10-2-99 -- Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

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Date: Mon, 4 Oct 1999 19:42:52 -0500
From: Pete Ivanic [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Target Review

By Pete Ivanic
[email protected] 
[email protected]

October 2 at the Target Center was a very good evening.  But what will
stick out in my mind about this show was the venue,  not every single
song played.

My best friend Joe Crawford and I left for the Twin Cities early Saturday
morning, we live about seven hours away. We both work and have kids, so
it was extremely tough to get away and it will be the only time this year
we will be able to see the band. If it wasn't for MP3's and other easy
downloadable music sources on the net, I might be lost.

Llama was very ordinary and frankly I could care less about the song.
I've been to a couple dozen shows and they have opened with that song at
probably half of the shows, so you can understand my displeasure.
Wolfman's was really nice, not a long funked-out jam, but just a mellow
short sampling. PYITE was the highlite of the first set. You could tell
it was going to be big cause Trey's style really was aggressive in the
intro of the tune, which carried over to the other band members. Almost
as if they were trying real hard to get the song right.

On the drive to Minneapolis,  we had discussed how neat it would be if
they played a Dylan tune and low and behold they did, Mighty Quinn was
really a cool part of the first set. Poor Heart came next with Fish's
chanting making the song not so ordinary and lame. Roggae followed with
beautiful words and slow sound, this song is a real pleasure to hear.
Then came two songs that are very similar to me, SOAM and Squirming Coil.
The Coil went right into the best way to close the first set, Loving Cup.
Not a bad set, I really enjoyed a few of the songs, but the others I
didn't.

The set break was the best set break I have ever been involved in.  Joe
left me during the first set and found a bar in lower levels in the
Center. He was excited about it and took me down there for a drink. I
have always dreamed about hitting a real bar during the set break and
drinking and then going back to hear boys play, up to that point it had
always been overpriced warm beer in a tall paper cup at break. We walked
in about three minutes into the break, the crowd in the bar was cool,
very mellow. As time passed more people came in, and it was the same
crowd, not the dirty hippies who bring their dogs everywhere they go or
the ones who still hold one finger in the air thinking that someone will
give them a ticket or sell them a ticket when there are still tickets
being sold at the door. These were people that could afford a $4 beer and
not care about the high price. We stayed about an hour in the bar. We
would have forgotten about the show if it wasn't for a guy sitting a few
tables away from us who was just as amazed as we were said "They still
are gonna play another set!"

We took off and the band was onstage playing Tweezer, it sounded good
from the hallway. Trey's digital loop delays were excellent. The song by
Little Feat was next, no one knew what it was, you could tell the
movement of the audience close to the stage. Piper followed, perhaps my
favorite tune the band does. It was awesome, the best part of the second
set, the jam that followed was intense.  Can't wait to get a copy of it.
YEM was great too, but then again it always is, the tramps were good see
again. Frankenstein was OK and Waste is a great love tune, but I believe
it belongs in the first set, or an encore beginner. The encore was
extremely predictable and nothing special, While My Guitar, and Reprise.
You just knew they were coming.

It was really a great nite of some fairly good tunes. Can't wait for the
next show I get too, my only fear is that it might be awhile. Plus I
think I collected some Phanstasy Setlist points! pete 

Date: Wed, 13 Oct 1999 09:12:04 -0500 From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Subject: Reviews 10/02/99 Target Center, Minneapolis, MN I: Llama, Wolfman�s Brother, Punch You in the Eye, The Mighty Quinn, Poor Heart, Roggae, Split Open and Melt, The Squirming Coil, Lovin� Cup II: Tweezer> On Your Way Down>Piper>You Enjoy Myself, Frankenstein, Waste E: While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Tweezer (reprise) When it comes to shows in a large city (as opposed to a smaller market), I love seeing shows at venues in the middle of downtown metro areas, as opposed to the suburbs or out in the country past the suburbs�..MSG and the Boston Garden come to mind, and I can add the Target Center to that list. We had floor this night, so the much-trashed muddy sound in the venue was not a problem for us � it was loud and clear all night about halfway back on Page�s side. Llama opened up in standard, ripping Llama fashion, with some nice organ work by Page. Wolfman�s came next and was very efficient (short), but funky. Things really started to roll with Punch You In the Eye, which featured by far the longest intro I�ve ever heard. Trey was scratchin� and scratchin�, I think he may have even gone to the keys, finally they dropped into it and just jammed/spaced the full-band intro up to the first composed section and verse. Sweet. After PYITE, Trey went over to Mike and appeared to give him 2 choices for the next selection. Mike said "Oh," and then responded with (apparently) The Mighty Quinn. I wish I could�ve been closer, to see what the choices were, but maybe the other choice was Ginseng, which came the next night, or Uncle Pen the following night. Anyway, Quinn was sweet, the boys were having so much fun playing it, it was a great sing-along, and it just got the crowd even more psyched. Poor Heart continued the fun, featuring some nice piano solos by Page a couple of times around, then Fishman was yelling something unintelligible (to me) repeatedly over the ending. Roggae provided a nice break to just listen and groove slowly. Split Open and Melt is one of those songs that I could hear at every show, and I was psyched for this intense version. Nice funk, brought back around nicely for the ending. The hit at the end of the song was really long and all the lights were going off, and I�m thinking "end of the set?" and Trey steps forward and instead of the break message we get "On the bass, Cactus, everyone, Cactus. On the keyboards, Stumpy. On the drums, Matty (Maggie?). And I�m the Good Liutenant." No break message. Instead, they collect themselves, take drinks of water etc., Trey goes to the mic/cup, and after a beat, The Squirming Coil starts. Beautiful Coil, again, the band played together for a while before letting Page do his thing, and this solo was MUCH longer than the Page solo out of the Houston Coil. So long that I thought it was going to end the set, but when he finished, Page dropped his hands just long enough to indicate a break and started into Lovin� Cup. Lovin� cup rocked the set to a close, I was just taking in everyone having a ball, singing "Oh, what a beautiful buzz." Some nice ensemble rock and we were taking it easy at setbreak. Great first set, a guy we met at the break (who asked us for directions to Rosemont, then sat in a marshmallow) who�s doing the whole tour said it was one of the strongest of the tour, and of the 7 fall shows I saw, I�d toss it up between this and Houston. But the second set. The second set. Oh the second set. Jamfest. Awesome. Tweezer opened, I have to be honest, I don�t remember it that well because I was preoccupied with a splitting headache. Seemed fairly long (could�ve been the headache) and funky and segued into On Your Way Down. Page was in control of this number, and again it smoked. At one point, all 3 other guys were looking over at Page tearing up the piano, waiting for his signal to head back into the verse, and he was just going off. Piper started and let me just say that in general, I�m a moderate fan of this song, but it�s really version by version for me�.the mere appearance of Piper in the setlist doesn�t do it for me like it does for some people. That said, this version of Piper was incredible. The first difference I noticed was, in the summer versions I caught, Trey would play the chords a couple of times, then they�d go off and explore some non-Piperish territory, then eventually return to a buildup of the chords. In this version, they went straight for the buildup, which I liked. Then, they built it up under the lyrics, and instead of just chording faster and faster, Trey just starts soloing, and the second half of the song is just an amazing jam. I think someone mentioned this change in a review of an earlier fall show. Damn, it was hot! After a super-long time in Piper, I don�t even remember if the song ended properly, but Trey counts off 1-2-3-4 and YEM starts. The energy of Piper carried through into YEM. The tramps were placed way out in front of the monitors and mics, way out to the front of the stage, and Mike�s cord did get tangled, but they (and the crowd) were still having a ball. There was some dirty funk in there, and my favorite section just featured Trey scratching his strings with a pick � it really did sound like a DJ cutting it up on the turntables. Fantastic. I thought for sure that YEM would be the end of the set, but they ripped Frankenstein after the vocal jam, which I thought FOR SURE would be the end, in fact I was thinking "You guys, really, Piper>YEM was enough, okay? You can go back to the hotel and get some rest now if you want," but instead they started Waste. A nice short version (much cleaner than Alpine�s) ended the incredible set. Frankenstein, Waste, and whatever they played for the encore were all gravy, but hey, a tight While My Guitar Gently Weeps came first, all right, no flubs or anything, nice guitar solo, and then the expected and highly anticipated Tweeprise came next. Mike was insane during the intro. Trey was hammering away at the theme, and for the rest of the band entrance, Mike lifted his bass up by a single string and dropped it (sounding the note) right on the 1, then he was pounding the top of the guitar with his fist � nuts! Tweeprise was the perfect ending to a GREAT show, that re-stoked the fire of our desires to see these guys as much as time and budget will allow!
Date: Mon, 04 Oct 1999 11:00:43 PDT From: Jeff Kaisershot [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Mpls review For once it was nice to only have to drive 20 minutes to see Phish and not out of state. Anyway, Mike wore a shirt that had a stripe going across his shoulders. Whenever the lights onstage turned blue or purple his stripe glowed orange. That was a neat little effect. Wolfman was great to hear in the number two slot. Too bad the jam was not a bit longer, but considering this song used to be five minutes long consistently I will take whatever they give me. Quinn was a neat singalong. PYITE is always fun; the little flamenco step Mike and Trey do during the Landlady portion brings a smile to my face. I doubt I will ever tire of Roggae; it is just soooooooooo beautiful! SOAMelt was pretty good, nothing outstanding (personally, I thought the 11-6-98 one I saw was where it was at). I thought the set was over then, since Trey introduced the band. Then he looked over at Page, and I knew it could only mean one thing: Coil! Yes! This is one of my favorite songs, and I finally got to hear it live. The coda was short but sweet. Before I could exhale Page played the opening notes to Loving Cup, and I knew a rocking version was about to be played. Whew, what a set! Tweezer for a Set Two opener? Yeeeeeeeeeeeah! This one was much better than Alpine two months ago, I thought. This one just rocked from the first to the last note and all points in between. On Your Way Down was a nice rarity. Piper? Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh man. This is a great song by itself, but the jam on this mofo kept raging and raging. Wow! For some reason the jam reminded me of Hendrix^�s Jam Back at the House, found on the Woodstock cd. YEM was solid but nothing great. I get excited every time I hear this one, but a lot of the versions of this song from the last few years have been nothing extraordinary. Oh well. Set over? Nope, how about a Frankenstein? Sure! Waste is another beautiful song I truly adore, and it was quite strange to hear this one closing out a set. The encores were nice. I was so psyched by this show I did not even think about the possibility of Tweeprise being played as an encore. Five cover songs in the show?! That is almost unheard of, but they were all treats. Like so many other respects Minneapolis had Ames in its pocket. This show gets #3 on my favorite Phish show I saw, right behind 11-9 and 11-7-98.
Date: Sun, 3 Oct 1999 13:22:16 EDT From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 10/2/99 Minneapolis, MN This was my 10th show, and I must say that it wasn't quite up to my expectations. It seemed as if the first set was pretty standard, apart from the covers. Llama was short, and didn't exactly get the place rocking. I haven't seen Wolfman since my first show, and I really dig that tune, so that was very nice. I really enjoyed the opening to PYITE, which was at least twice as long as normal. One of the first timers turned to me during the opening of this song and said, "I like this already," and I think at that point only Trey and Jon were playing, so that was neat. Next came one of the highlights of the set for me, Quinn the Eskimo. I think 80% of the crowd knew the words, and they were all singing at top volume and dancing their little butts off. Poor Heart, Roggae, and SOAM were all too straight forward for my taste, with the exception of Trey's rather odd band introductions. The Good Lieutenant?? Strange. Page really ripped it up on the Coil solo, but the crowd was unusually loud, which made it hard to hear. The second highlight of the set for me was Loving Cup, which added a ton of energy to what was a rather lackluster first set. I've wanted to see this one ever since I got the tape from Deer Creek 98, so that made the set for me. Setbreak: Saw several people losing their lunch in the bathroom. People were partying too hard to enjoy the show. Also experienced the one downfall to the venue, which was the 1/2 hour line I stood in to get some lemonade. Thought I wouldn't make it back in time for the start of the second set, but setbreak was 45 minutes, so I actually made it in plenty of time. Set 2: Much much better than the 1st set. This is the 4th Tweezer in 10 shows for me... apparently they've stopped varying the setlist by region, but this was definitely the best I've heard. Mike layed down some thick funk grooves and a good time was had by all. Maybe the best song of the show was the cover of On Your Way Down. This song exhibits the sound Phish would have if they decided to become a blues band. Great sound from Page and the funk/blues bass really pulled the song along. Hee... Piper! This is another song I somehow see a lot, and once again, this was the best. Almost fell over the row in front of me from wild and crazy dancing that ensued. Thought they kind of fell apart in the first part of the jam that followed, but they got it back and ended strong. YEM -- the beginning of this song was really cool. Long extended slow portion with great lights from Chris. Mike had some problems on the tramps because his cord was tangled, but otherwise a great funky segment. The vocal jam was unreal and followed the lights perfectly. Frank -- pretty normal. The end of Waste was good, with extra Trey noodling. Was hoping for maybe a Hood>Bittersweet encore, so Gently Weeps was a bit too slow for my taste. Thought they might add something else before Tweeprise, but again to no avail. All in all, a solid show, but not extra special. See you for NYE. JB
from: [email protected] 1o/2/99 Minneapolis, Mn. Just in from the Target Center, great show for a Saturday Nite. Town is a kickin lil' burg. Enjoyed some beers at RockBottom Brewery on Hennepin, good and tasty. The regional micro is James Page, fine examples of a Pale Ale (Voyageur) and Golden Pilsner (Boundary Waters, atypicl, nice and roasty, TASTY! didn't see them in the lots thought I'm sure they were there). The Lots were mellowly bustlin' the show was not sold out, upper levels available at show time. Good relaxed scene, I didn't hang too long, we got big brudda a lower level ticket and I was off to wait in line for GA floor, they took our tix as we entered the floor with promise of returning them at the shows close... not. (If someone has an extra floor Mail order stub, I would love one for the Tape case, copy of the show in return ;^) The floor was roomy and while there was a little running for the rail, everyone was chill. Seemed like they undersolfd the floor for once, Good for them! The arena was only 85-90% capacity at best. Security was firm but kewl, good humored, saw a cop writing his addy out so he could get a tape sent to him at the end of the show 8^D. Magna Gratis to my lady's family, for transportation and accomodations! Got to share the band with family and to nite and they danced! Back Stage was Telly "Kojak" Savalas with a lemon lollipop, and post show PA music was "Love Train" by the O'Jays ;^) Back outside, First Ave.(the club) was bustling post show as were the streets all around the front of the Target Center. We headed to the car and home to enjoy our own company. We had Three 1st timer attnedees in tow, and at the end of the show, we got 6 thumbs up for the boyz. Happily the show was peppered with some classics {Llama, and a killer Funked Up^)YEM, Tweezer and TR}, as well as a number of tasty covers {Quinn, lovin Cup, On Your Way Down (mmm mmm!, FRANKENSTEIN! (whooo!), and a Gently Weeps encore %)} Surprised at no Pruple Rain in "the Artist's" home town though... too cliche I guess. Short: Llama, ripper, somewhat short. Wolfman's, tasty, happy to hear this, know my family in attendance will enjoy this beautifully crafted song the Mr. Lesh has taken such a shine to. 15 mins in... Funky Funky... PYITE..., HEYYYYYYYYYY!!!!! strong and ragin' as usual. My-T Quinn, good to see again after Camp Oswego @o) everybody gonna jump for joy (NYE99-2K)!. Poor Heart, short and sweet as it should be. Roggae, beautiful, shiny music descends from over head, lovin' the modern Phish tunes, not the complex, quirky, cerebral jaunts they used to be, smooth, melodic, resolute and diffuse at the same time. Back to the old crowd pleasers, funky, Split Open, gettin "down, down, down, Melt... and dirty. After the cleaving, Trey makes introductions, "on bass, Cactus..., Michael J. Cactus, on Keys..., Stumpy, on the drums, Matty, and I'm the good lieutenant, and don't you forget it." (Remember kids, reform is always possible ;o). Next up, would-be closer Coil once again saw Jimmy off to camp with Page in the spotlight. Oh YeaH!... segues to Loving Cup (m'lady called it, yeah Gwyn!), "Exile on Main Street", definitely Desert Island material. (1:16) Strong first set, every one was smilin'! Long (I'm listenin' anyway): Tweezer, strong opener, it has been cool, but not down right cold up here, sure it was the coldest stop on tour in the high 30s, segues to an interesting Jam 10 mins in to it which gets pretty schweet and tasty rockin. Then at about 0:16 gets quiet and page does some down piano everything gets heavy, mmm mmmm, Little Feat classic On Your Way Down ("The same people you might meet on your way up, you might meet up..." Yeah PhishBill!) Really good to hear, still waiting on the return of "Time Loves A Hero" too. Good to see one Feat Cover hit the rotation. Way Down smoothly segues into PIPER, sweet rollicking chords to open, tighten up, starts to pick up, crowd greets with a gradual rush of mellow applause and we are on our way, pickin up speed, the crunch chord, a nice quick cruising speed, then jump to overdrive, cuttin up the lyrics, psychedelia, then the jump to warp scream. Strong, rockin' not too crunchy gettin funky, , I forgot how much I like htis one (check out Knick Arena 12/12/97 II one of those 4-5 song Jam sets of Phall'97, next nite is arguably better, but the 12th set II is a real exploratory set, this has been a Public Service Announcement), the lights are wicked during this one, Yeah CK! the stuttering delay jam Trey noodles with something like the first part of the head of Manteca, no, something by Cream? Franken...? I got a strong whiff of the Mad Scientist's Lab, when was the last Frankenstein? they say you can smell the beast miles off in the distance... Arcing decay of the reverb ala Birds... Comin' out of Piper still on this theme, some 40 mins into the set II, here it comes... something... Punched in perfect!... YEM. (Boy!) This song was Executed flawlessly to my ears, (Man!) Fishman works the high hat, thru the many passages we meander, (God!) beautiful soundscapes from Trey... they fade and pause a full 5 secs, (Shit!) can't remember if this is where Trey Steps to the Keys or if it was in Piper. Just as they leave (the second they leave actually,) the main "firenze" part it gets nice and Funky Funky, Page's Clavinet and Mike's envelope filter kick in, DRIPPING BASS & SPROINKIN' KEYS, cuttin' up like two turntables amd the sub throbbin', then Page turns to the Rhaodes (big phat bell tones) and Trey joins the phun, smooth, phat, toasty overdrive. Vibes of Frankenstein again fade into the arcing delay decay, the "firenze" reprises and gives way to a super weird ( aren't they all... "Ziti in the Morning"...? yes, I think so..., the breakfast of champs 8o) vocal jam at the end of You Enjoy. Brief 3-4 second break in the action, FRANKENSTEIN! SCEAMIN'! Fish with the only drum solo he ever takes and the good doctor's monster is strapped down to the table for neural transmogrification. They Nail Frank! Whew! Out of the Carpathians and back down in the village below... "Wastin' my time with you." Waste, this ballad is a beauty. Don't want to be anything where I don't know when to stop, so I will. Ok, a lil' more, Encore: covers continue, I was thinking aabuot the this song prior to the show when someone asked "OK so what's up tonite?" My Guitar Gently Weeps, whoever says Trey doesn't paly with soul (I have heard it before,) this oughta (but probably won't,) shut'em up. Scheewt! Come on..., number two...? Something interesting? Something Golgi (Yeah Phantasy Phish League! the orginal goin' strong since summer 98), No... The Obvious... Tweezer Reprise and out in to the the cold we go. 1:40 Nice Phuckin' show! Nearly three hours of music. Packed up to "Love Train" by the O'Jays, "People all over the world now, join hands, start a love train, LoveTrain!" I think I'll come again ;o) C U 2morrow nite (later toady) in CHI! peace, tr To Rosemont, and step on it! Happy Birthday to Ali B.
Date: Sun, 03 Oct 1999 09:00:59 -0500 From: Yeager [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Target Center review Always good to see the band in your hometown, especially when they deliver a performance like last night!!! I've seen at least a half dozen concerts at Target Center and am not a fan of the venue. Last night the sound was the best I've heard there, but they were taking your GA ticket stub and issuing a wristband instead (presumably to keep us from stubbing folks down to the floor). I really wanted to keep my mail-order stub, but thanks to the crack (or should I say 'crack-smoking') staff of Target Center this was the first Phish show I walked away from without a ticket stub in my hand. Anyway, the band was ready to get down to business right away with a smokin' Llama opener followed by Wolfman's Brother. Punch You in the Eye is a favorite of mine and they nailed it. I had never seen Phish perform Mighty Quinn before, it's a great sing-along song. Next up was Poor Heart - two songs in a row sung by Mike. A beautiful Roggae slowed things down a bit, but when they started Split Open and Melt, that's when I knew the band was really on fire. I had enjoyed the Ames show quite a bit, but it didn't come close to the level of excitement from both the band and the crowd. Still trying to recover from the Melt-down, Page was soothing my soul with great keyboard work during Squirming Coil. I thought this would end the set, but we got a bonus Loving Cup! Page is still on crutches, hope the leg gets better soon! Set 2 opens with a phat Tweezer followed by the Little Feat cover On Your Way Down. Maybe I prefer the Feats' version, but Trey ripped a nice solo at the end. Next up was some of the most sick jamming I've ever seen by any band - Piper. The song absolutely raged!!!! All I can say is Get the Tape. YEM was also huge, and the Frankenstein was really rockin'. Once again I thought the set was over, but we were then treated to nicely played version of Waste. I'm not the biggest fan of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, perhaps the band had shot their proverbial load and needed something a bit mellow to close. This was followed by the obligatory Tweezer Reprise - very nice. Summing up - phenomenal show! Hopefully they won't wait three years to come back to Minneapolis again.
Date: Sun, 3 Oct 1999 12:29:14 EDT From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Target center After a messed up weekend I finally arrived in Minneapolis with no tix in hand. Was able to get side stage. A stones throw from Page. Mood was great and we had plenty of room to groove. Llama and Wolfmans were nice but PYITE really got me goin' followed but a nice tight first set. Second set scared me with a tweezer opener. Tweezer can tend to take the wind out of my sail. But this was a decent one with a funky jam. But then it all came together and I wasn't sure where the boys were taking me, but when we got to YEM my soul was on auto-pilot and they had me. This set had similarities to Viginia Beach summer 98. Not alot but enough for it to pop in my head.
Date: Sat, 02 Oct 1999 23:24:51 PDT From: Ryan Bennett [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Target Center, Mpls review Just got home from my home town venue. Saw last night in Ames, which was a good show, and I can say with confidence that tonite blew the shit out of last night. I've been to 25 shows since 1992, and neither of the last two nights were at the top of my list. However, the perfomances the boys laid out the past two nights is way more than I expected. The first set of tonite's show was full of energy. Llama always gets it pumping (my top 5 phish tunes), wolfeman's was standard and GOOD!, PYITE was drawn out in the intro which was nice, Quinn was unexpected and really cool, Roggae was well placed, Melt was wicked-sweet, Coil was boring (but don't take it from me- i'm not a coil fan), Loving cup was a good,rocking way to close a high-energy 1st set. Tweezer opened 2nd set, which reaffirmed the fact that this was a great show, this melted into a page blues song which I am not familiar with. Piper came next (very hot and intense- everyone was rocking), into yem which was unexpected and sweet as always. Frankenstein was standard and good, and waste was a lovely way to end the set (I expected a character zero after this or at least for an encore, but to no avail). The encores were not that cool: while my guitar gently weeps, tweeprise- I'm not too into either tune, but the tweeprise was fitting. All in all the past two shows were way more than I expected, given the rather negative reviews from the summer tour (my last show was shoreline 98). I expected ambient and laid back jamming, and got very intense, rocking, and funky grooves out of both nights. I was really happy to find that the Phish I saw the past two nights was the same phish I have grown up with, but with a more mature song selection and Sick lights. I like!!!
Date: Sun, 3 Oct 1999 04:19:31 EDT From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: holy meat on a stick... of the six shows ive been to so far, target center takes the cake... worthy grooves, oddity dance moves, the trampoline, waste... need i say more? I thought the entire show was tight, with no errors what so ever.. every song i had requested in my head was answered, a small feat alone. Not dissapointed by one iota.. was not overwhelmed at all by the vast target center, and no security at all prevented any one of my activities... I will sleep mighty well tonite, stever
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