Date: Wed, 19 Feb 97 16:57:00 GMT From: "Hefler, Andrew (MS-Mail)" Subject: 2.16.97 review 2/16/97, Wartesaal, Cologne, Germany. I: BEAUTY OF MY DREAM, Split Open & Melt, Bouncin', Crosseyed & Painless, Guelah Papyrus, Ginseng, Tweezer, Waste, Cavern, Chalk Dust II: Sample, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Free, Sparkle, Simple > When the Circus Comes to Town > Swept Away > Steep > David Bowie, Loving Cup > Tweezer Reprise E: Theme From the Bottom, Johnnie B. Goode Really fun show. Made for television-type feel, somewhat. It will be broadcast in Germany in it's entirety on March 2, 1997. The venue was quite nice and had a bit of a mediaeval air to it. That was keeping fluent the motif that the world famous Cathedral of Cologne casts down upon this playhouse immediately adjacent to the bi-towered church. It was a solid place for a show, but I don't know why bands go to Cologne!? I've been in Europe for more than five years of my life and I've been through Cologne maybe more than 10 times. It is, forgive me but I'm German as well, like much of Germany, absolutely stale. Pretty city. Good sized. Just totally inactive. Ironically, with a history for being a college town. Just a quick gripe from me because there are so many nicer more intriguing and accommodating places in Europe and by no means has Phish even tapped into some of these key places. Onward. I would guess about 900 people or so crowded into this playhouse in the Central Station complex of Cologne. WDR TV was there from the get-go and it seemed that this might be a tough ticket. Lined up, after dinner and a chat with Page who was out behind the theatre, we began to file into the show. MID-HIGHWAY BLUES was a weird opener! I'm not even certain of the name. It was a blue grass-ish tune. I don't exactly find it to be the best way to open it up, but whatever, it is a fun song and it sounded very tight. SPLIT OPEN was rangey and well jammed at parts. Overall *Good* version. I like this song up front. That is to say in the first 6 or so songs of the show. This was solid in the #2 spot. BOUNCIN' take it or leave it, but energy booster and great for TV! CROSSEYED & PAINLESS was the highlight! I would call it a 30 minute jam-filled explosion. This was simply blistering! Fishman sang well and drove his best rhythm of the night on this tune. The whole band was woven tightly in cahoots for this very surprising treat. GUELAH, more TV, TV, TV! Flawless but Guelah. GINSENG SULLIVAN is a great tune. Happy to hear it and well played as usual. TWEEZER was crunchy. It had some massive jam segments that, while being exploratory, held a fairly contiguous form. From this it seemed apparent to me that this show was a very conscious effort to show the bands chops, stylistic variety, flexibility, and capability while including the sing-a-long moments and the off-the-cuff out of the fire type jam sessions. WASTE is great live. Very pretty tune with a dynamic ending. Nice vocals. CAVERN was rockin' as always and I thought it would close the set...but along came a tune I truly hoped for but had written off due to its appearance to open the London show... CHALK DUST TORTURE thrilled to see this close set I. Lately they open with this number and I think that this is a closing tune all the way. Searing version; 2nd best tune in set I. Set II was solid with HOT moments. SAMPLE IN A JAR is a good opener and this one saw the solo drawn out a bit more than usual. Nothing overly memorable. CARS TRUCKS BUSES was pumping! Really a hot number. I couldn't be disappointed to hear this tune ever. Page was grooving the B-3. FREE was Free and enjoyed some spacious moments for solid soloing. It was a solid version. SPARKLE was blazingly fast and almost sinister. A typical solid version but so far we've got 4 TV-ready tracks to kick off set II. SIMPLE (make that five) gets to be a loud and jammy version. This tune starts to race around and ten+ minutes in or so it gets to a beautiful serene spot in the jam that is cut from similar cloth as say, Reba. Then we start to focus less on Nielson (ratings that is) and segue into Los Lobos'... WHEN THE CIRCUS COMES BACK TO TOWN. Pretty tune and well orchestrated. SWEPT AWAY > STEEP were excellent as far as I'm concerned. Great sound effects and smooth transitions. Haunting but entertaining; and fun to hear those maritime sounds...then > DAVID BOWIE was an absolutely thundering jam. I didn't think we'd get Bowie. Another London leftover. Good suprise and high quality version. LOVING CUP is simply great music. I love this song and they shred it. It was without question the best version that I have ever heard them do of this number. Excellent jam inside Loving Cup (highlight of set II) that led to the TWEEZER REPRISE closer. This was really dramatic and a perfect cap to the very TV-friendly effort put out by this fine and versatile band. THEME FROM THE BOTTOM encore was the highlight of the show for me barring CROSSEYED. THEME is just an amazing tune. This was at least 11-12 minutes long and just superb. It was perfectly played and featured a screaming solo and jam that wound down so tightly and perfectly into the outro. "From the bottom, from the top...". JOHNNIE B. GOODE reminded us that this was indeed a rock n' roll band that we were indeed seeing and that this was going to be on TV (2 JBG encores in three shows?). Truth is, nobody is playing Johnnie B. Goode as heartily or as viciously as they are right now. A true resume of a show. It seemed very focussed on preparing for the potentially large audience a show that would be a strong sample/representation of their act. I believe that all in all they reached this goal. The music as always was beautiful, dramatic, and adventurous. It somehow was conscious of itself and didn't get too far off of the path most-trodden. Well done and a great concert that left most travellers to Amsterdam licking their respective chops. ------------------------------------------- [email protected] Review of Cologne 2/16/97 1st Set: This was a very good show.You have to keep in mind that it was for TV.So I think they did a great job.A real Phish concert that will give a opportunity to the Europeans to dicover them.So when you read the review keep in mind it was for TV. This show sell out as all the others.The venue had room for about 1300 people.They were TV cameras everywhere.I guess everybody already knows that this show will be broadcasted on the German TV. NEW Bluegrass song: very nice opener.No one seemed to know which song it was. Split Open And Melt:Nice version. Very spacey and noisy in the middle section.Also great work by Trey towards the end of the song.This was one got us rocking. Bouncing Around The Room: Classic but good as always. Crosseyed And Painless: Never thought I would here this one.Fish sang while playing the drums.(Like Halloween).The jam was really good.We got some nice work of Trey on his drum kit.I really loved that song. Guelah Papyrus: Classic but I can't get enough of the little dance Mike and Trey perform at the beginning and the end of the song. Ginseng Sullivan: Classic but good as always. Tweezer: In a first set!!!! Why not.In Brussels YEM and here Tweezer. Very rocking version.Great work from Trey.Very nice jam.Also it's the first time they really ended the song.No fading away.The song got calm and they really ended.Propbably a 10 to 15 min. Tweezer. Waste: Well played.Longer than usually.We needed this one after Tweezer. Cavern: Always fun!!!!!! Chalk Dust Torture: Classic but good as always.Rocking version. 2nd Set: Sample In A Jar: Too predictable but nice anyway. Cars Trucks And Buses: Good work by Page. Free: Trey on his drumkit as in every Free. Sparkle: Classic but good as always. Simple: Same as in Halloween '94 but a little longer.Very smooth, very nice. Circus Comes To Town: One of the new songs.Very smooth.A pleasure to listen to it. Swept Away-> Steep: I love STEEP. David Bowie: Good version.Very straight.No craziness.Almost as perfect as a studio version but longer. Loving Cup: Came as a surprise.Excellent version.Nice jam at the end. Tweezer Reprise: YES.I always like to have it as a set closer. Encore: Theme From the Bottom: Excellent version.Probably the best one I've heard.Defenately better than 7/1/95, 12/28/95 and 12/30/96. Johnny B. Goode: SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE.... If you have any comment , questions please email me at [email protected]