Well this first set certainly does suck.

[Spoiler]

Well, maybe a couple sentences. I've heard the rumors that "Mike was SO off" and "Mike sounded SO bad..." yadda yadda. Well you know what, they all sucked. They all sound bad. Trey is obviously frustrated, addressing the crowd after Ya Mar saying they're "ironing out some details." Uh huh. But Trey is also a 1/4 step ahead of everyone else, missing transitions, and just seems downright disinterested. Fish is missing fills and his timing sounds off. Page is lost in the AUD and I don't blame him. Mike also sucks. His voice and general spunkiness on the ol 5-stringer are non-existent. Honestly, one of the worst sets of Phish I've listened to. Is it because of Mike being hungover (I don't think so), Trey's ego (I don't think so), Fish forgetting timing (I don't think so), Page being too shy at this point in his career to speak up about it (I don't think so) or perhaps a combination of all four instances combined with some late-tour fatigue brought on by what seems to be 3 straight incredibly-hot-weather shows (I think so)? You can listen if you dare to answer that question. I for one will never revisit this set again.

But then set two happens, and although it's not a barn-burner, juxtaposed against set one it may well be Magnaball. Well... maybe I am being too hasty. Let us explore. Ghost is a welcome set two opener and despite it's impressive length (that's what she said) it doesn't do much until the very end (that's also what she said). It takes about 12 minutes of kinda-hot-but-also-kinda-sloppy jamming before the band settles into a really pretty, really soft little jam. The final five minutes of Ghost are super good, a cleanser of the ear in a sense, especially with how rough the first 80 minutes of music have been up to this point. Halley's Comet seemed to be on odd choice for my ears, and this version is all things pedestrian until a very unexpectedly nice -> Seven Below. The crowd didn't seem to dig this much, considering you can almost pin point individual cheers of celebration amongst an otherwise unenthused crowd. FEAR NOT, FELLOW LISTENER! PHISH IS HERE! And just like that, the switch is turned on Seven Below takes on a swinging, sassy, playful, and energized jam! My goodness, momentum is a fickle beast. This Seven Below garnered a second listen from me after the show concluded because it is such a fun jam to listen to. One of those jams where, despite it being the savior THIS show, its place in ANY show would absolutely result in the incarceration of many in attendance, due to the high levels of controversy of their dance moves. Phish couldn't have dropped a more perfect jam at this moment in time. Seven Below returns to the quizzically comical "huh?" ending about 5 minutes too soon (the jam was still firing before Trey reeled it back in) but oh well, I dig it! A slightly extended, Trey-effect-laded Tube drops in next and the energy surges. This version is rather mild, with Page doing almost all the heavy lifting while Trey f***s around with sound effects and Mike hammers home a solid bassline... Fishman however, is still struggling. He just isn't all that splashy during this show and has a pretty bad swing-and-a-miss trying to bring the jam back home... actually two bad swing-and-a-misses... had there been a third he'd have been ejected for arguing balls and strikes... but I digress. Tube eventually sifts itself into Prince Caspian which does have a solid 4 minutes of good, soaring Trey-led jamming. Nothing too out-of-the-ordinary here, but it sounded (and felt) good to hear the Phish let loose with a cathartic OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH TO BE PRINCE CASPIAN followed by a powerful outro jam. You could tell they needed it. 2001 was a super surprise, but much like Tube this featured mainly Page and Mike (not that I am complaining). This version, length notwithstanding, could fit right into 1999. Check it out for that reason alone. Fire closed the set and, I cannot believe I am saying this, contains the second best jam of the night behind Seven Below. The Fire is straight fire. I mean Phish FINALLY (never say never, right?) connects on a full-band power surge and they blow the roof off this version. It is a FANTASTIC closing song, and really lifted (my/our) spirits as the night came to a close. Man, they really really crushed this Fire. Squirming Coil was played almost apologetically, and it was a perfect encore song for that reason. It was humble, soft, and forgiving. A nice way to pat our collective selves on the back, as if saying, "You'll get em next time kiddo..." and if you're looking ahead, they certainly hold true to their word.

Must-hear jams: Seven Below, Fire
Probably-should-listen-to jams: The last 5 minutes of Ghost, 2001

It really goes to show you what the power of waiting a few years (or in this case, 10 years) to reflect and review a show. These days, it seems like halfway through a first set and a show is getting rated, and comments are being thrown up like pasta on a ceiling even before the band has had time to take their final bow.

When phish announced their southern run, I along with two other close friends (one being the notorious David Einstein, one of the legendary PT trolls) were all in. We had already seen phish in our hometown of Greensboro, NC and were blessed with an absolutely amazing show. Also, I had ventured out to Kansas earlier in July to catch the Bonner Springs show and reunite with a friend who I worked with in Colorado the summer before hand.

Yay, phish is coming back to the South! But, Charlotte > ATL > Raleigh > Pittsburgh? Who figured out this road loop?!? Nothing like a lot of backtracking. On the third day we rolled back through Greensboro into Raleigh. It was so, so hot. I was taping the three night run, and we rolled into the lot in Raleigh late. I switched out driving with David so I could jump out of the car, and make it through the bag check to get inside. These were the years where if you had a tapers ticket, you could get to the best spot in the section. Now, well, if you have a tapers ticket you take your assigned seat since someone in a better "tapers ticket" seat not only isn't taping, but spent "x" amount of dollars on stubhub for their seat in the section (but that is another rant). Making it in quite a bit faster than I thought, I found my spot with my other taping cohorts, set up, and waited for the show to start.

Raleigh can be a hot show, or it can be a dud. We just had two great shows in Charlotte and ATL, and expectations for Raleigh were high (We didn't know the band was saving all the gusto for Pittsburgh).

Back to where I started, taking a few years to review a show. Listening back a little over 10 years later, and this was a gem of a show. If you are inclined to check out some under rated shows, add this to your list.

Some key songs to check out Disease (full ending), Ghost and a great -7, followed by a tube with a little extra zing on it.

This show gets overshadowed by Charlotte and Pittsburgh. But if you put this show onto rotation, you might just be surprised.

The joys of looking back into time. Things that may seem dull end up having a shining moment.

Cheard check out the awful bass playing during the first set; especially during Jim, Ya Mar, and Llama. Apparently Cactus got really messed up the night before and was either hungover or still messed up.

After a much better second set opening, Trey welcomed Mike back.

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

This was the second time I saw Phish. The day was unbearably hot, and the cops were unbelievably prevalent. People were getting thrown on their backs just for standing around. Every time someone got arrested, angry Phish fans (like myself) circled around the scene, objecting to the actions taking place in front of us. Two of my personal friends were given citations that day, and another was even arrested and taken "downtown." After all the drama, I decided to escape the heat by buying a bottle of water for a buck and sitting in the car with the AC full blast.
Somewhere in between those two actions, I completely lost my ticket. Looked everywhere around the car, in the car, under the car, where I bought the water, but I never found the freakin’ ticket! Had to buy another one at the box office, and thank goodness it didn't sell out. I got inside the show in plenty of time.
First set had a great setlist, but listening to it on CD is
a whole different story. I don't think the first set will go down in history for being one of their better sets. Second set, they came out and just nailed "Story of the Ghost", and did a great "Prince Caspian." It was a show equipped with a great audience and a beautiful, starry night.

I understood the Mike situation as he walked offstage to puke and Trey welcomed him back when he returned to his spot on stage. I had heard he was sick from the night before and Im sure the heat of the afternoon did not help...

Def a bit of a lull mid-first set. The second set was pretty solid though, especially Ghost through Tube.
Does anyone have any insight into the welcoming back of Mike after Seven Below?

Deadheads used to say, "When Phil's on, the band's on," and I guess a similar sentiment holds true for Phish and Mike. Except in photo-negative.

Mike is definitely playing lots of wrong things during the Runaway Jim - I like-to-love every version of Jim, but this might be the least awesome Jim I've yet heard - and the Ya Mar is quite sloppy and untogether due to Mike's constant flubbing. It's clear Mike is not in good shape for whatever reason. All of which distracts the rest of the band, who are clearly concerned with Mike's condition.

After Ya Mar the mics on the SBD clearly pick up Trey saying to Mike, "If you can't play, I don't wanna play." Ugh.

People bag on Trey's performances in late 3.0, but to hear Mike struggle like this prior to that makes listening to Set I a bad vibes-riddled experience I'll likely never repeat. The pluses: the jam in Disease sounds competent enough but sadly it's a short First Set Appetizer version, the silent jam in Divided Sky is pretty together (lol) and I wish there were more versions of Discern, it's a really cool tune but it's also played carelessly here.

Okay - now that we're all bummed out, Set II is actually pretty great. Mike is in much better shape for the Ghost and Seven Below and the rest of the band sounds energized as a result. Just skip ahead to Set II to hear some damn fine 2.0 vintage Phish - and especially check out the clean, dry SBD mix of this show; this era of Phish SBDs (2.0) is my favorite because of the bone-dry soundpicture, which makes everyone sound extraordinarily clear and present

Getting into Raleigh was as bad if not worse than getting into Charlotte. Massive lines off of the interstate that held us up for upwards of two hours. When we finally got to lot it was already 7pm. I chugged a couple of beers and headed for my pavilion seat. We were in the 200 section on Page side. I did have the pleasure of meeting phishmarisol18/John pre-show in my seat (very nice to meet you bro). He was with his Dad; I sure hope to take my Dad to a show someday but I kind of doubt I’ll be able to talk him into it. This was my first time to this venue and besides the ugly traffic scene getting in, I really liked it. Phish has really thrown down here over the years (95, 97, 98 ? w/ the exception of that ?00 show) so I was gearing up for a great show. We had tons and tons of room to dance in our aisle, so I was pleased w/ that!

SET 1: Runaway Jim: Nice opener, relatively standard. Sounded good to my ears. >

Ya Mar: This is where some strange on-stage vibes makes their way to me. No scatting Yamar lyrics by Mike at all in this one. Matter of fact, most of Mike’s lyrics are so soft and quiet, very unusual. Something just seemed off to me after this and now listening to the soundboards I can see what was going on. In between more than one song during first set you can clearly hear the band expressing concerns in Mike’s direction. Trey says something like, ?I don’t want to play if you can’t play.? This song should be totally owned by Mike but it sure wasn’t tonight. Trey takes over and lays down some blazing guitar licks to compensate towards the end, but I could feel something was off.

Down with Disease: In between Yamar and DWD there is a Very long pause. Get the soundboards so you can hear some disturbing banter between the band. Very strange. Obviously, we couldn’t hear this from the 200 section but again there was clearly an odd vibe permeating the air. Trey to the crowd - Sorry guys, just ironing out a couple of details before we (makes flying motion) Take Off.? I love me some first set DWD, you cannot go wrong w/ it and if you get one in the first set than it’s probably going to be short and ripping. Which this Disease definitely was. Trey rips this one a new one, more than making up for Mike’s problems/lack of presence. Very choppy at the 2 minute mark (Mike?). Trey really shines during the jam segment.

Divided Sky: Sweet! I just love the fact that this is securely back in the rotation. A beautiful version to go along w/ the impending sunset. This is the perfect spot for Sky, middle first set. The pause is only about 30 seconds or so which is nice. Very nice Divided!

Sample in a Jar: It’s Sample.

Discern: Decent jam segment (very ambient laced), but for many it was there first time seeing it and seemed to detract from the energy that was brought forth by the DWD and Divided Sky. Oh well, good Discern and this tune has all kinds of jamming potential, I think. Keep your eye on this one.

Anything But Me: God, please play Anything but This Song in this spot. Awful placement and the energy just gets sucked right out of the joint.

Llama: Flat out raging! Very good way to end the set, especially after two new tunes that managed to put many people into their seats.

SET 2: Ghost: Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees! Thank you! You know it is on now baby. I love this song opening up the second set. The non-looped intro really sneaks up on people and it is fun looking around and seeing the growing realization on peoples mugs, like: Oh hell yeah, it’s Ghost!? The band is quite patient in building this Ghost, very solid, progressive groove building. Mike sounds quite good as the backbone, viva Cactus! At 15 minutes the jam grows quite ambient w/ some Trey loops being thrown into the mix, nothing overbearing though. This one peters out 3 minutes later and ends. >

Halley's Comet: Woo hoo!!! I don’t think they would have played this if Mike wasn’t semi back to normal. Very short version: Just as this Halley’s is getting down to business an absolutely fluid segue into ->

Seven Below: God that segue bowled me right over. So dang fluid. Loved it. Ever since I first heard this on Round Room, I knew it would be a favorite of mine for Trey’s licks in between lyrical segments. Soaring! As the jam segment comes to life, there is some cool interplay between Page and Trey. At 8 minutes the band departs from the original theme of the song and takes it for a ride. At 10:35 I for thought I was hearing a bit of a Sneakin Sally tease by Trey, but it was not to be. Speaking of teases, can anyone pin down exactly where the Mozambique tease came into play? At 11:50 Trey is hitting on some really repetitive chords firing the crowd up quite a bit. One minute later they return to the theme and shortly thereafter it’s over before you know it. Excellent version!

Tube: I called this one big time after 7 Below was finished up. All tour I’d been salivating over the prospect of just when we would get a Tube. Finally, the long wait was over. On the audience copy you can hear some fellows bellowing for Tube. ?An asteroid crashed, and nothing burned? Yeah, I flipped my lid at the onset of the lyrics. If you cannot bust a groove to this song, then I honestly don’t know what to tell you. Page lays the funk down early while Trey backs him up with some downright sinister loops. All the while Mike is dropping bombs and Fishman laying the brickwork behind it all. White boy cow funk at its finest! The band just gels together so well. Trey leaves the funk behind at 4:45 and starts burning it up. The return to the theme is a little sloppy but not as bad as some people would lead you to believe! Nice Tube, nothing really groundbreaking. But I will take a mellow Tube over a lot of the rest of the catalogue that much is for sure! Sorta segue into >

Prince Caspian: Noooooooooo! Time to hit the little boy’s room. I was back in time to hear a bit of the wank fest, trailing into a very mellow, ambient space. Sorta segue into ->

Also Sprach Zarathustra: Pretty standard version here. >

Fire: Holy shit, what a sweet surprise! Can’t recall the last time I had heard this played (possibly on 11/30/95)! It’s been awhile for me. Twas a tad rusty but what can you expect? Great, great set closer! Phish is always full of surprises as this one flat out shocked me! Gotta love that people.

ENCORE: The Squirming Coil - Cool contrast to the smoking end to that second set. However, the playing in this Coil was nothing short of sad. Many a flub by the red headed one unfortunately. Not a good way to end this show at all. Coil typically is a really nice encore for me, but it has to be technically proficient for me to enjoy. Tonight the flubs were much to apparent and auditory to get past. It left a bad taste in my mouth. Oh, and to the dirtbag that threw the glowstick that landed on Page’s piano: karma will find you one of these days, IDIOT! Seriously, I hope whoever was close to this person gave them a piece of their mind. I’ve never heard a louder bang come from one of these stupid glowsticks hitting a piece of equipment. Disgusting to be sure.

Replay Value: Ghost, Seven Below.

Summary: There just isn’t much here to grab on to and revisit outside of the Ghost and the Seven Below. Mike was not right – at least for the first set – and it seemed to throw things way off. There was absolutely no lot scene on the way out thanks to the overly aggressive Raleigh oinkers. Which was really too bad because I was really starving coming out of this show. Oh well. Onto Pennsylvania! I would rate this show as a 3.3 out of 5.

Well this first set certainly does suck.

[Spoiler]

Well, maybe a couple sentences. I've heard the rumors that "Mike was SO off" and "Mike sounded SO bad..." yadda yadda. Well you know what, they all sucked. They all sound bad. Trey is obviously frustrated, addressing the crowd after Ya Mar saying they're "ironing out some details." Uh huh. But Trey is also a 1/4 step ahead of everyone else, missing transitions, and just seems downright disinterested. Fish is missing fills and his timing sounds off. Page is lost in the AUD and I don't blame him. Mike also sucks. His voice and general spunkiness on the ol 5-stringer are non-existent. Honestly, one of the worst sets of Phish I've listened to. Is it because of Mike being hungover (I don't think so), Trey's ego (I don't think so), Fish forgetting timing (I don't think so), Page being too shy at this point in his career to speak up about it (I don't think so) or perhaps a combination of all four instances combined with some late-tour fatigue brought on by what seems to be 3 straight incredibly-hot-weather shows (I think so)? You can listen if you dare to answer that question. I for one will never revisit this set again.

But then set two happens, and although it's not a barn-burner, juxtaposed against set one it may well be Magnaball. Well... maybe I am being too hasty. Let us explore. Ghost is a welcome set two opener and despite it's impressive length (that's what she said) it doesn't do much until the very end (that's also what she said). It takes about 12 minutes of kinda-hot-but-also-kinda-sloppy jamming before the band settles into a really pretty, really soft little jam. The final five minutes of Ghost are super good, a cleanser of the ear in a sense, especially with how rough the first 80 minutes of music have been up to this point. Halley's Comet seemed to be on odd choice for my ears, and this version is all things pedestrian until a very unexpectedly nice -> Seven Below. The crowd didn't seem to dig this much, considering you can almost pin point individual cheers of celebration amongst an otherwise unenthused crowd. FEAR NOT, FELLOW LISTENER! PHISH IS HERE! And just like that, the switch is turned on Seven Below takes on a swinging, sassy, playful, and energized jam! My goodness, momentum is a fickle beast. This Seven Below garnered a second listen from me after the show concluded because it is such a fun jam to listen to. One of those jams where, despite it being the savior THIS show, its place in ANY show would absolutely result in the incarceration of many in attendance, due to the high levels of controversy of their dance moves. Phish couldn't have dropped a more perfect jam at this moment in time. Seven Below returns to the quizzically comical "huh?" ending about 5 minutes too soon (the jam was still firing before Trey reeled it back in) but oh well, I dig it! A slightly extended, Trey-effect-laded Tube drops in next and the energy surges. This version is rather mild, with Page doing almost all the heavy lifting while Trey f***s around with sound effects and Mike hammers home a solid bassline... Fishman however, is still struggling. He just isn't all that splashy during this show and has a pretty bad swing-and-a-miss trying to bring the jam back home... actually two bad swing-and-a-misses... had there been a third he'd have been ejected for arguing balls and strikes... but I digress. Tube eventually sifts itself into Prince Caspian which does have a solid 4 minutes of good, soaring Trey-led jamming. Nothing too out-of-the-ordinary here, but it sounded (and felt) good to hear the Phish let loose with a cathartic OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH TO BE PRINCE CASPIAN followed by a powerful outro jam. You could tell they needed it. 2001 was a super surprise, but much like Tube this featured mainly Page and Mike (not that I am complaining). This version, length notwithstanding, could fit right into 1999. Check it out for that reason alone. Fire closed the set and, I cannot believe I am saying this, contains the second best jam of the night behind Seven Below. The Fire is straight fire. I mean Phish FINALLY (never say never, right?) connects on a full-band power surge and they blow the roof off this version. It is a FANTASTIC closing song, and really lifted (my/our) spirits as the night came to a close. Man, they really really crushed this Fire. Squirming Coil was played almost apologetically, and it was a perfect encore song for that reason. It was humble, soft, and forgiving. A nice way to pat our collective selves on the back, as if saying, "You'll get em next time kiddo..." and if you're looking ahead, they certainly hold true to their word.

Must-hear jams: Seven Below, Fire
Probably-should-listen-to jams: The last 5 minutes of Ghost, 2001