Date: Sat, 13 Dec 1997 18:29:12 GMT
From: simon cohn
Subject: **Albany 12/12/97 Setlist/Review**
Howdy,
Just finished sleeping off that show. Here's the setlist as i wrote it
down (you might notice a profusion of "jam"s in it... I usually don't
like using the "jam" label in setlists, though i thought they
were pretty justified as i don't think Saw It Again, Piper, or Caspian
were *ever* jammed out like they were last night)
*************************************************
* 12/12/97 The Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY *
*************************************************
1: Funky Bitch-> Also Sprach Zarathustra> Camel Walk, Taste,
Bouncin, Tweezer-> Train Song, Character Zero
2: I Saw It Again-> JAM-> Piper-> JAM-> Swept Away/Steep->
Prince Caspian-> JAM-> Isabella> Tweezer Reprise
E: Guyte, Antelope!
I was suprised at how Prominent Mike was throughout this show... PLM
is doint their job! The band seemed to be having a really good time.
The first set was very good, i though, although *short*--as was the
second set, both around 65 minutes. Funky Bitch was standardly awesome
with Page and Trey both taking their respective solos, and then
jamming out the end. This ended in a whole lot of sound, with Fish
still kicking a beat, which continued with some spacey effects from
Trey, and some cool shit from Page into a *very* funky 2001. This
probably wasn't as good as my favorite version, Starlake 97, but it
was pretty good. Trey wasn't as active as i'd like... it wasn't as
long as the marathon Went version. 2001 ended in some spacey haze, and
a *funky* jam ensued (hence the ">"), i couldn't place it right away,
then Trey stepped up to the mic, Camel Walk!!! I couldn't believe it,
this one came out of *nowhere*, and the funk continued. When Camel
Walk ended, the crowd seemed very psyched--lots of energy to open up
this show with. It continued with Taste, this was turning out to be a
really nice first set! Taste was typically awesome too. I thought
Page's solo might have been better than usual... it's too hard to call
a good Taste, though. The more i hear this tune, the more i am
convinced that Trey's Taste solo is based on Norwegian Wood. I kept
waiting for him to tease it (and maybe he did), but for the mostpart
i think he's just jamming around that theme. Bouncing was next, and
was a HUGE BUZZKILL. Really, there was so much energy, and Bouncin
just killed it (for me at least). Well, maybe they just wanted a
break, because what came next made up for it. Tweezer was great,
although maybe a little short. Definitely not an epic/experimental
version, but a good jam none the less. It started out in funk mode,
with Trey hittingthe wah-wah. At one point a spotlight went on Trey,
and the rest of the band stopped playing. It was just Trey hitting
those wah-wah chords for about 30 seconds, then the rest of the band
kicked the jam back in--i thought this was very cool. They proceded in
funk mode, until it turned into a RAGING jam! This mellowed out with
Trey melodiously noodleing, he played the opening to Train song, and
it emerged from this very beautiful mellow Tweezer jam. Train Song was
standard, though i remember thinking at one point that they were going
to go back into Tweezer (i thought i heard Trey and Fish reving up--if
you know what i mean--for a return to that raging Tweezer jam, which
would have been very nice), but it never happened. Instead they closed
the set with an *intense* Character Zero. Pretty awesomely standard
Zero... Trey was going *off* at the end though, pretty hot jam.
Second set started off with Saw It Again. This is one of my favorite
new tunes--you gotta love those metal chords. Anyway, instead of
ending where they usually do, they did an extended jam, which i really
liked, although i don't remember much else about it. This jam
continued until i recognized the chords to Piper. Before i saw this
show, i wasn't all that excited about this tune... that's pretty much
changed. This song is like a freight train--it starts out very slowly,
and builds up in intensity the whole way through. By the end it was
too fast to even dance to, all you could do was stand there in amazed
awe. This was one hell of an intense jam. At one point i thought they
were going to kick it into Weekapaug... of course i would have totally
lost my shit if they had done this. Instead the jam (finally!)
mellowed out into Swept Away/Steep. This song had PERFECT PLACEMENT!!
NOthing could've followed up that intense Piper jam better than
this. Good vocals by Page, the scream was crazy... lots of
distortion/feedback. Out of the haze emerged Prince Caspian... I
thought "ok, cool." I was *totally* unprepared for what would
happen. Like Saw It Again, Caspian had an extended jam. I can't begin
to describe it, only that it was, like everything else in this set,
INTENSE!!!! They kept on building the jam up into Llama intensity
(with Trey doing the Llama chords, but never actually going into it),
and then slowing it down into a cool mellow jam. I don't know how many
times they did this, only that it eventually ended with the
traditional Caspian ending, which melded into Isabella! I heard this
at Starlake, i can't tell which version i like better... This version
was very hot, though (i think Starlake had better Trey solos). Anway,
i love this tune, and it's a great way to end a set... Reprise kicked
in right after Isabella... typically awesome and powerful.
This has to be the best encore i've ever heard. First of all, Guyute
is an awesome song in this slot. A great song to end a show
with. There were a couple flubs in this one, nothing *too* major (i
can' wait to hear the studio version of this song... hopefully they
can get it right there :) Everyone thought the show was over, but then
we heard those familiar notes. Antelope!!!! I couldn't believe it. I
stood there, amazed until i was finally just started to dance my ass
off. All the tiredness instantly left me, and i was jumping all around
for this. I think this may have been the best Antelope i've ever
heard, although there's no way to tell until i get the tapes. A lotta
gears in this one. There was a sort of extended jam in between "rye
rye rocco," and "been you to have..." with some stop start jamming
that was very cool. I can't wait for tonight. Later...
simon
s_cohn@skidmore.edu
--
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 14 Dec 1997 19:11:28 GMT
From: Kim Hannula
Subject: Albany 12/12 - the setlist doesn't do it justice
I wrote down these impressions Saturday morning to help me digest Friday's
music. I'm posting this to share my experiences with friends, and because
I don't think the setlist posted by Mikey Perrott on the phish-info list
does justice to the music the other night at all (through no fault of
Mikey's -- I mean, he's in California mailing out what other people send
him!)
Mikey posted the following list for the first set:
I: Funky Bitch > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Camelwalk, Taste,
Bouncing Around the Room, Tweezer, Trainsong, Character Zero
This list would do a pretty good job of summarizing the first set, except
it ought to be Funky Bitch -> ASZ and Tweezer -> Trainsong, for those who
play by the Mockingbook setlist group's rules.
Funky Bitch was a really fun opener for me personally - I just started
laughing as soon as I heard it. It began as the typical fun-to-dance-to
cover, intro, lyrics, Trey solos, lyrics, Page solos. But after a few
times through the chord changes in Leo-solo mode, Page's solo turned into a
full band jam, with Mike's playing most out front (though it was not a bass
solo of any sort), a delay loop (from Trey) repeating in the background,
and a disco-ish beat from Fish. Page teased the 2001/Also Sprach keyboard
part, left it to continue the jam, then picked it back up again and led a
very smooth, very pleasant to hear segue into Also Sprach Zarathustra.
Camel Walk started as the last notes of ASZ were being sustained, so that
wasn't a segue at all. I love Taste and Bouncing (for entirely different
reasons). Tweezer's jam segment faded from typical Tweezer jamming into a
quiet groove that would have been really pretty except for some annoying
feedback. Trey started to tease, and then play Trainsong during the quiet
groove. Fish maintained the beat of the quiet groove (which wasn't the
typical Tweezer drumming -- it was a steadier and quieter beat) through the
instrumental intro to Trainsong, and then faded it out. I'd call Tweezer
-> Trainsong a segue based on that, but it was not nearly as smooth as the
Funky Bitch -> ASZ, and I'm not gonna pick nits with anyone who is
convinced it should be Tweezer > Trainsong. During the set-ending
Character Zero, it seemed as if Trey deliberately slowed the band down as
he sung the lyrics (there seemed to be a lot of tempo wars on Saturday
night as well, by the way).
Set break music was Allison Kraus, both when I headed out to the bathroom
and the Waterwheel Foundation table and when I came back.
The second set as listed on the Phish info list does not do justice to the
music played at all.
II: Saw It Again > Piper, Swept Away > Steep, Prince Caspian * >
Isabella, Tweezer Reprise
If I were writing the list, it would be Saw it Again -> Piper -> Swept
Away/Steep/Caspian -> Isabella > Tweezer Reprise. And that still wouldn't
do justice to the set.
I didn't recognize Saw it Again initially -- I'd heard it this summer at
Shoreline, but I don't have it on any tapes. My first reaction was WHY? I
mean, after the kinda cool funky intro, the song is repetitive,
harsh-sounding, and unpleasant. And then I thought - the guys look and
sound like they're having fun (though granted, this is one band that almost
always seems to be having fun -- that's part of the appeal, to me). They
must like it if they're playing it. So I tried to listen with an open
mind. And it struck me that the song is kind of humorous -- it sounds like
the soundtrack to a B horror film. I could imagine Godzilla or the
Staypuff Marshmallow Man or, most horrible of all, a gigantic Fishman,
complete with dress and vacuum cleaner, stomping across Albany, destroying
buildings as thousands of long-haired kids run screaming away.
And then I stopped thinking, because Phish started jamming. Saw it Again
turned into a dark, noisy jam. And then it started to change. I can't
describe all the stuff that went on. It reminded me of the 12/1/94 Salem,
OR Tweezer in that it wasn't particularly spacy, yet it wasn't any Phish
song that I knew. It speeded up and slowed down. It was melodic enough
that I wondered it it could be a new instrumental I hadn't heard before.
Then it evolved into a joyous jam. I can't describe it musically, but it
was uplifting in the way that parts of Fluffhead and Harry Hood are. I
think this was the beginning of Piper, but since I hadn't heard Piper
before I'm not sure. I didn't understand any of the lyrics when Trey
started singing. It felt to me like he was singing in tongues (or I may
have been hearing in tongues, since I was still in lost-in-jam mode). The
jam after the lyrics sounded very familiar - a build of tension that I knew
was like the intro to a Phish song that I knew, but that I could not place.
Someone later said they thought Phish were going to segue into Llama after
Piper (Mikey's list noted this happening after Caspian, and that might be
the case too -- I don't recognize teases in jams very well). In any case,
they didn't play Llama. They just kept jamming, with less variety than
before Piper, but in a generally tense, high-energy kind of way. The jam
eventually became more peaceful, and turned into Swept Away, which turned
into Steep, which faded into Prince Caspian (as on Billy Breathes). (I
love the emotional contrast between these three tunes -- peaceful and
angelic (Swept Away) -> dissonant and chaotic (Steep) -> celebration!
(Prince Caspian) -- even though this was an album combo of tunes, it felt
very right out of the jams earlier in the set.) Trey's solo in Prince
Caspian was _beautiful_. Absolutely beautiful. At the end of Prince
Caspian, I finally whooped in appreciation of all that had gone on in the
set so far. And I _never_ whoop -- I am a silent grinning bob-in-place
person most of the time. Caspian _almost_ ended (so far in the set nothing
had come to a clear end -- it was segue after segue after segue), but the
ending chords eventually turned into what I described on my "set list" (as
if I was really keeping a list of anything at this point) as a
"tension/release jam". This might be the thing that reminded other people
of Llama. Eventually Fish started drumming in a 6/8-like rhythm, but the
didn't switch to any 6/8 tune. Instead they segued into a rock cover that
I didn't recognize, but a friend told me later was Isabella.
Isabella was the first song to end without a true segue (as it is the first
song I've felt comfortable making a paragraph break after!). Tweezer
Reprise started as the last notes of Isabella were being sustained. And
that was the set. It was fairly short, I guess, though I didn't check my
watch. But again, the list really doesn't do justice to it. Set lists
tend to emphasize the identifiable songs that were played. This set was
more like a jam punctuated with identifiable songs that provided mental
resting places -- islands in a sea of jams, between one shore that was Saw
it Again and the other that was Tweezer Reprise.
Encore: Guyute, Antelope.
A friend stopped by my seat to visit midway through Tweezer Reprise, so I
didn't pay the kind of total, absorbed attention to the encores as I did to
the 2nd set. But I noticed that Guyute has finally matured from an awkward
adolescent of a tune to a powerful, comfortable composition. I finally
like it. Its ending didn't feel final -- not enough release to send people
into the streets. So somehow I knew it wasn't quite the end, that there
would be more to the encore. But Antelope?!? Yowsa. When I heard
Antelope's first notes, I looked at my watch, then at my friend. Are there
curfews in Albany?
The release at the end of Antelope was what we needed to finally release
the spell.
I go to shows because I like to experience improvisation while it goes on.
Recently I've been frustrated because I don't get the same thrill of
anticipation before Phish shows as I did during the first couple years I
listened to Phish. I've been craving the laughter-inducing unexpected that
I used to encounter in every setlist and every song. I want to be
surprised like a newbie again.
Friday night I was more than surprised. I was Awed.
Yay!
Kim
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 14 Dec 1997 17:46:07 GMT
From: Dr Cobb
Subject: Review: Albany 12/12/97
This turned out to be one Hell of a show, folks... if they play on this
level again tonight, we could really be in for something special. I never like
"disclaimers," so I'm not going to offer one. The venue was nice. Security
wasn't bad at all; I don't usually cause any trouble, but I didn't see them
hassling anyone else, either. Some of the police were a bit obnoxious, but
somehow, I sympathize with that - it ws a rowdy bunch.
The venue was an excellent size. The crowd seemed a bit unenergetic throughout
the first set... Anyway, the music.
Set I: A little over an hour
Funky Bitch: An excellent choice for an opener. Overall, it was very well
played. Page took a longish solo after the first two verses, which was pretty
good. After that, the band worked their way down into a funky groove, which
segued beautifully into
2001: An excellent version. About 15 minutes long, maybe a little less. The
jam never got dull. Trey offered a lot of staccato chording throughout the
whole thing. I think I preferred this to the Starlake version. Anyway, out of
a noisy ending (warranting a ">", I think...) came
Camel Walk: Cool! I don't love this song as much as everyone else does, but it
really was nice to hear a rarity at thsi point in the first set. Again, a very
funky jam (albeit short) jam came out of it. Definitely better than Stuttgart
(though I haven't heard Darien Lake). Continued the first set's theme of heavy
funk. From here, we get:
Taste: Actually, this wasn't that great, I though. Page seemed to flub a few
points in the composed section, and then took a mediocre solo. Not that
compelling, really. Trey's solo was very good, climaxing a few times, but I'm
sure I've heard better. A bit disappointing.
Bouncin: Awful. Seriously - they seemed totally out of sync during this song.
Ah well...
After a long pause and a conversation with Page, Trey starteed into
Tweezer: An excellent opening. Trey fooled around with the opening rift a
little; I don't remember how, I only remember it was cool. The pre-jam section
was especially well played. From there, Page and especially Mike started to
dominate the jam,. They built a very deep, very tight groove. Nothing out of
the ordinary, but still very cool. At one moment, Fishman dropped out of the
jam, with Mike and Page alone continuing to groove funkily. The whole groove
reminded me a bit of the Gorge Tweezer, but don't take my word for that. Trey
entered into the jam. He did some heavy chording for a while, the jam built
up... it always seemed about one chord change or key change away from being
really spectacular. Instead, it slowed down into a pretty groove - something
like the jam after Franklin's Tower in the Starlake Gumbo. It segued somewhat
sloppily into
Trainsong: Pretty good...
Character Zero: Well, everyone knew this was the set closer. Trey really
seemed into his solo. The band had never really taken off during the first
set, and he seemed to want to energize them. Anyway, despite the obvious
energy he put into it, the song turned out only okay... Trey thanked us, the
band bowed, and went on there way.
Overall, this was not a great first set. After the Bitch -> 2001, it all
went downhill, except for a few short moments (e.g. the beginning of Tweezer).
Probably not worth getting the tape. Continuing the Albany tradition, though,
a wanting first set gave way to a hose-filled second set which is likely to go
down in the history books...
I Saw It Again: Yes, I was totally disappointed with this opener. But wow, did
it turn out to be something special. Fish was yelping all the way through the
early jam - the energy was very high, and stayed there for a long time. They
extended the usual jam part, and began a long segue into Piper. There were
parts of this jam that sounded almost like the beginning of a Mind Left Body
jam (no, it was never teased or played - it was just hinted at). It was very
odd, because Trey continued to punctuate the jam with riffs right out of I Saw
It Again. There were some pretty moments, some intense moments - definitely
the greatest I Saw It Again ever played, for what that's worth. Out of the
chaos the band finally settled into the chords of
Piper: I love this song; this version was no disappointment. The early going
was just solid, intense Piper jamming. The vocal buid was followed by one of
the most intense jams I've ever heard Phish play. It absolutely ripped. There
were moments where it sounded almost like a Down with Disease jam, and Llama
teases all over the place. But more than anything, this was a Bowie jam.
There were moments when I thought they were going to hit the closing riffs for
Bowie, but instead, thy just built the jam up again. After a few minutes of
intense jamming, they settled down into a quieter, more serene groove, only to
jump right back into the Bowie jam. Once again, it built to a feroious climax.
Actually, this was a lot faster than a typical Bowie jam, and about twice as
intense. The 12/2/95 Tweezer is a good parallel to tonight's Piper - similar
jamming, only without the disappointing ending. Thie jam built to a second
climax - at least as intense as the first - before settling down, and sliding
beautifully into
Swept Away -> Steep: Perfectly placed. Beautiful. They patiently made their
way through these two songs, providing a beautiful finish to a hose filled jam.
Out of the noise at the end came...
Prince Caspian: I saw a lot of fans give up on the set at this point, which is
really too bad. Yes, there were a lot of new songs. But they were played
absolutely brilliantly, and jammed out magnificently. Musically, this show was
a lot better than the one that followed the next night, despite the superior
set list. Give me a good old fashioned Hose over a bunch of old songs any day.
At any rate, Caspian featured a particularly lovely solo from Trey. A quick
thought on this song: I usually can't stand this sort of thing, but I think
Caspian would be a ton more enjoyable if the whole arena sung along to the "Oh,
to be Prince Caspian" part. Anyway, the jam finished up nicely, and, out of
the cacaphony of the ending, we went right back into the Bowie jam. Once
again, absolutely mindblowing! Not much more to say about this jam, except GET
THE TAPES. Anyway, out of this jam came
Isabella: Again, extremely intense. More powerful soloing by Trey to cap off a
very Trey-driven set. A little longer than usual, if memory serves. A brief
pause, and we hit
Tweezer Reprise: Well played, very high energy. Trey was walkin all around the
stage -boy, he was loving this. A sweet climax, and, after only a little over
an hour, the set was finished. A bit short, huh? But these were sixty very
well-spent minutes. I heard groans, but I wasn't disappointed at all. I was
figuring on My Soul or something as an encore, what with the tour closing show
the next night, and the equally brief set/encore the night before, but I could
not have been more wrong.
E: Guyute: I was overjoyed. My first Guyute. Yes, it was flubbed all over the
place. But on the heels of a set like that, I couldn't ask for more in an
encore. After a satisying climax, I started on my way out of the arena, only
to be stopped by the distinctive sound of the opening of
Antelope: Wow! I could not have been more pumped for this one. Is this the
first Antelope encore since the last show at the Front? Whatever, it rocked.
A pleasing opening was followed by an intense jam segment. A Buried Alive
tease in the early going, soe pretty crazy gear shifts. Nothing historic,
except for the fact that this was an ENCORE. After a very satisfying jam, the
band stopped on a dime. The "Rye, Rye, Rocco" part was extended for the better
part of five minutes. Some stop--start jamming, a bass solo by Mike, all kinds
of nice stuff in here. They just didn't want to let it go. Finally, Trey does
the "Rye, Rye, Rocco" bit. "Been you to have any spike..." - jam, stop on a
dime - "man?" From there, we go into the "Run, run, run" bit. Beautiful!
Finally, the show ends. What a fantasic encore! Maybe it's just me, but I
prefer this encore to a My Soul Squirming Coil, a Hood Twezer Reprise, or a 40
minute Harpua with Primus. Great way to cap off a great show. The next night
didn't quite measure up to this one, but who cares? On the Scott Jordan scale,
the first set gets a 4, and the second gets an 8.5. I guess I'll give the
whole show a 7 or so. Don't bother with the first set, unless you can get the
Bitch -> 2001 as filler. Find the second set, though. definintely worth it
(that _is_ a request, if anyone can help me out...)
Erik
Erik
"It is far better to be silent than merely to increase the quantity of bad
books." -Voltaire
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 02:50:40 GMT
From: Andrew Van Alstyne
Subject: Albany Review -- 12/12/97
Hello All,
Just for the record, this was my thirteenth show -- a nice baker's dozen
of Phish :-)
I started listening to Phish in 93, saw them for the first time in 94,
and have heard ~550 hours. My seats were lower level Page side. The
sound in the Knick was excellent, imo. The scene outside was quite
large. South Pearl Street was closed off a few hours before show time,
and there was very little maneuvering room. On top of this, it was
quite cold, so everyone was huddled together for warmth. I went with my
little sister (it was her second show) and we went inside early.
Set One:
Funky Bitch -> 2001 -> Camel Walk, Taste, Bouncing Around the Room,
Tweezer -> Train Song, Character Zero
Time: 8:10 - 9:14
Funky Bitch, WOW! This was an excellent opener. Always a fun song to
hear, but there was an excellent jam out of it. After about ten minutes
the jam went from funky blues to space, but the band still clung to the
structure of Funky Bitch. During the space, Trey played some licks that
were extremely reminiscent of Contact. This was not a tease, but they
were definitely in a Contact style. Soon, there were no traces of the
Bitch.
2001 followed and continued the spacey funk of the Bitch. Although it
was extended, it was nothing compared to some of the mammoth 2001s from
the summer. They ran through the theme twice before gradually easing
into
Camel Walk. Yes. This set was stellar up to this point -- it featured
quality jams and fun songs. Everyone got down to the thick funk of this
tune. There really isn't all that much to talk about with this song,
but it's definitely a fun treat to hear.
Taste followed this thick funk, and led the band in a slightly different
direction. There were some problems early on in the Taste, but the jam
was upbeat. I'm not going to comment in depth upon this jam, because --
to tell the truth -- it didn't really stand out too much: this was an
average Taste.
Bouncing was a simply awful choice/version. A well played Bouncing can
be fun, but this is a substandard version -- even for Bouncing.
Tweezer followed up, to redeem the set. There was quite a discussion
between Page and Trey before the Tweezer. It started out slow and funky
(a la Hartford) with each instrumental part being heavily emphasized.
The jam kept to the slow and funky Phish groove. There was some nice
wah-wah work by Trey. The band generated a groove that featured Page
and Mike in shining roles. Near the end Trey began playing melodic
lines that eventually found their way into Train Song.
Train Song was a strange choice for a segue. Beautiful song that I
adore . . . standard.
Character Zero was a high energy set closer.
I really enjoyed this set; I'd give it a 7.5 -- it had rare songs, fun
jams, and a lot of energy.
Set Two:
I Saw it Again -> Piper -> Swept Away -> Steep -> Prince Caspian -> Jam*
-> Isabella -> Tweezer Reprise
Time -- 10:03 - 11:05
Encore: Guyute, Run Like an Antelope
Time: 11:08 - 11:33
I am not a huge fan of I Saw It Again (actually, I really can't stand
the song). However, this is the best version of the song that I have
heard. The jam after was extremely chaotic and resembled Llama. It
continued for a while in a Fluffhead majestic-type style as the segue
into Piper began.
Piper is a fun song that I am not thoroughly familiar with, but I do
enjoy it.
Swept Away and Steep were standard. Weird placement, though.
Caspian followed. This song is overplayed, because, although it has an
interesting jam, it is extremely simple and repetitive. I found this
version to be one of the better versions I've heard, but I found myself
bored at times.
The jam that followed had clear and blatant Llama teases. We all
expected Llama, but instead ended up with Isabella.
The band sounds excellent on this one. Isabella is a cool cover.
Out of the chaos of the end, Tweezer Reprise began, giving the show some
energy.
This was a fairly short set. It featured some interesting versions of
songs that I don't enjoy all that much. I'd give it a solid 5.0
Now on to the encore. This is by far the greatest encore that I have
ever seen live, and I think it may be one of the greatest I've ever
heard. It may not have been as much fun as, say, Vega$ '96, but it
featured two lengthy songs.
Guyute was flawless. This is my favorite song to see live (besides
YEM), and I loved this eleven minute version.
The fourteen minute Antelope that followed was nuts. The band built up
ridiculous amounts of energy during the jam. Near the end off the jam,
there was a clear Buried Alive tease. Beautiful. As they went into the
vocal section, they began doing the start-stop thing. There was a long
pause between "Rye, Rye, Rocco" and "Been you to have any spike?" which
featured some wah-wah solo work by Trey. There was also a long break
before "Man." Mike was excellent during this final section. Basically,
the encore was better than the whole second set. In terms of encores it
gets an 11.0 easily. Stellar.
This show featured an excellent first set and encore, and a nice attempt
for a second set. The band was ready to jam, they simply chose the
wrong songs. Give the show a 7.0 Listen to the first set and encore.
The second set is also worth listening to, but I don't thin that it'll
spend too much time in my deck.
Comments, questions, flames,
Andrew
-- Andrew Van Alstyne
http://www.stlawu.edu/x0avana:http/home.htm
"The road goes on" -- DMW
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 18:07:37 GMT
From: Benjamin Cho
Subject: Re: Another 12/12 Albany Review
Hey there. I thought I'd add my little bit to your post. I really liked the
first set. The Funky B>2001>CAMELWALK was a great way to open up the show
with lots of energy and combined with the Tweez made a nice funk throwdown
for the first set. I actually liked all the songs in this set. Bouncin is
bouncin-not going to kill ya to hear it one more time-I don't mind it, and
i think the melody to Trainsong is really pretty. The Char0 was well jammed
and not too long. A nice 1st set closer.
However, I thought the second set was quite poor. The jamming seemed
uninspired and Trey seemed to be trying to create energy out of nowhere,
rather than letting it build up in the jam. At several points the jam was
calm, and Trey would start whanging away out of nowhere. Also, half the
time it was a Llama tease-just play the song if you're gonna tease it so
much! The ISIA was pretty cool for the long jam segment and I really
thought they were going to play Fluffhead after, but got a segue into Piper
instead. This Piper was poor compared to the Auburn Hills version, although
IMO Auburn Hills set 2 was the best set of Phish I have ever seen. I think
the boys knew their playing the second set was poor, and that is why they
busted out with the Antelope after Guyute-they felt like they needed to
make up for their poor performance. The Guyute seemed a little off at
times, comparing it to the Dayton version but the Antelope was ROCKIN!!!!!!
A nice finish, especially since I was wearing the shirt that I had just
bought from Antelope Greg. All in all, a nice first set, shitty second set,
and awesome encore.
Ben Cho
bch183@nwu.edu
ps: Whoever it was that was breaking into cars in the parking lot under the
overpass- YOU SUCK!!!!
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 13 Dec 1997 11:44:29 -0500
From: Aaron Joseph Westendorf
Subject: 12/12 Setlist and Set 1 Review
Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY December 12, 1997
Set1:Funky Bitch->2001, Camel Walk, Taste, Bouncin', Tweezer>Train Song,
Charecter Zero
Set2:I Saw it Again->Piper->Jam>Swept Away->Steep->Prince
Caspian->Jam->Isabella>Tweezer Reprise
E:Guyute, Antelope
This is my first review of a show. It is all my opinion, but to give
you a background on myself (not that it means that much), this was my
ninth show, and I've got about 200hrs on tape. That said, ....
Preshow:Since I live in the area, preshow consisted of going up to the
house and hanging out and catching up with some of my brothers that were
fortunate enough to make it to Rochester and Penn State. I chose to go
to this show completely sober (see my other post about that), and so I
did not partake in any of the "rounds" that took place. The drive over
was fine, no traffic, and parking was easily found, a part about the
Knick that I love. yes, I still call it the Knick; it's been that for
as long as it's been around, and I'll coninue to call it that. Pepsi
Arena just sounds dumb. Once inside, we found our seats easily, towards
the far corner, about 1/3 of the way up. They turned out to be pretty
good. I caught up with a few friends, and at about 8:10, the boys took
the stage, opening up with a nice
FUNKY BITCH:Great song to open with, and one which my buddy next to me
had said he really wanted to hear. As far as the songs goes, it was
fairly typical, but during the jam segment at the end, Trey started to
play around with the funk background of 2001. Fishman soon picked up,
keeping up the tempo and switching over to the 2001 drum beat, providing
a perfect segue into right into...
2001:Once they switched over fully to the 2001 theme, it was time to
really bust out the funk. And they did. Mike and Page laid out a nice
funk background, and Trey teased his opening numerous times, keeping the
jam going for several minutes until the he brought in his lead part.
CAMEL WALK:Wow, oddly placed and definatly unexpected. I can't really
complain about my second Camel Walk, but it definatly did not have the
power that the Darien Lake one did, where Trey was screaming out the
chorus.
TASTE:Another odd placement, but after Darien, I've really come to enjoy
this song a lot. The jam wasn't all that impressive, and started to
bring me down from the earlier excitment from the funky opening.
BOUNCIN':Ahh, where had the funk gone? After such a great opening, I
was a little disappointed to hear this. At least it gave me some time
to get the Gatorade out of my system, just in time for...
TWEEZER:They brought back the funk in a big way for this song, and the
crowd was really groovin'. The jam was great, with Mike pounding out
some great bass lines and Trey and Page's work fitting beautifully.
They began to bring it down, and I was hoping for the beginning of an
epic Tweezer jam, but instead Trey forced it into
TRAIN SONG: I was getting kind of bummed, because every time the funk
was taking over, they would break it up. Not much I can say about this
song though, it doesn't really change from show to show.
CHARECTER ZERO:I like this song live, but again, the funk had died by
this point, and when Trey called the end of the set, I was almost glad,
because they had a chance to start fresh.
--
tape list:http://www.rpi.edu/~westea/tapelist.html -important info!!
home page:http://www.rpi.edu/~westea
"Set the gearshift to the high gear of your soul, you've got to run like an Antelope, out of control"-Dude of Life
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 14 Dec 1997 18:31:17 GMT
From: Jonathan Shedletzky
Subject: Albany Review
*=22Disclaimer=22*--- I find it unnecessary to state how many hours I have =
on tape and how many shows I've seen. All that should be know is the fact t=
hat I am infatuated with this band, just like you.
Well, I must say it's truly a hassle spending 9 hours on a stuffy, packed b=
us, but well worth it.
12/12/97 Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY=20
I: Funky Bitch->2001-> Camel Walk, Taste, Bouncin', Tweezer, Trainsong, =
Character Zero=20
II: Saw It Again-> Piper->Swept Away-> Steep->Prince Caspian->
Isabella, Tweezer Reprise=20
E: Guyute, Run Like An Antelope**=20
SCENE: Alright I guess. It was mainly confined to a blocked off area of S. =
Pearl St. where everyone was hawking their drugs and t-shirts and glasswar=
e and assorted homemade delectibles. Basically, just what you'd expect from=
a show. Lots of cops.
VENUE: The Knick is a nice place, with really good sound. Yet it is a rathe=
r large building. Security inside were bitches. I was repeatedly threatened=
with getting booted for smoking a cigarette.
Set I:
FUNKY BITCH: Good to hear this one as an opener. I didn't mind hearing it a=
gain after the show in Cleveland. The jam was standard blues with a hint of=
that intoxicating funk. Wasn't too long of a jam. Eventually, they brought=
it down and smoothly segued into...
2001: I was dying to hear this tune sometime in the four shows I intended t=
o see this tour. This wasn't a monumental version, yet still groovable and =
just very cool to hear. Segued into...
CAMEL WALK: Yes=21=21=21=21 It's great to hear a rare tune like this but it=
's even better when it's a killer tune such as Camel Walk. Actually, I'm su=
rprised that this tune hadn't popped up more on this past tour what with al=
l the funk and all. I found myself singing this tune to myself all night.
TASTE: I'm not as fond as I used to be of this song. A lot of people are sa=
ying that it will be a tune to mature greatly in the near future, but the r=
ecent versions that I've heard (from the summer) don't really impress. Pers=
onally, I prefer the version of yesteryear, as in 1995 or so. Nevertheless,=
I didn't mind hearing it and enjoyed it immensely. Obviously not something=
that blew my mind but it's nice to just close your eyes, put your head dow=
n and groove to.
BOUNCIN': Second time I've heard it this week (the other being in Cleveland=
) and two times too many, if you ask me.
TWEEZER: As well, the second time I had heard it this week but I was happy =
to hear it again. Compared to the Detroit Tweezer, this one was nothing spe=
cial really. It was basically a melodic jam that never really went anymore.=
It didn't as hard and experimental as I would have liked. It was a danceab=
le, laid back version. Eventually, the jam started to stray towards it's en=
d but, like I said, it ended. It may segued or transitioned into...
TRAINSONG: Yet another repeat from last week and another one I could have g=
one without. In all honesty, I like this tune a lot, but I like it as a stu=
dio tune not as a live tune. It doesn't do much of anything to me.
CHARACTER ZERO: Another repeat that I don't mind hearing, but I just wish t=
hey would have done something with it kind of like what went on in Hampton =
(I think it was Hampton). It was a standard rock 'n roll jam with no experi=
mentation or exploration as hoped for. I guess that's appropriate for a set=
closer.
Overall, a good set but not exactly outstanding. I think it started out qui=
te strong with the Bitch->2001->Camel Walk, but dissintegrated thereafter. =
These 3 aformentioned 3 tunes were my highlight of the set. The Tweezer was=
disappointing, only because I had been treated toa wild version in Auburn =
Hills. Taste was respectable.
Set II:
SAW IT AGAIN: I was surprised to hear this song. They've played it quite sp=
arsely and I presumed it dying, although I think it is a fun tune, in a dar=
k depressing sort of way. Fortunately, the boyz didn't merely play the tune=
, they jammed on it for quite a while. It was a suitable amelodic jam, almo=
st experimentational. Not as listenable as a lot of recent jams but I think=
that's a good thing. I've noticed that, from what I've heard of the tour, =
Phish is really concentrating on playing really easily listenable jams that=
are type I and funky but sometimes don't go anywhere (eg. first set's Twee=
zer). This is why I was glad to hear a raw, raunchy jam to follow this tune=
of the same genre. Segued nicely into....
PIPER: Another repeat but I love this song, and one does not know what to e=
xpect from the reworked version of it. The intro was extended. It wasn't re=
ally a jam to preceed the lyrics, rather just a build-up to the opening ver=
se. To me, Piper is similar to Sparkle in a sense. It just gets faster and =
faster as does Sparkle. What makes so much different and so much better is =
the fact that they jam it out now. Straight up, I don't mind Sparkle but it=
's the same everytime they play it. Not only that but it's minimalistic in =
content. Anyway, enough ripping up Sparkle. I only recall that this Piper j=
am was not quite as funky as the Auburn Hills version (possibly the best ve=
rsion to date?). That's not a bad thing, though, as this version did make m=
ore of a musical exploration. Trey was playing really percusively and could=
have thrown in a Llama-esque beat in there. I remember a lot of screwing a=
round with the tempo and beats, ala Fishman. After the toying with the temp=
o, and, inevitably, my emotions, the brought the jam down into...
SWEPT AWAY: A nice segue into an otherwise standard tune...into....
STEEP: I like Steep better than its apparent partner Swept Away. It's catch=
ier, yet darker, but still a jamless tune. That is unless you count an exte=
nsion of the outro of Steep that continues into....
CASPIAN: I don't mind this tune but was kind of disappointed to hear it. Fo=
rtunately, Phish did manage to squeeze a catchy, funky little jam. I was ve=
ry surprised with this version of Caspian and pleased, taboot. I'll have to=
hear the tapes to recall specifics about the jam.=20
TWEEPRISE: Yet another repeat, but it's great hearing this as a set closer.=
Truly must be seen live to be appreciated. Hearing it on tape brings no ju=
stice to it.
Encore:
GUYUTE: I was so glad to finally hear this epic tune, one of my favourites.=
It was pretty well done, I found. It may have been a little sloppy towards=
the beginning but it didn't really bother me. Guyute is such a beautiful p=
resentation of Phish's musical prowess, all of them=21
ANTELOPE: I was surprised that Guyute didn't close the show, but even more =
surprised to hear an Antelope to follow the Guyute encore. Compared to the =
Auburn Hills version, I'd have to give this one props. It may not have been=
a better version musically but it's placement as a show closer is better t=
han the second song slot given to it in Auburn Hills. The energy level is s=
o much higher at this point and can be appreciated more, by myself at least=
.
Set two was a type II set of music in my mind. This is because not one of t=
he songs played during it are normally considered to be =22jam=22 tunes yet=
Phish managed to expand and improve each one of them into cohesive, explor=
atory jams. I found that Trey was pretty dormant along the lines of soloing=
but was an essential presence with his percusive work. The Guyute Antelope=
encore was the icing on the cake. Truly the highlight of the show, but I t=
hink that the second set most be heard as well. It's a perfect example of h=
ow Phish was connecting so well on this tour. They were able to parlay near=
ly any tune into an arse-kicking jam and I must give respect to that.
I MUST TAKE THIS TIME TO MAKE A GROVEL FOR TAPES OF THIS WEEKEND'S ALBANY S=
HOWS AND CLEVELAND AND AUBURN HILLS=21=21=21 I've much to offer.
Part two/day two coming sometime soon..........
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997 00:59:48 GMT
From: Mark Choh
Subject: Albany review
Albany will now always play a special moment in my Phish-seeing
experience...20th show, 2nd anniversery, so I was *extremely* excited to
get to Albany right smack dab in the middle of finals week, to see Phish
and get my mind off of studying for a bit. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay
for Saturday, which had me hoping that the boys wouldn't let down first
night to play an epic second night....They didn't
First set opened with Funky Bitch, which is a great opener, and actually
is the first time I've ever seen it as an opener. In fact, funky bitch
works best in the number one or two slot. Anyways, typical Funky Bitch,
some nice soloing by Trey and Page, then into a nice funk jam, which sort
of dissolved into 2001. Interesting segue, standard 2001 funkiness...but
let me say, although musically, the Went 2001 may have been more jammed
out, the climaxes during this show surpassed the Went...2001 belongs
indoors. after 2001, Trey began Camel Walk....now before the show, two
guys in front of me were screaming the words to Camel Walk. For one of
them, it was show #100...without a Camel Walk....Believe me, I've never
seen anyone happier at a Phish show. Standard, funky Camel Walk...I'm
glad they don't play this one that much, cause it's a treat when we get
it....and they always seem to place it well. Taste started up after Camel
Walk, which surprised me, since they played Taste after CW in Darien as
well (which was followed by Bouncin' as well, FYI) But I love Taste,
especially Page's solo...great climaxes, decent solo by Trey...Now
everyone seems to complain about Bouncin's placement in this set (or
complaining about Bouncin' in general), but I thought it was pretty well
played and well placed. After a four song start like that, I needed a few
minutes to sit and chill...especially to prepare me for Tweezer, which had
a few quirks in the pre-jam section, some clavinet soloing by Page, and a
decent jam (I remember really getting into it at one point, and then they
completely swwitched directions). Tweezer mellowed into Trainsong, which
I could've done without, but it's not a horrible song. I was psyched to
hear Zero, which had Trey simply ROCKING, although flubbing the lyrics
at the beginining... I'll admit, this song is the
new Sample, but it does a great job for what its worth...a set closer...I
think Character Zero shouldn't really be played anywhere else in the set
except the end...Overall this set gets a 6.0 standard set, but amazing
beginining.
Anyways, set break was long...close to an hour...the boys came back
onstage and started I saw it Again, which I had never heard before, but
it's a great opener; the jam out of it rocked for awhile, Fishman yelping
in the background, the the jam dissolved into Piper. I love piper, it's
probably my favorite of the new songs, and it has gone a long way since I
first saw it in Deer Creek this summer. Double climax, then instead of
the usual Piper ending, they went into this typical Phish-2000 funk jam,
which sort of sounded like it belonged in a 2001-jam. The jam sped up to
Llama speed, and I sort of heard Weekapaug teases in there
somewhere...the jam was simply rocking at this point. Then they would
slow it down, back to the funk jam, and then back up to Llama
speed....Then finally dissolving into Swept Away-->Steep, which was well
placed and well played. Caspian followed, which was your average Caspian
until the end, when the went back into the Funk/Llamapaug jam circle
again...I was simply loving this...if this wasn't hose, then I don't know
what is...Definitely one of the best jams I have heard Phish do live...The
caspian jam melded into Isabella, which was your standard rocking Jimi
tune. Trey seems to love it...Tweezer Reprise followd with a small Page
Flub at the beginning and the absence of mike's awesome bass riff. Still,
this Tweeprise rocked and was the best I saw since NYE '96, which totally
caught me off guard...but I digress...Anyways, if any set deserves an NR
this one does. I've seen so many reviews from both ends of the spectrum
here that I can't give it a number to do it justice. Personally, I loved
it.
The encore totally caught me off guard, although I did realize they were
going to play it about three seconds before they started (Trey's strumming
rhthym gave it away)> Anyways, I had seen Guyute at my last two shows,
and I was extremely psyched to hear it again. This version was horribly
flubbed, though. Trey was just missing a lot of notes, but whatever, it
can't be easy playhing Guyute after two and a half hours of music. By the
end, though I was thinking to myself, "nail the end...nail the end" and
boy did they ever....One of the best Guyute endings I've seen. As soon as
the final lyrics segment ended, Trey pointed to Page, and Page started
banging away on his piano...pure bliss. I picked up my jacket as Guyyute
was ending, ready to leave when suddenly....WHAT? ANTELOPE? I couldn't
believe it....and an amazing antelope...Buried ALive tease, crazy
climaxes, extended Rocco...MAarco...spike part, with some really cool
stop/start jamming, the best encore I've ever seen next to
Bouncin'-->Rocky Top at Darien Lake I'd give it a 9.5 on the encore
scale...losing a half point due to Trey's flubs (he would have lost a lot
more, but the antelope caught me completely off guard). BTW, I hope no
one took that last Bouncin'/Top comment seriously.
Anyways, if you've read through this all, and have a copy of either nights
of Albany, or any of the Worcester nights, e-mail me and maybe we can set
up a trade. and I'll see the rest of you in New York.
'
-Mark
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 23:46:26 GMT
From: Jean-Pierre Thibault
Subject: My 12/12/97 Albany review
I know this show is almost a month old so it's a bit late for a review,
but having had the chance to listen to the tapes, I figured I could offer
my perspective of this show. Just so you know where I'm coming from, this
was actually my first Phish show, but I have almost 250 hours of tapes.
I won't spend too much time on the first set, although it does have some
highlights -- most notably Funky Bitch > 2001 > Camel Walk, what a great
way to start a set! Tweezer was good, but nothing must-hear here. I much
prefer the 11/17 Denver Tweezer, for instance. A short but sweet set, the
only song I could have done without is Bouncing.
Now to the meat of my review, the masterful second set, a type II
jamfest... It doesn't look impressive on paper, but it was definitely
incredible. Here's the setlist:
I Saw It Again > Piper > Swept Away > Steep > Prince Caspian > Izabella >
Tweezer Reprise
Saw It Again was unexpected but cool to hear. Pretty similar to the couple
of other versions I have on tape, except that around 5:30min in it started
going into unexplored territory. Mostly nice soloing from Trey, with some
very good accompaniment from the others. The jam gradually slows down and
gets pretty mellow. At one point Mike plays a very cool bassline that is
picked up almost instantly by Trey -- I love this moment everytime I hear
it. Around 11:00 in, they develop this very nice chord progression. This
is just incredible jamming, very laid back and mellow. A bit reminiscent
of the last 5 minutes of the 7/31/97 Shoreline Mike's Song (which is a
must-hear, BTW).
At 12:00, they drop smoothly into Piper. The buildup here is very gradual,
it takes about 3 minutes before the vocals come in. This was an excellent
placement after the mellow jamming which had followed a heavy Saw It
Again. I don't know what it is about Piper -- it's extremely simple but I
like it.
Around 19:30, we're back into jam land but this time with Piper's fast
tempo. Near 20:00 there is a definite Llama tease from Trey (the first of
many that night, but Llama would only be played the next night). The jam
is mostly led by Trey as he seems to be the one initiating most of the
changes but at the same time, everyone is contributing -- Mike in
particular plays some excellent lines. At 23:00 the jam slows down a bit
and Trey sets up a delay loop. Another Llama tease at 24:00. Soon
afterwards the jam speeds back up, and at 27:15 it gets really intense and
heavy. This jam is just unbelievable. It was great at the show and it
definitely holds up on tape too. The boys are just incredibly tight
musically. Yet more Llama-like chording from Trey at 29:00. Soon after
that, the jam starts to wind down and gets a bit spacy.
At around 31:15, Trey smoothly drops into Swept Away. Again, great
placement after some very intense jamming. Steep and Prince Caspian follow
and they're pretty standard. Mike's playing in the intro of Caspian around
36:00 is really beautiful. Overall, I was really amazed at the bass sound
in the arena, it was crystal clear and you could hear every single note he
played -- even back in section 240. Trey's solo in Caspian is very nice;
also noteworthy is Page's beautiful piano fills here.
Around 45:15, Trey wastes no time leading the band back into a full-on,
fast-paced jam. Trey develops this cool riff that's repeated a few times
and which sounds familiar. This jam is just laced with Llama teases. At
47:30 things quiet down only to pick right back up in intensity a few
seconds later; this pattern is repeated again and is very cool -- it also
demonstrates the amazing musicianship they have, you really have to be
listening everyone else closely to pull this off. This is just incredible
type II jamming. Around 52:00, things get really mellow and spacy for
about a minute and then Trey launches into Izabella.
Izabella is well played except for a small mistake by Trey after his
second solo. Right after Izabella, Trey starts up Tweezer Reprise. I must
admit that at this point I was disappointed to hear it as I knew this
would close the set. Having said that, I definitely prefer an incredible
1-hour set like this one to a standard 90-min set, so I shouldn't
complain. Plus, the encores were still to come...
Guyute was very welcome as an encore; I was sort of expecting something
special after two short sets and this sure hit the spot. A few flubs by
Trey but the last few minutes were nailed perfectly.
And then, right after... Antelope!!! At this point I was ecstatic. The
opening segment is pretty standard. At one point Trey quotes Buried Alive,
loud and clear (Antelope > Buried Alive > Antelope... that would have been
awesome!). It's hard to give a description of the jam, but it is, IMO,
above average. The Marco Esquandolas section is longer than usual and very
cool. At a couple of points, Fishman stops playing. Pretty cool effect.
There's also a couple of stop/start moments -- one being right before Trey
says, "...man". Very cool.
Well, what a show! Although the first set shouldn't be overlooked, the
second set is a must-hear, IMO. Incredibly tight type-II jamming all over
the place. If you've read this far, here's my blanks & postage offer for
this show. If you're willing to make a public offer once you get the
tapes, I'll spin you a copy from my AUD1 tapes. And, oh yeah... one-line
replies will be promptly deleted.
J-P
--
"I think, therefore I jam"
homepage and tapelist:
http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~cn111/
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 1998 16:16:01 GMT
From: Dave Bristol
Subject: Albany 12/12
Here's my story: I'm new to Phish, with 5 shows and about 90 hours in
my collection (thank-you Oram!). The last two shows I saw were Albany
12/12 and 12/13, both nights of which were tasty treats like the rest
of the music I've heard from these guys. Also, for context, I was a
music major in college - saxophone. There.
12/12 II, I think, was a set that I was primed to love. The first
set was ok, the Camel walk was an exciting treat as I have the other 2
97 versions on tape and didn't expect it (holy catapult the next
night), but nothing really struck me as over-the-top.
The second set really is where things got really interesting. I
noticed, throughout the set, a tendency of the folks around me to be
knee-jerking at the beginning of tunes (ugh, Poopypants, who needs
Swept Away>Steep, and so on) and also a bunch of those even greener
than I sitting with a blank look. Meanwhile, Matt, Nate, Jeff, and I,
who haven't heard enough live Phish to be sick of any song, were
getting down.
I Saw it Again is a high-energy song, so we were happy to hear the
set begin with it. It got us up and wiggling, and then the jam at the
end of the composed section rises and falls a bit, treading on both
funky and heavy metal waters, before subsiding for a beautiful
transition into Piper. The first time I ever heard this was 11/30
Worcester, after a beautiful slow jam, and I was stoked to hear it
again. Piper seems to me to be a rising tide of music, swelling and
growing until it breaks loose after the lyrics. Hearing this one
again, after the stunning Worcester version, was a treat in itself.
It kept the crescendo of energy flowing from Saw It Again straight up
and into Llama teases (wow, Piper>Llama, that'd be exciting, thought
my newbie brain . . . Phish had a more exciting Llama placement in
mind for the next night). After a number of swells and a general
breakdown of the Piper jam into Type II territory, we slowly dropped
down into Swept>Steep.
For me, it was the right thing to do, and the right way to do it.
Sit, have a session, enjoy the sweet sounds of Swept Away, and let the
band rest before something else. For the same reason, I relished the
following night's WTCC during the Groove.
After which we hear the death song for many, Caspian. I can't say
as I'm crazy about this tune, but like I say, I'm new, so I got
excited anyhow, and also was rewarded with a well-above average
version of Caspian (please, flame on everything EXCEPT the fact that
'there are no good Caspians' - there's been at least one), far more
intriguing than things I have on tape of the same chords played over
and over louder and louder by Trey. Many beautiful lines from Trey,
and really intricate playing from Fishman as he seemed to be in
control of the ebb and flow of the outro jam. This just soared, imho,
and made Caspian a pleasure to listen to. Add in some really smashing
light work from Chris, lots of yellows and whites and splashes
everywhere!, and you have a great tune. The Isabella was more
standard Rawk, and was the sloppiest playing of the set. I would've
preferred Crossroads, being a Robert Johnson fan for several years
now. Kinda disappointing, after some really intense type II jamming
interspersed with tunes. The set was vageuly reminiscent of some of
the looong Tweezers from '94/95, wherein the band winds in and out of
tunes, but there is a larger overall structure to the playing, they
are unified by a common feel, perhaps. Isabella seemed to be a little
forced, a "let's play a loud tune since we did some wierd jamming this
set" song. I do feel that they were in a serious groove unti
Isabella, then either lost it or, more fittingly, ended that subset
and moved to some straight-ahead playing to close the set. Tweeprise
followed in the same vein as Isabella, although I get a real charge
out of the spinning lights at the end, as well as Trey's overall
giddiness during the 'Prise. So a great deal of great jamming, and
the weakest setlist I've seen. Weakest set list, that is until
The encore of Guyute was a real treat - I've heard it live all
three 'events' I saw (Went, 11/30, and Albany) and loved it every
time. Some extended jamming possibilities during the different
movements - they could make this into a really ripping tune (it is
already, no doubt) if they explore the builds that connect the
movements. Near the end of Guyute, we were all wearing the large,
ear-ear smiles that are seem all over Phish shows once they're done .
. . and they played Antelope, stuff of dreams. Thanks, Phish!
Thanks for reading My First Post, and I'm always looking to make
trades, so email me and I can send you my meager setlist.
Take care, and Feel Good! - Dave (dbristol@palisade.com)