ticket and he said take off your hat...i was amazed...at
all other venues they pat me down..(i always wear cargos and a hooded
sweatshirt)...this time they did nothing...oh well...so i made my way into the
pavillion and found some good seats..one thing that i do agree with one of the
other reviewers is that the older phans are not appreciating the fact that
younger phans have the same love for the music and band as they do...i met a
guy who claimed to have been to over 200 shows who was the biggest asshole i
met that night...i was dancing and i accidently moved 2 inches into his space
and he started yelling at me about how much he payed for these tickets, and
how kids are ruining the shows...he was clearly drunk and was taking bong hits
the entire show and talked through most of it to his girlfriend...i dont
understand how he could say something like that to me when all i was doing was
dancing and enjoying the music???  anyway, on to the music...it doesnt really
need more explanation than has already been given but i will describe some of
the high points for me...i was at the 7/3 show for that amazing bathtub and
this one equalled it if not surpassed it...the jam went from fast to ambient
to fast again with trey ripping it up and mike grabbing every note to the
fullest...limb x limb is a personal favorite of mine, the 12/29/98 version
being my favorite version that i've seen...this one was good, pretty basic
jamming though...when trey started fluffhead i thought to myslef "wow a great
first set, what a closer"...as soon as they dropped the last line on us though
he started the Curtain With...BLOWN AWAY cannot describe how i felt upon
hearing this...and then trey smiles ( i was 5th row so i saw) and starts
chalkdust, he was having sooo much fun up there...short break then on to one
of the best sets i have ever seen...Rock and roll was standard right up until
the jam which was tight, long, and beautiful...they went from rock to space,
and all over the place on this one...when it died down fishman kicked in
repetative short staccato hits on the high hat and i couldnt really tell what
was next...when page started Theme i was defintly happy...some of my friends
have been waiting lifetimes to hear this and i heard 2 this year, always a
great song...when trey started the reggae beat,  i knew the song was
unfinished an dthough it was just jamming but then mike looked over and they
both smiled...MY FIRST DOG LOG!!!  blown away again...these guys are
amazing...great mango song with amazing jam similar to 6/30 in Hartford...then
one of my all time favorites...since i was so close i saw trey start the
opening chords of FREE early on and flipped out...it was such a great free,
just great, and a great way to end the set cuase that's the exact way i felt,
free, after this show i had no worries at all!!!  Now i lost my shit when they
came out and played CONTACT...it was perfect...just shows how much fun they
were having that night...and rocky top is always a great closer...that was my
last show for the time being...and to top it off i got a great veggie burito
in the lot after the show...damn wookies really know how to cook!!! peace,
Alan
 
Alan Packman
Apt 102
2124 Eye St., NW
Washington, DC  20052
(202)775-8299
Alpha Epsilon Pi
 
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 13:41:33 EDT
From: Johnphish1@aol.com
 
First of all, I'm tired of people ripping on the Band at all. They have been
playing better than ever consistently. I've been seeing them since 1991 and
this was my 92nd show. I was impressed. Rip on the scene all you want, it
sucked there. The cops and the stupid "Phish Police" were jerks. The "Phish
Police" have been taking T-shirts away that don't even say Phish on them. My
friends had 8 of their "Kidz on Tour next 420 miles" Longsleeves taken away
at Great Woods. Anyway, too many drunk punks and teenie boppers of late,
especially at this show! I digress, sorry. Here's my review of what really
counts, the show. My friend Chris put it so well after this show, he said
"When you're on tour for a while you start to get tired and wonder if it is
worth all the trouble,(especially when the scene is the way it is). It's
shows like this one (and Albany SAT w/ Michael Ray) that make it all worth
while." I decided to go at the last min and traveled 260 miles from Long
Island without a ticket! Got one for me and my Momma right away for $60 a
piece!!!!!!! Anyway, you know the scene sucked so here goes the show!
 
SET 1   Guyute was good, GBOTT was extended at the end, pretty cool.
             Bathtub Gin was great, but these drunk idiots woulkdn't shut up
so I didn't enjoy it. It still wasn't as good as the Gin at PNC with the
FUNKGRASS jam, wasn't as good as the Albany Gin w/ vaccum either, still Gin
though. Limb by limb was fantastick. The MOMA was not at all standard, the
intro was longer, the funk better and the fierceness of the KATY was sick.
This one blew the Great Woods one away!!! Lawnboy was a special treat
especially for my momma who is a huge Page and MOMA  phan. Did I mention that
she wanted to hear Fluffhead too, well she got it next. Segue into Curtain
With, (I call this Curtain/Rift) at the end of the Rift part the band segued
smoothly into what I am calling "the jam from Reba". I'm sure it was, listen
to the tapes. I was straight at this show so I'm possitive. Why hasn't
anybody else talked about this yet. The Reba Jam ended in a fade out manner
and they burst into a standard Chalkdust that ripped and had Trey tease "The
Wait" by ???? in it.
This was an epic first set. Long as hell!~!!
 
SET 2    Rock 'n'Roll!!!!!!!!! Her life was saved by WHAT???? Hells yes, this
was one of the fattest versions of this song I've heard, the orchestrated
part was nailed down by PAGE on vocals.  There was a long jam that followed
with the standard guitar rock into a spacey jam with Trey on Keys. Segue into
THEME great version. At the end of this song it got wierd for a second and
then MIKE started playing the Bass line from DOG LOG in the key they were in.
They perfectly changed keys and did the slowest FUNky Reggae version of this
song I've ever heard!!!!! I am a dog owner and lover so I PHREAKED! P.S.
Leave your dogs at home or with family of friends don't bring them to shows,
they don't belong there. It is cruel to them. DogLog went right into Mango
which contrary to popular belief was in fact FINISHED. At the end the band
was getting a little trippy sounding and Page hit the last piano notes as
they segued into a slow trippy CK5 jam with Trey on Keys. It was like Rave
music without the annoying pulsing fast beat, kind of like the wierd parts of
Dark Side or other trippy Pink Floyd stuff. The CK5 jam segued into FREE. Free
 was good and the glowstick war fun. Great set, the encore was great although
I wish Contact had segued into Halley's the Rockytop was standard and fun to
close. Contact is always a treat now so I was happy. Great 92nd show for me.
anyone who puts this show down in any way except for the scene is a fool.
Don't come to anymore shows if you don't like what you are seeing because you
are breathing my oxygen and taking my tickets.
Stop the negativity.
PEACE
Johnnyfish
13

hDate: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 20:45:51 EDT
From: Eswain93@cs.com
Subject: REVIEW: 9/17/00 Columbia, MD
 
The boys really brought their "A" game on this night (my 16th show). This was
one of the great ones, up there with the two best from the spectacular NJ run
this summer, 6/29/00 and 7/3/00. In fact, it was very similar to first night
Camden in format, approach and performance. Not only were some of the songs
(and placements) the same, but both featured a very long first set in which
they nailed some of their trickier compositions (and probably didn't want to
leave the stage because they were playing so well), and a highly experimental
second set.
 
Before I get to the particulars, let me just say this: I have never seen Fish
play as well as he did on this night. Jon Fishman LED this band for this
performance. He drove the rockers, negotiated the segues, provided all kinds
of intricate flourishes, and many times willed his bandmates to a higher
level.
 
One more thing: GET THE TAPES.
 
GUYUTE - You knew it was going to be special if they were going to open with
this. And they even fooled around with it, during the freaky "bouncing like a
newborn elf" section, which was slowed down and made spookier than usual.
Trying new things with songs that normally only go one way was a major theme
of the night.
 
BOTT - Nice, slightly stretched group groove toward the end. Good way to get
the crowd moving for...
 
GIN - Oh my. This was every bit the equal of the 7/3 Gin, which was
spectacular, and not far from the 6/28 Gin, which was otherworldly. It got
particularly intense toward the end; will sound great on tape. Lots of
old-school tension-and-release going on here.
 
LIMB BY LIMB - Very tight. Not as experimental as 6/29 but just as
satisfying. Fish laid some fine groundwork here.
 
MOMA DANCE - Some reviews have called this a standard version. DON'T BELIEVE
THEM. Listen to the tapes CLOSELY. Especially to the intro. There was a lot
of odd syncopated stuff going on (espeically from Fish) that you never hear
in this song. And the rest of the song had plenty of energy, in marked
contrast to a lot of its performances in the last year-and-a-half or so. This
version is every bit the equal of the best ones from '98. Heck, maybe even to
the best Black-Eyed Katies. (Well, not 11/22/97 but maybe the others?)
 
LAWN BOY - Excellent choice as a breather song. Fabulous bass solo from Mike.
 
FLUFFHEAD - Nailed, nailed, and nailed some more. The precision of 7/3/00
crossed with the passion of 7/10/99. I was sure this was the end of the set,
given the Merriweather 11 PM curfrew, but as at 7/3, they surprised us with
two more.
 
THE CURTAIN WITH - I can die now, thank you. The Curtain is one of my
favorites that I'd never seen in person, and to get the "With" part as well?
They got off to a slow start, but by the first verse Fish had willed them
into whip-cracking shape; I could actually hear the moment he upped the
intensity and the others followed. From there on it was spectacular, and I
couldn't believe it wound down into the "With" part. I'd never actually heard
"With" before but I knew immediately what it was. And it was just gorgeous.
They handled all the intricacies beautifully. A major highlight. Did I
mention you should get the tapes?
 
CHALKDUST - I couldn't believe we were getting one more. Standard raging
Chalkdust (if Trey flubbed I didn't catch it). Pure gravy.
 
The set clocked in at nearly 1:45. It was almost 9:20 when they finished. How
were they going to fit everything before the 11 PM curfew? Answer: take a
shorter setbreak! 35 min. isn't really short, but by Phish East Coast
standards it is.
 
ROCK AND ROLL - They dropped "Sweet Jane" on us at this venue two years ago,
so why not this too? They shifted nimbly from raging and rocking to ambience,
but the kind that never got dull or went on for too long. Most importantly,
Fish and Mike maintained a thriving beat throughout. When they fail to do
that, ambience can more easily become boring (see 7/4/00 Twist). It wound
down with Fish tapping out a consistent beat on the wood block, leading
into...
 
THEME - Outstanding. I have never heard a version as experimental as this
one. The "normal" part of the song just had something a little extra, and
then it got all deviant, and Fish started pounding out the beat to...
 
DOG LOG - Another must-hear. I cannot recall a version like this one. The
opening and verses were reggaefied, and then they went into a jam that kind
of sounded like "Lushington." Then back for more reggaefied verses. Flawless.
They must have practiced this arrangement at a soundcheck; it was too
well-done to be off-the-cuff. And if it was off-the-cuff then they're even
more brilliant than I thought. Then an abrupt segue into...
 
MANGO SONG - This was yet another highly unusual performance. The first half
of the "song" portion seemed a bit slow and cautious, but they began to build
momentum and Page got off some great piano licks. Then they jammed in a jazzy
fashion, sticking to recognizable themes related to the song. But then they
went way out there, getting all kinds of ambient. But exhilaratingly so. Fish
and Mike held it together while Trey, Page and Kuroda (!) went off. This
lasted for a while, and hinted at all sorts of segues, before they began the
buildup to...
 
FREE - Yet another blockbuster, with an intensity worthy of its glowstick
war. During the middle break, Mike and Fish were pounding it out so
insistently that I was waving my arms in time to it. Excellent set closer.
 
They were very close to 11 PM at this point. I was hoping for a super-fast
Llama and departure from the stage with amplifiers smoking and buzzing. But
they went a few minutes over to bring us...
 
CONTACT - My first. Fun, fun fun.
 
ROCKY TOP - Perfect ender. Extraordinary intensity for an extraordinary show.
 
I don't know what else to say. It's shows like this that keep us coming back
for more.
 
Erik Swain
 
PS - Traffic sucked. But you knew that.

Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 17:16:18 -0400
From: Judith Pew jallenp@home.com
Subject: merriweather show
 
To those in the back of the mall parking lot:
i know this is an inappropriate review and i'll make it short.  i love
phish, came up from Blacksburg, Va by myself, to the show.  cops came up
to my car while i was feeding my dogs, asked me what i was doing cause i
looked suspicious, asked if  they could search the car. i said that
won't be necesary, and they saw the case to my tube, looked in, and
placed me under arrest for paraphenalia.  i got upset and asked to be
read my miranda rights because they further questioned me about what was
in the car.  i asked for those around to watch, and the cops got pissed
because they knew they fucked up.  my car was further searched and three
sugar cubes were found.  I NEED WITNESSES for the intial illegal search.
you all probably know better and would say my word against the cops,
HA.  but, there are kind, loving souls out there who believe.   Since my
first show, i've always questioned if phish lovers are just selfish
kids.  the look in everyone eyes told me no.  i will compensate those
who help me.   I apologize for posting an inappropriate message  space
in this review section.  Thanks for your time.
 
Many have said that shows are going to shit, and that others are
ruining  for us all.  Some of the causes of this degeneration are a
dilution of the fan base by those who love shows  because of the lot and
"drugs".  I met one guy in jail who is doing tour and honestly did not
give a fuck about seeing any of the shows. It was only about lot, drugs,
and selling tickets for $60-100 He only wanted to make money.  I am
sorry, but i honestly believe the problem is the trendiness of the
band.  the trendiness gets people listening to the music and slowly it
grows on them.  but before it grows enough on them, they are caught up
in the nuggets, E, L, smack, and so forth.  None of these are bad.  but
when its your main focus, you cannot give the band back the energy
released by the drugs before the show, it is gone and you are more
tolerant, and the band FEELS this.  enthusiasm is dampened, and then
those who are not quite phish fanatics yet, get bored.  the heavy
dilution of this segment in the crowd makes it hard for the band to feel
the natural high of those who can give the band their all no matter what
emotional or physical condition they are in and whether or not they are
high.  Do Not get me wrong, i think drugs accentuate life, but when you
puff ten times before the show, you are not going to get high for more
than 30 minutes.  compare it to waking and baking.  this first high of
the day is soaring, energetic, and elevated;  but receptors are used up
and you become more tolerant.
    I always hear everyone labeling the phish crowd like some others
kids are the cause of the shit going down.  but does the above describe
you or friends of yours?  think about this the next time you feel the
band is jamming themselves into a hole.  The music is a direct
reflection of the energy of the crowd.  Consider new years or halloween
or coveted venues (Deer Creek, Hampton etc)  and then some of the less
hyped shows.  or times like when a What's the Use has quieted down the
crowd, and then the energy is more difficult to summon from everyone.
The band plays because of the exchange of energy, and what it does for
their souls.  It is not entirely for us.  they have their money now,
they will always sell out shows, they do not have to win us over
anymore.  Therefore, give the band your all, and they will play their
hearts out.  dance, and twist, and let your energy fly loose.  or smoke
pot the ENTIRE show, which means you are not concentrating and listening
to the music, rather thinking about security busting you.  You wonder
why trey leaves the stage abrubtly, or the band does not bow in unison?
You think it's disrespect towards us.  Think again.  consider if you are
offering any disrespect.  One last thing:  i believe it is RUDE to
applaud when the band has not finished a song yet, it seems to me
everyone is more excited that the band is going to start a fresh jam,
rather that offering their opinion on what an insane jam just occurred.
applaud when you mean it.

Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 11:23:53 -0700 (PDT)
From: atlas jane phishyphreak2000@yahoo.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: 9-17-00 Review
 
Going into the merriweather show i had high hopes of a
geat day as this was the last time id get to see the
band until after their break.  the lot scene was as
expected, over-crowded with alot of phans trying to
find that miracle.  )too many of them as has been
stated  in other reviews.)
 
WHAT WAS UP WITH THAT HELLICOPTER???????
 
into the show, i did appreciate the fact that the
security was so slack entering the venue, very nice!
the first set had great energy, the band definitely
appreared to be having a great time,  i felt that they
appreciated that this was the final east coast show
just as the crowd did and i expected great things!
guyute- good version, got things started off on the
right foot
GBOTT-my favorite off farmhouse, great version, had me
groovin around
bathtub- awesome, i was hoping to catch this one,
Limb- ok, pretty standard version,
moma-great funky song, mike was starting to feel it
here
lawn boy- lawn boy
fluffhead-FLUFFHEAD, great energy, not as climactic as
some, but great, thought this would end the set,
but....
The Curtain With*, Chalkdust Torture - awesome, cant
wait to hear this on cd
 
the second set was a little less impressive than the
first, who knows, maybe the huge first set wore them
out, but the energy just wasnt there.  it seemed like
they were struggling to get through the set.  there
were some serious highpoints, but i cant understand
how some of the reviews called this set as one of the
best of the tour, it wasnt.
 
Rock and Roll-thought that this was going to be a good
sign that they were going to throw up a raging set for
the last east coast venue,
Theme From The Bottom** > Dog Log, The Mango Song >
Free - wished it had been a little more upbeat of a
set, dog log grows on me, but not enough to want to
see it during the part of the show where i and
everyone around me as far as i could tell where
looking to rage on last time with the boys
Encore:
Contact, Rocky Top - contact i love to see, but not as
an enocre, rocky top, well, i was leaving the venue as
soon as i hear it, seen it way too many times, thought
that they would try to pull out something huge to end
with, this wasnt it!
 
all i all a decent show, the first set was way
intense, the second seemed like a lack-luster ending,
but it was a phish show nonetheless!
 
i only wish that people would start to respect others
a little more, stay out of other peoples seats, STOP
THROWING GLOWRINGS AT THE BAND!!!!!!!!!!! and try to
be a little more careful in the lot, we all saw what
the cops were up to, and still there were people
walking around with open beers and they were the same
ones getting upset that the cops were there in the
first place,
and i know that if you are reading this, chances are
you werent at the show only for the lot scene (i.e.
all the drugs you can afford), but for those of you
who do go to the shows only looking to blow up your
mind (not saying that is wrong) remember that the
music is what brings people together, not acid and
exctasy
 
i hope everyone has a great winter, and i look froward
to seeing you all again as soon as the band lets us
get back together!
 
peace and love

Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 16:11:03 EDT
From: Shoosehill@aol.com
Subject: Merriweather Show
 
this was the first phish show ive seen in my whole life and id have to say it
was incredible.  when you actually see trey jam out on the guitar live, it is
amazing.  right when i walked into the crowd, it was like walking into a
cloud of pot smoke, which i was expecting.  the crowd was great, and the
music was awesome.  the second they started up with guyute, i knew this was
gonna be an experience id remember for the rest of my life.  i even brought
my older brother along, who doesnt really listen to phish, and he was amazed.
 i especially enjoyed the moma dance, bathtub gin, lawnboy, rock and roll and
the best song of the night, dog log.  the jam that followed dog log was
probably the best performance of the show.  and when page got up and walked
around the stage while singing lawn boy, that was awesome.  I will be at
every show that comes to my area from now on, and I will try to travel places
to see the band too.
-Justin

Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 21:24:08 EDT
From: Vtstacie@aol.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: Phish
 
Merriweather was my first Phish show.. my brother has been to a few and asked
me to go with him to Merriweather.  I agreed to go thinking i would hear a
great show . . .  and i left the show a changed person.  It was the most
phenomenal event I have ever experienced and I look forward to more Phish.
 
I must agree with the comment on the posting the parking lot atmosphere was
incredibly stifled by cops.  Also, I was saddened to see a few drunks and
people who were missing out on the whole experience because they were to
messed up.
 
Overall, I was thrilled with the event and I look forward to the next time.
The music was like candy and ... well, like one guy was yelling in the lot
after the show, "I've seen Phish and I cannot stop."
 
I'll see you all again.
 
 
Thanks,
vtstacie@aol.com

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 17:06:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jeff Killion jrkillion@yahoo.com
Subject: Merriweather Review
 
I've read a bunch of the reviews, and I agree.  What a show!!  I'm going to
keep this short to spare repeating what you've already read.  As people
mentioned, the cops sucked.  But you gotta get over it, and remember why
you're there.  And like Hershey, the show made you forget about the lot (like
you should).
 
Set I:
 
Guyute, GBOTT - Not my favorites, but a decent start. It got my going a
little, but was merely an intro.
 
Gin - Great version.  Went out there and jammed.  I don't think it was as good
as Holmdel, but it was one of the best I've seen.
 
- I think Trey's guitar got fucked up here, but I couldn't really tell what
was going on on stage. Someone was out there with him messing around.  It
seemed like he was kind of tuning it as they started...
 
Limb X Limb - Good version.  It was good placement, but unfortunately I
started to get a headache, and it took my attention away from the song.  (The
headache didn't go away, but I wasn't going to let that get to me)
 
Moma - !!, always love the funk!  Fun as always.
 
Lawnboy - Well, it's Lawnboy.  Only thing to say about this one is that the
spotlight was kept off Page when he walked around the stage for some reason...  
?
 
Fluffhead - !!!!!!.  That's all.
 
The Curtain With - Wow.  I never thought I'd see it again.  But we listened to
the Deer Creek version on the way to the show, and what do you know?  A nice
treat.
 
Chalkdust - I didn't think they were ever going to stop!  After T.C.W., I had
that Deer Creek feel and thought they'd bust into the singalong, but I'm glad
they didn't.  It was fun at the Creek, but should be left there.....  What a
set.  1:45!!??
 
Couldn't find any Tylenol during the setbreak, but I did run into some friends
as usual.  By the way, the crowd was MUCH better that the one at Hershey.
 
Set II
 
Rock and Roll - Fun song, but not really one of my favorites.  I know a lot of
people like it, but I would have been happier with something like a Tweezer to
open this set.  But that's just me.
 
>Theme - Great ambient jam led into a great Theme! Tons of fun, and you could
tell they were having a great time and they were ON!
 
>Dog Log - Another ambientish jam into Log!!! More fun and incredible playing
by the boys.
 
Mango - The setlist says they segued into this, but I thought there was a
stop.  Could be, and probably am wrong.  Anyway, it's Mango!!!  Did I mention
that I was having fun?  And then the crazy, spacey, ambient jam that developed
after Fish refused to let go was just absolutely unbelievable.  The boys were
locked in, and just going nuts.  I think I heard the girl in front of me (I
think it was her first show) say, "These guys are really musicians."  :)  You
think?
 
>Free - Couldn't have picked a much better closer (except maybe a YEM).  
Great funk in this one, and really had the crowd going to finish a great set.
Definitely a classic.
 
Encore:
 
Contact - Woohoo!  I don't think I've heard Contact in years.  So of coarse I
was pumped.  Perfectly played too!
 
Rocky Top - Not my favorite song, but it was fun. Maybe it's because I've
never been to Tennessee, but it never really gets me really excited.  The
"Play it Leo" made this version though!
 
 
I had a great time guys.  You all have fun over the next 2 weeks, and I'll see
you in Vegas!!
 
I's staying at the Tropicana, so look out for me:)
 
Peace,
Jeff

 
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 16:52:44 EDT
From: super awesome yuckygrrl@hotmail.com
Subject: Meriweather 9-17
 
Being my first Phish show, I have to say this was definately something to
remember!  I really liked the sets, especially the jamming and energy in the
2nd set.  I was glad to hear songs I knew, as well as some I didn't.  The
first set seemed very long, which was cool, just song after song.  The
second set was just really awesome all around.  The encores were cool too, I
enjoyed dancing around with my friends.  The lights were awesome and the
music was awesome and everything was just awesome.  The glow war on the lawn
was cool to watch during Free (which was cool to hear, since it's actually
the first song I heard by Phish a few years ago).  I'm glad I finally got to
experience Phish live, it's definately as much fun as I had heard it would
be.  I can't think of one particular highlight, there were just so many
awesome things.  Sitting on the exit off 29 to get to Meriweather was cool
too, even though we were there for like 2 hours, yay for playing football
and walking around on the side of the road.  And parking in a mall parking
garage.  Heh.  Oh, I also enjoyed my dinner, whoever made the cheese,
broccoli, and salsa quesadilla, yummy.  :)  So thanks to Phish, my friends I
went with (they know who they are-burger king! :)), and everyone else who
made last night awesome.  I wish I could've caught or could catch more
shows, but there is no time for me.  Hopefully eventually...but that's all
for now.

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 21:28:29 GMT
From: Douglas Forsythe dougforsythe@hotmail.com
Subject: Merriweather Post Pav Review
 
Let me start off saying this show had its ups and downs. It was my last show
of the tour and I thought it was overall a pretty good show to go out on.
This time I was on the lawn, and after being soooo close to them last time I
felt left out. I suggest being as close as possible, It allows you to really
see how they are really feeling about the jams. And notice things like
Trey's new haircut, I think he used Eric Claptain's barber.
Okay lets get stared....
Set 1: (1:42.33 min.) Thats what I'm talkin about!!!!!!
Guyute: WOOO HOOOO!!! Great opener!, a complex song off the bat will give
you a sence on how tight they are and this one is perfect for that! No screw
ups, pretty standard except the drew it out for a bit before the started the
"I'm bouncing like the newborn elf" line. I knew we were in store for a good
evening.
 
Back on the Train:  simple tune to get people dancing, and it did the trick.
 
Bathtub Gin: (17 min) I love the older stuff an tonight was the night for
that! Trey was doing a little improv noises when they do the molody which
was cool. The added jam was pretty good too it eventually picked up and
Chris had the lights doing that killer circle thing that he does. Sweet
version of it I reccommend!
 
Limb x Limb: I usually like this one, something happened at the beginning
with Page's piano or something and you could tell the boys were confused. It
never lifted from there. You didn't miss much here.
 
Momma Dance: Lay down the funk baby! Good come back from limb x limb. these
guys really got the funk thing down to a science.
 
Lawn Boy: YES!! Clasic, Page is such an entertainerwhen hr gets up andsings
like that. And Mike (the MAN) had a beautiful bass solo to ens this one. A
nice little break from the serious stuff. I also like it when others have
the spotlight, you know what I'm talking about.
 
FLUFFHEAD!!!: I have been wanting to hear this one all tour. I think I might
have over reacted when Trey played the opening C chord. Not perfect but hey
they are human arn't they. I was expecting a set break after this one since
it had been about 1:15 min into the set but they managed to throw more in
there
 
Curtain With: I was a little confused but I knew i herd this ending before.
They have only played this one once since 1988 so i bet people are saying it
was unbeleavable, I herd people talking about it was the Mike's Song from
New Years 95'at a rest stop on the way home. However I don't think it was
all that, it lacked a fast beet and it seemed to drag on. Thank you for not
ending the set with this one.
 
Chalkdust Torture: What we all needed! something fast to end the set with. I
have herd this one so many times and it seems Trey's solo has been dying
over time. I think the A Live One's version is the best of all. I just want
one like that again. Okay take bows and allow us all to sit down.
 
Set 2: (1:02 min.)I am thinking it is going to be hard to match the first
set.
Rock and Roll: Ohh yeah another one that shifts the spot light off of Trey.
Go Page! The jam on this one was kinda mellow, totally different than the
last few night's jams.
 
Theme from the Bottom: At first I thought this one was going to be Maze
which I would have liked to hear. I forgot about this one, I am not a huge
Billy Breathes fan and I would have rather herd taste but this version
seemed to be good, nothing special but it led into another amusing phish
song...
 
Dog Log: I thought I was going to shit myself. A great tune that was
actually on my mind because I herd the sound check earlier and was
explaining to my buddy how they used to play that one all the time for the
pre-show show. My first time hearing it live and I hope It's not my last. I
was dissapointed when they didn't sing hopping that the crowd would, it was
pretty silent on the lawn :(
 
Mango Song: Pretty standard, I didn't like the little jam afterwords and i
am sick of Trey's Keyboard. I liked the Drum kit from 96' much better. Trey
also wouldn't stop whiping his nose for the last 1/2 of the set. Kinda like
the New Years set (sniff sniff) Either he has a cold or he is doing a little
bit too much umm ......
 
Free: Ohh boy another Billy Breathes song, It turned out to be better than I
thought I was wishing for a Ha Ha Ha in the middle like Hampton 98 but I
knew that will never happen again. That was so perfect too!
 
Encore time!!
Contact: Mike Mike Mike Mike!!! YES I just wanna say that I think Mike
Gordon should run for president! I love this song. It is so stupid and
dorkey but that is what is so cool about it. They also get down in it
 
Rocky Top: YYEEHHAAAWWW  Another Mike song! and a kicking Page solo too. I
love the Bluegrass songs and I was real happy this one made it in the show.
I sang it all the way back to Philly.
 
I am all done now for as long as they are. I think the pause will be real
good for them. I have been saying they need one for a while but after these
last few shows I really see it. Hopefull they will be charged up and ready
to go in a year or so. I think the scene needed this too. This will give all
the other bands a chance to get out in the spotlight, check them all out the
are really good too! Adios and I hope you have a good end of the tour!

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 22:24:22 -0400
From: Michael Mattix mattixm@washpost.com
Subject: Merriweather Review
 
     It is shows like this past Sunday that makes me realize why I love
Phish so much.  Beside the scores of police who seemed to take an unusual
zeal in performing their "jobs", I couldn't have asked for a more perfect
day of Phish.  Absolutely beautiful fall weather, warm and sunny during the
day and cool at night; led right into an amazingly hot performance by the
boys.  Although I got seperated from my friends heading into the venue at
showtime and spent the entire show by myself, that didn't take away from my
experience at all and quite possibly added to it.  I met so many kind
pholks throughout the night.
     Instead of running through the entire setlist I thought I'd address a
few issues that seem to have others in the phamily a bit concerned.  For
years phans have complained about the deterioration of the scene that
surrounds Phish.  These changes are inevitable and for the most part out of
our control.  They've become more popular, are and have been for quite some
time playing much larger venues, which in turn attracts a wider swath of
people from varying backgrounds and experiences.  Granted, many pholks new
or newer to this scene may not approach it with the same respect or
understanding that accompanied the birth of the Phish phenomenom many years
ago but to be honest that's not what I've found to be most troubling.  The
most troubling aspect about the latest insurgence of new phans to the scene
is the apparent unwillingness of the old guard to take them under their
wings.... show them the way so to speak.  I hope I'm not sounding entirely
naive and idealistic but when I began following Phish I was under the
impression that openmindedness and acceptence was the status quo.  Lately
all I've been reading in reviews and articles is nothing but complaining
and whining about how things aren't the way they used to be.  Just like the
band itself, the scene is bound to evolve over the years and it would be
nice to see a more concerted effort by those who are in a position to know
how good things once were and how good they could be again to lead by
example.
     Like I said, I spent the Merriweather show by myself, finding a deep
groove of my own early on and riding it for all it was worth through the
course of the night.  I was right at the base of the lawn  before the
beginning of the pavilion decked out in a huge fuzzy black cowboy hat and
purple pimp shirt with more than enough room to dance and take in the
music.  At some point during the show a got a jolt from behind and turned
to see a guy who was struggling to find his balance and was clearly wasted.
Instead of telling him to get the fuck out of there I asked him his name
and if he was alright, inquired as to what he might be on, cleared a space
for him and asked if he'd like to sit for a bit to collect himself.  I
offered him some water to sip on and within five minutes a phan next to me
and myself helped him back onto his feet, gave him assurances that
everything would be fine and he was on his way dancing down the aisle.  Now
this is just one example out of hundreds at each show of someone who might
hinder others good time and its probably a fairly mild example at that.  I
know there are people who talk through quiet moments (or all moments) of
the show and I actually heard from a friend of mine that someone near them
actually pissed on the ground right where he was standing on the lawn.
     Bad behavior will always exist at a Phish show no matter what but its
how phans react to it that I think can make all the difference.  While the
larger picture of a deteriorating scene may be beyond any of our individual
contol, it's the smaller instances that we may encounter once or twice at
each show that is well within our control to help curb.  Hopefully people
can begin using some of the energy they burn complaining about how bad
things have gotten to help make things better.  I also hope that none of
this came off as too sanctimonious on my part.  These are just my opinions
and observations.  I care deeply about not only the music that Phish
creates every time they hit the stage but also the scene and the phans that
create the community of phriends who I've come to love.  Perhaps Phish's
hiatus over the next year or so will help diffuse some of the riff-raff who
come to shows only to get wasted or to buy drugs but only time will tell.
In the mean time why don't we all try to do our part to help keep the scene
clean.
     This almost seems like an afterthought at this point but I'll say it
anyway.   Thank you Phish for an incredibly memorable experience this past
Sunday.  Words can't describe the energy and emotion coursing through my
body as I ate up every note cascading from the stage.  With half of my four
Fall Phish installments complete I couldn't have asked for more and I can't
wait to do it all over again in Vegas!!!

Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 12:49:42 EDT
From: Dusk74@aol.com
Subject: Merriweather
 
I have to say.... what an awesome show!!!!  After friday night at hershey,
this was such a treat! Except for the 1. traffic (oh my..... 2 hours waiting
on the ramp, and we even got there at 3:15 and couldn't even park in the lot,
but some parking garage!). but other than that it was a lot of hurry up and
wait, hurry up and wait. But after we lost some money on some crap in
hershey, we couldn't have asked for a better time. And... thank you to
everyone who purchased a grilled cheese for the "let me make my money back"
fund! That was a good time and we met a lot of great phriends! The first set
was amazingly long, as I kept asking those around me, "did I miss the
intermission?" and I couldn't believe they played an all time favorite
Contact for an encore! What a show! Now I just have to decide whether I'm
going to ditch all my responsibilities and go out to CA! If they keep playing
like they did on Sun, you bet I'll be there for the last show!

Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 00:48:39 -0400
From: Peter Porcelli porcelli@bellsouth.net
Subject: Merriweather Review
 
Unfortunately, my brother and I decided to drive back to Atlanta and
skip this show (we didn't have tickets) and the thought of waving my
finger in the air and not getting one for my last show for a while
depressed me.  When we got home and read the setlist, it made my stomach
hurt.  It would have been my 29th show and from the looks of the
setlist- my favorite.  Dog Log- SHIT!  I'm sure a good time was had by
all and I'll see ya'll in a year or so.  -Matt
*Oh yeah- wouldn't it be great if Phish did a survey to see how many
phans graduated from college next year?

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 13:38:38 -0400
From: "Scheinberg Seth A (Adam) CONT NSSC" ScheinbergSA@NAVSEA.NAVY.MIL
Subject: 09/17/2000 review
 
09/17/2000
Merriweather Post Pavillion
Columbia, MD
 
I: Guyute, Back on the Train, Bathtub Gin, Limb by Limb, Moma Dance, Lawn
Boy, Fluffhead, The Curtain With, Chalkdust Torture  (~95 minutes)
II: Rock 'n' Roll > Theme From The Bottom, Dog Log, Mango Song > jam > Free
(~55 minutes)
Encore: Contact, Rocky Top (~10 minutes)
 
Let me just say that Merriweather has historically sucked.  The '98 show was
a blast, but traffic had us tied up for 2 1/2 hours before we found a better
way to go.  The '99 show was a mediocre show, and we waited in traffic
forever again! This year, we just blew past the traffic, got off the highway
like 2 miles down and found our way there in about 20 minutes. Perfect.  The
vibe at the show was weird.  You'd think it was sketchy since a bunch of
cops were nabbing glass/shirt/veggie burrito vendors, but we just passed
that scene and found a great hang out where the temperature was just right.
We hung out for a few hours before we headed in, met some folks we knew, and
found our seats.  I got my little Blackberry two-way pager ready to zip
along the setlist instantly to ultra-dedicated phish-dorks like me all
across the internet at gadiel.com and phans.com.
 
Set 1: Guyute may signify big things to some, but to me it's standard fare
nowadays.  Funny, in retrospect, that this opened the show, since it was the
only minute I wasn't absolutely thrilled at what I was watching! The break
right before the 'spooky part' was really long, like almost two minutes,
kinda neat.  Back on the Train isn't my favorite either, but this was a
solid version that really was fun.  It was played last year at Merriweather,
and this version took the cake.  Gin was a treat.  It didn't deviate too far
from the general theme, but it got the crowd up a notch.  Limb by Limb,
another repeat from last year, was very well played as well.  I can't seem
to get sick of this song.  Every time, I think it's fantastic.  Up next was
a clean version of Moma that was truly as plain as Moma can be, but it was
well placed, and thus, I was still reeling from the Gin and Limb.  Lawn Boy
was a relaxing loungy break from the funk.  Then, after a minute-long
conference, they settled on Fluffhead, which for some reason, I had assured
my buddies would show up tonight.  Fluffhead is a treat, plain and simple.
So it was with absolute joy that I tapped out the beat to Bundle of Joy and
screamed "Fat Bulk Expanse Mass Lump Block Clod!" I love that song, and
there's no way to communicate to someone who has never seen Phish the love
you feel during "The Arrival" when the whole crowd songs "FLUFFHEAD!" at the
end. That could have been the end of the set, but instead, out comes The
Curtain.  This is one of my favorite songs too.  A really dead-on version
followed.  I can acknowledge that I'm a Phish freak...for years, one of my
'top-ten Phish wishes' has been to see The Curtain With. So as the regular
version would down and slowed down instead of ending suddenly, I felt my
entire body shiver.  I knew I was about to see the the Curtain WITH that
amazing jam I love so much.  Ah, the sweet Rift-y part, then that Reba-esque
jam...it's enough to make one cry.  I was absolutely speechless.  Sure the
set was over, I sat down and almost spaced out for a fast rock-n-roll
version of Chalkdust.  The setlist may not reflect it, but I was sure that
Trey got messed up.  He missed a cue during the chorus, so they stretched it
out a few measures.  Then he looked lost and spent the rest of the song
staring at Mike and Page waiting for a cue.  Interesting that though he may
have been lost, the song still was rip roaring awesome! First set clocked in
at almost 100 minutes, totally 100% rockin.  This set beat the last two
years of Merriweather combined.
 
Setbreak: I went to the bathroom, bumped into a friend, took my seat, set 2
started.  It was perfect.  (Actually, it was a short setbreak, but who's
counting?)
 
Set 2 opened with Rock n' Roll, which is a great song.  I loved the NYE
version, but this was more concise and really kept the vibe right where they
left off.  Had they broken out Circus, Roggae, or anything too slow here,
they might have killed the super-drive they already had kicked off.  They
were truly in high gear.  Fish's 4/4 hi-hat beats suggested Theme about 30
seconds before there was any other trace of it, and this Theme was a good
one.  There were some weak spots, but they were forgivable mistakes given
the precedent of the evening at that point.  I heard Dog Log coming, but
Fish was playing a beat that was almost identical to the beat from Frankie
Says.  This Dog Log is really cool, it has a funky wavy kinda beat kicking
in the background.  It is a must hear.  Sounded like everyone, especially
those on stage, were having a blast at that point.  From the roaring
applause of Dog Log came Mango, which is another favorite of mine.  God,
this setlist is like gold! This Mango ranks among the top five I've ever
heard on tape or elsewhere! So much fun! The jam degenerated into a dark,
drummy bass filled jam that lasted awhile.  Maybe 10-12 minutes. It is
definitely worth hearing.  Soon, the familiar "bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum"
beginning of Free emerged.  Free featured excellent and intricate playing by
Trey, and a glowstick war during the bridge section, and some well played
jamming.  The set ended early, most likely due to curfew issues.
 
The encore was Contact, which the crowd sang in the most dedicated manner.
Bravo, Paul, for making this sound so perfect!  A funk-rich middle section
tasted very sweet on the palate, and it wrapped up on a note that wouldn't
have done the show justice.  We needed, and Phish sensed, it needed to be
cranked up a notch one more time.  Out comes a totally nuts version of Rocky
Top which blew everyone away.  Yes, Rocky Top is a common song, but this one
was perfect placement.  It summed up the show for me -- total energy!
 
GET THESE TAPES.
 
adam s
FIRSTTUBE.COM
  webmaster@firsttube.com

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 16:04:37 EDT
From: Jow54@aol.com
Subject: 9/17 Merriweather Show
 
This show is a killer, the first set is good, but it is all about the second
set. One of the best sets i've ever been witness to. Rock and Roll->Dog
Log->Theme, was mind blowing, the jam nice and spacey, then Mango and Free.
Unbelievable. Get this tape, especially for the killer Dog Log.

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 15:33:43 EDT
From: SJSHREDDER@aol.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: Merriweather:WOW!
 
    I was really bummed after Hersahey so when my buddy offered me a pavillion
seat for merriweather I was compelled to go.  Boy was I happy I did.  Killer
first set and REALLY long, (made up for Hershey shortness). Mike was off the
charts like Dairen and Paige was in another world gettin really spacey.  One
of the best light shows to date (trey even got dizzy after bathtub I think and
almost fell over).  Beautiful night and great people, except a few punks but
for the size of that place it is expected. First set was as good as a set
gets, except maybe with a ghost or sand but hey, we can dream!  Night ended
with an apple a woman gave me from her orchard and nice ladies from temple
rappin with me under a peaceful moon. Speakin of which if you ladies read drop
me a line.  All in all a great way to end the traveling for a while.  Till ???
Peace and Hugs Shawn


Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 14:53:10 EDT
From: sachet upadhyay atri89@hotmail.com
Subject: Merriweather show review.
 
Gayute: Nice opener. I had called chalk dust for set opener. Nice to hear.
There are so many transitions in this song and energy fluctuates so much.
That^Òs one of the greatest thing about this song.
 
GBOTT: It brought back the energy. Nice simple strumming sounded good.
 
Gin: Standard version. Cannot be compared to the classic volney gin jam of
99. That jam was just sick. Listen to treys melody from his guitar. Even
Ravi shankhar would have shed tears.
 
Limb by limb: At first there was something wrong with treys amp. But it got
fixed at least I hope it did.
 
Moma dance. Funky pure. What can I say? If I had brought my momma, she would
have danced.
 
Lawnboy: Page on center stage. Stageboy singing longboy. Nice and mellow.
 
Fluff head: ^ÓBut I sure got some powerful pills, oh yeah^Ô  Nice bite on the
energy bar.
 
Curtain:I had hoped they would move onto rift. I was telling my bro they
would do it. But nah. Me no wise ass.
 
Chalkdust: What I called as a set opener became a first set closer. I have
always liked the way they closed their set with this song. It just brings
vibes out of lethargic ones.
 
Rock and roll: Nice version. Not quite extended as the big cypress. But ok.
 
Theme from the bottom. Don^Òt remember much of this song except I was seeing
the four band members as four phishermen and the phans as bunch of fish. I
surely got caught. I am sure lot of people did. That was the highlight of
the second set. That was definetly theme from the bottom.
 
Dog log: Nice. Made me appreciate my reality in the lawn. Always nice to
hear.
 
Mango song: Oh yeah. One of my favorites. I had craving for mangoes on this
one. Standard version, pretty nice.
 
Free: Not much to say. Don^Òt remember much about this one except this guy
asking me what song this was. I jokingly said prep school hippie. He said
thanx man.
 
Encore: Rocky top, contact: Both were nice. Contact was my first one in
concert. All in all an average show.
Sachet

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 11:45:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: Adam Cigich gdtrfb86@yahoo.com
Subject: review-9/17/00
 
This was an amazing performance.  The whole show was extremely tight.  The
boys came on about 7:30 and opened with GUYUTE:  this caught me completely off
guard.  excellent version, the ending part was very cool ("I'm bouncing like
a....") right before this was a fairly long silence, and after each line was a
stop, very nice change.  next BACK ON THE TRAIN:  very cool, typical version,
BATHTUB GIN: Oh yeah! as usual page ripped it up in the beginning, very nice,
the jam was pretty good, but didn't really seem to take off. next, LIMB X
LIMB: very nice, a little short, excellent soloing by trey, MOMA DANCE: this
was very cool, mike really started to tear it up at this point. i could be
wrong, but the opening seemed to be a little longer than usual, i thought they
were going to forget the words a la Black Eyed Katey, very funky, lots of
energy. LAWNBOY:  real nice, page was really enjoying himself, walked to the
front of the stage two times, but chris did not spotlight him for whatever
reason, followed by FLUFFHEAD:  the place went nuts, very high energy,
excellent version, every part was right on, fishman was saying something over
and over toward the end, but I could not make out what it was. always a treat
to hear, it seems this song is increasingly getting rarer, CURTAIN WITH:  
what a great song, very cool to hear.  did not know what the curtain ending
part was and someone said it was called 'curtain with', it almost sounded like
hydrogen at first, absolutely beautiful, definitely one of the highlights of
the show, everyone must hear this if you haven't already, CHALDUST: damn, i
didn't think they were going to stop.  typical version, nice way to cap off an
amazing first set.  this set just completely floored me, almost two hours
long, the show could have ended here and i would have went home happy.  after
about a 35 minute setbreak, they opened with, ROCK N ROLL:  couldn't have
called it better myself, we were treated to the second page song of the night,
excellent jam, nice lead by trey, extremely intense, it ended very slowly with
fishman hitting the high-hat, i though for sure it was going to be maze, then
page started the da-dah-da, THEME:  i was so psyched to hear this, excellent
version, great vocal harmony on the "so i ask you...", they did not finish
because the jam led into DOG LOG: it just keeps getting better and better,
right when mike started the bass line everyone went berserk, lots of fun, and
they even stretched it out a little before the ending, the ending jammed into
a very nice transition into MANGOS: very nice to hear after dog log, it was
very cool during the third verse, trey and mike sang different verses at the
same time, longer than usual version, the ending part was very sweet, page
kept playing the piano part, and they almost ended it, but trey took over on
his keys, and they went into a wicked cool jam.  i do not know how to describe
it, very cool sounds coming from trey and page, and it went perfectly into
FREE:  standard version, trey was on top of this.  it was cut short by the 11
pm curfew at merriweather.  wonderful second set full of rarities. before the
encore, i was thinking the only reason this show was not complete was the lack
of mike singing. encores- not one, but two mike songs. CONTACT: what a
pleasant surprise, very nice break for soloing, the band started waving their
hands back and forth and we all joined in, wonderful moment, next, ROCKYTOP: i
was waiting to hear some bluegrass all night, very upbeat, this show had it
all and these two encores capped it off perfectly.  this must be one of the
best shows in recent years, it possibly stacks up with some of the best.  it
was a perfect example of how one band members playing can elevate all of the
others to a higher level, fishman started off really strong and stayed
throughout the show, and the rest of them really turned it up a notch to
deliver an incredible performance.

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 15:50:08 -0500
From: Brian Keenan bkeenan1@earthlink.net
Subject: review 9-17-00
 
I will be brief. I have never seen a parking lot as oppressive as
Merriweather.  From the cops directing traffic to the cops on patrol in the
lot, it was almost a complete downer.  There was little or no vending so I
was incredibly hungry and thirsty.  Also the sound from the helicopter was
driving me crazy.
 
Once my friends and I finally entered the Pavilion the day went from bad to
amazingly good.  What a show.  The parking lot was long forgotten and the bad
time was a distant memory.  The bands energy filtered through the crowd till
it hit me like a ball of lightning.  WOW!
 
So I danced.
Later,
B.K.


Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 15:17:04 -0400
From: Fred Zumwalt fzumwalt@earthlink.net
Subject: Merriweather Post PHISH Review
 
Was it the cool outdoor air of the lawn seating at Merriweather?  Was it the
calm crowd?  Was it all of the drink stations, pizza vendors, port-o-lets,
and t-shirt stands?  Or was it just the energy of and reliance on standard
Phish songs that made the show as near perfect as possible?  Albeit a walk
down memory lane, the show was fast, strong, and a true 'sing along' the
whole show.  Beginning with Guyute and ending with Rocky Top, the whole show
pulsed.  Sitting in the lawn, we all had an excellent view of the band (Trey
seemed to be rubbing his nose alot!) on the big screen overhead.  The band's
hand motions, smiles, chat, finger play on guitar, bass, and piano, and drum
playing was great to watch up close.  The camera angles were excellent, the
special effects were held to a minimum, and every seat in the lawn was
excellent!  But the music was best.  While, admittedly, a whole show of old
standards, each song had its own unique little twist and turn.  The long
jams, the crowd singing along, the arm wave led by Mike, The glow war during
FREE, the almost parodic gestures and words while we all sang CONTACT during
the encore.  It was all too kewl!  A most refreshing, enjoyable, and
memorable show.  Thanks, guys.  Let's do it again...real soon.

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 14:04:13 EDT
From: GJCKAYA14@aol.com
Subject: Merriweather Post 9-17-99
 
Hell yeah! what a show. i saw hershey on friday and thought it was a pretty
good show but tonight just blew hershey away (if only they would have saved
the tube, but hey, no complaints).  Anyway, i was feeling funky when i went
into the show and the boys apparently were too.  they funked out damn near
every song. mike slapping base where you wouldnt expect it (contact) and i
was just getting down the whole show.  i had to sneak into the pavilion for
2nd set to get more room in the corridor to shake down.  it was worth it.
FUNK IT!
 
Guyute: nice, i know they play it all the time, but for some reason ive
always missed those shows or skip them or something, so it was sweet to hear.
lot of energy, got me moving.
BOTT: ive only heard this once before and it was one of the first times they
played it, so id been waiting since then to hear it again.  i was thrilled
when they busted this one out. started out the night-long funk.
Gin: nice version, page went crazier than usual at the get-go. jammed nice
and long and at this point they've got me convinced its going to be a great
show.
L X L: wasnt expecting this one at all, but good to hear.
Moma Dance: at this point i could have sworn they were playing to me, they
played so many songs i wanted to hear.  this was a good version as well, one
of the better versions ive heard, the boys sounded tight and very focused.
Lawn Boy: i thought id heard the beginning in between the first few songs so
i thought they might bust it out eventually and sure enough....  page really
putting on a show. up and singing to the crowd. they were all really into it
all night.  good song to "stioch"...im glad we did 'cause.....
Fluffhead: another one i was hoping to hear. really tight sound and the crowd
was loving it. FLUFFHEAD!
The Curtain With: i love this song, great deeper meaning also, i was really
into it and the lyrics really hit me for the first time last night. i couldnt
believe they kept going to play the whole "with" section. you think they like
playing merriweather? i thought this would definately be the end, but
wait....
Chalkdust: usually not to fond of hearing this one, but they hit it at the
right time and the energy was there from the crowd, good choice.
 
Rock N' Roll: awwww yeah, gotta love that lou reed. good follow up from the
'98 (or '99) sweet jane. page, what a singer! he is the man. good jam to
follow and at this point i was thinking we could have a near perfect show on
our hands!
Theme: well, maybe not. certainly the low point for me, at least they could
have finished it with the vocal jam thats the best part. however, they were
still getting funky, and i was digging that.
Dog Log: !!!!!!!!!!! awwwww shit! "walking cross the lawn, lawn, lawn.....
wondering where my dog done gone!" god i love that song. i came right home,
found one on tape and threw it in. this was really funky and a long great
jam. i was loving life.  oh right after they finished the song, i dont know
who it was but someone started ripping some serious ass!! that sucked, but it
was funny as hell after dog log... what else could they rip out that could
knock us on our ass?
Mango Song: oh that! my friend wanted to hear it in hershey and couldnt make
the show last night, i danced extra hard for her. good solid version of
mango, hadnt heard it in a while and a good change (along with most of the
rest of the show).
Free: good segue into free. i love that lick. shorter than normal, but the
crowd was loving it. surprised that this ended the set, it seemed a little
short to me, but maybe thats cause they played so long the first set.
 
Encore:
Contact: nice choice. i was expecting something way out of the ordinary, but
i think this was my first contact so i was having fun. mike started slappin
that base. git down.  hood, hood, hood, hood......
Rocky Top: shit, man. where's my hood???? i thought they were going to give
it to us since theyve played it there the last 2 years. rocky top always
seems to put a damper on things, but for some reason, maybe its because the
whole show was sick or just because they were so into it, or maybe just casue
they are so fuckin awesome, this song seemed to fit, for the first time to
me...it fit. i cant believe i just said rocky top fit, but it did. plus the
fact that that was the last phish song i would be dancing to for a while.
that made me shake it down.
 
later mike

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 12:58:51 -0400
From: Corey Hovanec corey@trvlnstyle.com
Subject: Merriweather review.
 
 This was my 15th and last show of  the year. It was a fitting final
show before the "break". We pulled into the 'lot' around 5. The lot
being a mall parking lot very close to the back of the venue. Very
strange surroundings. We headed over to the venue to try and find the
Shakedown. As we approached we could hear the soundcheck very clearly.
It was a typical goofy soundcheck song with Trey singing lyrics about it
being a sunny afternoon, cooking hot dogs, hamburgers, and corn on the
cob on a grill. And singing about someone wearing a Giants jersey. There
was a LARGE security presence in the lots. I saw at least 15 epople
getting busted for one thing or another and vending was being shut down.
Right near the will call there was about 5 people sitting on the ground
handcuffed and about ten police officers  milling around. I've never
seen so much security at a venue before.
   The inside of Merriweather seemed pleasently intimate to me. We opted
to pick seat in the middle of the pavillion right on the aisle. We were
lucky to keep those seats with *plenty* of dancing room the whole show.
On with the show.....
 Guyute, while definitely overplayed IMO was great as an opener. They
took it to a few new places which is good for a song that mostly sticks
to its structure most of the time. Trey on keys in a few places near the
end. My only complaint about Trey on keys is that most of the time i
can't really tell what the hell he's doing. That would change later.
GBOTT, was good. I hadnt heard it since summer so it was okay. I was
reading a music industry mag the other day and they had a full page ad
promoting this tune as the new single from Farmhouse. Bathtub Gin, wow!
Since the Gin at PNC this summer all other Gin jams have left me
unwowed. IMO that Gin was the peak of my summer shows and by far my
favorite Gin i've heard Phish do. This one is a close second as the jam
opened up wide. I really, really enjoyed it.
The Limb by Limb up next was shaky in the very beginning, I have a hard
time deciphering the Limb jams sometimes. This one seemed to me to be
average.
MOMA was good as always...very high energy. The guy who had been
standing next to me the whole first set took this opportunity to strike
up a conversation with a passing friend. Speaking loudly and showing off
his stash to his buddy sort of got in my way though i try not to let
shit like this get to me sometimes it does. I just dont like to hold
conversations during a show and it baffles me that someone can yell
through a jam like that. Lawn Boy is always great and this as no
exception. Page has been *ON* this whole tour IMO and its great to see
him do the Lawn Boy thing.
My girlfriend really wanted to hear the next song and the smile on her
face during those opening chords was priceless. This Fluffhead was so on
the money! I feel like they have been so tight this tour and this was
furthur proof. I really enjoyed this Fluffhead. They just fucking nailed
it. Some Fluffhead's fall flat but this one was peak. I love Curtain...
was a bit more than usual discussion on stage before it started so i
kind of thought we might get the 'with' too. I was very happy we did and
altough i didnt think Trey totally nailed it he was forgiven. It was
beautiful. Phish without Fishman would kind of be like Zeppelin without
Bonham. Fishman is a serious fucking force and he was during this jam. A
hard hitter, he is the Man.Then a short but capital S Sweet...Chalkdust,
as always raged. Setbreak semmed short as they all have this tour which
will draw no complaints from me. The lights went down shortly after the
very crowded trip to the bathroom.......Rock and Roll...was High Energy
as shit a crazy jam that had Hose written all over it. Trey at one point
just fucking ripped these notes out of nowhere that got me good. A very
intense version with solid playing from everyone. A very good choice for
set opener. Theme was unexpected but welcome. A good song for sure that
opens up some great jams. As with the whole show it was quite solid and
rewarding...this segued reggae style into Dog Log. This very silly song
was done very seriously and was as tight and focused as i've heard it.
The jams in the song were exceptinal and Page again, was ON. This was
followed by the Mango Song , the tune itself was probably the lowest
energy tune of the night IMO but the jam following it was one of the
highlights of the night. Trey moved to keys and was making some serious
noise. The jam started out very bottom heavy and i thought it might
fizzle out. Then it turned into "super space funk".
I closed my eyes and truly let it take me, and take me it did. There and
back and I dont know where in between. I love these types of jams. A
needed Rebirthing for me. THANK YOU PHISH! This all led into Free which
was perfect. I had thought in passing earlier that I might like to hear
this and it was great. The jam had Trey doing some very simple but
potent soloing while grinning ear to ear and looking over at Mike &
Page. Page, Mike, and Fish provided a sick and awesome pulse while Trey
ripped his notes. I was really satisfied after all this. Really
satisfied. The first encore, Contact was great to hear. That little
upbeat jam section in the middle was great. The Rocky Top that followed
was so tight. Page ripped a solo that was contained a furious flurry of
notes. Trey looked over with a huge grin. Very high energy performance.
A great show. Not epic for its song selection or anything other than it
was a powerful performance. It was exeptional for that reason. Thanks
again boys! I think the 5 shows i saw on fall tour were some of the
tightest most high energy solid shit Phish has ever dropped. As good as
any year you care to mention. I love Phish because they evolve. Because
they let me down. Beacuse they pick me up in ways i've never imagined. I
have so many shows on tape and cd. I'll probably get all these too...but
nothing compares to BEING THERE! Trey is right, music is the "ride of a
lifetime", especially this music. So who knows when i'll see Phish
again. A year seems like a long time to wait. But I have a sneaky
feeling that a full year from now, I''ll have seen Phish again. Until
then....
-Corey

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 12:51:40 -0400
From: "Jones, Brett" bjones@PNCADVISORS.COM
Subject: 9/17/00
 
I just wanted to say that Mike Gordon stole this show, and held it together.
He was just awesome all night long. - --  Also,,, I have never seen a worse
lot (except Virginia Beach, which always sucks) ---  The security was so
backwards, it was unbelievable.  It took over 25 minutes to get inside the
damn arena because they kept shutting down the gates every 2 minutes.  I
would love to see the Think Tank that came up with the security game plan
last night.  What a bunch of morons....  Also, in the lot,,, I must have
seen about 4 different people get arrested, and must have been told to empty
my beer on 5 different occassions.  Oh well,,, at least I got to see The
Curtain With and Dog Log. --

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 13:59:36 EDT
From: Charles Stringfellow jerrybear1973@hotmail.com
Subject: 9-17-00 -- Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland
 
I would venture out and say "THIS is what IT is all about." This night was
much more upbeat from Friday's show in Hershey and Trey did not have the
slow start like he seemed to have on the 15th. Guyute was welcomed with a
roar... but I can not begin to find words to describe Lawn Boy... well just
one:  PAGE!! WOW! Fluff had my blood racing and the energy form the crowd
was nothing short of amazing! This was high octane performance that will be
hard to duplicate. An amazing first set... well over 90min. Contact and
Rocky Top were a real treat and made my night!
But, I must admit that the state of Maryland was acting like big brother.
There is a limit to which "command presence" is required. This was one
sketchy scene and was not helped by the younger crowd being blatant and just
plain stupid. I was very disappointed in the fact that tickets were being
issued for selling eats, Huh? (by the way..thank you grill cheese
girl!)Having read the recent reviews , I  believe that there is a common
goal we would all like to reach: back to the Old Phish. The suggestions of
more remote venues would discourage the unfortunate bad apples and I am all
for that. I don't want to end on a downer here, so thank you PHISH, PHANS
and everyone that made this a phatty!

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 12:39:12 EDT
From: Jpm60621@aol.com
Subject: Merriweather Review
 
This was a great show. Music wise, the band sounded so sweet. The light show
was fantastic and also really cool was the job the cameramen did. This was
clutch because the lawn at Merriweather is not steep enough so you cannot see
the stage, only the big TV screen.
 
The thing I will remember about this show was how bad the cops and security
were. They had these big guerillas walking around being mean. They tried to
stop Kim and I from selling grilled cheese. I felt like telling them off. I
just said we were giving them away. It wasn't that far from the truth since
we burn so many and we gave those away.
 
The other thing I wont soon forget was the fight we witnessed after the show.
There were two wanna-be ghetto stars fighting on the way out. These are two
dudes who you would have never seen at Lemonwheel 2 years ago. These guys
looked like the type who only come for the E and balloons. I really wouldn't
mind if all the shows happened 4 hours from the nearest city so only the true
phans would come.
 
Anyway, like I said, the show was tops. The first set was super long. I
thought they were gonna close it with Fluffhead (which was great). The
musical highlight of this show for me was the encore. After hours of jamming
they closed with a cool contact and a jamming Rocky Top. Kim and I had to
break into a little square dancing.
 
Final synopsis: The scene is deteriorating but the music is as good as ever.
What the boys need to do is move the concerts away from the big cities and
out to the middle of nowhere. Or else, change their name. It will take the
masses a while to figure out what has happened.

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 08:53:28 EDT
From: CopperDoja@aol.com
Subject: No Subject
 
this will be brief i promise, i usually dont give myself the liberty to write
about any performance, but this show was AWSEOME!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY
KURODA.  i've only been to six shows but this tops evry single one.   can put
much else to into words..
later, the doj

Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 21:54:33 -0700 (PDT)
From: Brien Christesen bchristesen@yahoo.com
Subject: 9-17-00 merriweather review
 
I just got back from merriweather, and all I can say is WOW!  This was my
fifth show in 2 years for those of you who care.  The setlist speaks volumes
about this show, but can't tell the whole story.  I'll skip any talk about the
scene and security and whatnot in favor of talking about my impressions of the
show.  We were getting to our seats just as the show started. Seats in the
back corner, page side of the pavillion, but a great view, nonetheless.
 
GUYUTE:  I really like it as an opener, lots of energy, really got me pumped
 
GBOTT:  The boys got a nice little groove going on this one, some jamming, but
nothing really out there. Very tight, though.
 
GIN:  This is where the show really took off, IMO. Very nice jamming around
the gin theme, had me grooving my butt off
 
LIMB BY LIMB:  This is my girlfriend's favorite song, and she missed it at
Hershey :~( oh well, I was glad to hear it tonight.  Some really nice trey
soloing here.
 
MOMA DANCE:  Very nice, pretty standard, but a lot of fun.  At this point, I
am getting tired, not a slow song yet! (that isn't complaining)
 
LAWN BOY:  It was great to see page walking around singing this one in true
cheezy lounge singer style. He walked up to the front of the stage a few
times, and was singing to people in the first few rows.  At this point, I
thought the set was going to end, but boy was I ever wrong! :-)
 
FLUFFHEAD:  Super high energy, everyone in the crowd was loving it, always
nice to hear.
 
THE CURTAIN WITH:  Very pretty, as always.  I was really grooving to this.  
Surprised at the amount of more old school phish songs/jams tonight as
compared to friday.  I mean, gin, fluff, and the curtain, all in one set?  I
loved it, though.  When Trey started the rift portion, I almost lost it.  The
curtain with?!?!?! wow.  Simply amazing.  After the rift portion, there was a
nice little jam that I was SURE would end the set.  Wrong again.
 
CHALKDUST:  The energy in this first set was absolutely amazing, it clocked in
at almost 1:45 by my timing.  I couldn't believe how long or how good it was,
and I couldn't wait until the second set.
 
SET II
 
ROCK AND ROLL:  Completely rocking, reminded me a lot of the NYE one, not so
much in length, but in content.
 Not very much spacey jamming, but very focused and fairly long jamming.  Now
I thought there was a segue here, but the setlist doesn't show it.  There
certainly wasn't much time in between songs.  Fish never stopped playing, but
trey finished a loop with his keyboard (the keyboard section was very short),
leaving fish playing a fast rhythm on the high hat, I believe.  Then Page
comes in with the opening notes to....
 
THEME:  Not one that I was expecting, but a pleasant surprise.  I didn't
notice that it was unfinished, but the setlist says it was.  Some nice jamming
that I thought was going to go into other songs, but the last one I expected
was...
 
DOG LOG:  They jammed all the way through this one.  I haven't heard it much,
but I recognized it.  At one point, there was some start-stop jamming, I
think.
 
MANGO:  I am nearly positive there was a segue here too.  I don't think they
stopped playing the whole set.  Some spacey trippy trey keyboard work here.  
It seemed like mike and fish were really driving the jam here, as in rock and
roll.  They didn't let the jam get too slow and ambient (boring) with trey on
keys. They really kept everything moving.
 
FREE:  Great high energy closer, some nice jamming, but not a very long
version.
 
ENCORE
 
CONTACT:  WOW!  I never thought I would hear this one.
 One of my favorite songs ever since I started listening to phish.  Page,
Trey, and Mike led the crowd in waving along with the last chorus, which was
really a nice touch, I thought.
 
ROCKY TOP:  A great way to end a great night.  With a "Play it Leo!" solo from
page, who sounded great tonight, especially in mango.
 
What a great show.  The song selection was fantastic, and while there were
none of the traditional second set jam monsters, the jamming was really
interesting and great.  Thank you phish.
 
~begin shameless grovel~
if you made it all the way through this review, you must think that i have
something worthwhile to say, and if you could help me relive this wonderful
night, i would be forever grateful.  so when one of you kind tapers gets the
show tracked and onto cd (i know it takes a couple weeks), i'd love a copy
 
thanks,
brien

 
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 16:30:10 GMT
From: Nick Terranova ryryrocco@hotmail.com
Subject: merriwether
 
oh my god!!  what an incredible  show.  i had to drive over 1112 hours after
the show dropping people off but it was well worth it.  this rocked from
start to finish.  pne of the finest shows ive been to in a while.
 
09/17/2000 Merriweather Post Pavilion - Columbia, Maryland - reviews
Set I (1:42): Guyute, Back on the Train, Bathtub Gin, Limb by Limb, Moma
Dance, Lawnboy, Fluffhead, The Curtain With*, Chalkdust Torture
Set II (62 min.): Rock and Roll -> Theme from the Bottom > Dog Log > Mango
Song -> Jam** -> Free***
Enc. (10 min.): Contact, Rocky Top
   * - see FAQ; last played 7/12/00, and prior to that 7/23/88
   ** - over 6 minutes, with Trey on keys
   *** - with glow war
 
Guyute:  a good tune but not one of my favorites.  a crowd pleaser none the
less.
BOTT:  blugrassy type jam
Bathtub:  superb spacy jam much unlike the hard rockin bathtub at PNC on
summer tour.
Limb x Limb:  trey flubbed the opening guitar riff to this song but no one
seemed to care.  everyone has to mess up sometime.
Moma Dance:  need i say more?
Lawn Boy:  Page is such crowd pleaser.  he was showboating tonight for sure
Fluffhead: my first since camden on july 3rd and this one was much better
Curtain: right before the band started the tune i was like "gee, i want to
hear curtain." and bam there it was. incredible.
Chalkdust:  could not have come at a better time.
 
Rock n Roll:  trey is the man
Theme: quality version but i liked the camden one better
Dog Log:  EXCELLENT!!! Best song of the night!!
Mango: Spacy jam
Free: rockin solid
 
contact: i love how mike sings this song so seriously
rocky top: way to top it off!!
 
this show was incredible and all who were there will have memories of a
lifetime.  the walk in to the venue is simply breathtaking.   the atmosphere
was amazing as usual.  THANK U PHISH!!!!

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 09:02:16 -0700 (PDT)
From: Marcus Soifer marcusoifer@yahoo.com
Subject: 9/17 Phish-attempting-space-travel-via-music/ energy melee at
Merriweather
 
Good God but I have to put forth words concerning last night's experience!  
Never, and I mean never, have I been exposed to a current of energy the likes
of what was unleashed at the Merriweather Post Pavillion on Septmeber 17!  My
friend asked me if it made up to me what I thought was an unjustifiably-short
second set at Hershey; Merriweather, as I told him (and this was only at
set-break!), was beyond a "make-up" experience; it was a billboard, in
essence--a virtual web-site, if you will--for LIFE! and all that can be
splendorous about it.  Make no mistake my friends, this show was up there with
the best of them, and as far as the exchange of energy at that venue, for
which I thank fate immensely I shared in, well, I would honestly say that an
absolute miracle took place.  I am a musician, but I learned last night that I
want to be more, much more; I want to be what Phish is: I want to be an
alchemist.


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