12-16-99 -- Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina

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Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 21:06:19 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: review for 12.16.99 Raleigh
 
Sorry for such a late review but, I just got my good old 100 MHz Packard Bell
fixed...but here's my lowdown for the show that I can't and never will
forget, and neither will anyone else who was in attendance that night.
 
Wilson - I know that Trey wasn't hitting every lick...but hey, you can't
complain about a Wilson opener...for some odd reason, I thought at that point
we were about to get a Gamehendge...heh?
 
Chalkdust - This was one of the most raging, upbeat, just plain out fuckin'
awesome chalkdusts I have ever heard, and believe me, i've heard my share :)
 
Lawn Boy - of course, I love this song...Page is the man.
 
Limb by Limb - I heard this on the summer tour 7.9 and it just didn't do
anything for me...but this one really got me ready for what was next!
 
Horn - I have been waiting to hear this song for 3 years...finally got it on
the night that I couldn't have asked for more.
 
Get Back on the Train - The boys opened up with this in Charlotte over the
summer...I really enjoyed it then, even more now...this is a hell of a song
 
Heavy Things - I  have always liked this song ever since I heard Trey play in
it Ashville last spring...a really good song if you're into dancing potently,
like me :)
 
Camel Walk - OH MY GOD! This definately made my night, such a rarity, only
played like 17 times in 16 years...great, great song...what more could you
ask for in this hell of a set?
 
POSSUM! - Now, I do have to disagree with the fellow that said this possum
was better than the one in Charlotte over the summer, I have never heard, and
probably never will hear another Possum that great...but this version was
rockin' heavily
 
SET BREAK - This place is hotter than the sauna and the gym at this point, I
had my head dangling out the window, felt better out there :)
 
Sand - This was a long, strung out version...but it was a great long, strung
out version...I enjoyed this one emensly!
 
Mango - !!!!!!WOOHOO!!!!!! This song is one of my favorites, a great, great
song...and yet, another rarity we got on this night :)
 
Velvet Sea - bah...this song is okay...but a Ice would have been better :)
 
Tweezer - now...once I started to hear the begging licks of it, I could
somehow tell this was going to be a kick ass tweezer...and it truely
was...and yes, there was a Slave jam in there...it was so incredibly
orgasmic, never heard anything like it in my life.
 
Jim - I love this song, and after that awesome tweezer, man, this night is
rockin'!
 
Encore:
Bittersweet Motel - first for me...I liked it alot, nothing wrong with this
song...
 
Tweeprise - knew it was coming...love it, love it, love it
 
my over all rating for this show out of 10 is definately 9.9, if not a full
10...this show rocked the whole was through...you definately need to pick
this tape up if you havent already, if you need it, just drop me a
line...i'll hook you up with a B&P :)
 
TAKE CARE!

Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1999 09:57:20 -0500 From: [email protected] To: Daniel W. Schar Subject: Raleigh Review Raleigh 12-16-99 12/16/99 Reynolds Coliseum - Raleigh, NC I: (1:18) Wilson > Chalkdust Torture, Lawn Boy, Limb by Limb, Horn, Get Back On The Train, Roggae, Heavy Things, Camel Walk, Possum II: (1:14) Sand (23 Min), The Mango Song, Wading in the Velvet Sea > Jam > Tweezer (30 Min) > Runaway Jim E: (0:09) Bittersweet Motel > Tweezer Reprise Here's the lowdown on this show. Attending were myself (Skutch to my friends, you all can call me something else), and my associates Chip and Ernie Douglas. We made the drive from Columbia, SC, AKA "the Paris of the South", to Raleigh in just under 3 hours. Raleigh is neither a great place to visit nor live, a bland combination of university wankers and tobacco merchants that makes for an offensive and annoying collection of crackers. This bunch wouldn't know the words "sophisticated" or "cosmopolitan" if they were printed on every pack of Marlboros. Why phish chose this place to play is beyond me, except for perhaps the chance to drop a kind of lame show on the world before jetting off to Hampton to rip it up for the weekend (or did they?) The venue itself is perhaps the oldest basketball facility in the ACC, an 11,000 seat dinosaur with poor ventilation and a staff unprepared for big concerts. It's a low building nestled among other such buildings, and was difficult to recognize as an arena from even as close as a block away. (It had to be pointed out to Ernie D. even as we were standing right in front of the sign that said Reynolds Coliseum. Then again, Ernie is not the brightest star in the evening sky.) We parked just outside campus at a shopping center to avoid traffic delays, and made the 10 minute walk in a relaxed manner, chortling at all the wide-eyed concert goers stuck in a line of traffic. Parking was at a premium near the venue, and by the time we got down there (about 5pm) the main lot and parking deck seemed full. There was a scene in full swing, but we avoided it and went straight to will call to pick up ducats. The area around will call was swarming with desperate phans that had not gotten tix to this recently sold-out show. I was offered all manner of things for my tickets, from fresh fruit to $75 dollars from a young lady whose friend "just had to get in". I turned it all down, and felt lucky to get away from the mob with my dignity intact. Here too were some yellow shirts giving out wrist bands that would allow access to the floor inside. We all got one, as did quite a few others. As I found out later, though, many others would not get these precious bracelets of blue, and there would be much wailing and gnashing of teeth once concert-goers discovered that they would be denied access to the floor without this important item. (More editorializing on this and other behavior later). The Heat was in great abundance it seemed, though they weren't bothering anyone in the line. I have heard that they were harsh in the lot. Well, what does one expect from these knuckle-dragging rednecks? A bouquet of flowers, perchance? Not likely. These aren't the most sensitive and enlightened folk in this part of the country, after all, so why should the cops show kindness or tolerance? Once particularly offensive member of NC's finest remarked, "If I caught any of my kids at something like this, I'd KILL them." I thought to myself, with a father like you, they'd probably be better off dead. As usual, entrance to the venue was delayed well beyond the 5:30 opening time, and the GA mob was growing larger and more restless. Nothing like letting things get to a fever pitch before opening the doors. Using a combination of charm and mind manipulation, the Douglas brothers and I made ourselves a spot near the front of the line, and were soon being funnelled into the show. Inside was a strange place, tiny lobby areas, little hallways that snaked this way and that, weird restroom placement, and so on. Thankfully I was not on anything too awfully heavy, as I can see how it would be uncool to be on some kind of head trip when jammed into these little passageways. On the floor, we made our way to the sweet spot and joined some FOB cats on their blanket. We signed onto to the team and became for the rest of the evening, the FOB Mafia. No one would enter our territory uninvited, and from those that would try, we would exact a terrible price. (Don't worry, the bodies will be found one day when the arena is razed.) As show time approached, passed, and then approached again, it became apparent that the floor would remain pretty empty. This was good and bad, as it made the notion of the FOB team getting busted all the more possible. I was concerned about this, as I assumed the section tapes would suck, in this decrepit, low ceiling, venue. (They do.) It never happened, though, and I wondered if sometimes they let the FOB folks roll because they know that nothing good will come out of the section. In any case, I didn't see any other tapers down there, so we may have the only "good" tape of this show. No grovels please. Around the two entrances to the floor, a growing mob seemed to get more frenzied each time I ventured out. Many people were somewhat late getting in due to traffic, and many of these folks knew nothing of the wristband scheme. They were clamoring to get on the floor, even early on when there were plenty of good seats left on the sides. One young fellow implored me to "give me your wrist band, man," after I went past the security checkpoint. What is the big deal, really? There's an undercurrent of spoiled brat behavior at these shows that is symptomatic of society at large, and it's quite annoying. It seems as though an entire generation of people has been raised without ever having been denied anything, and when they are, it as though the fabric of their very being has been ripped asunder. I say just make the best of such situations and calm down. It's a tiny venue, how many "bad" places are there? (Another such incident happened after the show as we were getting our shit squared away. A sweaty young tourhead brushed past me, and upon seeing my bottle of water, demanded that I give him a drink. Now, normally I would be fine with this, but at this time of year, there's just too much flu going around. At this point I had managed to not share germs with anyone through water sharing, pipe-smoking, or deep kissing, and I didn't want to risk it with this fellow. Hell, I wanted that water for the trip back to the car. Anyway, I considered his request, then decided no. I told him so, and when I did, his indignation bloomed like the First Rose of Spring. "Why man? Huh, why?" he demanded, and I simply said that I'd rather not. He stood his ground though, and finally I said, "well shit man, just take it." He did, and walked off without even a thank you. Brat.) On to the show. Band came out (finally) and opened up with Wilson, which I had had a premonition of in the lobby earlier. I also foresaw Harpua, but I was oh-so wrong about that one. Wilson was a little shaky at times, but then went right into Chalkdust, which was pretty good. I was happy to see Lawn Boy next, even though I have seen this one quite a few times in my phish career (20+ shows since spring '94). Nothing spectacular here, just page's lounge act. Limb By Limb would prove to be about my favorite part of the show. This is one of my favorite of the newer songs (well not so new now, but you know what I mean), and I though this version was solid. Horn followed, and was a sweet surprise. GBOTT is another cool tune, and at this point I was grooving. Roggae to follow was a bit of a letdown, although I think it was pretty well-played for a non-jam tune. Heavy Things I like very much, and was happy to get it, even though I figured that we would since it is in such heavy (tee hee) rotation right now. Camel Walk, the evening's biggest surprise, followed, and gets points for rarity, but didn't exactly take off like a rocket. Possum was an energetic set closer, and was solidly played. At the break I wandered around, and was left with a profound feeling of "eh" as I thought about the set. Nothing really wrong with it per se, but not all that exciting. I didn't feel a great vibe in the room. Maybe it was just me. I talked to a few kids who thought that it had been "great", but I remained unconvinced. Second set opened up with Sand. For 23 minutes. Now, normally I want some tune to be jammed out as long as possible, but I found this to be somewhat bland. I kind of like the song though. Next, I got a charge as they started Mango. I haven't seen this one since my second show back in '94, and I was pumped. Alas, this version would be referred to as the Mangled Song, as it was utterly botched. Trey seemed to really struggle with this one both musically and lyrically, and at one point I swear that all four members of the band were in different places. I have since heard comments that this too was "great", but people, listen to it. A major disappointment, and should have been the set highlight for me. After this we get a passable Velvet Sea, although this seemed to me a poor choice energy-wise. Tweezer starts up next, and I realize that we're going to get one of those 4 or 5 song sets. Tweezer I thought was pretty good, nothing too exciting, and includes a big jam that sounded more like the build up in Slave than Tweezer. This was good, and got the crowd excited. After this there seemed to be a little bit of meandering as a decision was made, and then Trey started Jim. This song selection left me cold (although I was physically far from it, as the heat by now in the venue was stifling.) I would say that Jim was adequately played, but nothing spectacular. Encores? When they starte Bittersweet Motel, I was greatly let down. Nothing wrong with this tune, but as an encore? Nah man. I sensed the Tweeprise would be next, and I was all ready to get out at that point. And then it was over. I got a great veggie burrito on the way out. Within minutes we were back on the road to Columbia, and I drove silently, sort of annoyed that I hadn't gotten a really good show, only a mostly-ok one. Of all that I have seen, it was my least favorite Phish show. It seemed light years from my peak experiences (Halloween '96 and Hampton '97). One wonders if the much talked about "break" after next summer is needed even sooner. Hope everyone has a great time at NYE.
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 10:36:26 -0500 From: Paul Bronson [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: raleigh review I am going to have to agree with the gentleman, Rich Hazlehurst, seeing as how I live in Raleigh myself. It's not perfect by any means, but it's surely nicer than many towns in the south or anywhere. I grew up here and I'm far from a redneck, also very proud of the fact that I live in this town. I wouldn't have it any other way. Also, the guy who said there were no covers in the show was close to right, but Camel Walk is actually an Ike Turner cover. Good call, though. On to the show Reynolds is less than a mile from my house which was really cool, didn't have to worry too much about anything. This was also the only time I've only caught one show on a tour. It was my 35th show, and despite obvious shortcomings, I thought it was quite excellent. The sound could have been better, and the heat could have been less intense, but Reynolds is not a concert venue, and held it's ground considering that fact. Seeing as how Phish usually plays terrible shows in Raleigh, Walnut Creek to be exact, this one was quite a releif. "Maybe they don't hate us after all" I muttered. Now, the song by song reviews. WILSON-Always a good, energetic opener. Not the best Wilson by a long shot. Right before *can you still have fun*, they were so off from eachother, I though they were gonna have to stop the show and get it together. A heavy butcher of the song, but they are human beings. I enjoyed it. CHALKDUST- It seemed to take them a few to get into this one, but when they did, WOW. One of the most blistering Chalkdust's I've seen for sure. Kept that energy flying. LAWN BOY- Since they were pretty much due for a slow one at this point, I think Lawn Boy was a prime choice. Page and his hammy antics acompanying Mike's melodic bass solo were quite a duo. Another pleaser for sure. LIMB BY LIMB-Although I could have done without another slow one, Limb by Limb was a great choice. The vocals were perfect and the music was powerful. I loved it. HORN- Ahhh, finally got one of my choices that I called. Only my second Horn in 35 shows and proved to be a masterpiece. I love this tune, beautiful, rare, and downright fun. GET BACK ON THE TRAIN- Now, you are completely insane if you don't like this one. This song is so energetic and jumpy. So much fun, I could hear it at every show. ROGGAE- Admitadly, a bit of an energy kill after GBOTT, but a great song nonetheless. A lot of folks complained about it, but I really dig it. The lyrics and melody are heartmelting, seriously. HEAVY THINGS- My first time ever hearing this one, and can't wait to hear it again. Another jumpy dance tune with meaningful lyrics, fast becoming a favorite. CAMEL WALK- Oh yeah, bring on the funk. I've waited 35 shows to see this, and finally got it. What a great tune, Ike Turner classic. I loved every moment of it, surely the highlight for me. POSSUM- Yet another song that never seems to disapoint. It's funny, before the show, my girlfriend and I called two songs a piece we really wanted to see. I said Horn and Camel Walk, she said GBOTT and Possum. We got all four in one set. Possum was awesome as always. The setbreak was strange, I was pretty spun. I sat in my seat and avioded the crowd the whole time. On to set two SAND- Another first for me, and again, loved it. Cool funk jam with a nice extension of 23 minutes. I don't care what anyone says, I love the long jams, it make Phish who they are. I dug Sand to the fullest. MANGO SONG- Only my fourth Mango, and I think I finally see why they don't play it much. Keep it rare so people will dig it, because I have yet to see a good Mango. They always seem to butcher it, and this was no exception. It was great to hear, just disapointing when they can never seem to get it right. WADING IN A VELVET SEA- Now, don't crucify me, but I think this song really sucks. It is completey top 40 and sappy, and not at all up to Phish's standards. I guess this was a good version, but I really hate the song, I think it's the worst one they've ever written. This after that Mangled Song, I was starting to lose faith in the show. But then....... TWEEZER- ahhhh, yeah, first Tweezer since 96. I got so sick of it in 96, but it was awesome to see this triumphant return. A blistering 30 minute version that never died, I was in sheer heaven jiggin my arse off. My ladyfriend didn't much care for it, but I was so happy with this. The heat, however, was so intense, the lyrics were making me jones to step into the freezer. RUNAWAY JIM-This is my girlfriend's favorite song, so I was really happy to see it with her at our first show together. I've seen it so many times, but it's a fun tune. This version was especially good, they kept it short and hot. I dug it a lot. I think it must be a tradition in North Carolina to play this song, cause they always do, and most of the residents were disapointed. Not me though. All in all, the first set was much better, but the second set wasn't bad by any means. The energy plummeted a little at times, but I was happy with both sets. On to the encore. BITTERSWEET MOTEL- A strange choice for an encore I thought, a little slow, but very appropriate. At this point, they weren't getting much love from the crowd. The should have said, Halfway between Raleigh and Hampton, you're putting me through hell, cause they really were. A beautiful song, and a great segue into none other than..... TWEEZER REPRISE- Even though I knew it was coming, this song always blows my mind. It's so hot and energetic, the best part of hearing Tweezer is you know Reprise is coming. Sent me away breathing hard and smiling. A great show no matter what all the "critics" think. We as phans really need to appreciate what we have in Phish. They do us a huge favor every tour by playing shows for us. If you're gonna bitch about 80% of the shows you see, please just stop going, there are others who would love those tickets. Thanks, see ya next year. Jason
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 10:23:12 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 12/16/99 Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, NC This was my 78th Phish show, and here's the rundown IMHO... Arrived pretty late, around 6:30, immediately began the search for our friends, which was not hard at all considering the small size of Reynolds and the surrounding area. Getting in was tough, considering that I almost didn't get in...my girl was shakendown pretty hardcore, but the doorman was pretty nice, gave her two options and we went inside with our group. Two words can describe the coliseum...small, which I loved...and HHHOOOTTT! Extremely hot, broke a sweat just sitting in our seats preshow. Anyway...on to the show. Was predicting a Chalkdust opener...got Wilson...can never complain about Wilson...but this one was a tad bumpy. Not a very solid version but it is a hard tune to hit perfectly...I was not disappointed, I knew there was more to come. Chalkdust...I just felt this one coming from a mile away...the jam was pretty tight and soothing...really good version, but I heard most of this from the bathroom, it has become my signature bathroom tune, I've heard my share of Tortures, still a great tune, and I thought it was nicely played. Lawn Boy...always a trip to see Page as a sleezy lounge singer, I love this tune, but like Chalkdust, I get a lot of Lawn Boys, but I never complain, nicely done. Limb X Limb...hands down, IMHO, the best Limb I've ever heard. I really thought of this one as the firestarter to the show. The jam was tight, spacey, with a touch of funk...cant wait to hear it on tape, my heart began pounding at an insane level, I was pumped, and so were the boys. Horn...shocked! Did not see this one coming, great tune, great jam, excellent placement, Trey just went off on the jam like a madman. GBOTT...I really like this tune, and I like what they've done with it since going into the studio. Really tight now, and I can tell the boys love this one, as do I. Great jam Roggae...really passionate song. All I can say about it, have never heard a "Bad" version, its always standard, never really changes, I love this tune. Heavy Things...I knew that this was a definite this weekend, the band obviouslly thinks that this tune is totally orgasmic...I like it a lot, didnt think too much of it on Trey's tour...this is definitely a Phish song, its a really catchy tune, cant wait to hear it in Florida. Camel Walk...when Trey began teasing the first riffs, I could of sworn they were about to go into Possum, but immediately I heard the Walk coming on! I looked down at my 5'1 love and screamed...'CAMEL WALKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!'...total shocker, was psyched....so very psyched....what a rarity...I took in this one for all it was worth, a definite highlight of the show. Possum...I KNEW it was coming. This used to be my favorite song, the jam, the intensity, its a great closer IMHO...but as you will discover in my review of second night Hampton...Im gradually growing to make this my signature potty tune. It will always be a classic...but I think it needs to shelve this one at times, not for an entire year or tour, but I loved the days when this one was a shocker. But I wont complain. Rundown of the first set...Pretty damn good. One of the slowest sets I've ever witnessed, but the playing was tight, and I love Trey's wool hat. He looks like the true OD in that thing. I thought Fishman was really on during this set, and I began my wait once the lights brightened, for a killer second set. Highlights...Limb and Walk Sand...totally confused. I always thought Sand was First Tube, and I always thought First Tube was Free Thought...there was a lot of confusion on Trey's tour, and on the tapes that circulated right after, so I thought this was First Tube...keep in mind that the last show I caught was Oswego, missed out on all the Fall shows, am still yet to even see a Fall tape. Anyway...this song is sick. It is a true space funk jam. There were times....ESPECIALLY in Hampton....when I thought the arena was a spaceship and we were being sent out of the Earth's atmosphere into uncharted and unknown territory. Album worthy? I really hope, but I know Im wrong, but I really hope this doesnt show up on the new album. This is a live song, HANDS DOWN. The jam was just insane. Trey went straight to his keys and we were totally blown away by the haunting, yet soothing sound of outer space. I really dig this tune! Mango...this is always a fun tune to hear live. Did not see this one coming, especially after a song like Sand. After this one I was trying to remember the first set as best as I could...Camel Walk and Mango, some rarities were being distributed by the boys into the rowdy crowd that night, and I do consider Mango a rarity. Wading...damn...ouch...what can I say? Nothing really...in total honesty...Wading just doesn't do it for me. It is Prince Caspian's clone, and if I had too choose between one or the other, I wouldn't bother, I would put myself on mute. I will only say this, the upside IMHO to this song is that it's obvious that Trey is in love with this song, and he always goes off on the jam. We chose to take the time to plug and spark during this one, sitting down, total session, and I hate sitting down during shows...but like I said, this one doesn't do it for me. However, the funniest moment for us came during this song, as a dude who constantly yelled NC STATE NC STATE, stood up and made love to himself, I seriouslly beleive this dude had an orgasm throughout this entire song, we were hysterical, really funny moment. After the song he said..."I've been to every Phish show now" as he hugged himself. Wish I had a video camera Tweezer...while I usually downplay Tweezer due to it's overplaying and it's total length of jam time....and how it is sometimes jammed to the max in oddball ways, when we could be hearing a whole lot of sick and rare tunes... began the thought process in the beginning...by remaining seated and sessionating with my friends, and we also made a new friend in the NC STATE dude...total character...rolling out of his gourd! The jam began...still seated...the jam kept going....gradually growing...and I began hearing something that I've never heard...I rose from my seat...and IMHO...witnessed one of the greatest Tweezer Peak jams I've ever ever ever heard. This was amazing...words cant even describe it. Really think this was a Slave Jam...and Trey just kept it going at its peak...really great way to end a song that I've pretty much always downplayed to msyself and a few others. Pleased to say that after that jam...I have a new found respect for Tweezer...on the right night...it can be the highlight jam of the evening...I cannot wait to get the tapes...and I recommend anyone out there who may despise or love Tweezer to give this one a listen, truly epic, after a down moment in the set, this second set was back on track in ways ive never dreamed....for me....highlight of the night, I'd pay 175 just to see them recreate that jam once again Runaway...perfect! While it was nowhere close to being a STELLAR rendition...it is without a doubt, ever since 12/17/95...my favorite closer. I didn't want the show to end though, after that Tweezer jam who would? I love Jim, the jam just always takes the band and crowd to new levels. Definitely one of my all time faves, Runaway Jim seems to always make all the pain and worries in my mind Runaway...definitely not the greatest Jim ever, but it was a perfect closer Bittersweet Motel....well...I refused to complain after seeing the insane finale...Jam --> Jim...dont hear this one that often, and while it wont make you run like an antelope out of control...it definitely is a truly good song. Great lyrics, actually think it should remain in Pittsburgh, its only proper ya dig? Anyway, I was pleased and KNEW something else was yet to come...TWEPRISE! I totally forgoot about Tweezer at this point...the jam is still ever presently lingering in my head, but it is not an authentic Tweezer Jam as you will soon discover once you pop in the tapes. I think it's a standard way to close the show, and it did give us all some energy to begin the haul too Hampton. Overall...this was a pretty good show. I would not go off on saying that one entire set was better than the other, or both were entirely sick as illness...each one had its moments...and they were very strong moments. The Jam out of Tweezer was definitely the highlight of the evening for me...so great it was that I would say that this was a solid performance. I left satisfied, simply stated. One more thing..too much controversy surrounding Trey's rumored drug addiction. Raleigh, both Hamptons...yeah...there were some flubs...into Mango there was an obvious tiny flub, and each night of Hampton saw some flubs, but none that would make me to say that Trey is dying, or Trey is on the verge of something bad. I didn't see anything though that raised alarm, unlike summer tour when there were many periods when I was a bit concerned. IMHO...Phish is just exploring new areas of improvisation...its obvious there is a lot on their minds...and I do think they deserve a break...to just clear their heads and prepare to begin a new decade, with a freash and revitalized beginning. Im more concerned about the scene than anything...we gotta get our act together. Saw too many people doing stupid things. Wached a girl who couldnt have been older than 16, literally, drop down to the ground looking lifeless second night Hampton, walked through a large puddle of blood in Hampton as well. Anyway...I thought Raleigh was a solid show, and I think that it was obvious, that the band is saving a lot of energy for Florida. I cant wait, its gonna be sick, i think we're all gonna be in a state of total awe for the entire weekend. We just gotta stay in check. If we all keep ourselves, OURSELVES, in line, then we wont have to worry about others. And people also need to remember that it is SOOOO EASY to walk inches too a trashcan or recycling bend to throw away your garbage. There is no excuse for excess garbage when there are so many means of disposal. So lets keep it clean next week people, and in the future...its up to us to keep our scene alive and well. Just my two cents....see yall in FL Al <><
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 03:42:01 -0700 From: "Susanna, Lee" [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Raleigh NC show Boy, I tell ya. . . After that long-winded rambling that I just read, I'm gonna keep this short and sweet. (Whomever wrote that big-ass review/life story about your trusty cohorts, FOB taping, blah blah blah blah blah, I got some news for ya. . . Nobody really dives a damn. I don't actually know you personally and therefore I could give two bits o' shit what you did the night of the show, where you parked, what you were offered for your ticket, etc., etc. But I digress. . .) This was a phatty show! I had one hell of a good time! The Wilson opener pretty much just made my day! Plus, Heavy Things, a pretty solid Tweezer and Camel Walk?! You got's ta be kidding me! That just ruled! 'course, I'm from a really dull town in the desert so I'm pretty easy to entertain. The scene (to me, at least) was cool, the venue, although small and somewhat echo-y, had a lot of character, the Boys seemed to be enjoying themselves, and don't even get me started on the multitudes of gorgeous southern bells. (Damn, a SouthWest desert boy such as myself isn't used to such southern hospitality! I could most certainly get used to that sort of thing. Sign me up for NCSU!!) Aside from the sweltering heat inside the venue--all in all--a rock solid show. I really enjoyed myself. One other thing that I really got a kick out of. . . when the Cop in the lot asked the girl what was in her "brownies" and she replied "Um. . . eggs, sugar. . . chocolate stuff. . ." the cop just cracked up then wished her a safe show. That was really cool.
Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1999 08:45:40 PST From: Stephen Welsch [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Reynolds Review, 12/16/99 12/16/99 Reynolds Coliseum - Raleigh, North Carolina - Reviews I: (1:18) Wilson > Chalkdust Torture, Lawn Boy, Limb by Limb, Horn, Get Back On The Train, Roget, Heavy Things, Camel Walk, Possum II: (1:14) Sand (23 Min), The Mango Song, Wading in the Velvet Sea > Jam > Tweezer (30 Min) > Runaway Jim E: (0:09) Bittersweet Motel > Tweezer Reprise I arrived at the parking lot around 5 pm, after meeting a friend elsewhere. The only downside of the night was when they collected $5 from me to park at the parking garage, and then there were no spots so we had to park elsewhere. $5 down the tubes, but easy come, easy go. We didnt see much of the lot scene, cops were being strict about drinking in the lots and made alot of people pour out their beers, but I wasnt holding a beer, so it didnt bother me. Met a couple friends and heading in around 6:00. I was so psyched to see this show. Raleigh is where I presently reside and they havent been here for an indoor show in years. I was very surprised they played reynolds, since there is a brand new arena down the street, but it made for a pretty cozy show. The place is very old, and definitely looks like you are walking down a school hallway in the concourses. We scored some seats on page side, about 1/3 back from the stage. great seats and we didnt seem to have any problems with sound there (others were complaining about the sound elsewhere in the building). My only complaint with the sound was that page was too low in the mix, but by second set, they seemed to straighten that out. Onto the show: Wilson: place was so loud, I couldnt even hear the beginning riffs. Was very pleased with the selection, and they blew the song apart. (I have a dog named wilson) incredible. Chalkdust: Oh Man!!!!!!! this is the first phish tune I ever heard, and has stayed one of my favs. Probably the best Chalkdust I have heard to date. This song is the reason to pick up the tapes. Lawn Boy: Im a big page phan, so this was a definite bonus. Limb by Limb: Saw this at merriweather and thought it a strange opener. Like this song much better in the middle of a set. At this point I am starting to realize that this is a trey night, as he is playing flawlessly. Good tune. Horn: Damn!!!! didnt expect this one. Treys solo was incredible. GBOTT: probably my favorite new tune. another best version for me. the place was rocking. Roggae: The band was completely in synch for this. Great song and a nice breather. Heavy Things: they sure like this tune. Went to two shows and got it both times. Very catchy tune, the whole place was dancing up a storm. Camel Walk: WTF?!?! I had only heard about this tune, had never heard it, so it took a couple verses before I figured it out. Funky, funky, funky, the crowd was eating it up. This song could get away with being in heavier rotation. Great way to end the set right??? WRONG!! Possum: they outdid themselves. the buildup made you want to come out of your skin. The lights added so much to this (as they did all night). In my opinion (remember its just one mans opinion) this set ranks up there at the top. Probably one of the top three Ive seen, if not the top one. The band was real tight, and Trey was so "on" it was amazing. What the hell could the second set hold for us. Sand: I wanted to hear this tune live, after all the raves I have been reading. Its a good tune, one of the better from Trey Solo tour. Went on a little long for my tastes, but I have no complaint (got to sit for another minute) Trey was playing around with his keyboard, making crazy noises for quite awhile. 23 minutes long. Mango Song: Here we Go!!!!!! this is the best page sounded all night, pumping out a killer solo. Gotta love Mango, and a very, very nice surprise. Wading: I think I am one of the few people who think this is an amazing song. Again, this may have to do with love for page as a musician. Tweezer: Never been a huge tweezer phan. Like the song, but dont go crazy over it. This year I have been building a bigger appreciation for it though, as the jams seem funkier. This one was about 1/2 hour and pretty funky. I sat it out, but enjoyed it very much. looking forward to hearing the recording to check it out again. Runaway Jim: this song follows me around everywhere. Its a real sweet tune, and they played this one perfect. Encore: You know Tweeprise is coming, but will there be something else? Bittersweet Motel: This is a beautiful song, and I dont think I could get sick or it. Tweeprise: The best part about Tweezer is Tweeprise. this was one of the biggest highlights of the night. Blew the roof off reynolds, with trey swinging his guitar around like a rock god. Overall: the show was incredible. The band was tight, each knew exactly where the other one was. It was treys night, I dont look for trey flubbs or anything at shows, but I usually recall when he is perfect, and he was in raleigh. The first set was amazing. If you only get one set from Raleigh, thats the one, but I recommend the whole show. JUST MY OPINION!!! Stiff PS: for the guy who was busting on raleigh rednecks. Your from SC buddy, you should talk!!!
Date: Sat, 18 Dec 1999 10:54:29 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Raleigh Just wanted to post my opinions on the 12.16 show in Raleigh. I: (1:18) Wilson > Chalkdust Torture, Lawn Boy, Limb by Limb, Horn, Get Back On The Train, Roggae, Heavy Things, Camel Walk, Possum II: (1:14) Sand (23 Min), The Mango Song, Wading in the Velvet Sea > Jam > Tweezer (30 Min) > Runaway Jim E: (0:09) Bittersweet Motel > Tweezer Reprise Wilson> I think everyone in the place was screamin' during this song...it sounded really good. Chalkdust> This was a standard version, but it was really well place, directly after Wilson made it even better. Lawnboy- This is a wonderful song, but it should have been better placed. Limb by Limb- This song has definately gotten more respect from me since i first heard it on SOTG, it was a great version. Horn- Trey was tearin' his guitar UP during this song. Get Back on the Train- This song, for sure, goes down in my Fav. song list, i first heard it live in Charlotte over the summer and absolutely loved it, and this version was great! Roget- This isn't one of my fav. songs, but this one was okay. Heavy Things- I really like this song alot, it's just it's way too overplayed, but i liked it alot... Camel Walk- !!!! man! this song had the place jumpin' this was only the second time it's been played this year, and man, was it great, i was dancin' my ass off the whole entire song... Possum- I though i was gonna get a break after that phatty Camel Walk, but man, Possum! This possum was just way too crazy, everyone was also into this one. i have to disagree with whoever that was that said that this one was better than Charlotte, because that one was just AWESOME with the slide and all, but man, this one was pretty damn close... setbreak - HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT, What is up with sellin' out of beverages?? Sand - This was a first for me, and i loved every second of it...it's a keeper Mango- another rarity that we were blessed with in Raleigh, pretty standard version Velvet Sea- this is the perfect song, i used to hate it, but now i'm all about it...love it Tweezer- Great Song! couldn't ask for a better placement either, and WHOA! the jams were just too crazy! Runaway Jim- i thought for sure after Tweezer that that would be it for the second set, but no! the bust out with my fav. phish song! i was just goin' to town on this song...love it soo much E: bittersweet motel, yet, another rarity we got that night, good encore song Tweeprise- great version, and what a great song to end a great night off with Hey Carrie and all those people that were sittin in front of us, and thanks for the skittles!! -Reed
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 02:06:28 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Review of 12/16/99 hey, i thought i would send this your way. i posted this on RMP also. see ya in hampton jim hey all, i just arrived to a computer after the raliegh show and i wanna say "Its a Keeper ladies and gentlemen." iam writing this why i am still in the same mind-set that i was in at the show and everything is still fresh. 12/16/99 Reynolds Coliseum - Raleigh, North Carolina I: (1:18) Wilson > Chalkdust Torture, Lawn Boy, Limb by Limb, Horn, Get Back On The Train, Roget, Heavy Things, Camel Walk, Possum II: (1:14) Sand (:23), The Mango Song, Wading in the Velvet Sea > Jam > Tweezer (:30) > Runaway Jim E: (0:09) Bittersweet Motel > Tweezer Reprise * - Mike brought out a big shaggy Mike doll on the stage and sat it on top of his amp before the first set. First off....to everyone i met before the show, i enjoyed myself very much and was very happy to meet all of you. The show started out on a high note. i was with a bunch of friends and was very comfortable. another note, for all of you who were at oswego, it was as hot in reynolds. this place was a nice place though. cop presence was tolarble. Wilson -- the crowd was totally into this. everyone was very excited to be there and wilson was a great pick for an opener. Chalkdust -- HELL YA! Wilson into chalkdust was a major bonus. the entire band was fuckin on. trey's solo was amazing. he tore shit up. Lawn Boy -- This was cool. mike's solo wasnt "hi, i am the greatest" but he did his job. page's voice was wonderful. Limb by Limb -- This was a wonderful suprise. i did not expect this at all. the entire song was just great. trey proved again that he can rip shit up in chalkdust and they go back to sanity and play wonderful, mellow jam. Horn -- trey = amazing. Get Back On The Train -- This was the best version i have heard. more jamming in the song with (maybe, i could be wrong) destiny unbound tease. i might be wrong but i am leaving for hampton in a few hours and i am keeping this one in the back of my head. very intense. Roget -- I dont like this song, but these version has showed me a new light to this song. wonderful jamming, wonderful lights, i was pleased with this. trey and mike showing that still are king. Page is the man in this song. he really does what we pay to see. Heavy Things -- My First Heavy Things. its a good song, i like it. alot of talet showing tonight. wonderful solo work this evening. it was an added plus to me in light that i have not been to a show since oswego. CamelWalk -- Didnt stop dancing. by the end of this song i am covered in sweat from head to toe. it was cool. pure fun. i think they surprised everyone in the place as well as you folks at home. i never heard this one live before. it was a well played to me from what i have heard on tapes. you be the judge. Possum -- Trey = Rock Star. he tore shit up. everyone in the place went fuckin nuts. mike tore shit up, page tore shit up, fish tore shit up. this one beats the Possum from Charlotte. yes, i said that, flame me if you want. get the tapes and then tell me what you think........philly???????????????????? at set break everyone in the city of raliegh decided to go into the halls and in the isles so i didnt really move. i got up once and it was so hard to move. i had to get out of the arena itself because it was 100 or so degrees in there. (not really 100 but it was hot) this is where the show gets REAL GOOD. the jamming in this set will blow your mind. ...if you get only 1 set...get the 2nd. less song then the 1st but good lord. Sand...this was my first also being from the trey show. i was very impressed with how well mike picked this song up. this song is about some hard core bass rifts and then it goes to trey, mike, trey, mike, trey so on and so forth. this was the best free flowing jam i have seen or heard in awhile. trey is now DJ Trey. he played with pedels, loops, keys, he even played with the rug. 9.5 on the Good lord i cant believe this scale. Mango -- AWESOME. Listen the alpine 99 mango and then listen to this one. opposite. trey is on it during this song. he had it in his head, arms, legs how to play this. i was very please with this one. it was awesome. Wading In The Velvet Sea -- My friend mary had her first show tonight and she cried during this song. she sat down and cried. didnt eat anything, didnt smoke anything, didny drink anything. page busts this out chairman style. but when trey starts his solo he had a few flubbs but hell, he is human and he used up all his super power during the rest of the show till this song and had to regenerate. mike and definatly Page made up for it. Jam->Tweezer->Slave Jam->Tweezer -- go get your beer. this was the most amazing thing i have seen phish do and i was at great woods and oswego this past summer. to begin, the music gets spacey, fish is playing around with his vac. then trey starts playing Tweezer but it sounds like rest of the band wants something else but trey had a plan for this. they played your basic tweezer but then, they start playing the jam to slave. i was confused and now that i think about it, it was the jam part of Slave. trey is just having a blast playing this. being trey. had his black hat on and was chillin...fish was chillin. but still though, they played this jam and then just went back into tweezer. it was cool as hell, made the show. tweezer ->slave jam->Tweezer Runaway Jim -- my Friend Piper, thats the kids name, called this song in its place. great version and since my name is jim and i am 17, this is my song. i just danced and danced and danced. the song itself was played awesome. trey went off. the bass solo in the middle of the song was fed off the crowd. we all were nuts. best crowd i have seen till tomorrow (HAMPTON!!!!) E: Bittersweet Motel -- I love this song. great version, i was very impressed. i am from pennsylvania so i yelled like a retard during the "Half way between Erie and Pittsburgh." sorry everyone, that was me. only person in the place to yell too. great vocals. Tweezer Reprise -- Good version, great way to end a kick ass show. and the feedback "I am King" thing at the end made my friend greg who also had his first show tonight very happy. so all and all this show rates a 8-9 on the scale of 1-10. these are must have tapes. im serious, just for the Sand and the Tweezer. See you all in hampton. if you wanna add anything to this go right ahead.
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 18:33:23 -0500 From: Jennifer Whitley [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 12-16-99 Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh NC my first impression was that the atmosphere was opressively hot and smoky. it was like being inside of a cancer patient's lung. but this was tobacco country and you have to take the good with the rest. and tobacco smoke is a good cover for.... anyway the crowd was definately chainsmoking high nicotine cigarettes for the duration of this one. there was a thick haze all the way up to the stage and much much alcohol. some guy yelled at his frat buddy so loud we thought he might be having a dysfunctional contusion of some sort. Phish was a great sport as always. These guys are pros. It took them the entire first set to warm up to the cancerous humidity but by the time they reached Possum acoustics began to clear and security guards starting opening the doors to let cool air in (please be informed that my perceptions of the show were biased by certain disorientations). they took a long deserved set break from a crown of screaming out of control drunk hormones to rebound with a second set much better than the first. i remember some really cool keynotes in Mango, The Jam, Tweezer, and Runaway Jim which was awesomely quirky in the tradition of Garcia. The whole show was worth tolerating just for Jim. But a better pick, the best pick for Phish- is the Western experience. There is more energy out there not to mention that Generation X actually has a fighting political chance to "live while it's young." Anyone who gets this message should opt for a string of summer shows out there, it's magic of the dinosaur variety. e.g. catch this show on bootleg- 8/02/96......... phospheresent neverending bioluminous magic esp. DWD, JIM, CASPIAN, FLUFFHEAD............. i don't think Phish will be back to Reynolds anytime soon. peace. -a message from the craftweb of Harvey, an associate of Jerry Linderguard.
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 19:55:01 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Reynolds in Raleigh I just noticed your fourth bullet point down in which you say keep it clean to keep the scene. That prompted me to write you about last nights show in Raleigh NC. Nothing to do with the music, all about the scene. Do you really want to keep the Phish scene the way it is? I mean, now the scene is litter, in every way imaginable it's trash. Last night it was like we were in a shanty town with no soul. The lot looked like it had been going on for years. Trash EVERYWHERE! Spilt beer, urine, bottles, leftover food, baggies, papers all over. It was'nt that there were'nt trash cans, there were. And even the people who put their trash in bags they brought, did'nt tie them, so bags full of trash were emptying their contents onto the pavement, to be drug off by dogs and dispersed evenly. Yet it goes further. The kids are trash. They don't care about the music, it's all about drugs and selling drugs and not bathing and trying to get EVERYTHING for free. But what are they giving to the scene? Nothing. You look at them and they're pissed off. They're not listening to Phish out in the lot, it's rap. Not good rap, angry rap, mean rap. They're selling bad drugs for way too much money and then turning around and bumming money under false pretenses like " can you help a brother out of jail". What crap! How many times will I hear that shit! Or trying to get phree tickets saying it's their first show. Come on man! I almost can't stand it. And it's not like you can overlook it, they're everywhere. It's nothing but little kids at the show, schwilly mommas and poppas who don't care anything about being a hippie, only about being a bum.And after seeing all this, I'm walking through the lot getting ready to go home and I happen to look down just as I cross over a bumper sticker. It's stuck to the asphalt and covered in liquid goop. With white letters on a purple background all it said was..."Be Good Family". The irony. Thanks for your time, shalom phriend.
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 02:34:47 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: review of 12-16-99 Alright, this is my first review, though I have been to many shows. i'm gonna start off with a complaint about the parking lot. I mean, that was outrageous. We couldn't even drink beer without being hassled and forced to throw it out? Sure, i guess. -Wilson-good, plain old wilson, good to hear, no complaints. Decent way to start a show. -Chalkdust-What can I say about chalkdust except that it's chalkdust. A good version, I must say and a good second song. This show is looking good after all. -Lawn Boy-Another good song, but a considerably slower song, and it seemed too early on to start with the slow stuff. I like this song, but it put a twist on the show that I wasn't looking forward to. Slowness. -Limb by Limb-I really enjoyed this version of the song, even though it's not my favorite. They seem to be playing this song out as if to retire it or something.?? -Horn-Alright! Love this song and I could hear it every night! -GBOTT-Good jammin song, but kinda keepin with the slow pace of the first night -Roget-Again I like this song, but I wasn't ready for the slowness that It brought along. -Heavy Things-Alright!!! My favorite of the new songs. Now we're pumpin! I was dancin' like nobody's business when I heard this! The first time of the night that I was actually excited. -Camel WAlk-ugg...agian getting into the slowness. Good version, but I wasn't ready for it -Possum-Great song and great version! Great way to end this set that was mostly slow stuff. Overall, I wasn't impressed at all with the first set. The only time that I was really excited was the heavy things. But who can ask for two great shows in a row? Last night was good enough for the both i think. Hopefully the second set would be better. -Sand-Uggg...my least favorite new song. And 23 minutes? Ugg. -Mango song-Great song! I've been wqiting forever to hear this and I finally get to and it's a great version! I loved this version and feel bad for anyone who didn't get to hear it. -WITVS-Great slow song and nicely placed. I needed a break after that mango. Good version. -Tweezer-I don't like tweezer's normally because they are dragged out, but this one just killed me. 30 minutes? Come on now. -Runaway Jim-YESSSS!! A great classic! And very well played too! A perfect set closer. AS a matter of fact, i had called halfway throught tweezer that I hoped they would go into this to close! What a treat! E-Bittersweet motel was a decent cover. Kinda boring. The tweezer reprise wasn't needed. Kinda put the icing on the cake that was a disappionting show. Overall, this show was kind of a disappiontment. I was hoping for a more enerjetic show from them. The highlights were definitely heavy things, mango, and runaway jim.
Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1999 00:28:12 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 12-16-99 Reynold's Coliseum, Raleigh, NC Okay, I know this was only my fourth show, and I might not have heard every version of every son gthat Phish has ever done, but this show, was definitely sweet. Anybody who didn't have a good tim eat this show needs to start relaxing and dancing instead of analyzing. But I digress. My general view of the whole show was like a tease. It borught you up, then back down and then ended each set big. very well put together. Set I: They started out real killer with a phatty Wilson and Chalkdust, gettin gthe crowd hyped up like mad. I wasn't on the floor, but I was right in front and above trey's head and I could tell he was gettin down already, then they mellowed out with some songs which were slow (much to the disappointment of some), but still very cool songs. I really enjoyed the Lawn Boy. GBotT and Heavy Things were really fun. Camel Walk was killer and the Possum just blew me away (danced my feet off cause I knew the set was over) Set II: The Sand was cool to hear, but the jam started to sag in the middle, but picked up nicely at the end (my only complaint for the night). Mango is always great to hear and good for dancin and singin. Wading was a nice rest after all that dancin (very soothing). The Tweezer was sick (now look what you got me sayin). Didn't even feel like 30min at all. kept me movin the entire time. Runaway Jim is a good dancin song to close the second set. E: Bittersweet was nice, but I really would have liked to hear something I hadn't heard before in it's place. and the Reprise, however inevitable, was definitely sweet. Overall, my favorite show so far, much much better than first day of Hampton (couldn't get tix to Saturday night :o( ). The crowd was totally down and Trey was smilin and dancin and feedin off us the enitre second set. I liekd the smallness of the venue, it added to the energy. defiitely a must-get tape.
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 16:26:19 -0500 From: Brian Whitson [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: RaleighReview Let me get the negatives out of the way. The sound sucks at Reynolds, but I expected it knowing it was set up for b-ball. (Littlejohn). wanted to get there early to take advantage of General Admission. So we hauled ass - 4 hrs from me and had to work untill noon. got there in time. but, as you've read - got shut out thanks to the armband thing. I was pissed at first, but I realized it was to hook up the locals and discourage chaos. I snuck in my digital camera and wanted to get some phatty close-ups. oh well. Got some decent ones from the page side. Also, my friends got denied with thier DAT and mic stand for unknown reasons. I guess security thought it was maxxed out. had to haul the gear back to the car. in the non-existant lot. I heard Reynolds has a big field, but all we saw was pavement. also - they must not get a lot of concerts at reynolds - ran out of drinks - and it was a sauna in there. Also, i know its my fault - but i must have been in the geriatric section- buncha dead weight. But for the whole- the crowd was good. The wave looked cool in that little place. And i took a newbie. she is a panic kid -60+ shows but had never seen Phish. I cant say this show was a mind blower - a little lax due to hampton maybe. But there were definately highlights. I am psyched to see the boys no matter what- so its hard to turn me off- but for a newbie i wish she could have gone to hampton and see some of the magic. i think the boys were sober - they went easy on the antics. OK- enough trash talk. Highlights: Wilson- standard. i think they did it for the small room and loud sound we (aud) could make. chalkdust - not a fav. - but this was a phatty. smokin hot. got us pumped. lawnboy - love it - questionable placement. should have lit up page. he was standing in the dark. my opinion Limb - nice horn - trey trey trey GBOTT- really dig this song - mainly due to Page Roget- started to worry. like the tune, but i kept thinking they were gonna dump all the low energy ones on us to avoid 'em at hampton. not going :( Heavy things- trey tour liked it - kinda poppy- but its alright. have a friend named vanessa. Camel walk - nice n' rare Possum - the newbie dug it big time. she should have - it rocked. I used to love F. Bitch and Possum more when they were rare. but it was good to hear. Setbreak - sardines in a sauna Sand - here we go . i called this so i felt special. and what a phatty it is. heard it from trey tour. sweet sweet sweet. and long. Mango - never would have guessed. good placement - good tune. Velvet- Beautiful. sticks in my brain Tweezer- rocked - long and swampy. but not enough page tonight. maybe it was the sound that didnt let me hear him.heard the 2001buildup - but no. nice tweezer. Runaway- strong. newbie loved it. i love it.nice closer. Bittersweet- some like it - i dont. Tweeprise - inevitable . strong. fast. rockin. Overall. Second set made the show. enjoy hampton. -BW
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 23:55:08 -0800 (PST) From: Dave Harryman [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 12/16/99 Raleigh This show was incredible, the energy was amazing! I should note that this show was the first show EVER that they didn't play a cover song! Well here goes the review: I: (1:18) Wilson > Chalkdust Torture, Lawn Boy, Limb by Limb, Horn, Get Back On The Train, Roget, Heavy Things, Camel Walk, Possum II: (1:14) Sand (23 Min), The Mango Song, Wading in the Velvet Sea > Jam > Tweezer (30 Min) > Runaway Jim E: (0:09) Bittersweet Motel > Tweezer Reprise I was on the rail the whole show and saw everything! Trey came out all smiles and started playing something I couldn't make it out, b/c the crowd was very loud all nite. Then I heard duh duh-duh duh....WILSON!! The place thundered with the chant. Wilson>: smokin' Trey was on fire; Chalkdust: Trey hit the chrods during the coda of Wilson, which surprised Page who shot his head up at Trey. This version was the best I have ever heard. (I have 275+ hours on tape and CD and have been to several shows) Lawn Boy: Mr Page McConnell Lounge-style: great and totally unexpected. Mike's solo was gorgeous, and Page intro'd him at the end. Limb By Limb: one of my favorites from SOTG; pleasantly surpirsed to hear this here it crushed my hopes of 2001 for the night, b/c I couldn't think of anything they would segue it into. Nice and semi-long about 9-10, it can be stretched beautifully though. Horn: wouldn't have guessed this one, nice placement, this show was starting to rock. Get Back On The Train: love this tune, and so does Mike, I think Trey gave him this one so he wouldn't be too pissed at having to do Heavy Things again. Mike found his groove and Fishman was laying it down nice and funky. I like the new arrangement. Roggae: Nice tune, nice and mellow. Heavy Things: I didn't really want to hear this, but I found myself dancing and grooving (though Mike was obviously hating every minute of it). The only song I would like to have been replaced by something else. Camel Walk: Trey was smiling all night long and nobody in the place could have called his devious choice. It was great, well placed too. Sort of ironic that they play a song before it thats been played 7 of 12 shows and follow it w/ one played twice this year. Possum: This raged! Trey was all over the fretboard and opened this song up. Mike's vocals were great. Killer way to end the set! Set I: 8.5 out of 10 (deduction for Heavy Things, I mean who really wants to hear it that many times?) Set II: With Limb by Limb already used, I wondered what they would play. The soundcheck was Funky Bitch, Whats the Use, and (possibly) Roggae. I figured maybe Funky Bitch, Trey picked up the mic cup and told Page what looked like "It's Ice" which the crowd yelled for (all nite Trey listened to what the crowd was yelling for). Instead it was: Sand: This was pretty damn good, one of my favorite new songs, love the lyrics. Nice long jam, Trey on keys for about 10 minutes. Mango Song: Who would have guessed? First Camel Walk now Mango? Nice and loose, though you could tell its been 5 months since the played it. Great solo by Page Velvet Sea>: Love this song; Page should sing more often, he has a beautiful voice, great soloing by Trey; he nailed this song. Jam>: there wasn't a Jam here, it was Trey playing w/ feedback and Fish used the vacuum for a little bit, I think this was part of Tweezer, or the end of Velvet Sea and shouldn't be considered "Jam". Tweezer>: Nice and unexpected, this one went to some great places. The jam also featured Trey on keys for what seemed like forever, I actually wouldn't mind if I could hear what he was doing. The riff they found (or Mike found) was phat and reminded me of something, maybe Antelope. I thought this would be it, then: Runaway Jim: You think this works well as a set opener? wait til you hear it as a closer! Trey was all over this, and so was Mike! Again Trey was just messing w/ the crowd building and building, the whole night was like one ginat Maze or Antelope! Set II: 9.5 out of 10 (Mango was a little loose) Encore: Bittersweet Motel>: First this year! Beautiful song, Trey was playing really well again. We all knew where it would go... Tweeprise: Smokin'. Trey jumping up and down, and at the end he started pointing his guitar around for feedback and then lifted it straight in the air for the coda. Overall show: 9.0 out of 10, rare songs, all originals, Trey was amazing, Mike was great, Fish and Page were great too, but it was Trey's show. Some asides: Each band member in some way throughout the night gestured at me: Page waved in the middle of a song; Fish laughed at me; Trey shot his eyebrows up at me sortof cocky, when I mouthed, "You're the man!" in Possum; but me and Mike were involved in a staring contest (weird). The lot was nonexistent, or at least I didn't look for a scene, b/c I knew the Coliseum was in the middle of campus, so I waited in line for like 5 hours. Security was great, nice and lax, I actually got backstage around 2, and Paluska actually led me to a water fountain! The band showed up very late, I saw they were sched to do soundcheck at 4:30, but it was around 5 when they started. The head security guy used to follow the Dead and was cool; the guy that took his seat had seen Phish a bunch before, just never worked one, which is cool, b/c they know what its like. One bad note, a kid afterward was trippin on something really bad, he was facedown on the floor screaming about Ebeneezer; the cops (state police) actually just wanted to know what he was on, so they could help him, they weren't gonna charge him w/ anything, which gave me some pride in my state! Well everybody be safe on the way to and from Hampton! The grading is totally subjective, but I still think this a must-have show on disc or tape! Dave
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 01:44:36 -0500 From: Todd Deen [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 12/16/99 k i've been pumped for this show since i first saw it posted, simply because it was amazing to think that phish would be playing less than a mile away from where i sleep. the scene was great and the show was pretty damn good too. wilson-always a good mover, really got an already excited crowd roaring ->chalkdust-trey was really raging on this chalkdust, he was really smoking and all over the place lawnboy- page was enjoying himself limb by limb- this song has come a long way from when i first heard, bueatiful melodies into a raging ending, love fishmans new ending horn- not a prefered song, but its cool cuz u dont hear it that often gbott-loved this song this summer, love it even more with the new ending roget-nice floating song, love the words heavy things-talk about poppy, this song is very very catchy, i like it though camel walk- can u say damn, not the best song of the evening, but definitely the biggest surprise, good and funky possum- hell yeah, hell yeah, great way to close the set, once again trey rages 1st set was a pretty damn good set, with a nice mixture of tunes. I'd give it a 7, with the highlights being chalkdust, camel walk, and possum Sand-wow, this is a great song, started off with a spacey jam that melded into pure funk, i really like this song, and the lights were amazing and this really started the set off well the mango song-cute and bouncy wading in the velvet sea-i love this song, even though there was nothing special about this version, i still enjoy hearing it when i can ->jam-very techno with trey playing a lot of delay loops, was really thinking a ghost, but . . . ->tweezer-amazing, most tweezers are funknasty, this one was just beautiful, absolutely beautiful, highlight of the night ->runaway jim- another raging trey song to close the set, very good for shaking the bones 2nd set was better jammed, and with amazing work on the lights from our good friend chris. i give it an 8, with the highlights being well, just about the whole damn thing bittersweet->tweeprise-bittersweet is always a tasty treat with the inevitable tweeprise to close, way to guys u didn't disappoint me, a 7.5 overall
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 03:23:37 -0500 (EST) From: George Carson [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 12/16/99 Reynolds Coliseum Review... Well, just got back in from this nice show. To start as a disclaimer, this was my 17th show, my last being this summer 7/10/99. This is also my first attempt at a review. Well, got in the Coliseum at about 6:30. Strange scene outside. Its weird seeing Phish play in Reynolds. It just seems so much like a basketball arena that I couldn't imagine them playing there. So, I went to go down front on the floor and then was told I had to have a blue armband. I said, "well where do I get my blue armband?" and was then told they were given out this morning at 11:00, I guess on the NC State campus. This kind of pissed me off because I figured general admission meant we could go anywhere. Obviously not. So I already wasn't feeling the vibe at Reynolds (Hampton is Tomorrow Night!). Anyways, on to the first set: Wilson: Always nice to hear, but having heard it open my last shjow in Camden this sumer was sort of hoping for something else. NIce standard rocking version as usual. -->Chalkdust: Well, this show is really starting to become familiar. THe exact same opening combo as at Camden! Not that I am complaining, Wilson.Chalkdust is a nice 1-2 punch. Also, standard rockin version, nothing especially different (like the Camden version). Lawn Boy: Not much to say about this. NIce Page and Mike solo (Mr. Michael Gordon, folks!). Limb by Limb: Sorry to say I went to the bathroom here. From what I heard a nice healthy jam, nothing spectacular. Horn: This was my first Horn and was nice to hear. Trey nailed the little solos and I enjoyed it. Get Back on the Train: I love this song. Every time I hear it I love it more. I'm sure if I heard it too much I'd get tired of it, but same for any song. Anyways, nice little jam on the end until it faded into nothingness (I really think they could segue out of this song a lot more, but don't). Roggae: Ahhh, my favorite "slow" Phish song. Just a fuckin' beautiful song (The circus is the place for me....) I remember Hampton last year first night first set and Roggae's balloon jam. That just could have gone on forever in my mind. Heavy Things: Nice little ditty. Heard it before, nice peppy version after the slow Roggae. Camel Walk: Now we're talkin'. I was starting to get a little disappointed in this set and this song saved it for me (Don't the boys always do that?) Anyways, first Camel Walk for me and the funk was thick. Just a cool, fun song. Possum: I knew this would be the set closer and was a little disappointed at that. But, you can never go wrong with a good Possum. Every time I hear the song live I think it is the best version I've ever heard (Same thing for Antelope). Anyways, good way to end the set. Set I was definately lacking for me. Highlights were Camel walk, Train and Roggae for me. Possum was of course awesome. I was looking forward to a jammin' 2nd set. Set II SAnd: It was about 20-25 minutes long and was pretty damned good. First time seeing this one live, but had heard it on tapes from 10/4/99. It was slow to build for the first 10 minutes or so, but once it got going Trey was going nuts. The peak of the song at about 17 minutes in was truly awesome, but I had grown a little tired of the very repetitve bass line by then. It's a cool bass line, just not for the entire 20 minute song. It was cool though. Mango Song: NIce. Love this song. Standard fun version. Wading in the VElvet Sea: Nice version, just wasn't into it. I wanted them to keep the energy up after Mango and Wading was defintaely not my choice for a slow down song (Whatever happened to Lifeboy??). Anyways, it went into some spacy stuff at the end. I was sure they were either going into Ghost or 2001. Trey had the loop going like Ghost, but it sounded spacy like 2001. Instead we get --->Tweezer: Nice surprise. Also a song from my last show. This was pretty damned good version. It was kind of spacey for the first 10 minutes, then Trey and the boys found a nice jam and kept at it. It was a really nice pregression and was very "bliss-like". Just one of those jams you close your eyes, dance and smile at. I really kept thinking they were going to segue into Walk Away. They had the chord pattern going, but nobody ever started it for real. So instead it fades away almost to nothing and then --->Runaway Jim: Not a real segue I don't think, but who knows. I love this song also and have never heard a bad version. But again, I was upset because I knew this song would end the set. Nice solid version. I was hoping for some rocking song to segue out of it, but they bowed and left the stage. For the encore, I knew we were getting probably one song and then into Tweepreise. It was just the first song to decide on. I though a Carini>Tweepreise would be nice, but they played: Bittersweet Motel: Definately not the song I wanted to hear at this point. It pretty much disappointed me. -->Tweeprise: Great rocking song. I love it and don't think I would ever get tired of seeing it live. Overall, the first set had some highlights, but was average. Second set was above average with the Jammed Sand and the nice Tweezer, but Wading hurt it. Encore was disappointing. Out of a scale of 1-10 of the shows I have seen I would give this show 6/10. Good enough to be above average. See ya'll at Hampton!!
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 04:48:52 -0800 From: Phil Pelanne [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Reynolds Coliseum show... Hey, It's 4:30 am now, and I just got back to Blacksburg from Raleigh (hint - never try this drive w/o additional drivers!!). Few quick observations before catching some shuteye (this won't be all the songs they played) - Trey was donning black ski hat the whole show - no beard - BIG grin whole show. Fish in standard duct-taped dress (I kinda miss the viking horns from last year!!)....Page debonaire in black and Mike....well, just Mike. Still trying to get used to new stage setup. Set 1 - Set opener Wilson was huge....Page did an awesome lounge lizard act during Lawn Boy, cooly working the front of the stage......Get Back on the Train is always great to dance to and tonights was a solid version (not too much to change around there).....CAMEL WALK(!!!).......Possum closer featured nice jams (no language this time) Set 2 - Sand - this was extended out into an effect drenched guitar heavy wall of sound, Trey experimenting on keys, really kind of rocked near the end!.....Mango Song - another relative rarity tonight! Was kept light, bouncy, and pretty true to the original version.....Tweezer was really long with Trey back on the keys again, this time slinging his guitar on his back and playing on them for a good 10 minutes...cool woodblocks in there!!.......Runaway Jim!! My favorite Phish tune well played - most of the people around me were singing right along! Security was very light, from what I saw, except at Will Call (?)...parking lot scene seemed concentrated to a small area, probably due to the fact that parking seemed to be spread out around campus (I was directed to a dorm parking lot). Can't wait to see what they have in store for us in Hampton!! Radiskull must sleep....
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 10:44:04 -0500 From: Miner Gleason [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 12-16-99 -- Reynolds Coliseum OK, so I'm not a road warrior with 100s of shows under my belt. I try to catch our heroes whenever they're within a couple hours drive, and that's been about 6 or 7 shows over the last few years. And I listen to a lot of tapes. Thank the goddess for the tapers!!! With that caveat I've gotta say this was absolutely the worst-sounding Phish show I've ever heard, and at least from that aspect was pretty hugely disappointing. We tried a number of different locations (the sardine section of the floor right behind the taping section, several spots in the stands, but not the main floor, even though our tickets said "floor", because, we were informed, "people lined up at 11:00 AM to get blue armbands, and if you don't have a blue armband you can't go on the floor", @#$%^!, finally settling on the side about 2/3 back from the stage) and it was pretty awful everywhere we went. It wasn't until the middle of the second set that the front-of-house crew finally seemed to get the horrible bass-mush-boom-and-feedback tamed to the point where you could tell Mike was actually playing distinct pitches on his bass. And Page was pretty much non-existent through the entire first set. The vocals were indistinct and the harmonies really poorly balanced. And it seemed like the snare mic was dead on Fishman's drum kit or something; the snare hits were this sort of non-descript thud, missing that crisp snap. That stayed broken all night. I really can't say much about the first set other than it seemed like it was pretty well-played mostly. We just couldn't hear it. It was basically trying to extract musical cues out of the din that would invoke audio memories of other occasions of hearing the same songs; it was *REALLY* difficult to hear most of what was going on. My impressions: interesting short jam in Chalkdust, inaudible Page on Lawn Boy, nice Limb by Limb, Get Back On The Train ruined by muffled vocals, ditto on Roget. Not much else to say. Second set. Sand just seemed to drag forever. Maybe it was because the sound was so boomy and it was really hard to hear much happening. Finally took off into a satisfying bit of jamming towards the end, but it just seemed like an eternity getting there. Good Mango Song; the sound finally seemed to be improving here. And then a stunningly beautiful Wading in the Velvet Sea. The vocal balance was finally on, Page's keys were audible, and they just floated it out there, just gorgeous. The trailing jam didn't really segue into Tweezer, it just kind of tapered out and then Trey hit the opening Tweezer riff; that's how I remember it. Tweezer rocked, with some shredding jams in which Page was audible at least part of the time. And then what seemed an unusual choice for set closer in Runaway Jim. Not as wildly jammed as some of the notable set-opening RJ's (the 6-16-95 Walnut Creek, Raleigh second set opener (my second show) was just an absolute cranium melter in that respect), but way OK in my book. Really fun Bittersweet Motel, very nicely sung, and then the obligatory Tweezer reprise and that was the encore. I must mention the lights, though, which were very nice---fine job in that department! Overall, not a peak Phish experience: a probably-good show sabotaged by dreadfully poor sound for most of the night. It'll be interesting to see if the tapers were able to capture anything listenable. -- cheers, miner home://www.ipass.net/~starwolf band://www.shakedownwizards.com

below are reviews of the above reviews, reviewers or the opinions expressed by the authors
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 12:48:20 EST From: Todd Stephenson [email protected] To: [email protected], [email protected] Subject: Raleigh, NC? Yo Skutch, I did not realize that Columbia, SC was the mecca of cosmopolitan. I feel the comments that you made regarding Raleigh were in bad taste. You can NOT make an accurate analyse of an area when all you see is an old part of NCSU and a Coliseum that is fifty years old. Reynolds Coliseum is a dump but feel fortunate that you were able to see Phish. I was unable to make any shows this year except the 1998-1999 New Years shows @ MSG (fucking awesome). Raleigh is actuately a great place to live and I'm sure Columbia, SC is as well. You will get your share of rift raft and red Necks in both places but all in all there is EVERYTHING you need in Ralieghwood. As for you comments on the band, maybe you should take a break. I've heard tapes of most of their 1999 shows and they kick ass. They are, hands down, the best touring band today. See you at the football game this fall. I heard you "Cocks" were going to have a squad.
Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1999 10:30:52 -0500 From: Richard Hazlehurst [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Skutch Just a comment to Skutch: I can understand what you mean by the show. This used to happen to me after I had seen the Dead 20 or 30 times. Alot of the songs begin to run together, and you're left looking for that one amazing version that leaves your mind blown. Anything else leaves you completly dissapointed. It is a sad state of mind, and makes me think that you are the one who needs a break, not the band. As a musician myself, It is extermely difficult to come out every night and play something mind-blowing. After all, there is a fine line between a jam and just noise. Alot of it depends on your state of mind as the audience. Now, I havn't seen Phish is six or seven years... Chapel Hill. And I thoroughly enjoyed the show. I agree that the acoustics we're pretty bad, but that's why they played so many slower songs, the sound was much better at lower volumes. I think that the band did a wonderful job making the best of a bad venu. The energy was certainly there, and I danced all night. I'll ignore the comments about Raleigh. No place is perfect, but those of us who live here like it. Anyway, I enjoyed the show and hope to get tapes at some point. Enjoy the next show everyone! Rich Hazlehurst
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 11:57:51 -0800 (PST) From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: raleigh show I have to agree totally with David Smitherman's comment. The Raliegh show offered an excellent setlist and generally strong performances by all of the guys. However, the acoustics were terrible, which prevented the volume from being turned up. It was very frustrating for those of us forced to sit near the back to lose most of the more subtle notes in the echoes of the rafters. This raises real the reason why I am writing this review. Whoever fouled up the ticketing on this show REALLY whiffed in my book. Don't get me wrong, I totally enjoyed the show and I don't complain when I don't get the best seats through mail order. However, as one of those fans who worked hard to get our mail orders in early and got general admission tickets, I was totally disappointed to be turned away from the floor by security because I wasn't one of the first few hundred to receive the required wirstband. I hope the Phish organization will take extra care in the future not to let this happen again. Thanks and I am totally looking forward to a tremendous New Years in Florida! MyDQuin
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 11:33:11 -0500 From: David Smitherman To: [email protected] Subject: Raleigh I agree with minor. The sound in that concrete box was terrible. I think it got even worse toward the end of the second set. It seemed that Mike had to be turned way down so the building wouldn't shake with each note. The warmer it got in there the more the bass frequency make the place vibrate. It was a good performance sabotaged by poor acoustics. Hampton will not disappoint.
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 11:29:26 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: the review of [email protected] for12.16 PHISH IS LONG JAMS. "dragged out" is what a show is all about. Their CDs have plenty of short songs that come in a big list. Slow does not equal lame.
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