From: cbertolet@aol.com (CBertolet)
Subject: repost: Space Ventura: Phish Detective (pt.1)
Date: 31 Jul 1997 22:21:41 GMT

As the forces of Phish seem to have me in their evil grasp still the
morning after, I will avoid the prelims and jump right in.

THE LOT:  I arrived in the lot around 2:00 with my friend Sean, a dead
ringer for Jim Carrey.  I was to meet Eric Angel at 3, but happily found
it unnecessary as he was parked two cars away from me (how shit like this
happens, I'll never know).   Security was eminently cool and patient --
although some fans of course took this as a sign to do whatever the fuck
they wanted.  For the most part, however, Phishheads conducted themselves
honorably =).  Green Crew was in full effect and kicking ass, per usual.

THE VENUE:  Shithole, dustbowl, demolition derby.  Dry, dusty,
cracked-earth purgatory.  And yet, at the same time, somehow heavenly.. 
Can't take beer out of the beer garden, and somehow I think this is for
the better.  The stage is about 15 feet high (!) and there are banners for
motor oil and obscure services like "trench shoring" everywhere.  A real
redneck-meets-surf-dood atmosphere.

SOUNDCHECK:  We got in line at about 4:45, just as Twist Around rang out. 
Bluesy composed section with a twist (i.e. Fish on the wood block), then
the jam leans toward a funky two-chord progression not unlike YEM. 
Makisupa jam followed, and then a long workout on "Chuckie's in Love" with
Trey rapping behind, urging Mike to "Sing it in a falsetto voice."  I
don't know whether I dread this or can't wait to hear it.

When the gates opened, we went straight to the rail, right under Fishman,
where I figured we would be crushed.  Happily, we were given plenty of
room, even there, for the whole show.  So it was grab a chunk of rail and
hold on for a serious chunk of funk -- most certainly the theme for
tonight.  Please note that the setlist contains many of the same songs
from the bands first appearance in nearby Santa Barbara in 1992.

NICU:  Leo got funky.  What can I say -- this is a fun opener, and charged
the crowd quite nicely.  Neatly segues into

WOLFMAN'S:  A very tight and phat composed section.  This song is
benefiting from its frequency in the setlists.  The jam pulled back
patiently, explored a smokey lounge for a while, and then drove forward
into harder and harder funk territory before erupting into

CHALKDUST:  This Chalkdust is not ratable.  Mind-blowing.  Type II jamming
so intense I was mesmerized.  I can't explain it past that -- trust me and
get the tapes.  After being hosed down thoroughly, we needed a breather. 
Ask, Space Ventura, and you shall receive....

WATER IN THE SKY:  Sure, there's no jam in this.  Big fucking deal.  This
is a gorgeous song, innocent, as if written to a child.  If anyone has the
lyrics on file, please mail them to me.  My favorite of the new tunes I've
heard (though I've purposefully avoided hearing any of the others on tape,
including Ghost and Vultures).

STASH:  Best Stash I've ever heard, bar none.  I hope the tapes bear me
out.  My notebook reads "3-chord progression not unlike Hood" and this was
confirmed by Eric "Guitar" Burns after the show (props).  The jam evolved
from minor into major like a wave slipping back from the shore, and then
built into a glorious and uplifting full-on Hood jam.  I won't insist that
if you can't hear it, you're deaf, but I heard it and that's all that
matters to me so to hell with you ;).  Major hose, and smiles all around.

WEIGH:  My first.  Well done.  A little outro jam leads into

PIPER/WORDS:  A vocal workout.  Short, high-energy, jamless and
entertaining.  Feels like the new Sparkle.

CTB:  Again, the best one I've seen (and I've seen like 7 in 11 shows). 
More funk for the fire.  This seems to be played at every show in the L.A.
area, but tonight I didn't mind at all.  The possibilities are emerging.

CHARACTER ZERO:  This tune takes a lot of shit from the jazz snobs in the
crowd, but it's getting longer and further out there all the time.  The
composed section is rock and roll, people.....deal with it.  A fine
version to close the set.

See part II for second set review.

"You apologize right now, Lonnie."
"Fine.  I'm sorry I put windowpane in Ron's quail."
*Flirting with Disaster* (written by David O. Russell)

chris bertolet

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From: msiegle@ix.netcom.com (Matt Siegle)
Subject: REVIEW: 7/30/97, Ventura (long)
Date: 3 Aug 1997 02:53:00 GMT

Review of 7/30/97, Ventura Fairgrounds, Ventura, CA

PRESHOW NOTES: After a good 5 hour hike down 101 South from San Fran,
we arrived in Ventura at about 5:30. Even though I live in California,
I had never been to Ventura before. Anyway, it is a city (not really)
north of LA that is really laid back and beachy. The fairgrounds are
right on the beach, making for great pre-show walks. The lot was
mellow, and the show was not sold out. The venue itself consists of
stage on a small dirt race track with seats behind a general standing
picturesque California ^�golden^� mountains behind the stage. I bet from
the stage the boys could see the ocean and the sun setting over it. The
whole area is surrounded by palm trees. I liked the venue for the
smaller size that it was and the nice scenery

The boys came on at 8:30ish.

SET I:

NICU: I wasn^�t expecting this as the opener _at all_. Standard, but a
great tune even still. There was a nice Page solo. Got everyone
grooving and dancing

WOLFMAN^�S: Wow, this early in the set! I was really excited to hear as
some of the ^�97 versions such as 3/1 have had some incredible jams.
This one had a really funky jam on the end, but it seemed a little
restrained. The band was probable just warming up. I wish they had
played it later on so it could have been more jammed. A decenet segue
(but nothing spectacular) into...

CHALKDUST: This was fun to hear. It seemed to be really long and jammed
out to me. It really got the crowd moving. Sadly, I can^�t remember much
of this song.

WATER IN THE SKY: First new one of the evening. I didn^�t find it really
special. It seemed kind of Dead-esque to me. And then...

STASH: Wheeeeee!!! Composed section seemed done well, evil as always (I
don't think a cheerful Stash exists.) Did anyone else notice that Fish
didn^�t play the clap drumbeat at all? Or was it just super soft?
Clapping was fun, though. This is one of the only songs I like crowd
participation on. As for the jam, it seemed subdued and quiet at first.
It seemed to keep getting mellower and mellower...and then BOOM! They
busted into a really tight high gear jam. A long, good, stash.

WEIGH: Fun! I^�ve never heard this one live before. Mike sang well, but
standard.

PIPER: This song just sort of seemed to build out of nowhere. I
remember hearing a few notes, and then some more and some more...And
all of a sudden it has really built up! I thought it was OK-nothing
phenomenal. 

CTB: For some reason, I can^�t remember much of this one.

CHARACTER 0: I called this one for the closer. Trey^�s jamming in this
song is getting longer and longer, and this version was no exception. A
good solo, but nothing exploratory. Im beginning to like this song
more...

SET II:

PYITE: I don't really like this one as an opener to the second set.
Don^�t get me wrong, I love the song, I just prefer something a little
more jammy for the opener. The song was played well, standard. Got
everyone grooven though.

FREE: Again, no drum kit for Trey. At first I wasn^�t ultra-excited to
hear this song, but did it proove me wrong! A jam like I have heard on
no other free! Not spacy, but FUNKY! I was really impressed. There was
no spaciness (which I enjoy) but pure funk jamming! WOW! 

BOWIE: Before Fish started to hit the hi-hat, there was some time of
just music between Trey, Mike and Page. I had no clue as to what they
were playing before Fish hit the hi-hat because Trey, Mike and Page
were going  really spacy, some electronics sounds. As soon as Fish got
going, I thought Trey was pulling off some Arabic style jamming. Then
the secret language! The Simpsons! A saw a few people around me get it,
but lots looked confused. The intro was really long, really spacy and a
tad Aranbic. A great build up for the song. The composed section went
well-nothing really to be said about it. Then the jam started up...
Lots of Type II stuff. We got soooooooo far from Bowie. The jam was all
over the place. I knew there was no going back, but I couldn^�t see the
direction of the segue. And then...

CITIES: A BEAUTIFUL segue. Seemless. Cities seemed fast to me. I was
excited to hear this song, even though it was standard. Trey seemed to
have some problems singing the higher notes. Anyone else notice this?
Type II jams slapped on the end segued back into...

BOWIE: The conclusion to this song really built up. After we got back
into Bowie from Cities, it was just intense jamming (not Type II
though) that just built up to Trey^�s ending licks. The ending had
several nice climaxs with that coincided with Trey^�s ending licks.
Overall, a great version. Flawless segues. Great jamming. This one is a
keeper

BOUNCIN^�: I was slightly disappointed when they pulled this one out, as
I was hoping for another jam song. I kept on hoping that they would
pull out a jam song after this. Standard  

UNCLE PENN: Now I was disappointed. Maybe they were pooped from the
long trip of Pheonix->Ventura. I don't know. But the song was fun, good
to dance to. 

PRINCE CASPIAN: The song was standard, the solo/jam on the end is
getting longer and longer...I enjoy this song, really peaceful. It is
no type II wailer, but really relaxing. I would like to hear this one
on tape.

 FIRE: I don^�t remember much of it (sorry).

ENCORE:

MY SOUL: This was good to dance too, a closer. The band was jamming for
a bit, nothing really outstanding. A rocker. 

I thought the first set and the first half of the second set were
fabulous! Some great jams, fun songs. I feel that it did go downhill in
energy/jamming after Bowie-I believe they were just tired (and Trey^�s
voice showed it a tad). A good show, a great Bowie. If the second set
hadn^�t calmed down, the show would have been fabulous. I hope Phish
plays here again in the future-the venue is cool. But Shoreline topped
it all...

Thanks for reading, take care
Hope the Gorge was good and the rest of tour is great!
Can't wait for fall...

Matt

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