(part 1 of 2)
Most mid-period Phish fans who've heard this show love it. If you're not a fan of Phish's spacey late-90's improv, you might find it a bit samey; e.g. the last 20(!!) minutes of Roses Are Free head back to ground that'd already been adequately covered (you might say) by the last...
(part 2 of 2)
It worked, and works. Fans weren't prepared for how deep the band dug at this show: not just a jammed-out Roses but a great distended 35-minute dance trance (perhaps); not just a swampsick Drowned > After Midnight > Jam but a slow sludgy all-the-time-in-the-world chillout; not...
Anything that could be said about 12/31/1999 has pretty much been said, so instead of beating a dead horse, I'm just going to point out the most memorable experiences I had on this epic day/night/day.
We were hanging out at the campsite next to our bus, FLAPJACK 2000, getting geared up for the...
I was the one that taped this soundcheck. I was completely styled out for this whole show, with an RV parked behind the stage, to the right. I was not even going to bring my taping gear, because all of my other taper friends were going to be out there in the field, and it just seemed pointless...
i'm not going to try and review big cypress, i don't have the bandwidth for such a major undertaking, but i thought i would share my thoughts on some highlights, as others have done.
day set: great set. it was a laid back vibe, with everyone enjoying themselves and not taking things too hard....
Just stumblin' by this set of reviews as I was checking on some Winter '99 setlists and while most of what is said above is pretty much in the ballpark, in particular the pedestrian nature of everything after Corrina in Set I, there's something missing...
The "Song Histories" entry for 'Light...
The anticipation was palpable on NYE - everything was colored by the fact that we had an epic show promised later. So let's skip to the show, after a fun ride on the skywheel.
Afternoon Set (1:46): Runaway Jim, Funky Bitch, Tube, I Didn't Know*, Punch You in the Eye, Bouncing Around the Room,...
This Phish show along the next night might not only be some of the best Phish music ever played, but 2 of the most monumental rock and roll concerts ever played. It was a party in the swamp. 80,000 Phish Heads down and dirty, in t shirts and shorts, in Florida, for NYE!!!
After this show I...
Multi-section, improvisational groove-based jam, including typically dark "SOAM" grooving, funky upbeat major mode jamming, and a -> to "Catapult." Vastly different from 7/15/99.
This wide-ranging, 30-minute monster from Cypress starts off in an excellent bluesy groove, before quieting down to a percussive, groovy, organ-led cowbell movement with anthemic riffing from Trey. The jam then coasts along at a low simmer, with very quiet, introspective playing and massive bass bombs, before exploding into an epic, earth-shattering firestorm of a conclusion at 26:00.
This is one of the center-piece jams of one of Phish's most storied and highly-lauded sets. This one quickly hits a slow groovier jam. With a good foundation set by Gordon and Fishman, Trey and Page have ample room to explore several gorgeous and melodic passages.
The masterpiece of the '99-'00 style "Sands" from the early morning at Big Cypress. A dark groove develops with all sorts of eerie effects added to the mix. Trey's lead work is scintillating and gives the jam an ominous feel as it builds to a devilish peak and then transitions to the hypnotic second movement replete with looped minimalist elements which continue into -> "Quadrophonic Toppling". A must-hear jam from the band's ambient era.
Debut begins with the deployment of Mike's Siket Disc vocal sample in the midst of the meditative, ambient jam which emerged from "Sand". Guitar and keyboard delay loops are eventually joined by a fuller arrangement but the volume never rises above a reverent hush.
35th song in the second set is the infamous "Hood" fake out. Breakdown at 5:40 is sicknasty and Trey sounds as fresh as he did in 1983. Second jam features a reggae filth groove.
"Immigrant Song" teasing early on sets the tone for this dark, angry wall of sound. A single jam segment, but it's heavy duty stuff, filled with spacey effects and a driving, seemingly accelerating Mike and Fish-led groove.