12-15-99 -- MCI Center, Washington, DC

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Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2000 01:53:52 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: MCI Center Show 12-15-2000
 
    I can't fall asleep, It's late and I'm reading reviews of the last Phish
show I attended.  I was just 70 miles away from Big Cypress on New Year's Eve,
but you get older, you get married, life goes on.  Believe me, I would love to
have been there. Those who went, cherish it.  So where was I...MCI Center.  
Because it's been a while and my memory is hazy, this should be a nice and
short review.  But this will be a very objective one.  I don't know if age and
experience counts for much in these reviews, but this show marked my 10th
anniversary of going to Phish shows.  Well, almost ten years.  My first show
was at the now extinct Bayou in Georgetown (No sentimentality here, 9:30 Club
has always kicked the Bayou's ass) in the winter of 1990. Back to the show.
    First Set:  I didn't get into my seat until midway through DWD, great
song, good jam, but I wasn't "settled" in my area yet so I can't say for sure.  
If it weren't for the reviews, I never would have remembered
"Farmhouse"...'nough said.  "Bathtub Gin" is a classic, goes back to my old
school days, and let me tell you youngin's, it gets better every year.  This
was no Hampton '98, but at least you know your going to get a solid jam. Then
came Wolfmans Brother and I'm thinking "three out of four songs are of the
jamming variety, this is going to be my kind of night".  Wolfman was cool and
that impression of the rest of the show wouldn't be wrong.  "Guyute"; for me
the first time I heard it I liked it.  I'll be honest, now it just bores me.  
But hey, a lot of people really dig it and so does the band.  It gives me time
to rest up my legs for later in the show.  Love "The Train Song", yeah it's
nothing special, but it is a very visual and pretty song that mellows the
crowd for a bit.  I think it's a good change of pace.  YEM to end the set,
what can I say, it was the first song that turned me on to PHISH 10 years ago
and it never disappoints.
    Second Set:  Here's were it gets fun.  For this show I had lower level
seats but I decided to push the envelop and use an old Cable TV lamenated
badge from my work to pose as someone more important than I really am.  What
do you know, it worked.  For the whole second set I was front row, right in
front of Page.  So I start yelling "10 years...10 Fucking years"  to Page a la
"Gross Point Blank".  I think he heard me and had no fucking clue...all the
better.
    As I look through the set-list only a couple of things really stood out
from this set.  First, "MAZE" was Phish in peak form.  This is the only song
of the night that I really recommend you get on tape or CD or whatever it is
you get show recording from.  During a night with many extended jam songs,
this was the topper.  Trey was really noodling the fret board and Page was
straight out of the X-Files, I should know he was right in front of me.  I
also remember "Free" being flat and boring.  Yes they did have a funky groove
going for 10 minutes, but Trey on keyboard did nothing.  He's a guitar player
for God's sake.  He was just playing the same notes for 5 straight minutes.
Then REBA, more classics ("10 Fucking Years").  Did I ever tell you about the
worst Reba I ever heard?  It was fucking great.  That about sums it up. Finish
off the set with Halley's Comet and Susie Greenberg, it was a goddamn 10 year
reunion at this point and I never spoke with the guys before the show.  
Nothing special here, just two great songs that give the crowd a late burst of
energy and enthusiasm to finish the show.  After a second set "in the front
row" I decided to go back to my buddies and finish it out with them.  
"Frankenstien" and "RockyTop", two more standards from way back.
    So let's review.  16 songs in the show (that means jamming, that is good),
at least half of the tunes were Old School (at least 8 years old), and I was
front row (somewhere I haven't been since Phish played the Bayou 10 years
earlier).  Gosh, it is true, the more things change, the more they stay the
same.  I don't get to see Phish quite as much as I used to, but I savor every
show I get, I hope you do the same.
 
Keep on Phishin'
Ed Levine

Date: Sun, 5 Mar 2000 06:36:22 -0800 (PST) From: Nancy Powell [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 12-15-99 - MCI Center: Washington D.C. Hello! I know this show was a couple months ago but I just found this site so I decided to add my two cents. 12-15-99 was my first show and my only show as of yet, but hey I'm 16, 15 at the time, so Im just starting to dabble into the live scene although I've been a fan for a few years now. The whole night for me was just amazing. I was in total awe and I loved it! I live in PA but the drive was nothing. (trying to remember this night is kinda difficult. I enjoyed every minute of it but it's all kinda one big blur of joy.. yeah.) I dont know whats up with all the negative comments about the stadium. Yea the lot wasnt that big..? But I dont know what a "standard lot" is supposed to be. whatever, It was great all the while. But I do have to admit, I didnt like some of the employees that worked in the stadium.. Cant do this, cant do that. But they're just doing their jobs so why trash em? You just gotta block em out.. hehe.. one of the chicks working there was about 3 inches from my face at one time, yelling to put out my cigarette, and I didnt even notice her! That just shows that it really doesnt matter where a show is, just as long as it rocks! And boy did this show blow my mind. .. I didnt know the set break was 48 minutes.. wow. It only seemed to me to be about 10-15. The whole night seemed to go by a bit too quickly for me. But it was quite an experience. The only bad part was that I had to wake up the next morning after only about 2 and a half hours of sleep and go to skool. But it was well worth it. Im just calmy waiting for this summer, oh yes. I'm just so grateful to be part of this wonderful community and I'm looking forward to MANY MANY great shows to come! Thanks, ^Nancy^
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 14:08:27 -0500 From: Tim Powell~ [email protected] To: [email protected], [email protected] Subject: 12/15/99- MCI Center; Washington, DC Before I start, I beg all of you to please excuse my bad habit of submitting reviews weeks late, but I really do need that time to get my head back together and let everything unfold in my memory to take any particular show for what it's truly worth. December 15th, 1999 at the MCI center marked two very special occasions for me personally. I feel it is my responsibility to report these both to you before I proceed with my review, being that the magic of a Phish show is that each one is an incredibly personal experience for every listener, which is manifest in the many differing opinions of this show people had, just from reading the previous reviews under this one. First of all, this night marked the 4th Anniversary of my first Phish show, December 15th, 1995, in my hometown of Philly at the hallowed Spectrum. That alone was enough to turn any night of sour grapes into fine wine. The second very special occasion was that I took my buddy John to his very first show, and he was probably more psyched than me for it. For weeks before the show, I had been feeding him all the necessary nutrients~ aka, the songs we first fell in love with Phish over. Yeah, yeah, I know~ now when we hear them we tend to get ancy, scribbling them down on our setlists just before sitting down for a smoke or commenting to our neighbor on how sick the Gin was they just played or how the intro to the Punch opener went on forever. Sometime, if you ever get a chance, don't sit down. Stop and appreciate the moment that the boys decide to strike up Bouncin'. Wheel around with Trey in Sample. And DAMNIT! When Trey sees you with a ticket stub in your hand during Golgi, and the white lights are spinning around, think of the millions of other places you could be at this moment in time that aren't as good as a Phish show. You could be the poor girl in the lot who didn't get miracled, or worse yet, some poor schmuck who has never heard of Phish and will never find what we have~ the best band in the world. Whoa!~ ok, enough of the preachin' (sometimes i get a little carried away) and on to the show. Disease as an opener caught me a little off guard. I think the last time they opened with it was second night Dublin on '97 Summer Tour. Anyway, I was glad they played it cause it was one of the songs that John had been listening to all week, and I was happy that he could hear some of the songs that he was familiar with. I couldn't really complain about it either. It was a decent version with Trey settling on a very nice groove about 8 minutes through, and as he rode on arpeggios and pentatonic scales that would eventually bring Disease to it's end a few minutes later, I came to the conclusion that tonight was gonna be special~ in a personal kind of way. I adopted a new view of nostalgia for the first set. Farmhouse followed, and immediately I recalled the first time I heard it- Merriweather, '98. For some strange reason~ i started enjoying Farmhouse. Then, as soon as the C-Gm7 progression began hitting my ears~ something strange happened. I've heard Gin about a dozen times live, and have had the privilege of witnessing some of the best (8/16/96, 8/17/97, 11/29/98, and 7/10/99) but as soon as these two notes hit~ I could only think of one. My first one. Spectrum- 12/15/95. Yepper, four years to the day. The one where they went into the weirdo Rotation Jam that led to Fishman singing some weird song on the piano. Nostalgia. From that point on, every song thereafter was trip back in time. Wolfman's followed, and I remembered the great funk-fest Wolfman's of '97~ particularly Chicago on Summer Tour when they went into a mind-blowing Free. And as all this was happening, John was experiencing this all for the first time. Occasionally, I would glance over at him, and he was just beaming. Guyute followed, and visions of Deer Creek '97 began dancing in my head, when they took it out of the closet for the first time that tour, and the crowd erupted in cheer. Train Song was very nice. Still, I just stood there, beaming, taking in everything. I looked behind me. John-still beaming. "Good" I thought. He's truly enjoying his very first show. What came next only confirmed my suspicions that this was gonna be a special show~ YEM. I quickly explained to John that this was "Phish's Song", and that he should just take a moment to glance around at how euphoric everybody is- smiling, dancing, shooting random smiles. I was tempted to tell him that this was their "Terrapin", but I stopped. Something was telling me that they had moved past that comparison. I just let it go. I knew in the back of my head that soon the tramps would come and impress him even further, then it would be just minutes before the mouth/light jam would blow him away. At setbreak, I asked him what he thought, and it almost looked like he was struggling to find the words for a second. Regardless, I knew from the look on his face he loved it. Setbreak always seems to fly by for me lately~ too many people around to talk to and not enough time. When the lights went down for the second set~ I was thinking something strange and interesting. I was right~ how often does Sample open a second set? Sure, some people were disappointed, but I was glad it was another one that John recognized and keeping with my philosophy for the show, I immersed myself into it and soon I was dancing with Elihu up on Leemor's bed. I approached the rest of the set with the same attitude, enjoying Maze, and an experimental Free before Dirt offered a breather. Again, I was rewarded for my patience with an amazing Reba, Halley's > Suzie run to close the set. Now, I read some people comment that it was an average Reba, or how it was sub-par. This really got to me, because it was the ONLY REBA OF THE TOUR!!!! I truly wish people could appreciate things for what they are. Just be happy that you caught the only Reba of the '99 December Tour. It sounds a little more appetizing in that light. Meanwhile, while we were all waiting for Trey to step up to the Mic for his whistling part, it was Mike who began to approach his Mic. Hmmmmm, maybe he's gonna whistle. 'Fraid not ~ cause all of a sudden he started up Halley's and the crowd erupted. No, it wasn't jammed out to end the set, but instead Trey took it out on a detour through Suzie's, with some incredible work by Page. I truly have to say that the show ended in style, and all this time, I think John had discovered two more favorite Phish songs to add to his ever growing list. The encore was old-school Phish, as was the whole show actually, Frank-Rocky Top settled us down a little more into reality. Hey, just be glad it wasn't Brian & Robert (things could always be worse). All in all, I loved this show. Nothing extraordinary~ no ker-azy jams, like Piper two nights before or the Drowned the night before that, but their was quality. Highlights would be Gin, YEM, Free, and a great Reba, Halley's > Suzie run to end the show. A night to cherish. For those of you who were there and don't believe me, ask yourself this- count how many sets you've seen with sub-par enders, then look at it in light of the YEM first set closer and Halley's > Suzie second set closer we got tonight.............what, is that a smile I see?........GOOD, that's what I thought. The only really scary thing about this show is that I don't remember the 2 hour drive back to Ship at all. I found out just the other day that apparently i got thirsty when I was driving home, and drank two beers on the way~ any night with a good blackout is a good night in my book~ later kids!!!!~ see ya all on Summer Tour! Tim Powell [email protected] ps~ if anyone has got shows from this tour, preferably on CD, please e-mail me! <3
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2000 13:19:32 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 12-15-99 12-15-99 Review: The scene in D.C was rather starnge, hard to get around and stuff. Anyways there were extra's everywhere because the place was so god darn big, definetely the biggest place they played all tour. Keeping this in mind I anticipated and arena-like all out rockin show, with lots of heavy hitters and then.... DWD: Always a solid opener, some really nice jamming, at this point I was happy that I was there, plus the size of the building added to the mayhem and excitement Farmhouse: Yawn...nothing great here, ya know its funny I knew it was coming, and every time I like it less and less, it's a great song but the boys need to give it a rest Bathtub Gin: A suprising call by the boys, good Gin nothing outrageous but nonetheless it was Gin Wolfman's Brother: Something happened to this song somewhere in 98....In 97 Wolfman's serevd as a centerpiece for the phunk, now it seems as if they really don't know what to do with it, although this was an ok performance, average at best Guyute: In 1994 the band introduced us to their latest opus, Guyute, it has undergone some changes for the better but pretty much has stayed the same. The band really loves this song, and so do I, but like Farmhouse I think it could use a rest. Train Song: I guess this is just one of those songs where you just sit and listen and wait for the next song, It is a nice tune though, I liked it. YEM: Nice Yem, Kuroda really seemed to be on tonight, had some nice timing, Trey flubbed the lyrics during boy,man,god,shit, he went boy.......man.......shhhhhhhGOD........shhhhhhhit Pretty funny Solid First Set filled with some goodies I gave it a 6 After a nice and short set break...the boys opened the second set with Sample: Eh....nothing too great, Trey looked to be having fun though so hey. MAZE!!: Ya know just when I thought I couldn't take this song anymore the boys perfomed a true arena rock version complete with intense jamming from Trey and Page, really solid, but then... FREE: Definetely one of the best Free's I've ever heard, absolutely incredible. Trey went to his keyboard and my initital reaction was not pleasant, but all of the sudden this unrelentless funky groove came out that lasted a good ten minutes. Awesome...then that segued into Dirt: One of my favorite slow phish songs but hearing it to much lately, plus bad placement. Next .... REBA!!: Yes, love this song, and with the boys playing it less and less these days I was happy to be there. The composed section was near flawless, and the jam was absolutely beautiful. The boys just kept taking it up to the next level, it remined me of a 94 or 95 Reba, for those reasons and also because there was no whistling.....so after a short pause.... Halley's: Always fun, short Halleys, as soon as the jam got started, Suzie: Out of nowhwere, everyone was just like huh?? and then we all realized it could be worse. Good suzie, lots of nice build up before fishman screams. Encore: Frankentsein-> Rockytop Nothin spectacular about the encore, good fun though, The set gets and 8 and the show a 7.
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 23:11:47 EST From: Brad P [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 12/15/99 MCI Center Review I've been reading the reviews and I can't say that I agree with even a fraction of the negative comments being thrown around. This show was absolutely awesome, basically in every way possible for me. The band seemed to be having a great time, and each song seemd big and loud, no filler or in-between songs really. Driving to MCI was quite a pain, however, with all the downtown traffic and whatnot. I hate driving in the city. And despite what I'm hearing alot, I think MCI is a pretty good arena. It's new, it's clean, the employees were well-behaved enough, and the lot scene actually existed, despite what I was anticipating. I didn't think there'd be anyplace at a downtown arena for people to party, but luckily I was wrong. As far as security, I saw very few people being hauled away, and they were pretty cool with the whole smoking thing. I saw people smoking in the lobby area without any trouble. If security was a problem on the floor with people smoking up, it was fine up in section 227 where I was. Nobody gave us any problems. Anyway, getting to the music itself, I thought the show kicked all kinds of ass. Almost every song developed into a nice jam, it seemed, and the band seemed to be going at every song with equal intensity. DOWN WITH DISEASE: this was a nice way to open a show I had high expectations for (MCI being a new arena for Phish) because I really dig DWD, even the studio version. It had a nice jam, and was definately a good opener to get me pumped up. FARMHOUSE: I had heard this at Merriwether in July, and it's a good tune if a little catchy-alternative. A pretty short, "standard" version, as they say, but I was yet to be let down. BATHTUB GIN: I hadn't been too familiar with this song, but it was a real fun tune with a good jam in the middle. I thought the jam got a little sleepy at times, but they brought it back into the song to close it out. WOLFMAN'S BROTHER: This had a real nice jam that I thought worked its way back into the body of the song real well. GUYUTE: Another one I wasn't too familiar with, but it absolutley tore shit up. A real crisp, sharp performance. TRAINSONG: A lot of people seem to really like this song. I've always had mixed feelings about it, but it was a nice breather for this rockin set. Also, it kind of calmed people down a little before they whipped everyone into a frenzy with... YEM!!!: I had a coronary when they pulled this one out. This was only my second show, and I didn't think there would ever be any hope of me seeing YEM, just because it's such a treat. But man, my friend and I screamed like little girls and traded high fives. I guess I was so excited I didn't realize it went on for 20 mins, but the trampoline sync jumping was awesome, and while I was looking for more jamming in the vocal jam, the lights made it real cool. Overall, set I got me pretty damn pumped. I was surprised that there were few segues between songs, but the strength of the set made it up. I loved YEM, but I also kept thinking about how cool Guyute was. Set II... SAMPLE IN A JAR: Here's another song I like alot, even if it is a little alternative-ish. But like DWD, it was a good crowd-pumper. Pretty short. MAZE: took me a while to figure out what song they were playing. I thought Fish was doing the opening of David Bowie at first, then Mike made it seem like some sort of weird opening to Bouncing Around the Room, and then I figured out what it was. A real solid jam, though, with great organs from Paige. FREE: I wasn't expecting this one because it didn't seem to fit with the whole hard-rocking thing that was happening. But I like Free alot, probably because I don't actually remember ever hearing it on the radio. A very weird jam in the middle with Trey on keys, and I thought for some time it kind of deviated from Free, being a little too playful and bouncy and not as mellow and whatnot as Free is, but they returned to Free and everything was forgiven. DIRT: My first Dirt, and it was pretty good. During the show it seemed like a sudden dose of mellow after Free, but I'll have to review the tapes on that one. REBA: A solid, crisp Reba, with a real sick jam in the middle. The jam was so whacky that when it seemed like they were coming back into standard Reba I had to check with the guy next to me to ask if that whole ordeal had been Reba. HALLEY'S COMET: I had completely forgotten about this song when my friend and I were running down songs we really wanted to hear. It seems like such a rarity that I never even thought to wish for it. But what a treat. Halley's is one of my personal favorites ever since hearing 11-22-97 Hampton on tape. Ordinarily I would've been disappointed that it didn't develop into a nice long spacy jam, except that, out of fucking nowhere, they totally slammed right into.. SUZIE GREENBERG!!: Another personal favorite of mine, everyone in the place was totally caught off guard and the place went absolutely nuts. What a high-energy, crazy performance of Suzie. Very nice. E: FRANKENSTEIN: I was hoping, like many, for a Phish song to close what seemed to be such an all-star assemblage of Phish songs, but Frank practically is a Phish song anyway. Edgar Winters does it kind of boucy and sythesized, but this Frank was on fire, just hard rockin all the way. Page was goin nuts on the organ, I mean totally insane. ROCKY TOP: My friend recognized this one but I had never heard of it, so it was at least looking for a song I knew to be the finale, but a two song encore I wasn't going to argue with. Trey and Fish had a great time "ending" the song what seemed to be about 30 times, somehow knowing how many times to go before closing it out. Overall, I had an absolute blast, one of the most fun times I've had. I thougth the setlists were killer, and the songs were nice and loud and jammin. The second set was definately much whackier for me, since that when I smoked up, so all the jams were just loud and unfathomably weird. I'm really anxious to check out the tapes to see how much of my enjoyment was fabricated in my mind and how much was legit, but as of now I can say nothing but great things about this show. The sound was great, MCI Center was great as far as I'm concerned, and things went well. You see, I'm not going to Hampton, so I wasn't constantly looking ahead to that like I think alot of people were, and that's why alot of people weren't giving this show much credit. A quick note about people coming to shows without tix: I understand how that can cause a traffic problem and everything, but I had originally bought 5 tickets and 2 of my friends bailed out that day, so I was grateful to be able to find people who could take the tix of my hands, and one guy who didn't want to pay face value in cash was cool enough to pay for some of it in beer he was selling.
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 22:53:49 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 12.15.99 MCI Center review Phish - Wednesday, December 15, 1999 MCI Center Washington D.C. Maybe I am getting old but the arena is great, first of all it's huge, the concert was not a sell out by any means and the band played with the black backdrop behind them, shielding from the empty behind the stage seats. Back to the arena, easy to get to by Metro, easy to get inside, spacious concession area walkway, almost smoke free (way less smoke then the Specturm or Nassau), aisles are clear so you can go to the _uncrowded_ bathrooms in the middle of the set in a reasonable time, I mean we are talking about civilized concert going here!!!!! Plus the Wednesday crowd was well behaved and mannered and happy to be there to hear Phish, a very enjoyable setting, plus the sound was good for such a big place, at least from the back of the floor Section 4 where I was. Tonight we received Phish's version of Jammin' with the Oldies. The 'newest' songs on the setlist were Dirt and Farmhouse. The setlist resembling something more from 1994 or 1996 than 1999. Set 1: The show started out with an extended version of Down with Disease and you could tell they wanted to explore from the beginning. Trey just went right into the solo, looking straight up into the sky, head bobbing, face scrunched up and squinting. After the solo they began to explore different grooves and feelings eventually winding up with a delay loop picking jam between Trey and Page. Solid version, good opener. Farmhouse was standard, nice. Then bam! Another jammin' song now one little older, Bathtub Gin! The best part of this song was the driving but maintaining beat Fish was playing. He kept a steady snare & cymbal time keeping frame but on every third beat or so he would add a couple of hits of the drums above the snare in front of him. He did this for about 15 times while the band was playing a running in place type groove. It was amazing!!! An extremely tight way of holding time and beat from Fish, very nice! It was great to see Fish so into it. The overall jam started out with this slow wah-wah effect and then progressed into the 'running in place' jam mentioned above. Wolfman's was standard. Guyute (see 12/10 Philly review), did seem better than Philly's version. More energetic and together. Train Song was nice. YEM was on the funky side, with Trey trying the delay loop and then a little keyboard/synth work. He missed the 'god' lyric by at first starting to say shit, but caught himself. The vocal jam was a little aimless with Chris K. trying to lead the band, but the band a seemed at first like it wanted to do something different, however, Chris wanted to get on with it and kept insisting swinging the white lights so all five of them finally settled on the standard while light revolving closing. Overall a nice set, nothing ground breaking, but it contained some very nice improvisation work and a much better first set then Philly 12/10, which was the other show I saw on this tour. Set 2: Sample and Maze to start off set two.....my friend Ed mentioned that "what's next Suzie Greenberg", I said "yeah it's almost fitting", little did we know about 45 minutes later the band had the same idea. The show had that 1994-95-96 feel to it. Maze was very nice, all out, Page doing one helluva Leslie organ solo and then Trey shredding the solo out afterwards! Chris K. was nicely lighting the stacks above the stage with the swirly screen saver lights, nice effect! Free was the strangest one I have seen in some time. It definitely was similar to the Free's of 1996 when Trey would get lost in his drum kit, tonight he got lost in the keyboard/synth. It started out as a standard version, and then the improvisational part began to have the heavy beating waka-waka funk part as it usually does, and then Trey hits the keys and stays there for a long time. First playing almost high piano like notes. Then he begins to explore other loops and sounds, meanwhile Mike must be thinking to himself what the hell am I supposed to do during this time, finally must of saying screw it I'm going to rock and starts playing some amazing sweet basslines that are pretty much holding up not only the jam but the entire song!!!!! He single-handedly saves the song while Trey (and Page whom Trey brought with him on this exploration) was consumed by playing and tapping with the keys. Finally Trey finds a sound he likes, loops it and then briefly plays guitar over it to end the jam. Dirt was amazing! The songs gets better every time to my ears and the crowd still doesn't get into. Sometimes I think Phish should play a whole concert of slow songs and _teach_ the crowd how to listen. Page also played a wonderful rolling piano during Trey's usual solo. Reba contained no whistle....and had Trey all the way on his side of the stage, standing alone just soaring and flying in the jam. It wasn't as soulful as some Reba jams I have heard, but it had all the intentions and was done well overall (sort of sums up the whole night). Suzie was done very well, not the crazy out of control version of Nassau in Oct., but just a good rock and rolling Suzie Greenberg which highlighted Page on the piano. Encore was standard and fun, Trey had a lot of fun with the entire encore especially playing the Frankenstein chords at the end of Rocky Top. The show had all the intentions of an all out Phish wonder of a jam session but just never seemed to make it over the hump that would make this concert a "best-ever" type event. Having said that it was still a nice night and one of those fun, great, Phish standard shows which we all are use to by now. Peace, Kaz [email protected]
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 13:00:42 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 12/15/99 MCI Center Hi - Everyone else has reviewed this show to death, but a couple of quick comments won't hurt. I'm not as involved with the scene as everyone else, so I'll skip that... The music was solid, beginning to end. No jaw-dropping, mind-melting improvisation, but enough highlights to keep me happy through the entire show. The DWD opener was great; a very precious build around some ambient themes introduced by Trey. From the two shows I've seen this year (10/8 and this one), I get a definite sense that Trey's style of playing is at a new height. Practically every jam in this entire show featured some inspiring, soulful, melodic riff introduced by Trey, but done so in a manner that doesn't dominate the band. The ambient sound is the key to this: he's finding melodies that allow for lovely, full-band improvisation behind them. Also, he hasn't been repeating the same riff to the point of irritation, isntead continuing to find new thoughts, with the IDEA of that riff still very present in the background. This, IMO, makes for a gorgeous sound (the Tweezer -> My Left Toe from 10/8 being a quintessential example, in my mind). This, by the way, is how those Phil shows from April will be a continued blessing to Phish fans, since it's clearly something Trey picked up from Steve Kimock. Enough digression. Some other quick comments: Gin was nice, with a pleasant jam that started nowhere, seemed like it was about to go somewhere when Trey picked up on a neat two-chord theme *somewhat* reminiscent of the Real Me chords, and then gently, happily, drunkenly, flopped back into the old Bathtub Gin theme. Wolfman's was pretty sweet, and Trey this time led the jam, paving the way with a melodic, chord-driven lead. YEM was highly enjoyable... Trey and Mike both had especially good second sets, to my ears. This whole set sounded like a set out of Fall '95, except for the Free: a nice Sample to open, a raging Maze, a *gorgeous* Reba (this song has never failed to move me; tonight's version featured an especially patient, teary-eyed jam, with an extended climax: sweet, definite show highlight for me), and a nice Halley's > Suzy to close. The band sounded like it was playing from that auspicious period, as well: lots of note-perfect versions in here, built on melodic themes. The stand-out Free, of course, was *totally* funked out, with a loong, patient jam. Worth hearing. All in all, this was an excellent show. Second set was a tad song heavy, and ltos of the improv in the first never took off, but this was still an excellent concert experience. I just *love* the way Phish is playing right now. I think they're clicking in a lot of ways, including ways that are totally new. While this show was somewhat lacking in truly mind-blowing creative improvisations, I really believe that, right now, this band is better than it's ever been, and will only continue to improve. Enough. Hope you enjoyed this review. Erik
Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1999 09:40:18 -0500 From: Gross Ian [email protected] To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected] Subject: 12-15-99 MCI Show Review I thought MCI was a pretty strong show on the whole. Down with Disease was a little disjointed, but the rest of the first set was tight. For me the highlight of the first set was Train Song. I think it's probably the best song Mike sings, and he pulled it off nicely. Wolfman's had that nice Trey "bro-tha ha" goin, and I could see them play Farmhouse at every show. Haley's Comet>Suzie had to be the highlight. Real tight transition, and they're just two great songs. I think the vocal jam got the best reaction, though it was basically a recreation of Virginia Beach '98. Maze - awesome. Free (with Trey on keys) - sweet. Encore Frankenstein, Rocky Top - da bomb. Overall I thought it was quality. Not the best ever, but quality.
Date: Sat, 18 Dec 1999 01:24:42 -0500 From: Doug Miller [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: MCI Arena I: Down with Disease, Farmhouse, Bathtub Gin, Wolfman's Brother, Guyute, Train Song, You Enjoy Myself II: Sample in a Jar, Maze, Free* > Dirt, Reba, Halley's Comet > Suzie Greenberg E: Frankenstein > Rocky Top** My friends and I got there rather early but the sidewalks were still filled with heads,and I was immidiately convinced that I didnt want to attempt finding psychadelics due to the incredibly SKETCHY nature of the scene. It took some serious balls to buy the liquid I did,but none the matter,I was overjoyed to see everyone again. Onto the show, Well,the arena setup kinda sucked,it was a smoke free arena but noone listened ;o) The DWD opener was very solid,I hadnt heard this song yet(this was mah fourth show)And was very happy to hear it,The boys didnt fuck aroumd and jumped full force into the jam and locked into it,very solid good jamming,hell it blew my mind. Farmhouse,goddamnit,every show ive been to ive heard this song,its a nice song,nice little lifting solos at the end,but the past 3 shows in maryland theve played this song second,its time to give up on this one for a little bit. Bathtub Jin:OOOhh was I happy to hear this song,so so so happy,it was my first Bathtub and I couldnt ask for any more and the jam was very solid.it got goin pretty hard,not too spacy,Page just kicked it with the lounge lizard keyboard solos and then just finished up nice.Well done Wolfmans Brother:My first wolfmans and the funked it out nice and hard and Trey got lots of the funk groove out of his system so I was sure that not too many songs would lapse into the monotonus boring funk i.e,what often happens to Meat(Example:Portland Oregon 98's Meat) Guyute:They put lots and lots of energy into this song and pulled it off perfectly,well done. Trainsong:Im not into this song that much,but It gave me a chance to talk to everyone and see how they were enjoying their show(we had 3 first show kids in the group) You Enjoy Myself:YES!!!!!!!!!!!!Mah phirst YEM and it was incredible and Trey funked it out DEEP durring the boy,man,god,shit part,absolutely wonderful,the brought out the trampolines,I went nuts,and the jam was stellar,blew my mind completely and then when it couldnt get any beter ,they went right into the vocal jam and Chris went nuts with the lights.Perfect closer for me. Setbreak:Sat down and talked to some strangers for 20 minutes or so in the hall,they were from tenessee,absoloutely incredible people. 2nd set: Sample in a jar:Nicely done,good solos,it opening threw me off a bit but I was fine, then they played... Maze:Oh I wanted to hear somthing from Rift and I got it,great song to jam into and pump up the crowd and the second set,great great jams then I got a Free:I heard this last show,but Treys oppening solo brings me to tears everytime for some reason and then the following Jam with Mikes liquid bass I cant get enough of,nice annd funked out,took things off the ground then it went ino Dirt:I wasnt expecting it,but i was a great time to sing along then sit down and flow to the nice and moody/mellow jam that follows. REBA!!!!!:My word,this was my first Reba and I was so so so so grateful to hear this,got me all bouncy and then just blasted me off into another world with the Jam,this was the BEST jam of the night,its so hard to describe,I loved it to death. Halley's Comet:Yep yep yep,I was glad to hear this song,I admit,the lyrics are pretty silly at parts and its a real silly song but its still really really phat,got me all bouncy again and then had a really nice jam into... Suzy Greenberg:I now love this song after hearing this song,yeah its pretty silly but none the matter,its still really sweet and I enjoyed the hell out of it. Really really great set,my friends John and Ian were blown away,there forever phish converts,hook,line,sinker. Encore:I was incredibly glad not to hear Harry Hood Frankenstien:Just an in general crazy song,I was glad to hear it,the lights were just nuts for this song Rocky Top:Oh was I so glad to hear this song,I love it too death,and the Ironic thing was,is that I was talking to people from Tenessee durring this setbreak and the played this,when I was walking out of the arena the guy puit his hand on my shoulder and said "Good ole Rocky Top Tenessee" It warmed mah heart so much.If you ever read this make sure to drop me an e-mail [email protected] A very solid good show
Date: Sat, 18 Dec 1999 09:51:33 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: MCI It has taken me a long time to write a review on this show, my ass came down with the flu on tour so I unfortuntely had to leave after this show and return home.....which I must say sucks, but I have to keep my health in good shape.....that is very important to me since I can't ever seem to keep healthy. I hope NC and Va rocked, but I must say.....DC rocked the house. What a good show. I saw so many songs that I haven't heard yet, and I have to say.....VA Beach, 98???? What are they doing here, this is the second time they blew my mind with that........YEM!!!! Can we say that YEM gets better and better everytime they play it?? 8/9/98's YEM was almost the same, and shit I didn't do anything at DC and I could feel everything with the music, lights everything........it was just an awesome show....I wish I could have made it to the other shows, but unfortuately I couldn't. But enough on the other shows......Bathtub was insanely wicked at MCI......it was the best version I had ever heard.......As I said before YEM rocked the house.....During Maze there was a sick Page solo, I enjoyed it very much......Free had an awesome jam...Dirt, what a beautiful song, this was the first time I had ever heard this song......Reba, now can I say that Reba will always be an awesome tune and after this Reba, I have to agree even more on that.....can I say Halleys Comet......beautiful song and my first time to hear it live, they don't play that song often enough.....and that Susie came out of nowhere........it made everyone dance =) Rocky Top....that was a first for me too.....I am so glad I went.....I am sure I will make more, life is still going for my young ass so I am not too stressed that I missed NC and VA but I hope everyone danced their asses off and had mad phun =) sunshine daydreams jennifer [email protected]
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 21:54:55 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: MCI Center 12-15-99 Well, it seems as if I have the only negative things to say about this show after looking at all of the reviews so far. I am always psyched to see the boys play, but for some reason when I stepped into the arena, I got a feeling that this show was going to be aimed towards the crowd that came to the show because they wanted to hear a certain song. You know the type, the "I wanna hear Bouncin, dude" type of fan. But anyway, the feeling was right, the song selectinon was sort of crowd pleaser-ish. A DWD opener-- this song loves to just follow me around, and one seemed really fast. It was just like the 12/11 phillly one, really quick. But don't get me wrong, it was still awesome and they jammed the hell out of it. I just dont wanna be hearing it all the time. Farmhouse next-- quickly becoming a crowd pleaser top 40ish tune. Cant really say much about this one. Bathtub Gin was great as usual, it had a great funk style jam going on in the middle of it. Always a pleasure. Wolfman's Brother-- havent heard this one in a while, so glad to hear it. It was a solid version and made me feel like they finally got into a groove. When Wolfman's ended you could see trey discussing what would come next with mike and fish, and sure enough, the familiar muted picking that comes before Guyute could be heard, and they busted it out. Now I love to hear this one whenever they play it, but I used to love back like 4 years ago when I only heard it once a tour, or not even that often. It used to be special and exciting when they pulled out Guyute, but now it is becoming more rampant. Trainsong was the breather of the set, and not much to say about it. YEM to close the set, great one, they were totally together. Page's organ solo while Mike and Trey were trampolining was great as usual. Unfortunately, Trey didnt do a solo this time, which was dissappointing, but what the hell. Vocal jam went great with chris' lights, but kind of short. Overall rating for the first set I would give a 5 out of 10. During setbreak, I was very entertained by some guy sitting towards the back of the floor section, right where the bleachers started (or ended). He was screaming and ranting and raving about who knows what. Acid can tend to do that occasionally I guess. In any case, it was amusing. When the lights went down I was really psyched to hear them make up for the IMHO adequate set. First song: Sample. Okay, great. Next: Maze. I tend to hear this one alot, but this one was more than great. It was energetic, exciting, and both Trey and Pages solos were phenomenal. Good playing, guys. Free came next. After touring in 1995, I have heard enough of this song. Sorry. Dirt next. Enough said. Reba next. Awesome playing. Trey's solo during the "chill" part was spectacular, and it was the highlight of the set for me. Then came Halley's Comet. Always a pleasure to hear. I knew something special would segue out of it, so I was excited. Actually, it didn't segue so smoothly, for Trey was the only one who knew what would come next. He yelled Suzie to Mike during his solo, but no one else knew. Suzie Greenburg. I haven't heard this one in ages, so play on, fellas. Page's solo was very good and on, and I knew that this would close the set. Overall for the set: 5.5 out of 10. Average I would say. Okay, okay, the encore would make up for it, right? I was thinking Good Times Bad Times, but when Trey turned on his super distortion, I could tell that Frankenstein was coming up. I love when they play this, it's so energetic. Page's funky clav solo was ridiculous. One of the i've heard. Fish's drum solo was right on, and and overall great encore. But wait, here comes Rockytop. Pretty much doesn't change whenever I hear it. But hey, anything they play is great to hear, and I should be so lucky to see them at all. So overall, I give my 35th show a 6 out of 10.
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 15:59:22 -0500 From: Jeff Leiker [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 12/15/99 Review I: Down with Disease, Farmhouse, Bathtub Gin, Wolfman's Brother, Guyute, Train Song, You Enjoy Myself II: Sample in a Jar, Maze, Free* > Dirt, Reba, Halley's Comet > Suzie Greenberg E: Frankenstein > Rocky Top** SET I: I must say, this set rocked! DWD was fairly lengthy and flowed out of the rockin jam section into some slower, spacey moments. It touched on some nice themes throughout, then slowly built back into a strong reprise at the end. It's nice to have a show open up with a great jam-engine like DWD, and while slightly more mellow, was still excedingly good. Gin was beautiful, and hit a great groove. Wolfman's got me super hyped and thumped, Mike dropped a few bombs on this one. Very spacious, yet full of energy and great riffs. The Guyute was suprisingly tight and very well played, this was as good a version as I've yet heard. Trainsong!!! What a wonderful song this is, I can never get sick of hearing it, and it was in just the right place for this set. YEM was nice, not too inventive or out there, kinda standard. The vocal jam followed the pattern of the last few years and left me kinda bored; lots of light play and very little vocal improvosation. The longer jams this set were excellent. DWD, Gin, and Wolfman's were outstanding, though I wish there had been a little segue action. I was sure for a minute there that Gin was about to go into Foam, as Trey started hitting some notes of it and looking to the others, but they instead hit a great high flying Gin jam and slowly morphed back into the recognizable Gin progressions. SET II: Sample: standard. Maze was one of the best I've heard in a very long time, it totally built into a raging tripped out wash of melody. Trey's fingers were blazing throughout most of the jam section. It reminded me of Fall 95 versions. Free began with a standard bass-led funk jam, but slowly, Trey and Page took control and brought the jam down a notch and turned it all around. Trey got on the keys and he and Page did some quite unusual things, almost tag-teaming a little here and there. All in all this was a refreshing version, that incorporated some of the new and some of the old aspects of Free jams. Next, I finally got to see what people were talking about with the Dirt intro. While they whistled in 97 versions, the intro now has much more pronounced whistling, and the instrumentation is somewhat stripped down. I think I liked the old arrangement better, the "shout your name into the wind" gets repetative when not coupled all the way through with the "never hear your voice again". It is more upbeat now, but I liked it a little depressing. Reba seemed labored to me, the jam was good, but the written sections were a little loping, and lacked that bounce that they get when the boys are on. Believe it or not, but this was my first Halley's and my first Suzie. Halley's again was a little like Reba, it lacked that oomph...or bounce...or crunchyness that comes from them kicking on all cylinders. Suzie however was pretty damn good, Leo took a big bite out of the jam once he got going and didn't let up for a while. Trey pretty much just layed back, played some rhythm, and just watched Page go. Still, nothing out of the bounds of a solid Suzie. As for the encore, I love Frankenstein, it encored my favorite show ever, and last nights was one of the best versions I've heard. They absolutely killed it! What really made it was seeing the expressions on their faces while they played it. Trey had a huge grin on his face and he and Page and Fish kept looking at each other like "Hells yeah!". Again, Mike's timing throughout was perfect. Fish didn't romp through the drum solo, but it was better than most of the pre 97 Frankenstein drum solos. Rockytop is Rockytop, good song, love the bluegrass, and again...you will not hear any complaints from me. All in all, this was a good show, lots of good jams, nothing over extended, and they sound so much more together than any of the summer shows I saw. I can see they are just building towards an incredible NYE run... Peace, Jeff Leiker -- "The stupider people think you are, the more suprised they are when you kill them" "It's sad how a family can be torn apart by something as simple as a pack of wild dogs..."
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 16:32:36 -0500 From: Marc Brickel [email protected] To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected] Subject: Review of the first DC show in 6 years Well, first lets say that I'm excited to see Phish in downtown DC. I just traveled for 2 days to see them in Philly and it was a pleasure to make the easy Metro trip to this show. While DC lacks the scene that Philly offered and MCI center lacked the character of the Spectrum (where all I can remember is the first Unbroken Chain) but any way you look at it, this was a great time and I was primed to see a great show. The acoustics for me were great. But I sat in section 120, right behind Page and I would think that the sound would get lost in the cavernous MCI center. For me, the sound was great as I was right under the speakers. I walked in at about 7:34, about 1 minute before the lights kicked off. The show started with an average Down with Disease. It was on par with this weekends, and continues to be too fast for ultimate enjoyment. I keep thinking, like many others, that this song is signaling a near retirement but I am probably just being paranoid. The Farmhouse was great and it calmed the crowd down from what was a hurried Wednesday afternoon in the Nation's capital. The Bathtub was a highlight of the tour so far. And it was the first time that you realized that this whole show was going to be a mix of recognizable tunes with a SPACEY feel. The wolfman's brother was average but it seemed to excite the crowd. The Guyute was significantly better than the one in Philly and it was nice to see them pulling songs off of every disc. Again, the crowd was calmed by a mellow Train Song only to be excited to a frenzy by a very good set closing YEM. The set break was very long but it was still early so expectations were extemely high. An opening of Sample was very good. They seemed to build on momentum from the first set and they looked like they were having a good time. They hadnt been in DC in a while so they took in a bunch of sites the night before including a Wizards game. Maze was a surprise and a pleasure. Always a favorite, I usually seem to miss it by one night. There is a voice inside of my head, and he keeps saying "you've lost it, you'll never get out of this maze." Very spacey. The jams all night were very tight, never too long and really helped you get lost in the moment. The only jam that seemed out of place was during a very good Free. The jam just seemed to lag a bit as Trey was really mixing it up. This was the first time that I had seen Dirt live and it was a good new song. Reba!!!! Now that's a surprise. Nothing like seeing a few songs off of Rift in one set. This really excited the crowd and they continued what was a spacey jam theme all night. (ultimately culminating in one of the jammiest of jams for the FIRST encore) Quickly they jumped into a crowd pumping Haleys which I don't think that I've seen in years. As quick as they jumped in, they jumped out into the biggest surprise of the tour (not including the no reprise on the 10th) which was a loud, wild, most excellent SUZY. Whoaaaaaa.....if the show wasn't strong enough....they go into Suzy.... Expectations were high for the encore. I shouted Sabotage, hoping to see an encore of Merriweather 2 years ago when they first unveiled it but no such luck. What we got was again a spacey Jam, Frankenstein. I was a bit disappointed, while I love Frankenstein, I hate when they end the show with it. Hence, Mike and Trey made Rocky Top the finale. I had wanted to hear a good American song in the nations capital and this is all I could ask for..... Whoaaaaaa...... while many loved the Saturday the 11th show with its classic first set... I thought that Phish really did justice to a huge arena in a new town. The show was great. A great mix of tunes from every album (except Nectar) and just a Jam fest that proves how tight that they have become. Regards, Marc K. Brickel
Date: 16 Dec 1999 09:25:33 -0800 From: jmh [email protected] To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Subject: 12/15/95 MCI Center Ugh. I knew MCI would not be all its cracked up to be. This place is supposedly great for ball games but shows are a different beast altogether. Certainly, there would be not real lot scene as parking in DC is ridiculous so I rode the train in and out with no problem. Anyway, lets focus oon the show... Set one started with the oft played Down With Disease (7:37-7:52). It was solid and as this was my first show since Summer, I enjoyed it. Nice jam in the middle but it was short and wrapped back in to close the song. Farmhouse (7:53-7:58) followed sweetly. I have a feeling that if this song had been released in 1976 by Skynyrd it could've been bigger than Freebird. Great song but awfully early for it... Next, Bathtub Gin (7:59-8:15) came on strong. (You had to know this was coming, Susannah Goodman seems to live in the area and Trey likes to play her song for her.) After 5 minutes, the band stepped into the jam which was sweet but not exactly uncharted territory. After a while I even heard hints of "The Real Me" but as I'm not that lucky and as I've heard hints of it in other versions, I didn't get my hopes up. Good thing too. After about 10 minutes of jamming the wrapped up the Gin. Wolfman's Brother (8:15-8:27) made the next slot, fulfilling one of my picks for the night. It too had a nice jam segment, Funky and driven by Mike's bass. However, before they strayed too far, as would be the case all night, the ended it. Guyute (8:28-8:34) was short. Not shortened or missing anything but short. Compact and to the point. I dug it. It definatly seemed to fit the kind of show we were having though I hadn't figured out what kind of show it was. A short but sweet Trainsong (8:34-8:40) followed just as that song follows me. Everywhere I go, I see Guyute and Trainsong. (No complaints, tho!) Then, YEM (8:40-9:00) came up and bit us. Nice intro, Mike's early, short solo was real sweet. Trey's second attempt at The Note was perfect, long and dead on. Tramps segement highlighted by Page's solo and some nicely synchronized turns on the trampolines. After the tramps, Trey moved over to his keyboard and got down for a few as the Bass & Drums segment took off. Then came the vocal jam. Real nice one, too. I'd call this a jam of 5 performers as Kuroda locked in with the guys towards the end of the jam and they all tried to give the effect of the entire arena spinning end over end... Crazy! Set one ended there at 82 minutes. Set two after a 48 minute break kicked off with Sample In A Jar (9:48-9:52). What can I say? It was Sample. Short, well played and over. Fishman then cued up Maze (9:52-10:04). This was tight, well played/jammed but nothing exceptional. A good Maze. Free (10:04-10:20) was real good. After the verses, as they moved toward a jam, Trey moved over to the keys again and basically setup camp for more than 5 minutes. The Reprise came up after that and was really cool. Nice Vocal harmonies from all. After a (very) brief pause, Dirt (10:20-10:25). I'm undecided as to whether I like the vocals from Mike in the beginning now but, I DO like this song, always have. Dirt was then followed by a strong and intense, Reba (10:25-10:41). Long and fun, this was a solid version but not anything unusual. The guy standing beside me before the song called it just before they started, and that was kinda cool. No whistling. Halley's Comet (10:41-10:47) drew big cheers and I thought that maybe, at last they would take us out on an extended jam to wrap up the show. Unfortunatly, just as they were getting up a head of steam, they derailed and plowed in Suzy Greenberg (10:47-10:55). This was probably one of the hottest Suzies I'v ever seen nice Page solo towards the end but then that was it! Set over after 68 minutes. I knew this was going to be an early night (the 7 o'clock start time was a hint) as the train stations close just before 12 so i was prepared for a short encore. I was, however, hoping for Phish songs. what we got was Frankenstein (10:58-11:02) with some killer lights, a tight performance and a letter perfect drum solo from Fishman. This led into Rockytop (11:02-11:06) which I usually dig but I was a bit let down by it last night. they played it well but its placement at the end of a show that never got off the ground didn't thrill me. I really dug this show, contrary to what you might infer from the above review. truth is, they played good songs, played them well and a good time was had by all (or at least me and my fiance and the kids in front of us). The disappointment factor comes from expecting to see Phish soar and only seeing them hover. This would have to be considered (by me at least) as an average (meaning kick-ass but not kick-you-in-the-ass-and-leave-you-for-dead) show. What can I say, at least there's Hampton! jmh [email protected] "Get jiggy with this!" -Jon Fishman 11/21/98 http://www.dub.net/~rowjimmy
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 03:45:45 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: review hello all, I had a great time at this show, why? because the selection of songs played was great. But, as far as the jams, there were ups and downs through the show. One thing that i noticed, that has not been mentioned in other reviews, is that Page seemed to be pretty off during the show. During in most of the jams it seemed as if he was going through the motions, not lighting it up. This was especially evident in songs where he usually has a big solo, like maze. During maze, when he took his solo, there was not much to it. It honestly lacked the fireyness that his old school solo's used to have. Back in 95, maze was completed by his rediculously awesome organ solo's, but his solo during maze tonight seemed to be kind of dead. As for highlights, i seem to disagree with a lot of the folks that have written in so far. DWD jam was awesome, smooth, spacey but nice, and then went bueatifally back into the theme. The wolfman's had an altogether good feel to it, nice bluesy/funky jam. Obviously Yem is always great, but I felt the post trampoline jam lacked, check it out on tape, but trey seemed to be stale during this jam, not adding much to it, at all. From the setlist alone, awsome set I, but really it was just pretty good, in my opinion. Set two got great at the end. The free was crazy. Trey took to his keyboard for an endless trance jam. It was repetitive, and pretty simple groove. I do not know what to make of the jam during this song, judge for yourself, but it was definately original. Highlight of this set, and the show was REBA. WOW. tight written part, and the jam that followed was pure ecstacy. Frankly, i did not want it to end, and would have been perfectly content if they played it for the rest of the night, skipping an encore. But it ended. The halley's was cool, and after a brief jam went smack right into a fun suzy's. All in all a very fun show, some strange jams, definately worth getting the tapes. Peace, Jon
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 06:29:16 PST From: Dave Kuhn [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: MCI review After reading so many negative reviews about this tour, I had low expectations going into this show. What the hell is everyone talking about? After seeing 30+ shows, I thought this was one of the better ones that I've seen. Yeah the song selection was newbieish, but I think its great to hear a show like that every once in a while. I was thinking Wolfmans and Y.E.M before the show. They delivered more than adequate versions of both. The song selection kept the jams straightforward. I wasn't really in the mood for too much noodling around anyway. The highlight for me was the jam part of Haley's. I was hearing interplay between Page and Trey that sounded very 95ish. Whoever said Trey is slackin was either at a bad show or doesn't know what they're talking about. I thought everyone was smokin! (Especially Fishman). The crowd intensity in that place was incredible. One of the security guards told us after the show that the cheering before the encore was the loudest he had ever heard that place get! It was obvious that the band was havin a great time. If you're craving a "veteran's" show, go to Hampton or Fla. We're gonna hear everything down there. Overall: I had a great time and am looking forward to getting the tapes. P.S. the metro rules. No hassles with parking and we drank and smoked the whole ride there. Also, it was good to see that no glowsticks were aimed at the stage. Dave
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 18:40:19 EST From: Ryan Doyle [email protected] To: [email protected] to start off, being a maryland boy and knowing what mci is like, i didn't know what to expect. here is a huge phuckin arena but without a parking lot. in light of that, i was still anxious to see a good show. so after we payed 20 dollars to park, we found out we had parked right next to the same girls that had parked next to us in va beach over the summer. small world. so we cracked open some ice cold saranac's to get the night started. by the time the show had started i had drank 5 too many saranac's, one or two would have been enough. i usually don't get drunk before shows for fear of throwing up all over myself while i dance. anyway, i was about to take on my 3rd show this tour, philly being the other two. i've been up to date on the setlists, and really didn't know what they could play that hasn't been played too much or not at all. i called maze, yem, and halley's among others. so here we go. dwd opener was cool, good jams tight sounds. mike was rippin on the bass, trey took control on the jam. farmhouse was a pleasant suprise, hadn't really even thought about this getting played. i like how trey keeps saying a drowning "allright" after the chorus. bathtub gin was next and had me rockin. i dig the spacey jam in the middle, but i sware on everything phishy, i heard "the real me" i know you guys did too. it had to be the real me. but it might not have been , who knows? good segue back into the end of the song, rocked it a bit. a suprise attack from the wolfman and his brother was what really got me. phunk and phusion. lots of it. i could hear mike's bass great and the jam was tight. after some nice cow funk, i had a feeling guyute was gonna get played. i love guyute, but damn does it get played alot. however, this was a great take on it. really clean and clear. trainsong was a treat and i enjoyed the light show for this tune. very dreamy like and trancy. and then came you enjoy myself. funked out and done proper. except for trey's little mistake on the shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. funny though. i like it when they flub lyrics, it shows how human these guys really are. and an incredible light show to finish off the first set. well done. setbreak was setbreak. dig it. sample opener was a different way to get things going. short and sweet was the name of the game. not a bad sample though. page was ringin thru loud and clear. and then i heard the familiar bass line. finally, i get my maze. i dance like a madman for the entire jam and wanted to dance more but it was over after about 15 minutes, as if that's not long enough. free followed and took on a new meaning as far as floating in a blimp. the jam segment was sic. trey and page had something goin on and it sounded smooth, sweet, and so so good. and i love the duh-duh, chicka chicka, duh-duh jam that replaced the usual spacey jam that's found on some 96 tapes i have. dirt was a cool tune and i need a buzz, so we killed a nug and relaxes as that song is so mellow and floaty like. the next song was one that is all too familiar and one i can't get enough of. reba took on some serious jams and had a nice fluid feel to it. it jammed for what seemed like an hour, but ended after about 15-20 minutes. a phatty boom batty reba. halley's followed and i was expecting a drawn out jam but when it dropped out of a short but phat halley jam right into suzie, i went bonkers. how often does this happen? suzie? out of halley's? too much. what a suzie too, rockin and rollin to say the least. great set closer. encore: wanted to hear something like fluff, or antelope but i knew it wouldn't happen with hampton 2 days away. however, frankenstein was a great song selection, the crowd was diggin it, and phish was diggin it. it had the energy of a hit of strong acid. i loved every bit of it. except when i turned around and saw two fuckin dope heads bumpin lines. get that shit outta here ya know? i felt like "accidentally" knocking they're stash over. whoops, what a pity no more coke for them. losers. rocky top is always welcome cause you can never get enough blue-grass. never. well all in all, a great show. it had energy, it had character and it didn't really lack at any point. sorry to say i can't make it to hampton, have phun and be careful. ryan doyle
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 15:07:35 -0500 From: Katie Lamp [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Sweet Let me start this out by saying that this was my 10th phish show, i took the bus from philly to see it and i have to be back on fri. for a final, I was all the way in the back all the way up, and this was the best phish show i've ever seen. I know what you're thinking because I went to the philly shows and hamptons for the last 2 years, but this takes the cake for me. I think one of the reasons i liked it so much was that i never got lost. The entire show i felt in touch with the songs. I know you guys all like the way out jams that are just nutsand last 20 minutes, but every once in awhile i get turned off by the way one of them goes. The jams at MCI were tight, often funky and didn't skip a beat. Just the way I like them (I play percussion). The second night in philly i noticed some tempo problems with sally and ghost and the first night they seemed a little sloppy right off the bat with tweezer but i couldn't find any real problems with this show. The song selection was huge. The arena sucked but phish drew me in anyway. One would think it would have to be better than the US Air Arena, but i'm not so sure. First set: DWD: I love the song, but I don't like it as an opener. Especially the way they are playing it these days. When it's that fast it loses the groove and the rhythmic perfection that it used to have. It was definately rushed. That combined with the security and the lights at first, led me to believe that we were in for a less than average show. Farmhouse: I've always loved this one and it picked the show up a little for me. It was good but not great and i was still a bit skeptical about the show. I didn't mind hearing it early but a better opener would have made it better for me. Bathtub Gin: Great song, tight jam. I was definatley getting into the show. Wolfman's brother: Amazing version in my opinion. Maybe the highlight of the show for me. After it was over i thought it would be. Really funky and groovin. A great song and mike was laying it down. Guyute: I know they play it every night, but does that make it a bad song? Hell no. One of my favorite phish songs and it did not dissapoint. No flub ups that i noticed. Train song: Good version. Very smooth and sweet. Set the tone for... YEM: Holy crap. This was huge. Very tight and intricate, even with tramps. This, i think, turned out to be the show maker for me. Vocal jam was sick, especially with the lights. They definatley led at least the vocal jam. I think the lyrical mess up added to the song, reminding everyone that trey actually is human during this flawless version. What a way to end the first set. Left me knocked on my ass. Set break: Damn security made me stop playing footbag with some folks in the hallway. We were in a little corner at the 400 level out of everyone's way and it was totally controlled. Never had that happen before. wish i were going to Hampton. Second set Sample in a jar: a good opener in my opinion and i had told my friend (first show) that it was on my wishlist for the second set. It was strong and energetic. Maze: Very dark and kickin. I wasn't as familiar with this song as all of the others and i loved it from start to finish. Maybe the most out there jam of the night but i was with it the whole time.. Free: Woah. Where did this come from? Never heard a version of free that was this good. Vocals were right on and the jam was unbelievable. When this song is right on it just seems to sing to the heart and bring tears to the eyes. Dirt: Good tune, good break. Good job mike. Reba: Way to pick it back up after a mellow song. I love hearing this one live and everyone there did too. Good light-hearted jam. Halley's: I was psyched to hear this one because it was another from my wishlist. Vocals that show were some of the best i've heard from phish. The whole place was rockin out to this one. Suzy??? Talk about energy! Especially coming out of Halley's. Definately left the crowd begging for more at the end of the set. Encore: Frankenstein: I wasn't all that happy to hear this one starting, hoping for more crazy phish tunes, but it definatley did the trick. The guys were locked in on this one and a good drum solo always makes my day. Rocky top: Bit of a let-down as a closer. Not much to it. I was still pumped about a second encore song. Conclusion: A hell of a show. The band was really tight throughout and Mike and page really came to play. It was nice to not just have trey dominating all the time. I was totally absorbed in every song after DWD. Public transportaion on the Metro went flawlessly. They definatley made the best out of a bad situation and made an awful venue the site of the best phish concert i've been to. Thanks guys! John D. Love you Laura! Wish you had been there.
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 09:52:04 EST From: adam scheinberg [email protected] To: [email protected], [email protected] Subject: review, MCI Center, 12/15/99 12/15/99 MCI Center, Washington, DC I: Down with Disease, Farmhouse, Bathtub Gin, Wolfman's Brother, Guyute, Train Song, You Enjoy Myself II: Sample in a Jar, Maze, Free*, Dirt, Reba, Halley's Comet > Suzie Greenberg E: Frankenstein, Rockytop** * w/ Trey on keys ** w/ Frankenstein teases at end [note: I removed some segues because I felt they were usually NOT segues] -------------------------------------------------- I have some mixed feelings about this show. I got there at a perfect time, about 10 minutes before set 1. When the lights went down, I have to admit, I was relatively sure we were getting a First Tube opener, because the tour had been semi-predictable so far, with a few exceptions (Silent w/o Horse, Ride Captain Ride...). Anyway, the staticky noise in the beginning became Down With Disease and the night was off. Down with Disease: This song is always hit or miss with me. For such a fabulous song, I hate that they always rush through it. It's always too fast. Now this one was pretty standard. The jam was long and, at times, pointless, but they brought it back around really well. In the end, I wasn't upset, but I was warmed up for something on fire. Instead, there was Farmhouse. I LOVE this song, but it's kinda like it shows up every other show now. So I sat back and enjoyed the mellow "No Woman, No Cry" jam. I wasn't upset, but I was warmed up for something on fire. Bathtub Gin was next. Okay, the show was progressively getting better. This Gin was easy, and the jam went way out. In my setlist, I almost labelled it Gin > Jam > Gin. The lights were really cool for this too. Like DwD, it came back around really nicely. The end reprised the Trey solo riff and closed the song in an atypical fashion. After a short pause, Wolfman's Brother. I was starting to see a pattern here, with a bunch of standard songs. Sometimes, Wolfman's is so sweet is hurts. Sometimes, I feel like they're wasting my time, move on. This one was in between. Nice jam that I definitely enjoyed, good funk. The real pattern here was that, like the previous songs, the ending, the "come back around" part of the song was incredible. Trey hit the top of the bar chords making a very rock-song noise. I was really digging that. Guyute would follow. Aanother standard. Phantasy Phish players have got to be cleaning up tonight. I must admit, though I've seen this song more than my share of times, this version was a crystal copy of the one of TSOTG. I had to enjoy its precision. Well executed. Train Song. Train Song?! What the hell are they doing closing a totally standard set with Train Song? Again, well played, not too sloppy. Perfect harmonies. Not let down, but never really too into it to get worked up. And Trey must've known that, because before leaving stage, out comes a set 1... You Enjoy Myself. What the hell? Is this the second set? Aa sweet, tight, very short YEM wrapped up the set. Very cool. Reminded me a lot of the 7-7-99 Charlotte vocal jam with the swinging lights. I can definitely credit Chris Kuroda with me enjoying this one. He controlled the jam more than any band member. I was totally digging YEM the entire time. SET ONE IN RETROSPECT: I was not disappointed. But everyone around me loved it and I was still waiting for something huge. I was pretty psyched for set 2 to care about set 1 at this point. HIGHLIGHTS: Wolfman's Brother jam, Gin jam, YEM. Set Break: Met a ton of new people: Douglas, MS, D-man, Ugly Pig, 566, Dexy, Brian G... pretty cool. Also, my dad had paged me mid-set, so, for the first time, I talked to my Dad mid-Phish show. He told me he say tix for MCI on e-Bay, but didn't bid because he assumed that I had to have tickets. He knows his son well. Set 2 opened with Sample. My eyes rolled back and I was having flashbacks of Worcester 98 night 2, where everything was user friendly and Hoist-ish. Where the hell is my Peaches? But, alas, Sample was pretty decent, and not too long. Quick comment: Even if the song isn't my favorite, if they keep it brief and tight, I can't say I mind. As it was with Sample. Next up was Maze. The first time for the show I was pretty pleased with the song choice. Maze gets the crowd going. And I was swinging around like a little monkey. Free. I love this song. I got sick of it in 96 when it was on the radio every 30 seconds, but since this summer or so I relearned to love it. This was the wackiest Free I've ever heard with the exception of 11/22/95 (which ain't all that) Right before the "I've floating in the blimp a lot, I feel the feeling I forgot...." bridge part in the middle, they launched into a ridiculously long jam. Trey hit the keys and I kicked back into cruise mode. It must've gone on for about twenty minutes - a really good twenty minutes - before Trey suddenly realized they were playing Free. They returned to the song like they never left it. The set was steadily getting better. Now listen, I don't know who called in the setlist, but there was no segue between Free and Dirt. It's certainly not a segue when feeback from the end of one song drags 15 seconds and then the next song starts. A segue doesn't just imply no noise. Dirt. Dirt is Dirt, but you know what? This is as clean and crisp and Dirt can get. If you like this song, you'll want the tapes. As impressive as the first time I feel in love with this song. Then it came. The song I had called: Reba. Oh, sweet mother, this was the show-maker for me. This was like watching Phish in 1993. It was so well played. I had to smile the whole time. This jam wasn't the best I've ever heard, but, son-of-a-bitch if it wasn't just as good as any moment I've had at a Phish show. I got toally introspective. I was out and back. I was watching the crowd. I was deep in my thoughts in my head. I was LOVING LIFE. This is what people come to Phish shows to see! This is why I travel to fucking Florida to watch four ugly Vermonters play music for endless hours! This is why people I've never met and I are hugging and hanging out during setbreak! This is why I am here! Phish at their humblest! But it had to end. What the hell could possibly follow that? Halley's Comet: You know what? Not a half bad choice! This was without question the shortest Halley's I've ever even heard. I bet it clocks less than 5 minutes. It was very tight. I was impressed. Then out of absolutely nowhere - Suzy: WHAT!? SA-WEET! This was the equivalent of injecting the crowd with an adrenaline shot. The place went wild! Maybe this was the show maker! (NOTE: This way a segue. There was NO definable pause between songs, except maybe one beat in the rhythm.) I never saw it coming. One second it was Halley's, the next it was Suzy. I love Suzy, even if she did forget the Dude's name. SET 2 IN RETROSPECT: It built up so nice and got progressively better. Highlights include an awesome but whistling-less Reba, a pristine Dirt, and a totally cracked Suzy! Frankenstein: Yeeeeeeeah! I was flashing back to the mega-Frank in Barcelona in August 98. This one was a powerful little number. The crowd was still flying off the walls. Gotta love Edgar Winter. Rocky Top: Isn't everyone just happy to get a two song encore? This was a nice Rocky Top, and careful listeners heard a little Frankenstein at the end. I almost felt like they didn't want to leave the stage. Nice. BOTTOM LINE: Well, I didn't get my First Tube, Sand, Free Thought or Jiboo (C'Mon Hampton!) This is my first show where EVERY song was a repeat. But overall, I enjoyed myself. A Lot. Reba and Suzy were two ladies that made the night most worthwhile. Some fans keen on quality will want to check out crystal versions of Dirt and Guyute. peace, Adam S
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 01:14:08 -0800 (PST) From: Bart Tantillo [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Repulsive 12/15/99 First things first. A pat on the back to yours truly for maintaining his 12th place position out of 1,569 entrants in the December Tour Phantasy Phish League heading into the final three shows. I am looking to make my move into the top 3 tomorrow night, and running away with the title this weekend in Hampton. "Welcome to the M.C.I. Center in the beautiful ghetto of our nation's capital. We are proud to be the worst concert venue in America, and we hope you have bulletproof windows on your car." That is what should be playing over the P.A. system as you enter this behemoth arena, one so ill-equipped for hosting a concert that I wonder why in the world Phish even considered playing there in the first place. I don't care how big and pretty the hallways are, or how good the climate control is, this place is a disaster. I suppose I cursed myself by assuming the worst as we drove down I-95 in pouring rain and dense fog. I knew before even stepping in the place it was going to suck, but I thought if I expected the absolute worst, I would be pleasantly surprised if the sound was just average, or even a bit below average. What we got when the lights went down was a feeling like we were seeing Phish in a domed football stadium. Last week in Maine I felt as if the band was wasting an incredible arena with two substandard shows. Last night was the exact opposite, with the band wasting what was a pretty good show on a horrendous arena. No matter how hard I tried to see and hear through the echoes and distance, I just couldn't do it. It's like reaching for something with everything you have, only to fall short when you are oh so close. So that being said, on to the show. We (Myself and the Senator from Doylestown, Matt Kennedy) spent most of the trip down figuring out what songs were "on the board" as he likes to say. This tour being the way it is, almost every Phish song came to mind except the ones played Monday in Providence, and even those weren't completely ruled out. What I was dreading almost as much as the arena that awaited us was the probability of the show being a complete dud, for lack of a better word. This is the time the band usually cleans out their musical locker before graduation day in Hampton. Notorious for playing like they can't wait to get to Virginia, the thought of a stinker of a show worried me. Well what we got was a show that was pretty good, looks better on paper, and will quickly fall out of my good graces due to the aforementioned M.C.I. Center. I.Down with Disease, Farmhouse, Bathtub Gin, Wolfman's Brother, Guyute, Trainsong, You Enjoy Myself II. Sample in a Jar, Maze, Free>Dirt, Reba, Halley's Comet>Suzie Greenberg E:Frankenstein>Rocky Top Looks damn good doesn't it. Well not so fast. The show began in grand fashion (sarcastic), with Down with Disease, being played virtually every other night since this tour began. As I strained my eyes to see the stage from our FIRST LEVEL seats, I thought I saw Trey glance at me and smile that shit eating grin, as I have heard it described, directly towards me, almost as if to say "No matter where you go, you can't hide from this song". I gritted my teeth and sat through another subpar version, with a jam that never went anywhere, and waited for the set to really start. Farmhouse was as cool as ever, especially with Trey adding the fading "alright, alright, alright..." lines after the "In the farmhouse things will be alright" line. Uh, sure Bart. Bathtub Gin was the highlight of the first set for me, overshadowing versions of Guyute, Wolfman's, and YEM that got lost somewhere in the disgustingly oversized arena before they had a chance to hit me. Speaking of You Enjoy Myself, note to Trey Anastasio; There are four main words in the song, try remembering them. That's right folks, our favorite lyric flubber was up to his old tricks again, forgetting the "God" line in YEM, saying "Shit" instead, then trying to play it off as a "Shhhhhhhh" sound that segued into the "God". So in essence, what we got were two "Shits" and a half assed "God". Boy I sound pissy don't I? I was hoping a stellar second set would help me finally get passed the lack of quality sound, but it was not to be. Sample and Maze, both songs I like, but now we were losing touch with the band. They began to fade into the darkness of the arena, and may as well have boarded the buses for Raleigh. Even a great Free couldn't save the day, as it wove into Dirt and I contemplated sitting down during a Phish set for the first time in my life. I didn't, however in retrospect, I wish I would have. The concert experience was ruined for me by the end of Reba, and I couldn't help but think of Hampton, and how close I am to redemption for the night of torture I was enduring at this hellish place. Halley's Comet was "jam-less", I think the band just wanted out at that point, choosing an odd Suzie segue instead. Frankenstein>Rocky Top...Does Murphy's Law apply to shows wasted in terrible rooms? As usual, I am sure I will be in the minority with this review. People are going to go as far as to call this a great show, and they are entitled to it. For me it was an exercise in futility. I hope the Wizards and Capitals never win another game in that hellhole, and they are forced to shut it down for lack of revenue. Thank God for the Hampton Coliseum!
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 01:45:33 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: MCI Center 12-15-99 Only a few short things to say about this show. Downtown DC, the best thing that happened before the show was some dumb cop smashing into an innocent driver. Gotta love that right? But anyway, no real surprises during the first set. I could see the Bathtub coming. I don't know if it was just me, but it seemed like the first set was thrown together just to tune up some songs before New Years. All in all, decent first set with an always energetic YEM to finish the set. It was nice to see my old friend Alphabet Soup entertaining the crowd during the set break. You all know who i'm talking about. The crazy wired acid trip guy that was screaming near the floor in the back. It was also nice to see him give a nice b-day shout out to some girl. If anybody was totally baffled by his Soup and Salad routine I'd be glad to fill you in sometime. He was a legend on Dead tour and it's nice to see him back in the game. As for the second set. Loved it. All I wanted to hear was Halley's Comet and boom, they broke it out after a very welcome Reba. The Maze earlier in the set was also a pleasant surprise for me. I was so happy to hear Halley's though, that i was content for the night, but after a slightly muffed up entrance into Suzy Greenberg I couldn't have been more into the show. It brought everybody to their feet including the old bald stiff a couple rows in front of me there with his cutie daughter. Kind of wish they would have ended the encore with Frankenstein, but what the hell, Rocky Top is always nice to hear too, and it's fun to watch Trey go crazy with feedback. Welcome back Alphabet Soup........ peace, Don (48 shows in the bag!!)
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 02:55:47 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Review of 12/15/99 12/15/99 Note to reader: I went to this show sober. I took my Dad and my Brother to there first Phish show. I have to say I was more than a little bit pumped to see the boyz this fine evening. Having made the trip to Philly 12/11/99 I was really looking forward to this night. I had finally talked my Dad to come see a Phish show. I took my brother too, who only likes the dead. His fault. Anyway to the show. The security was a real pain. It seemed like whenever a Jam was building a Guard would come by to bug someone. SeT I Dwd-Having heard it earlier, I was looking for something else, but happy as always,I liked the philly version better though. Farmhouse-Slow song real soon, but felt sort of in place. Bathtub Gin-Nice song to hear, nice Jams, but had the "where is this going thought" Wolfman's-Happy as hell to see it. Love this song. I thought it was played well, but nothing to freakish or anything. Guyute-Trey's super guitar bomb. It was nice to hear, but hasn't changed, sounds like your typical Trey super jam. Train Song-This was cool. Having road the train with the family to the show. I was happy they played this. Dad liked it. YEM-YES! knew it was coming soon. Dropped in on us at DC. It was a really nice version. CK5 gets mad love for the lights in the vocal jam. Super huge. Set comes to a close Happy really looking forward to the second set. Reactions Dad: I like the lights...The train the one about the train I liked....Guitar player reminds me on Santana. Brother:I knew some of those songs...Jams aren't going anywhere.....can't hear the keys at all.....I can see why people listen to them. Back to the show. Sample-Nice way to kick start the second set. Nothing but smiles (1st ever) Maze-Nice again! (1st ever) Super jam Free-Strong Free good playing, Trey went key crazy though Dirt-I don't know. I mean it was good...I don't know just something else Reba-Ok I'm sorry the band just smacked me and told me to shut up. SUPER JAM Halley's-Was really glad they played this song. But I thought it would have gotten a louder re-action....."goin down to the central part of town" Suzie-Classic turned everone on there heads. Place went nuts. E: Frankenstein; Wanted another Phish tune, but nice solo by Bob Weaver was nice Rockytop-Huge was nice to hear this. Reactions:Dad: Thanks, great lights Brother:Still like the dead better...oh they turn the keyboard player up Overall-It was a very good show. I enjoyed the song selection. Having seen 2 shows recently, I have to say there playing really well. Can't wait for HAMPTON.....then on to the swamp. B
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 00:12:22 -0800 (PST) From: Anthony Pierce [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: MCI Review First of all, I'm gonna fail my geology final tomorrow. This morning I get a call and an offer to go to the show...Phish or study for finals (University of Del)......We did the spectrum shows which were very nice but since the rumor about the year off, we were off...hehehehehe. We got lost in DC. We parked for 20 bucks.We lost Brian twice. We finally got into the building and.... DOWN WITH DISEASE: Always nice, just heard it on Saturday, but I'm not complaining FARMHOUSE:Always a favorite. I can't see the new ending everyone is talking about though. BATHTUB!!:Very nice jam WOLFMAN'S:Not a big fan,but they jammed this one nicely too GUYUTE:Execellent as usual TRAIN SONG:Very mellow,crowd seemed to enjoy YEM!!!:Very cool vocal jamming with trampolines The security was a bitch duing intermission. I lit up a cigarette and this older bald headed tough guy security man comes up and tells me to put it out. I of course just put it down out of his view. He leaves and comes back ten minutes later and says to me "Hey friend, are you hardheaded? Why don't you give me a name for yourself becuase that's what I'm thinking you are a hardhead." What dude? Then he was trying to fraternize with the entire crowd like he was some funny/hardass. What a bitch. SET II.... Sample: Three hoist songs....good thing was...it wasn't jammed out. MAZE!!!!:Yeah! The jam part gets me every time FREE:Extremely long, they seemed to be confused as to what Trey was doing on his keyboard set for so long... DIRT: Wanted to hear that. Guitar licks are so relaxing. ....at this point the show became INSANE........ REBA!!!!!: Oh man, very tight jam and after the chill part a pause where one would expect the whistling to come in......well...how about...."Bah Choo Bah Bah Choo..." HALEY'S COMET!!!!!!!:OH man, I went NUTS....wow...and after that...right into..... SUZY GREENBERG!!!!:AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! OH MAN UNBELIEVABLE :):) totally made my night E:FRANKENSTEIN: always fun ROCKY TOP: thought frank should have ended it...just seemed appropriate.... By the way...Jerry and Brian are two of the worst drivers ever....just kidding guys you know i think you're both swell guys! I LOVE YOU BRIDGET!!!!
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 02:48:22 -0500 From: Brian Rosenberg [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: Review of 12/15 I skipped out on a good 10 hours of studying for an organic chemistry final exam, but thats what you gotta do when the phab phour are around. I must agree with the previous submissions that were displeased with the lack of a lot scene. Hey, what are ya gonna do? As for the show... Set I DWD: well, I personally like this song as a second set opener and not the opener of the show, but it rocked. The boys really seemed to be clicking. Farmhouse: a personal favorite. pretty standard version. i felt it was good placement after a long, jammed out opener. Bathtub Gin: big hit with the crowd. excellent version. really paved the way for the rest of the set with long, jammed out songs. Wolfman's Brother: again, really kept the crowd into it. very strong. Guyute: this was my first show of the last two tours, so i haven't heard this in a while and i really enjoyed it. standard version, but i really think its a great song. crowd loved it! Train Song: excellent placement for this chill song. standard version, but it gave everyone a chance to sit back and catch their breath from the past three long songs. YEM: great, great version. Trey had a little problem with saying "God", no big deal. lights were spectacular. one of the best first set closers. left the crowd really happy for the break. overall, strong set. out of 10, id give it an 8. no new songs which i didn't like to see, but great versions of old favorites. Set II Sample: see, i thought this would have been a much better opener to the first set, while DWD would have worked perfectly right here. oh well. really got the crowd going early. Maze: i was really happy to here this one. excellent version. real good placement after the short opener. Free: best of the set. great job on this one. almost as good as the version from Hampton last year. Dirt: good song. brought everyone down a little bit and gave us a moment to relax before... Reba: really, really kickin. a little disappointed not to hear the whistling at the end. Halley's Comet: really unexpected. i thought the placement wasn't perfect. pretty standard version, until the end where it lead directly into... Suzie Greenberg: Page was really on fire during this one. very loud and up tempo. great way to end the second set. overall, also strong set. still disappointed with the lack of new songs though. give it a 7 Encore: Frankenstein: great, great encore song. crowd was loving it. Rocky Top: haven't heard this one in years. really happy to hear it again. Page was burning again with a couple of great solos. interesting ending. they kept it going for a while and really kept fooling Chris. lights kinda lost the music at this point, but that didn't matter at all. excellent encore. 9 for intensity and great tunes. Overall, gotta give the show a 7 or 8. i was very happy with the performance, i just really thought that since they just worked on their new album and since they weren't in DC last year, there should have been some new songs so people, like me, who can't get to every show can hear some of the great songs of the future.
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 02:49:25 -0400 From: chris [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: MCI Center 1999 All I really can say is Im glad I went I got lucky and got killer seats on Paige side, got to see how good of spirits the boys were in :) DWD. opened up strong Bathtub honestly started a little tiny bit off but MAN DID IT BLAST OFF INTO ORBIT by the time they hit the jam! The Wolfmans was very nice :) Guyute was typicaly good YEM was YEM in a good strong way and oh yeah the Farm House was very nice even if it was the second song. second set was NICE as well The Reba IMO was very tight and well played with quite a bit of improv at the end ( more so then usual) Im tired so may review more later by the way the Fank encore was very tight and the boys really enjoyed it I think all smiles from them and me. Rocky top was well done but standard. by the way Paige is much to low in the mix!!!!!! everybody else is perfect or gets close to it by mid way through the second set but Paige is way to low which is a crime IMO. SEE YA at Hampton!
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 01:24:49 -0500 From: [RT] To: [email protected] Subject: MCI REVIEW Lots were beat. Security sucked. . . but it was one of the phattest shows I've ever seen. I called PYITE opener and we getta DWD: Real nice: it was one of the last songs I heard in Philly but it was sweet. The jam was cut short. FARNHOUSE: NIce. . . I love this song. I didn't hear any "new" arrangment. BATHTUB GIN: Called it and once aghain people were buggin out. Reminded me of the WOLFMANS: PHATTY JAM GUYUTE: People seemed to be liking it but I enjoyed the cigarrette accompanied by a phat joint! Trainsong: NIce slowed it down for YEM: Nice Weak vocal jam The set could definatewly stand alone and make for a "worht it set" However, the second set fuckin rocked SAMPLE: first time I truly enjoyed it, Chris was awesome MAZE: FUCK YEAH! AWESOME FREE: HIghlight for me I was lookin for it for three shows and found NICE DIRT: Coole as shit. Yeah know HALLEYS COMET: ALright from here on out the show went from good to fuckin awesome. HAleys was sick as shit no jam but evferyone was up and about REBA: Called it it was disgusting thats all I can say GHET THE TAPE SUZIE G: AHHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA YEAH FRANKENSTEIN: Holy shit out of control could of stood on its own with out rocky top top four shows Ive seeennmnn tumes
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 01:43:23 EST From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: MCI review First I must preface this by stating how displeased I was with the police and security at this show. They were totally out of control. SET 1: DWD- always a great way too start a show. Not that jammed out but still it was really good Farmhouse- was not quite ready for a slow song this early in the show but this rocked, really good Bathtub Gin- always good to hear a classic, this was where the show really took off, everyone went nuts when they heard this, and the boys really kicked it into high gear, thought I heard a Free tease at the end Wolfman's- totally unexpected, have not heard this in awhile, really rocked, Mike was really laying it down Guyute- was not really excited to hear this, I think it should be retired for awhile, but alot of people seemed really excited to hear this, average version nothing really mind blowing Train Song- love this one, I think it was dedicated to everyone who took the subway to the show, nothing really spectacular, but a real solid version YEM- everyone went nuts when this started, Mike was dropping bombs, killer jam, and awesome lights during the vocal jam. Overall really solid set, the highlights being Wolman's and YEM SET 2: Sample- a personal favorite, really good, strong and solid Maze- thought it was David Bowie for a second, but then realized it was Maze, really have not heard this in awhile, really rocked, Set 2 is looking really good Free- been dying to hear this, started off awesome, Trey got on a keyboard in the jam, the jam seemed to get a little lost though, though i was really glad to hear this Dirt- another great slow song, after the energy of Maze&Free this really hit the spot, really good version Reba- not crazy about this song in concert, i like it when they play it slower rather than at a really fast pace, no whistling( I wanted to hear it), jam kind rambled and seemed alittle too long Halley's- Trey went over to Mike before this and must of decided to play this, another classic and rarity, everyone went crazy when Mike started it off, this really made my night, killer song Suzie G.- this show was turning into a classic, this rocked, good jam, shocked everyone after hearing Halley's right before it E: Frankenstein- did not really want to hear this as an encore, but it won me over, good Fish solo Rocky Top- love to hear some bluegrass, typically version, doesn't change much but it was icing on the cake Overall, really, really good show, made up for the lack of a lot scene, thanks to Dave from Simply Kind for the ticket stub, I couldn't sit in the nosebleeds
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 00:10:11 -0500 From: kc [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 12-15-99 mci phirst off, let me just say wow!! end of finals and so much to do, but phish is too close to the home base to skip... didn't expect that much from the mci center, but boy did phish blow the place apart from the getgo! a monster first set with three amazing platform jams with phavorites disease, bathtub and wolfman's and top notch compositions in guyute and yem... after guyute i looked to my friend and commented how perfect it would be for this to all end with yem... a short break and then there it was, phunky and phat... unreal, one of the biggest first sets ever imo. a set like this would be next to impossible to top, but could it be? second set opened with standard phare played well but unexceptionally, took a seat for dirt and then asked for reba... it was just one of those nights! getting late, possible closer next, but instead, my favorite lyrics perhaps in the whole phish repertoire- i'm sinking down and its a glorious feeling!! into miss suzy to close?? wonderful. thought frank was the end and was pleased to hear rocky top with the tennessean (word?) i was with... all in all a surprisingly hot performance at a new venue, first time in dc limits for the boys since i believe '93. first set rivaled the perfection of the second night philly first set, and phish is rollin;, more phucked up than f*&ked up!! peace all and see you in hampton! bryan

below are reviews of the above reviews, reviewers or the opinions expressed by the authors
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 10:27:41 -0800 From: Matt Nichols [email protected] To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected] Subject: MCI Review In response to Bart Tantillo's review, I've got a few points. First off, if you go into the show expecting the worst, that's what you'll get. Even so, a bad Phish show is still a great time, the 12/29/97 show in DC was the worst one I've ever seen, in the rafters of the ratty old USAir Arena, yet it was still a fun time. More importantly, don't let your stereotypes about DC cloud your perception of the city: "Welcome to the M.C.I. Center in the beautiful ghetto of our nation's capital....we hope you have bulletproof windows on your car." You obviously haven't been around urban areas before. Chinatown (MCI's neighborhood) is a wonderfully diverse part of town in a vibrant and quickly improving city. I've seen that neighborhood improve vastly over the years. Urban areas like this where people from different can co-exist are quickly vanishing, leaving us with sprawling, anonymous suburbs. If you don't know what it's like to live in the middle of a big city, please don't judge it. Also, not every urban area is a bullet-ridden wasteland, especially not that part of DC. Moreover, the term 'ghetto' is horribly offensive, don't throw it around. Matt
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 18:53:50 -0500 From: Brendan Bullock [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 12/15/99 MCI I realize that it is not generally encouraged to criticize other people's reviews of the shows on this board, but I feel obliged to, if only to save this show from being "dissed" or passed of as just another stop along the road to Hampton... First of all, being a poor college student, I usually only get to see about one show a year. Tonight's was the first since Worcester last Nov. This being the case, I get pretty exited before getting to see the band. Okay - VERY exited. My buddies and I came to this show pumped, excited, sober, and expecting a great show. Phish gave us all more than we could have asked for. There is no need to outline each song from both sets, as it has already been done, but I would just point out a few highlights - the DWD opener.... as soon as I saw Trey plug in his 'Doc, flashing a great grin, and then hearing Mike lay down the bass, I just got so pumped up.... I was back in phantasy-world.... that place which I get to visit so infrequently, besides in my own head as I listen to boots.... I loosened my legs, started dancing, and listened to that sweet, familiar sound once again, tears of joy running from my eyes as I sang along..... the jam was tight and funky, but mellow...matching my mood perfectly. A great way to start the show. The Bathtub Gin was not expected by me, so I was psyched... this jam too was tight but rather reserved... I wouldn't say that it had no direction, as others have said, but it never just busted out as Gin jams can at times.... Wolfman's was funky and yummy... Trainsong was surprisingly one of my calls - one of my favorite songs from Billy Breathes, and thsi was just a beautiful version. YEM- I wanted to call it but I thought it was out of the question.... but to everyone's delight, there it was..... Now, any of you who have heard the 11/02/98 E. Centre show - This YEM was almost a carbon copy (which is a very good thing) with the exception of the vocal jam, which was based around Chris' AMAZING lightwork... too amazing a vocal jam to describe. Great buildup - TIGHT funk jam. So Trey messed up "God" BIG DEAL. Get a job. Everyone I talked to was super psyched after that first set, and all had high hopes for the second. The band did not let up. Sample - Hoist songs , in my opinion, are great set openers - they tend to get people pretty pumped up, and this one did. Great Maze jam....they really took this one on investigative journey....I wondered how it would resolve - near the end, Trey pulled the weapon of dissonance out of his arsenal, laying down these awkward sounding harmonies for a few bars, only then to break into bright beautiful consonance, and then repeat.... Chris meanwhile mirrored each return of consonance with rainbow colored lighted...neat, intelligent music. FREE- Okay folks...I'm not even going to attempt. You owe it to yourself to go get these tapes and check out this jam for yourself. It was HUGE. Dirt - My favorite of the slower songs... I find the lyrics, harmony and melody to be amazingly beautiful, and this was the best electric version I've heard... just so pretty and sweet... goodness. REBA.... again, HUGE. Of all the Rebas I've heard, I'll stick my neck out and say that this one is overshadowed only by 12/31/95. Most of all though, I will remember this jam as just being beautiful. Halley's - I had almost forgotten this song existed, hadn't heard it since the Went. Not the greatest, but enough so to make me (and seemingly everyone else there) REALLY SUPER happy and remind me that its one of my favs.... Suzie - My first...and yes, I agree with an earlier review - people went NUTS, and Page was HOT HOT HOT. E: Frankenstine hadn't infiltrated my ears since the Cliff Ball... this one was just large and in charge - Trey was LOVING it...filled the whole place up and just throbbed and pulsed. Rockytop - I agree, somewhat contrived after the Frank, but then again, who doesn't like Rockytop? So, that is it - I came out of the show feeling GREAT - having my expectations met and then completely surpassed by the band. One of my favorite concert experiences ever. And the band (especially Trey) was just SO happy and upbeat... it's so good to see that. Another note... MAD PROPS to the crowd, who after engaging in a fun little glow war at the end of the second set showed great tact by bringing it to a halt when the band came out to encore... i was worried about sticks being thrown on stage for a bit, but my fears were assuaged...thanks alot guys - I really mean that. Finally, in response to this trashing of MCI, it's employees, and the band's performance, I just have to ask one question... Why do you even bother going to shows, man? Sounds as if its a drag....and thats no good. At least if it is a drag, don't wantonly throw around negativity in places like this board... Everyone I talked to at the show had a GREAT time...why didn't you? You know what? I would suggest taking some time off - maybe a couple of years.... sounds like you've seen TOO MUCH Phish.... if the magic isn't apparent to you, then something's wrong. I wish you luck. I was impressed by MCI - very clean and very spacious, though not much room to dance. And the employees were all INCREDIBLY kind - I stood around and talked to some of them about the band preshow, I saw one guy having trouble with a security guy on the way out, but you know what? It was his own fault. Don't light up if you've been asked politely not to and then trash the person who calls you on it more harshly the second time. And to my mind, the same goes for the lots. Don't complain about getting busted, or that the lots were weak because the security was too tight to peddle Sammy Smiths. Phish is here to play us music, not to guarantee a thriving menagerie outside every show. Alot of stuff sold on lots is illegal - face up to that fact, and don't complain if you get in trouble. It's nobody's fault but your own. Last note - as teh band does, encourage your friends NOT to come to shows w/o tix - especially in a place like DC, it makes for nutsy traffic. So, that's it - and I know I've probably come off like some prudish, straightedge idiot, but I feel more and more as if Phish is becomeing less about the music and more about the scene to many people, and that is really discouraging to me. Phish is one of the most beautiful facets of my life - and I want that facet to always remain safe and healthy. I just hope that by the time I see my 50th show or whatever, I won't be one of those guys posting to this board about how it wasn't as good as this one or that one, that lyrics were flubbed, etc. IT'S ABOUT THE MUSIC, AND BEING HEALTHY AND HAPPY. Cheers to the awesome crowd tonight..... and thank you Phish for giving me a dose rich enough to last through another year....... ~Brendan
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