9-17-00 -- Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland

review submisions to me, dan schar at [email protected] or [email protected]

Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 13:59:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Muir [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 9/17/00 Review

It has been about 10 months since the fall 2000 tour, so i figured it was about time to
write some reviews.  The 9-17 show at Merriweather Post was, in my opinion, the best of
the fall tour.  Many may talk about about Trey's birthday and all the breakouts, or
Shorline for its sentimental value, but based on the music alone, Merriweather is the
most mind-shattering.  The show began with Guyute.  This was basically a sound check
because many people were still arriving from the horrible lot scene.  So I consider this
show to begin with Back on the Train.  Pretty standard version, also contained hints of
the Free to come.  Next was Bathtub.  Also standard.  Nothing groundbreaking here.
 Limb gave Fish the oppourtunity to really warm up, good jamming, but again, nothing too
crazy.  Then came Moma.  Gordon had been feeling it since the Darien Lake show.  He
rocked on the Suzie jam there, and it continued on to the Tube jam in Hershey.  But this
was truly his night to shine.  Moma had a great feeling from the start.  Good pace, nice
space between everyone, and excellent trades between Trey and Mike.  The fact is everyone
had warmed up and was ready to deliver.  Moma finished at about 10 minutes, standard
length, but it contained some excellent grooves.  Then we got the first lawn boy of the
tour.  Always fun to see Page, and a nice break to prepare for what was to come.  The
next 30 minutes are some of the best i have ever heard.  To start we got treated to the
first Fluffhead of the tour.  Gordon was filling in like he really wanted to be there.  
Fish was a machine, and Trey was flawless.  Every section was played to perfection, with
a particularly wonderful "arrival."  Trey led the outro jam like none I have heard.  
This version blows Darien Lake '97 out of the water, my previous favorite.  They didn't
string it out either.  At 15 minutes, the length was perfect.  Then, if that wasn't
enough, then continued to bust out the old school tunes with the second Curtain With
since 1988.  Now, don't get me wrong.  The Deer Creek version was spectacular and played
to the letter.  But being the second song in that first set, it just didn't have the
impact that the merriweater version did.  Placed perfectly as song 8/9 in a 1:45 set,
this was it.  For some reason i knew they were going to play the With, even though they
hadn't in New York.  The Curtain was perfect.  Good pace, good fills from Mike, and a
tightness that has to be heard to understand.  But then came the With.  This was slower
than the Deer Creek version, and everyone seemed much more comfortable.  I could see how
they were nervous having not played it live for 12 years.  But this time they were right
on.  They moved through the composed section effortlessly, and then came the jam.  This
was also less structured than 7/12, probably because they felt more comfortable.  
Everyone was taking turns, feeding off each other beautifully.  It was the 4 headed
monster at its best.  The points of arrival in the 7 minute jam are amazing, with Trey's
playing standing out above the others.  They all created so much room for each other that
it's almost inhuman.  Many people talk about the Bathtub from the Went as the definition
of Phish.  I agree that is an outstanding piece of work.  But when considering the
context in which the Curtain With was played, (following a perfect Fluffhead, taking us
back to 1988 with the 2000 style,) I would have to say that this takes the cake.  If
aliens landed on earth and said, "who is this Phish we've been hearing about," I would
play this Curtain With for them.  This is Phish.  At 15 minutes, it was perfect.  Trey
seemed to speak with his playing, writing paragraphs and finishing every thought.  Now,
they should have ended the set right there, but Trey wanted to play Chalkdust, and the
others obliged him.  Good version, some flubs, but excellent jamming.  I just felt that
it didn't fit the flow of the set, but either way, a high energy way to end.  Then came
set 2.  The girl behind us said she really wanted to hear Rock n Roll, and this was the
only show she was seeing in the fall. (Boy did she pick a good one.) And what do you
know, they opened with a 15 min Rock n Roll.  Excellent version, wonderfully slow pace
compared to other versions of the year, and the jam that followed was great, almost
ambient.  This led smoothly into the first Theme of the tour.  Played very well with
Gordon obviously making his presence felt, the ending jam was superb, with mike taking
leads and filling in places i had never heard him before.  While technically unfinished,
they played it to completion before Mike took over.  The jam out of theme was absoulutely
sinister, that's the only way to describe it.  Now, mike had been toying around with this
theme in Hershey in the Tube jam.  He and everyone else knew exactly where they were
going.  They ended up at Dog Log.  They wanted to kick us one, probably since the
beginning of the tour, but waited for the night when they had it, and having all ready
pulled off a perfect Fluffhead and a monumental Curtain With, they went for it.  After a
quick key change, we got treated to a dark, funky version of the phan favorite.  Again,
an excellent pace and wonderful communication made this a standout version, like none
played before.  When looking back, Mike was playing Dog Log since they started Theme From
the Bottom, but we had no way of knowing.  With the intro jam included, this came in at
about 7 minutes, way long by Dog Log standards.  They wanted to jam, that's all there is
to it.  Next came Mango.  Hard to play well, they pulled it off with minimal problems, a
nice break after another sick 30 minutes of jamming.  And while Mango was also
technically unfinished, they played it out and into a rave style trace jam with Trey
fooling around on the keyboard.  While this is something i normally don't care for, this
jam was great.  It seemed like everything they did had a purpose and destination.  After
about 5 minutes of crazy lights and trace techno, we got what we knew was coming since
Get Back.  This version of Free, very similar to the Deer Creek one, was very structured.  
After the opening and verses, mike took off again, leading the way.  He was bubbly as
everyone jammed around him.  We all knew this was the end of the set, so we enjoyed it to
the full extent.  Great pace, (that seems to be the theme of the night, ) and a good
length, coming in at 10 minutes made this the best Free of the year.  With a soulful
ending that truly left us feeling free, this night was one for the books.  And since the
second set belonged to mike, they gave him contact and rocky top for the encore, making
this a no repeat second set.  Upon reflection, this was a truly monumental night.  We got
kicked definitive versions of three pre-90's songs, the first Free to ever close a show,
and a collective energy that would not be matched by any of the shows that followed.  Of
course they were gonna blow our heads off at least one night on the east coast, and this
was it.  Chris was amazing, and the pavilion of merriweather lent itself to his
abilities.  Paul was way on with his mix, and the crowd gave off some great vibes that
the boys obviously felt. In my opinion this was the second best show of the year, coming
in closely behind an unhuman performance in Tennessee which can not be compared to
anything.  Merriweather was a night for the phans, and the boys truly delivered.  If you
weren't there, get a copy and be prepared not to move until it's over.  P.S.  Thanks to
Keith.  Your generosity is truly appreciated, and we will never forget fall 2000.

Michael.


Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 15:55:48 -0500 From: Nick S. [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 9-17-00 merriweather review (if you would like to use it) Well, here I am sitting and reflecting on Merriweather and still can't believe I was 2nd row. Anyways, I think it is about time I let out my feelings about this phabulous show. First of all the lot scene was fairly bad but not as bad as Hershey. I was with 3 car-fulls and unfortunately; I only had two 2nd row tix. Anyways, Phish was on a tight schedule because of the Merriweather curfew so my friend and I trucked it through the multiple ushers, proudly showing our ticket stubs. We get to the seat and I am already trembling from a mixture of anxiousness and amazement, all from just soaking in the stage set-up from a matter of a few feet away. I knew I was in for the ride of my life! All of a sudden, we spot the boys entering the stage and everyone stands up and goes nuts. They start the ride off with: GUYUTE - One of the most beautiful songs in the Phish arsenal. Pretty standard version but super tight. Didn't expect this one so quick in the show but a great song to get the head spinning. BOTT - A really fun dance/groovin' song when they jam it, which they did on this occasion. Danced my happy ass off! BATHTUB GIN - Again, a fun song. Page showed us his stuff and I was still dancing harder than ever! Really tight version. Fun, happy songs so far... LIMB BY LIMB - (A little side note: The 2 minute delay before Limb was due to Trey getting a new processor hook up.) Anyways, I am almost sure that this song is my favorite. My license plate reads: LMBXLMB so I am partial to this song, but can you have just one fav.? Doubt it. By the way, they ripped this song for me:) I am loving this show at this point but lucky for me I didn't know what was in store later on. MOMA DANCE - I always have loved this song. Sooo energetic..."...mind the skipper, we will not fail!" LAWNBOY - Page took the mic and walked to the edge of the stage to sing his song lounge style, and where were my seats? Behind Page. He sang the whole song right in front of my friend and I. When Page finished, he glanced over to Trey and Trey had his hand in his pocket making rubbing motions (like playing pocket pool) towards Page and Page just smiled back. I didn't think anything of this at the time except for a chuckle, but when I saw the Bittersweet Motel movie, there is a scene where Trey is poking fun at Page backstage about him singing lawnboy. (Those who saw the movie should know what I am talking about.) It was the perfect song for everyone to spark up before the long awaited (by me): FLUFFHEAD - I was feeling real nice at this point and this is how they treat me, with a sick fluff. Man, no wrong could be had on this night. So far, this show has been a bundle of joy! What is next from Vermont's Phunky Phour??? THE CURTAIN WITH - NO WAY! What did I do to deserve this? The second curtain with since 88!! I saw The Curtain on 7-7-00 so I was happy to hear it again but when they busted the slow rift in there, my jaw went through the ground. Phriends, it was so beautiful. Reality had slipped me by on fluff and this song just kept me in a trance. A trance that was soon to be broken by a traditional set closer and probably one of the most energetic Phish songs: CHALKDUST - This was your standard Chalkdust but in the second row, nothing is standard. This one had my heart going 1000 miles a second and had me grinning from ear to ear. Poof!! The lights come back on. Back to reality for the moment and time to find all of our friends to have a quick sess. in the lawn. I could have left right then and be happy with what I just had seen. What a nasty first set from the boys. They are Gods of music! Well back down the trail to row BBB:) Well, I knew the second set opener wasn't going to be Jiboo since I saw it the show before. I was guessing Runaway Jim but to my surprise it was: ROCK AND ROLL - I love this tune. It is such a happy riff. Once again I was dancing my ass off and my face was starting to hurt from all the grinning I was doing:) R&R ended in a melodic fashion with Henrietta smacking the high hats. Is it Theme or Bowie??? It is: THEME - what a sweet song. I love this one. Nice all the way through. Just as they were about to do the build up part at the end, they eased off of the build up and segued into an extremely crazy song: DOG LOG - oh man, this song is so dark and eerie (in an outstanding way). I love it! Time to slip away once again to another world. Another segue on the way, right into: MANGO > JAM - This song brought the mood back to a colorful and happy state. All of a sudden, Mango morphs into a Spacey mind-boggling jam that all but paralyzes me. So far, the whole set had been segued into one long continuous thrill ride, however, they would seg. one more time for us. Out of the Jam came: FREEEEEEE - Yipeeeeeeeee!!!! This is the one song in the summer and fall I have been waiting to hear! Free just kept avoiding me. They just wanted to save it for me on my big night:) A beautiful glow-stick war ensued during Free so I threw the few I brought in to add to the streaking colors of light flying throughout the air. Please someone tell me what I did to get so lucky. "I'm Freee, Freeeeeeeeee!!!" WOW! Time to grab my lighter to hold high in the air! What a set! Here they came, back on stage to the glow of thousands of lighters. What is next?? CONTACT - Get'um Mike! What a nice song. Sooo pretty. Trey and Mike led the phans in the arm wave, back and forth. Thank you phellas!! Wait, one more?! ROCKY TOP - Fun song to send us on our way. Good ole Rocky Top. Well, I love you Phish for the electrifying experience of this show (and each and everyone I have seen thus far)! Sorry the review was so long but when you are as close as I was, there is much detail to get out. Thanks for your time my phriends! Nick Sgroi PS---What made this night even better was that my friend and I were on the jumbo screen all night long. My friends on the lawn saw us on screen and couldn't believe it. I was on there at least 5 times for like 10-second intervals (according to my phriends). What a reception us two got when we met back in the lots with all of our phriends! Truly priceless!! Trey, Mike, Jon, and Page: Keep on, keep-onin^�!!!!!
Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 23:28:57 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Merriweather Post 2000 This review is a few months coming, but I felt that I am finally ready to give a perfect review of this killer show - after hearing the CD. {note to reader: this is gonna be pretty long so skip it if you want} First off, me and my friend had to drive to Philly to pick up my friend Frank and deliver him to MD and then drive him back and drive another two hours home. So this show had a lot of bitching behind it and prayers for a great show. After Hershey's Circus > ZERO to end the set, which I believe is the worst set ender i've ever seen - musically it was great but i've heard Zero at almost every show and they always encore or end the set with it and i would've rather heard Jesus instead of Circus whick they were about to play. But on to Merriweather. Frank led us past the traffic and after a quick stop, where i lost my ticket at this corner store and found it - thank you saint patrick and frank - we went straight into the mall parking lot. A lot of people selling extras for like sixty bucks, but hey, whatever - it's your karma. We walked around the lot and were treated to he site of an entire patty wagon filled with phish heads. There was nothing in the lot so we headed in the venue where we waited for ten-twenty minutes while these lame workers kept us there to ease the flow of people - come on, man. Anyway, we walked up this big ass lawn and found ourselves at the top of the lawn where i heard the single funniest thing ever said by someone working at the venue. This lady said, "so this is Phish", as all this people including myself skipped down the lawn durring Guyute, laughing and dancing at the same time. Hahahah GUYUTE: was awesome, best version i've ever heard and they freaked me out durring the "elf" part. BACK ON THE TRAIN: i used to love this song but this is way overplayed - but this was an extremely funked out version of this and i hope they keep it like this. BATHTUB GIN: completly blew me away - got lost in the jam and MIKE was playing his heart out and this kind of melted into: LIMB by LIMB: rocked out version. they really have taken a liking to this song. MOMA DANCE: they brought the funk plus i really forgot about this song for a while and they just brought it out and everybody was dancing. Fishman was awesome on vocals LAWN BOY: second time seeing this. was a really clean and stunning when page did the vocals. FLUFFHEAD: yes! this was Frank's pick. and this was a great version of Fluff THE CURTAIN WITH: love the song and the jam was phenominal CHALKDUST: brought this out with a vengence, awesome version to end the set. now my heart was absoultely racing and we found a nice place to sit down and relax but then they came back on ROCK and ROLL: never heard this before {at all} and now find myself a huge fan of this tune and then melted into THEME: i called this one almost a month before hand and this was great and i loved every minute of this. then the unexpected came DOG LOG: where the hell did this come from, my buddy dave said that they were gonna play this and i laughed him off - who's laughing now! this was a really slow version and it quickly went into MANGO: another song i forgot about, and the jam was really freaking trippy them along came one of the best hard-rocking songs FREE: mike was going nuts and these people around me were going Screw Dave Matthews durring this song. i guess they now know what phish is. when the show ended, i hoped for an encore to remember because this was my last show for however long their gonna rest, and when hey came back on and began to play the number one song i've ever loved, a tear came to my eye CONTACT: they must be telepathic - i was so overjoyed that i thought that i would die then and i would be happy. no one knows what this song means to me except for frank and matt, and frank was there and shook my hand as they began to play the best version i've ever heard. ROCKY TOP: sent us away with a smile this show was the number two or one show i've ever seen. i can't believe they played all of my favorites and my favorite tune next to MIKE's but hey this is what phish is all about. ps: my buddy said that he knows the dude that's the roadie for JMP, and the dude said 17-24 months. see ya then, Ryan [email protected]
Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 16:58:24 -0400 From: Raj Mitra [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 9/17 review It's been a while since the show, but I wanted to let it sink in and look back at it after listening to the tapes. I am now positive that the second set was absolutely phenomenal. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I: Guyute, Back on the Train, Bathtub Gin, Limb by Limb, Moma Dance, Lawn Boy, Fluffhead, The Curtain With, Chalkdust Torture (~95 minutes) II: Rock 'n' Roll > Theme From The Bottom, Dog Log, Mango Song > jam > Free (~55 minutes) Encore: Contact, Rocky Top (~10 minutes) I was scrambling to get to my section (Right Loge) during Guyute. So I only caught the last half. It was cool. Not much else to say, you know. BOTT: the begining of this song reminds me of possum. And vice versa. In any event, a solid, rockin' version Bathtub: This rocked. Awesome jam without heavy noodling. I enjoyed it. Limb: Also very cool. But not as cool as: Moma Dance: This rocked. I love this song, and trey played some excellent rythm guitar. He had the wah on and would go down chromatically with the chords...I can't explain it right, but it sounded cool as hell. Lawn Boy: I've nevre seen it live, so I was psyched. It looked like Page was happy to be doing it, so that was cool. Mike took a wonderful solo. Fluffhead: Everyone was psyched, FLUFF-HEAD! curtain With: I've never seen curtain live, much less curtain with. It was cool though. At this point I was wondering if they would close with it, asit was getting LATE for a first set.... Chalkdust: Nope, they bust into the definite closer of chalkdust. I dont think there was anything notable about this version, just a rockin' chalkdust to get us riled up. Set II: Rock'n'Roll: It was alright. wait a second, it wasn't alright...it was awesome!!! they were having fun up there, you coudl tell. the jam that came out was awesome...Just solid. I'm actually listening to it right now. Trey's keyboard work is acutally pretty cool. Theme: Never heard it live, but I love this song. it evolved so perfectly out of rock'n'roll....rock'n'roll ended with fishman doing a beat on the hihat, and then page busted in with the melody. although it seemed like it could have gone into anything, like bowie. But i was quite happy with theme. The jam they had going was tight! Page was playing this cool arpeggio and Trey had some cool minor chords over it. But it was all about mike. He had total control over the jam, and pushed it gently into Dog Log. Check out the tapes, you'll see what I mean. He gingerly eased his way into it, and once he was there (well once fishman caught on and changed from the ride to the hihat) , he just grooved it. Dog Log: Like i said, this rocked. My second dog log (12/18/99 being the first I saw), and I think this one rocked harder than hampton. they seemed to be more improvisational. Anyway, it kicked ass, and just as before, Mike had some awesome grooves going. Mango: I like this song a lot, but I dont know about hearing it live. I mean it was cool, but I'd rather see...something else, I suppose. But the jam that came out of mango was unlike anything I've heard or seen before. Really cool. When Trey hopped on the keys, I was prepared for noodling that I probably wouldn't be able to even hear. NOPE. instead, we got a really cool groove/beat from mike and fish, and layers of texture from trey. Lots of people have compared it to a rave, and I almost agree. It had a backbone beat and trippy synth sounds. Definitely a welcome jam, and I was pretty astounded that for once trey's noodling on the keyboard was audible. Free: Trey totally set up the background for this. Then you can hear his guitar whispering the muted chords....and bam! they break it out. Awesome closer, great jamming, Mike's bassline, as usual, was just groovin'! Even with all his effects, you can tell he's just an incredible musician. It was just great! Contact: Haven't heard this one in forever! This show was all about mike, and I was happy for that. It was definitely fun, and the jam sections were smooth! I would have been happy to leave after this, but... Rocky Top: Never seen it live! It rocked! Just made everyone so happy! and throw in the "PLAY IT LEO!!!!!" from trey, and you know they're happy too! Page stole the show from mike with this one, just ripping it up on the piano! Phew! Yeah, well, like i said, get this show and give it a listen. Peas! -Raj
Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 22:03:52 EDT From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: hello there i went to merriweather this evening with my daughter... her first phish show.... she is 9... we were all excited... handed the security guard our tickets.... "These are counterfeit sir".... we didnt get to see phish... totally bummed... totally upset...this is our last phish show for a while, and my daughter was so diasppointed... Thanks Aaron
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 08:00:59 -0400 From: SHANE THOMAS [email protected] Subject: My Phish Review: Merriweather Post 9/17/00 Fellow Gliders, Let me start by saying there is no combination worse then the mixture of cops and helicopters. For those there.. you know what I mean. For those that experienced it all first hand. Got Bail? Now on to the show. The scene was excellent. Oldschool Run DMC pumped proud in the parking lot and delectables scurrying through the crowd. I hope the girl I hooked the ticket up with had a blast too. Once inside, the temp was set. Hanging on the lawn in the thick of things. Then the lights go out.. Set 1. They enter the stage to ruckus and answer it with that ugly pig GUYUTE. Sounded great. Siket style break in the middle made us aware of what was to come. The sound was rich and robust and Mikes bass thumped. No comparison to Hampton 98 but on that level. After the grand Guyute left the area, BACK ON THE TRAIN pulled in. Again, tight and solid. BATHTUB GIN got us bouncing up and down like Jokers sporting the 3 horned caps and the funkyness of LIMB BY LIMB broke us down. By the way- Phishmen.. your cranium looks round. Fresh cut. Just when you though it was too funky, MOMA DANCE rocks the vibe. Nasty bass made me check my pants for poo it was that stinky. As the crowd gurgled with pleasure, Page hooks it up with LAWNBOY. Classic haming it up with the Vegas style chirping. Then it really hits the fan.. FLUFFHEAD came strolling through and phish sure had "some powerful pills.. oooh yeah." So tight is was mindblowing. Great jam. CURTAIN dropped the scene with strong vocals and CHALKDUST TORTURE made us older folk feeling like a highschooler again. Great first set. Very Pleased. Then we chilled for about 45 minutes.. getting stoked up for the lights to drop again.. Pow! Set 2. It was on again.. ROCK & ROLL 1 opened it up and reminded us "it's alright." Right into a incidious tapping by Phishmen to link into that dreamy THEME FROM THE BOTTOM. I saw a ton of things I would have given a shot jamming out that tune. DOGLOG chopped the tempo and gave those seasoned phans a shot of love. Felt good. MANGO was the next to open up the arena for the Siket style to re-appear. The transitions between the tunes and the tangents they take us is remarkable. True musicians on their own level. Compared to no other. Just as the spacey vibe was flowing, FREE busts out. It layed it all out there and wrapped up a solid second set. Tight. Real Tight. Encore: CONTACT opened it up with a classic style and taught those who were tweaked that the tires are the things on your car that make contact with the road. ROCKEY TOP brought out that hillbilly in all of us and gave a great vibe at the end. Great show. For the rest of the evening I couldn't get the CURTAIN line out of my head. They called me out in the first set, making me grin and hum fragments of a song. Strong show.. hope to seem them soon. Keep it live. I'm proud to be a phan.. Struting out of stride, Shane Thomas By the Hampton spaceship that failed to make the PHISH tour cut.. whats up with that??
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 23:15:08 -0400 From: apackman [email protected] Subject: Merriweather Review I've read the reviews already posted and i'm pretty surprised...i got to the scene a bit later, like 6, and parked in the parking garage down the road on the other side of the pavillion. After sitting in tons of traffic we parked the car with no problem. In this parking garage there was a decent scene..some bbq's...a few people selling things...a couple of nitrous tanks...and NO COPS AT ALL. After leaving the lot i walked to another lot in what seemed to be a field with trees...shakedown was nothing..i walked up to the guy holding my ticket and he said take off your hat...i was amazed...at all other venues they pat me down..(i always wear cargos and a hooded sweatshirt)...this time they did nothing...oh well...so i made my way into the pavillion and found some good seats..one thing that i do agree with one of the other reviewers is that the older phans are not appreciating the fact that younger phans have the same love for the music and band as they do...i met a guy who claimed to have been to over 200 shows who was the biggest asshole i met that night...i was dancing and i accidently moved 2 inches into his space and he started yelling at me about how much he payed for these tickets, and how kids are ruining the shows...he was clearly drunk and was taking bong hits the entire show and talked through most of it to his girlfriend...i dont understand how he could say something like that to me when all i was doing was dancing and enjoying the music??? anyway, on to the music...it doesnt really need more explanation than has already been given but i will describe some of the high points for me...i was at the 7/3 show for that amazing bathtub and this one equalled it if not surpassed it...the jam went from fast to ambient to fast again with trey ripping it up and mike grabbing every note to the fullest...limb x limb is a personal favorite of mine, the 12/29/98 version being my favorite version that i've seen...this one was good, pretty basic jamming though...when trey started fluffhead i thought to myslef "wow a great first set, what a closer"...as soon as they dropped the last line on us though he started the Curtain With...BLOWN AWAY cannot describe how i felt upon hearing this...and then trey smiles ( i was 5th row so i saw) and starts chalkdust, he was having sooo much fun up there...short break then on to one of the best sets i have ever seen...Rock and roll was standard right up until the jam which was tight, long, and beautiful...they went from rock to space, and all over the place on this one...when it died down fishman kicked in repetative short staccato hits on the high hat and i couldnt really tell what was next...when page started Theme i was defintly happy...some of my friends have been waiting lifetimes to hear this and i heard 2 this year, always a great song...when trey started the reggae beat, i knew the song was unfinished an dthough it was just jamming but then mike looked over and they both smiled...MY FIRST DOG LOG!!! blown away again...these guys are amazing...great mango song with amazing jam similar to 6/30 in Hartford...then one of my all time favorites...since i was so close i saw trey start the opening chords of FREE early on and flipped out...it was such a great free, just great, and a great way to end the set cuase that's the exact way i felt, free, after this show i had no worries at all!!! Now i lost my shit when they came out and played CONTACT...it was perfect...just shows how much fun they were having that night...and rocky top is always a great closer...that was my last show for the time being...and to top it off i got a great veggie burito in the lot after the show...damn wookies really know how to cook!!! peace, Alan Alan Packman Apt 102 2124 Eye St., NW Washington, DC 20052 (202)775-8299 Alpha Epsilon Pi
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 13:41:33 EDT From: [email protected] First of all, I'm tired of people ripping on the Band at all. They have been playing better than ever consistently. I've been seeing them since 1991 and this was my 92nd show. I was impressed. Rip on the scene all you want, it sucked there. The cops and the stupid "Phish Police" were jerks. The "Phish Police" have been taking T-shirts away that don't even say Phish on them. My friends had 8 of their "Kidz on Tour next 420 miles" Longsleeves taken away at Great Woods. Anyway, too many drunk punks and teenie boppers of late, especially at this show! I digress, sorry. Here's my review of what really counts, the show. My friend Chris put it so well after this show, he said "When you're on tour for a while you start to get tired and wonder if it is worth all the trouble,(especially when the scene is the way it is). It's shows like this one (and Albany SAT w/ Michael Ray) that make it all worth while." I decided to go at the last min and traveled 260 miles from Long Island without a ticket! Got one for me and my Momma right away for $60 a piece!!!!!!! Anyway, you know the scene sucked so here goes the show! SET 1 Guyute was good, GBOTT was extended at the end, pretty cool. Bathtub Gin was great, but these drunk idiots woulkdn't shut up so I didn't enjoy it. It still wasn't as good as the Gin at PNC with the FUNKGRASS jam, wasn't as good as the Albany Gin w/ vaccum either, still Gin though. Limb by limb was fantastick. The MOMA was not at all standard, the intro was longer, the funk better and the fierceness of the KATY was sick. This one blew the Great Woods one away!!! Lawnboy was a special treat especially for my momma who is a huge Page and MOMA phan. Did I mention that she wanted to hear Fluffhead too, well she got it next. Segue into Curtain With, (I call this Curtain/Rift) at the end of the Rift part the band segued smoothly into what I am calling "the jam from Reba". I'm sure it was, listen to the tapes. I was straight at this show so I'm possitive. Why hasn't anybody else talked about this yet. The Reba Jam ended in a fade out manner and they burst into a standard Chalkdust that ripped and had Trey tease "The Wait" by ???? in it. This was an epic first set. Long as hell!~!! SET 2 Rock 'n'Roll!!!!!!!!! Her life was saved by WHAT???? Hells yes, this was one of the fattest versions of this song I've heard, the orchestrated part was nailed down by PAGE on vocals. There was a long jam that followed with the standard guitar rock into a spacey jam with Trey on Keys. Segue into THEME great version. At the end of this song it got wierd for a second and then MIKE started playing the Bass line from DOG LOG in the key they were in. They perfectly changed keys and did the slowest FUNky Reggae version of this song I've ever heard!!!!! I am a dog owner and lover so I PHREAKED! P.S. Leave your dogs at home or with family of friends don't bring them to shows, they don't belong there. It is cruel to them. DogLog went right into Mango which contrary to popular belief was in fact FINISHED. At the end the band was getting a little trippy sounding and Page hit the last piano notes as they segued into a slow trippy CK5 jam with Trey on Keys. It was like Rave music without the annoying pulsing fast beat, kind of like the wierd parts of Dark Side or other trippy Pink Floyd stuff. The CK5 jam segued into FREE. Free was good and the glowstick war fun. Great set, the encore was great although I wish Contact had segued into Halley's the Rockytop was standard and fun to close. Contact is always a treat now so I was happy. Great 92nd show for me. anyone who puts this show down in any way except for the scene is a fool. Don't come to anymore shows if you don't like what you are seeing because you are breathing my oxygen and taking my tickets. Stop the negativity. PEACE Johnnyfish 13
hDate: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 20:45:51 EDT From: [email protected] Subject: REVIEW: 9/17/00 Columbia, MD The boys really brought their "A" game on this night (my 16th show). This was one of the great ones, up there with the two best from the spectacular NJ run this summer, 6/29/00 and 7/3/00. In fact, it was very similar to first night Camden in format, approach and performance. Not only were some of the songs (and placements) the same, but both featured a very long first set in which they nailed some of their trickier compositions (and probably didn't want to leave the stage because they were playing so well), and a highly experimental second set. Before I get to the particulars, let me just say this: I have never seen Fish play as well as he did on this night. Jon Fishman LED this band for this performance. He drove the rockers, negotiated the segues, provided all kinds of intricate flourishes, and many times willed his bandmates to a higher level. One more thing: GET THE TAPES. GUYUTE - You knew it was going to be special if they were going to open with this. And they even fooled around with it, during the freaky "bouncing like a newborn elf" section, which was slowed down and made spookier than usual. Trying new things with songs that normally only go one way was a major theme of the night. BOTT - Nice, slightly stretched group groove toward the end. Good way to get the crowd moving for... GIN - Oh my. This was every bit the equal of the 7/3 Gin, which was spectacular, and not far from the 6/28 Gin, which was otherworldly. It got particularly intense toward the end; will sound great on tape. Lots of old-school tension-and-release going on here. LIMB BY LIMB - Very tight. Not as experimental as 6/29 but just as satisfying. Fish laid some fine groundwork here. MOMA DANCE - Some reviews have called this a standard version. DON'T BELIEVE THEM. Listen to the tapes CLOSELY. Especially to the intro. There was a lot of odd syncopated stuff going on (espeically from Fish) that you never hear in this song. And the rest of the song had plenty of energy, in marked contrast to a lot of its performances in the last year-and-a-half or so. This version is every bit the equal of the best ones from '98. Heck, maybe even to the best Black-Eyed Katies. (Well, not 11/22/97 but maybe the others?) LAWN BOY - Excellent choice as a breather song. Fabulous bass solo from Mike. FLUFFHEAD - Nailed, nailed, and nailed some more. The precision of 7/3/00 crossed with the passion of 7/10/99. I was sure this was the end of the set, given the Merriweather 11 PM curfrew, but as at 7/3, they surprised us with two more. THE CURTAIN WITH - I can die now, thank you. The Curtain is one of my favorites that I'd never seen in person, and to get the "With" part as well? They got off to a slow start, but by the first verse Fish had willed them into whip-cracking shape; I could actually hear the moment he upped the intensity and the others followed. From there on it was spectacular, and I couldn't believe it wound down into the "With" part. I'd never actually heard "With" before but I knew immediately what it was. And it was just gorgeous. They handled all the intricacies beautifully. A major highlight. Did I mention you should get the tapes? CHALKDUST - I couldn't believe we were getting one more. Standard raging Chalkdust (if Trey flubbed I didn't catch it). Pure gravy. The set clocked in at nearly 1:45. It was almost 9:20 when they finished. How were they going to fit everything before the 11 PM curfew? Answer: take a shorter setbreak! 35 min. isn't really short, but by Phish East Coast standards it is. ROCK AND ROLL - They dropped "Sweet Jane" on us at this venue two years ago, so why not this too? They shifted nimbly from raging and rocking to ambience, but the kind that never got dull or went on for too long. Most importantly, Fish and Mike maintained a thriving beat throughout. When they fail to do that, ambience can more easily become boring (see 7/4/00 Twist). It wound down with Fish tapping out a consistent beat on the wood block, leading into... THEME - Outstanding. I have never heard a version as experimental as this one. The "normal" part of the song just had something a little extra, and then it got all deviant, and Fish started pounding out the beat to... DOG LOG - Another must-hear. I cannot recall a version like this one. The opening and verses were reggaefied, and then they went into a jam that kind of sounded like "Lushington." Then back for more reggaefied verses. Flawless. They must have practiced this arrangement at a soundcheck; it was too well-done to be off-the-cuff. And if it was off-the-cuff then they're even more brilliant than I thought. Then an abrupt segue into... MANGO SONG - This was yet another highly unusual performance. The first half of the "song" portion seemed a bit slow and cautious, but they began to build momentum and Page got off some great piano licks. Then they jammed in a jazzy fashion, sticking to recognizable themes related to the song. But then they went way out there, getting all kinds of ambient. But exhilaratingly so. Fish and Mike held it together while Trey, Page and Kuroda (!) went off. This lasted for a while, and hinted at all sorts of segues, before they began the buildup to... FREE - Yet another blockbuster, with an intensity worthy of its glowstick war. During the middle break, Mike and Fish were pounding it out so insistently that I was waving my arms in time to it. Excellent set closer. They were very close to 11 PM at this point. I was hoping for a super-fast Llama and departure from the stage with amplifiers smoking and buzzing. But they went a few minutes over to bring us... CONTACT - My first. Fun, fun fun. ROCKY TOP - Perfect ender. Extraordinary intensity for an extraordinary show. I don't know what else to say. It's shows like this that keep us coming back for more. Erik Swain PS - Traffic sucked. But you knew that.
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 17:16:18 -0400 From: Judith Pew [email protected] Subject: merriweather show To those in the back of the mall parking lot: i know this is an inappropriate review and i'll make it short. i love phish, came up from Blacksburg, Va by myself, to the show. cops came up to my car while i was feeding my dogs, asked me what i was doing cause i looked suspicious, asked if they could search the car. i said that won't be necesary, and they saw the case to my tube, looked in, and placed me under arrest for paraphenalia. i got upset and asked to be read my miranda rights because they further questioned me about what was in the car. i asked for those around to watch, and the cops got pissed because they knew they fucked up. my car was further searched and three sugar cubes were found. I NEED WITNESSES for the intial illegal search. you all probably know better and would say my word against the cops, HA. but, there are kind, loving souls out there who believe. Since my first show, i've always questioned if phish lovers are just selfish kids. the look in everyone eyes told me no. i will compensate those who help me. I apologize for posting an inappropriate message space in this review section. Thanks for your time. Many have said that shows are going to shit, and that others are ruining for us all. Some of the causes of this degeneration are a dilution of the fan base by those who love shows because of the lot and "drugs". I met one guy in jail who is doing tour and honestly did not give a fuck about seeing any of the shows. It was only about lot, drugs, and selling tickets for $60-100 He only wanted to make money. I am sorry, but i honestly believe the problem is the trendiness of the band. the trendiness gets people listening to the music and slowly it grows on them. but before it grows enough on them, they are caught up in the nuggets, E, L, smack, and so forth. None of these are bad. but when its your main focus, you cannot give the band back the energy released by the drugs before the show, it is gone and you are more tolerant, and the band FEELS this. enthusiasm is dampened, and then those who are not quite phish fanatics yet, get bored. the heavy dilution of this segment in the crowd makes it hard for the band to feel the natural high of those who can give the band their all no matter what emotional or physical condition they are in and whether or not they are high. Do Not get me wrong, i think drugs accentuate life, but when you puff ten times before the show, you are not going to get high for more than 30 minutes. compare it to waking and baking. this first high of the day is soaring, energetic, and elevated; but receptors are used up and you become more tolerant. I always hear everyone labeling the phish crowd like some others kids are the cause of the shit going down. but does the above describe you or friends of yours? think about this the next time you feel the band is jamming themselves into a hole. The music is a direct reflection of the energy of the crowd. Consider new years or halloween or coveted venues (Deer Creek, Hampton etc) and then some of the less hyped shows. or times like when a What's the Use has quieted down the crowd, and then the energy is more difficult to summon from everyone. The band plays because of the exchange of energy, and what it does for their souls. It is not entirely for us. they have their money now, they will always sell out shows, they do not have to win us over anymore. Therefore, give the band your all, and they will play their hearts out. dance, and twist, and let your energy fly loose. or smoke pot the ENTIRE show, which means you are not concentrating and listening to the music, rather thinking about security busting you. You wonder why trey leaves the stage abrubtly, or the band does not bow in unison? You think it's disrespect towards us. Think again. consider if you are offering any disrespect. One last thing: i believe it is RUDE to applaud when the band has not finished a song yet, it seems to me everyone is more excited that the band is going to start a fresh jam, rather that offering their opinion on what an insane jam just occurred. applaud when you mean it.
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 11:23:53 -0700 (PDT) From: atlas jane [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 9-17-00 Review Going into the merriweather show i had high hopes of a geat day as this was the last time id get to see the band until after their break. the lot scene was as expected, over-crowded with alot of phans trying to find that miracle. )too many of them as has been stated in other reviews.) WHAT WAS UP WITH THAT HELLICOPTER??????? into the show, i did appreciate the fact that the security was so slack entering the venue, very nice! the first set had great energy, the band definitely appreared to be having a great time, i felt that they appreciated that this was the final east coast show just as the crowd did and i expected great things! guyute- good version, got things started off on the right foot GBOTT-my favorite off farmhouse, great version, had me groovin around bathtub- awesome, i was hoping to catch this one, Limb- ok, pretty standard version, moma-great funky song, mike was starting to feel it here lawn boy- lawn boy fluffhead-FLUFFHEAD, great energy, not as climactic as some, but great, thought this would end the set, but.... The Curtain With*, Chalkdust Torture - awesome, cant wait to hear this on cd the second set was a little less impressive than the first, who knows, maybe the huge first set wore them out, but the energy just wasnt there. it seemed like they were struggling to get through the set. there were some serious highpoints, but i cant understand how some of the reviews called this set as one of the best of the tour, it wasnt. Rock and Roll-thought that this was going to be a good sign that they were going to throw up a raging set for the last east coast venue, Theme From The Bottom** > Dog Log, The Mango Song > Free - wished it had been a little more upbeat of a set, dog log grows on me, but not enough to want to see it during the part of the show where i and everyone around me as far as i could tell where looking to rage on last time with the boys Encore: Contact, Rocky Top - contact i love to see, but not as an enocre, rocky top, well, i was leaving the venue as soon as i hear it, seen it way too many times, thought that they would try to pull out something huge to end with, this wasnt it! all i all a decent show, the first set was way intense, the second seemed like a lack-luster ending, but it was a phish show nonetheless! i only wish that people would start to respect others a little more, stay out of other peoples seats, STOP THROWING GLOWRINGS AT THE BAND!!!!!!!!!!! and try to be a little more careful in the lot, we all saw what the cops were up to, and still there were people walking around with open beers and they were the same ones getting upset that the cops were there in the first place, and i know that if you are reading this, chances are you werent at the show only for the lot scene (i.e. all the drugs you can afford), but for those of you who do go to the shows only looking to blow up your mind (not saying that is wrong) remember that the music is what brings people together, not acid and exctasy i hope everyone has a great winter, and i look froward to seeing you all again as soon as the band lets us get back together! peace and love
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 16:11:03 EDT From: [email protected] Subject: Merriweather Show this was the first phish show ive seen in my whole life and id have to say it was incredible. when you actually see trey jam out on the guitar live, it is amazing. right when i walked into the crowd, it was like walking into a cloud of pot smoke, which i was expecting. the crowd was great, and the music was awesome. the second they started up with guyute, i knew this was gonna be an experience id remember for the rest of my life. i even brought my older brother along, who doesnt really listen to phish, and he was amazed. i especially enjoyed the moma dance, bathtub gin, lawnboy, rock and roll and the best song of the night, dog log. the jam that followed dog log was probably the best performance of the show. and when page got up and walked around the stage while singing lawn boy, that was awesome. I will be at every show that comes to my area from now on, and I will try to travel places to see the band too. -Justin
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 21:24:08 EDT From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Phish Merriweather was my first Phish show.. my brother has been to a few and asked me to go with him to Merriweather. I agreed to go thinking i would hear a great show . . . and i left the show a changed person. It was the most phenomenal event I have ever experienced and I look forward to more Phish. I must agree with the comment on the posting the parking lot atmosphere was incredibly stifled by cops. Also, I was saddened to see a few drunks and people who were missing out on the whole experience because they were to messed up. Overall, I was thrilled with the event and I look forward to the next time. The music was like candy and ... well, like one guy was yelling in the lot after the show, "I've seen Phish and I cannot stop." I'll see you all again. Thanks, [email protected]
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 17:06:09 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeff Killion [email protected] Subject: Merriweather Review I've read a bunch of the reviews, and I agree. What a show!! I'm going to keep this short to spare repeating what you've already read. As people mentioned, the cops sucked. But you gotta get over it, and remember why you're there. And like Hershey, the show made you forget about the lot (like you should). Set I: Guyute, GBOTT - Not my favorites, but a decent start. It got my going a little, but was merely an intro. Gin - Great version. Went out there and jammed. I don't think it was as good as Holmdel, but it was one of the best I've seen. - I think Trey's guitar got fucked up here, but I couldn't really tell what was going on on stage. Someone was out there with him messing around. It seemed like he was kind of tuning it as they started... Limb X Limb - Good version. It was good placement, but unfortunately I started to get a headache, and it took my attention away from the song. (The headache didn't go away, but I wasn't going to let that get to me) Moma - !!, always love the funk! Fun as always. Lawnboy - Well, it's Lawnboy. Only thing to say about this one is that the spotlight was kept off Page when he walked around the stage for some reason... ? Fluffhead - !!!!!!. That's all. The Curtain With - Wow. I never thought I'd see it again. But we listened to the Deer Creek version on the way to the show, and what do you know? A nice treat. Chalkdust - I didn't think they were ever going to stop! After T.C.W., I had that Deer Creek feel and thought they'd bust into the singalong, but I'm glad they didn't. It was fun at the Creek, but should be left there..... What a set. 1:45!!?? Couldn't find any Tylenol during the setbreak, but I did run into some friends as usual. By the way, the crowd was MUCH better that the one at Hershey. Set II Rock and Roll - Fun song, but not really one of my favorites. I know a lot of people like it, but I would have been happier with something like a Tweezer to open this set. But that's just me. >Theme - Great ambient jam led into a great Theme! Tons of fun, and you could tell they were having a great time and they were ON! >Dog Log - Another ambientish jam into Log!!! More fun and incredible playing by the boys. Mango - The setlist says they segued into this, but I thought there was a stop. Could be, and probably am wrong. Anyway, it's Mango!!! Did I mention that I was having fun? And then the crazy, spacey, ambient jam that developed after Fish refused to let go was just absolutely unbelievable. The boys were locked in, and just going nuts. I think I heard the girl in front of me (I think it was her first show) say, "These guys are really musicians." :) You think? >Free - Couldn't have picked a much better closer (except maybe a YEM). Great funk in this one, and really had the crowd going to finish a great set. Definitely a classic. Encore: Contact - Woohoo! I don't think I've heard Contact in years. So of coarse I was pumped. Perfectly played too! Rocky Top - Not my favorite song, but it was fun. Maybe it's because I've never been to Tennessee, but it never really gets me really excited. The "Play it Leo" made this version though! I had a great time guys. You all have fun over the next 2 weeks, and I'll see you in Vegas!! I's staying at the Tropicana, so look out for me:) Peace, Jeff
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 16:52:44 EDT From: super awesome [email protected] Subject: Meriweather 9-17 Being my first Phish show, I have to say this was definately something to remember! I really liked the sets, especially the jamming and energy in the 2nd set. I was glad to hear songs I knew, as well as some I didn't. The first set seemed very long, which was cool, just song after song. The second set was just really awesome all around. The encores were cool too, I enjoyed dancing around with my friends. The lights were awesome and the music was awesome and everything was just awesome. The glow war on the lawn was cool to watch during Free (which was cool to hear, since it's actually the first song I heard by Phish a few years ago). I'm glad I finally got to experience Phish live, it's definately as much fun as I had heard it would be. I can't think of one particular highlight, there were just so many awesome things. Sitting on the exit off 29 to get to Meriweather was cool too, even though we were there for like 2 hours, yay for playing football and walking around on the side of the road. And parking in a mall parking garage. Heh. Oh, I also enjoyed my dinner, whoever made the cheese, broccoli, and salsa quesadilla, yummy. :) So thanks to Phish, my friends I went with (they know who they are-burger king! :)), and everyone else who made last night awesome. I wish I could've caught or could catch more shows, but there is no time for me. Hopefully eventually...but that's all for now.
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 21:28:29 GMT From: Douglas Forsythe [email protected] Subject: Merriweather Post Pav Review Let me start off saying this show had its ups and downs. It was my last show of the tour and I thought it was overall a pretty good show to go out on. This time I was on the lawn, and after being soooo close to them last time I felt left out. I suggest being as close as possible, It allows you to really see how they are really feeling about the jams. And notice things like Trey's new haircut, I think he used Eric Claptain's barber. Okay lets get stared.... Set 1: (1:42.33 min.) Thats what I'm talkin about!!!!!! Guyute: WOOO HOOOO!!! Great opener!, a complex song off the bat will give you a sence on how tight they are and this one is perfect for that! No screw ups, pretty standard except the drew it out for a bit before the started the "I'm bouncing like the newborn elf" line. I knew we were in store for a good evening. Back on the Train: simple tune to get people dancing, and it did the trick. Bathtub Gin: (17 min) I love the older stuff an tonight was the night for that! Trey was doing a little improv noises when they do the molody which was cool. The added jam was pretty good too it eventually picked up and Chris had the lights doing that killer circle thing that he does. Sweet version of it I reccommend! Limb x Limb: I usually like this one, something happened at the beginning with Page's piano or something and you could tell the boys were confused. It never lifted from there. You didn't miss much here. Momma Dance: Lay down the funk baby! Good come back from limb x limb. these guys really got the funk thing down to a science. Lawn Boy: YES!! Clasic, Page is such an entertainerwhen hr gets up andsings like that. And Mike (the MAN) had a beautiful bass solo to ens this one. A nice little break from the serious stuff. I also like it when others have the spotlight, you know what I'm talking about. FLUFFHEAD!!!: I have been wanting to hear this one all tour. I think I might have over reacted when Trey played the opening C chord. Not perfect but hey they are human arn't they. I was expecting a set break after this one since it had been about 1:15 min into the set but they managed to throw more in there Curtain With: I was a little confused but I knew i herd this ending before. They have only played this one once since 1988 so i bet people are saying it was unbeleavable, I herd people talking about it was the Mike's Song from New Years 95'at a rest stop on the way home. However I don't think it was all that, it lacked a fast beet and it seemed to drag on. Thank you for not ending the set with this one. Chalkdust Torture: What we all needed! something fast to end the set with. I have herd this one so many times and it seems Trey's solo has been dying over time. I think the A Live One's version is the best of all. I just want one like that again. Okay take bows and allow us all to sit down. Set 2: (1:02 min.)I am thinking it is going to be hard to match the first set. Rock and Roll: Ohh yeah another one that shifts the spot light off of Trey. Go Page! The jam on this one was kinda mellow, totally different than the last few night's jams. Theme from the Bottom: At first I thought this one was going to be Maze which I would have liked to hear. I forgot about this one, I am not a huge Billy Breathes fan and I would have rather herd taste but this version seemed to be good, nothing special but it led into another amusing phish song... Dog Log: I thought I was going to shit myself. A great tune that was actually on my mind because I herd the sound check earlier and was explaining to my buddy how they used to play that one all the time for the pre-show show. My first time hearing it live and I hope It's not my last. I was dissapointed when they didn't sing hopping that the crowd would, it was pretty silent on the lawn :( Mango Song: Pretty standard, I didn't like the little jam afterwords and i am sick of Trey's Keyboard. I liked the Drum kit from 96' much better. Trey also wouldn't stop whiping his nose for the last 1/2 of the set. Kinda like the New Years set (sniff sniff) Either he has a cold or he is doing a little bit too much umm ...... Free: Ohh boy another Billy Breathes song, It turned out to be better than I thought I was wishing for a Ha Ha Ha in the middle like Hampton 98 but I knew that will never happen again. That was so perfect too! Encore time!! Contact: Mike Mike Mike Mike!!! YES I just wanna say that I think Mike Gordon should run for president! I love this song. It is so stupid and dorkey but that is what is so cool about it. They also get down in it Rocky Top: YYEEHHAAAWWW Another Mike song! and a kicking Page solo too. I love the Bluegrass songs and I was real happy this one made it in the show. I sang it all the way back to Philly. I am all done now for as long as they are. I think the pause will be real good for them. I have been saying they need one for a while but after these last few shows I really see it. Hopefull they will be charged up and ready to go in a year or so. I think the scene needed this too. This will give all the other bands a chance to get out in the spotlight, check them all out the are really good too! Adios and I hope you have a good end of the tour!
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 22:24:22 -0400 From: Michael Mattix [email protected] Subject: Merriweather Review It is shows like this past Sunday that makes me realize why I love Phish so much. Beside the scores of police who seemed to take an unusual zeal in performing their "jobs", I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day of Phish. Absolutely beautiful fall weather, warm and sunny during the day and cool at night; led right into an amazingly hot performance by the boys. Although I got seperated from my friends heading into the venue at showtime and spent the entire show by myself, that didn't take away from my experience at all and quite possibly added to it. I met so many kind pholks throughout the night. Instead of running through the entire setlist I thought I'd address a few issues that seem to have others in the phamily a bit concerned. For years phans have complained about the deterioration of the scene that surrounds Phish. These changes are inevitable and for the most part out of our control. They've become more popular, are and have been for quite some time playing much larger venues, which in turn attracts a wider swath of people from varying backgrounds and experiences. Granted, many pholks new or newer to this scene may not approach it with the same respect or understanding that accompanied the birth of the Phish phenomenom many years ago but to be honest that's not what I've found to be most troubling. The most troubling aspect about the latest insurgence of new phans to the scene is the apparent unwillingness of the old guard to take them under their wings.... show them the way so to speak. I hope I'm not sounding entirely naive and idealistic but when I began following Phish I was under the impression that openmindedness and acceptence was the status quo. Lately all I've been reading in reviews and articles is nothing but complaining and whining about how things aren't the way they used to be. Just like the band itself, the scene is bound to evolve over the years and it would be nice to see a more concerted effort by those who are in a position to know how good things once were and how good they could be again to lead by example. Like I said, I spent the Merriweather show by myself, finding a deep groove of my own early on and riding it for all it was worth through the course of the night. I was right at the base of the lawn before the beginning of the pavilion decked out in a huge fuzzy black cowboy hat and purple pimp shirt with more than enough room to dance and take in the music. At some point during the show a got a jolt from behind and turned to see a guy who was struggling to find his balance and was clearly wasted. Instead of telling him to get the fuck out of there I asked him his name and if he was alright, inquired as to what he might be on, cleared a space for him and asked if he'd like to sit for a bit to collect himself. I offered him some water to sip on and within five minutes a phan next to me and myself helped him back onto his feet, gave him assurances that everything would be fine and he was on his way dancing down the aisle. Now this is just one example out of hundreds at each show of someone who might hinder others good time and its probably a fairly mild example at that. I know there are people who talk through quiet moments (or all moments) of the show and I actually heard from a friend of mine that someone near them actually pissed on the ground right where he was standing on the lawn. Bad behavior will always exist at a Phish show no matter what but its how phans react to it that I think can make all the difference. While the larger picture of a deteriorating scene may be beyond any of our individual contol, it's the smaller instances that we may encounter once or twice at each show that is well within our control to help curb. Hopefully people can begin using some of the energy they burn complaining about how bad things have gotten to help make things better. I also hope that none of this came off as too sanctimonious on my part. These are just my opinions and observations. I care deeply about not only the music that Phish creates every time they hit the stage but also the scene and the phans that create the community of phriends who I've come to love. Perhaps Phish's hiatus over the next year or so will help diffuse some of the riff-raff who come to shows only to get wasted or to buy drugs but only time will tell. In the mean time why don't we all try to do our part to help keep the scene clean. This almost seems like an afterthought at this point but I'll say it anyway. Thank you Phish for an incredibly memorable experience this past Sunday. Words can't describe the energy and emotion coursing through my body as I ate up every note cascading from the stage. With half of my four Fall Phish installments complete I couldn't have asked for more and I can't wait to do it all over again in Vegas!!!
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 12:49:42 EDT From: [email protected] Subject: Merriweather I have to say.... what an awesome show!!!! After friday night at hershey, this was such a treat! Except for the 1. traffic (oh my..... 2 hours waiting on the ramp, and we even got there at 3:15 and couldn't even park in the lot, but some parking garage!). but other than that it was a lot of hurry up and wait, hurry up and wait. But after we lost some money on some crap in hershey, we couldn't have asked for a better time. And... thank you to everyone who purchased a grilled cheese for the "let me make my money back" fund! That was a good time and we met a lot of great phriends! The first set was amazingly long, as I kept asking those around me, "did I miss the intermission?" and I couldn't believe they played an all time favorite Contact for an encore! What a show! Now I just have to decide whether I'm going to ditch all my responsibilities and go out to CA! If they keep playing like they did on Sun, you bet I'll be there for the last show!
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 00:48:39 -0400 From: Peter Porcelli [email protected] Subject: Merriweather Review Unfortunately, my brother and I decided to drive back to Atlanta and skip this show (we didn't have tickets) and the thought of waving my finger in the air and not getting one for my last show for a while depressed me. When we got home and read the setlist, it made my stomach hurt. It would have been my 29th show and from the looks of the setlist- my favorite. Dog Log- SHIT! I'm sure a good time was had by all and I'll see ya'll in a year or so. -Matt *Oh yeah- wouldn't it be great if Phish did a survey to see how many phans graduated from college next year?
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 13:38:38 -0400 From: "Scheinberg Seth A (Adam) CONT NSSC" [email protected] Subject: 09/17/2000 review 09/17/2000 Merriweather Post Pavillion Columbia, MD I: Guyute, Back on the Train, Bathtub Gin, Limb by Limb, Moma Dance, Lawn Boy, Fluffhead, The Curtain With, Chalkdust Torture (~95 minutes) II: Rock 'n' Roll > Theme From The Bottom, Dog Log, Mango Song > jam > Free (~55 minutes) Encore: Contact, Rocky Top (~10 minutes) Let me just say that Merriweather has historically sucked. The '98 show was a blast, but traffic had us tied up for 2 1/2 hours before we found a better way to go. The '99 show was a mediocre show, and we waited in traffic forever again! This year, we just blew past the traffic, got off the highway like 2 miles down and found our way there in about 20 minutes. Perfect. The vibe at the show was weird. You'd think it was sketchy since a bunch of cops were nabbing glass/shirt/veggie burrito vendors, but we just passed that scene and found a great hang out where the temperature was just right. We hung out for a few hours before we headed in, met some folks we knew, and found our seats. I got my little Blackberry two-way pager ready to zip along the setlist instantly to ultra-dedicated phish-dorks like me all across the internet at gadiel.com and phans.com. Set 1: Guyute may signify big things to some, but to me it's standard fare nowadays. Funny, in retrospect, that this opened the show, since it was the only minute I wasn't absolutely thrilled at what I was watching! The break right before the 'spooky part' was really long, like almost two minutes, kinda neat. Back on the Train isn't my favorite either, but this was a solid version that really was fun. It was played last year at Merriweather, and this version took the cake. Gin was a treat. It didn't deviate too far from the general theme, but it got the crowd up a notch. Limb by Limb, another repeat from last year, was very well played as well. I can't seem to get sick of this song. Every time, I think it's fantastic. Up next was a clean version of Moma that was truly as plain as Moma can be, but it was well placed, and thus, I was still reeling from the Gin and Limb. Lawn Boy was a relaxing loungy break from the funk. Then, after a minute-long conference, they settled on Fluffhead, which for some reason, I had assured my buddies would show up tonight. Fluffhead is a treat, plain and simple. So it was with absolute joy that I tapped out the beat to Bundle of Joy and screamed "Fat Bulk Expanse Mass Lump Block Clod!" I love that song, and there's no way to communicate to someone who has never seen Phish the love you feel during "The Arrival" when the whole crowd songs "FLUFFHEAD!" at the end. That could have been the end of the set, but instead, out comes The Curtain. This is one of my favorite songs too. A really dead-on version followed. I can acknowledge that I'm a Phish freak...for years, one of my 'top-ten Phish wishes' has been to see The Curtain With. So as the regular version would down and slowed down instead of ending suddenly, I felt my entire body shiver. I knew I was about to see the the Curtain WITH that amazing jam I love so much. Ah, the sweet Rift-y part, then that Reba-esque jam...it's enough to make one cry. I was absolutely speechless. Sure the set was over, I sat down and almost spaced out for a fast rock-n-roll version of Chalkdust. The setlist may not reflect it, but I was sure that Trey got messed up. He missed a cue during the chorus, so they stretched it out a few measures. Then he looked lost and spent the rest of the song staring at Mike and Page waiting for a cue. Interesting that though he may have been lost, the song still was rip roaring awesome! First set clocked in at almost 100 minutes, totally 100% rockin. This set beat the last two years of Merriweather combined. Setbreak: I went to the bathroom, bumped into a friend, took my seat, set 2 started. It was perfect. (Actually, it was a short setbreak, but who's counting?) Set 2 opened with Rock n' Roll, which is a great song. I loved the NYE version, but this was more concise and really kept the vibe right where they left off. Had they broken out Circus, Roggae, or anything too slow here, they might have killed the super-drive they already had kicked off. They were truly in high gear. Fish's 4/4 hi-hat beats suggested Theme about 30 seconds before there was any other trace of it, and this Theme was a good one. There were some weak spots, but they were forgivable mistakes given the precedent of the evening at that point. I heard Dog Log coming, but Fish was playing a beat that was almost identical to the beat from Frankie Says. This Dog Log is really cool, it has a funky wavy kinda beat kicking in the background. It is a must hear. Sounded like everyone, especially those on stage, were having a blast at that point. From the roaring applause of Dog Log came Mango, which is another favorite of mine. God, this setlist is like gold! This Mango ranks among the top five I've ever heard on tape or elsewhere! So much fun! The jam degenerated into a dark, drummy bass filled jam that lasted awhile. Maybe 10-12 minutes. It is definitely worth hearing. Soon, the familiar "bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum" beginning of Free emerged. Free featured excellent and intricate playing by Trey, and a glowstick war during the bridge section, and some well played jamming. The set ended early, most likely due to curfew issues. The encore was Contact, which the crowd sang in the most dedicated manner. Bravo, Paul, for making this sound so perfect! A funk-rich middle section tasted very sweet on the palate, and it wrapped up on a note that wouldn't have done the show justice. We needed, and Phish sensed, it needed to be cranked up a notch one more time. Out comes a totally nuts version of Rocky Top which blew everyone away. Yes, Rocky Top is a common song, but this one was perfect placement. It summed up the show for me -- total energy! GET THESE TAPES. adam s FIRSTTUBE.COM [email protected]
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 16:04:37 EDT From: [email protected] Subject: 9/17 Merriweather Show This show is a killer, the first set is good, but it is all about the second set. One of the best sets i've ever been witness to. Rock and Roll->Dog Log->Theme, was mind blowing, the jam nice and spacey, then Mango and Free. Unbelievable. Get this tape, especially for the killer Dog Log.
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 15:33:43 EDT From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Merriweather:WOW! I was really bummed after Hersahey so when my buddy offered me a pavillion seat for merriweather I was compelled to go. Boy was I happy I did. Killer first set and REALLY long, (made up for Hershey shortness). Mike was off the charts like Dairen and Paige was in another world gettin really spacey. One of the best light shows to date (trey even got dizzy after bathtub I think and almost fell over). Beautiful night and great people, except a few punks but for the size of that place it is expected. First set was as good as a set gets, except maybe with a ghost or sand but hey, we can dream! Night ended with an apple a woman gave me from her orchard and nice ladies from temple rappin with me under a peaceful moon. Speakin of which if you ladies read drop me a line. All in all a great way to end the traveling for a while. Till ??? Peace and Hugs Shawn
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 14:53:10 EDT From: sachet upadhyay [email protected] Subject: Merriweather show review. Gayute: Nice opener. I had called chalk dust for set opener. Nice to hear. There are so many transitions in this song and energy fluctuates so much. That^�s one of the greatest thing about this song. GBOTT: It brought back the energy. Nice simple strumming sounded good. Gin: Standard version. Cannot be compared to the classic volney gin jam of 99. That jam was just sick. Listen to treys melody from his guitar. Even Ravi shankhar would have shed tears. Limb by limb: At first there was something wrong with treys amp. But it got fixed at least I hope it did. Moma dance. Funky pure. What can I say? If I had brought my momma, she would have danced. Lawnboy: Page on center stage. Stageboy singing longboy. Nice and mellow. Fluff head: ^�But I sure got some powerful pills, oh yeah^� Nice bite on the energy bar. Curtain:I had hoped they would move onto rift. I was telling my bro they would do it. But nah. Me no wise ass. Chalkdust: What I called as a set opener became a first set closer. I have always liked the way they closed their set with this song. It just brings vibes out of lethargic ones. Rock and roll: Nice version. Not quite extended as the big cypress. But ok. Theme from the bottom. Don^�t remember much of this song except I was seeing the four band members as four phishermen and the phans as bunch of fish. I surely got caught. I am sure lot of people did. That was the highlight of the second set. That was definetly theme from the bottom. Dog log: Nice. Made me appreciate my reality in the lawn. Always nice to hear. Mango song: Oh yeah. One of my favorites. I had craving for mangoes on this one. Standard version, pretty nice. Free: Not much to say. Don^�t remember much about this one except this guy asking me what song this was. I jokingly said prep school hippie. He said thanx man. Encore: Rocky top, contact: Both were nice. Contact was my first one in concert. All in all an average show. Sachet
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 11:45:09 -0700 (PDT) From: Adam Cigich [email protected] Subject: review-9/17/00 This was an amazing performance. The whole show was extremely tight. The boys came on about 7:30 and opened with GUYUTE: this caught me completely off guard. excellent version, the ending part was very cool ("I'm bouncing like a....") right before this was a fairly long silence, and after each line was a stop, very nice change. next BACK ON THE TRAIN: very cool, typical version, BATHTUB GIN: Oh yeah! as usual page ripped it up in the beginning, very nice, the jam was pretty good, but didn't really seem to take off. next, LIMB X LIMB: very nice, a little short, excellent soloing by trey, MOMA DANCE: this was very cool, mike really started to tear it up at this point. i could be wrong, but the opening seemed to be a little longer than usual, i thought they were going to forget the words a la Black Eyed Katey, very funky, lots of energy. LAWNBOY: real nice, page was really enjoying himself, walked to the front of the stage two times, but chris did not spotlight him for whatever reason, followed by FLUFFHEAD: the place went nuts, very high energy, excellent version, every part was right on, fishman was saying something over and over toward the end, but I could not make out what it was. always a treat to hear, it seems this song is increasingly getting rarer, CURTAIN WITH: what a great song, very cool to hear. did not know what the curtain ending part was and someone said it was called 'curtain with', it almost sounded like hydrogen at first, absolutely beautiful, definitely one of the highlights of the show, everyone must hear this if you haven't already, CHALDUST: damn, i didn't think they were going to stop. typical version, nice way to cap off an amazing first set. this set just completely floored me, almost two hours long, the show could have ended here and i would have went home happy. after about a 35 minute setbreak, they opened with, ROCK N ROLL: couldn't have called it better myself, we were treated to the second page song of the night, excellent jam, nice lead by trey, extremely intense, it ended very slowly with fishman hitting the high-hat, i though for sure it was going to be maze, then page started the da-dah-da, THEME: i was so psyched to hear this, excellent version, great vocal harmony on the "so i ask you...", they did not finish because the jam led into DOG LOG: it just keeps getting better and better, right when mike started the bass line everyone went berserk, lots of fun, and they even stretched it out a little before the ending, the ending jammed into a very nice transition into MANGOS: very nice to hear after dog log, it was very cool during the third verse, trey and mike sang different verses at the same time, longer than usual version, the ending part was very sweet, page kept playing the piano part, and they almost ended it, but trey took over on his keys, and they went into a wicked cool jam. i do not know how to describe it, very cool sounds coming from trey and page, and it went perfectly into FREE: standard version, trey was on top of this. it was cut short by the 11 pm curfew at merriweather. wonderful second set full of rarities. before the encore, i was thinking the only reason this show was not complete was the lack of mike singing. encores- not one, but two mike songs. CONTACT: what a pleasant surprise, very nice break for soloing, the band started waving their hands back and forth and we all joined in, wonderful moment, next, ROCKYTOP: i was waiting to hear some bluegrass all night, very upbeat, this show had it all and these two encores capped it off perfectly. this must be one of the best shows in recent years, it possibly stacks up with some of the best. it was a perfect example of how one band members playing can elevate all of the others to a higher level, fishman started off really strong and stayed throughout the show, and the rest of them really turned it up a notch to deliver an incredible performance.
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 15:50:08 -0500 From: Brian Keenan [email protected] Subject: review 9-17-00 I will be brief. I have never seen a parking lot as oppressive as Merriweather. From the cops directing traffic to the cops on patrol in the lot, it was almost a complete downer. There was little or no vending so I was incredibly hungry and thirsty. Also the sound from the helicopter was driving me crazy. Once my friends and I finally entered the Pavilion the day went from bad to amazingly good. What a show. The parking lot was long forgotten and the bad time was a distant memory. The bands energy filtered through the crowd till it hit me like a ball of lightning. WOW! So I danced. Later, B.K.
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 15:17:04 -0400 From: Fred Zumwalt [email protected] Subject: Merriweather Post PHISH Review Was it the cool outdoor air of the lawn seating at Merriweather? Was it the calm crowd? Was it all of the drink stations, pizza vendors, port-o-lets, and t-shirt stands? Or was it just the energy of and reliance on standard Phish songs that made the show as near perfect as possible? Albeit a walk down memory lane, the show was fast, strong, and a true 'sing along' the whole show. Beginning with Guyute and ending with Rocky Top, the whole show pulsed. Sitting in the lawn, we all had an excellent view of the band (Trey seemed to be rubbing his nose alot!) on the big screen overhead. The band's hand motions, smiles, chat, finger play on guitar, bass, and piano, and drum playing was great to watch up close. The camera angles were excellent, the special effects were held to a minimum, and every seat in the lawn was excellent! But the music was best. While, admittedly, a whole show of old standards, each song had its own unique little twist and turn. The long jams, the crowd singing along, the arm wave led by Mike, The glow war during FREE, the almost parodic gestures and words while we all sang CONTACT during the encore. It was all too kewl! A most refreshing, enjoyable, and memorable show. Thanks, guys. Let's do it again...real soon.
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 14:04:13 EDT From: [email protected] Subject: Merriweather Post 9-17-99 Hell yeah! what a show. i saw hershey on friday and thought it was a pretty good show but tonight just blew hershey away (if only they would have saved the tube, but hey, no complaints). Anyway, i was feeling funky when i went into the show and the boys apparently were too. they funked out damn near every song. mike slapping base where you wouldnt expect it (contact) and i was just getting down the whole show. i had to sneak into the pavilion for 2nd set to get more room in the corridor to shake down. it was worth it. FUNK IT! Guyute: nice, i know they play it all the time, but for some reason ive always missed those shows or skip them or something, so it was sweet to hear. lot of energy, got me moving. BOTT: ive only heard this once before and it was one of the first times they played it, so id been waiting since then to hear it again. i was thrilled when they busted this one out. started out the night-long funk. Gin: nice version, page went crazier than usual at the get-go. jammed nice and long and at this point they've got me convinced its going to be a great show. L X L: wasnt expecting this one at all, but good to hear. Moma Dance: at this point i could have sworn they were playing to me, they played so many songs i wanted to hear. this was a good version as well, one of the better versions ive heard, the boys sounded tight and very focused. Lawn Boy: i thought id heard the beginning in between the first few songs so i thought they might bust it out eventually and sure enough.... page really putting on a show. up and singing to the crowd. they were all really into it all night. good song to "stioch"...im glad we did 'cause..... Fluffhead: another one i was hoping to hear. really tight sound and the crowd was loving it. FLUFFHEAD! The Curtain With: i love this song, great deeper meaning also, i was really into it and the lyrics really hit me for the first time last night. i couldnt believe they kept going to play the whole "with" section. you think they like playing merriweather? i thought this would definately be the end, but wait.... Chalkdust: usually not to fond of hearing this one, but they hit it at the right time and the energy was there from the crowd, good choice. Rock N' Roll: awwww yeah, gotta love that lou reed. good follow up from the '98 (or '99) sweet jane. page, what a singer! he is the man. good jam to follow and at this point i was thinking we could have a near perfect show on our hands! Theme: well, maybe not. certainly the low point for me, at least they could have finished it with the vocal jam thats the best part. however, they were still getting funky, and i was digging that. Dog Log: !!!!!!!!!!! awwwww shit! "walking cross the lawn, lawn, lawn..... wondering where my dog done gone!" god i love that song. i came right home, found one on tape and threw it in. this was really funky and a long great jam. i was loving life. oh right after they finished the song, i dont know who it was but someone started ripping some serious ass!! that sucked, but it was funny as hell after dog log... what else could they rip out that could knock us on our ass? Mango Song: oh that! my friend wanted to hear it in hershey and couldnt make the show last night, i danced extra hard for her. good solid version of mango, hadnt heard it in a while and a good change (along with most of the rest of the show). Free: good segue into free. i love that lick. shorter than normal, but the crowd was loving it. surprised that this ended the set, it seemed a little short to me, but maybe thats cause they played so long the first set. Encore: Contact: nice choice. i was expecting something way out of the ordinary, but i think this was my first contact so i was having fun. mike started slappin that base. git down. hood, hood, hood, hood...... Rocky Top: shit, man. where's my hood???? i thought they were going to give it to us since theyve played it there the last 2 years. rocky top always seems to put a damper on things, but for some reason, maybe its because the whole show was sick or just because they were so into it, or maybe just casue they are so fuckin awesome, this song seemed to fit, for the first time to me...it fit. i cant believe i just said rocky top fit, but it did. plus the fact that that was the last phish song i would be dancing to for a while. that made me shake it down. later mike
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 12:58:51 -0400 From: Corey Hovanec [email protected] Subject: Merriweather review. This was my 15th and last show of the year. It was a fitting final show before the "break". We pulled into the 'lot' around 5. The lot being a mall parking lot very close to the back of the venue. Very strange surroundings. We headed over to the venue to try and find the Shakedown. As we approached we could hear the soundcheck very clearly. It was a typical goofy soundcheck song with Trey singing lyrics about it being a sunny afternoon, cooking hot dogs, hamburgers, and corn on the cob on a grill. And singing about someone wearing a Giants jersey. There was a LARGE security presence in the lots. I saw at least 15 epople getting busted for one thing or another and vending was being shut down. Right near the will call there was about 5 people sitting on the ground handcuffed and about ten police officers milling around. I've never seen so much security at a venue before. The inside of Merriweather seemed pleasently intimate to me. We opted to pick seat in the middle of the pavillion right on the aisle. We were lucky to keep those seats with *plenty* of dancing room the whole show. On with the show..... Guyute, while definitely overplayed IMO was great as an opener. They took it to a few new places which is good for a song that mostly sticks to its structure most of the time. Trey on keys in a few places near the end. My only complaint about Trey on keys is that most of the time i can't really tell what the hell he's doing. That would change later. GBOTT, was good. I hadnt heard it since summer so it was okay. I was reading a music industry mag the other day and they had a full page ad promoting this tune as the new single from Farmhouse. Bathtub Gin, wow! Since the Gin at PNC this summer all other Gin jams have left me unwowed. IMO that Gin was the peak of my summer shows and by far my favorite Gin i've heard Phish do. This one is a close second as the jam opened up wide. I really, really enjoyed it. The Limb by Limb up next was shaky in the very beginning, I have a hard time deciphering the Limb jams sometimes. This one seemed to me to be average. MOMA was good as always...very high energy. The guy who had been standing next to me the whole first set took this opportunity to strike up a conversation with a passing friend. Speaking loudly and showing off his stash to his buddy sort of got in my way though i try not to let shit like this get to me sometimes it does. I just dont like to hold conversations during a show and it baffles me that someone can yell through a jam like that. Lawn Boy is always great and this as no exception. Page has been *ON* this whole tour IMO and its great to see him do the Lawn Boy thing. My girlfriend really wanted to hear the next song and the smile on her face during those opening chords was priceless. This Fluffhead was so on the money! I feel like they have been so tight this tour and this was furthur proof. I really enjoyed this Fluffhead. They just fucking nailed it. Some Fluffhead's fall flat but this one was peak. I love Curtain... was a bit more than usual discussion on stage before it started so i kind of thought we might get the 'with' too. I was very happy we did and altough i didnt think Trey totally nailed it he was forgiven. It was beautiful. Phish without Fishman would kind of be like Zeppelin without Bonham. Fishman is a serious fucking force and he was during this jam. A hard hitter, he is the Man.Then a short but capital S Sweet...Chalkdust, as always raged. Setbreak semmed short as they all have this tour which will draw no complaints from me. The lights went down shortly after the very crowded trip to the bathroom.......Rock and Roll...was High Energy as shit a crazy jam that had Hose written all over it. Trey at one point just fucking ripped these notes out of nowhere that got me good. A very intense version with solid playing from everyone. A very good choice for set opener. Theme was unexpected but welcome. A good song for sure that opens up some great jams. As with the whole show it was quite solid and rewarding...this segued reggae style into Dog Log. This very silly song was done very seriously and was as tight and focused as i've heard it. The jams in the song were exceptinal and Page again, was ON. This was followed by the Mango Song , the tune itself was probably the lowest energy tune of the night IMO but the jam following it was one of the highlights of the night. Trey moved to keys and was making some serious noise. The jam started out very bottom heavy and i thought it might fizzle out. Then it turned into "super space funk". I closed my eyes and truly let it take me, and take me it did. There and back and I dont know where in between. I love these types of jams. A needed Rebirthing for me. THANK YOU PHISH! This all led into Free which was perfect. I had thought in passing earlier that I might like to hear this and it was great. The jam had Trey doing some very simple but potent soloing while grinning ear to ear and looking over at Mike & Page. Page, Mike, and Fish provided a sick and awesome pulse while Trey ripped his notes. I was really satisfied after all this. Really satisfied. The first encore, Contact was great to hear. That little upbeat jam section in the middle was great. The Rocky Top that followed was so tight. Page ripped a solo that was contained a furious flurry of notes. Trey looked over with a huge grin. Very high energy performance. A great show. Not epic for its song selection or anything other than it was a powerful performance. It was exeptional for that reason. Thanks again boys! I think the 5 shows i saw on fall tour were some of the tightest most high energy solid shit Phish has ever dropped. As good as any year you care to mention. I love Phish because they evolve. Because they let me down. Beacuse they pick me up in ways i've never imagined. I have so many shows on tape and cd. I'll probably get all these too...but nothing compares to BEING THERE! Trey is right, music is the "ride of a lifetime", especially this music. So who knows when i'll see Phish again. A year seems like a long time to wait. But I have a sneaky feeling that a full year from now, I''ll have seen Phish again. Until then.... -Corey
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 12:51:40 -0400 From: "Jones, Brett" [email protected] Subject: 9/17/00 I just wanted to say that Mike Gordon stole this show, and held it together. He was just awesome all night long. - -- Also,,, I have never seen a worse lot (except Virginia Beach, which always sucks) --- The security was so backwards, it was unbelievable. It took over 25 minutes to get inside the damn arena because they kept shutting down the gates every 2 minutes. I would love to see the Think Tank that came up with the security game plan last night. What a bunch of morons.... Also, in the lot,,, I must have seen about 4 different people get arrested, and must have been told to empty my beer on 5 different occassions. Oh well,,, at least I got to see The Curtain With and Dog Log. --
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 13:59:36 EDT From: Charles Stringfellow [email protected] Subject: 9-17-00 -- Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland I would venture out and say "THIS is what IT is all about." This night was much more upbeat from Friday's show in Hershey and Trey did not have the slow start like he seemed to have on the 15th. Guyute was welcomed with a roar... but I can not begin to find words to describe Lawn Boy... well just one: PAGE!! WOW! Fluff had my blood racing and the energy form the crowd was nothing short of amazing! This was high octane performance that will be hard to duplicate. An amazing first set... well over 90min. Contact and Rocky Top were a real treat and made my night! But, I must admit that the state of Maryland was acting like big brother. There is a limit to which "command presence" is required. This was one sketchy scene and was not helped by the younger crowd being blatant and just plain stupid. I was very disappointed in the fact that tickets were being issued for selling eats, Huh? (by the way..thank you grill cheese girl!)Having read the recent reviews , I believe that there is a common goal we would all like to reach: back to the Old Phish. The suggestions of more remote venues would discourage the unfortunate bad apples and I am all for that. I don't want to end on a downer here, so thank you PHISH, PHANS and everyone that made this a phatty!
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 12:39:12 EDT From: [email protected] Subject: Merriweather Review This was a great show. Music wise, the band sounded so sweet. The light show was fantastic and also really cool was the job the cameramen did. This was clutch because the lawn at Merriweather is not steep enough so you cannot see the stage, only the big TV screen. The thing I will remember about this show was how bad the cops and security were. They had these big guerillas walking around being mean. They tried to stop Kim and I from selling grilled cheese. I felt like telling them off. I just said we were giving them away. It wasn't that far from the truth since we burn so many and we gave those away. The other thing I wont soon forget was the fight we witnessed after the show. There were two wanna-be ghetto stars fighting on the way out. These are two dudes who you would have never seen at Lemonwheel 2 years ago. These guys looked like the type who only come for the E and balloons. I really wouldn't mind if all the shows happened 4 hours from the nearest city so only the true phans would come. Anyway, like I said, the show was tops. The first set was super long. I thought they were gonna close it with Fluffhead (which was great). The musical highlight of this show for me was the encore. After hours of jamming they closed with a cool contact and a jamming Rocky Top. Kim and I had to break into a little square dancing. Final synopsis: The scene is deteriorating but the music is as good as ever. What the boys need to do is move the concerts away from the big cities and out to the middle of nowhere. Or else, change their name. It will take the masses a while to figure out what has happened.
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 08:53:28 EDT From: [email protected] Subject: No Subject this will be brief i promise, i usually dont give myself the liberty to write about any performance, but this show was AWSEOME!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KURODA. i've only been to six shows but this tops evry single one. can put much else to into words.. later, the doj
Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 21:54:33 -0700 (PDT) From: Brien Christesen [email protected] Subject: 9-17-00 merriweather review I just got back from merriweather, and all I can say is WOW! This was my fifth show in 2 years for those of you who care. The setlist speaks volumes about this show, but can't tell the whole story. I'll skip any talk about the scene and security and whatnot in favor of talking about my impressions of the show. We were getting to our seats just as the show started. Seats in the back corner, page side of the pavillion, but a great view, nonetheless. GUYUTE: I really like it as an opener, lots of energy, really got me pumped GBOTT: The boys got a nice little groove going on this one, some jamming, but nothing really out there. Very tight, though. GIN: This is where the show really took off, IMO. Very nice jamming around the gin theme, had me grooving my butt off LIMB BY LIMB: This is my girlfriend's favorite song, and she missed it at Hershey :~( oh well, I was glad to hear it tonight. Some really nice trey soloing here. MOMA DANCE: Very nice, pretty standard, but a lot of fun. At this point, I am getting tired, not a slow song yet! (that isn't complaining) LAWN BOY: It was great to see page walking around singing this one in true cheezy lounge singer style. He walked up to the front of the stage a few times, and was singing to people in the first few rows. At this point, I thought the set was going to end, but boy was I ever wrong! :-) FLUFFHEAD: Super high energy, everyone in the crowd was loving it, always nice to hear. THE CURTAIN WITH: Very pretty, as always. I was really grooving to this. Surprised at the amount of more old school phish songs/jams tonight as compared to friday. I mean, gin, fluff, and the curtain, all in one set? I loved it, though. When Trey started the rift portion, I almost lost it. The curtain with?!?!?! wow. Simply amazing. After the rift portion, there was a nice little jam that I was SURE would end the set. Wrong again. CHALKDUST: The energy in this first set was absolutely amazing, it clocked in at almost 1:45 by my timing. I couldn't believe how long or how good it was, and I couldn't wait until the second set. SET II ROCK AND ROLL: Completely rocking, reminded me a lot of the NYE one, not so much in length, but in content. Not very much spacey jamming, but very focused and fairly long jamming. Now I thought there was a segue here, but the setlist doesn't show it. There certainly wasn't much time in between songs. Fish never stopped playing, but trey finished a loop with his keyboard (the keyboard section was very short), leaving fish playing a fast rhythm on the high hat, I believe. Then Page comes in with the opening notes to.... THEME: Not one that I was expecting, but a pleasant surprise. I didn't notice that it was unfinished, but the setlist says it was. Some nice jamming that I thought was going to go into other songs, but the last one I expected was... DOG LOG: They jammed all the way through this one. I haven't heard it much, but I recognized it. At one point, there was some start-stop jamming, I think. MANGO: I am nearly positive there was a segue here too. I don't think they stopped playing the whole set. Some spacey trippy trey keyboard work here. It seemed like mike and fish were really driving the jam here, as in rock and roll. They didn't let the jam get too slow and ambient (boring) with trey on keys. They really kept everything moving. FREE: Great high energy closer, some nice jamming, but not a very long version. ENCORE CONTACT: WOW! I never thought I would hear this one. One of my favorite songs ever since I started listening to phish. Page, Trey, and Mike led the crowd in waving along with the last chorus, which was really a nice touch, I thought. ROCKY TOP: A great way to end a great night. With a "Play it Leo!" solo from page, who sounded great tonight, especially in mango. What a great show. The song selection was fantastic, and while there were none of the traditional second set jam monsters, the jamming was really interesting and great. Thank you phish. ~begin shameless grovel~ if you made it all the way through this review, you must think that i have something worthwhile to say, and if you could help me relive this wonderful night, i would be forever grateful. so when one of you kind tapers gets the show tracked and onto cd (i know it takes a couple weeks), i'd love a copy thanks, brien
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 16:30:10 GMT From: Nick Terranova [email protected] Subject: merriwether oh my god!! what an incredible show. i had to drive over 1112 hours after the show dropping people off but it was well worth it. this rocked from start to finish. pne of the finest shows ive been to in a while. 09/17/2000 Merriweather Post Pavilion - Columbia, Maryland - reviews Set I (1:42): Guyute, Back on the Train, Bathtub Gin, Limb by Limb, Moma Dance, Lawnboy, Fluffhead, The Curtain With*, Chalkdust Torture Set II (62 min.): Rock and Roll -> Theme from the Bottom > Dog Log > Mango Song -> Jam** -> Free*** Enc. (10 min.): Contact, Rocky Top * - see FAQ; last played 7/12/00, and prior to that 7/23/88 ** - over 6 minutes, with Trey on keys *** - with glow war Guyute: a good tune but not one of my favorites. a crowd pleaser none the less. BOTT: blugrassy type jam Bathtub: superb spacy jam much unlike the hard rockin bathtub at PNC on summer tour. Limb x Limb: trey flubbed the opening guitar riff to this song but no one seemed to care. everyone has to mess up sometime. Moma Dance: need i say more? Lawn Boy: Page is such crowd pleaser. he was showboating tonight for sure Fluffhead: my first since camden on july 3rd and this one was much better Curtain: right before the band started the tune i was like "gee, i want to hear curtain." and bam there it was. incredible. Chalkdust: could not have come at a better time. Rock n Roll: trey is the man Theme: quality version but i liked the camden one better Dog Log: EXCELLENT!!! Best song of the night!! Mango: Spacy jam Free: rockin solid contact: i love how mike sings this song so seriously rocky top: way to top it off!! this show was incredible and all who were there will have memories of a lifetime. the walk in to the venue is simply breathtaking. the atmosphere was amazing as usual. THANK U PHISH!!!!
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 09:02:16 -0700 (PDT) From: Marcus Soifer [email protected] Subject: 9/17 Phish-attempting-space-travel-via-music/ energy melee at Merriweather Good God but I have to put forth words concerning last night's experience! Never, and I mean never, have I been exposed to a current of energy the likes of what was unleashed at the Merriweather Post Pavillion on Septmeber 17! My friend asked me if it made up to me what I thought was an unjustifiably-short second set at Hershey; Merriweather, as I told him (and this was only at set-break!), was beyond a "make-up" experience; it was a billboard, in essence--a virtual web-site, if you will--for LIFE! and all that can be splendorous about it. Make no mistake my friends, this show was up there with the best of them, and as far as the exchange of energy at that venue, for which I thank fate immensely I shared in, well, I would honestly say that an absolute miracle took place. I am a musician, but I learned last night that I want to be more, much more; I want to be what Phish is: I want to be an alchemist.
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