Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 15:19:37 -0500 (EST)
From: Wesley Hix
Subject: 11.23.97 Semi-Mini-Review
Date: 11.23.97
Venue: Lawrence Joel Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC
Setlist as follows:
11/23/97 Lawrence Joel Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC
I: My Soul, Theme From The Bottom, Black Eyed Katy, Sparkle,
Twist Around, Stash > NICU, Fluffhead, Character Zero
II: Bathtub Gin > Jam, Down w/ Disease* > Low Rider** >
Down w/ Disease***, Axis: Bold as LoveE: Julius* w/ Isabella tease
** w/ Trey & Fishman singing
*** Don't Stop Till You Get Enough tease, Michael Jackson cover
* Just to give you an idea on my Phish history, this was my third show. I
attended Halloween 10.31.96 and the Walnut Creek show over the summer. I
have over 250 hours of Phish on tape.
THE SCENE:
Cold. I had worn only a t-shirt and a pair of 'roys, so I was freezing my
butt off. The lot scene was pretty much non-existant when we arrived at
about 5:30. Everyone was in line for good seats because the show was G.A.
THE VENUE:
I enjoyed Memorial Coliseum a lot more than I expected. I've heard a lot
of bad things about this particular venue, concerning both
unreasonable security and acoustics. Both turned out to be false. Security
was normal (whatever that means) and the sound of the venue was decent.
Speaking of decent, so were our seats. My first floor show!!!
PRESHOW:
Hehe. Someone had blown up a huge ballon that had "Destiny Unbound: We
gotta hear it!" written on it, or something to that effect. Also, saw
several light sabers, a "Peaches" sign, the wave, and an awesome Reba
bootleg shirt that had Reba written in the style of the Sega logo. Still
waiting for a South Park Phish shirt, though.
SHOW:
Band came out at about 7:50, I believe. Trey was wearing a shirt with that
French skunk from Looney Toons. First person to e-mail me the skunks name
gets a show off my list for blanks and postage.
My Soul: Heard this at Walnut Creek over the summer. Great opener. Got
eveyone dancing. I really loved the lights during this particular song.
Nice type I noodling by Trey, too.
Theme: I was waiting for this because Page played the first couple of
notes of it before My Soul. Standard opener, nice jam at the end. I really
need to hear this one on tape before I make any judgement. (grovel grovel)
Black Eyed Katy, otherwise known as I Don't Know the Name of this Song,
but It's Funky as Hell.: Wow! I love this one. The funk was just flying
all over the place. I believe the basic structure for this one goes A-B
jammed section-> A. Call me out if I'm wrong. But the jam section of this
one was crazy. Long, tight, and near-perfect.
Sparkle : Standard. Pleased my girlfriend and her cousin (his first show.)
Twist Around : I don't know about this one. I was kind of funky, but not
really. People who went know what I'm talking about. No real opinion for
me on this one at all.
Stash : Second Stash for me, and by far the best. The jam section was so
sick. It's a must have on tape. At one point in the jam, the band
converged to the whole "one note" thing, similar to the Mike's from Walnut
Creek. From that one chord, one note thingy came NICU teases, and then a
full-blown...
NUCU: Nice, standard version. Worked up the crowd.
Fluffhead : Woo, dog! What's this? A Fluffhead? Wasn't expecting this at
all, nor was anyone else around me. Definite highlight of the first set
for me. Several flubs by Trey, but, hey, what do I care? It's Fluffhead!
One thing that struck me about this particular Fluff was the ending. I
don't recall them ever jaming as hard and as much as they did this night
on any show previously. Any Fluffhead guru's out there that can point out
some jammed out Fluffhead endings?
Character 0: Nice closer, hard Type I jamming at the end as usual. No
December 96 or anything, though.
set II
Bathtub Gin. Awww, yeah. This is what I came to hear. I was wishing so
hard for a Gin and I got one. I'll let Benjy tackle this one once the
tapes start going around, but I'll just say that was *excellent*. Well
over 20 minutes (don't quote me, just guessing), depending on when you
stop calling it Bathtub and start calling it Jam. I think the whole thing
was just one sick 'tub, though.
>DWD: The song that follows me to whatever show I go to. Nice jam with
Isabella teases. After a while they went into a kind of wacky version of
Low rider. Trey kind of looked at Fishman and smiled, and Fishman started
singing the vocals. First time through, Page played the horn part, from
what I can tell, intentially messed-up. Second time through though, it was
pretty tight. After a while the Low-Rider jam kind of floated away and we
were left with some more funk to deal with. Somehow, out of this mess came
the final DWD guitar solo again. Then the band started speeding it up,
similar to Sparkle. Wow!!!
Bold as Love: Nice. My First.
E: Julius : I'm not a big Julius fan, but this one really did rock my
world. Type I jam everywhere, no messing around (not that this is a bad
thing or anything). This one, just like everything else this night, was
tight.
Highlights: Fluffhead, Stash, Gin>DWD>Oh my God this is why I love Phish
jam>Low Rider>DWD.
Great show overall!
----------------------------------------
| wesley hix | whix@hubcap.clemson.edu |
| http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~whix/ |
|======clemson university compsci======|
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 19:37:30 -0800
From: Humphrey Childers foodog@worldnet.att.net
Subject: 11-23-97 -- Lawrence Joel Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC
Before I start my review of 11-23-97 -- Lawrence Joel Veteran's Memorial
Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC I'd like to give some background history on
myself:
- 14 years old
- 1st Phish Show
- 4 Bootlegs and all the Phish CD's except Junta, Picture of Nectar, and
the Free Single
We arived at the parking lot around 3:00. When we got there about 16
people were on their congo's making some cool music, I enjoyed it. There
was also this guy selling "Sexy Grilled Cheese" for a dollar, his little
phrase was "A Lot of Cheese and a Little Bit of Sleeze", it was classic :)
I was kinda disapointed that there weren't any ( well there were some)
t-shirts for sale in the parking lot. Now with the show...
11/23/97 Lawrence Joel Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC
I: My Soul, Theme From The Bottom, Black Eyed Katy, Sparkle,
Twist Around, Stash > NICU, Fluffhead, Character Zero
II: Bathtub Gin > Jam, Down w/ Disease* > Low Rider** >
Down w/ Disease***, Axis: Bold as LoveE: Julius* w/ Isabella tease
** w/ Trey & Fishman singing
*** Don't Stop Till You Get Enough tease, Michael Jackson cover
My Soul - This got everyone started up, I've never heard this song but I
was impressed. The light effects were excellent.
Theme From The Bottom - One of my favorite songs from Billy Breathes, I was
not dissapointed. Yet another great song.
Black Eyed Katy - Never heard this one before, don't remember much about
it.
Sparkle - This is one of those songs you can't help but sing a long with.
Excellent.
Twist Around - Don't remember much about this one either
Stash - Great, best one of I've heard (bootlegs of course)
NICU - I think I just took this one as a jam
Fluffhead - This is my first time hearing this one. I LOVED IT. There was
so much energy in the music and the crowd.
Character Zero - This song was ok on Billy Breathes but live it is one of
my favorites. Phish was playing this one with even more energy than
Fluffhead. It was so wild I almost felt high. Loved every minute of this
one.
Set 1 = A-
Bathtub Jin - I love this song on Lawnboy and live. They jammed this one
out for like 30 minutes. It got kinda long and weary. I stopped really
enjoying it after 16 minutes or so.
Down W/ Disease - After a long Bathtub Jin, this was a welcomed tune. What
was so interesting with this one was they went into "Low Rider" in the
middle and ended the song with Down with Disease, I like it :) I couldn't
stop laughing when they got into Low Rider.
Axis - Bold As Love - Page was jamming on this one, didn't like the song
too much though.
Julius - I was suprised for some reason when they broke out into Julius.
You can't go wrong with Julius :)
Set 2 = C+ The long jam kinda got on my nerves.
Hardy Childers
EnigMog@aol.com
http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/2641
-------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 23 Nov 1997 08:23:23 -0500
From: Yoda
Subject: 11/23 Winston Mini-review (me again!)
Well, this has been the BEST WEEKEND OF THE YEAR!!! Wow, nothing could
top this. I'll start with last night: I just got home. It is now 8:00 am
on Monday and I haven't slept since Hampton! Woo-hoo. . .
11/23/97 Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial; Winston-Salem, NC
Set I My Soul, Theme From the Bottom, Black Eyed Katy, Sparkle, Twist
Around, Stash > NICU, Fluffhead, Character Zero
Set II Bathtub Gin > Down With Disease > Low Rider > Down With Disease,
Bold As Love
E: Julius
Okay, my memory may fail me... Set I
My Soul opener really got the crowd going. Despite what people may think
about my last reviews, I enjoy almost every song. Theme was incredibly
beautiful. Nice long build up that gave me chills.
Black Eyed Katy--repeat from Saturday night. But this one BLEW HAMPTON'S
BEK AWAY! Wow, this is some funky-ass jamming on this one. Very long,
and a must hear.
Twist Around--my first, and this is a weird tune. The jam after it was
pretty, but I dont' really remember too much about it.
STASH!!! --- Wooo-hooo!!! Finally, I get to witness a STELLAR Stash! Man,
this Stash had major exploration and variation. I've never heard a Stash
like this one. After a long while, the pace came down and Trey started
teasing NICU for about 1 minute before they actually went into it.
Fluffhead--a VERY nice, tight version. I'm having trouble remembering
details, but I do remember being amazed.
Character Zero was long and hot, as well.
SEt II Bathtub Gin!! - Okay, this Gin was also the best one I've ever
seen. There was some crazy stuff going on that I've never heard in a Gin
before. About 5 minutes into the jam, they found a very fast, hard rock
tempo--I mean fast and hard, balls to the wall, and they kept up that
intensity for more than five minutes, and it never got old! They kept it
changing and it just got better and better. INTENSE! One for the books!
The end of Gin started into that bassy, spacey stuff, and I could smell
the DWD a mile away. DWD was a crowd pleaser. The initial jam was very
nice and great to dance to. They soon brought it down to a quieter jam,
which is happening a lot these days, except for the BIG exception of the
Gin up there. Trey started teasing Low Rider. Then they whole band started
playing it and they even sung some of the lyrics. Trey, then Fish. They
did this for a few minutes, then the jam returned to uncharted territory
for a bit. Then there was a not-very-smooth jump into the climax of DWD.
Woah~!~ Okay, just about when a DWD usually ends, they kept going, and
increased the tempo by a good 50%. What is this, Sparkle?! They added a
5th gear on this DWD! Wow, that was amazing fun. I've never heard a DWD
that fast, and the crowd was going bannanas!
Bold As Love-- not generally one of my favorites, but this one was nice
and long with some nice soloing by Trey. Julius was longer that usual, as
well, and was also pretty hot.
Well, I'd like to defend myself really quick about bashing Saturday
night's Hampton show. I HAD A BLAST AT THAT SHOW, OKAY! There, that being
said, I'd like to explain that Saturday night was nothing more than a fun
show to me. Mike's to open was AWESOME! And the jump back into Weekapaug
at the end was great. But as a whole, most of the good jam-songs presented
on Saturday were not nearly as amazing to me as the jam songs of Friday
and Sunday nights. The main exploratory jam in Halley's Comet just didn't
ever cross the threshold into stuff that amazes. There were moments, but
not that many. The only parts of the show that amazed me were the middle
of the Hood jam, and the Piper, which was longer and faster than usual.
Friday night greats: Emotional Rescue, Melt (maybe), Chalkdust
(unexpected jam), AC/DC Bag (geez!), Slave, Loving Cup
Saturday night greats: parts of the Mike's Groove, middle of Hood, some of
the Halley's Comet jam, a few places in Tweezer>BEK, Piper!!
Sunday night greats: Theme, Black Eyed Katy, Stash!!, Fluffhead, Bathtub
Gin!!, DWD
Winston-Salem for me is probably the best show I've ever seen (out of
twenty). Individual sets I've seen are better, like 8/10/97 Deer Creek set
II and 7/9/97 Lyon set II. But Winston-Salem was a perfectly well rounded
show, IMO. My Soul for a rousing opener, a beautiful Theme, and then an
incredible BEK jam. And the monster first set Stash, plus a hot
Fluffhead. Second set, intense, hot jams and craziness.
And the moe. show at Ziggy's afterwards was pretty hot, too. The vibe in
NC was ON!
Anyway, as usual, people will trash my opinions, but before you
do, here's my disclaimer: My reviews are geared toward those people who
were not there and who will get the shows on tapes. So the comparisons I
make and the opinions about song that I give are going to be stacked up
against all other shows and songs. So when I say the Mike's wasn't too
good, that means it was a great song, but not one of the greatest.
Tweezer was funkified, but not in league with 11/30/95 Dayton or 11/28/94
Bozeman. I enjoyed Saturday night, but after the show's over, it's just
another show that I'm gonna have on tape.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and I'm interested to hear everyone
else's opinions. Peace,
-- Yoda jhdavis@sc.edu (with "NOSPAM" removed)
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/2886
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 04:14:56 GMT
From: "jlink@email.unc.edu"
Subject: 11/23/97 Winston Review (long)
My perspective: Last night was my 26th show and I've heard over 450 hours
on tape. The only 97 shows I've seen prior to last night were: 7/22
Raleigh and both nights in Hampton.
LOT SCENE: Pretty pathetic, especially after Hampton. We rolled in about
5:30 and there wasn't much happening at all. The line to get in was
already really long. I saw very few people selling beers, shirts, etc. I
did manage to find one of the french bread pizza vans for a pre-show
treat. BTW, those vans must be steaming hot by the time they load up to
leave after the show. I left right after the show, so I don't know what
the lot scene was like afterwards.
SETLIST (w/ aprroximate times (within a minute) for the D>a folks):
Set 1 (1 hour, 29 minutes):
My Soul (~7 min), Theme (~11 min), Black-eyed Katy (10 min), Sparkle (4-5
min), Twist Around (~10 min), Stash(17 min)>NICU (6 min), Fluffhead (16
min), Character Zero (7 min)
Set 2 (1 hour 1 minutes):
Bathtub Gin (31 minutes), Down with Disease (13 minutes)>Low Rider (3-4
minutes)>Down with Disease (7 minutes), Bold as Love (7 minutes)
EC: Julius (10 minutes)
I noticed some people noting an Isabella and a Michael Jackson tease in
the Disease. I didn't recognize them at the show, but I'm pretty sure
there happened. There were times during DwD when the band (particularly
Trey) seemed to be on to something.
SET 1 COMMENTS:
My Soul to open was pretty hot. I kind of like it in this position. The
Theme was blatantly average.
Blackeyed Katy for the second night in a row was surprising. Having not
heard this song before either show, I seemed to enjoy it more last night
for what may be a stupid reason. Last night, it seemed to be its own song
whereas the night before it came in after a Tweezer jam. In a position
seguing out of Tweezer (and keeping in mind my unfamiliarity with the
song) and into Piper, it seemed to be just an extremely tight, very
funky, amazing jam that I assumed was Blackeyed Katy. Bottom Line: I like
it.
Sparkle was another standard Sparkle. I guess if there's one thing to be
said for Sparkle, it's that it gets most everybody on their feet and
dancing (and it gets the strictly CD crowd excited).
To be honest, I got bored with the Twist Around jam. The only version I
had heard on tape was St. Louis and I seemed to like that version much
better than the one last night.
I was happy to hear Stash about 45 minutes into the set. Stash and its
ensuing jam were fairly typical for '97 versions. And then, the band
worked its way into a jam that I never heard before, especially in a
Stash jam. For those of you who were there, the only lights that Chris had
on were the black lights on the stage. I don't remember it being
particularly melodious, but I remember thinking at the show that it
sounds like some type of Sci-Fi soundtrack as the aliens are touching
down. It was simply repetitive note striking at a speed about half of
the Digital Delay jams and in the mid-range of the 'doc (I do not mean to
suggest that this was anything close to a DDLJ). This is hard to describe.
About 16 minutes into Stash, Page was working on the Hammond and I'm
almost positive that he was the first person to start playing the NICU
theme. The other guys slowly joined in (basically, one at a time) to
complete what I thought was a masterful segue. To me, this segue was the
highlight of the set. NICU went well and I was very happy to hear it.
I was just as happy to hear the opening of Fluffhead. It was the first
Fluffhead I had seen since my first show in the same arena. I enjoyed it
much more this time around. AFter going through Clod, Fluff's Travels,
Bundle of Joy, etc., the final release when they scream "Fluffhead" is a
classic example of the tension building and release that these guys have
mastered. I got chills.
Character Zero was the expected rocking closer to end a 90 minute first
set. If I were to rate this on the Scott Jordan scale, I really wouldn't
give it much more than a 5. The set really didn't get going until Stash,
IMHO. From the Stash onward, I think the band found their groove and
continued it through the second set. As I said earlier, my highlight was
the Stash>NICU. Everything else was pretty standard.
SET 2 COMMENTS
When Trey hit the opening notes of Bathtub Gin, I got a huge smile on my
face. I really hadn't excpected to hear it at these 3 shows, since they
played it a Champaign. Trey seemed to be struggling with the opening
riff, but everything else seemed OK. During the jam and the whole set for
that matter, Trey was tearing it up. I felt like writing the second set
like this:
Bathtub Gin*, Down with Disease*>Low Rider>Disease*, Bold as Love
* with Machine Gun Trey on guitar
I honestly have never seen Trey shred like that. At times, I thought that
he was going to break a string. He was ripping it up. The
"group-oriented" jamming that had been played all summer and both nights
at Hampton were put on the shelf for this set. This seemed like '95 with
Page, Mike, and Jon laying the groove, and Trey soloing on top of
it. Actually, there was also some really great group jamming during this
set, but at the end of it, I all I could say was "What in the world did
Trey do to his guitar?"
Back to the Gin, at one point, they had worked their way into a groove
(group jamming) and stayed with it. Trey went over and said something to
Fish (which I assume was let's pick up the rhythm). Fish started playing
faster and faster (maybe 1.5-2 times faster than before) with Trey looking
on. Finally, Trey quit looking at him and the band continued at this
faster-paced jam. I guess it was at this point when Machine Gun Trey
walked on stage. After about 30 minutes, the jam slowly died down. Fish
started playing the high-hat almost hinting at Maze, but never really
going to just the high-hat. I noticed that Mike switched his effects to
the one for DwD. Eventually, silence. And then,
Mike hits the Disease opening. After about 13 minutes, the band found a
groove which I initially mistook for Walk Away. Then, I realized that it
was Low Rider. I remember Page taking a few stabs at the Low Rider
signature lick. Trey sang maybe half a line, then backed off and pointed
to Fish, egging him on to sing it. Fish obliged. I had a really hard
time hearing his words. Trey also tried to hit the signature lick a few
times (I don't think he ever really got it). They went through a few
"Take a little trips" and eventually worked their way out of Low Rider.
Musically, I didn't think the Low Rider was that great. It was obviously
unplanned and unrehearsed. BUT, it was very FUN at the time to see the
band up there having a good time with it.
After some more jamming, the boys found their way back to the Disease
closing which got everyone fired up. After 23 minutes, Disease ended.
I was expecting a Coil closer, but I was psyched to hear Bold as Love.
What a great way to end an outstanding set. Page was really belting out
the lyrics, and Trey continued his maniacal (yet restrained within the
song) jamming.
The Julius closer was great. Somebody hit the nail on the head when they
said that every Julius sounds like the best version you've ever heard. I
don't know that I can even give an objective opinion on Julius anymore.
It was a fun encore.
This set was the reason I keep coming back to see Phish. Unexpected,
adventurous, chance-taking, and fun. I'm not sure I want to rate it right
now, but I would guess it's at least a 7. I, like many other people
reviewing shows, tend to overrate a show when I review it immediately
afterward. I need to listen to it again on tape before I can be a little
more realistic.
I didn't plan on writing this much. Congratulations if you've made it
this far.
Debating whether to write Hampton reviews (maybe tomorrow),
Jason
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 23:29:51 GMT
From: "Craig D. DeLucia"
Subject: Winston-Salem Review
I'm not even sure where to begin this review. I arrived in Hampton with
my friend, Tom, about three hours before show-time. We got lost on our
way to the Coliseum and wound up taking some back roads into the parking
lot.
The lot scene was a lot different than most that I have experienced. I
didn't see a single nitrous tank (thank goodness!). There was a great
amount of fun going on, though. I bought a grilled cheese sandwich from
some guys from Auburn and stopped for a minute to check out the newlywed
couple that was taking in their first show as husband and wife; the groom
was still wearing his tuxedo! We checked out the drum circles and a few
other musicians, as well as some bootleg tshirts. I finally saw and met
Antelope Greg, which was fun.
We didn't even try for the floor; I had a feeling that it would be way too
chaotic. We settled in to the section where the Greenpeace table was on
Fishman's side and got ready for the show. As with most Phish concerts, I
ran into some friends that I haven't seen in a while. Big HEY to Drew and
Peter!
The atmosphere was electric and the crowd was pumped. No doubt, those in
attendance who weren't at Hampton had been briefed on how awesome the
shows were, so everyone's expectations were high.
On to the show...My Soul opened up and was fun. Long solos and a good
warmup. Theme was next, and I will never get sick of this song. Typical,
great Theme jam, which built nicely. At the end of Theme, during the Wall
of Noise, Trey walked around the stage and signaled something to Mike and
Fish. Out of the dissonance they broke into this fat, groovy jam that I
figured had to be Black-Eyed Katy.
WOW! I can't say anything else about this song. I'd like to say that it
has "great potential" but it is already starting to realize it! Sparkle
followed. Even though it wasn't my choice of a song, it kept the crowd in
a frenzy. A strong, solid Twist Around (my first!) came next. I like
this song a lot; anyone else get the feeling that it would sound awesome
with horns?
Here is where the set took a huge left turn. The boys broke into Stash,
but it was more like the Stash of Death, or the Great Black Stash. The
jam was more evil and dark and brooding than anything I have ever heard
this band play. They played a bit with tempos and textures but always
managed to maintain a stron, evil, dark theme. At one point, they were
all locked into a group-groove jam and Chris turned off all of the lights
except for a real thick purple. Slowly, he threw on some bright yellow
darts behind them, which pierced through the purple veil. It was at this
moment that I stopped dancing, shook my head, and realized once again that
this band will never cease to amaze me, musicaly OR visually.
After a while, Trey started strumming some familiar chords. I screamed
out "NICU!" but Trey didn't seem to hear me ;^) He hit the chords a few
more times and I started to give up, figuring it was merely a tease. The
band locked in, though, and segued BEAUTIFULLY into an outstandingly tight
NICU.
Fluffhead followed. I hate to say it, but this was a pretty bad
Fluffhead. The entire composed section between Clod and Bundle of Joy was
flubbed awfully. They made up for it with an awfully strong Arrival,
though, which Trey majestically tore through. At this point, I figured
the set was over, but they treated us to a nice Character Zero to close.
The second set, though, was the absolute Meat. I was hoping for a 2001
opener for my friend Tom, but I was more than glad to hear Bathtub Gin.
Benjy, I can't wait for you to hear this one; the jam will knock the
bottles off of your shelves! The jam started out like a normal GinJam for
several minutes until Fishman challenged the band and kicked in the tempo.
The jam rose into a frenzy and went on for a long time. I wish I could
describe it, but I probably couldn't do it justice. Rather than feature a
lot of individual soloing, it featured band-based chordal jamming that
played with tempo and a bit of syncopation. At one point, the style and
situation were PERFECT for a segue into Crosseyed and Painless, but it
didn't happen.
The jam started to dissolve and Trey cued up Mike. Out of the funk came
the Disease bass line. This Disease smoked as well! Again, the jam was
very band-based as opposed to individually dominated. Out of the jam came
the Low Rider theme in a different key than the original version. I
figured it was just a nice tease and it made me smile, but Trey started
singing! Then he stopped and cued up Fishman, who swung his mic around
and picked up the vocals. After the "take a little trip" lyrics, the band
launched into a Low Rider Jam. From there, Trey started picking up the
tempo, and we were suddenly back into the swirling Disease ending jam!
They stretched it out for another few minuted and then told us they were
on their way.
How could they top this? Bold as Love. Good-gawd! I never thought I
would hear this song and was psyched as hell for it. Chris's lights
didn't disappoint, matching the lyrics of the song with bright, punchy
colors. I'll never forget the smile that came over my face when those
yellow lights came up during the second verse, and then the bright rainbow
appeared over the stage. Beautiful vocals from Page and some searing
guitar work from Trey closed out the second set.
The Julius encore was rocking. I think this song is the perfect encore;
it keeps everyone dancing and sends everyone home with a smile. As usual,
Trey kicked ass and slowly brought the jam up to infinite levels of happy
soloing, and I left with a huge smile on my face.
Everyone always wants comparisons; I am usually one of them. I will say
that I thought this second set was very comparable to the summer Raleigh
second set but that I preferred Raleigh. Hearing the tapes may change
that, though.
Bring on the New Year's Run!
Craig, PhD
PS: Humorous/interesting scene in the lot...although Phish tickets were
benig scalped for upwards of $50, and as high as $70, the hottest ticket
search was for people looking for moe. tickets!! Now, I personally don't
like moe., but I wish them well if the travelling lot circus is going to
start beating down their door!
******************************************************************************
Craig DeLucia "The people on the hill, they all say I'm
cdeluci@hubcap.clemson.edu lazy, but when they sleep I sing and dance."
Phi Kappa Tau ---Pete Townshend
******************************************************************************
Check out The Mockingbird Foundation! www.phish.net/mockingbird
******************************************************************************
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 23:45:53 GMT
From: "Walter G. Holland"
Subject: Winston-Salem 11/23 -- A Few Words
Hey you all! I've been listening critically to a bunch of sets from this
fall (now that I've finally got some -- thanks to the bunch of phans who
all got together the other day! What a day!), and have been doing some
thinking.
Fall 97 was even BETTER than the setlists indicate. To say that fall 97 was
very funk-oriented is to state the obvious, but to say that funk was all
there was, is RIDICULOUS! ALL Phish's jamming improved this year. The
playfulness, the seriousness, the cleverness, the balls to the wall ROCK is
all there. And Winston-Salem (surprisingly, a little-discussed show) is a
GREAT example.
The setlist is a beginning indication of what's in store:
I: My Soul, Theme From The Bottom, Black-Eyed Katy, Sparkle, Twist Around,
Stash -> NICU, Fluffhead, Character Zero
II: Bathtub Gin -> Jam -> Down with Disease -> Low Rider Jam -> Down with
Disease, Bold as Love
E: Julius
The first set is a lot of fun, etc. But the meat of the show is the second
set...MY GOD!
The Gin, first of all, is MONSTROUS. Just a HUGE Gin that wanders through
intense rock music for a looong time before settling into a very spacy fog
from which you just KNOW you're getting...Disease. The DWD is a ROARING
version, with just an incredibly energetic beginning to the jam segment
before the funk kicks in. The Low Rider performance, though a bit sloppy
(Trey hits a few discordant notes that elicit winces from me every time),
is as enjoyable as you'd expect, and the jamming out of it is FUNKY and
FABULOUS. At this point the set's already been going on a long time.
Now, I LOVE to hear a DWD reprise after an exploratory jam. The 11/27/96
DWD Reprise is rough...Fishman doesn't kick in the drums smoothly, and the
segue suffers a bit for it. The 2/17/97 Reprise is FABULOUS! Right out of
Trey's jam in Taste, the DWD riff is played and a scorcher of a Reprise
follows. But BOTH of these versions are reaching because the meter and/or
tempo must change to return to Disease...
...but in Winston-Salem, the Low Rider jam is at the right tempo and in the
right key for a segue whose ease of transition blows Scarlet -> FOTM away
and whose energy and triumph are equal to the 7/22 DWD -> Orgasm -> Mike's
Song which I still consider one of the most chilling moments Phish has ever
produced. The Reprise on this night is FASTER and more FIERY than any I've
yet heard...incredible.
This set is definitely one of the best of the run...FOUR songs, each of
which is just SPLENDID. And the most intense DWD Reprise yet to be played.
Just those few moments at the end of the initial run make the tape
worthwhile. Sorry I can't spin this for anyone...obligations have me snowed
under for now. :v) Later, perhaps.
Cheers,
Wally
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 00:11:32 GMT
From: Jdp677
Subject: *Winston-Salem Smells Like Smoke*
Hey folks
Over the last few days, I've had the excellent fortune of giving the 11-23-97
Winston-Salem show a few good listens. Well sweet fancy moses, this show is a
smoker! Most of the action (and I do mean ACTION) is found in the second set,
but the first set is definitely nice enough to merit some discussion. My Soul
opener. I know most of you east coasters were pissed about this, because they
also played it at Hartford and first night Worcester. And although I don't
hate My Soul as much as some, I do feel for you all. IMO, no song should ever
be played three shows in a row. But aside from this bitching, it is a fine
version. Upbeat, high energy playing that sets a nice mood. I could think of
*worse* openers. The Theme that follows is just sublime. Absolutely
gorgeous. The jam really soars, with healthy dose of trilling from Trey as it
reaches a wonderful apex. I am quite in love with this tune, and it does seem
to get just a little bit better almost every time I hear it. The first time I
ever heard Theme was at the 10-24-95 Madison show, and it has just improved by
leaps and bounds since that first memory I have of the song. At that time, it
had this kind of cool, unbalanced, subdued vibe with a build that was heavily
laced with feedback. It made an immediate impression upon me, but I never
imagined it improving so much in the course of two years. Obviously I would
like to hear them do even more with the jam (break the structure wide open and
really experiment with the tune!), but at this point I am pleased that they
have gotten rid
of the feedback-laden build and replaced it with more of a crisp and soaring
Trey-led jam. The first Theme I heard that opened my mind to seriously
glorious possibilities regarding the jam was from 11-27-96 Seattle. That one
seemed like the beginning of less feedback and more clean Trey. So this WS
theme is as sweet as any other recent version I have heard. The funk that is
Black Eyed Katy follows, and I dig this one a whole lot. I think placement is
key with BEK, though. For example, it did not do much for me at Cleveland due
to the Ghost and Funky Bitch that had been played prior to it. Ghost and
'Bitch gave us a lot of funk of to groove on, and therefore the BEK seemed
repetitive and uninteresting. Having said that, nice placement of BEK at this
WS show. Some nice slippery funk, aw yeah! Sparkle. Nothing doin'. Twist
Around is one of my favorites of the new Summer '97 tunes, and thankfully they
did not overplay it. They were clearly loving that batch of new tunes last
summer, but I think some of them got a little worn out after being played so
many times so quickly. Luckily though, Twist is still a nice treat. I've
spent more time with the second set of this show, so I don't recall many
details of this version. Definitely pleasing for me as usual, and gets kind
of spacey in the end which leads into Stash. This is the unfinished
Stash>NICU you've heard about. The Stash does not particularly stand out in
my mind, but the jam does get pretty dark. I thought the segue would come in
earlier than it did, but they kept playing around with this dark and loose
jam. Two or three times Trey comes in and teases the NICU intro. Rest of the
band picks up on it, and they're off with a nice transition. I'm kind of
ambivalent about unfinished Stashes, because it is one of those tunes that has
such a crucial tension/release element. Nevertheless, this was a cool turn of
events. NICU is standard and fun. Nice and loud "Play it Leo" yell from
Trey. Like most of you, I too am waiting for the elusive jammed out version
of NICU. . . . . One of these days. Ahhhh, Fluffhead. This has become a
once/twice a tour treat, so you've gotta be ecstatic at this point in the
show. But this Fluff definitely seemed very subdued to my ears. There is
some element of restraint, like they are not *really* going nuts and just
getting crazy in that traditional Fluffhead way of getting crazy. So beyond
the fact that it was Fluffhead, this version seemed like nap time compared to
ragers like 6-11-94 and 11-12-94. Zero to close the set. I actually didn't
listen to it. .
But as AJ and others have pointed out, the real heat is in the second set.
There is just no getting around the fact that this set opening Gin is simply
incredible! It goes on for about 30 minutes, and this is one half hour of
pure unadulterated rock. I'm always excited to hear Phish just plain rock for
a half hour, but this is special because it is so uncharacteristic of the way
Phish has been playing lately. I'm not even going to bother to try and
describe this Gin . . . It should be heard at all costs. I would put it up
there in the Gin Hall of Fame without hesitation. It definitely stands out in
a unique way from the other great Gins. A large part of the jam sounds like
the end of the 11-8-96 Simple, but with much more wild and reckless abandon.
Things get spacey, and they lose no time kicking into a DWD>LowRider>DWD!
Many have called this the best DWDreprise ever, and I have to agree with that.
The only one that comes close is the February '97 Amdam version, but this one
smokes that reprise. This is so patient, and so goddamn powerful when Trey
finally plays that beautiful and uplifting DWD riff. Definitely a far cry
from the awful and cringe-inducing DWDreprise attempt from 11-27-96. This one
is total perfection. I can think of few things that would put a bigger smile
on my face at a Phish show than a smoking DWDreprise. And after this madness
is all finished, there is still a Bold As love to close the set. . . . .
Aaahhhh yessss. The Julius encore is satisfying as usual. Suffice to say
that the second set is one of the best, most balls to the wall Phish sets I
have heard in quite a while. Not a dull moment, and if you find one, you just
might be deaf ;-)
peas,
jonathan