(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...) There's something magical about the desert. For some people it's just a vast expanse of nothingness between the coast and the Midwest, miles to be traversed to get to your goal. Others though hear a call in the vast space and clear...

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...) My final semester at University of Arizona was just starting, and what better way to get it kicked off then with my first Tucson, AZ show at the dirty dog Pima County Fairgrounds?...

Just a quick note - I'd say everything you need to know about the vibe of Fall '99 can be found in the SOAM and Antelope from this show.

If not quite a carrion, than perhaps a clarion call to the desert's mystic surroundings. Trey breaks from the vocals to launch an all-out assault, his signature 1999 tone on full display. After setting a loop, Trey's beautiful, patterned soloing, artfully phrased, is matched by Page, with Mike soon leading the band through deep and cerebral play. Fish's perfect off-beat and stylized play soon smooths, with Trey's cool, slashing chording informing the -> "LxL". Awesome.

Huge, powerhouse version, featuring incendiary, Jimi-esque Trey, and pounding Page. More wall of sound than musical, the jam drones until, set off by some scattershot riffs, play cools to assume a remarkably chill, wavy groove, full-band improvisation suspended in sound somewhere between 99 and what would arrive circa 2000.

A killer Antelope that starts off with swirling, whirling loops and a relaxed energy typical of Fall '99, builds up tension by Trey playing some stabbing chords, then builds to a ferocious peak. Proof positive that Antelope still had its fastball even after the mid-90s.