10-10-99 -- Pepsi Arena, Albany, New York

Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 01:00:18 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review of 10-10-99
 
If you're familar with my work and I'm sure you are, here is the review of
night 2 of the Knick I promised in my review of night 1.   Let me say that I
was in a very good mood from the night before for a varity of reasons... I
met the Dude of Life and just had a great night at the Omni, to me what Phish
played didn't matter, cause I was in Albany with all my phriends and having a
great time!   There was a show, a show to close the tour, a show that was
just a grand old time!
 
1st set
 
Farmhouse-  hmmm.  hmmm.  hmmm.   I don't know what to say.  I really like
Farmhouse a lot, but I was calling Peaches, MFMF to open.  It was cool
though, a la the second night of Deer Creek in the summer to close out that
tour.  That was a great show and this was to be one as well.
 
Gotta Jiboo-  Oh yeah!   Second song, bringing the funk!  This was awesome
and I was speechless afterwards, I heard Trey do it during the solo tour, but
the rest of the band adds a lot more than Russ and Tony did(no offense to
them of course).  I was very happy, but my bliss was not yet over:
 
Heavy Things-  Yes!  I LOVE THIS SONG!  The lyircs are very cool, and the
line "Vanessa calls me on the phone" has special meaning as my girlfriend is
named Vanessa(or was named).  Very cool.
 
1st Tube-  Damn!   A little Trey solo suite in the set, very cool.   This was
awesome, really doesn't change much from performance to performance(at least
not from what I've heard) but it doesn't have to!  It rages just how it is.
 
Dirt-  I love this song too!   But one question, can the band go a whole tour
without completely changing the scope of the song.   It now goes, Trey solo,
Mike solo, Trey chord climb, Trey solo again.   It's very cool, no Phish song
has evolve more in structure than Dirt.
 
Vultures-  I also love this song.   I'm a loving guy.   This also was very
cool!   It was followed by:
 
Stash-  Oh god!   This was by far one of the greatest Stashes in the history
of Stash.  I couldnt stop dancing even after it was over.  The setlists
reported to the internet said that it ended abruptly.  It did, in a way, Mike
returned to the Maybe so, maybe not chrous a little early and Trey ended the
song without really returning to the ending riff.  So it ended early.   Trey
walked off, and Mike stood for a minute.  He eventually walked off and the
set ended.
 
2nd set
 
Ambient Jam-  Okay, so I don't know what I was thinking here, but this was
very good and very cool, it went on for about 5 minutes and slammed into, and
I mean slammed into:
 
YEM!!!!!-   You've heard YEMs before, but this is a YEM's YEM!  This is by
far the best YEM I have ever heard and a great call in the 2nd song slot of
the 2nd set.  It was roughly 30 minutes long and never returned to the vocal
jam, instead in jammed into:
 
Prince Caspian-  I know a lot of people dont like Caspian, but I do.   This
is a cool breather and a great jamming song, a simple two chord melody that
just can stretch out and be very cool, this wasnt finished either, it went
into:
 
Train Song-  This was a much needed breather.  It never changes or
disapponts.  First silence of the set.  Then...
 
Bathtub Gin-  Hey now!   This is a great Gin, not the longest version, not
the shortest version, but none the less, great and a lot of fun as Gin always
is.
 
Character Zero-  Nice closer, but not for a tour.  Trey broke down the jam
and had a heart to heart with us in the crowd, very cool, again a la Deer
Creek.
 
ENCORE:
Contact-  Hey, we were all going to different places, since no show the next
day, so this was fitting, a double encore was eminent, and it was:
 
Misty Mountain Hop-   Hello!   What a way to close a tour, this raged and was
a very good time.  Thank you Phish!   What a tour!

Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 19:03:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Bart Tantillo [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review 10/10/99

I. Farmhouse, Gotta Jiboo, Heavy Things, First Tube,
Dirt, Vultures, Stash
II.  Ambient Jam>You Enjoy Myself>Prince
Caspian>Trainsong, Bathtub Gin, Character Zero
E: Contact, Misty Mountain Hop (!)
 
  This was what I have been waiting for.  There is absolutely no question that
the new Phish songs can hold their own against any of the old ones.  It was
just a matter of time before certain songs that are stale got put into
temporary or permanent retirement, and the new stuff took center stage.  The
first set Sunday night was a perfect example of that new beginning, with the
exception of Stash, no song played was older than a year and a half.  The
first four songs were incredible.  Farmhouse is a great opener and an even
better song.  I love it and that clouds my vision of whether or not it was a
good version or not.
 It was good I'm sure. Gotta Jiboo, Gotta WooHoo. Man is that a great tune.  
With all due respect to Tony Markellis and Russ Lawton, you guys were just
treading water during Trey's tour until the rest of the band got their hands
on this song. Ditto for First Tube.  Holy Shit!  A showmaker already.  Heavy
Things is also great, this version evolving from the the one they played just
two nights earlier.  I thought about taking back my comments about Dirt, but I
guess what is done is done.  It's a cool ballad with a nice Trey solo, but
nothing more.  It's never gonna make me cry, I'll put it that way. Vultures is
cool, though it pales in comparison to the newer of the new songs, this
version had a hard rocking ending that I love. After much discussion that I
was hoping would result in another new tune like Get Back on the Train or Bug,
the band opted instead to close the set with Stash. Always a crowd favorite,
though like two or three of the other old "big" songs, my patience is running
thin with it.  PhishNet made a point of declaring that it "ended abruptly",
almost to say that their were other reasons for it ending that way.  Well
relax people. We were 20 rows back with a crystal clear view of Trey.  The jam
was sick, and who says the song has to end the same way every time?  Did you
people hear the You Enjoy Myself an hour later?  Was that "abruptly ended"
because there was no vocal jam?  Jeez, lighten up.  It ended just fine, and
with it so did a great set highlighting the bright future of what is already
one of the best bands of all-time. The anticipation before the last set of a
tour always gets me excited.  You never know what is going to happen at any
given time during a Phish show, but that feeling seems to intensify at around
9:59 on the last night of a tour, right before the band takes the stage for
what is in essence a one and a half hour encore. Sunday night's second set, to
put it bluntly, kicked ass.  Beginning with what once again was over labeled
as an Ambient Jam, but what was actually just a minute or two of feedback and
drums, the band then broke into the Mt. Everest of Phish songs, You Enjoy
Myself.  A simply flawless, mind-bending version that I will remember for a
long time.  Trey was just too into it to even consider a vocal jam, which I
didn't mind one bit, melting instead into Prince Caspian, played Thursday as
part of the Mike's Groove, but welcome once again.  There is a reason we hear
this song during third sets of new year's shows and final sets of tours; It is
a great song!  Trey loves it, and it has that anthemic feeling to it that
makes you throw your head back and forth and pump your fists like some white
trash Metallica fan.  Trainsong, you know the deal here.  Always shows up at
intrical points, never does anything more than give the band and fans a rest.
Wow is all I'll say about the Bathtub Gin, one of my favorite songs and it did
not disappoint.  Character Zero, not my first choice for a big show closer,
but a kick-ass, rocking song nonetheless, closed the tour's final set, but not
before a speech from Trey pouring out his heart Deer Creek style, saying how
the band popped a bottle of champagne backstage between sets, and proposed a
toast to "Never losing sight of how blessed we are to have fans as dedicated
as you!" Ahh, my heart melts.  After promising "something special" as an
encore and leaving the stage pumping his fist, the buzz began.  What would it
be?  Destiny Unbound?  No way.  A special guest?  Wait, Contact? Oh well, I
guess it's cool to end on a fun note, with everyone waving their arms back and
forth simultaneously, including Trey and Mike.  Well of course there was more,
another song, one played a few times already, but nonetheless an incredible
version of a classic song.  All I'll say about it is this... ....Knock-Knock,
Jimmy Page..You've got company!
  A great weekend in Albany.  Something magical about being in a foreign place
for a few days to see a band as good as this one.  Almost chokes me up when I
think about the joy it gives me to see them play music.  Let the countdown to
December 2nd begin!  Incidentally, if you know me and haven't been to Hampton
yet to see a show, e-mail me and make plans to come this year.  I have a bunch
of rooms reserved, and have access to a whole mess of tickets.  Later folks.  
BT


Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 03:44:25 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
     [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: 10/10/99 Albany Review- better late than never! (Long)
 
The list:
I (1:10): Farmhouse, Gotta Jiboo, Heavy Things, First Tube, Dirt, Vultures,
Stash
II (1:07): Jam, You Enjoy Myself*----->Prince Caspian*->Trainsong, Bathtub
Gin, Character Zero**
E (:14): Contact, Misty Mountain Hop
*unfinished
**with thanks to crew, family and fans
Timings are courtesy Phishnet, the list is slightly altered from theirs... I
calls 'em likes I sees 'em!
 
This was the second of two glorious nights in my hometown, and expectations
were deservedly high.  The scene was shitty as always in Albany, with no
designated lots and fans scattered all over the downtown.  The depressing,
gray weather did not add much.  But of course, as is the case with this band
they call Phish, I was able to shake off the feelings from the outside once I
was in the venue (not like in Nassau night #1 where my hands stayed cold
until the middle of the first set).
 
A late start of about 8:10ish got things underway, and Trey noodled around
for a few seconds with a little intro to Farmhouse.  The Farmhouse was
standard but well played, tight, and a welcome opener.  My crew and I had
broken the no Phish before the show taboo by passing the day by watching the
Farm Aid video, so it was our second Farmhouse of the day, but that only made
it sweeter.
 
A slight pause, and Trey begins the now familiar riff of Jiboo.  The first
repeat of my 3 show run (I very very sadly had to skip Friday night), it felt
pretty similar to the one I heard on Thursday. A little more energetic
perhaps.  The Trey trio continued with Heavy Things.  Again a repeat, and
again similar to Nassau.  The soloing felt more melodic and tighter.  It
seems to be a lot softer than it was in Trey's more ragged power trio, more
melodic and less raucous.  My problem with these two tunes is they still seem
to be Trey showcases, more suitable for the format that I got the impression
they were written for, which was the Trey tour.
 
First Tube on the other hand, is hardly just a Trey showcase.  This was the
song I thought was most pathetic at my Trey show (5/15 Albany), simply
because it isn't much of a song - jsut a riff, some chords, and a jam.  On
the other hand, it rocked, and did it ever tonite as well.  This is basically
just a guilty pleasure that gives the band a glorious huge (volume wise, not
length) jam, and gets the crowd going like anything.  So of course it did
just that, and of course it did indeed rock.  The simple I-V jam was very
reminiscent to me of a jam Charlie is mildly fond of called the Albany YEM
(12/9/95).  Just this is the way Phish '99 would do that jam, making it a
huge loud spectacle.  That sounds negative but I loved this song.
 
The 3 Trey tunes in a row seemed a little odd placement, but just taking the
songs for what they are minus history, it really flowed excellently.
 
So the needed break comes with Dirt, an old favorite of mine.  The "new
arrangement" (its not really a new arrangement, just a little more polished I
think with a few more choruses and backing vocals from Fish) is very nice.
It seems to be much more of a real song then it was at its inception.
However, I think it loses something in the transition... it doesn't seem like
it's coming from Trey's soul as much as it did in the old form.  In any case,
this was another repeat for me from Thursday, so the set was basically off to
a lackluster start, as none of the repeats were even close to drastically
different.
 
Vultures was therefore a welcome move by the band.  This was truly one of my
favorite songs when 97 arrived with oh so many new ones, and it really seems
to have improved.  The adding of a second verse, sure, but the big change in
my opinion was a jam segment that is noticeably more open than the original
Vultures.  This one jammed very nicely indeed, strayed from the Vultures
theme, and brought it back effortlessly, ending with the standard awesome
Vultures drum ending.
 
Stash - Yes, we all knew this baby was appearing tonight.  And make an
appearnace it did!  I may be wrong, but I thought this one started out from
even the composed section promisingly, as Trey and Page were noodling around
a little, almost like they couldn't wait for the jam to start.  The jam
proceeded like so: Typical, for a few minutes - Trey soloing in the minor key
of Stash, with excellent backup from the rhythm section and fantastic filling
in the gaps from Page.  Trey sounded above-averagely focused, teasing the
Stahs theme several times during the jam.  Then somehow the jam faded a
little and before we knew where we were, the band was in a gloriously
beautiful major jam that almost sounded composed.  The Stash that immediately
came to mind for me was 4/2/98 Nassau - if I remember correctly, that one
switched into a major key equally masterfully before the segue into Horn.
This one didn't segue, but the transition from the major jam back into minor
was even more impressive than that from minor to major, and was a true segue
in every sense of the word.  The minor jam raged for a couple minutes, but
was clearly returning to finish Stash, and in come the 'maybe so, maybe
not's.  Only before they can bring it to a really triumphant close, Trey
plays the closing riff and just walks off the stage.  My friends and I were
too stunned to observe the band's reaction, but apparently the rest of the
boys were equally surprised.  Stash was awesome, a highlight of my three
shows, but this set most definitely sounded unfinished.  Perhaps a slower
song followed by a Good Times Bad Times (in the Albany tradition) to close
the set would have been a little more coherent.  However, the Stash was
excellent, the best first set jam I've seen in a while, certainly better than
the previous night's Ghost.
 
Then came probably the most fun setbreak I'd had in a long while.  Some of
you may know what I'm talking about.  This rather large guy, wearing a
rainbow propeller beanie comes running down to the front of our section, and
gives a little speech about how the wave excludes the floor, and something we
could all do together was the Meatstick dance.  If we got enough people doing
it, he said, maybe Phish would play it, seeing as how they hadn't yet.
Someone yelled to him that in fact they *had*, only 2 nights ago.  "But they
haven't played it yet tonite" he yelled back.  We could only look on and
laugh hysterically as this guy did the Meatstick for probably 10 minutes,
with minimal following.  The security guard seemed to think he was crazy, but
he eventually gave her his hat and even got her doing the dance.  Definite
setbreak entertainment.
 
The second set seemed to say, hey, we know we left you hanging there, so we
are gonna pick up like we're still inthe middle of a set.  And that's what
they did... Trey and Mike were just fiddling around, playing a few notes
before the set started, but they kept doing it and those few notes grew into
a beautiful ambient jam that lasted a good 5 minutes.  I don't remember much
about it except that it was quite original and quite nice, albeit a bit slow
for a set opener.  I remember saying to my friend, this is gonna bust right
into YEM, my logic being, YEM is the one song everyone knows is going to be
played tonite, so they'll get it out of the way now.
 
Sure enough, the jam quiets down and the band busts right into YEM.  However,
it would be fairly criminal to say they "got it out of the way."  This YEM
was perhaps the best I'd heard since another YEM in Albany, 12/9/95,
incidentally my first Phish show.  It sounded flawless in composition, and
the energy in the arena was unmatchable on the build to Boy.  Trey, rather
amusingly, fell off his tramp towards the beginning of the Tramps segment.
This only temporarily distracted from Page, who was tearing shit up at this
point.  From there on, it RAGED.  This went through up to four completely
different extended jam segments before fading into an absolutely incredible
segue into Fuckerpants.
 
Now Caspian is certainly one of my least favorite Phish songs... sorry,
Caspian lovers.  But that said, I must admit, this is the best segue I can
recollect hearing into this song, and that chord progression sounded a heck
of a lot sweeter flowing naturally out of an awesome jam rather than starting
up out of silence.  So in my 3 shows this tour I saw 2 Caspians.  This one
sounded a little weaker than Thursday's, but still wasn't the dreck I always
just assume it to be.  However, still a buzzkill.  YEM had segued into
Caspian without a proper ending/vocal jam, and now Caspian, at the point
where it quiets down at the end, instead of coming back with the big finish,
chugged right along into Trainsong.  Keeping the flow, depriving Caspian of a
fintie beginning and ending made it so much nicer.
 
Trainsong was nice.  I suppose people who dig Caspian needed a breather as
they hadn't had one for over a half hour, but I certainly didn't.
 
What was left but the Gin.  The Bathtub, I must confess, has eluded me for my
Phish career.  Long one of my favorite songs, I have gone to many, many shows
hoping to finally see it. I always just miss it.  So tonite, in show #15, I
get my first.  Page continued to be on fire with his fills, and the jam was
short but fast, energetic and glorious.  It came full circle and ended with
the Gin riff. I remember enjoying this baby a lot, but I also got somewhat
lost in it and I don't remember too many specifics.  The tape will tell.
 
Character Zero was the end of what seemed to be another set cut short.  Zero
raged as usual, and in the big final chord feedback melee, Trey quieted
everyone down and in complete silence made a speech thanking crew, family,
and fans.  He expressed his love for the fanbase "from the bottom of his
heart" several times.  It was corny but sincere and touching, and best of
all, we assumed it signified that there would be one more song to close the
set.  No such luck.  Once he was finished, the end-of-set craziness simply
returned, culminated in a final chord, bows, and exit.  I think I prefer the
tour-closing-thank-yous to be over a jam, rather than in silence, as I recall
they are over Weekapaug sometimes, tours and dates elude me. In any case, we
figured there had to be a big encore.
 
The encore was definitely nice.  Contact was a first for me, and Mike played
very nicely; the jam was even a little extended.  What would the final song
be? Misty Mountain Hop, long one of my favorite Zep tunes, replaced GTBT as
the Albany Zep fix, and did so admirably.  No doubt the band can rage on this
one, and rage they did capping off a grand night in grand fashion.
 
The verdict?  The music was top notch - polished, driven, and rockin'.
However the theme of the night seemed to be copouts - the first set ending
awkwardly, seemingly in the middle.  The double dose of copout, imo,
separating the YEM and the Gin.  Take out one of those two tunes and I think
you give the Gin alot more room to grow and get 2 epic jams in this set
rather than one.  And then when we felt we were gonna get one more tune, Trey
just ends set II as well.  Highlights were Vultures, Stash, YEM, the segue
into Caspian, and Gin.  This YEM is must-hear imo, I am interested to read it
more closely reviewed (Charlie?).  Fwiw, I think this and the December tour
both have no chance to really rise above average on the Phish tour scale,
since band and fans alike's #1 emotion is probably excitement for Big
Cypress.  No doubt Trey will mention it once or twice in December.  Thank you
Phish for a great Tour!

Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 18:08:38 -0500
From: George J Hoffman [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 10/10 Albany

Well, how to begin. Getting to Albany wasn't too difficult. I got off
the wrong exit but still got to the parking garage somehow. Getting in
was a little tougher. I got my customary pat down and was on my way to
find my seat. I was up in section 236, which really pissed me off
because I got my tickets through the newsletter. Anyway, the band came
on not too long after I got there. I'm not going to go song by song.
It has all been done. I'll just go through the highlights.

Farmhouse opened the show. I expected something a little more. Maybe
Chalkdust or something a little more exciting. It was a good version
though. No the best I've heard but not the worst either.

Jiboo was cool. I haven't heard that one live and it was good. I
enjoyed it. The lyrics were good. It was kinda different and that made
it good.

First Tube rocked. I heard people complaining about this song. What
the hell are they smoking? I know its a new tune but it still rocked.
It was played real tight too.

Dirt. I haven't heard this one so it was really nice to get a chance
that night.

Stash was good. I like the audience participation. Without it, the
song wouldn't have been as good. One of my favorites. It ended before
I knew it. It looked like it caught the rest of the band off guard
too.

The Ambient Jam was cool. I like everyone just started having the
glowstick war right away. In past shows that I have been to, they
waited till the end

You Enjoy Myself is one of my alltime favorite songs. The guitar riffs
up to "boy" got everyone grooving. And when "shit" came around,
everyone was bouncing. It was funny when Trey stepped off the
trampoline. Evryone cheered but he got back on a kept the beat. The
back scratcher move should get some bonus points. I'm upset that they
didn't do the vocal jam but that's ok.

Prince Caspian was awesome. Trey seemed solid on his solos. It gave me
a chance to sit down and relax after YEM. I like the blue lights on
the crowd. It was a cool effect.

Character Zer0 was one of the best songs played the entire night. The
lighting was so cool. It was nice of Trey to thank the crew, his
family, and of course, the phans.

Contact was good. The ending is the best part. Well played.

Misty Mountain Hop was so awesome. It was a good song to end the show
and tour with. Paige kicked ass the "baby, baby, baby, do you love
me?" vocals.

All in all, it was a good show. I thought that maybe they would jam
out a little bit more. I would have liked to hear Free again but it
was all good.

Steve

Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 12:56:09 -0400
From: Nate Hereford [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 10.10.99

so another tour is gone.  albany was a lot of fun and a nice break from
realtiy, the scene seemed sketch but chill, it was all what you made of
it. this was show 25 for me sort of a milestone,

farmhouse opener was cool, kinda unexpected at first, i wished they'd done
something a little more smoking, but they jammed this verison pretty good.

jiboo was up next, finally!! i heard trey do this and i was blown away,
but with the rest of the boys it just simply rips!

heavy things- another new one, i like the lyrics in it a lot, it definelty
sounds poppy, a little too much for my pleasure, but its phish pop music
so its cool.  good tune

1st tube -bang! hells yeah, the bass line in this song is so f-ing thick i
let it oozing on me, then trey comes ripping in with these tight riffs.
the whole song was tight as hell and intense.  no complaints about the new
tunes

dirt-  ah yes, it's been a long time since i've seen this one and it was a
treat

then vultures- this is one of those 97 songs that has faded, but when it
pops up it is truly a treat

stash- it was as sly as a pickpocket! the energy in this song was great,
trey had some problems with the begining, but fixed them in the jam, then
he ended it very abruptly and it even let mike perplexed.  they walked off
stage

round 2

jam- this thing ripped and had the crowd on their toes, then out of left
field y.e.m- damn striaght, this song was the evening in a nutshell.  
they smoked it, it was tight as fuck as one of my friends said.  the build
up to 'boy' had the knick in a frenzie,the jam smoked the whole way
through.  i was dissapointed when they didn't do a vocal jam, cuz i had a
feeling that they were really on and a vocal jam would have been very
nice.  instead they went into caspian - aw man, wtf.  dont get me wrong, i
like the song, i know it is one of trey's fav's, but i wasnt feeling that
groove tongiht and it kinda was a buzz kill.

trainsong- hypnotic as always, nice and mellow,  at this point i was
wondering where they were going with this set.

bathtub- there we go, back in the groove.  page ripped the ivory on this
one and even with a hurt leg he can still tickle!!!  gin was good, nothing
epic about hte jam, short but sweet, not too complex they never really let
the basic idea of the song

char. zero - should this set be called old-school/ billy breathes set? ive
seen this one too much live and i know this cuz i can sing the whole song
even the whole entire jam, so it was kinda a lame way to end this tour,
but its phish man, i cant have any complaints.  i was definelty feeling
the good vibes in albany

contact- aweosme, i cant even remeber the last time i heard this one, i
think the great went, but oh well.  this one was nice, gordon really
stepped up his game on with a ew ripping solos and then all of them went
into a killer jam in the middle of the song.

->misty mt. hop- great way to end the evening!!  turly smoking zepelin at
its best, page did a great job on the vocals, the whole place was hopping
and bopping and loving it all.  great encore

all in all, good times at these shows, tonights wasn't what i thoguht it
would be, but it still rocked, i love the new tunes and the band was tight
as hell.  they had it all there to make a killer show, but decided to just
plain old rip instead and to watch phish rip like that for a few hours
every few months, makes every single note they played (even if it was
caspian) worth it.  ps did anyone else here 'theo ther one' teased in
ghost the night before?
see ya in portland
nate

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 09:28:45 -0400
From: Tim O'Neil [email protected]
To: [email protected], Brian Reen [email protected]
Subject: Albany 10-10 review

I wanted to send a  review of the Albany 10-10 show from this past
Sunday.  The day started as we left Millis, Ma around 11:30 am for
Albany. We headed West on the Mass Pike in the light rain that
surrounded us.  Rolling along the pike we could notice the beautiful
foliage dotting the hills and the mountains of the Berkshires. We made
it into albany aroun 2:30 or so and checked into our hotel.  We hung out
and relaxed while watching a little Football on the tube, took a few
puffs and called the cab around 4:30.

The Cab driver drops us off right on the corner of Washington and Pearl
Street. Albany is a very cool looking city.  It reminded me of the
Brookline area of Boston.  The streets were filled with people looking
for a miracle, as this was the last show on the Phall Tour.  We saw
people with their hands raised about a 1/2 mile away from the Pepsi. I
guess they really wanted to get in.

We step out of the cab and head directly over to Pagliacci's resturaunt
and put our name in for a table for dinner.  While waiting ,my
girlfriend and I both have a few beers.  They finally sit us down and we
have  great dinner and a pitcher of beer.  7:15= time to go inside.

They search us pretty extesively trying to get in.  Once inside, I
noticed the building seeemed very gloomy, the energy was high but the
building itself didnt have much lighting.  We found our seats
Trey side about 30 yards up. Great seats IMO.  The people next to us on
both sides were cool and weren't shy about sharing the kindness. :)
Security was no where to be found inside, which was perfect!

The lights go down and the band comes on. I had a feeling we were going
to see a set list like we did, with reports of them going into the
studio, they wanted to get some of those songs down in front of a live
audience one last time. They sounded great. I thought Trey was going to
lift off the way he kept moving his foot up and down.... Jamming all the
way through the first set.

Set Break was long it seemed. Saw Larry Bird walk by. We laughed our
asses off and talked to our new friends.

Set Two starts up strangely but kicks it into gear with YEM. I think
that was the climax of the show. The unison trampoline moves were
righteous.  They didnt miss a beat.  I danced through the whole set and
as Trey was thanking the crew and family the dude next to me says "This
is Awesome." I had to agree. It felt as if everything was alright for
that one moment.

Encore was Contact and Misty Mtn Hop.  I was stoked to hear both of them
for the first time. The show wound down and we headed out and grabbed
the first cab we could.

Great times and we cant wait For Providence.... Look for some guests at
Providence or Maine i have a feeling....

tim
--
Timothy P. O'Neil
Account Executive
Nemonix, Inc.
(P) 800-435-8650
(P) 508-429-3660
(F) 508-429-3338
[email protected]

Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 14:11:21 -0400
From: hilary luderer [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Shows
 
There is little that disappoints me more than hearing phans criticize the
bands performance. We are so fortunate to experience this musical magic, why
don^�t you f-n whiners GET OVER IT!!!!
 
Anyway, I^�ll make this short and sweet. I hadn^�t seen shows since Oswego and
was psyched.  Even getting completly lost in the evil pretzel highway didn't
spoil my mood! The first set Sat. night blew me away, PYITE is one of my
favorite openers.  Free was incredible and Possum rocked!!!!!  I love the funk
2001!!  The Loving Cup set closer was awesome.
 
Sunday night started out slow and funky, easing us into the 2nd set. YEM and
that amazing Bathtub Gin, one of the best I^�ve seen, Page just let it rip
right from the start, my legs still hurt from dancing so hard!!!!!!  I brought
two first timers who were completely blown away by the experience.  They
can^�t wait to see more shows:)
 
Hilary

Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 18:12:17 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dan Konet [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 10/10/99 review

  I'll preface this review with the proper background
info: this show was 51 since 1995 for me with 4 other
shows this tour, and 16 overall so far for 1999.

  I've come to expect a lot from tour closing shows.
As I look back on tour closers of years past I am
reminded of all the runway festivals (summer
96,97,98), and fall tour closer greats such as Vegas
96, Pepsi 97, and of course all 3 shows in Worcester
last fall. This year's fall tour closer (10/10) in
Albany just doesn't come anywhere close to the quality
of tour closing shows in the past.

  Now. We all know that Phish likes to bust out in the
middle of nowhere and that they don't like playing
high pressure gigs, BUT a tour closing show (and only
one of four shows in the northeast period) deserves
much better song selection than what we got last
night.

  Farmhouse, dirt, vultures, jiboo, heavy things, and
1st tube are all GOOD songs. However, they make up a
very weak setlist for ANY show, especially one which
is the last of the tour. These tunes are alright, but
when they all appear in the same set, that set has NO
bustouts, NOTHING rare, and just makes for very, very
poor song selection. If it wasn't a tour closer, I
wouldn't gripe, but the only thing in set I that was
older than a 1997 song was stash. The playing was
tight imo, but song selection was horrible. Not just
plain bad, but a real letdown for the lst show of
tour.

  Notice how many awesome songs weren't played all
tour long... Songs like Ice, brother, rift, buried
alive, my friend, glide, foam and many others. Would
it have been too much to ask for Phish to appease the
veterans by tossing one cool old-school song into the
mix of repeated new crap??? Sorry to be so harsh, but
for a tour closer they really rawdogged us with song
selection lst set. (Not a rare one in there anywhere).

  The start of the second set was 35 of the best
minutes of Phish I've ever seen! The jamming was
original, didn't rely on boring, standard funk
grooves, and was very directional. However, it did
segue into caspian which had been played only 2 nights
prior! The rest of the set was good. Had lots of 
energy and Trey went very sick. My only complaint
(once again) is song selection.

  I know it's 1999 and the days of constant mind
blowing freakout shows are over. But does phish really
have to come out and push the new stuff and weak
repeats on the last day of tour??? Why can't they just
throw the east coast a bone and give us a dank song or two???

=====

Date: Wed, 13 Oct 1999 16:00:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jennifer A Driscoll [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Albany

        I saw a baby outside, Sunday, before the show, in a blue jacket,
and it was the most beautiful baby I've ever seen, looking for a ticket
with her parents. I hope they got in because what is Phish for besides to
teach music to people? We weren't born being able to hear music; some of
us may have learned earlier than others, for some of us, one day we were
listening to something and it clicked. I've been hearing around about how
Phish is changing for the worse, but how can you stand with so many people
around you, all grooving to YEM or Bathtub Gin or Contact(what's better?)
and not feel like maybe everyone who isn't there or hasn't ever been is
missing something great. If you don't like Phish and you want to pick them
apart until they can't hold up to your standards anymore, don't come. I
thought Albany was wonderful and beautiful and they kicked it for us.
        They get as much from us as we get from them. If you don't give
something out, how can you expect them to do it?
And big up to Chris Kuroda.
Jen 

Date: Sat, 16 Oct 1999 12:02:49 -0400
From: Joe [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 10-10-99

You know, getting your nugs stolen by a rent-a-cop really bites. Kinda
soured me for a bit, but Farmhouse helped. I live in Albany and I am a
bit disgusted by the heavy police presence they felt was neccesary. And
cops are bad enough, but rentals? That steal herb? That don't throw it
out, or report you to the cops, but put it in their pocket.....? Can't
phish just buy a few really big farms, maybe one or two on each coast
and three or four in the middle, and play their shows there? Without
hiring rentals? A few dozen acres at each site should do. I know it
sounds like a great deal to ask, but it would be so much cooler without
having to worry about jerks. Anyway, they played some new-to-me tunes in
the first set, okay but not spectacular...well, one of them was really
pretty good, but I don't remember which one. Second set was more fun for
me, and You Enjoy Myself was very cool. For the record, I like
Caspian....this was pretty good as I recall. Bathtub Gin was great as
well. Encore rocked with Misty Mountain Hop, though Contact was okay too
I guess. No hanging at all after the show, folks leaving because the
cops made the scene uncomfortable. 

Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 16:07:06 -0700 (PDT)
From: Matt Keene [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 10-10-99 review
 
I have to say first that the Knick was ragin' before the show on sunday! I was
thinkin man this show is gonna rip. But when the lights went down and
farmhouse started, man I feel this was kinda of a let-down for opening the
tour closer with. anyway enough of that. I really enjoyed the trey tunes Jiboo
was solid! heavy things and First Tube was SICK!! this should of opened the
show, and this got the place jumpin!! Dirt, Vultures were ok. Stash was really
nice but for some reason it was cut short.
 
Set II started with that ambient jam which I found a little strange, but I
liked it. YEM was smokin, one of the best YEM's I've ever heard, Mike was all
over it, he was feeling super frisky and I really liked it. get the show for
the YEM you won't be dissapointed. Prince crapstain...... I REALLY do not like
this song, a cheeze tune IMO. I was hoping for a Gin and hope to listen to it
again soon, but I was happy to hear it. The encore contact was my first in a
long while since the great spent, but I felt it was a nice way to close the
tour with, sending everyone on there way.  MMHop was my second one, saw the
first one in toronto, unlike toronto this was Rocked out(not that toronto
wasn't phat enough), the toronto version had a fast paced jam. ala/ down with
disease. But I was happy. just wished the show was a little better IMO. thanks
for the bandwitdth:)
 
matt
 
 
=====

Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 13:27:37 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: review of 10-10

After rocking all night Saturday night, we all wondered if Sunday would
continue the trend or they would calm down. Right from the start we knew
this one wasn't going to rock like last night. Farmhouse opener, it was a
clean version, and I really like this song now (although I remember very
clearly looking at my friend back when they first played it on Conan a few
years ago and saying- what the hell is this?!) but it wasn't a usual
rocker like they open most sets with.

Jiboo rocks, I hadn't heard this one yet (not even on tape) and I was
impressed. Heavy Things is pretty good, although I think it could have
been left on the Trey tour. First Tube just rocks, give Phish a few more
months with this one and it will be a classic, I tell ya. Even though
Phish had been playing very tight, I didn't feel like the set was coming
together at all, and Phish seemed to know it by throttling back and laying
down a very pretty Dirt. Vultures was all right, I have to admit to not
liking this song all that much, so I was a little turned off, but it
wasn't bad. Finally they decided to close out with Stash, and I got really
pumped up, amazingly enough I've never heard this one live before and I
was thrilled. It was very good building up very nicely until--- what what
what is this?! Suddenly, in the build-up they were off jamming a happy
major chord ambient jam. Now I like their jams, but in Stash?! I thought
it killed the build-up, and the climax suffered a lot, and then it just
sort of ended- Mike was still singing and Trey just closed it out. A very
confusing set closer, and I had to admit to my phriends I was a little
disappointed.

I expected Set II to re-track them, but again, they seemed ready to
ambient jam all night. Another set without much in the way of opener, and
then they finally got onto YEM. This was an excellent YEM, the tramps were
funny cause Trey missed once but kept right in rhythm (the crowd loved him
for it) and the jam settled in nicely, everyone was leaning forward to
check the vocal jam-- huh? No jam? The ambient style was coming back, and
this was excellent, especially since it ran into Prince Caspian, always a
treat. I really like this song, and it fit really well into the spacey
mood the band had been aiming for all night. But they didn't finish it,
and they went into Trainsong, Mike taking center stage (gotta love that!)
again. From Trainsong they took their sweet time deciding what to play
next, and they came back with Bathtub Gin. I was really excited because I
love the jam out of this song, but strangely, the usual Page heavy jam
turned quick as Fish layed down a double-time beat the whole way through.
This just confused me even more- since all night they'd been trying to
ambient jam, here was a song they usually pull a great jam- and they sped
it up!!! Ahh well, it was a good jam for what it was worth, although I
found there to be too much Trey, not enough Page. Then they went to
Character Zer0 and we all knew this was the end of the set. Nice version,
rocked pretty hard, I guess they gave up the ambient stuff for the night.
Nice speech by Trey about the crew, family, friends, and of course, us
phans. They really are one of the few bands out there who really respects
the phans, gotta love that.

Encore opened with Contact, bringing some boos from one of my phriends who
just doesn't like this song (why, I'll never figure out) but I love it,
and the jam was just rippin', Page was groovin' away (he was really good
on this tour, maybe he should hurt himself more often?? hehe- just kiddin'
=) and then into Misty Mountain Hop, for a second I thought they were
going to play Chalkdust (I think I was too worn out to even hear straight)
but this was great, I've never heard them play it before, it was
excellent, and it closed the show out just right.  Hard to say which night
was better, they were tight both nights, but I preferred the setlist of
night one to night two. Anyway, good shows, can't wait to see you all in
Florida! =)

-- Hot Toddy
            

Date: Wed, 13 Oct 1999 21:54:36 -0400
From: Adam Sandler [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review for 10-10-99
 
This was my 50th show and I have to say, I was disappointed. I went to both
Nassau and both Albany and had extremely high expectations as these four
shows were the tour closer and all in New York, far from the rest of the
tour, so theoretically, a lot of people had not been to shows on the fall
tour. My primary bitch is with the song selection:
 
Why they played 5 repeats from Nassau is beyond me(Dirt, Jiboo, Heavy
Things, Caspian, Possum (1st night)). There were plenty of songs I would
have loved to hear instead of repeats Wolfman's, Sneakin Sally, Good Times,
Bad Times, and of course... Peaches En Regalia. They played this a few times
on the tour, WHY oh WHY did they not play it in New York. Instead I get to
hear Dirt twice. Thanks guys. I do admit that the second set on 10-10 was
good, Always love YEM and this was a standard funked out jam which always
grooves me. The ambient jam before it was interesting as well.  Bathtub Gin
was phat, Page makes that song. The encore was also hoppin, Contact Misty
Mtn Hop can't go wrong. Since that night I'm on a Zeppelin kick.
 
I just want to know, what happened to:
Camel Walk, My Friend, My Friend, Cavern, Moma, Twist Around, Reba, While My
Guitar Genty Weeps, Maze, etc.
 
All of these live classics, and we hear Caspian and Dirt twice.
Enough of My bitchin!
Otherwise, the band seemed tight and to be having a good time. So if they
chose some better and more diverse songs to play for these past 4 shows,
they would have been much better.

Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 12:27:13 -0400
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Albany 2nd nite review
 
10/10/99 Pepsi Arena
 
     As I got to the scene on Sunday nite, my expectations were running pretty
high.  The previous night's show was a really good one but I was expecting
Phish to pull out all the stops for the tour closer.  Not only that, but I had
gotten floor seats thru mail order and was only going to be about 15 rows
back.  It was going to be the first time on the floor since 7/8/94, gamehenge
at great woods. I was hoping for a similiarly epic show.  I thought for sure
that Phish would play some tunes they hadn't played yet, a YEM was a given,
but I was hoping for a Moma Dance or my fav. tune, the Curtain. Well, the boys
came out and went right into Farmhouse. I like Farmhouse.  Its not really a
rocking tune but Phish usually keeps it pretty short and I think its got some
nice lyrics. After that, it was time for some of the Trey tunes to make an
appearance.  I had heard all of these on tape and like them all.  Gotta Jiboo
was up first, great song. Really easy to get down to.  Next up was Heavy
Things, beep beep beep beep, this tune was just beeping along.  Then came the
bomb, First Tube.  Reviews of this song that I had read were glowing and now I
know why.  What a driving tune. The place was rocking.  After 1st tube, the
band slowed it down with a Dirt.  Now there aren't many slow tunes that I
like, but I do like Dirt.  I really like Trey's guitar work during this song.
After Dirt, I heard the keyboard start of Vultures.  I like Vultures, I think
its a good tune but these weren't the songs I was expecting at the closer.  I
was really looking for some older stuff or at least some funk like the night
before.  After Vultures, Trey started up Stash. Awesome Stash.  Great long
jam.  I thought for sure that that would not be the closer since Phish had
only been on for an hour or so.  From where I was sitting, it looked like Trey
ended the tune but Mike kept singing.  Trey looked really miffed and while
they usually all bow together, he just bowed, took off his guitar and left the
stage.  The other guys followed him off.  I was kind of bummed.  It looked
like the other guys were ready to do a couple of more and Trey had a little
tantrum and then left.  It wasn't really what I was expecting, that's for
sure.  After a ridiculously long set break, it had to be close to an hour, the
lights went down and the guys came out.  Fish started doing a little drum beat
that Trey and Mike were working with.  I thought that it was something off the
Siket disc that I didn't know but when I saw someone else's setlist, they had
it written down as Jam.  Who knows, it went right into the tune I knew they'd
play, YEM.  This YEM was awesome.  I was psyched that they were playing it
early in the set.  I needed a lift after that first set.  The jam was
fantastic.  Super funky.  They toned it down and then the worst thing that
ever could have happened started.  I heard a note and turned to my friend Jim
and said "they're playing Caspian Jim, you promised me they wouldn't play it,
they just played it in Nassau", he was like "No, you're hearing things, they
won't play it" 10 seconds later, Trey hits the big opening chord to the song.
I was pissed.  I try not to be overly critical of Phish.  I read negative
reviews and am like "jeez, guy if you hate the show that much, don't go
anymore".  I love Phish more than any other band but Caspian just kills me.  
Its not that good of a tune and I have seen it 7 times in the last 2 years
alone. I know Trey loves it but damn, I wish they would just take that song
and Guyute and put them on the shelf for a while.  I decided that instead of
being pissed about it, I would just go outside and have a breath of fresh air.  
I left and made it back to my seat as Train Song was starting up.  I like this
song, its not really a tune to get down to but its nice to just relax. Up next
was Bathtub Gin.  Gin is one of my favorite tunes, the jam is almost always an
incredible experience. I think about all the great Gins over the years, from
the Murat to the Real Gin of Woosta, to the Ball, Went and Oswego Gins, just
all incredible jams.  This one was no exception.  A great flowing jam.  It was
fantastic.  This was the kind of stuff I was expecting at the closer.  After
that, they went into Character Zero. I could not believe that they were ending
the set.  I was so disappointed. Zero rocked but I had a hard time getting
excited about it, knowing that the guys had only the encore left.  At the end
of Zero, Trey talked about the crew and the fans and how much the band
appreciated us and them.  It was nice to see. As lucky as we are to have
Phish, they are equally lucky to have phans like us. Well, phans like us for
the most part.  I don't know what the hell happened in Iowa earlier in the
tour.  During the wait for the encore, a few glow sticks were thrown on the
stage.  One of them hit a drum which elicted a pretty strong boo from the
crowd.  Enough with the damn glow sticks, they look cool but keep them away
from the stage and Phish.  At least that's how I felt.  My friend Jim turned
to me and said that he thought we would get a a capella encore.  I told him
that I thought that Misty Mountain Hop would be a good choice since they
hadnt' played it in a while and Trey mentioned that a lot of family and
friends were present.  I mean, who doesn't like Zeppelin.  Well, the guys came
out and started up Contact.  I was psyched, nothing better than a little Junta
tune to close out the tour. I also found the waving arm thing to be quite
funny, it must have looked really cool to those in the upper balcony.  Once I
realized that Phish wasn't finished, I was screaming for Misty Mtn, and lo and
behold they went right into it.  It was awesome.  They had some minor flubs,
forgetting lyrics that type of thing but I didn't care it was rocking.  I
really thought that the encore saved the show for me.  Not exactly what I was
hoping for but still a great show overall. Now the wait begins for the
Hartford show, two months hence......

http://members.tripod.com/Cardullo/curtain.html


Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 10:17:04 PDT
From: Josh Cohen [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Albany Review 10/10
 
After the great show on Saturday night I wondered just what the heck the
band could do tonight. So I guess I wasn't too surprised that the first set
had all the new tunes and a completely different funky feel than on
Saturday.  Farmhouse seemed a little different than the ones I had heard in
the summer, maybe some different harmonies or something.  I had heard Jiboo
off the internet and was excited when they broke that out next.  What a
tune, I had the Jiboo for at least 3 hours after the show and can't wait to
get it back again soon.  First Tube very Santanaish, Dirt was nice to hear
again as was Vultures which I think is one of the band's most creative
tunes.  Unfortunately about halfway through it became sloppy.
As was true for most of the night, the Band (particularily Trey) seemed
sloppy at times, but not because they were tired, probably rather they were
extremely messed up and enjoying themselves. (Good for them!)
 
The stash was so sly and slippery and tight.  Didn't think that they would
end with it (nor did Mike it seemed) but what the hey, Trey wanted to save
something for the second set.
 
Loved the ambient jam into YEM. Such a nice little buildup to set the stage
for the intro to YEM which seemed to cut through the air.  The beginning
composed part was somewhat sloppy so I wasn't surprised when Trey bounced
off the tramp.  To be honest I was nervous for him to get on the damn thing
in the first place!!  Great climax and jam into Prince Caspian which seems
to calm Trey down a bit.  Wasn't the most amazing Caspian I've experienced
but I liked what Chris did with the lights when they lit the back up with
blue.
Probably the highlight of the set, if not the show, was Page's entrance into
Bathtub Gin.  It was unbelievable.  It cracked me up.  Trey and the boys
just sat back laughing and let Page 'get it out'.
While the jam was not the best, the emotion from the Chairman of the Board
was unforgettable.  Page sure did the Humpback on the keys.
The Character Zero again was sloppy but the emotion was there and it is just
such a great tune regardless.
 
The contact encore seemed a perfect choice after Trey's thank-you speech to
the Crew and Phans.  Just like the tires are the things that make contact
with the road and the car is the thing that takes you back to your abode,
the Phans form the musical car that lets Phish drive forward and without the
Crew's tires that car wouldn't be able to go anywhere.
 
The kick into Misty Mountain Hop rages so hard that I wasn't surprised that
they forgot all the words.  Who cares anyway, the emotion that spilled out
of them said all that was needed.
 
Thanks Albany for a great Jiboo!
 
 
-Josh

Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 14:20:09 -0400
From: TODD NATHAN [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 2nd night Albany


I'm fortunate enough to live right up the road from the Knick and walk to
the venue. That's a good thing in Albany because the knick's lot was $15
and bike cops were all over the vendors in there. There putting in a new
garage where the main Shakedown at Dead used to be and no good lot action
whatsoever. It was really hard to find food or beer and cops told people
they couldn't drum inside the parking lot. Long lines with hard search by
rent-a-cops with customary late start because of delays getting in.
With that said-- Phish has a real strong connection with the community
and has been playing here over 10 years. (starting at Pauly's 89, Aikos
90,Skidmore, Ithaca, Poukheepsie , with Santana at SPAC and run of shows
at SPAC)  1995 was an incredible year with the EPIC Possum close with
Heartbreaker jam at SPAC (6/26/95). You must listen to tape of that show-
HUGE wide open Down with Disease (best ever?). Back in Albany  12/9/95
COLD, Snowy show that had totally incredible YEM with "Shaft" line and
incredible "silent Jam". GTBT two years in arow as well. Always good to
area.
First night was great with funky second set. I have to admit that I like
the funk. Read review for 2nd night and someone else can't dig the Funk,
I feel sorry for you buddy. IMHO- 2001 wasn't long enough for Page. He
was really putting on the funk and as said yesterday, I think Trey was a
little overzealous playing over Page here. Chris and Page were right in
tume with the crowd.
Started the second night with nice Farmhouse, nice rendition, well played
but didn't quite start the night off right. Next few tunes to follow were
all pretty slow and unfortunately I didn't think they had the energy that
I expected.  Don't get me wrong, Gotta Jiibo was a treat and had a nice
funky jam, but nothing extraordinary for most of the first half until
Mike started going off hard with the rest to follow into I believe First
Tube. A nice Stash to close the set out with smiles that can't be bought.
After a really long set break (they were drinking Champagne backstage)
they took the stage slowly and didn't really start playing for a minute.
They were taking their time between songs the first set and Trey didn't
do his "we'll be right back" after Stash. Funky tight jamming that went
on for a few minutes, thought I heard Bowie tease and then YEM. Great
placement! The jamming went on and on and Page showed that he came to
play. Trey had little slip on Trampoline and got right back into tramp
jam. When Mike and Trey faced behind the stage, Chris had the stage
lights really low and totally drowned that section in a crazy blue light
that got the crowd into a frenzy. By the time they got into Prince
Caspian, the place was crazy. Mike really played his ass off on Caspian
that was never finished and went into a beautiful quiet Train Song. Short
version, ended quick and then....
PAGE just explodes on opening of Bathtub Gin like never before. (If you
weren't lucky enough to be there you should get the tape for Bathtub and
encore)
Character Zero was an awesome choice to close the tour with. Closing
chorus had the crowd going crazy. Trey ended a little abrubtly and
thanked the crew, family, friends and the crowd, told about the champagne
and how lucky we all are (so true) and how special our connection is.
Minute or two musical rap-up with a bang. I also was expecting something
rare. They had the acoustic mikes on the side of the stage and was hoping
maybe another Freebird like last year.
Contact was fun as always but interesting choice.
WOW!!!! Misty Mountain Hop was absolutely unreal!!!  Page was just
screaming and going off. The sound was perfect (as always) and Page's
Vocals were Echoing in the Arena. Never got to see Zeppelin, but closed
my eyes and it felt like the real thing.
Great way to close the tour and leave us wanting more. Hope to catch a
couple of shows in December and see you all in Florida!
Peace to all and have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Thank you Trey! Thank you Mike, Page, Fishman, Chris and all you guys
behind the scenes. After what happened in Iowa we all have to work
together to keep the scene real. Saratoga already hasn't let Phish play
there after they soldout the place a few times and let's not let that
happen to the Knick or any other venue. peace

Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 07:44:49 PDT
From: Brendan Smyth [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review of 10/10/99
 
Im putting in a review of this show to clarify a few things. This was my
56th (?) show since '92. I have seen all the Phish shows at the Knick and
tour regularly in the summer. I caught the Nassau shows, and they were
really, really good. Now onto the Sunday tour closer...
Having seen Trey at the Palace last May, I felt as though he had to unleash
a bunch of his solo tunes because he had not played any on Saturday. Since I
live in Albany, I have a lot of friends who also went to the Trey show and
did not see any of trey songs live yet. Jiboo, heavy things and 1st Tube
were slammin'! In first tube, I feel that Tony Markelis does a better job
than Gordon, simply because his bass bounced better. First Tube is a really
good song...it gets really loud and drilling. Great set to this point,
although I could of have gone for an Axilla opener, or something
ripping....but anyways, next was the second Dirt of the NY tour. Why? its a
great Trey tune, but why place it after a slammin 1st tube? Vultures is a
great tune, especially since trey added a second set of lyrics (since summer
'98), but it gets kinda repetitive....to this point I was expecting an old
time favorite, like a Guelah or a Timber Ho!..but I settled for a much
anticipated Stash (I knew they would play it), the jam was really odd, and
really nice, but it ended really quickly...and I thought they would bust a
Melt, but they bowed and left the stage...
The set break was pretty long, the hallwayws were jam packed of phans, and I
was puffin down like a maniac...
Second set:
The inital jam sparked a glowstick war, it was really nice. The jam set the
mood and at the same time got everyone excited for something...and out of
the blue cam a SMOKIN' YEM....this YEM was excellent, and it need not have a
vocal jam, the jam itself after YEM took me to another realm of musical
extasy...but then shit happened and they busted a Caspian, please excuse me
from saying this but I do not enjoy Caspian...I see it was too often and I
dont enjoy it anymore...it should be retired and brought back sometime in
the future. I would of have liked a phat Reba or a funky sneakin sally...but
they dished out Caspian, oh, well >>> it segued into a melodic Train song,
this was really sweet...and a relief after a heavy guitar"ed" Caspian. Then
Bathtub, I knew this would have to happen...Page ripped it up! He fucking
tore right into a smokin intro...this woke the whole arena up from a
relatively quiet Train Song. The jam was great, and I swore the jam was a
different song, sort of like th eBathtub in Camden 99...the jam kinda, but
kinda did not like sound like the average Gin Jam, but it was relatively
short, and a Zer0 followed. Man, I wish they would have played more...and
not have played just a Zero, how about something old school! Like a killer
Cavern closer or a Fire? The Zer0 did Rock out and then it was over, I was
expecting more to this point.
The Contact was a real treat, considering I havent seen this sing in over
two years....the jam on this song always smokes! great to hear...followed by
a killer Zep tune, you gotta just love Misty Mtn hop, the phrase "I really
dont know" kept ringing through my head for the reaminder of the night...and
man, did I party like its 1999....hometown Albany!!!! we partied down!!!!
five hits and an 8th to the wind, so to speak..good time, good time...see
yall in Philly!
 

Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 11:52:16 -0400
From: Michael Fedorchak [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 10.10.99
 
Another tour is finished, and I got to see a few shows.  Let me just
start by saying that this was my 30th show so I think I have to ablity
to be a little criticial.  I did the last four shows this tour and for
some reason the two Nassau shows blow away the Albany shows, they were
longer and I thought a better song selection.  Maybe I just excepted
more for the tour end shows.  I don't want anyone to think I didn't have
a good time.  I am glad I went, I just thought that Albany, being the
tour ending shows, would have been longer, and with a few rare numbers
like My Friend, Mound, It Ice's, or even some execellent numbers like
Runaway, Reba, Taste, Brother, or even when trey was thanking the crew,
phans, and phamily, I thought there could have been a Harpua.  The only
thing I am saying is that this tour was for the most part very
repetitive with the song selection.  The only reason I could think of is
because they are saving up for NYE.  Either way, I still enjoyed the
shows, maybe not as much as I thought because I was excepting to much,
but I am definitly going again, in fact 6 more times this year.  See
everyone next tour.
 
Mike "Pirate" Fedorchak

Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 12:57:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: the show

went to sundays show at pepsi arena,it was my 7th phish show for the
last show of the fall tour i think it was a little better than sat.
night,i rememberhering character zero which was goodand one of the
instrumentals which was 3rd or 4th song of sunday night which was really
good but dont know name,bathtub gin was good hearing,to end the night
with misty mountain hopwas really good hearing,trey was doing some real
goo guitar sat. and sunday, lot of good jams.ive seen phish first in
1997 till now.i dont know if make any dec. shows yet,it varies on if i
have enough money to travel,enjoy the dec. shows if you go,been to total
of 7 phish shows.  russ 

Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 09:17:50 -0400
From: Ken Witman [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: October 10th, 1999
 
Let me start off by saying that this show was packed full of a lot of
different stuff.  The first set kicked off with a real nice rendition of
Farmhouse.  Not the type of song that will get you up and moving, but
nevertheless a nice clean version.  After Farmhouse came Gotta Jiboo.  This
was the first time that I had heard this song live, so I was pretty psyched.
Real PHunky!!!  The boys got into a nice little groove and held onto it for
about 7-9 minutes.  After GJ came Heavy Things.  Nice Version.  Mike was
really groovin.  He kept on Groovin right into First Tube.  Let me tell you.
THIS SONG JAMS!!  Other than on tape, this was the first time I heard this
song live.  This song got everyone moving.  I kind of had a feeling they
were going to slow things down at this point and I was right.  A real nice
clean Dirt.  I love the ending to this song.  Trey puts so much feeling into
every note.  A real rockin version of Vultures followed by Stash.  They were
ON this song right up until the end when Mike was continuing to sing the
"MAYBE SO, MAYBE NOT"  and Trey just ended it real ubruptly.
    On to the 2nd set which opened up with a Phat Ambient Jam that got the
glowsticks out early.  This jam segued into YEM.  VERY PHAT.  Tight, rockin.
I never thought it would end.  They just kept jammin and jammin and no BASS
solo or vocal jam.  They went right into Prince Caspian and again never
finished the song.   A Nice Caspian.  Very smooth.  This led us right into
Train Song.  Very Short and to the point.  Great VOCALS.  Bathtub Gin:  Page
made me feel drunk listening to him play the piano.  Good Jam and very
clean.  This lead to the final song of the set which was Character 0.  Not
one of my favorites but real good jammin and Trey thanked the crew, parents,
friends and PHANS.
    The encore of Contact and Misty Mountain Hop.  Weird Combo butvery cool.
Contact is always fun to hear and the Misty Mountain Hop was great.  PAGE's
voice is phantastic.  It might has well have been Led Zeppelin.  Well thats
it.  See you all in December.
 
Ken Witman

Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 13:28:13 -0400
From: Matt Miktus [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Albany, Sunday night

Ok, here it goes. 

this was my one year anniversary for phish shows.  I began my journey
here in Albany in 98, to a punch opener and haven't looked back; since
then I hae accumulated 9 shows (7 + 2albany 99) and plan to go well in to
the double digits.

Saturday's show flat out rocked!!!  Sunday's got me dancing and was a 90%
first time live show for me which made this anniversary quite pleasing.

HOWEVER, I have some gripes that need to be express.  First and foremost,
my deepest sympathies got out to the poor soul who took that OE 40oz
bottle to the head Sunday afternoon.  I sincerely hope that the schmuck,
and I know who you are, got a good beating in jail.  And the fight in the
Market St parking deck the night before was bullshit too.  Ladies and
Gentlemen, it's one nation under a Phunky grove out there... there is no
reason for this sort of foolishness.

And to my dear phrends the band... i've been waiting my whole life for a 
Mound and or a My Friend... for the love of god man, ther's nothing wrong
with resurecting long since played songs such as these.  Why not give it
a try at Philly?

See you guys in the cold, cold winter.

Matt 

Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 08:56:12 PDT
From: Sara Morrison [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Sunday 10-10 review
 
The best words I can say to sum this show up was "HOLY SHIT!!"  It was a
tight rockin' show and I was really psyched to see the new stuff.  The
Albany shows were my first since 12/28/98 and I had forgotten how much I
missed the crowd and friendly people.
 
I won't go through the setlist, but the major highlights for me were the
Stash- Trey absolutely blew me away on this one.  I was a little let down
with him on Saturday night, nothing that he did really jumped out at me.
Must be he was just getting ready for the second night which he more than
made up for.  And then there was Page on Bathtub Gin.  I was so psyched to
hear this tune, I called it early on that night.  One of the new songs
sounds like Gin at the beginning.
 
The crowd was much crazier Sunday night, and it seemed like there were a lot
more people.  We had a hard time getting in since we got there at 8; they
were letting people in by sides in the very first "gate" so we had to stand
and wait while the left side got to go in first.  I walked in during
Farmhouse and assumed that we missed the opener until we found out that that
was the opener.  The sets, music, and whole atmosphere was ten times better
the second night.  Next time I won't wait that long until my next show!
 
Sara  ;-)

Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 07:06:31 -0400
From: Jonathan Herland [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Sunday night Albany Review
 
Short Highlight Review
 
This was my 5th show in Albany (6 if you count Trey solo last Spring). I
remember how cold it was here in December 1997-- Brrr!  My friend Jason
had predicted the keyword tonight would be "Chalupa"! It was not to be
:) Arrived at the arena just in time, knowing there wouldn't be much of
a lot scene after the Albany Police busted the "Grilled Cheese Mafia" at
last year's show. (Something about propane tanks and enclosed parking
garages...) First off, I want to thank the clever security guard with
the megaphone for directing us up the stairs. I think none of us would
have figured out where to go, without his help. The security on the
floor sections where I was, were very disrespectful about permitting
fans to dance in the aisles. Special mentions to the short security guy
with no neck between sections 1 and 2, and the white-shirted security
guy who struck the fear of death in many fans. These shinning examples
of devoted aisle-dancing bustin' security guards are definitely in line
for promotion to megaphone duty in the near future.
 
I won't go through the setlist song by song; instead I'll just point out
the highlights of the show for me. Farmhouse was a great opener for the
first set. Strong jamming and groovin' set the tone for the show. From
there, I was a little disappointed by the choice of songs for the rest
of the first set.  I wasn't great fan of some of the tunes, (eg.
Vultures) and I wasn't really blown away by any them.  It wasn't until
the second set that I really got into this show.
 
The second set started off on the right foot.  I totally wasn't
expecting YEM, and I liked a lot of the jamming. I should confess my low
tolerance for funk, and given my feeling that the previous night's 2001
had gone on too long, and too funky, especially at the beginning, I was
glad to see a funk-reduced set tonight.(My funkophobia comes from
overexposure to mediocre funk bands playing "Brick House" too often in
local bars during my undergrad years ). Solid trampolines (8/10
Technical merit, 9/10 Artistic); Look for the growing use of
"Backscratcher" moves towards the end of the tramp sequence.
 
Caspian is a great tour closing song. I wished they had saved it for the
last encore song.  I think they decided to conclude it by playing Train
Song, rather than finish.  At the end of the second set, Trey thanked
the crew, calling them the "Best crew in the business", he also thanked
family and friends who were in the audience because Albany is "Close to
home" and many were present. Finally, Trey looked around the audience
and expressed the band's gratitude for their phans. He explained that
during the set break, the band had opened a bottle of Champagne
backstage to celebrate the end of the tour. (Which led me to wonder if
they'll be selling any at the concession stands at Big Cypress? Many of
us will want to toast the Millenium with The Bubbly, and we won't be
allowed to bring in bottles.) Trey had gushing words of praise for all
us who come out to see the band. Okay, now don't jump on me for feeling
like we deserved something, but at this point, after all that praise I
thought he was going to surprise us with something unbelievably
extra-special, such as a rare cover-tune, that would totally blow us all
away. Instead he launched into this really intense minute-long jam
complete with brilliant light show, and then ended the set. Many in the
audience were expecting another song. Encore-- I'm not a big fan of
Contact, but Zeppelin definitely made up for it. The high notes ("Baby,
Baby, Baby..") were very well done. A great end to the fall tour. Page
was still using crutches (Sprained ankle from baseball last week). Get
well soon.
 
- Jonathan

Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 09:21:13 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: (no subject)
 
This show was okay and all but not for a tour closer. Come on guys, what is
this still the Trey tour????  Anyway the show was solid and tight but a real
piss-poor choice of songs!!

Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 09:25:18 -0400
From: paul zipprich [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: A Few Comments
 
Very nice show, and a little on the mellow side I might say.  YEM had
trampolines. Upon completing the first bouncing rotation, Trey
accidentally bounced on the floor.  He got back up and finished the
bouncing!   Later......Z-man

Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 15:09:04 -0700
From: BILL  BARBARA WIGGINTON [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: review 10/10

......all i have to say is last night was my 12th show and up until last
night i had never ever seen a You Enjoy Myself.............it became
routine to me  for them to just not play it if i was in attedance at a
show.  well last night my ass was completely kicked in the second set
when they started playing it......and the trampolines, although not
necessary, made me one extra happy bitch.

and i still haven't digested that Stash yet........right on!!

kris  [email protected]   

Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 17:48:06 -0400
From: Joseph [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Albany Review

 
This was my 45th show. No milestone, no nothing. I was looking forward to
Albany, but when it was all said and done, Phish blew it!!!
 
What happened to Lizards? What happened to Sloth? What happened to Mound?
What about Burried Alive? These 2 shows were terrible for a tour ending
deal. Nothing new, just Trey's played out solo material. YEM kicked ass,
but that was about it. Solid Contact and a great Mountain Hop to finish
out.
 
Im glad Im not going to any shows until Florida, because I think I would be
disappointed.  I hope the boys can get their shit together.
 
Phan from Albany


Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 14:23:12 -0400 (EDT)
From: Oliver G. Euga [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 10 10 99

I don't think that the tour closer has to be an all out rocker although
we all remember the power from when they called the dude in '97. I think
for the last show of the tour they play what they feel like playing, hard
or soft, no guarantees of anythng.  The rockers are in the home streach
not the finale. I thought there were some good personal moments like
farmhouse, DWD, Trainsong and Contact.  I was also very psyched to get
Heavy Things and Jibbo on the dig.

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