after being severly let down by the deer creek tour closer the summer before, i was hoping the boys would bring the thunder tonight. while there may not have been any off the hook set list calls, the playing on this night was much better than the 2nd night of deer creek in 99. i will say though, there was one very frustrating moment..... why can't you just play "have mercy"!!!

ac/dc bag: we were in the lawn for this show, and everyone around us seemed to be begging for this song after being ignored at both deer creek and alpine. well, the boys delivered a very sharp take on this classic.

1st tube: this kept the energy up. they sure were playing this one a lot on this tour, but hell, what's one more time?! good version

limb by limb: i was happy to see this one land in the first set as opposed to the 2nd. i thought it was a given, but i wasnt really in the mood for it on this night. by the end of this version, i was into. standard but sharp version.

nicu: always a favorite. leo played it. good version.

roses are free: alright, a little WEEN! they didn't do anything crazy here, but it sure was nice to catch this tune.

wolfman's brother: good funky 2000 version. they started to hit some bluesy jamming before dropping into...

my soul: good bluesy version. nice 2000 pairing with wolfman's

julius: not my favorite song. i find it to be a little cheesey, but this one fit well.

set 2:

down with disease: this one was a monster. they came out of the song blazing, hitting on all cylindars. then they moved on to some nice spacey realms. upon building the jam back up, i thought they were going to bring it to the old dwd ending, but then they turned the vibe on its head.

wmggw: this is one of the best segues i have seen. from a sheerly musical standpoint, this is the best seque i saw all summer... even better than the dwd/moby dick. as for wmggw, this was a good version, with, of course, an excellent trey solo.

makisupa: good cool down after a hot opening pairing

piper: now, it's time to cut loose again. piper did its thing, very successfully, before sliding into...

the mango song: didnt see this one coming! they tacked a really nice reggae jam on the backside of this song. they were playing have mercy, then they dipped into...

Bug: AWWW SSSHHHIIIITTT!!! really, how are you going to go from playing have mercy to goddamn bug! as i have mentioned in other reviews, this song and caspian blow my mind, in that i cannot believe people like these 2 tunes. they could've played have mercy!! Come on!! almost ten years later and this still bothers me...

yem: alright....that's better at least. this was a pretty standard version circa 2000. they could've picked something worse... like bug

enc:

loving cup: come on, i want to hear something different.... anything but loving cup, anything but loving cup...doh! good cup though. they ended the tour in rousing fashion.

overall:
the first set was solid and well paced. the down with disease more than made up for anything that i did not like later in the set. good show, really couldve done without bug. at least, don't tease have mercy. in the words of eric cartman, "you build me up only to knock me down!"

highlights:

1st set: roses are free, wolfman's>my soul
2nd set: dwd>wmggw (must hear), makisupa, mango>bug(just so you can hear what i'm bitching about!)

well, i wrote that review based on my memories of the show, and after relistening to this one again recently, i might have overstated the seque from disease to guitar gently weeps. it's a nifty little move, but better than dwd>moby dick....hmmm, probably not. still check out this dwd jam.... absolutely gorgeous! the dwd, itself, is better than deer creek's, but that move into moby dick was pretty darn nifty. both are good good shows... go hunt them down!

Just another show

This show is fairly straightforward. Not too much to write about but here we go.

Dirt is the first real strong version of the show. Wolfman is strong and compact with some nice funkaliciousness. My soul is pretty strong. Besides that not to much to the first set.

DWD kicks off the 2nd set. It shreds then slowly simmers into a nice mellow groove. There isn't much of a variation for the rest of the jam besides it speeding up and slowing down. Towards the end there is what sounds to me like a Mind Left Body Jam Tease. The segue into While My Guitar Gently Weeps is absolutely fantastic and patient. Mango song has the beginnings of "Have Mercy" at the end but for whatever reason they didn't play the whole thing (why the hell not?). Bug is it's typical strong self for 2000. YEM is straightforward but well played.

Yup not much else I can say. Not terrible not memorable.

PHISH, SATURDAY 07/15/2000
POLARIS AMPHITHEATER
Columbus, OH

SET 1:

AC/DC Bag: Standard.

First Tube: Standard.

Limb By Limb: Trey on point for this one, rips it up pretty good.

NICU: Standard.

Dirt: Standard.

Roses Are Free: Standard.

Wolfman's Brother: Standard. >

My Soul: Standard.

Julius: Weird to play this back to back with My Soul. It’s basically the same song, lol. This is the only time these two songs were played back to back.

SET 2:

Down with Disease[1] Very fun and danceable jam up through the 15 to 16 minute range. From there Trey really takes a back seat and no one steps up and does anything too interesting. Trey reenters the fight in the mid 19 minute range. The last 7 minutes are by and large interesting. The last two minutes are amazing. There is a Dave’s Energy Guide vibe and then a very conscious effort from all 4 members to construct this incredible segue into WMGGW. Would recommend this Down with Disease. ->

While My Guitar Gently Weeps: Crowd just goes bonkers for this!

Makisupa Policeman[2] -- Heady Nuggets.

Piper: Some serious head space on the back end of this one. >

The Mango Song: Standard.

Bug: Standard.

You Enjoy Myself: Has elements of that effect Trey used to great success in the Piper from 9.27.00.

ENCORE:

Loving Cup: Standard.

Summary: Show was fun. Drive back to Denver was not. The setlist is fine from this show but the playing is average at best. They were wore out and running out of ideas and it showed. Very little to run back from this show other than the DWD -> WMGGW. I would rate this as a 3.5/5. Very average show, especially for a tour ender.

Replay Value: Down with Disease

[1] Unfinished.
[2] Key phrase was "heady nuggets."

Trey teased Dave's Energy Guide in Limb By Limb. Disease was unfinished. The jam out of Mango included a Have Mercy tease. The key phrase in Makisupa was “heady nuggets.”
JAM CHART VERSIONS
Down with Disease, You Enjoy Myself
TEASES
Have Mercy tease in The Mango Song, Dave's Energy Guide tease in Limb By Limb

Twelve years ago today and my first show. Given the time lapse, the only songs I really remember clearly are the AC/DC opener, DWD, WMGGW and the Makisupa. Upon relistening, it's pretty clear why I remember the DWD. It is a monster and is definitely a must-hear.

The first set is standard fare, not bad, but not great. The second set is very good. However, if it wasn't my first show, I probably wouldn't have given it as many listens as I have.

The DWD through Piper is the highlight of the show for me and should be heard by all.

This was my fourth time seeing Phish and was just seven months from the last time I saw them down in Cincinnati. I went with two real close friends of mine, one of which has his own group and he took the female that's in his group along with us. They played nine songs that first set and the only song I was disappointed with was Limb By Limb, which is not one of my favorites at all. All the rest, AC DC Bag, First Tube, NICU, Dirt, Roses are Free, Wolfman's Brother, My Soul and Julius were all good, even Wolfman's Brother which I have to be in the mood for. I really enjoyed the first set other than Limb by Limb. The second would change things. They started off with a smoker, Down with Disease. A 26 minute long DWD sliding into a While my Guitar Gently Weeps which the crowd loved. Then they went in a different direction with Makisupa Policeman leading into a great Piper. Then came The Mango Song, and Bug leading into a great finish with You Enjoy Myself. This was the first time I got to see them and there mini tramps. I was surprised since I hadn't seen them do this before. My buddy told me they always do this when they played this song. Surprised the shit outta me. It was great. They came back for the encore, which I love, Loving Cup. I was happy, and completely enjoyed the show other than Limb by Limb and The Mango Song. I do like both these tunes now that I've heard much more of them. I wish I would have gone the night before, but doing two Phish shows in a row wouldn't happen until 2003.......

great to back in polaris the 2nd night after an eventful 1st night...the show is ho hum besides a monster dwd > guitar gently weeps...really blew me away at the time