Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 14:56:21 -0600 From: uwsp uwsp@uwsp.edu Subject: 11/22/97 Hampton Coliseum Back round - Let me start off by saying that my friend Jer and I traveled from Wisconsin just for these two shows, so needless to say we were pumped up for the second night. Saturday was beautiful, 72 degrees or so. The day was spent on a beach playing frisbee and listening to the drumming of some fellow tribes people. After the beach we proceeded to Chi - Chi's for some grub. The Lot - The lot at Hampton shed a new light on the pure and raw tribalism of our community. It felt like no one even had to talk to each other this day. All communication took was a smile, a kick of a hackey, or a beat on a drum. The energy level this night was way higher than the previous. I didn't see anyone get hassled and vending was in full swing. I can't get over that french bread pizza. Kudos to the dude in the large floppy hat, you make some killer grub. I also did not see any nitrous tanks which was nice. The lot got my juices flowing. 1st Set - Let me start by saying that of the 22 Phish shows that I have seen this ranks second behind the last night at the Went. If Phish begins a vault release thing this would have to be in the top five picks. Before the band came on it was obvious that the crowd was hungry for a killer show. A full coliseum wave went on for about 5 minutes and this was followed by massive crowd swells of cheering right up to the moment Phish came on. The whole weekend Jer and I had been proclaiming that they hadn't played Mike's Song since Vegas, we knew they were going to do it this night, but as an opener! Holy spine tingler man. When I heard the opening notes I freaked along with the rest of the crowd. We were center in the first row of seats and I swear the whole floor was jumping off the ground in unison. Mike's was well played. Gordon forgot the second verse for a little bit, but he got ahold of it after waiting a few measures. I was very pleased to here Hydrogen come out of this. The last Mike's I heard skipped hydrogen and it just wasn't the same. Tonights was a little short, but it warmed my heart to feel its' soft glow. The balloons floating over the floor reminded me of the wonderful molecular world. Weekapaugh was awesome. It was so fun and the crowd was jamming so hard I thought it was New Years. They stopped for about 25 seconds in the middle of the song just before Mike and Trey belt out " Sharing in the Groove" back and forth only to rip right back into it. This was interesting and kind of fun. Well Mike's opener, what could they possibly play next? After a long conference on stage Fishman sounded the start of Harry, and my smile grew even bigger. The intro had some very creepy horror show type organ work from Page. Thank you Mr. Minor was particularly evil with the full strobe. The final jam grew to an amazing peak with Trey swaying to and fro looking right down at the first row. This was followed by a perfect Trainsong. This rendition was flawless. Billy Breathes started out a little rough with some strange bass notes. Trey's solo ripped at the end. Billy gave me some time to catch my breath. Frankenstien got the crowd moving again. Isabella truly raged. Trey pulled out all the shit on this one, including some nice feed back. After the set I felt satisfied enough to go home and I wondered if they could top it. Set II - Halley's Comet was fun as hell. It always brings a smile to my face. The jam after it was the icing on the cake. Trey started what I refer to as a Texture jam by sounding one chord on the four beat over and over about 10 times. It sounded like the bell of the Reaper to me. What followed was a dark jam with lots of overdrive on Trey's guitar. It seemed to layer over and over itself. Get the tape, it is too hard to explain, but I thought it was one of the coolest moments of the show. Tweezer rocked. I don't remember anything special about it, but I was glad to here it. Black Eyed Katy was sooooo good! This song is definitely the funk bomb of the Phish world. It gave me an awesome rush. Let me interject by saying the this set had no low point at all and it never stopped. It made me feel like I had just one a Million bucks. Piper was received very well by the crowd. I wish I knew what they were saying. This song is my favorite of the new ones. A total feel good song. As I looked around during this one the whole crowd was moving at a ludicrous speed. ( except for the kid wearing the visor in front of me. This was the first time I have ever seen anyone act like they were too cool to dance, very strange). The build up in Piper is excellent, and when the boys dropped back into the slow outro my friend looked at me in utter amazement and stated simply, " Jesus". I couldn't agree more. The music tonight coupled with a healthy portion of fungus was taking me to a higher consciousness. The energy that the band and crowd were brewing together was making me glow, this may have been the best I have felt in a very long time. I could not believe it when I heard the opening notes of antelope. I thought Piper was going to end the first set for sure. Antelope almost tore the coliseum apart. The releases sent waves of ecstasy through me. The moment before the encore was surreal. The encore itself was pretty good. Bouncin' was short and that made me happy. Every time I see Trey bounce up and down to the start of the Reprise I can't help but laugh. I think the show is more fun when the band is enjoying it, and they were tonight. Comedown - This show is an A+ and I hope it goes down in history. I would like to hear other comments on it to. I'm not sure if it was just a great night for me personally or if it was really that good. Anyway peace to you the brothers and sisters of our magic tribe, lets keep it real and good... there is nothing we can't do. Rick rfreu864@uwsp.edu -------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 23 Nov 1997 05:26:11 GMT From: YodaDoeSubject: 11/22 Hampton w/Mini-review Well, last night was better. The setlist from tonight looks pretty awesome, but it wasn't as good as the setlist looks. 11/22/97 Hampton Coliseum; Hampton, VA Set I Mike's Song > I am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Harry Hood, Trainsong, Billy Breathes, Frankenstein, Isabella Set II Halley's Comet > jam, Tweezer > ???, Piper, Antelope E: Bouncin', Tweezer Rep. Set I: Well, I've never heard of them opening up a show with a Mike's Groove, but here ya go. I've never seen an intact Mike's Groove before--my first H2, so I enjoyed that. They did a little spacey stuff for a minute before H2 which made the segue kinda weird. Anyway, the Mike's was pretty good, and very mellow. Not the best one I've ever heard, but still most enjoyable. Same with Weekapaug,--a nice song, but nothing outstanding. After the initial Weekapaug jam, they brought it down to a nice rolling jam that eventually stopped for about 5 seconds. Then they ripped back into the ending of Weekapaug. Pretty neat opener. Harry was fun, but not anything too awesome either. (This whole show was full of potential, but the delivery wasn't anything more than good.) Nice spacey intro for Harry. The initial quiet part of the jam wasn't very great. Things didn't get going until second gear of the song, which turned out to be a very nice jam. Double shot of Billy Breathes, here. Trainsong was standard. Billy Breathes had several wrong notes at the beginning, but they brought the intensity up to a nice ending. A great job by Chris on this one. Frankenstein was standard. Isabella! Wow, I love this song. But Star Lake's was better, IMHO. They went into the jam at a high pace, so they didn't really have anywhere to go with it. Set II Halley's Comet. What a nice opener! I figured they were gonna go into a long jam after this, which they did. This is all from memory, so bear with me... they started it off with a rolling jam that was kinda spacey. This continued for a while before they built it up and then brought it back down again. Another build into a very deliberate, slow rocking jam that eventually faded away. All-in-all, a fun jam, but nothing amazing. Tweezer--Oh, wow, maybe here's our chance for a kick-ass jam session. Well, yet again, we have an average performance. No significant pre-Ebeneezer jamming. When the real jam started, it took a couple of minutes to get a good groove. Nothing really that noteworthy. (mind you, I had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed all of this show. But not very much blew me away like some of the stuff last night). They took a few key changes and went into an instrumental that I don't know. Perhaps this was Black Eyed Katy, but I couldn't tell you. Piper has improved since I saw it this summer. This was very pretty. Hampton Coliseum makes a lot of songs sound better than I've ever heard them. After the initial singing, they continued with the song, and brought the tempo up a couple of notches and sung the words again. BTW, does anyone know the words to Piper? Please email me! They ended this with a quick drop into the calm, slow outro. Antelope--the crowd was stoked for this one. Lotsa screaming. But I don't really have much to say about this one. Pretty standard, nothing special. Instead of Marco Esquandolas, Trey pointed to Mike and said "Micheal Esquandolas." E: We were all trying to guess what song they were gonna play before the Tweezereprise. Bouncin'?? Hmmm.... This being only my second Bouncin' in 19 shows, I didn't really mind hearing this. I'm sure a bunch of people are gonna hail this show as PHATTY, or whatever else, but I would beg to differ. I really enjoyed the show, don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those people who stand at a show bitching if they don't play something epic. I was screaming during the end of Antelope with everyone else. However, none of these jam songs, and there were at least 5 or 6, really did anything that special. Even the improv. jam after Halley's wasn't anything to call home about. Isabella was a treat, but didn't do anything extraordinary. When I jot down setlists at the show, I put !!! marks after songs that were really awesome. I had !!! marks after Emotional Rescue, SOAMelt, Chalkdust,AC/DC Bag, Slave, and Loving Cup. I had zero !!! marks for this show. Alas.... I had a great time and all I can do is bitch. But for anyone who is getting tapes, the show is not a must have. Fun show, but not one of the ones to seek out ASAP. Anyway, I'm off to W-S. I won't have a computer handy there, so hope someone else posts a review for you of that one! Goodnight everyone! Yoda jhdavis@sc.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Nov 1997 14:58:22 -0500 From: Brian Fitzsimmons Subject: Hampton 11/22 review (long) set list: I: Mike's>Hydrogen>Weekapaug, Harry Hood, Trainsong, Billy Breathes, Frankenstein,Isabella II: Halley's Comet, Tweezer>Black Eyed Katy>Piper, Antelope E: Bouncin, Tweezer Reprise Okay, here goes an attempt to review this show. It is my first, so be gentle.... I'm not going to banter about getting there, the scene outside etc., I really had no time to notice yesterday! First let me preface by saying that I missed last night's show so I really cannot compare both nights, however, I can say, based on my experinces, that the band was right on! Actually, TREY was right on! He was in a prticularly good mood and it was clearly his night to take control. Page was a bit quieter than usual but Trey more than made up for it. The crowd- was clearly pumped and, to my knowledge, full of hardcore phans. I know that sounds funny but when I was at the Spectrum last year, I got the feeling there were a lot of new or first time phans or newbies. Well, not the case here. This was one of the smallest venues on the east coast, and more importantly, it was Hampton. The crowd was pumped and appeared to clearly feed the band's enthusiasm for the makings of a kickin' show. Mike's-Well what can one say to a Mike's first set opener other than whoah! This is a good omen! I looked to my friend as I heard the opening chords and said "pinch me!" It was a good solid version, leading in to a long funky jam but without the crescendo that builds up to Trey's little guitar thing in the middle of the song, you know what part I mean, right? So it had a different feel once you realized that "oh, I guess they're not going to do that." Anyway, I would argue it approached the 12/31/95 Mike's, or at least had the makings of it. Cool blues-like trippy wawa pedal action jamming by Trey. I would rate it about an 8. It chilled down a bit to lead in to ... Hydrogen (approx 00:17)- A pleasant suprise. They dragged it out much to the audience's delight. It was kind of like, hey let's sit back and enjoy this jam... Weekapaug (approx. 00:22)- Apparently Mike has been doing some hardcore bass chops at the beginning of this one and Chris took the liberty of spotlighting Mike for this part. This was one was fat, with some serious jamming by Trey. They jammed it down into some funky grooves I thought maybe, just maybe, I was going to see seriously fat 'Paug, but they abruptly stopped, took about a 1 minute pause and you thought it was over in unfinished form. But no, they picked it up and belted out the last part with Trey on fire. All I can say is whoah! I thought it was damn good, about an 8 on the 12/31/95 scale of Weekapaugs. Total time for this piece: a fat 35 minutes. At this point Trey began talking to Mike, Fish then Page. I believe they decided to scrap whatever they planned to do next since the energy of the crowd was so palpable. It was like, let's kick some ass! The crowd was clapping their hands together rapidly, like come on, hurry up, let's bring it on! Finally they went into... Harry Hood (00:37)- Double jam! The crowd was ecstatic and quite loud, mind you. Basically standard jamming in the first half, but man did Trey pick it up in the jam part in the second half! He was on fire, and taking this jam to a furoiusly high level, it was reaching the point to where my senses were overloading (it was loud in the lower level). It was a good solid version, not too meandering or self-indulgent, maybe a 6.5. Trainsong (00:55) -Cool. A nice treat. I won't rate it, but it was nice, better than the version I saw in Philly on 12/29/96. Billy Breathes (00:57) -Again, something I won't rate. A good version though, with a strong jam toward the end. Frankenstein (1:04) This was a pleasant surprise with some serious energy. Again, they were right on, with tight furious aplomb and someice effects coming from Trey and Page. Yes, Phish has become deft players of this song. There's not much room to play with in this song, but I would rate it as the best version of this song that I have seen or heard on tape, including 10/31/96 and 12/28/96. If you beg to differ, please do so. Maybe it had something to do with being there. You thought it was over but wait, there's more! It went into... Isabella - I have to admit, I haven't heard this one before, andd I am not an expert on Hendrix. What I can tell you is that I haven't seen Trey have this much fun in a long time. He was like a man possessed, contorting his body in all different ways and wailing on that wawa pedal like a big dog. Trey laid some serious licks down. I couldn't really understand the lyrics. It didn't matter, though, because I was trying to follow Trey and that was enough. Overall first set is a 7 and that, in my opinion, is quite conservative but I have a slight fear of being ripped up so I am going to err on the safe side. The set break was the longest 15 minutes I've endured. Set II I read Mike Perrott's setlist saying something about people yelling for Destiny Unbound. What I do know is that Trey said "That just sounds like a horrible cannabilistic chant for people that want blood, I don't understand what you're saying." Trey grumbles something that sounds like a moster then says " "Is that the human sacrifice part of the show?" Halley's Comet/Hell Is Comin' -Cool, way cool. I haven't heard this one since Hershey 12/1/95 and I might add it was a great version. Full of energy. Big, fat jam in the middle, cool, finlky jazzy and not at all directionless leading to a very mellow finish. Pretty cool. In my limited world of Halley's Comet it rates an 9. I have heard few that jam like this one, it clocked in at about 24 minutes. I welcome anyone to point out a 24 min. Halley's. Tweezer - Nice. I give it an 8. Full of energy with some nice added touches of Chris Kuroda's lighting, although he was a little off sometimes, but not by much. Loooong jam here which was nice, funky with some funky chops and it built up and then back down a bit to segue into Black Eyed Katy- They "segued" into this. Actually, Trey signalled Fishman and they abruptly went into it. It was hard to tell because the beat wasn't much different than what they were doing. However, I suspected this was it because it was too orchestrated to be just a jam. It was cool, not anything like CTB or intense like Buried Alive, but more along the lines of the direction the band seems to be taking. More integrated and jazzy without one instrument/musician(?) taking more precendence over the other. Piper- My first live Piper. I'll grow into it, Although I don't like it as much as some of their other newer songs. If that's what keeps them going, so be it. Antelope- Fat, juicy smokin'! A blistering version. So many Antelopes jam, though, so its hard to compare. All I can say is Trey went to town on this one and kept taking it to a higher level. Overall, I would rate it a 7. Okay, I'm being very specific. Perhaps someone else could compare it a little better as I am not an Antelope connisuer and I've spent way too much time typing this review.. E: Bouncin' no comment Tweezer Respise- energetic, not much else to say. I was hoping for better given the encore up to this point. Set II/Encore rating about a 7 on the Charles Dirksen show scale. Again, this is personal. Your results may vary Its hard to say what I think of this show overall. At a glance, the songlists are short. However, there is some serious jamming going. My friend and I were saying how the band seems to be experimenting and really trying to stretch themselves musically. They certainly were not at a loss for energy or chutzpah. We both agree it was one of the best shows we've ever heard or been to. (Okay I've seen 8 shows-not much-but I have listened to about 40-50 on tape) I got a patch to this show (thanks Wes Taft!) and have been listening to the show. Somehow the tape (its not the mics!) doesn't transfer the energy like some other shows I have listened to but it was there, believe me. No grovels, please. I will post a mini-offer soon. I would have liked to hear more songs but given the band's excellent musicianship I can't complain. Perhaps they've been listening to Herbie Hancock's Headhunters album, because that's definitely where I hear major influences. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the tour progresses. Can't wait for Philly and USAir! comments, criticisms, flames, etc. welcome.... Brian ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 22:15:10 -0500
From: Shaun Smith
Subject: 11-22-97 11-22-97 Hampton Collesium SetI: Mikes>I am Hydrogen>Weekapaug, Harry Hood, Trainsong, Billy Breathes, Frankenstein, Isabella SetII: Halley's Comet>Tweezer>Black-Eyed Katy>Piper>Antelope E: Bouncin', Tweezer Reprise Ok, this is my first review, so bear with me. I had thought about writing about the night before, but it is KIND of hazy, plus this show was awesome. First of all, it needs to be mentioned that Hampton is an incredibly cool place. I never saw a cop until one very politely suggested that we leave after the show because the lights were going to be turned off. Great place, great people, great fun. Then the show. I got into the show early and snagged a seat just behind the rail in front of Page. I knew immedialtely that this show would be good when the crowd started getting so rowdy. For about five minutes, a full fledged wave circled the stands. They came out at about 7:50. I had been hoping for a Divided Sky opener, since it is such a great tune and they hadn'y played it yet on tour. Instead...Mikes! What an opener, and a sweet one at that. It wasn't anything super-spectacular, but it was GOOD, energetic, and got the already super rowdy crowd dancing the asses off. I am so happy that they actually slid into Hydrogen. It is such a tranquil, majectic piece of music and they have been replacing it so much lately. It was short, but solid. Then...WEEKAPAUG! energy, Energy, ENERGY! Great Groove. They stopped after a terrific build right before a "Sharin, in the Groove", and then built it up again. Great Weekapaug, great opening to a great show. The big question in my mind at this point and no doubt the rest of the crowds, minds was "What the hell can follow that?" Well, the answer was Harry Hood. DEfinately a solid a well played Hood, with some really cool lights during "Mr. Minor." It made me happy. Thyey followed Hood with Trainsong, which, lke most Trainsongs, sounded like Trainsong. Billy Breathes started a little funny, but Trey plugged the solo, turning out an above average version of this song. Next...a rip roaring, intense, rocking Frankenstien which I thought would end the set, but instead Trey sueged into an insane Isabella. I saw this over the summer at Star Lake, and it was really cool then, but this was crazy. If there were any Phish-skeptics(like my roomate) in the crowd that night, they would have to aknowledge that Trey can rip the hell out of anything, even Hendrix at his best. Good set with some great highlights(Weekapaug, Isabella). Of course, Phish would have to top it in the second set, or they wouldn't be Phish. Of course, they did. When they came back out, probably around 100 people in front of the stage started chanting the first line to Destinty Unbound. Trey looked perplexed and stopped to listen, saying something about a "cannibalistic death chant." I have seen people say that he started talking about human sacrifices, but I was right there, about ten feet from him and while it sounds cool, I am pretty sure he responded to the chant after figuring it out, saying something about sacrificing part of the show. Needless to say, they did not play Destiny Unbound, nor is it likely that they will anytime soon(they probably don,t remember how to play it.) Eventually Trey gave Mike the signal and a smile broke on my face as the bass voice started going, "Bom Choo, Bom Bom Ba Choo Choo" and Halleys Comet opened the set. Really wierd version of this song, but also really cool. Instead of the normal type jam, Trey moved it into a very layered, spooky, dark that was really cool. This jam gradually moved into Tweezer. Now, I am not a huge Tweezer fan and was really dissapointed when they played it after such a great show so far. I feel that the song really restricts them a lot of times, and gets monotonous, BUT I will admit that I really liked this one. Maybe I was just in a good mood after Halley's, but I did like it. So, for you Tweezer fans out there, this might mean something to you. Not too long, energetic with some really nifty grooves which moved into ...Black Eyed Katy. I had seen people comparing this to CTB. I am sorry, but this is way better than CTB, and way funkier. You can really groove to this one. Thius eventually sueged into PIPER! This is easily my favorite of their new songs and it was wonderful. The lights were going crazy during the section with the really fast lyrics. That and some kind nugs made me really really really happy. GREAT SONG! At this point I thought that the set was over, but again they surprised me with a hopping Antelope with some really spacy dark sequences before the build. Trey spazed on the build and then brought it back down and acknowledged "MIke-O esquandolas" before closing the set. Wow, insane show. However, they just had to pull out Bouncin' for the encore.(I was still hoping for a Divided) This song is cool and all, but come on, it never goes anywhere, its boring, and overplayed. I was really tempted to get pissed off at this point, but the rest of the show was SO GOOD, that I couldn't, so I just grooved through it until(we all knew it was coming).. Tweezer Reprise. I usually don,t like Tweezer, but I always like the Reprise, and this one definately measured up. It was short, but powerful, fully layered, and FUN! I don't know if everyone at the show agreed with me(maybe I was just in a really good mood(nugs)), but this show was insane, and if you have two blanks, save then for this show. I was present at the hysteria at Darien Lake this summer, and at the Went, and this show topped both. The fact that Hampton has the best acoustics on the east coast doesn't hurt. This was easily the best of the 14 shows that I have seen a deserves a spot with some of the greats. It was not as imaginative as 2-20-93 or the Bomb Factory Tweezer fest, but was just as well played, if not better. Phish kicked some ass at Hampton on Saturday. Shaun Smith (smitsk00@wfu.edu) ----------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 23 Nov 1997 15:02:01 -0600 From: s449631@GETTYSBURG.EDU Subject: The Hamptons (long) Yo people 11/22 Mike's opener. How can you lose? This Mike's was the shit- they played through the verse a few extra times in between the lyrics. The jam was good, it ventured Type II for about 2 minutes- a lot of heavy energy noise, followed by Mike's again. Somehow without finishing Mike's they wound up in Hydrogen (YAY!!!), which was looong and contained much effects and noise. Weekapaug raged- it went off into what I consider Crosseyed jam- Mike was playing the beat and I think Fish was on it, but Trey wasn't really near C&P. Close. More jamming- I could've sworn Mike was playing whatever the hell they played in the Gin at the Went, but Trey sure didn't. They wound it down, unended, and wrapped it up well. Trey counted 1-2-3-4. Then they played more Weekapaug. Unbelievable. Good ending. They took an unusually long amount of time after Week, I think Fish had a kit problem or something. Hood. Excellent version, very long. My personal best. I've heard nothing like this one, although I'm sure they exist- Trey was on the extended trilling reminiscent of Stash and Jim at Starlake and 10/22/96 Weekapaug, to name a few. Very, very moving. Out of the ending was Trainsong, BB (with flubs), Frank>Izabella. Good wrap- up- especially Izabella. 2nd set was strong too Before they started a bunch was chanting Destiny Unbound, and Trey said something to the effect of "What are you saying? Is that some kind of weird chant?", and then "Are you chanting for human sacrifice? arrg- arrg -arrg, Bring them to me!!, and then made stabbing motions with his guitar. Hilarious. Halleys then, loong and funky- no added lines like at the Went, but a very strong jam nonetheless. Tweezer next, not a great version- very short before Trey yelled for Black-Eyed Katy. Was it always this long and kick-ass? Check this tune out, definitely. Next, Piper- not really a segue I don't think. This is a wonderful tune- Trey sang through the entire chorus once, jammed, sang it again, jammed, and ended it. Antelope next- good version- not as good as Darien this summer for me, but long and fast anyway. It had good solos and energy mixed in with the usual chaos- it was in fact very much in structure like 11/2/96. It was "Michael Esquandolas" tonight. Encore, Bouncin & Reprise- Trey was really having a good time in the Reprise- he couldn't stop laughing. All in all, a great show. Mike's Groove, although odd and explored to open was very strong. Hood and Antelope were very strong versions. Piper and BEK were powerful, and Halley's was good. The Tweezer was nothing, really. Just a filler, IMO. This song is on its last legs, people. Overall an excellent show- full of surprises and good jamming. It beats much of last fall tour and everything I saw this summer (Tinley -> Darien). Could've had a better end to first set, but that is NOT a complaint. Excellent show. ---------------- Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 00:44:11 GMT From: Yance DavisSubject: Hampton Review Now, SATURDAY night was a different story altogether. I knew it'd be good just because I saw the frustration in Trey especially during Guyute the night before when he flubbed up a section of it a bit, and knew they'd just come out on Fire on Saturday. How can you be More on Fire than to start with Mike's Song, I ask you? There's probably an answer to that, but who cares, great great start! Mike's was well jammed. We were side stage right under the speakers, going deaf probably, but fully drowned in sound and the vibration of music and life. It was the antithesis of the night before and Phish could do no wrong. Mike's ANd Weekapaug were long, powerful and jammy, constant and melifluous, broken by a soft, slightly deviated version of Hydrogen that had the crowd swaying back and forth both physically and mentally. What can you follow Mike's Groove up with up feasibly without killing the mood of the crowd (and this crowd was 110% INTO the show more than any crowd I've seen. The only time I've seen a crowd that loud and and psyched was last year the first time Phish played the Star Spangled Banner. Harry was so damn strong even the confused Lynn was fully into it, and I'd be willing to say that I've never been as much into Harry as I was that night. Trainsong and Billy Breathes were good resting points, though we were on the much-treaded steps and couldn't really sit down. Frankenstein had everybody back on their feet and even the one security guy I could see up front was grooving which always makes me feel better. It's like, whenever I see the concert staff looking depressed and sullen about the music it brings me down a bit. Whatever. Isabella caught me off guard since I hadn't heard it yet, but it was a good way to end a great first set. Hampton's a good venue (beer on sale would be nice) but the lines weren't too long during the set break and being able to go out onto the balcony over looking the pond or whatever body of water outside Hampton is nice. The weather was inCREDible. It rained the whole way up and most of the way back, but while we were there I was wishing we had gone to a campground rather than a hotel, but being close enough to walk to Denny's was nice on several occasions. Set two began with a great attempt at Destiny Unbound from the middle front section of the audience. Throughout the setbreak they practiced it a good eight or nine times. The first time I didn't catch it and asked this kid who seemed like he was trying to listen if it was Destiny and while he nodded yeah, Drunken Gorilla Boy, as I'll call him, who was sitting in between us on the steps had to input "Who da fuck cares?" Anyway, they screamed it as the band came out and even above all the noise, Trey heard them but rather than play it (and I didn't expect it to work after this long anyway) Trey chided them saying something like "Well, I don't know what you're saying...it just sounds like some cannabalistic chant 'ARrarAraarAARRARrara'. Is that what time it is in the show, the sacrifice of an audience member? Well, ok bring him up here." (This was all paraphrased by the way. I don't have this on tape.) The audience was still collectively laughing at this while they started Halley's Comet. Halley's was long and funky and kept everyone moving the whole time. I knew it'd be hard to keep up with that fiery first set, but so far so good. And what next but Tweezer! Long ago, you could count on often seeing Mike's and Tweezer in the same show, but these days the pairing of these two mamoth Phish classics in one show is impressive indeed. Now sometimes Tweezer can bore me. It's like, I love to listen to Tweezer and yet some times it goes nowhere slowly. This was not one of those times. it was quick and quirky and kept the writhing crowd moving and grooving along with it. Midway through it they began this funky jam all at once that was not just a regular improv jam but something composed, with a think funky foundation laid down by Mike. As they went into it Trey spoke three words to Page and something to Mike and Fishman (in the zeroman mumu), and I think this may be Black-eyed Katy, though none of the people writing down setlists around me could answer for sure. If it is, it lives up to Every expectation built up by anyone who's reviewed it so far. This jam rocked hard, and just got better and better to the end. Piper is a fun fun tune and builds up slowly yet surely. The vocal play is fast and fun, and I look forward to hearing it on tape. I won't say any more about Antelope other than it was the best live version of it that I have ever heard. The power at the end was nearly too much for mortal ears and I recommend it highly, even though I don't like doing that generally until I have the tape. Bouncing never does much for me anymore though around 1992 it was my 'favorite' Phish tune. I tend to look down on it now from time to time, but when I looked at Lynn and saw her bouncing and singing along and fully into it, I had no complaints. Tweeprise was, as always, a powerful end to a great evening. This show was a pleaser for all from the most-seasoned Phish veteran to the utter newbie, and the crowd was ppractically glowing with delight as we all made our way out into the not-too-cold evening. --------------------- Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 21:58:56 GMT From: PZerbo Subject: Yet Another Hampton Review (Both nights, long) Some phat food, brews, great people, drive to hotel, a bit of giddy partying, and sleep. Saturday was BEAUTIFUL! 75 degrees and sunny, we ate, played some frisbee, and were inspired to head to Virginia Beach for some serious sun action on the beach (for us Northern folk who just left snow and ice, this was a real treat). Some excellent chow and brews, and back to the venue. Thanks to the massive numbers of ticketless (far worse than Friday), we arrived at the Mercury Blvd exit at 5pm just in time for an hour wait, to NOT get into the parking lot (long since filled). Parked illegally by some public housing project near the venue, and eventually made it in before the show. This was not the case for several people I talked to at halftime Saturday, who missed most of the first set trying to park. Just think: if the ticketless keep this up, we will be faced with added security at all venues, checking tickets of everyone on the car on the way in, adding time to get in and cost to our tickets. Boy, won't that be cool. I'm not as young as I used to be, so decided to park in the Fishman-side seats this night instead of the floor. Great position, maybe 10 rows from the stage and 15 rows back from the floor. -Totally- chill crowd, much more relaxed and into the music. We endulged in a variety of KB and other "funny stuff" and settled in for... ... Mike's! I've never met a Mike's I could really complain about, and this one was stellar, totaly great vibe. Very pretty (if short) Hydrogen interlude, followed by a somewhat sloppy, if not powerful Weekapaugh. The Weekapaugh ending was interesting, when they stopped, I thought to myself that they may actually not finish, but then came back strong after about 20 - 25 seconds. Then Harry! Another song which affects me differently depending on it's posiiton in the set (I don't like it as a set closer, typically). We've all heard so many Harry's, sometimes it takes a spectacular one to get the vibe going, but this one had it, carrying on the strength of the Mike's Groove. Most touching was the jam up to "you can feel good!"; and for a minute I thought they may revert to the "big crescendo, abrupt ending", but they wound it down with visual assistance from Trey. OK, I admit it, I -like- Trainsong, so there. And the emotional/physical rest was needed by some, the opening 4 songs were so damn intense. Billy Breathes, on the other hand, was just plain bad. I don't dislike the song, but this one just laid there, nothing happening. I have never really liked Frankenstein, but this one really got me going in spite of myself. Big time rocker, the place really had an immense groove, which continued through Isabella. I had heard this first in Dublin (out of Sly & The Family Stone's "Stand") and liked it then, but the song was better suited for the "arena rock finale" position it was given. BTW, what Hendrix album is this on? Exhausted and pretty much out of our minds, Kmo and I were joined by AM and James for a chilled setbreak, complete with all necessary imputs. The Destiny chant was very impressive. Again, a set list correction: it should go: Halley's Comet -> Twenty minute serious mindf*ck meltdown jam -> Tweezer. The jam out of Halley's was long, well-constructed, meaningful, fulfilling, DA BOMB. Really good. Tweezer and the jam out of it (not too far removed from the pre-tweezer jam, what I see they are calling "Black Eyed Katy") were high energy intense jams. I had only heard Piper live on the Europe summer tour, and like Isabella, this one had a totally different energy, appropriate for the venue and pumped-up crowd. Antelope: "oh my god" was what I thought, and was not disappointed, having been treated to a version of pure joy. Excellent "Mike-o Esquandolas"! "Bouncin'" is usually my bathroom break, but I hung out for the inevitable Reprise, which was typically short but well played. All in all, thw crowd was excellent, the venue was excellent, the company was triple-excellent. A few minor bumps along the way, but nothing to spoil an otherwise killer time. Remember kids, "if you don't have a ticket, please do not come to the venue!" On to Hartford, Turkey-day, Worcester, two-week break, and Albany. I can't wait :) -Phillip ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Nov 1997 23:02:44 GMT From: Jeremy Ferguson Subject: Hamptons Review--Part 2 (LONG) Well, I posted my first night's review on Tuesday, and I promised this would follow shortly, well, I lied (depending on your definition of the word shortly of course.) Let me preface this by saying that I've since aquired tapes of this show (grovels will be battered and fried), so I've had a chance to relive the majesty that was to me the perfect Phish show. The crowd at this show was Fired Up, I couldn't believe that a full-fledged wave occurred, and went around 5 or 6 times taboot. We went in fairly early and scored a spot about 6 rows back basically in the middle, maybe a little off to Mike's side. Luckily, we weren't behind every tall football player in the house like we were the night before. Mike's Song: Earlier in the week, I jokingly called Mike's to open up night 2, but I didn't even believe myself. Mike's Groove is half the reason I see phish shows, and this one was no slouch. Mike took his time with the lyrical section, taking more time than usual to start the second verse, as Trey looked at him with a quizical look. The jam started out in the same way as the Raleigh Mike's did, kind of evil funk jamming, no one really taking a lead. Never got to the tramps segment, but instead just jammed and jammed until it kind of fizzled into I Am Hydrogen: The beginning was jammed out a little, with Trey using that effect that kind of sounds like a flute. This was pulled off rather nicely and went smoothly into Weekapaug Groove: This Weekapaug was ferocious, with Trey taking over from the start until it started to slow into a funk groove and eventually stopped. At this point, everyone kind of looked around and said WOW without saying a word, and before we knew it, we were into a Weekaprise with a little machine gun trey and the ending vocals. After this, there was a long pause, a lot of discussion, obviously they were having a problem figuring how to follow this. Well, they were successful when they started : Harry Hood: The intro jam was nicely fxed out, with a really cool evil rock anthem (you'll know it when you hear it) from Trey. Hood chant in full effect (which I *love*). The Jam segment opened up softly and built to a great peak with lots of trilling and a nice sustain from Trey. Everyone was feelin pretty good about hood. Trey then pointed to himself and started noodling out Train Song: One of my favorite slow phish songs, and I always love to hear Mike sing. Gave us a well deserved break. Billy Breathes: Another necessary slow tune, with Trey putting in one of the best solos I've ever heard in this song. This is my all-time favorite Phishy-Ballad. Frankenstein: Good RAWK song to dance to, figured it was the set closer, but no... Isabella: Any Hendrix tune is good with me, Fish was egging Trey on a lot with quite a few YAAAHHHH YAHHHH's. Trey went totally mad with his wahwah. My first time hearing this song live, and I wasn't disappointed. Set I was Very Good, bordering on Great. I liked the Mike's Groove better than the Raleigh one this summer (which is saying a lot .. I LOVED that Groove). Hood was very good, too. For a first set, it's impossible to ask for more than we got tonight. Set II: During the setbreak, we heard the Destiny rehearsing, but I was a bit skeptical that it would work. The chant was really loud, but Trey's impression of it was basically right on (rahrahhhhrahrwahharathahrahglkajet.) Trey looked to actually consider it for a minute with a shocked, but delighted, look on his face, then he shook his head and gave that schpeal about the cannibalistic blood chant that I'm sure you have read about. Mike obviously wasn't impressed because before everyone stopped laughing he started with his deep joop bahbah bah jingle and we were into Halley's Comet: My first time hearing this song live, and after hearing the Went Halley's on tape I had big expectations. Started out very funky, very danceable, and proceeded to slow down to some Trey noodling, which included a breif Hydrogen tease. They found another nice groove and brought it back up again to some Floydish jamming. Faded out after about 25 minutes and Trey started into Tweezer: My first Tweezer as well, so needless to say, I was psyched. This was pure Type III funkiness, much like the Went Tweezer, but only half as long. This segued nicely into Black-Eyed Katy: This is a wonderful funk jam that builds to a great peak in the middle and comes back to the main theme. Basically the culmination of the crazy Phunk from this summer. Piper: The beginning of this song was our only "break" in the second set. I like how this song has been reworked, and this one was well played. Antelope: Your standard, no BS balls out peaking Antelope. Just some more Guitar God Trey Rawking out. Nice Antelope. Encores: Bouncin: Was disappointed with the selection, but as bad a rap as this song gets, it's got some great lyrics, especially for my particular state of mind this evening ;) After the initial disappointment, I lit a cigarette and pretended I'd never heard the song before and was happy. Tweezerprise: Great way to end a show, some more RAWK from Trey, who basically controlled this show (the whole weekend actually) As mentioned above, this was basically the perfect Phish show to me (encore aside ;). Not a bum selection in the entire show, no throwaways in set 2, and a Mike's Groove/Hood opener taboot!! If anyone made it this far, I'll spin my (D>A Neumann mics) copy of this show for the first few people to respond *WHO WERE THERE* and have an interesting story to tell me about thier experience this evening. Please no "Can I get the tapes, D000D??" responses.. Jeremy Nothin left to do .... :-)=);^D ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 19:31:18 GMT From: Jeremy David Goodwin Subject: *Phish Destroys Hampton* Pt. 2 *Phish Destroys Hampton* Pt. 2 The next day, to everybody's surprise, was absolutely beautiful. Warm and sunny, and a stroll though the hotels' parking lot revealed many a basking phan. What a scene. Where else can you bump into Benjy maniacally debating whether or not it was an Emotional rescue->Jam in the parking lot of Waffle House? Darryl's was hapilly a mere stroll across the street. Of course, the city planners of Hampton apparently never considered the possibility that anyone might ever want to walk anywhere; with no crosswalks and few sidewalks, crossing the street was a continual ordeal. The smiling faces of many an rmper greeted us through the windows of the restaraunt's sunroom, and it was clear that the Gathering was going well. Allison provided party favors and nametags (where was Hal? ;-), and many folks, old and new, stopped by for lunch and predictions. There was definately a positive buzz on the previous evening's performance. They had pleased us without using up any traditional jam vehicles, except the new Ghost. Many hoped that the "classics" would follow in Night Two. I must wholeheartedly thank Dan Nooter for a generous donation from his incredibly delicious salad. However, I still challenge you to give me more examples of Page "dominating" anything! ;-) I was also treated to a rare sighting of The Drew Formerly Known As Penis, who graciously dropped by with his girlfriend Babs. Good luck, you two! ;-) Unfortunately, the Bizzaro-Waffle-House Mafia never showed up, but oh well, it was their loss. I hope the trip to News City (or whatever) was worth it. After informing certain interested parties of the existance of a nearby Taco Bell, it was time to start getting ready for the show. I had the pleasure of hearing a few first hand accounts of the best two night stand in Phishtory, Amsterdam. These shows became something of a motif over the weekend, and received some playing time in the room. All in all, it was a wonderful afternoon of basking in the glory of a two-night stand. 11/22/97 I 7:57-9:12pm Mikes (17 mins)-> IAH, Weekapaug (15 mins), Hood>Trainsong, Billy Breathes, Frankenstein>Isabella We got the best seats in the house Saturday night, imo. We headed straight for the Page Zone, and happily enough, the netters in attendance had saved basically an entire section of seats. We were in the first section off the floor, directly across from Page. The show took place in our lap. There might have been one or two extra (and perhaps slower) run-throughs of the opening riff of Mike's before the band jumped in. There was definately a little extra space between verses, because Mike missed his vocal cue. After the opening section, the jam surprisingly took on a relatively old school feel, with Page playing the Ominous Organs. It definately was not an immediate funk assault like Raleigh's Mike's, this summer. The jam probably had one particularly evocative section, and it was quite intense to get that kind of jamming so early in the show (again), but didn't seem to be that standout on the whole. As has been typical in many recent jams, the band *implies* the Three Chords, but Trey never actually plays it (see Raleigh for an excellent example). Similar things would happen in two standout jams later in the week. Dan Epstein claims that Trey played the closing tramps chords, but I did not note this at the time. There was a very nice, pretty introduction before the start of Hydrogen proper (but after FIshman and Mike started playing it). The Hydrogen was flubbed in very similar ways to the Summer versions. I hope Trey starts to nail this soon. All told, it was longer than the standard 89-96 versions. Classically smooth > into Weekapaug, which featured a very standard 97 Mike solo. The jam was fiery, and kept getting faster and faster (similar to the Bag). Trey would push the envelope, and then slide back in again in time (similar to a 95 Possum, for instance). Eventually, in a manner similar to the Bag jam, it all melded into a very different sounding, improv jam. Fishman kept the same breakneck pace, but the musical colors were quite different. After a blazing conclusion, the band stopped on a dime. The enthusiastic Hampton crowd hooted its approval for a good 20 or more seconds before the band simultaneously jumped right back in to a traditional Weekapaug jam! A few short minutes of this before the closing lyrics. What a glorious Weekapaug! The better half of the Hampton Mike's Groove, I'd say. By the way, although there was a Mike's Song opener this summer in Amsterdam, don't forget that this was the first *Mike's Groove* opener since '90. There was a full minute of ovation as the band laughed among themselves. Trey paticularly looked exuberant with a mixture of "WTF, we're so cool" and exasperation on his face. He jokingly propped himself up on Page's keyboard, as if to say "I'm exhausted, what can we do now?". So great to see that the band was as into it as the roaring fans. Hood seemed to be pretty strong (and long, at 18 mins) before segueing out of the closing cacophany into Trainsong. Many folks thoroughly enjoyed the Billy Breathes, but I was concentrating on other matters at the moment. I believe the tapes will confirm that it was an early standout version. Frankenstein was very well executed and standard, and as the set appeared to draw to a close, Trey gave the "keep going" signal (one finger in the air, twirling, like an umpire signalng a home run), and my perceptive friend heard him hint at the Isabella riff. A nice, taunting segue into the tune. When I realized that indeed I had gotten my prime song wish for the week, I literally jumped up and down for a long time. Isabella was tight (except for the singing) and maybe a little bit more jammed than Austin. So powerful though, and I was literally hopping with joy. By setbreak, the crowd was completely fired up from what had transpired so far, and was ready for the capper on the weekend. The energy was HIGH. So high in fact, that a lot of folks were comparing it to New Year�s Eve! Noah said to me, unprompted, �This energy is different from New Year�s. New Year�s has more energy�. Of course I pointed out to him that the fact he was even comparing some random fall tour show to New Year�s was remarkable enough as it is! �Yeah, but that�s manufactured energy. It�s autmomatic. This energy is...grassroots�, I pointed out. Indeed. A survey of the room throughout both shows revealed a surging mass of bopping bodies that easily outdid Hartford and even Worcester in terms of sheer enthusiasm and energy. We had all seen a great show last night, had a wonderful day, and knew the band had as well. We watched as the front row tried the Destiny chant a few times. To make it easier, they tried clapping at the end of the line, and starting again. I clapped along. A guy near us yelled, "That's piss poor if you ask me! You need to get everybody together and do it all at once". We watched the cheer go off, and it was loud enough to attract Trey. He walked over to Page and chatted. By now, the rest of the crowd caught some kind of wind of the proceedings, and start cheering generally. So I couldn't hear the chant. But as Trey kept walking towards the crowd, and then back to talk to Page, it was clear that the chant was going strong. How delightful and funny! "This is the human sacrifice part of the show!". :-) I don't buy this stuff about Mike starting Haley's before Trey had a chance to start Destiny. Not only is that silly and ridiculous, it's just not what happened. Everyone was lined up and ready to go when Haley's started. Do you know that Phish played the greatest version of Haley's Comet this week? Has anyone mentioned this to you? The Haley's was UNREAL. After a wonderful pass at the upbeat Haley's jam, everyone deliberately settled down into a different kind of jamming I hadn't really heard from Phish before. This is how I wrote about it in my notebook, after the show: "Haley's shifted after awhile to specifically different, new style (ie Fall 97, apparently) jamming...probably what people have been referring to as Space Jam out west". I love this style. It's beautiful and strange and eerie. Not as strange as the Trolls on Mescaline jamming (although Trey plays in this style, the rest of the band is atmospheric and sometimes lush, rather than Circusy and alienish). Wonderful, wonderful (extremely long!) Haley's Comet. Better than the two other jammed Haley's I know of, Bingham#$@ton and Went. In fact, it makes those brilliant versions look like prelude. This jam solidified my impression that Phish just wants to get onstage and start jamming *immediately*. Whatever the song may be, it will drift into the irrepressible urge of the band to explore exicting improvisational waters. Think of the opening song of each set as a small tributary, which drifts inevitably into the powerful currents and awe-inspiring rushes of the mighty river. The jam ends, and the opening Tweezer riff clues us in that this band plans to Destroy Hampton. Tweezer started out funkier than the summer versions. Also, Trey played the Cities-esque lick that received extended treatment in the Went version. Although the Summer "funk" gets monotonous at times, this funk was even thicker. The jam became inspiring and uplifting, culminating in a very glorious jam. Before exploring this jam enough (imo), Trey walked over to Fishman, and there was a drop on a dime segue into a different jam which I didn't realize. I was confused...was this a very rare old tune receving a funkified revival? Then it appeared to be Cities. Eventually we assumed that it was Black Eyed Katy (I can't get real audio in my room), once the stop time stuff happened. Then a roaring jam which I thought was a segue back into Tweezer. No Tweezer theme, mind you, but a jam that could have occured in any rocking Tweezer. Herschel emphatically insisted that it was a normal BEK, and my exposure to the tune at Worcester revealed that the tune indeed sounds very much like Tweezer. I assume the Hampton version included the little end section after the jam, and was not the historic Tweezer->BEK->Tweezer I thought it was at first. Piper emerged after this jam, and is apparently reworked from the Summer versions. Since I haven't listened to any of those in months, I can't say myself. Antelope was a fitting set closer. I've listened to way too many mediocre Antelopes, so I was reserved and skeptical. However, the jam was indeed pleasing. There were several "gear shifts", growing in maniacal fury. It may have been slightly longer than average. Unfortunately, the shift to the Run Run Run part was *horribly* botched, which probably neutered the climax for many people. This is one of the ugliest flubs Phish perpetrates, I think. About twenty seconds into the Bouncing encore, I started screaming "No! No! No!". This was in response to the clapping. I can handle my Bouncing as well as the next guy...I was strictly responding to the clapping, which just adds insult to injury. Tweezer Reprise. After the show, I was completely satiated. I felt like I had just seen the New Year�s Run, and wasn�t going to see the band in another six months. If that had been true, I would have been satisfied. I had no trouble getting out of the lot, because the crimson Red Roof Inn sign was a useful beacon. I just followed the sign. Then, upon reaching the street, I targetted the Shell sign, which guided me to the ubiquitous Waffle House sign, behind which my hotel lay. I ended up on a time consuming, but very pleasing, adventure to Denny�s. Thanks go out to Heidi for sponsoring my Ultimate Omelette. After a visit to the Hampton Inn, I woke up the Olde Men in Red Roof room 210, who apparently don�t know how to party after a Phish show ;-) More debauchery, then the town of Hampton slept comfortably, snuggled in warm beds (and floors), the opening notes of Mike�s Song dancing in their heads. Sunday morning was bright and warm again, and I finally made it to the elite Red Roof Juarez for a last round of Hampton Fever. Some delicious Lemurian hummous was the *perfect* breakfast treat, and I caught up with some friends I had seen only sporadically over the weekend. A certain 30th birthday present was put to good use as well. Then a pleasant drive back to Washington, listening to Trey serenade �all the vampire children�. Hampton, baby. Hamton. -- ---Jeremy "I'm going in for debauche" -- AR -****************************************************************************- "Black, black, black is the color...of my rhombus. And people throwing three, three hooked instruments of, with rope. Three hooked instruments into the air. Onto the, this edge of the rhombus." --Trey Anastasio _****************************************************************************_ "I can do wheelin', I can do dealin', but I don't do no damn squeelin'." --James Brown