12-31-99 -- Seminole Indian Reservation, Big Cypress, Florida

Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 14:58:48 PST
From: Mike Walker [email protected]
To: [email protected]
 
-Though I'd pass along my thoughts on the 7 and 1/2 hour set too; thanks for
posting it.
 
Well, where to begin?  I saw these guys for the first time at NYE
1995-another phenomenal New Years show in itself-and they continue to amaze
me.  What I think that I love the most about Phish, besides the amazing
improvisation abilities, is their dedication to the audience.  The
showmanship that this band has maintained from the beginning is wonderful
and, as long as they can avoid any football stadium size showns, I'd be
willing to bet that it will continue.  A seven and 1/2 hour set with
virtually no breaks is, to me, almost incomprehensible.  Not only does this
take MUCH musical skill and physical endurance, but it absolutely requires a
love for the audience.  It's a rarity to see the band and the audience not
interacting in some way at a show.  Hampton, for instance, has become a
virtually unified atmosphere between the band and the audience.  With
regards to this year, it was like we all were involved in playing Harry Hood
on the second night (quck note: the best YEM that I have EVER
witnessed!!!!!!).  The dedication that it took to do this set and, in fact,
the whole damned thing, by far makes this event the best show that I've been
too.
     Musically, I was impressed by their choice.  I, like everyone, thought
that something funky would go down (an entire Gamehendge, Phil dropping by,
etc.), but what they did do, in my opinion, was even better--7 and 1/2 hours
of kickass Phish!  Did they seem to get tired at parts?--hell yes!  Who
wouldn't!  My Soul and Free to me sounded like fatigue was beginning to set
in.  But they bounced back with a Roses are Free that went ALL OVER the
place.  Highlights for me were: Down with Disease; Twist Around>Prince
Caspian>Rock and Roll (although, admittedly, a touch of MDMA played a small
part in that), Crosseyed and Painless, Sand, Bug, Velvet Sea, and Meatstick
Reprise (jeez Trey, you didn't have to cry--thank you!).  Overall though,
the set was truly a defining moment for this band.
     Otherwise, one small issue to bring up.  For the most part, I didn't
see any real littering problems--until the sun came up on 1/1/00.  Frankly,
this was embarrasing.  I know that the crowd moved around a lot, and that
it's hard to keep track of your stuff, but still...  This is just about
simple morality and respect.  And as for the empty syringes, all I have to
say is, if it killed Jerry, it WILL kill you.  Get help.
     Overall, a wondrous experience worthy to tell the grandkids about.
Best,
Mike Walker

Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2000 13:10:57 -0500
From: Amy Lamar [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: big cypress
 
I think I can speak for everyone and summarize the whole weekend just by
saying:
 
                               THANK YOU PHISH
 
Dank hugs,  Amy
http://www.angelfire.com/vt/lamar/index.html
[email protected]
~let there be songs, to fill the air~

Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 16:19:23 GMT
From: James Powell [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Big Cypress Overall Review
 
My name is James Powell.  I am from Anchorage, Alaska and came 5,169 miles
to see the greatest musical event I have ever witnessed.  I had only seen
five shows before Big Cypress, but I would like to say the event was great.
I worked with Clean Vibes, and thank everyone who was on the crew, and Great
Northeast Productions for the opportunity to work for them with this event.
I don�t wish to go down the setlists and such, but I FINALLY got my Good
Times, Bad Times that I had been waiting for so long.  And being from
Alaska, Farmhouse, Tweezer and Tweezer Reprise were appropriate songs.  Now,
I don�t wish to harp on this issue, but I was a little UPSET at how trashed
the concert field was.  I do blame part of this to security, as they let
ANYTHING onto the concert field from the midnight to sunrise set.  All those
empty champagne bottles left on the field, come on people, if you brought
one or several, you should have had some consideration and brought them back
to your campsite!  And those cheap champagne glasses that shattered if you
breathed on them, picking up shards of them were also a pain.  I know,
everyone was partying, but still, I just wish people would have been more
considerate to Clean Vibes and made our job a little easier, but oh well.
Groundscoring was fun, as the crew found a lot of INTERESTING thing, but one
thing did SICKEN me, and it was used syringes.....:(  There were MANY of
them that were left in the campgrounds, and that was a disturbing sight to
say the least!  I made a lot of new friends with Clean Vibes, and we
exchanged phone numbers, addresses and e-mail addresses before we departed
Big Cypress.  Swimming in the backstage pool was fun, and we had a
Groundscore party for two consecutive nights before we left at 3rd and
Hampton.  EVERYTHING that was at the party was groundscored.....beer, lawn
chairs, torches, you name it!  It was a joyous time for me, and I am
thankful to be a part of this extraordinary event.  I will admit though, I
was kinda disappointed at the midnight to sunrise set, as I thought Phish
left out some songs that deserved playing.....Harpua, Loving Cup, Julius,
Divided Sky, Icculus, Sample in a Jar, Lizard, Sanity.  I was expecting an
album to be played, but did not get it.  Don�t get me wrong, I am not
blaming Trey, Mike, Page, or Jon at all, but I do think that the set was a
LITTLE more of hype than anything.  True they did play for 7 hours straight,
but some of the jams I thought became redundant, and at some point I thought
they just were trying to get to the sunrise.  I wish the band could have had
a better encore than Meatstick Reprise too.....staying up all night, and
getting that?  I wish they could have encored something lively, and sent us
on our merry way, but that�s them, not me.  I know I sound like one of those
people who write these reviews and wish for everything in the world, but I
don�t know....the ending of the show was just a little too weird for me.
But maybe being dosed on liquid made things a little weird for me anyway, as
I must listen to the set again to get a better grasp of things, since I was
LOST, and I mean, LOST from Rock n�Roll through Free!  I was in the taper�s
section for both nights, and hung out with a taper, his girlfriend, and his
other friends from Milwaukee.  So, to end this on a good note, I hope to see
you on summer tour.  Take care, you lower 48�ers, as I hope one day Phish
performs in Alaska, the Land of the Midnight Sun....what would be cool would
be for them to come up on the Summer Solstice, when the sun NEVER sets!!
The Grateful Dead came up in 1980 and performed on the Summer Solstice.
That would trip ya guys out, wouldn`t it?  :)  Take care, and whatever you
do, take care of your shoes!


Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 11:05:18 -0500
From: Steven Bowers [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: big cypress millenium concert

To all Phishheads,

This e-mail is to thank all the partying people that are still left on
this planet.  I thought only Seminoles were the only people who knew how
to to party hardy but I am wrong as was evident from the Phish concert
held on our reservertion.  The Phish concert was my first and was truly
the best that I can remember. I guess I can declare myself as a
"Phishhead".  I am not a real concert groopie but since I had never heard
of the Great Phish (along with the majority of South Florida) I figured I
would attend this event along with my my cousins.  Many of your e-mail
people may have seen us. We were the guys that looked like the Earp
Brothers, cowboys hats and all.  No guns just hats.

Thanks to all Phishheads who came to our reservation.  As a tribal member
and having attended other events at Big Cypress I would like to
congratulate the "Great Northeast Production Company" for putting on such
a well organized event. That statement is not my own but was echoed by
many Seminoles who attended "Phish".  Many of my tribal members are still
in "awe" of the amount of people that came to visit and are still talking
about the Phishheads.  I have taken a "Bowers Survey"  of tribal members
who attended the event who saw Phishheads coming and going. "The surveys
says" and this survey conducted by the firm of "Bowers, Osceola, Bowers,
and Billie" reports are totally Positive.  The Phishheads were very
appreciative, outgoing, polite, well mannered and very respectful of our
culture and of our Everglades environment.  It is fact that the "Phish"
was the concert of all concerts so many of my people can appreciate a good
party after all the word Seminole means "wild people" and there was
definitely some wild people out there. The "Phish: was advertised in our
tribal newspaper as the "Woodstock in the Everglades" and since I was in
Vietnam during Woodstock I cannot compare "Phish" to Woodstock.  I
definitely had a good time meeting people from Connecticut, Boston,
Colorado, New Hampshire, New York.  I even met a few Phishheads from my
own backyard Ft. Lauderdale.  Thanks to all ya'll Phishheads and ya'll
come back now you hear.

Sho-Naa-Bisha,  Stephen

Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 16:03:18 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: BC 12/31/99 set I review
 
Hey hey mon, thought I'd send you another little snippet, preparing to tackle
the overnight set.  Hope today finds you well.:
 
Okay, yet another stab at trying to recall the tasy melange that we all know
as Big Cypress.  This time, the magical prelude to the overnight set.
 
12/31/99-I
Runaway Jim-Unfortunately, I was in the ATM line this time.  Luckily I could
really hear the music, and the view wasn't so bad either.  Jim started this
evening off with a bang.  While kind of short and no Worcester '97 Jim, it
still rocked and was dead on.  It definitely got folks in a bouncy mood.
Funky Bitch-Still in line having a great conversation with the 100th person
I've met from Georgia at this show.  What a crowd pleaser this
is...definitely setting a more upbeat pace for the set.  Treys leads soar and
wail, Mike is having a blast singing.
Tube-Almost done in line, I really wanted to get back to my friends and
boogie at this point, and I made it back while they were jamming.  This was a
great choice to bust out, it grooves hard and thick with interweaving little
funky notes that wrap you up and send vibrations into your body that fill
your heart and soul with joy.  This was already a great set.
I Didn't Know-Fishman on vacuum, YES!  I could be wrong, but this seems to be
one they bust out in more intimate settings, such as the half-full Vancouver
show.  It's great that we had that intimate atmosphere, despite the size of
the venue and crowd.  Always fun to hear their onstage banter and get a wild
vacuum solo from Fishman.  No matter how many times I hear that vacuum
screech I always trip out on just how weird it is that 80,000 people gather
in a swamp and groove on some guy in a dress sticking a vacuum to his head
and jamming.
PYITE-Tightly played, but different sounding.  I haven't heard this song in
concert much, but I remember the Vegas 98 Punch was thick with that gooey
sound, and the intro was a bit longer.  This Punch seemed a bit short, but
satisfied nonetheless with a more rocky sound than usual.
Bouncin-I never have much to say about this song, I usually don't get into it
until the end.  Hey, they sounded great.  Being the last song on the first
Phish CD I ever bought, it's not quite what sold me on Phish.
Poor Heart-Whoo-hoo!  Interesting that they're pulling out some short songs,
but Poor Heart was fun...getting 80,000 people in a swamp to jump around like
a bunch of hillbillies is always a good thing in my book.  Page smokes on
this tune...mixing a bit of ragtime with some fast blues.
Roggae-While not the most unique Roggae in the world (see 9/17/99 Shoreline
for a Roggae that touches down to the most concentrated reaches of our
hearing until there is almost no sound, but so much music), it still actually
managed to make me cry.  I really dug the post on RMP from someone called
"Circus of Light" where she ties the lyrics of the song to what we were doing
there.  It just rang so true as the sky in the west began to taint with the
electric colors of dusk.  tears of joy came from my eyes...here we are, safe,
loved, maybe even at home, on the last sunset of the year.  Mike has been
doing beautiful work on this song, and Trey gives plenty of room to do it as
he and Page lay down textures of gorgeous sound.  Fishman plays with tasteful
gentlenesss, creating an amzing dynamic for the song.  As the first notes of
Roggae emerged from the mire I let out a huge "Yeah!!!!" that will probably
show up on your tapes as I seem to be the most excited about it.  I think
this is definitely Tom Marshall's best.  What can I say?  I love Roggae and
I'm holding out for that 20 minute exploratory version.
Split Open and Melt->-easily the highlight of the set.  Not only was it
tighter than hell, but they ditched the 9/8 measures and just went off on
this spacey, very urgent sounding groove.  It went in all sorts of cool
directions, even changing progressions at times as if the jam was composed.
Then it started to get really weird, they locked onto a groove and started
chanting.  For a little bit I was thinking "I know this...doh!  What is it?"
Catapult-Then it hit me as the strange words of Catapult rang familiar.  I
had seen setlists where they have thrown it into David Bowie, etc., but I
have never witnessed it nor do I have any tapes with this madness on them.
It was strange, surprising, slightly demonic (although divine compared to
last night's Mike's) and funny all at the same time.  Quite possibly their
biggest show ever and they're really doing some experimental stuff.  Trey
summed it up best, "Only at the largest concert in North America can you do
something like that."
Get Back On the Train-This song just flat out kicks ass.  Filled with
Honkey-Tonk funk, a great melody and terrific clav work from Page.
Bell-bottomed line dancers is what comes to mind I guess.  So far this has
been a really fun set.
Horn-I love the guitar solo in this song, and what makes it for me is when
they get all the notes right...no problem here.  The song blended with the
cool evening breeze and made us sway like reeds in a swamp.  Bliss.
Guyute-Doh!  This song follows me around like the plague, but I'm glad they
did it now and not in the overnight set.  I say "doh" when it starts, but
after a while I'm pretty into this song.  They were tight, sounded great and
Fishman's evil growling is always fun.
After Midnight-They started this up and I'm thinking "this sounds
different"...then Trey busts out the first words and the whole place went
friggin' nuts!!!!  Everyone kind of looked at each other and nodded in assent
that indeed, after midnight we would let it all hang out and then some!!!!
great choice for a cover and they tore the roof off of the tune.  Sorry
Clapton, but that one note guitar solo in your version doesn't come close to
the firy jams that Phish laid down on this tune.  The wait between sets would
seem too long at this point because everyone was fired up at this point.  A
rocking set closer and a message to all of us.  The anticipation was killing
me, but the satisfaction of this set reminded me to rest before
tonight...because this set alone had kicked my ass.
-John Pett

Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 19:18:51 -0500
From: William Scott Jennings [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: scooby's review
 
I'll make it short - the best concert ever !!! Let's do it again next
year & the next & the next.   same place - in the swamp.   please.

Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 12:29:32 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: (no subject)
 
80,000 phans + 5 sets (including one 7 hour plus set, any of you ever seen
that one before?) + totally cool security + 0 injuries due to violence - one
traffic jam =  one blown-away New Years celebration
                      DO THE MATH AND QUIT COMPLAINING

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 15:07:54 -0600
From: Erik Nilsson [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: show reviews
 
I have mixed emotions over the shows at Big Cypress.  The traffic in and
out of the venue really hampers my ability to remember clearly.  I don't
want to hear this crap about the traffic being inevitable becuase it
wasn't.  Sure I expected aroung a three to four hour jam but eight to
thirteen hours-come on!  I have become really sickened by the selfish
people that have recently become a part of the Phish. I have to get to
the concert first! Who has MY drugs. ME ME ME ME ME.  If you think for a
moment that by bombing around the left land only to horn in further up
line did not impede traffic even more then you are a selfish fool.  You
not only infuriated numerous concertgoers but also managed to block
traffic for the rest of the residents of Southern Florida. Good Job
guys, thumbs up!  I was also disgusted to see people throwing beer
bottles along the side of the road.  Is it so difficult to throw an
emtpy bottle on the floor of your car until you can find a trash can?
Everyone who has a fucking clue also new that there was only one gas
station on the alley so who were the idiots that did not gas up before
getting on the alley?Leaving the venue I can understand, but entering,
there was no excuse.  No excuse that is until the backup reached over
twelve hours.  Now that I have that off my chest let me get down to what
I thought of the shows.
    I was really pleased to see that Phish had gone all out in providing
a great atmosphere for the shows.The location and weather of Big Cypress
was truly a tropical paradise. I live in Minneapolis so to be able to
enjoy seventy and eighty degree weather in december/january was truly a
dream come true.  I was surprised to see that there really was not
anything shakin on Shakedown street- used to be the heart of the town,
but I've been to enough shows to not really care.  I go to Phish shows
for the music and strictly the music.  I guess that's why drinking next
to my car on I-75 is not my idea of a good time.
    I stood directly to the left or the right of the soundboard for
almost all of the five sets, and I found the view, as well as the sound,
to be quite satisfactory. I felt that both days had their highpoints as
well as lowpoints.  Water In the Sky was an appropriate opener, and as a
song I enjoy, I thought it was a good way to start the weekend.  I have
mixed emotions about the whole chief section of the first set, but since
it really did not cut into the overall set time I'm all for a little
something different on my plate.  I have never seen Light Up or Leave
live before, and I'm sure most people haven't even heard it judging by
the crowd reaction, but I felt it was one of the highlights of the first
day along with a ripping ghost.  There were several songs that were
played the first day that just did not seem to achieve the groove that
they are capable of achieving.  I felt the Wolfmans Brother, a song
which i feel has been really grooving over the course of the past year
just did not achieve the stellar porno funk it is capable of.  The Taste
seemed really uninspired and the jam was way to similar to the jam heard
in the first set's Limb by Limb.  I guess I compare every Taste I hear
to the version from Hamburg on Slip Stitch, and I rarely hear one that
rivals it.  The Sloth in the third set was also really uninspired, Sloth
is a song that needs to absolutely rip, and this slow tempo version
simply did nothing for me. The Mike's ripped as usual, but the Simple
completely lacked the energy it is capable of.  Hydrogen is always a
treat and I enjoyed it but the Weekapaugh never really blasted off.
Don't get me wrong I always like Weekapaugh, but this was one of the
weaker Weekapaughs I've had the priveledge to see.  I was really happy
to see the band encore with Boogie On Reggae Woman, but again they never
really achieved the funk groove this song is capable of.
    I felt the day set of NYE was the best out of the four standard
length sets.The setlist may not look spectacular but the set simply had
the energy that keeps me going to Phish shows.  I thought the Phish
spaceship took off during Split Open and Melt and hovered above the
ground until Midnight when is blasted off into hyperspace.  The After
Midnight closer absolutely rocked  I'm not even going to go into the New
Years set, because you really can't compare it to a standard set.  The
energy flowing through the crowd from the minute father time straddled
the bike untill well after midnight was complete and utter pandemonium.
I never thought I would see the boys ride in on the HotDog again, and it
was truly awesome and the jams of this set were trulyl sick.I also loved
the impromptu Meatstick rendtion that swept through the audience as
midnight approached.

Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 16:24:48 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/31 review
 
May I first point out for you youngsters that before there was ever a "420"
in pop culture, there was "714".  This was a pill that was popular back in
the 70's that got you off, also known as a "lemon".  The sunrise for the
Phish NYE epic came at exactly 7:14!
 
NYE 2000 Overview:  Yes, the traffic sucked, but when it sucks that bad you
can just get out of the car, wander about, drink, smoke, and shoot the shit
with your phriends.  In case you didn't notice, that's what you did anyway
when you weren't in your car!  With the exception of the few that actually
missed show time---get over it, it's a party!  My biggest beef with a crowd
this size is something nobody can really control, though, and that's losers
that can't time their buzz properly and sleep in the venue.  It's very
difficult to get any kind of  "Hampton-like" vibe going when you're separated
from other people rocking out by a group of sloths laying around taking up
prime boogie space.  This isn't brain surgery folks: pace yourself so you can
be in it for the long haul or get the hell out of the way.  Special mention,
btw, to the idiot woman with the infant laying in front of her on her blanket
to the left of the soundboard around "Piper" time Saturday morning.  This
child was basically right next to the walkway amidst the sea of slugs that
people were tripping over and I nearly stepped on her.  After the fact, I
noticed that Mom had thoughtfully set down several glow rings outlining this
beleaguered baby's head.  This is perhaps to help the stumbling-drunk sixteen
year-old to make sure not to fall there when he drops into the picture?  But
I shall cease being negative now.  Overall, it was a great time and we were
blessed with perfect weather, although the tents did heat up quickly in the
morning due to the intense sun, (ed note: the author was in an air
conditioned RV). Every night, pretty much all night long, there was the
cacophony of music from all directions, fireworks everywhere and the best of
all: the spontaneous roars!  They would build from the probably world-record
size drum circles in the forest and just travel around.  By the way, how in
the hell did everybody avoid getting impaled by a stump in the red forest
anyway?  The coolest thing about this kind of thing, though, is that it's
just a shitload of cool people everywhere.  The kind of people you can talk
to as if you're in the middle of a conversation already.  Cruising around
shooting the shit and catching a buzz with friends new and old for three
straight days is a pretty fucking cool way to spend any time, let alone New
Years 2000!  And oh, by the way, did I mention there was a band on the 31st?
On with the review^�
 
Set I:
Started with the benefit of clouds obscuring the intense afternoon sun that
would've been in our faces otherwise, and that was nice.  The sunset wasn't
as good as for Ghost last night, but whatever.  "Runaway Jim" opened a pretty
mellow set, compared to II and III last night.  It was cranking as usual and
"Funky Bitch" and "Tube" had me wondering if the boys were planning on saving
any energy for later---smokin'!
"I Didn't Know" was a damned good observation, given the onslaught of
intoxicants many of us had welcomed and the fact that we had only barely
passed the halfway point of songs for the festival---even after last night's
epic!  PYITE was another rocker that pulled me along despite my desire to
pace myself but my respite was right behind it, with Bouncin'>Poor
Heart>Roggea "nap time".  I still can't believe they like "Roggae" so
much---I just don't get it, but I digress.  SOAM was great old school to get
me back into things and the I was soon "Catapult"ed "Back On The Train" where
I heard I very oddly-placed "Horn" that somehow led into "Guyote".  BOTT is a
very cool new song, but, then again, which new one isn't cool?  I was
thrilled to hear "Guyote", 'cuz I've been missing it lately and it's good to
hear concise, to the point compositions get played perfectly.  Thirteen songs
in I'm thinking this is the closer, but it's not a real total rocker---you
bastards!  But Phish has spoiled me so thoroughly that they crank
into---"After Midnight", which may be the most appropriately-placed song in
the history of concerts!  And JAMMING!  I mean, this is right there with GTBT
from last night as the song of the whole thing, (as if I could really
choose!)  Compare this to Eric Clapton's version and you'll feel compared to
check E.C. and see if he actually has a pussy!  Anyway, to sum it up, this
was the fourth best set of the weekend, but it pounded the crap out of, say,
12/17 in Hampton.  The boys were on and my God, what a closer!
 
Set II:
If there was a more festive crowd in the world for the flip to three zeros, I
wish I was at the Yanni show.  It would only be a slight exageration to say
that more fireworks were in the parking lot than a lot of actual displays.
The spontaneous roars were going off about every thirty seconds and the
full-scale party was on!  The concert field was noticeably more full tonight
that last night, and I'd heard of wristband numbers exceeding 90,000 at this
point.  En route to my friends,  I had the misfortune of hitting the
barricade that had the path cleared for the giant "Airboat" that the boys
rode through the crowd, but I managed to make it back to them before Auld
Lang Syne was finished, so I guess it was OK.  The worst part was that I was
blazing through the crowd and thus pretty much missed the mind-boggling
fireworks display that must've taken a nice chuck of our $150+ entrance fee.
I have no memory of "Meatstick" here at all, so I doubt it was anything
special.  The first real song was "Down with Disease", which was
no-holds-barred and a poignant message for humanity in general as we crank
into the 2000's---but now I'm on my way, indeed!  "Llama" was played at a
blistering pace which I was guessing the boys might regret come about five.
(ed note: the band never did show fatigue)  We were all in this together for
a killer "Bathtub Gin" that led to what I thought was the funniest moment of
the show: getting it together for the worldwide broadcast of "Heavy Things".
The massive floodlights started coming on to illuminate the crowd as Trey
explains that we're about to go live and we should play a joke.  He decides
to have us not cheer after the song, but to instead simply say: "cheesecake!"
 As if we're somewhat upset.  Just "cheesecake!"  Then, as the moment
approaches he changes the plan and says we should instead chant "cheesecake"
over and over.  We then go on TV, with countless millions around the world
watching, and Trey takes the opportunity to chastise left-lane bandits.  I
think he tried to stick to the "peace" theme of the broadcast for a minute,
but then he said something like: "the right lane is for slow cars, the left
lane is for fast cars.  If you're not going fast, please stay in the right
lane!"  That may have been the coolest thing I've ever seen!  (But then
again, there was the "Roses Are Free" at 5:30, but I can't get ahead of
myself). The very cool "Heavy Things" was then played to a fully-lighted,
totally blissing crowd with pictures of us on the gigantic video screens with
the perfect pictures.  The end of the song comes and several thousand people
somehow forgot the instructions, cheering anyway.  "Twist" and "Prince
Caspian" were good, but my position made it hard to concentrate as we seemed
to be trespassing on the Phish VIP area, (Jon from Strangefolk was there),
and we were catching bad vibes. (ed note: the VIP's weren't partying worth a
shit!)  The Velvet Underground cover "Rock and Roll" was the last song I
caught in that area, and it was very disappointing for me because Page's
paper-thin vocals basically ruined the song for me.  I've been dying to hear
this song, and lo and behold, it sucked!  Oh, well, maybe the next twenty-six
will make up for it!  Moved away from bad-karma-VIP section for YEM, which
featured a vocal jam with tons of "cheescake" in it, and was mighty strong.
"Crosseyed" was a phatty break-out and an epic version as well. (ed note:
what song wasn't an epic version tonight?)  Trey then takes to the acoustic
for an intimate "Minestrone" for the 90,000 denizens, which must've been cool
from him, because it seemed like most people shut-up for the occasion.  This
was followed by "Sand", which at some point melded into something called
"Quadrophonic Topplin".
       It's at this point of the show when the men were separated from the
boys, so to speak.  This jam was reminiscent of the "ambient jam" at the
Lemonwheel---the seemingly endless noodling that left many people begging for
a song.  Yes, it did take seemingly forever and yes, it could rightly be
labeled self-indulgent on the part of the band.  That said, let's take a look
at what we're complaining about:  This is a band that does improv jams better
than anyone on earth and they now have all the time imaginable to jam out
songs, and people are irritated?  These guys have the best party on earth
going, and they can do whatever they want, as far as I'm concerned.  (ed
note: as if they would let you down in the end!)  People would've been
well-served to look at the big picture of this show and enjoy the fact that
almost every song had a ten-minute or more jam on it, 'cuz it's a
once-in-a-lifetime thing.  If you didn't gear up to be tripping your balls
off when this inevitability came around---bummer for you, better luck next
time, and don't get pissed when I step on you while you're laying there
taking up valuable boogie space!  But I digress---back to the music.
         "Slave" delivered us back to a discernable song, although it's jam
is a little too much like what just went on for an hour, and they might've
stuck something more rocking there.  I've seen better "Slaves", to be honest,
but the Neil Young cover of "Albuquerque", made up for that as it was done
perfect justice to the songwriting master that penned it.  A very happy
"Reba" got the party going again and the "Axilla" put to rest any questions
that the boys might be running out of gas because it rocked balls.  My first
"Uncle Pen" in 40 shows followed and reminded me of how fucking versatile
this band is 'cuz it was more or less a country hoe-down now.  A downright
sick, (as if there's any other kind) "Bowie" raged and then the recently rare
"My Soul" kept things up, to say the least, and this was my favorite version
ever.  Anyone that actually complained about the slow part of the show 90
minutes or so ago had to feel like and idiot as the boys steamed into The
Who's "Drowned", with Mike on vocals.  Although Mike's voice leaves a lot to
be desired here, the band made this point irrelevant because this may have
been the highlight out of 35 songs.  I'm not sure how long this travel
through about ten changes in one song lasted, (ed note: if you think keeping
track of time while tripping is hard enough, try it in the midst of a 7.5
hour show!), but it was a remarkable journey and I can't wait to hear this
shit on tape!  As if we needed our minds blown further, a reprise of "After
Midnight" was delivered roughly ten hours after the first-ever version and
boy, were those lyrics even more poignant now!  Indeed, now around five a.m.,
we are finding out "what it's all about" and I'm getting chills and tears
right now just thinking about it!  What a truly great band and how much
poorer would I be if I'd never seen them!  Anyway, letting it all hang out
were these guys ripping this song up with the same intensity of 22 songs ago
and I found out that what it's really all about is buzz-timing because there
were legions of people sleeping through this!  I've digressed, though, back
to the review!
At this point the band may have stood around for a minute bullshitting,
eating or drinking something, or whatever, because there were some gaps
between songs when it took a few minutes for the next one to start.  I don't
remember if it happened exactly here or not, but I do recall some idiots
yelling "play a song!" during these breaks.  I mean, there's ungrateful and
spoiled, and then there's ungrateful and spoiled, for christsakes!  Anyway,
now we go into a heart-warming, unbelievable beautiful "Horse>Silent In The
Morning" here at roughly 5:30 am and I remember thinking that a bonus here is
that every dickhead that would be talking through this normally is sleeping,
so we had that going for us too!  "Bittersweet Motel" kept the mood and was a
perfect place for another beautiful song.  (ed note: if you don't like this
song, it's probably about you!)   Paragraph break, 'cuz I moved at this point.
         "Piper" was cranked into here and was a complete joy to hear after
the weak version in Hampton this year.  It was a bit hard to concentrate on
this for a while because I was moving up and was in a bad sound area, (of
which there were many, due to the delay off the satellite-speaker towers and
the roof on the soundboard).  This, and I was busy barely missing stepping on
babies.  "Piper" totally raged and, although I'm no tape expert, I can't
imagine there was a better one played anywhere else, if so, let me know!  My
first "Free" in quite some time was about as perfect as a song placement can
get if it wasn't for the "After Midnight".  Every song at this point is being
jammed out to the hilt, and this was no exception.  We are now in a zone that
may never be reached again as far as that's concerned and you'll get no
complaint about that here.  I might add that now I'm basically looking right
over at CK5, so I had a pretty plum spot in which to really feel it; I know
that it's really hard to find a good vibe way out in the masses.  In any
event, Page then took his turn as lounge singer for "Lawn Boy", which is
always cool.  Not to be outdone, Fishman gets his chance to really fuck with
the people that aren't getting the joke and the jam-outs by tearing up a
vacuum solo in "Love You".  I mean, this most annoying of sounds lasted
seemingly forever and it was just the kind of absurdity that makes you stop
and contemplate what the hell you're doing.  You're at the bottom of Florida
in the middle of nowhere with 90,000 at six in the morning watching a dude
play a vacuum cleaner---not an everyday thing!  Next up was a truly stunning
"Roses Are Free".  This was my first in 40 shows, and I was now on cloud
nine.  The jam was so long that one could easily forget what the song was
before it came around again, and indeed I did!  It ocurred to me at this
point that CK5 is the only lighting director in rock history to have dawn as
a backdrop, for whatever that's worth!  "Bug" followed, and I'll be damned if
I remember anything about it because I don't really know it.  I suspect it's
just one long jam with no real verses 'cuz that's all I remember before^�
"2001", which, if I can complain one time, would have been better off as a
"Divided Sky" because it's starting to get light out now and it's mostly
cloudy, but there are gorgeous red/pink clouds to the left-rear of us.  The
"2001" was good, but it was kind of aimless and I swear it used to better in
the past, but it could be just me.  The power of the lighting was reduced at
this point as well, because it's no longer anywhere near dark.  I'm still
assuming the "Divided" is on the way, but I'm having suck a great time that I
don't even car when they break into "Wading".  Now I love this song, and I
loved it at the time, although Trey could've really ripped the solo harder,
(you weren't tired, were you, you pussy!).  In retrospect, however, why in
God's name is there a "Wading" here instead of "Divided"?  A point to ponder,
indeed.  Again, I wasn't complaining at the time, probably because at this
rate I assumed they might play until nine or something!  "Meatstick", a song
I'd completely forgotten about, finished the most epic show ever off, and
they didn't bother to ask us to do the dance, probably because it just didn't
feel right.  I thought this was a great song to end with because it's such a
happy sound and a great melody to have in your head taking out of a show.  I
would like to point out again that I was dancing my ass off at this point,
and I'm proud to say that I never sat down the whole show.
       In summation, I've read some people that couldn't make it saying shit
like: "they'll say it was the best show ever, no matter what happens."  Well,
all I can say is, if that makes you feel better 'cuz you weren't there, good
for you!  You need all the help you can get because those of us that were
there need only think back to the only show of it's kind ever to feel good.
Amazing.  Epic.  Outrageous.  Ridiculous.  Thank you Phish, Seminole Indians,
and all the people that didn't lay around taking up space.  This was the best
New Year's I've ever had!


Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2000 11:18:04 PST
From: Alex Tamargo [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/31/99
 
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I must say that that I will always remember this past NYE weekends as one of
the highest, most wonderful times of my whole life!  EIGHT STRAIGHT FUCKING
HOURS OF PHISH JAMS!!!!!!!This was my dream come true, and I believe, a once
in a life time event.
    Just before the first set I had a most wonderful experience around a
drum circle that sent me into the show already energized.  Due to lack of
time, I won't go into detail because most of you probably just want ot hear
about the show, but if anyone's curious, pheel phree to email me because I
have never experienced anything so beautiful at a Phish show outside of the
music.
    Now to the show, the afternoon set is what me and my friends were
calling afterwards the FUN set.  There was nothing spetactular about it but
it was very high energy and very fun.  Clearly the boys were saving their
heavy jam tunes for the sunrise set, as well they should.  I won't do this
set song by song but I'll just share with you my personal highlights.
 
TUBE- phunky with a captital PH!!! What a groove!!!
 
SPLIT OPEN>CATAPULT- This has got to be the best jam out of Split Open I've
ever heard My buddy argued that Gorge this fall was far better, but
everyone's got their own opinion, for me this was the spaciest most far out
split open jam I've ever heard, and though I was a little dissapointed they
didn't go back into the climatic ending jam after Catapult, I can't complain
about what they did give us in this song.
 
AFTER MIDNIGHT-  The band's way of letting us know what was going ot be
going down that night.  This song rocked!!! and sent the crowd pumped and
ready for the eight hour marathon of endless jams.
 
The Midnight to Sunrise set is what it's all about. No there were no Destiny
Unbounds or complete Gamehendge sagas, but if you were'nt going to be happy
unless they did those things, you may as well not have gone because they do
not need to do anything like that in order for it to be the SHOW OF A
LIFETIME!!  They simple need to barrage us with endless jams and happiness
throughout the entire eight hour stretch, and of that they did a pretty damn
fine job.
 
I won't go into detail about the hotdog entry because it seems other
reviewers have already done that.  But I will say it was a pretty fun thing
to watch, and everyone was sooooooooo pumped for the music. And I think
there was no more appropriate way to end the millenium then with the
Meatstick, the song of 1999.
 
DOWN WITH DISEASE- To be honest, if I had my choice of the first song of the
milleinum, it wouldn't be this one, but considering that they were about to
play eight hours of music, they could have really played anything for all I
cared.  And as it turned out, this version absolutely rocked my world!!!
Wow!!!
 
LLAMA-  A quick rocking version of Llama is always nice.
 
BATHTUB- One of my favorite tunes which we were snubbed of in last years new
years run, so I knew they had to play it this year.  And what a version! The
vocal harmonies they did were nothing short of spetacular and the jam
afterwards was truly classic Bathtub style jamming. Right On!
 
ABC WORLD NEWS SPEECH/CHEESECAKE CHANT- If you don't know the details on
this, read other peoples reviews.  I just want to say that you notice how
Trey abandoned the silly idea of breaking the dance record with the
Meatstick dance(THANK GOD) but instead he had 85,000 people chanting
cheesecake on live tv? Now wasn't the cheesecake chant far more of a
wonderful thing than that silly dance ever could have been? The next day in
the Atlanta airport, the few Phish kids that were there would pass each
other and yell "CHEESECAKE!" which must have made innocent passerbyers go
HUH?  I will never again be able to look at a slice of cheesecake without
smiling.
 
HEAVYTHINGS- What a wonderful happy groovy tune. (Ooo ooo WA aa!) They
needed a short one to put on live tv and they couldn't have picked a better
one.
 
TWIST>CASPIAN- The Twist jam was sick and it segued beatifully into Caspian,
which I normally don't get into that much, but this was New Years, even the
Caspian is incredible.
 
ROCK N' ROLL- When they started playing this I had no idea what a fucking
sick jam was going to come out of it.  Wow!  My friend claims to have heard
a DWD reprisejam in there but I didn't catch it.  Did anyone else?
 
YEM-  Pretty standard version (which is a good thing as far as I'm
concerned). The only thing that was unique was the Cheesecake vocal jam.  I
was cracking up laughing at the whole thing.  Lots of cheesecake jokes from
all the people around me followed.
 
CROSSEYED AND PAINLESS-  I said CROSEYED AND FUCKING PAINLESS!!!!  This was
the song I thought that if they played it, the whole world could blow up
from this Y2k bug and I would die a happy man.  I can't believe they played
it and of course it rocked!!!
 
MINESTRONE- absolutely beatiful
 
SAND>QUADROPHONIC TOPPLINGS- I remember thinking that this was the sickest
most wonderful Sand jam I had ever heard.  Now I know that part of that was
a siket disc jam called Quadrophonic Topplings.  I'm not sure where the sand
jam ended and Quad. Top began, but it was soooo good.
 
SLAVE- one of the best ever!!!
 
ALBUQUERQuE- I love this song
 
REBA- my first since last years newyears run and it was blissful
 
AXILLA,UNCLE PENN-  I enjoyed these songs, but they're not songs I feel the
need to dance my ass off at so I took this oppurtunity to take a long needed
rest, and just sat down and soaked in the music.
 
BOWIE- absolutely sick!! After the Bowie, I looked up and realized it was
still pitch black out, which meant we still had a long way to sunrise.  So
even after a set that normally would have sent me home thrilled, there was
still hours and hours of jams left.  What a happy realization to come to.
 
MY SOUL- Mymymymymymymymymy soul It's my soul!
 
DROWNED>AFTER MIDNIGHT REPRISE>DROWNED JAM- Every version of Drowned I've
heard has really rocked the house, but when the went back into After
Midnight in the middle of the rockin jam, I had to stop what I was doing
(which was filling up my water bottle) and dance, dance dance!
 
HORSE>SILENT- I was slightly dissapointed because I had this vision in my
head of them playing Silent in the Morning when it was daylight.  But hey, I
can't expect them to read my mind, so it was good none the less.  Besides, I
was perfectly happy with what they did do for the sunrise.  More on that
later.
 
BITTERSWEET MOTEL- nice littel ditty, gave me a chance to rest my bones.
 
PIPER>FREE- The Piper was out of control and the Free was nice too, although
not unordinary.
 
LAWN BOY- Lawn Boy is Lawn Boy
 
HYHU>LOVE YOU>>HYHU-  I knew it was about time for a Fishman tune. After
taking a really long time to get started, Fishman looks up with a confused
look, "Oh I'm sorry, are we at a concert?"  You gotta love him.
 
ROSES ARE FREE- Like Crosseyed, a tune I really wanted to hear.  And this
version exceeded all my expectations of it.  I could not believe they were
pumping out such a long exploratory jam at freakin' 6 in the morning.
Unfortunately, about half way through the jam, my achin body could take no
more dancin and I had to sit down.  But I was fairly close to the front at
this point, so I sat there and looked up at the speakers and felt the
ambience of the jam surge through my body, and thought about how there was
no other place in the entire universe I would have rather been at that time
than right fucking there.
 
BUG- I never used to think too much of this song.  I thought it was okay I
guess.  But this time I had turned around to face the most beatuiful
wonderful sunrise I have seen in quite some time.  So when they started
playing Bug, a wondrous joy just filled my body and soul.
So I REALLY enjoyed Bug this time around.  I now have a whole new
perspective on that song.  From now on whenever I hear it I'll think of THAT
moment and smile.
 
2001- I still had my eye on the sky and all the colors and shapes and forms
it was taking when this one started.  Then I tryed to get up and dance but I
was still achin It was very frustrating because this was such a funky
groovin' version (how are they able to do that at 7 in the morning?).  But I
just sat down and watched all the happy brothers and sisters groove down and
let my spirit dance through them.  It was another unforgettable Phish moment
on the night of many unforgettable Phish moments.
 
WADING IN THE VELVET SEA- I had a feeling they were begining to wind it
down, which was confirmed when they started playing......
 
MEATSTICK- Of course!  They started it all with the Meatstick, without ever
having sung the whole thing, so of course they would end with it.  I was
finally able to gain a second wind and groove down.  Meatstick led into a
nice spacey ambient jam that faded off into the sunrise.
 
HERE COMES THE SUN- Not played by Phish, but it was the original Beattles
version playing over the PA.  Now that I had started dancing again, I
couldn't stop.  And looking around, I saw tons of happy kids dancing along
with me.  I don't think I've ever seen that many people dance for the entire
duration of the song playing over the PA.
 
Then it was off into the sun for 85,000 happy people.  The silence of the
crowd walking out was very surprising, and very very nice and peaceful.  And
so ends one of the most blissful times of my life.  I hope everyone (whether
you were at the show or not) had at least half as good of a time as I had.
Peace everyone, and CHEESECAKE!

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2000 17:32:12 -0600
From: Vicki Wittgraf [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: nye 2000
 
i just got back from florida.  rather than throw my opinions of the sets, i'm
going to describe all that transpired for those that weren't lucky enough to
find a ride to big cypress.  the first four sets were amazing in both quality
and variety.  phish kept them relatively uneventful- except for a guest
appearance by a seminole singing sensation.  big chief jim billie brought a
guitar player and a banjo player on stage-- it was an amusing scene.  trey
seemed particularly surprised by the guitar player's solo.  as you will
undoubtedly hear in the near future, thursday culminated with an incredible
third set.
 
i was within a few rows of the stage for the entire show.  my intention for
this review is merely to describe the midnight to sunrise set.  at precisely
11:30pm, the curtain dropped on stage to reveal a large clock with a pendulum
swing on its right.  on the left was a costumed old man peddling a bicycle.
his pedalling kept the clock going.  this hypnotic scene continued for twenty
minutes including the blaring sound of the bicycle and the ticking clock.
the old man was tiring and he stopped eight minutes before midnight.
suddenly, an enormous contraption emerged from the side of the field.  this
grey fan boat (much like the boat pictured on the concert ticket) stopped in
the midst of the crowd.  fireworks exploded around the boat as it fell apart
to reveal phish on their now-motorized new years hot dog.  the crowd
obviously erupted as phish rode toward the stage.  a recorded, new phish tune
accompanied their voyage.  i speculate that this upbeat song was the new
meatstick jam.  few people noticed the four female dancers on stage doing the
meatstick.  the new song slowed to the meatstick that we all know and love
and the dancers helped phish from the hot dog onto the stage.  the band found
a twenty foot long of meat (sausages or something) and force-fed the
motionless old man.  he regained his strength and pedalled like mad.  the
clock was speeding toward midnight as the band grabbed their instruments and
joined in with the recorded meatstick and eventually took over.  the new
year's countdown ensued and the band played a rockin version of auld lang
syne.  to add to the madness, hundreds of balloons (some as big as ten feet
in diameter) were released into the crowd.  an incredible display of
fireworks came from behind the stage and continued for several minutes.  the
scene is beyond description-- words can't do justice to the emotion and
intense joy spewing from everyone and everything.  when phish kicked into
down with disease, 80,000 phans danced like never before. it was a moment i
wish everyone could have experienced.
 
dwd jammed for approximately 20 minutes.  phish broke into a fevered llama
and followed with a 20 minute bathtub gin.  i felt that the bathtub jam
wasn't quite what it could have been because a member of the crew was
continually holding up signs signalling the number of minutes before the
concert went live on abc.  the band finished with three minutes to spare.
trey explained to the audience how they should scream "hi mom" and stuff.
just before going live, trey said that he and mike wanted the audience to do
something strange at the end of the song rather than clapping.  trey asked
the crowd to angrily yell "cheesecake" at the conclusion of their song.  it
was a hysterical moment.  phish went live on network television and trey gave
his message for the world.  abc wanted every live act to give advice for
peace and happiness for the next millenium.  phish conformed to the network's
wishes, but trey's advice for the millions across the world was for the
slower traffic to move to the left side of the road and for the faster to
stay in the right lane.  silly but profound advice-- it's a great analogy for
the various lives people live.  from what i have gathered, trey's message was
edited out of the program.  abc undoubtedly thought he was mocking them.  i
found the whole thing rather amusing.  abc did air the five minute version of
heavy things followed with cheesecake chanting.
 
the show progressed in typical phish fashion alternating between new and old
with a few covers in the mix.  with more than seven hours to fill, the band
was free to jam and experiment.  listening to tapes, you'll notice how
usually short songs were jammed for thirty minutes or more (roses are free
was a good example).  the set cruised into you enjoy myself.  it concluded
with a cheesecake vocal jam.  the audience joined in with their own chant.
get the tapes, it was a lot of fun.  at this point the show became a bit more
subdued.  the band relaxed and settled in.  they even took rotating bathroom
breaks as the band continued in their respective absenses.  these bathroom
breaks were curiously frequent and long in duration.  i could speculate as to
what went on in their lavish and large port-o-let but won't.  for those
interested, trey emerged with what appeared to be a balloon near his face.
he threw it aside after crossing the back of the stage.  he got into his
usual position on stage and abruptly exited seconds later to return to the
bathroom.  anyhoo, the band did what it needed to do to jam for more than
seven hours.  by 5:00am, a small portion of the crowd moved to the outskirts
in exhaustion.  i felt like the audience couldn't connect with the 30 minute
jams at this point.  maybe we were too run down?  maybe an upbeat little
number could have rejuvinated the crowd?  but the show went on.  it was an
amazing set.  as i predited, phish broke into 2001 just before sunrise.  i
think that phish was hoping to mirror kubrick's legendary film with the song
peaking as the sun emerged from the horizon.  unfortunately, clouds filled
the sky and marred our view of the sun.  phish's vision of a breath-taking
sunrise didn't happen.  they followed 2001 with wading in the velvet sea and
finished with meatstick.  once again, i think phish envisioned an 80,000
person sea doing the meatstick dance.  the exhausted crowd wasn't up to it.
i eagerly waited for the band to debut a new meatstick jam and a reappearance
by the dancers.  the band stuck to the old meatstick and brought it to a
slow, quiet close.  trey thanked everyone just before finishing.  i couldn't
help but see the exhaustion and dissatifaction in all four members of the
band.  the band left the stage and the crowd got a second wind (although at
this point it was more like a thirty-seventh wind) in expectation of the
encore.  to everyone's dismay, crew members came on stage and started
breaking it down.  where was our encore?  the incredible event that was new
year's eve 2000 needed some closure.  i shouldn't say it but i think the band
was upset.  they succeeded with their all night jam but didn't close the show
as the had envisioned.  they didn't get an awe-inspiring 2001 sunrise or the
80,000 person meatstick.  it wasn't anybod'y's fault.  blame the cloud or the
audience or the band.
 
i hope my description of nye doesn't give the impression that it failed to
live up to expectations.  with five great sets of almost 14 hours of phish,
this event will go down in history as one of the greatest moments for the
band.  each set was filled with great moments.  i think that the third set on
the 30th will be remembered as one the band's best.  if you are upset because
you didn't catch a ride to florida, you should be.  there was no place in the
world i would have rather been.  i still can't put it into words.  i just
hope we all realize how lucky we are to have festivals like this.  thank you
phish.

Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 00:55:46 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/31/99 Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation
 
Im only gonna review 12/31, just because I wasn't particularly fond of 12/30,
it just seemed to lack the energy that creates a "good" Phish show, thats
just my opinion though, it had it's moments, but all in all I wasn't blown
away.
 
Pre-show: I had to pee, and I did!!!! Also, I had been calling a Sand opener
all day long, but then again I'm only right 96.435786% of the time, so I was
down with...
 
Runaway - not the greatest I've ever heard, but I dig the song with a
passion, so I was fired up
 
Bitch - I was psyched because my girlfriend had been calling this one since
Hampton, so it was great to see her with all smiles, plus its a sick jam so I
was extremely satisfied so far
 
Tube - cant go wrong with this one. Really tight version, tight jam, oh so
tight, simply sick, was almost rushed to the medical tent it was so sick
 
IDK - gotta love it, always a pleaser, then again it wasnt the best ive ever
heard but so far, the show was off to an insane start, no complaints so far
 
PYITE - once again, 100% insanity, tightness everywhere
 
Bouncin - ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, why????? Who cares, it is short and after the sick
start, I welcomed this custie classic with open arms and closed ears, my
favorite part was the ending, then came...
 
Poor Heart - always a fun tune to hear, by then I was guessing that the boys
were going ahead and getting the short ones out of the way, preparing for the
sick jams yet to come
 
Roggae - great way to keep a nice pace, great song, always is, was soothing
and relaxing, Trey's licks just melted in my ears and head, getting me ready
for...
 
SOAM --> Catapult - words cant even describe it. Sickest SOAM jam i've ever
heard, and to make it epic they kept the beat and spat off Catapult
lyrics...confusion was setting in in the beginning and I looked to my
girlfriend for assistance as to what the hell was happening, I knew she knew
what was up, and afer about the fifth or sixth or whatever lyric, I knew it
was catapult...these tapes are worth getting just to hear this over a
thousand times, gotta have it, SICK....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, what a jam!!!!!!
 
GBOTT - I knew we would hear this one sometime during the evening or morning,
always a great tune to hear, great beat, love what they have done with this
one, definitely a keeper, always a pleasure
 
Horn - I dont know what was going on in the boys minds, but I wish I knew,
because they were throwing curves left and right. This song is always
classic, and the past two times ive heard it, Trey just nails the jam to the
extreme, excellent rendition
 
Guyute - I remember when this used to be sort of a rarity, it just never got
that much playing time...those days are over, but I hadnt heard it since the
summer, and because I used to crave this song with a passion, it was actually
extremely nice to hear
 
After Midnight - two or three years ago, until 12/31, I had always wanted
Phish to cover this one..all hope was lost, and I was so stunned and ecstatic
to hear this one that my heart skipped many beats, pumped like a mighty fist
throughout the entire song, I knew this would be the closer, and what a
closer it was, definitely the most fitting and perfect closer I have ever
heard...man I was so damn psyched, ahhhhhh...only a few more hours and then
the true insanity would finally come forth
 
 
Midnight: The guy on the bike became a nuisance, I was too psyched to stand
around and listen to clocks tick, I was pumped and ready, so when I saw the
boat making its way through the crowd, I was in total shock
 
Meatstick - only over the pa, just totally fitting, perfect way to make an
entrance, I knew the sickness was soon to follow
 
DWD - my girlfriend predicted this one, and this was without a doubt the
tightest, sickest DWD i have ever heard, I also thought the fireworks would
go on all night long, the balloons making their way across the crowd was also
an incredibly sick sight to see. Definitely one of the most memorable moments
of my entire life, and I experienced it with the greatest person i've ever
known...karn
 
Llama - I felt this one coming from a mile away, and I heard it while
crouched down on my knees, doing who knows what...
 
Bathtub - one of my all time faves and I was psyched, jam was "different" to
say the least, but I was just still in complete awe as to what was going down
in Florida
 
Heavy Things - I love this tune, and the whole "ABC, Trey talking cheesecake"
everything, just had me in total ecstasy. very catchy song as my karen would
say, I totally agree with her, this is a great song
 
Twist - one of my all time faves, this whole midnight to sunrise set was
turning in to a "whip out Al's fave tunes" set, I was just in a state of
total awe, dont remember much about this Twist, but I remember enough to know
that it was tight and sick, almost every jam the band played that night was
tight as hell, oh so tight, complete cohesoin and unity
 
Caspian - ouch, I mean of all songs Twist could go into, this I didn't see
coming, but discovering that the band had only been playing for a little over
an hour, I was so psyched to realize that they were getting this whining song
out of the way, like bouncin, the ending was my favorite part, as it always
is...but I would soon discover that the ending held much more promise than I
had expected...
 
Rock and Roll - this would have to be one of my all time fave cover tunes, it
fits the band perfectly, totally represents and explains the direction in
which the band is going in, so powerful, the jam was the greatest rock and
roll jam ive ever heard, remember hearing a few moments in which the band
could have gone right into 2001 PERFECTLY, jam was tight, one of the tighest
jams i have ever heard, and this show was already on its way to being one of
the greatest
 
YEM - dont remember this yem all that much, hear it at almost every show I go
to, but you cant ever complain about a YEM, remember that Mike owned the jam
pretty much though, and the cheesecake vocals almost had me rolling on the
dirty ground beneath my feet,m laughing in hysteria
 
Crosseyed - i thought i would never hear it again, and that always sort of
made me a bit depressed, total shocker, and one of the highlights of the
night for me. this show was down right sick, they were just tearing it up on
stage and i was loving every single second of it
 
Minestrone - heard it in hampton, its not a song you can just go insane over,
but its a nice chill acoustic, and it is pretty damn good i think
 
Sand - i knew it was destined to be heard, and this is just a sick song,
definitely one of my favorite new ones
 
Quadrophonic Toppling - had never heard it live before, totally recognized it
from the siket disc, cant say much, was just spacey, nice chill noise to try
and build up some wind to groove for many more hours
 
Slave - i'd actually say that this is probably my favorite song, i have many
but this is definitely in the top 5 or 4, dont know, i'll get back to you on
that one. What i loved about this set was that they really jammed out these
songs to the max, dont remember how long this jam was, do remember that it
wasnt the greatest slave i have ever heard, but it was long, and was still
pretty damn good
 
Albuquerque - nice! didnt expect to hear this one ever again, nice to hear.
The pace had slowed a tad which was good, the musical pace as a whole that
is. the cheesecake reference had me laughing to death again also
 
Reba - band sort of gathered to figure out what to play next, guy about three
people in back of us yells reba, less than thirty seconds later they bust out
the best reba i have ever heard, the jam was flawless and kept getting better
and bettter, also pretty long jam, beautiful sounds echoed from the stage,
this show was already the sickest show ive ever seen, and ive seen around 55
to 60, i think maybe 60 shows, ill have to get back to you on that, not an
insane amount, but enough to judge which is the best out o the bunch that you
saw, and to begin with everyone has different opinions of a "good" "great"
average" and "bad" phish show, anyway, on to the next
 
Axilla - its not my favorite, but you cant help but move to the high paced
beat during this one, and I cant remember if it had an axilla pt 2 ending or
not, i dont think it did but i may be wrong, either way it got everyone
moving, i still was at a 167% energy level, as was my karen
 
Uncle Penn - hell yeah!!!!! i think its definitely one of the best bluegrass
numbers that they do, and the fact that the chances of hearing it are slim to
none makes it that much more special
 
Bowie - by now I felt that the band had been onstage only for a little over
an hour or two. This set seemed so short, actually as the sun was coming up
it did seem that the band had ben onstage for a pretty long time. Anyway,
this was a very tight Bowie, definitely one of the best ive ever heard, from
what i remember, and i dont remember all that much, but it was sick i do
remember that
 
MY Soul - maybe its just me, but i have never been too fond of this one
 
Drowned - I sometimes compare drowned to rock and roll, i think they sort of
have the same jammming structure, and they both possess an arena rock speed
quality to them, even though the velvet underground were hardly arena rock,
ive really only seen phish perform it in arenas, so ive branded it an arena
rock song. Plus, i never thought i would ever hear both of them played at the
same show, the intensity was just insane, this show was off the hook
 
After Midnight reprise - i heard it coming during the drowned jam, but i
thought it would just be an instrumental tease, not an all out reprise with
vocals. this got the entire crowd fired up, and the few people that were
sitting lifeless on the ground immediately rose to their feet, as the boys
blew the place out of the water, i was speechless, not that i had the urge to
speek anyway, i do remember that my girlfriend and i traded smiles during
this one though, it really got the place moving again, it did seem that
people were losing energy, but all was restored during this one
 
horse --> silent - have heard this one a lot lately, it was fitting i guess,
as were a lot of the songs they played throughout the weekend, such as the
water opener which I predicted the night before. Its still always nice to
hear and the jam is always soothing, i couldnt complain at all though, they
could have quit playing right then and there and i still would have left
totally satisfied
 
bitersweet motel - nice song, but i was hoping for something with much more
intensity
 
piper - wow, to hear this in the wee hours of the morning, close to the crack
of dawn, simply insane
 
Free - i vividly remember the free jams of '95 and '96, they really had no
structure whatsoever, and i always knew that the song had such promise as a
powerful jamming number, and in 97 when Mike turned up the bass, it must have
prompted Trey to get rid of the drumkit and just jam it out like a champion
in fine form. very tight version
 
Lawn Boy - yeah it is funny to see Page playing a sleazy vegas lounge singer,
but ive heard it way too much, i guess that my own problem, but i am just not
head over heals about this one, but for some reason i was just psyched to
hear it, more to watch it
 
love you - didnt see this one coming, was hoping for a sexual healing, and i
actually was almksot certain that it would be purple rain, but it was love
you, and i was still down for it ya know, ya know? fishmans actions at the
end when he just dropped dead on stage were the highlight for me anyway
 
Roses - great song, happy to hear it, long jam, tight jam, closely
reminiscent of the roses jam from 4/3/98, in my opinion
 
Bug - the sky was getting a bit brighter when the boys busted this one out. i
really like this one
 
2001 - ill never forget the look on my girlfriends face when we both heard
fishman rip into the Hood intro...I had no idea, I actually thought the band
had gone delirious during bug and had totally forgotten that they had done
this last night...then...suprise...excellent, superb transition into 2001
right off the bat, excellent placement, very nice jam, not incredibly long,
but i was psyched to hear this one after 6 in the morning, very special
moment. This is usually the song that gives them strength to play a killer
fast paced intense and tight song afterward...but
 
wading - it may as well be called The Return of Prince Caspian, the jams are
identical, and...well...i just have never been a big wading fan...thus, i
wasnt ecstatic at that point in time...ill never forget the look on my
karen's face...she looked as if she was a child deprived of candy, we both
took time to have an early morning session during this one, some, "down time"
 
Meatstick - this was a given. i knew that with a max of 80,000 people, the
record had no chance of being broken since we were about a little short of
20,000 plus people that were needed to break the record...plus it was so late
in the morning, that many people had forgotten the dance. I was hoping for a
longer jam, but to no avail, and it was also totally understandable, they had
given everything they had and im positive they were tired, so it was still a
pleasure to hear, i love this song, and it was a fitting closer
 
no encore - i truly beleived that they would no do an encore. the entire set
was basically an encore to 17 years of playing, i was already satisfied, but
it still would have been nice. no complaints anyway, this show rocked, it was
better and much more tighter than the first night and it was like a dream
come true, a chance to see phish play all night long, definitely something we
will never see again, and if they decided to do something such as a midnight
to sunrise set, yeah i would definitely be present at that show, but it
wouldnt be as special. this show was definitely a once in a lifetime event,
and i was in great company the entire weekend with my girlfriend, we had the
time of our lives, and we would do anything to do it all over again. props to
phish and to the devoted, and the wasay blasay, later
Al <><

Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 17:40:39 PST
From: Mike Oravec [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: 12/31/99 show review

now that enuf's already been said, and after reading all 80+ pages of this
enormous 'set' review, i'm only gonna leave some of my
thoughts/memories/observations/thanks for a universally unfathomable week...
(was it shorter or longer? i still don't know).
 
i trekked from San Jose, California for this one, and the trip to the show was
more than worth it, i got to spend time with old phriends and new alike...
here's to the phamily! somehow, as if karma guided us the whole way, we hit
the little windows of time that got us in and out of the venue an hour each
way... i feel for all of you that had to wait, wish you could have been
directly behind us... but then again wasn't it worth the wait?
 
to the phans at the second to last rest stop (South 75) on Tues night/Wed
morning... thanks for the guitar jams, the buds, the footbagging, the taper
trades and the road stories, i will not forget...
 
btw, if anyone cares, i was with the guy selling the greeen "i will not spell
fish with a ph / Chalkdust Torture" shirt - great idea Pat... and i sure hope
your '7 year old' got to Chuckie Cheese!
 
i bow my head to the two poor brothers that fell from the RV and the jungle
tree...
 
anybody notice that after I-75 there wasn't a traffic light for miles?... no
slaves here!
 
curtis love, mighty quinn AND timber ho? -> now THAT's a sound check!
 
that damp mist, the divided morning sky, the beautiful sunsets, just
incredible.
 
that KILLER bus on shakedown! my eyes had lots to play with...
 
to that guy selling Meatstick shirts on shakedown that kept screaming "SHOCKS
MY BRAIN" -> yeah, me too buddy. me too.
 
HOLY MESSAGE BOARDS!!! and then finding the pholks we were looking for while
fixing our sign for them... yet another instance of the magic i saw all week.
 
was someone SUPPOSED to be checking for fireworks and N2O? i wasn't sure...
 
thanks for all the free hugs...
 
and how many people brought drums?
 
how many of you saw the girl of their dreams? i did, and she kissed me too...
my only regret was letting her walk away...
 
nuggs to Jay Brian, my closest phriend, who along with countless others
correctly guessed the festival's opening song...
 
to my newest and dear phriend MareShoob, whom i never met in person at NYE,
but have had many talks over the net with both before and since... there will
be a next time...
 
who IS scott m'nuggs? and did anybody else find him?  i guess that was good
karma workin' it again...
 
does anybody agree that taking a dump was one of the biggest challenges of the
week?
 
security giving carefree high-fives as we ran through the gates to catch the
'three-zero' change...
 
to the Antelope that stopped me for water on his sprint through the concert
area -> overjoyed i could help, happy fields...
 
everyone swaying together in the early light -> "FREE..."
 
how perfect was the closing song, and the one before it, and the one before
that, and the one before...
 
did anyone else see the girl that got lost inside the porta-john? i think i
giggled all night... what a horrible place to get lost!
 
or how bout the guy with a palm branch in his hand following his tripping
phriend playing the 'moving tree' joke early in the new year's first
sunlight... "he's got two good eyes but he still don't see!"
 
understanding smiles leaving the grounds after the big set... and all those
who never left their feet, but were never grounded in the first place...
 
did someone mention an acid test? yeah, it was... and i'd have to say we
passed.
 
to the guy behind me that kept screaming for a full Gamehendge (and all those
bitchin about it on the net): it wasn't need, if you want to hear it, email me
i'll getcha the CD -> this night was for dreamers...
 
non-phan behind me, who said to his wife four songs into the NYE set: "Phish
sucks, lets go!" and then the guy next to me mutters "No, WILSON sucks!"
 
to all the other phans i saw traveling on the long way home... cheesecake!!
 
to the tune of farmhouse: "thank-you, this was our Woodstock"... only we did
it better. oh yeah, and there was only ONE band...
 
and a last, closing thought as i sit here. I went to Big Cypress with many
expectations (none bigger than being with all of you), and although not all of
them were met, Phish still surprised me playing with a passion that ignited my
soul. i've tried to put the concert into perspective, but i cannot. nothing i
say does justice to the extraordinary and dynamic Quality that radiated from
this gathering. We came to share love, peace, happiness and music. We got more
than we bargained for. Thirty years from now we'll look back on this as one of
the many highpoints of our lives (both figuratively and literally speaking),
and for many of us, our lives are changed, forever the better because of the
community and experiences we made. makes me wonder if the boys in the band had
this planned all along (i even saw trey doing video of the scene) and thus
received the best vibe in the house... what a tribute to them as individuals
and as a group.  after those days in the woods, dancing, laughing, crying,
suffering, and learning together, it makes me wonder: can't it ALWAYS be this
good? i think so, don't you?
 
as a phriend said to me at daybreak: "All these people... here because they
believe..."  and me, with wide eyes, ears soaked with jam, face full of smile
and a groovin body in the pale light, knowing that he spoke truth.
 
peas, love, happiness and Quality to all of my phamily. we ARE winning. be
forever good. i'll see you again on the road...
 
Mike

Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 10:04:31 -0500
From: Jon Edwards [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: 12/31/99 review
 
I wanted to submit a review to say thank you to everyone involved in this
event, especially all of the phans.  My wife and I have come away from this
show with a new outlook on everything that we do.  Those of you who stayed up
until the beautiful sunrise and all of the tears know exactly what I am
talking about.  All of the songs were played to perfection and were just
absolutely mind-blowing.  The atmosphere was well worth the 14 hour wait on
alligator alley and I would get in my car and line up again right now if
anyone asked me to.  I experienced something that I have not experienced
before at a show, I was able to walk a way for a moment and see what was
going on around me without worrying about missing something, it felt strange
but was refreshing in a way.
 
I would like to also thank everyone who joined in on my birthday celebration,
I was born at 11:45 on new years eve and had a lot of people sing happy
birthday to me right at that time.  This was the best birthday gift I have
ever received and it will always be remembered.
 
Funniest thing I saw: About 5am Scooby Doo gets in front of me and just
starts to boogie, I laughed till it hurt.
 
Did anyone else think that they saw any of the band members in ridiculous
costumes?  My wife and friends swear they saw Trey in a really goofy get up.
 
Thank You PHISH.
Thank you phriends for reading and posting.
Jon and Billie Edwards - Atlanta, GA


Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2000 15:25:16 PST
From: Andrew Rose [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/31/99 Review
 
Well, there's no way I'm going to attempt to review this epic show in its
entirety, which in my books is now the undisputed number one show ever. (I
might justvote 12/30/99 as number two) Feel free to disagree, but I don't see
how you can argue with a 7+ hour set of insanity ... for those of you who
care, NYE was my 30th show since 94.
 
I just want to mention a few things that really made this show what it was.
Believe me, the quality of music easily matched the quantity.
 
First off, here's how I'd write the setlist:
 
I: Runaway Jim, Funky Bitch, Tube, I Didn't Know, PYITE, Bouncin, Poor
Heart, Roggae, SOAM*-> Catapult, Get Back on the Train, Horn, Guyute, After
Midnight
 
*w/ a Love Supreme jam
 
II: Meatstick theme -> ALS, Down with Disease > Llama, Bathtub Gin*, Heavy
Things**, Twist Around > Caspian, Rock&Roll-> jam, YEM^, Crosseyed &
Painless, Minestrone, Sand -> Quadrophonic Topplings, Slave, Albuquerque,
Reba, Axilla, Uncle Pen, Bowie, My Soul, Drowned->After Midnight
reprise->jam, Horse-> Silent, Bittersweet Motel, Piper->Free, Lawn Boy, HYHU
 > Love You> HYHU, Roses are Free->jam Bug, Hood intro tease->2001> Velvet
Sea, Meatstick
 
*w/vocal jam
**on TV w/ cheesecake chant
^w/ cheesecake vocal jam
 
Where to start ... well, I think the vaccuum solo in I Didn't Know was the
best one I've ever heard. They were jamming during a vacuum solo ... I almost
seemed like Fish had a song in his head hewas vacumming to.
 
The SOAM ... man the places this song has gone since Great Woods ... this
version was similar to the Jersey version from this summer (a must hear) but
better. There's no doubt in my mind that Mike was teasing A Love Supreme for a
good part of the jam too - anyone else hear this? Then into Catapult, which
along with Kung, ever since 11/29/98 has become a tool of the jam for taking
to the next level. Best Catapult I've ever heard, hands down. This little duo
is in my top four jams of the two days and a night at Big Cypress, along with
Light Up ..., Antelope (a new champion), and Rockn'Roll.
 
I love the new ending to Get Back on the Train. As funky and fun as ever.
After Midnight was the perfect set closer.
 
Things got crazy in set all-night once the boys hit Rockn'Roll. Don't get me
wrong, everything up to this point was great, but after Rock n' Roll, it was
20 minute jam after 30 minute jam after 40 minute jam, you get the picture ...
 
Rock n' Roll was about half an hour I'd say, and boy did it get out there. And
then there were those moments where you go, "is this composed?" ... "isn't
this a song? oh my GOD, it's just a jam ..." I love those moments ...
 
The breakout of Crosseyed and Painless was my peak moment of the whole
shebang. I'd waited so long to hear it, and hoped for it so many times, that I
just exploded when I heard the first note. I swear every show I seen for about
two years now with friends we always say, maybe we'll get our Crosseyed ...
and we finally did. And it was fucking awesome. Brought back at the end to the
"still waiting," and the wait was over. About 20 minutes I'd say.
 
There were three more HUGE jams and a monster Bowie:
 
Sand->Quadrophonic Topplings was phenomenal. The boys didn't take too long in
turning this baby into a jam machine. It was nuts, the techno groove weaved
its way in and out of loops and sound layers. Tasty. Got to hear this one
again in detail.
 
Bowie was tight, energy packed, original and uplifting. AND, I'm glad to say,
Trey nailed the ending like it was 1994.
 
I thought after My Soul, when Trey and Fish ducked out briefly and Page
started up some very chill piano, that we were in for some ambient stuff, and
then BOOM: Drowned->After Midnight reprise->jam, another 30 hour. Again, this
one was filled with countless "I can't believe this jam isn't a song" moments.
And the movement in and out of the After Midnight stuff was flawless.
 
I can't for the life of me remember the Roses are Free. All I know is, it was
about five to 6 in the morning, and they played it for 40 minutes. Friends of
mine were dropping like flies to fatigue, but I toughed it out. I know it was
good, really experimental and spacy. Have to hear it again to judge properly
though.
 
And finally, I love Meatstick, I love the lyrics, I love the song, I love the
dance, and I love the way the ended the show with it, and let a beautiful jam
just melt down really slowly until the sun was up, it was 2000, and we all
stood there dumbfounded.
 
Thank you Phish.
 
Andrew

Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 13:54:15 -0500
From: Matthew A. Scaramastra [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: the force was strong with this one...
 
Ok, where do I begin, um...traffic I guess. Traffic is traffic but when the
traffic is like 85% friends all pumped up for New Year's, it is bearable.
Place to meet good people. So by the time I got there I lost a passenger in
my car but found him at will call, wasting only minutes...Even the maps of
this place were remarkable to date! The heavy cardboardy book was durable!
and the way the place was arranged was genius. Great Went and Lemonwheel were
so easy to get lost in, especially when you're half whacked all the time.
Umm, the rythm jungle was so intense, the first night (29th) I knew it was
gonna be a momentous occasion, this year 2000. First day I found all my
friends I knew who were there without searching. Quuite a many different
groups all before the first set. Things just seemed to be happeneing in a
unususlly smooth groove. The music finally started a comfortable time after
afternoon tea time nad we were off...Sometimes at a show I will feel
uninspired but what I hear or won't pay real close attention. I failed to
find myself doing  this even once throughout the day. Every one  was as
excited as I was, vibes were pleasant and calm, it was the only place in the
world to be. FWD>the big set. Never at a show, or on a tape or on a disc or
would I ever beleive anyone if they told me was there ever music played as
perfect as that set. I felt like we were a wave of light or an ocean all
rolling to the rythm of the best rock band ever. I couldn't stop dancing
except a sunrise lounge to Velvet Sea. The Roses, 2001, the Clapton, The
Heads made me lose my shit, trying to act casual...DWD! Heavy Things is
fantastic, a new staple to a well balanced show, and yelling Cheesecake at
familiar strangers in Ft. Lauderdale was fun. "Sayit like you're pissed!
Cheesecake!" Bathtub Gin came from outer space. Fish's vacuum solos were ON!
I don't have a setlist in front of me right now. Morning has broken...like
the first morning...with a not eerie but strong presence of eagerness or
curiousity, purplely glows and intense jammimming. By the end I kept on
dancing to Here comes the Sun and when that stopped foung I was doing a
little dance to no music at all. I crashed on the ground after everyone split
and enjoyed the clouds. Met an Native American reporter for a reservation
paper who interveiwed Hossy & I. We were on unsimiliar levels but she stayed
all night long too so that helped. This is getting long. Picked up litter and
said duh a lot. All day long man, it was the greatest new years ever. Managed
to get by on honey-granola-coconut goo-balls and my beat needs were satisfyed
by the enchanting scene in the Big Cypress Grove. In describable. Hiked out
traffic a few miles, spoke philosophical babble, stumbled.  Waiting out
traffic weas a good plan.
    Big Cypress was a truly legendary show in every way. The scene was
beautiful, the weather was most permiitting, the vibrations were finast.
Phish fulfilled my expectation that they would play as well as they possibly
can this date, with every bit of soul and inspiration they had for a quarter
of a day.
    I didn't get home until Saturday, the rest of the time proved to be as
exciting and adventuras as NEw Year's...Gainsville, MGM/Epcot, Atlanta's 5
Pts. ...Now i am supposed to be in class. See ya in the summertime.
ScaryMonster!

Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2000 16:27:12 -0500
From: Austin Brownfield [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: New Years Review!!
 
First, I must say that it was Uncle Penn, not Ginseng
Sullivan...alrighty...
 
WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW!
 
Alright, oh my I am very beat up and tired, but I am going to try and
give you as much as I can give...    : )
 
Afternoon set!!!!!!!!!!!SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Runaway Jim!! One of my favorites, and a powerful and sweet jam..
 
Funky Bitch!!  Sweet sweet blues, very well played excellent energy
throughout this whole set...
 
Tube!!!oh fuck yes!!  this was a sweet ass tube, very chunky funky and
powerful, simply wonderful!!
 
I Didn't Know!!  We all knew we would see some vaccum, always a very fun
song..
 
PYITE!!  Solid as this song comes!!!!
 
Bouncing:  Solid and I was smiling!!
 
Poor Heart:  Very well played, energy was great...
 
Roggae!!  I love this song, it is so beautiful, I just closed my eyes
and floated with the band...
 
SOAM--> Catapult!!!!OH MY GOD, HOLY BOOGER CAKES!!!!!  At first the band
was discussing for a while what to play, Trey picked up the cup to page
and said Mound!!! I was about to lose it, but Mike was shaking his
head!!  : P  Oh well, what came next was a fucking incredible SOAM jam,
intense, calm, beautiful, then into catapult, I was absolutely losing my
shit!!! they didn't finish melt, but who cares, this was fucking
great!!!
 
GBOTT!!!  This song has changed since summer and fall, it is so wickedly
evil now, it is just plain out fucking thick and juicy!!!
 
Horn!!  OH YES!!!  no flubs, excellent excellent excellent!!!
 
Guyute!!  They have this down so very tight now, loved every second!!
 
After Midnight!!  Crowd was going completely bonkers!!  Trey went off
like a wild man, he tore this song to pieces and left the entire crowd
drenched in a sweaty mass, and drooling over the thoughts of the amazing
night to come!!!
 
7.5 hours of emotion (cocaine snorting on trey's behalf, boy he was
playing with his little nose a lot wasn't he???...well, he can do
whatever he likes, I just hope he is careful..)...this was the most
amazing display of playing from the band that I have ever seen!!!  I was
completely sober for this entire day, and so at times during this set I
was tired and had to sit down, but I loved every inch and note that came
out of those speakers!!!
 
The curtain fell down at about 20 till midnight, and there was a huge
clock with father time riding his bicycle, then at about 10 till he
simply stopped...then there were lights flashing from the back of the
venue, what the hell???  everyone was turned around, and this fan boat
thing came floating about with fireworks busting off of it, out popped
the HOT DOG and the BAND!!!!  The crowd was going crazy, insane, the
worked their way up to the stage, throwing goodies out to the phans...on
the stage there were 4 girl dancers, dancing to the meatstick which was
being played over the PA system!!!  the band then picked up their
instruments and jumped right into the song, quickly at midnight they
went into Auld Lang Syne, balloons everywhere, then SLAM!!!!!!!
 
DWD!!!!!HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!  maybe the best disease ever, certainly the
most intense, the band was on, and they were tearing this song to
pieces, amazing, it slowed a little and Trey started to noodle on a
familiar sounding riff...mmmmm....FUCK!!!
 
Llama!!!!!  the DWD segued into llama, and this llama was super intense,
everyone was just going completely nuts, I couldn't believe it, they
were going to give us the best piece of heaven that they could this
night!!
 
Bathtub Gin!!!!!WOW!!!!  Are these boys fucking talented or what???  for
about 5 minutes during this jam, each member was vocally harmonizing
every note they played, it was fucking unbelievable....then they dropped
back into some soupy Gin jamming before bringing this amazing jam back
into the ever so loved Gin riff!!!!!WOW!!!!
 
Heavy Things:  Trey told the crowd about the ABC deal, and then Mike
said something to him, and he came up with the idea to have the crowd,
instead of cheering the end of the song, to just keep chanting
cheesecake, just to fuck with all the people watching it on TV...it was
pretty fun!!
 
Twist Around:  I really don't like the new arrangement of this song, but
I wasn't complaining, standard twist jamming, but completely solid,
never once the entire night were the boys the least bit off, powerful
powerful!!!
 
Prince Caspian:  Don't care for this song, but the jam was very well
played and I could do nothing but smile and enjoy what I was
witnessing...
 
Rock and Roll!!!!WHAT???!!!!  Evil evil evil jam out of this song, very
very long, and very evil sounding, mike pulled out a little voice thing,
and held it up to the mic during part of the jam, it was just great fun,
and powerful!!
 
YEM:  Solid YEM, nothing too crazy, the best part of this YEM was the
vocal jam, excellent with many CHEESECAKE references!!!!
 
Crosseyed and Painless!!!!!!!!!GASP!!!!!!!!  They were not fucking
around, crowd going bonkers, great jam, well played...woohoo!!!!
 
Minestone!!!!WOW!!! definitely a big highlight for me...this song is
wonder...very beautiful, Trey showing just how damn good he really
is!!!!
 
Sand:  I wish this song would not have Mike doing the same bass line
over and over again, although at the end for about 5 minutes he played
around with it, but all in all, this sand definitely went somewhere,
good effects, and very very nice!!
 
Slave!!!  Good Ole Slave!!!!
 
Albuquerque!!  Woohoo!!!!! first time hearing it, loved it, loving it
all!!!
 
Reba!!!!!TEARS OF JOY WERE IN MY EYES!!!!!!!  My favorite phish tune,
and fucking damn well played, only a couple of minor flubs in the
composed part, nothing bad at all, fast paced, fucking sweet ass jam, my
first Reba and I couldn't have been given a better first Reba, I was
grinning from cheek to cheek!!!
 
Axilla!!  whoa, where the fuck are these guys getting this energy??
this axilla just fucking slammed hard, well played, great!!!
 
Uncle Penn!!  Very tasty!!!  wonderful playing, extended a little, got
to love the bluegrass!!!
 
David Bowie!!!SWEET!!!!  good intro, trey found a nice little chord
progression, played around a little, and then into BOWIE!!!  Great Jam,
high energy, wonderful!!!
 
My Soul!!  YES YES YES, blues time!!  Loved it!!
 
Trey and fish then take a bathroom break ...page plays a little
something, then mikes joins in, then trey and fish come back out and we
were smacked with a sweet and nice...
 
Drowned-->After Midnight-->Drowned!!!!  Just wonderful, super energy,
they sounded so fucking great!!!
 
Horse-->Silent in the Morning:  Got to have it!!!
 
Bitter Sweet Motel:  A first for me, liked it, different but nice and
well played...
 
Piper!!!!OH MY SHIT NUTS!!!!  this was a rocked out crazy piper, very
high energy, and extremely nuts!!!
 
Free!!  Sweet!!!...pretty standard, but let me tell you all something,
standard on this night is fucking amazing!!!
 
Lawn Boy:  Always a big time pleasure..
 
HYHU-->Love You-->HYHU!!!  More Fishman!!!! YES YES YES!!!  he was
running around, introduced page, then mike and trey, and himself, fun
fun fun, he then told the crowd to sit back and enjoy the rest of the
show!!!
 
Roses are Free!!!!!!!!OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!!!!!!! this jam was
incredibly sick, this jam was a climax of the night's efforts, all over
the place, going in and out of just about everything they could, simply
sweetness!!!
 
Bug:  Standard bug, but this song is great to hear, oh my, I want to go
back!!!
 
2001!!!!!  Oh yes!! Trey started up Harry Hood, and everyone was looking
around completely puzzled since they played it the night before, but
then, BANG!!!  2001!!!  Excellent jam, excellent just like the rest, I
can't believe that they are playing like this, WOOOOOOOOW!!!!
 
Wading in the Velvet Sea!!  Beautiful, tears were starting to work there
way up to the surface, it was getting light and everyone knew it was
almost over, and everyone was pretty much very tired from the whole
experience as well...
 
Meatstick!!!  alright, no dance, no reference, some kind words from
trey, nice jam which just died out, but then everyone turned around and
looked at what had to be one of the most beautiful and tear jerking
sunrises I have ever witnessed in my life, the clouds were all painted
morning pink and blue!!!  They show the crowd over the monitors, then
page, who just has a look of complete exhaustion on his face, how can he
not!!!  : )  they walk off the stage...encore???  nope, can't blame
them, they put on Here Comes Sunshine, and everyone was crying and
smiling and hugging and kissing, one of the best nights of my life, I
was dead tired, but it was completely worth it, I never would have
guessed that they would be able to come out and play for 7.5 hours with
as much intensed as they did, they sounded so united, they were happy,
they played amazing, the crowd loved it all, and the whole moment in
time will go down as one of the greatest out pourings of love ever
witnessed!!!  I am still in shock over how wonderful it was,
WOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!
THANK YOU PHISH, THANK YOU MIKE, THANK YOU PAGE, THANK YOU TREY, THANK
YOU JON, you guys let it all hang out after midnight just like you
promised!!!  THANK YOU!!!!

Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2000 10:20:31 -0500
From: "Hug, Matt" [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: phish, big cypress
 
This will not be the typical review.  The tunes that were played are already
posted and i don't think that it is necessary for me to write D w/D: ruled
Llama: ruled etc.. because that would grow tiresome.
 
Anyone that was there will have there own story for each tune that is
personal and cannot really be communicated to someone that heard the same
tunes but had a different experience.
 
I am sitting back in upstate New York after a phenomenal vacation which Phish
provided for me.  If it had not been for them a great number of us would have
been freezing our tails off, doing something extremely sub-par to what we all
were able to do. So I would like to thank the band, the crew, the Seminoles,
and anyone else that made the Everglades into the best place to ring in the
new millenium.
 
The time alotted to the band (as in all night) really allowed them to stretch
their legs and play.  They were not confined to the hours of an arena or
amphitheater.  This is the type of music that i hope for when i go to see a
show.  It was phenomenal and I loved every minute of it.  and to know that it
will never happen again that it was a once in a lifetime experience gives me
the gratification that i had the gumption to get off my butt and go, throw
caution to the wind and enjoy the time of the century.
 
        Hopefully they will have another festival there next winter, even if
they simply follow the parameters of their summer festivals.  I would much
rather sacrifice the end of summer for a middle of winter fest.  Trey, Mike,
Page, Jon.... if you go to Fla.  we will follow.  It is a great place to see
a show and a great time of year to escape to palm trees and cloudless skies.
 
        One last thing, about cheesecake.  Please can we put it to rest?
It was a joke by Trey and Mike to have fun with the ABC television audience
on national TV.  It is not some new greeting word that you shout when you see
someone from the show.  I heard it at the show, in Ft Lauderdale, Orlando and
all points in between. Can we stop? It was a funny moment and if this
behavior continues it will result in the same as what happened with the
Dead,  Jerry could not speak to his fans because they took every little thing
as scripture, so he stopped talking.  If that is what you want from Trey,
fine---go on misusing the word cheesecake.  It was a joke, and a damn funny
joke at that. But folks that is all it was, please do not use it as an all
purpose word!!!

Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2000 03:09:13 -0800
From: Joseph W. Donner [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: UMHHHHHHHH...............AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I hope this show puts an end to this outragous Overindulgence! Thank You
Phish, You are as close to heros as anyone these days. Please take a 
Break and share this time with the ones you love. You have run with the
ball like OJ (Had to get that Dolfan thing in) and have let it all hang
out! Keep on keepin on!
JoeD.
What else is there to conquer....for ALL of Us! CLEAN VIBES


Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 00:10:59 -0600
From: Drew & Lisa [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: SCHWING!!!
 
Since most of the other reviews have covered the setlists song by song, I
won't go into detail there.  What I have not seen in many of the reviews is
anyone mentioning how clean this event was.  People put cigarette butts in
their pockets!  Fans went out of their way to keep the scene clean.  I
struggled to find any inkling of trash lying around up till New Year's.
It made the scene even that much better.
 
I was shocked when strolling the grounds on the 30th to find freezer semi
trucks with bags of ice for sale.  The water stands looked long but moved
pretty quickly.  Just before the afternoon set on the 31st, an RV water/waste
truck pulled up asking us if we needed to dump any waste and replenish
water.  What a pleasure!  The ice pyramid was a hit and the city and forest
were a definite treat.
 
I just about shit in my pants when the band announced the first night that
they would play just before midnight until sunrise with no breaks for New
Year's.  Then they came out and played 7+ hours of what I can only call an
"experience".  I was particularly impressed by their selection of songs in
the set - no gamehendge, rarities, etc.  They played what they wanted and
what they felt.  For those of you who were not able to attend, I suggest
listening to the YEM -- Cross-Eyed.  Definitely a pinnacle - full fucking
rocket booster ignition.  We strolled towards the back of the concert field
to check out the scene and relax.  It had to have been 3:30 or so when I
heard the intro to Bowie.  It was so fitting - I knew the band was going to
wait until the middle of the night to unleash this one.  Also, highly
suggested.  By the end of the show I was ready to cry and started to
when "Here Comes the Sun" came over the PA.
 
All I could think about on the way home was how this band just keeps on
delivering.  As much as I would have enjoyed an Alumni or Harpua, I have even
more respect for Phish now by playing what they felt.  The first two and half
hours of the midnight-sunrise set is essentially a jam!  You don't "plan" a
two and half hour jam.
 
This event was awesome and shattered all of my expectations.  Phish pushed
the musical envelope on New Year's and set the standard for how a scene can
stay cool and clean.  I keep waiting to hear some POSITIVE press coverage of
how well the event went over (clean scene, etc.) instead of how long people
had to wait in traffic.  Still waiting...

Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 13:37:21 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: (no subject)

Reba made me explore the universe and piper at 5:00 AM made me see god!

Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 02:21:30 +0000
From: jonathon blake [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: the end of the world as we know it

i'm not going to give a full review, hell, i'm not even going to give a
review at all, but i wanted to say thanks nonetheless. just to get it
out there.
what i keep thinking over and over again in my head is that i've never,
EVER been a part of something so....beautiful in my entire existence.
even now as i sit here typing, days after the conclusion of the magic, i
have tears in my eyes. it was all there. the hands i shook, the hugs and
kisses that i gave and received, the sacred ground i danced upon until
my legs and knees cramped up from exhaustion. it was all there.
the all night love jam (as i dubbed it as soon as it started) was in
full effect, and i want to thank not only phish, but all of those
brothers and sisters that danced right up in from with me all night
long. i was touched by everyone and everything that night, from the
beginning right down to the heartbreaking end.
so thank you. all of you. you're wonderful and i love you.
jonathon (the kid with the rainbow sword)
p.s. remember piper? i do. i will forever. there was one point when
trey's eyes locked with mine and i yelled up to him...."bad lieutenant,
bad lieutenant!!!" and then gave him a salute. he rocked back on his
heels for a second and then fucking started wailing and didn't stop
until the end of the jam. i'll see it in dreams.
[email protected]


Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 14:02:04 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: utopia

Wow, I am at lost for words here, but let me just say, i think we all died
at midnight on New Years Eve in Big Cypress Florida and got to see a 7
hour sample of what heaven is like.  Being on three hits I'd have to say
that I saw the most amazing show that has ever been performed on the face
of this earth.  The whole thing was just unbelievable from the Ferris
Wheel to the forest of palm trees.  It was nice as hell being able to
where shorts seeing it was snowing back home in Cleveland.  Even the 12
hour wait on 75 was interesting.  It was so amazing to see so many people
going to the same place all for the same reason.  Oh yeah and if the dude
with hash brownies reads this, thanks they were awesome and they made that
wait in traffic a lot more interesting.  Well, I'm not going to describe
the shows because, fuckin wow is all I can think of.  And the feeling you
had walking back to your campsite at 7:30 in the morning, you knew that
you had probably seen one of the most incredible events you would ever
witness.  I'm sure anyone who was there can relate to this.  This...was my
first phish show.....and all I have to say is,
 I am a Phan for life.  :)
    Kevin Wasik
    Brecksville,OH

Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 14:28:07 EST
From: Bill Witts [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE-12/31/99 Review

    Ok I'm going to write a very short review here and not even try and
get into explaining every song for every set. I must say I was very
impressed with this NYE. It took us just under 30 hours to reach it from
our homes in Massachusetts and then that "Fun, Fun, Fun" traffic jam of 12
hours. I was amazed at how no one realy complained about the traffic just
made the best of it. I was even more amazed at how I didn't complain being
one of the worlds greatest complainers. It was just something in the air.
Everything was positive as I saw it from picking up trash, to meeting
people you didn't know, and of course two days of unbelievable music. It
was great. Their were so many generations of Phans it was realy something.
At one point some 17 or 18 year old kid asked me what song was playing. I
told him it was When The Circus Comes... I rember having to ask people at
shows what a song was when I first got into Phish. I met another guy who
had been catching shows since 88' he was a wealth of Phish information of
the "old school" days. It made me see how this cycle keeps going. Years
from now maybee I'll be talking about the good old days of summer tour
97'.
     The one bad thing for me(or maybee it is just funny, I haven't
decided yet) was I got a pretty bad blister from all the walking I did. I
had to leave the all night set early because I was in so much pain. That
realy sucked! After the thirty hour ride home when I went to take a shower
I found that my foot had swelled 3 times its normal size! So I spent the
entire night and most of yesterday at the hospital. They told me it was so
infected if it spread any further I would have permanite damge. All to see
4 guys from Vermont play some tunes, Ha. Well Now that I'm OK I must say
it was definitely worth a trip to the hospital to experience NYE. I can't
wait till summer tour!


Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 14:47:41 EST
From: David Blevins [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Nye 2000

This will be my last show.  I don't feel the need to see them anymore. I
have had my fill.  I never thought I would say that.  I don't need, or
really even want, to see them anymore (right now).  I want that to be it.
They are the best ever.  And that was there best show ever.


Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 15:04:08 -0500
From: Peter Mistele [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Phish 2000

It's too early to really put the New Year's experience into perspective,
but I have to communicate some of my feelings to my brothers and sisters
about the magic I witnessed.  I'm pretty new to Phish shows (July 3-4,
'99 were my first and only ones before this) but have been going to
concerts for years and count some of them as the best moments of my life
(Dead, Santana, Little Feat, MagnoliaFest in Live Oak, etc.).  The good
vibes from a great live performance can't be beat, and Phish gave
probably the greatest performance ever.  My soul has been inundated with
positive energy that will never fully dissipate, and I could not think
of a better way to start a new year than jamming with 75,000 + of the
most fun-loving, spiritual, kind people on earth.  Thank you everyone
for sharing so unselfishly whatever you had, and thank you Phish for
proving that it is possible to have hope for a wonderful future full of
love and joy.  Peace.

Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2000 06:33:25 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE2000
 
This review comes late but it really takes along time for everything that one
sees at an event like this to set in.
    First I'd like to comment on Heath Andersons comments:
Dear Heath,
    I just read about your tragic experience at the NYE show and wanted to
express my condolences because if you would have waited it out like the rest
of us you would have had the time of your life.
    Although I agree with some of your statements on the poor planning of the
traffic situation I think that your going way to far coming down so hard on
Phish. Phish has strived for years to create the best possible concert setting
for their Phans and all in all have done an excellent job in my opinion.  
They have probably put more thought into the planning of their large festivals
than any other band ever.  You try planning a party and inviting 80,000 of
your closest phriends.  There's going to be problems!
    We drove all the way from Seattle to spend New Years with Phish and we got
no special treatment.  We also waited in traffic for almost 10 hours but we
made the most of it and if you looked around you you would have seen alot of
people doing the same.  The party started even before we got inside!  And
that's what it is all about right? Going with the flow and being spontaneous.  
If you've been in the Phish scene for 7 years you should know that.
    I understand your anger and dissapointment on not getting in but I think
your comments about the band and its phans were completely out of line.  I
dont like to fight fire with fire but maybe Phish planned the whole traffic
scene to weed out the "little shits" like you.
    Anyways, enough negativity because that is certainly not what this event
was about.  The energy was unbelievable!  No one knew exactly what was going
to happen but everyone knew that it could have been anything.
    The site was gorgeous.  I'm not used to the everglades setting, being
from Washington and all, and let me tell you, it was impossible to filter
out!  I'm used  to the Gorge Amplitheater style campground which this
resembled greatly except on a huge scale.  Fortunately we ended up with a
site fairly close to the stage area (in the Hamptons) and we could hear the
music perfectly from our campground if we wanted to.  Usually at shows you
want to be front and center every second as to not miss a beat but at this
event there was so much music that you could afford to be a little more
leisurly.  We actually got three shows for the price of two being that the
soundcheck on the night of the 29th turned into a noteworthy show in itself
for those who were lucky enough to not still be stuck in traffic.
    I guess the elderly city of Naples had not been briefed on what was going
on judging by the look on all the retired wealthy folks faces when a buch of
dreadlocked Phishheads invaded their town to do last minute shopping and
such.  It was quite a funny scene.  It reminded me of some of the footage of
interviews with the residents of upstate New York when Woodstock was
happening.
    The scene in the campground was hilarious.  Debauchery in all its forms.
There was a mock town front with its own boardwalk going over a little swamp
and into a patch of woods which made for good shade in the day and at night
were strung with lights and drum circles.  Watch out for the stumps though,
I'm surprised no one was killed on those things.
    The vendors section was basically a joke unless you wanted to wait an
hour and pay $10 for a burrito.  I also thought the Phish merchandise stands
were lacking in good NYE memoraliabilia.  After all was this not have been
Phishs' biggest show ever?  So, as always, Shakedown street (3rd Ave) was the
place to go for good eats and treats of all kinds.  One particulaly animated
vendor stands out.  This guy must have sold about 10,000 veggie eggrolls and
fallafel sandwitches while keeping the hungry line entertained at the same
time.  A real entrepeneur.
    Good beer, opium, and doses were rampent at these shows but herb was
almost impossible to find.  I wish I would have known!  We brought some of
the usual Washington chronic but only enough to keep us happy on our long
trip and not to much to share.  If I would have known, i would have brought a
couple of pounds since I know people would have paid good money for quality
Seattle smoke instead of east coast shwag which is what we saw when we saw
any.  This has never been a problem at any other shows though.  I suppose
peole were not expecting the security to be al slack as it was?
    Anyways, other cool attractions included an ice sculpture (which I must
have missed because I dont remember seeing it) and the Meatstick Time Capsule
which was to be burried until the year 4020!  People were allowed to drop
anything they wanted into it as long as it was about hand size and one time
when I passed this spectacle a man was preparing to drop a Twinkie into the
whole and a group of people were surrounding him
chanting,"Twinkie,Twinkie,Twinkie."  Pretty hilarious stuff.  I wonder if it
will still be edible?
    The stage area was a trip and I was really hoping they would play Ester
because I really felt the fairground atmosphere.  Maybe it had something to
do with the carnival rides around the stage.  Thats right, they had a farris
wheel and some kind of  hot air balloon contraption that took you up a few
hundred feet into the air, not to mention the other, more daring
farriswheel-like ride that actually took you upside down.  The glowing colors
of the rides at night were definately nice eye candy for those of us that got
liquified but I don't know that the $5 fee was worth the wait.
    On New Years the fences on the side of the field opened and a large
object emerged which my friends and I still dissagree on what exactly it was.
 It was big.  And it was wooden.  I personally think it was a giant bathtub
(maybe foreshadowing of the smokin Bathtub Gin to come?).  The thing made its
way to the middle of the crowd and busted open to reveal the band who made
the rest of the journey to the stage on their signature meatstick-the hot dog
(ressurected from past New Years).  The Meatstick song is always fun and it
turned out to be the opener and closer!
    The fireworks display was handsdown the most impressive that I have ever
seen and everybody had fun when they turned all the lights on to do the ABC
thing with Peter Jennings.
    Only one word could possibly sum up this show and you can only fully
understand this word if you were there in person.  CHEESECAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've always loved the stuff but now it carries such a special symbolism.
    Right about now I need to send a shout out to the guy who looke like he
had way to much cheesecake judging from his size and state of mind.  This guy
must have weighed a good 400 pounds and was completely off of his rocker (I
suspect it was the green Molly Mesculine going around which I heard was not
particularly to good).  He decided to take all his close off and proceeded to
cause the biggest spectacle that I witnessed throughout the weekend.  He ran
around the crowd, Butt Naked, and from time to time fell flat on his face.
Eventually security was called in to wheel him away on a giant golf cart but
I will never forget the guy.  He definately changed my trip that evening and
quite frankly scared the shit out of me after I saw him grab some innocent
bystander and hump him while screaming,"Daddy!"  For future reference though,
to all the other guys who thought it was cool to start removing their clothes
after seeing this poor soul do it, It wasn't.  Maybe if there had been an
equal ratio of naked women but this was turning into a sausage fest quickly!
That's when we knew it was time to go back to the campsite to regroup.
    We returned sometime around like 5:30 AM to watch the sunrise on the new
millenium (one of the more beautiful ones I can remember) and caught a lovely
Velvet Sea and a trippy 2001.  Trey's goodbye brought tears to my eyes as he
said thank you to us and explained what an experience it had been.  Then it
was Meatstick again and the band was gone as soon as they came.  Were they
ever there at all?      Here Comes the Sun over the loudspeaker was a very
nice touch as everyone made their way back to their homes for the night (or,
as it turned out for us, the next couple of night because the traffic was
worse on the way out than it was ont the way in!).
    So there you have it.  I can't think of anywhere I would have rather been
on this very special occasion and it was well worth the drive from tip to tip
of the states.  I think Phish is the only band who could have pulled
something like this off and I just have to say, being a Deadhead also, that
Jerry would be proud that someone is carrying on the torch of playing all
night shows since thats what the Dead were known for back in the day.  The
spirit continues and on those faitfull nights there was definately a natural
mystic blowing through the air.  Peace


Date: Wed, 09 Feb 2000 23:19:39 EST
From: Nikolaus Hruska [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: A BEAUTIFUL BUZZ
 
thanks to everyone for the best 4 days of my life and thank you phish for
providing the backdrop for the most beautiful of buzzes.  AND ESPECIALLY
THANKS FOR THE 20,000+ HIGH FIVES!!!!
(they made my millenium)
 
nik h.
[email protected]


Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 16:10:57 -0500
From: Allen Clark [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Phish in alligator alley..

There are no words to describe the time that was spent in the beautiful
land of the Seminole Indians.  Phish, phriends, and phans came together
to create one of the most amazing events that I have ever attended.
Tears came to my eyes as I watched the sunrise on the first day of
2000...it was the most beautiful moment in all of the Phish shows that
i've seen.  There is no other place on earth that i would have rather
been than right there with Phish, absorbing their energy as well as that
of the morning sun.  The music was awesome and the vibe was excellent.
Thanks the the members of Phish and there supporting cast for affording
me the opportunity to spend three wonderful days of bliss with phriends
both old and new.  Thanks to the Seminole Indians for their hospitality.

My thoughts and prayers go out the the phriends and phamily of our
departed brother.
Thanks to everyone who has sent in their comments and reviews...as i
read them, I feel as if i'm am there all over again...it overwhelms me.

PS. To all who where not there...i am trully sorry that you did not make
it for some reason or another...that's no reason to verbally trash the
event.  Get over it...it's not anyone's fault, especially not Phish's.
I hope that our new phriends from Philly  (Ben, Ian, and Mike) made it
home safely.

cheesecake.....

HAVE A PHISHY NEW YEAR!!!

Allen Clark

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 15:37:33 -0800 (PST)
From: Andrew Farbstein [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12-31-99 review
 
First off, I just want to say that I was extrodinarily excited about all this.  
It took a lot, to say the least, to be able to go to this.  After sitting in
the monster traffic and then absolutely enjoying day 1, it was time for the
big thang.  New year's eve day.  The day set ruled:
 
My highlights were Tube and I Didn't know.  Trey and Mike just seemed like
they were in such a good mood, and the crowd, even with the less than perfect
acoustics, responded.  Also, I liked Bouncin, since I never hear that (can you
believe it), and Horn almost made me cry.  After a rockin Guyute and an
awesome After Midnight, it was time to relax and find some drugs before the
main event.
 
I will spare the details of what happened as they were coming on before
midnight, as others have detailed it well.  What I can say to anybody reading
this is that the moment of midnight was magical. Nothing I could ever write
could express my shear adoration and happiness at where I was and what I was
doing.  It was the culmination of many years of wondering where I would be and
what I would be doing.  I could never have picked a more perfect place to be.  
I honestly felt like I was in the Garden of Eden.  Anyway, DWD with the
fireworks kicked ass.  I saw that some people thought that these songs were
standard and not exciting, but I don't know what planet they were on. DWD,
although common, is a great NYE song and it rocked the house down.  Llama
continued that trend, and left me speechless.  Bathtub, one of my favorites,
kind of bummed me out because, in my world of dreams, I was hoping for all
real fast tunes to help keep me awake.  Heavy Things was just what it says,
heavy and meant for a worldwide audience.  It was made better by the fact that
we had a cheesecake mission at the end of the song.  Twist and PC are not my
favorites, so I won't discuss them.  Rock and Roll was a spiritual experience
for me, maybe because the E I was on was really kicking in, maybe because of
these awesome three people (one named Vanessa) that were also crazy on E who
did not know Phish that well, and maybe because of how they were playing
it...I don't remember.  I do remember that it was a definite highlight for me.  
YEM was short and sweet, with my all time favorite vocal jam next to the one
in Portland, ME earlier in December that was pretty much a Tweeprise.  I took
a much needed breather the next few songs, with the highlight being my second
Minestrone. It was so nice and sweet, and also gave the others a chance to use
the facilities for relieving themselves and probably a little drug use. Reba
got me groovin again, although when I stood up it seemed that almost half the
crowd was sittin or lyin down.  Axilla, one of my favorites, really woke me
up, and made me realize that the last half of this monster set was going to
rule.  Uncle Pen was nice, especially since this was my number 1 never heard
before (thanks zzyzx).  Then came Bowie.  AAh, Bowie. Not the best ever, but
just what I needed to keep going. Surprisingly, I hadn't heard this in like 10
shows, so I was psyched.  Nice spacey jam in the middle.  And, not too many
flubbs in the end part.  My Soul ruled, and so did Drowned, also with a nice
spacey middle jam.  Believe me, it was tough to stay up through all the space,
but I was appreciating the music so much that I didn't care.  After a typical
NYE horse-silent, and a not so wonderful Bittersweet, the moment came. I will
never be able to stress what Piper did to me. It has never been my favorite,
but that night, it changed.  I have never danced so hard and loved any piece
of music like that Piper.  For 5 in the morning, they pumped tons of energy.  
This song was an explosion of greatness.  I know some people don't like this
song because it's only 6 chords and they keep repeating and blah blah blah but
this just kicked some ass like I never have seen.  The rest of the show just
melllowed me out and made me appreciate even more where I was.  Especially the
all out thirty minute Roses are Free when the sun was jsut coming up and
Velvet Sea in this Pink Velvet Sea of a sunrise. Please see the pictures at
http://blueridge.etree.org/ to see what I am talking about.  Finally,
Meatstick ended the greatest Marathon in the history of music. Not too flashy,
and no Oh-Kee-Pah, but I cried as I walked away because I don't know how I can
ever go to another Phish show or any other show for that matter after
experiencing this.  I would like to thank everyone who made this possible,
including my ex girlfriend for giving me the lie to use, and the Indians who
kept us in traffic, just to make us appreciate that much more where we were.  
And I especially would like to thank the band.. I know you will probably never
read this but I love you guys for all you do for us.  I also just want to say
to the people who were upset about no Gamehendge or anything else that unusual
for that matter, you should not be at all disappointed.  You should be happy
that the band plays what they want to play well.  Would you like it better if
they just played what you wanted and didn't play it well?

Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2000 00:04:27 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Attitude adjustment.

    I have to tell someone about what I went through for Phish, so bare
with me. First of all, I'm from Denver, Colorado.  Lately, I think being
from Denver means that there is no easy way to see Phish. Knowing this
wasn't gonna be simple, my boyfriend, friend and i hopped into this pimped
out 76 van that some former dead head bestowed upon us.  It had a pinup in
the back and a mattress and was so thoroughly pimpin' you would not
believe.  20 minutes on the road someone dies in a carwreck and we're
stuck in two hours of dead traffic.  Unbelievable.  What's even more
amazing is me waking up at 8 in the morning in Bowie, Texas to a van going
80 miles an hour, coughing out smoke and spinning out of control on an
exit ramp.  My friend is driving and screaming, I'm in my underwear
praying and my boyfriend's asleep.  We could have died! We could miss New
Years! Instead, the van spun A-team style into a gas station right off the
ramp.  A kindly Texan and his grand-children tie a chain to our van and
drive us down the road to a radiator shop.  It's fixed in 3 hours intil
we're back on the road.
 It took five minutes for the engine to overheat.  Again, thinking we
could miss New Years!  The guys who checked the oil checked the
transmission fluid instead and sent us on the road with no oil.  Some
other cowboy tells us she'll be fine if we just fill it with oil and baby
it.  So we do and the engine seizes on the side of the road.  The van is
never to be pimped ever again.  After a trip on the back of a towtruck
we're back to Bowie and in need of a rental and a ride to Fort Worth which
is an hour away.  A blessed man named Bob James offers us a ride and
plenty of advice.  So after spending the whole entire day in Bos a piece
of (forgive me) cheesecake.  We went through so much this month (Auburn
Hills, Cinncinnatti, NYE) in the name of Phish, and so much to get to
Florida.  I feel so rewarded and appreciative of everything that happened
there, even the traffic.  Watching them tower through the morning with so
many good jams and so much more energy than anyone in the crowd (who
wasn't trippin) was such a remarkable thing to witness.  At some point all
I could do was stand (on my toes all night long) and watch.  The look on
Page's face around 7 in the morning was priceless and halfdead.  Watching
Trey bounce up and down to wake himself up was great. Jon forgetting that
he was at a concert, HYHU!  The show as a whole was a once in a lifetime
experience that i will always treasure.  Not to mention the wonderful,
generous sack I hooked up.  This was the first show that i went into
completely sober and I only sat down once or twice.  Needless to say I'm
in love with this band.  Thankyou for SOAM, Silent in the Morning, YEM,
3rd set first night, llama, tube, MOMA (needed more MOMA).  This band has
balls.  I thank the band for their enthusiasm, endurance, trampolines and
choice of venue, though City Park across the steet in Denver would be the
nicest.

Zshanna Kristoff
Denver, Colorado

By the way, whoever had the grilled cheese stand set up the next day after
the show... i love you.

Date: Fri, 07 Jan 2000 16:34:56 -0600
From: Greg James 
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12.31.99

Let me just say that this was the most amazing experience in my concert
going career, if not my entire life. The fact that four people, along
with the finest crew in the biz, can bring 80,000+ people to the middle
of nowhere to celebrate life through song and dance will live with me
forever. Being surrounded by the people I Love most along with the music
I Love most brought tears to my eyes on more than one occassion. I will
never forget what went down for as long as I live. Truly a magical
night. Special thanks to Eric and his crew, Andy & Rachel, Kim from
Cali, the Michigan crew, the B-Town crew, the Chicago crew, the Seminole
Indians for letting our community congregate on their land,  and of
course the band and their crew for creating the greatest vibes I, as
well as everyone around me, have ever experienced. What a great way to
start 2000!!!!! See ya around.

Peace & Love
The Phunky Pharoah

Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 14:41:36 -0700
From: Eric Sommers [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: NYE Comments

There have already been enough terrific reviews of the magical night of
music we all experienced on Saturday morning, but I just wanted to send
out a big THANK YOU to all of the phans who attended and made this a
memorable event for all of us and the band.  The words that come to mind
for me personally are "Cooperation" and "Patience."  We really did need to
work together to make some difficult moments easier and we did.  
Obviously the Alligator Alley Crawl is a prime example.  Another good one
was during the set break on NYE.  I and a couple of my friends had secured
a spot dead center about 20 rows from the stage, and then about 20 of our
cohorts proceeded to meet us down in the trenches.  Thank you all for
being so understanding and letting us through to reach our destination, so
that we could all spend this special, special event together!  Especially
after they had created the lane for the Hot Dog to travel, it was even
tighter and more difficult to move through the sea of you all.  Still, you
all cooperated and were just wonderfully understanding and patient.  As
Trey said before they left the stage, we really do have something very
special here. Success in 2000!
ezz

Eric Sommers


Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 16:13:54 -0500
From: Troy and Angie [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: review

Phew!! After a few days battling "tour-flu" , I can finally put down a few
words about the great time my buddies and I (and hopefully most of you)
had.

Yes, traffic did suck getting in, we live 4 hours from the site and it tok
us 16 to get in. BUT, we cant really blame phish at all. I saw alot of
stupid driving going on. Whatever delays were only lengthened by people
driving down the shoulder and median just to get ahead of everyone else. A
few accidents is allit takes to make a shot delay a long delay. Those of
you speeding down the shoulder know who you are. It all worked out in the
end, those of us who didnt give up and turn aroun got in, had the time of
our lives and thats that. Needless to say my thoughts go out to the family
of the person who lost their life during this tarffic jam.

Ok now for the shows. Lets just say that I have never seen Phish play as
well and with as much effort as I did for NYE. Period. Those of you who
say they havnt been playing up to par should relisten to the tapes.

Great Opening set
Even greater Mikes Grooves.
A very fat afternoon set
Then the 7 1/2 hour set. This wasnt a half assed effort either.

Oh well. You know the story. I just wanted to thor in my 2 censt regarding
some peoples views that phish stole theier money b/c of the traffic

Troy

Phish NYE page
http://www.feemilli.homepage.com
tape list etc
http://www.feemilliproductions.homepage.com 

Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2000 23:46:48 -0500
From: Andrew Ellis Jones [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: your so-called review
 
well all you phish phreaks feel riped off?   nope.
 
spent how many hours in traffic, spent how much money? a lot; a lot.
 
was it worth it?  wouldn't have missed it for the world.
 
and no, i shouldn't have gone to see wsp.
widespread doesn't even come close to comparing.  what other band can pull
off a 7:45 set?  the truth: no other band.
 
and as an added point, the nature of your post is exactly why i'm glad i
wasn't at the widespread show.  think about it.
 
                            you, and many other people need this:
                                                    PEACE
Sincerely,
Andrew E Jones
 
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2000 01:54:02 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: (no subject)
 
i just want to throw something in the mix after its all soaked in. NYE2000
was the best concert in the history of rock & roll ( \or jazz, blues,
bluegrass, folk, heavy metal, polka, ect..)...granted i've never seen the
dead live or most of the rock classics, but as a lover of music and the
overall vibe, i can'timagine a band in history that has poured that amount of
emotion out on the crowd ever. the eight hours of music that blessed the ears
of the 80,000 who were still awake at 4:30 (dancing) was something more than
another spew from the band that we all know and love. It was naked eposure to
their fan base that they are for real and they know "what it is all about."
just for that naked personal exposure they lent to us for 8 hours, i feel no
need to explain a setlist or my very passionate feelings about this show, but
know that all i needed to see about phish will be left in florida, with the
seminoles....I feel a special compassion for those who went, stayed up the
whole night, and still wished they played a Harpua or Divided Sky. if you
left with a doubt that phish didn't leave it all  on the floor (ida), you
have my sympathy (your tongue may have been dry). my biggest question is,
where the fuck do they go now? how do you ever match the special intensity
that was achieved at dawn on jan. 1st, when they gave props to the other phab
phour (beatles) by playing the sweetest sunrise song that they couldn't ever
try to cover? where i ask? wherever it is, i hope to see you
there!................well, i must stop regardless of the never ending detail
i'd love to explain (email me if you wish to hear the whole truth and nothing
 but the Truth).  peace, and hold phish's gift to us fans very close...
one love.
---jeffrey
 
to eternal joy and never ending splendor!

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 10:58:03 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: review submission NYE
 
let me strat by sayin that NYE 2000 was my 41st show and and 25th of 99. i
have to say the this day will be enscribed into my memory forever.
afternoon set:
this set was a great set to play before playing an eight hour set.
everything was chill. the highlight was definitely the SOAM > Catapult.  the
catapult even had a tint of funk in it.  poor heart was great.  the runaway
opener and punch in the middle of the set are perfect additives.  they could
have lost the guyute, but thats just a personal peave of mine.  and of couse
there was the after midnight which was just peaches and cream.  i dont think
cream played it much better.  trey plays clapton tunes extremely well and
this was no exception.  little did we know what was gonna hit us in a few
hours.
night set:
i have to admit, the guy on the bike and the ticking noise kinda wierded me
out, but it was cool in its own way.  when i saw the fan boat i sort of
started to lose my cool, as i did at other NYE shows.  when the boat
collapsed and the hot dog appeared i flipped.  such a great moment in phish
history brought back to the present.  it sort of said to me that the band
really is the same as 94 despite their present hugeness.  the meatstick
opener was cool, fitting i guess.  then the auld lang syne> d w/ disease.
couldnt of been played better.   so crisp and tight was the disease, i was
actually more amazed by that than the million fireworks goin off.  that god i
refrained from dosing myself to retardedness as most of my touring phriends
had.  the music was too tight to be in an altered state of consciousness.
llama rocked, as did the gin.  i never laughed more than the whole heavy
things on ABC episode.  you totally knew trey just didnt want to be a part of
the same world that was spending theeir NYE wishing they were burning things
down at a limp biscuit show.  i loved how trey made a joke of the whole
thing.   skippin ahead alittle i go to the rock and roll.  this may be the
best that i have ever heard phish play ever.  this statement is also backed
up by a phriend who has seen well over 150 shows and has been tourin since
90.  the jam afterwards was simply amazing, flawless.  i have listened to
this off the dat we used numerous times and it continues to amaze me.  the
YEM was very impressive, as was the vocal jam afterwards.  the cross eyed and
painless finally came after phish teased it forever during rock and roll.
another great masterpiece of the night, phish took this song to another place
with a rockin jam afterwards.  minestone was simply sweet, and i have to give
props to the crowd for listening so attentively.  the sand was great, but the
slave was greater, simply perfect.  almost as good as atlanta 99, this was a
slave taken over by Page and simply amazing.  from this point of the show
things just got crazy.  if u were noit at this show or passes out because u
took too many drugs too early i feel for ya because from slave through to
Lawn Boy, the band put on something that blew me away.  i am absolutely
speachless about this part of the show.  at this time in the morning i
thought that maybe trey would start gettin sloppy from wahtever he decided to
do for the New Years.  boy, he proved me wrong.  the albequerque almost made
me cry it was so sweet, the reba was like i was listening to an album it was
so perfect, axilla almost gave me a heart attack proving to me that phish did
not plan on slowing down at all,  uncle pen was a great suprise and it
definitely kept me grovin,  bowie was just amazing with trey nailing the end
like he was playin something easy or somethin,  the my soul just rocked, then
a little break that we all needed.  it gave me a chance to relieve myself on
that wonderful fence that was built for peeing on.  then a drowned that page
took off wit that lead into after midnight in a perfect transition.
horse>silent was great especially in the wee hours of the morn.  bittersweet
motel gave us another break to chill and take everthing in that was
happening.  then there was piper.  this was absolutely a wonderful piper.
take it from a piper critic.  some pipers are good, some are just sloppy ans
some take you to another place where u are floating wieghtless for the tune.
that was this piper.  AND IT WAS ALMOST 5:00 IN THE MORNING!  thank you
phish.  the free was a little slow, but still, it was still rockin.  i think
i fell asleep during lawn boy,  and the love you i spent hydrating myself.
the roses got me goin again though, and the bug just gave me my 5th wind as
the sun began to rise.  this next hour is what iwll never forget.  all that i
see cant be taken from me.  i saw phish, at 7:00 in the morn, playin for 8
hrs striaght, looking bruised and beaten, but still playing tight music.  the
2001 was flawless and phunky.  then the velvet sea and meatstick which is all
phish had left in them.  thank you phish, from the water in the sky opener to
the here comes the sun over the loud speaker, for showing me just how
important the music really is to all of you.
    the next day me and my friends spent most of the day enjoying the scene
and lookin for nuggets for the ride home, i was so suprised to hear how many
people complained or said the show was too long and they were too tired.
maybe thats because u drank too much or had too much ectasy in your blood to
actuaaly see deeper into the show.  of course phish wasnt gonna play harpua,
when was the last harpua you heard of that 70,000 people were expecting.
this was by far the greatest i have heard phish play ever.  the only
disappointment i saw all weekend were the kids there that paid 150 dollars to
smoke pot and were only there because dave matthews wasnt playin hampton this
year.  please stay away from our scene, on the 30th i just wanted to dance
cause it was my 40th show, and there was no room cause all these kids were
invading our dancing space and sittin down. cause to them,  good times bad
times is a led zeppelin tune that phish has never covered before.  but other
than this, i had a blast and wish phish will do the same next year as well,
but next time, do it secretely.  peace and happy new year to all.

Date: Wed, 02 Feb 2000 15:08:43 -0500
From: Brian Muething [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: quick review
 
I won't spend my time boring everyone with my thoughts on the whole amazing
time at Big Cypress, but I do want to add one thing...I thought this while
I was there, but decided I would wait for the CDs to make the statement,
and the CDs more than confirmed my original thoughts.  12-30-99 saw the
best Antelope I have ever heard and I have a pretty good amount on tape.
See you this summer.

Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 12:13:43 -0500
From: John [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: florida bits
 
What can you say about Big Cyprus and NYE with Phish that hasn^�t been
said here?  Everything I have read here illuminates the many wonderful
aspects ( and not so great aspects ) of this incredible once in a
lifetime event.  I knew there would be no where else to be that night
and boy was I right.  The first four sets of the stand were very well
played and songs were well positioned with a rarity here ( Light Up &
Corrina ) and a breakout  there ( After Midnight ) and one of the most
intense Mike^�s ever thrown in for good measure.  Only with the Mike^�s
did the band achieve hyperdrive for me , but  all the music was so very
very good.  Needless to say speculation for the long set was rampant, I
heard everything from Abbey Road to Thriller to a full cover set and on
and on.  We got advance word to get back in to the tapers section by 11
as there would be some interference involving the midnight stunt.  We
got back in about 10:50 and just made it inside the barriers.  About 10
minutes later I tried to exit to go pee and could not get out, no matter
what.  People were split from friends, no one seemed to know what was
going on , security outright lied to me and I know this caused distress
for many folks in the area.  It turned out to be a blessing as the
following happened at midnight 1.)   The hot dog passed about 10 feet
from me and I got great pictures and 2.) once the barriers were broken
down people never seemed to move inward and I had more room than I have
ever experienced at any concert.  It was amazing...and you could walk
down to the front of the soundboard and there was open space galore.  If
you had a flashlight you could move around with unparalleled ease.
Around time the Bowie rolled around I ventured out to the bathrooms and
about 15 feet out I hit a wall of people that never quit until I was
well outside the reach of quality sound.  Everyone was packed so tight I
could not believe it, with out a flashlight I don^�t know if I would have
made it with out stepping on or crashing into the hundreds and hundreds
of sleeping concertgoers.  Needless to say that trip from the soundboard
to the restrooms and back was the most intense thing I have ever done at
a show!    It is also shocking to hear how the sound degrades once out
of prime territory, my guess is over half the crowd got sub arena
quality sound and worse.
 As far as the music goes, the long set was the most amazing phish set
ever and no show will ever match or surpass it ( unless maybe they do
this type of event again, which I kinda doubt ) .  Alot has been said
about the big jam tunes, but few praises for 2 of the most beautiful
songs of the night, ALBURQUERQUE and BITTERSWEET MOTEL.  Moments of
tranquility and tenderness to perfectly balance off the raging madness
of the larger songs, rendered with exquisite perfection.   I have seen
50 + shows and plenty of great ones, but 12-31-99 is at the top of the
heap by a wide margin.
Biggest disappointment...no radio broadcast of the soundcheck and
concerts.  They say technical difficulties...I say they are selling
MP3^�s didn^�t want to give it away with a free radio transmission
Biggest joy....just being there!
Biggest line...the ATM
Biggest memory...Fishman cackling like Captain Hook out of the back of
the hot dog as he tossed plastic meatsticks and confetti ( and Mike
looking like he^�d rather be anywhere else as he lamely tossed a single
lei out at the crowd )
Biggest WTF moment.....the whole airboat / hotdog / midnight / meatstick
/ fireworks / balloon midnight moment....just pure sensory overload and
immensely fun ( with fungus )
Biggest Beautiful moment......sunrise
Biggest Apology...to the millions of fire ants slaughtered by $ 40,000
worth of pesticides before we all got down there
Biggest Wildlife encounter...the 4 inch cockroach that toured the taping
section around 4 am  ( special mention to the wolf spider that tried to
gain access to my tent Friday morning )
Biggest surprise ( bad )...the first delay tower Trey side that
distorted from the get go on 12-30, don^�t know if it was a phase thing
or something was blown but it crackled both shows
Biggest surprise ( good )....the crowd....very high percentage of
phans...most were very real and far less sketchy than any of the 16
shows I saw in 99
 If you couldn^�t make it down to Florida you really missed something
special in the history of not only Phish, but rock music and live
performance in general.  These guys broke new ground and if I^�m not
mistaken, got into the Guinness Book after all for the longest single
set of music ever played to one group of people ( take that meatstick!
).  In a year filled with more spotty shows than anyone can remember,
the boys anted up and dealt us the sweetest show ever, in one of the
most beautiful spots in the country ( albeit with lousy access ).
Ps...anyone else hear the soundcheck and notice how the vibe of the
soundcheck was in perfect synch with the feel and style of the long
set?  Phish for years has been trying to play gigs with the looseness of
a rehearsal or soundcheck, and by jove, they finally did it!  Hopefully
it won^�t be the last time...peace out and see ya next tour...john

Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2000 15:24:43 -0500
From: Matt Cox [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: If you weren't there . . . .
 
How was the show?!
 
Best time ever!  We kept an RV and seven cars together through 6.5 hours of
stop'n'go traffic going in, then there was a BRIEF security search of our
vehicles going into the fairgrounds (no opening of bags, they just felt
around the trunks of cars and boarded RVs looking for pets, huge nitrous
tanks, etc.) that pissed us off until we realized that it meant there would
be virtually NO security on the inside (ONCE I saw two mounted policemen
inside, but both they and their horses were covered in Mardi Gras beads!)!!
I meet up with my bro and his wife, and also met up with Mike Owen, Marnie,
Zack and their whole crew once we got inside - bringing our whole group size
to about 30 people.
 
Phrase of the trip: "Who's got my nugs?"  Turns out that "party favors" were
EXTREMELY rare, especially weed!  The dirty, dreadlocked, dress-wearing
Phishead that I bought the best "X" I've ever had in my life from asked ME
if I could get him some nugs - how sad is that??!!!!!!!!!!!  I guess
everyone was planning on getting them there at the show and the end result
was 80,000 people wandering around going, "Got doses?" "Cash for yer rolls!"
"Who's got my boomers?" - it was pretty sad/funny to see so many distraught
people hunting drugs!  Luckily, I was able to secure more than enough for me
and Mike (we each munched a 1/4 of shrooms apiece and "several" rolls on the
big night), and was able to hook up a few folks in our group of 30 or so
with some "gel" that I didn't need.
 
Musically, the shows leading up to the big one were great and I danced with
much jubilation.  I spent the bulk of the big show spazzing out and running
around meeting new people from all over the country and world (well, Canada
IS another country, right?) - it was the night of my life!  I rang in the
first 4:20 of the millenium with five complete strangers (three of them from
fukin' Jersey, for Pete's sake!) in a grass hut set up about midfield -
another one of our 4:20 group was a real Seminole indian who shared our pipe
and joined us for a deeply moving 4:20 communal hug!!  Her name was Donna
Tiger and she confided in us that their tribe was so impressed with the way
the Phish organization handled things and with the general
politeness/friendliness/respectfulness of the crowd that they (the Seminole
Tribe) had signed a contract with Phish allowing them to play their New
Year's show there at Big Cypress for the next FOUR YEARS!  I haven't gotten
any official confirmation on this, but here's hoping!!!!
 
The cost, per person, for a SWEET 6-person RV with kitchen, shower, HUGE
cooler, etc. etc. etc. for five days (the minimal rental time during
holidays) including gas and misc. expenses: $200.  Dan and I went in a car
('88 Olds - LOTS of room for two, but not like an RV, ya' know!) and I spent
$220 TOTAL (booze, food, party favors, etc. - not including $150 ticket).
It's like, $200 per person for an RV is a great deal - but $220 for the
whole trip should be a fukin' crime!!!!!!!
 
About 5:30am the night of the big show, Mike and I embarked on a mission to
the front.  Shortly thereafter we were about fifth row, just right of
center - about 23 rows closer than I had ever been in my life
(thirty-something shows!)!  We got to see Phish goof off with the crowd and
each other while signaling changes, new songs, etc.  We saw the last few
songs as the sky got lighter and lighter.  Finally, they quietly left the
stage while the Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun" played over the PA system.
 
The sunrise was gorgeous: thousands of similarly sized rectangular,
individual clouds filed the sky and reflected the sun with a SILVER hue,
making the whole sky look like it was filled with thousands of little pools
of mercury.  I had NEVER seen the sky do that before, and neither, it seems,
had anyone else.  As we all left the show, everybody was stepping on each
others' feet from looking up at that glorious sky!
 
Then Mike and I met Dan, Matt Carmody and Trip back at the campsite.  Mike
and I enjoyed "Breakfast 2000" (a chilly Bass ale for each of us) at 8:00am.
Finally, Dan and I got back in the Olds (we had packed everything up before
the shows on the 31st) and we zoomed right out into more traffic.  It took
us a total of 19 hours to get back to Atlanta (I arrived at my place at
2:30am on the 2nd) - 7 hours of which was spent just leaving the
fairgrounds.  Don't worry about me, though - I was awake for MAYBE five of
the total 19 hours!  For some inexplicable reason, Dan wanted to do almost
ALL of the driving - so the trip home was really short for me!!
 
Far too many adventures and misadventures to relate here, but check out
these things -
 
 
RANDOM SLIDES:
 
Ringing in the new year with everybody I knew who was at the show and all of
them within ten feet of me - a logistical fukin' nightmare but well worth
the extra effort (thanks Dave!)!!
 
On the way to the show, sprinting down the I-75 emergency lane (in lowtop
Chuck Taylors!) for no less than a mile while the rest of the caravan left
me.  Why, oh why did they have to open the tolls at the exact moment that I
was taking a pee??!!
 
Being handed a huge free bud (remember the aforementioned shortage!) from
some guy named Rich (my "bud", Rich)
 
Rolling my face off and making an early push for the front on the big night
with Dan, Mike, Tripp and Carmody ("guerilla concert attendance") and
wandering through a place where big slabs of black ice had been set up and
seeing fucked up kids slipping and falling off of them - thinking, "Now THAT
is a BAD idea!"
 
Looking at a random girl's shocked face when I turned to her and said, "Hey,
can I kiss you?" (and I did, too!)
 
Pushing random kids out of the way to get to THE guy selling X - "Watch out,
children, this old man's on a mission!!"
 
Dropping poetry involving dolphins while bonding with some silent,
dreadlocked dude who was wildly flailing his limbs and body to the
music/poetry - the only word I got out of him was his name: Mike
 
Mike O. handing me his new pipe and saying, "You have to sit down and smoke
this WHOLE BOWL all by yourself!  Maybe then you'll chill out for a fukin'
minute!"
 
Thanking God for whomever set up that "Airbrushed Breast Art" tent - nice
sunflowers!
 
Realizing that the wetness on my hands that plagued me during the final
hours of my 12:30-4:00am stint in the "Enchanted Woods Drum Circle" was
blood.
 
Meeting Andy from Wisconsin at the big show and trying to lure him into
joining our "guerilla" group, then getting turned down 'cuz he had to wait
for his buddy - THEN meeting his buddy two hours later (me- Wow, you're from
Wisconsin, too?  We met a dude named Andy from Wisconsin a few hours ago!
dude-"What?!  Was he wearing a red sweatshirt?!  Where was he?") and then
ripping him for not meeting Andy earlier.
 
Realizing that the big show was drawing to a close and that I hadn't paid
attention to hardly any of the music that whole night, yet at the same time
knowing that I had just experienced the show of my life!
 
Realizing that everything came together NOT "In spite of" our problems, but
rather, "Because of" our problems!
 
Lookin' forward to Big Cypress
NYE2001!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2000 22:05:48 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: the review..
 
to those who bow to the power of cheesecake...
 
this isn't really a song-by-song review of the show, because it seems that
there are some songs that we know (for those who were there) that shined and
promised new jam experimenting, and there were some songs that deemed worth
catching-yr-breath for...but all together, the five-sets brought new meaning
to "a show"..  You could've done a stint of summer or fall shows this year
and seen a few rare #'s and brag about those (pavement-goldsoundz...to
whoever heard this, damn you!!)...but the NYE run was the event to attend to
see Phish do what they do best... make people happy.   The silence, as
someone else mentioned from after the midnight->sunrise set, speaked for
itself... of course there were lunatics and cracked-out zombies that gave the
rest a reason to keep walking and laughing..but i only heard one or two
people asking where their nugs were...  which by the way, i totally
apologize, completely forgot yr weed was in my back-pocket....      and i
couldn't believe that some kids still were looking for drugs or selling it
for that matter, on the 1st...   but i guess, hey...if yr car is stuck in
traffic for the day trying to get out... why not see the catastrophe with a
enlightened-perspective...??
 
personally, and as it seemed talking to others after the event, that drugs
would no longer be in their lives.... and if there were anytime to "prepare"
for the millenium, that was the primetime to "stop... drop or roll"    for
those that tried to escape the everglades (why on earth? damn, it was more
beautiful than expected),  i'm glad to see that you got some
deserved-rest.... the "stlw8tin" north carolina plate was very ironic...
slaves to the traffic... nevermind...
 
okay, we were fairly deliusional and demented as soon as we entered the
campgrounds, and it just went downhill...or funnier...from that point on...
mainly, in part to everyone else... phish fans are some of the coolest,
down-to-earth, and mostly fucked-up kids i've ever known...  case in point:
i forgot her name but she was my favoritest funky-bitch for the whole time...
anyhow... she and a couple of her friends set up this doll, about 3 feet
tall, dressed up in a green-hoody, some cargo pants, and messy-hair...,face
first on the corner ..and stuck an empty nitrous
balloon in its hands, and just stood back, watched peoples reactions, and
cracked-her-ass off... and being as sick as we are, we found it hilarious as
well and just chilled with her and the doll for about two hours in the wee
hours of the morning... people kept saying that that was wrong...but she was
proving a point... just goes to show yah... "shits funny" -- a theme for the
whole stay in florida....
 
k... as far as the show... just little oberservations..
*loved the lack of pat-down by "security", thats always such a pain, and its
nice to have some trust...   and then, running as fast as we could to get the
closest, comfortable spot...just to see one band play...
*glad it wasn't that hot enough where the water supply was quickly dimished
like oswego...yowsah, this summer was a scorcha!!
*naked godzilla...  beware of the kids that feel clothes are restricting the
japanese-mammoth-sized lizard within themselves!!!  ROAR!!!  he arrived, and
there wasn't much anyone else could do about it...
*FOG!!!!    note to band...  MORE FOG!!!   when in doubt...FOG!!!
knockknock..who's there?   THE FOG!!!
* thank goodness they played harryhood not as an encore or closer...hippies
would feel the wrath...
* fathertime....  okay, that freaked me out... the same sound effect of a
clock and bike for fifteen minutes, and just seeing that dude ride it without
anything else going on... spoooooky shit.  note to band: stick with the
dancing flowers...
*balloons and fireworks...  everything in excess, huh?  for 150 bucks, you
get yr moneys worth, show wise....
*CHEESECAKE...  this made it worth staying for...   this will re-occur for
sure soon...  i tried to incorporate it in everysong...  post-show... during
wilson..."CHEEEEEESE- CAKE..duh duh..."  if they play it, you will hear me
shouting it... i apologize now.
*when the band plays rock, sit/stand up and take notice... when the band
drifts off into spacey-ambient-ringoffire-ish jams...lay back and soak it
in.... bottom line: we had the benefit of being able to "take a long break"
from our feet...
*rosesarefree.... bestline from our dancing neighbors, who actually were
camped adjacent from us... "so thats what they call a roses these days.."
<-- just priceless.
*encore... i think phish did an amazing job playing that funny new years
joke...playing "here comes the sun" offstage, while the crew broke down the
gear onstage, and the tv turned off....  phish are funny bastards...
 
bottom line: yeah, shits funny...  next year, expect some chaos from our
crew...TWIZZLER/Q-TIP UNBOUND!!!
 
--sparky  (thanks to justin, jeremy, brandy, the boca-raton crew, the bartons
for their hospitality, the bolger's for having a house for fedex to deliver
my ticket to, grandprix and the go-carts, and satan)

Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2000 16:37:01 -0600
From: eslittle [email protected]
To: [email protected]
 
NYE 2000
I just wanted to say how thankful I am for being able to be a part of this
wonderful event.  This was my first ever Phish show and I was just amazed
at what their music did to me mentally and physically.  The music took me
to places that no drug could ever come close to. All you people were the
most beautiful, kind, special folks that I have ever come in contact with.
Much love & cheesecake~Jen


Date: Fri, 4 Jan 1980 18:15:46 -0600
From: nixon [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: THE BIG CYPRESS GET DOWN/ NYE 2000
 
" PHISH"......
  that's all that need's to be said.
the show's were, as expected, very right on.  hit the traffic on I-75 coming
from missouri, around 4:pm, on wednesday;  hit the camp site around
4:am'ish.  we'll round to 4:20...  let the festivities begin...
the campgrounds were very well taken care of. the johny on the spots were a
little loaded up, but other than that, good lovin'.
camped next to some crazy laser -suited people...  they wore the suits on
new years eve night...  really trippy!!!
the shows were very enjoyable,  ten dollar buritto's and all.  the "tube"
got me on the tip i was looking for.  "PYITE" was excellent, as was HARRY
HOOD",  glow stix , and all.  "YEM" put it to me.  had to take a seat for a
bit.  burn a number, then resume the dance... ah, yes, the dance....
the whole damn thing just put a smile on my face....  i've seen the boys a
few times, but none with a seven hour set, to bring in the new year..
damn!!!
oh , yeah, the red forest blew my ass away.  what the hell was that ground
made of?  was it just me, or was there silly putty on the ground in there..
spent several, i mean SEVERAL, hours back in the trees.  utopia....
hope we get to feel this much enjoyment again, sometime real soon..


Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2000 12:36:06 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: traffic jam

    Well, now that the shows over and I'm back in the safety and comfort
of my home in good ol' Brockton, Massachusetts, I can reveal my nasty
little secret. Yes, its been haunting me for over a week now but I'm going
to take this oppurtunity to get it off my chest.  Here it comes....I RODE
THE MEDIAN STRIP!  Its true everyone, during that nasty traffic jam I lost
my shit around the fifteenth hour, threw caution to the wind, ignored my
conscience, and haphazardly tore down that dusty median strip like Bo and
Luke Duke in the old General Lee.  You could even us hear Yeeha'ing and
Ya-hoo'ing if you were one of the lucky ones we happened to whizz by.
    Anyway, the purpose of this posting is not to brag about my atrocities
or rub it in anyone's face that I got to the show a whopping ten minutes
earlier than you did.  I'm just looking for a little forgiveness.  I know
I have sinned, but you people have to understand the extreme circumstances
that were involved.  I'm talking serious mental duress here.  Fifteen
hours of traffic is like war.  It does strange things to your mind.  Take
the soldiers in Vietnam.  Perfectly reasonable, compassionate human beings
who, under extreme mental duress behaved in barbaric ways.  This was the
Vietnam of traffic jams.  I was simply reacting to the unique
circumstances I was in at the time.  We weren't sure if the traffic jam
was ever going to end. We had no food, no water, and worst of all, no pot!  
If we had been there any longer, we may have had to resort to cannibalism.
    Yes, I saw some of you staring us down, arms folded, heads shaking.  
I know what you were thinking.  You were thinking that the Karma Police
would get us eventually.  Well, you'll be happy to know you were right.  
We were exiled to the camp sight furthest away from the stage and had to
endure long torturous walks in altered states of consciousness just to get
a drink of water or a gyro or one of those yummy frozen lemonades.  And if
that wasn't enough, we were among the last people to leave on Saturday.  
We spent the entire day on that dusty dirt road waiting to move a foot or
two, and there was no median strip to drive down this time.  We were
trapped.
    Oh well, that being said, I still think it was worth it.  There is no
way to describe the feeling of liberation that went along with our little
excursion.  It was so naughty. So wrong, yet so right.  We felt like those
two broads, Thelma and Louise, moving freely down the highway, breaking
free from those abusive boyfriends or, in our case, the Big Traffic Jam.
    So in closing, I would like to officially ask forgiveness from the
Phish community.  You heard my story and are aware of the extenuating
circumstances and my fragile state of mind.  I've been a well respected
member of the Phish community for many years and hope that this one little
digression hasn't spoiled years of exemplary behavior.  Yes, people were
spitting on me when I got home just like they did to the soldiers in
Vietnam, but was it justified?
 I think not.  The only difference between me and those soldiers was that
THEY HAD POT AND I DIDN'T!  But please understand that we were all just
good guys caught in bad situations.  Peace.

Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2000 00:54:03 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Peace and Cheesecake
 
As I heard it, Phish approached the Midnight set in unique fashion. They knew
from the get go that they would be playing for at least 7 and 1/2 hours, and
over a PA designed for at least 100,000 people; this changes the musical
approach. I have been going to Phish shows for 7 years now, and yes I have
seen my fair share of Dead shows, and nothing, and I mean nothing compares to
the performance that Trey and the boys delivered on Y2K. Pure bliss. Pure
magic. Pure cheesecake. Until next time: Reba dipped her ladel for a taste of
her creation and she knew that what she made would be the phinest in the
nation. Peace and cheesecake in the year 2000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 03:10:33 -0500
From: P. KAVA [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Alligator Haven
 
Dear Phellow Phriends,
My first show in the early nineties, i became somewhat frustrated along
the way with some of the performances/crowd vibes i experienced later
on.  I took a 2 year abstinence from phish till one of my close friends
convinced me to go to Oswego in the summer of 99'. my first phish
"event", the harmony of the scene enlivened me in a way i haven't
experienced in a looong time.  At the last minute i made my mind up to
go to the everglades, literally the 28th.  Tickets sold out, no one
welcome w/out tickets, but i knew, i knew i was getting in.  After
putting my vibes into a psychedelic sign for a miracle for a good hour
or two i put it up in the truck's window i was traveling in and within
10 minutes someone honked and waved a ticket at me.  Got it very cheap
and got down the road.  We got in at midnight on the 29th, my 23
birthday, no traffic at all, parked at the first pull of before the
gates and waited till 9am when they let us in early to reduce the
traffic jams.  The aestetics couldn't of been better, got everything i
needed early on and just relaxed till the first set.  Went up front, of
course, and saw a good days show, but the boogie on encore just filled
me up with this expectation of greatness to come the next day.  The
allnight set just blew me away, every song i felt was played to
perfection and they were really all together.  The crowd slowly dropped
off (literally) one by one while i just got more and more energized by
the jams they were pumping out.  ROSES ARE FREE, wow, never heard it,
one of my favorites now, among a bunch of other goodies i'd never heard,
i probably was only familiar with half the songs of the whole run.  when
the rosy fingertips of dawn starting reaching over i could feel the guys
finishing it up.  velvet sea, never noticed it before really but most of
my friends had always complained that they hated that song, I thought it
was one of the most beautiful songs to accompany a sunrise that i have
ever heard. I would consider myself a born again phish phan, never to
miss an event in the future and to hopefully go ahead and go for a run
out west this summer.  Good stuff. They've really evolved to the next
level i think, way into letting everybody boogie more.
Until i meet you all along the road, peace and love,
Chris in Virginia

Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 02:25:19 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12-31-99 Seminole review
 
Alright, i have no where to start cause this weekend was to much pleasure for
my soul and my brian...
All i have to say is at midnight i have never felt more of such a higher
being then ever i had to cry... I mean soon as Auld lang syne came on i
bursted into tears i was with everyone i wanted to be w/ and people i didn't
even know all come together for the same reason and it was the most beautiful
moment of my life... I wish from this moment of being all us Cheeeeesecakers
and non can look and say why don't we extended this joy into everyday and
make this next 1-1000 years a hell of alot better then the years we have been
living in:P  CHEEESECAKERS and NON CHEESECAKERS ALIKE JOIN TOGETHER FOR ONE
NATION UNDER GROOVE and smile to one another knowing that you kick ass and
your others do:)
sorry for the non big review i just had to say what this weekend did to me!!!!
thank u phish and especially all u kids that went i had the most fun of my
life!!!!
thnak u
-gary

Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2000 00:13:15 -0500
From: Ashley Sitkin [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: NYE Review
 
Hello phriends~
 
    Upon returning home from Florida, I expected to be overwhelmed by positive
reviews of the show from phellow phans.  After sifting through all the reviews
however, I was shocked to see that a great deal of them consisted of
complaints regarding drawn out jams, left out songs, hours of traffic, etc,
etc.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, yet it's difficult for me to
sit here and except these negative and unfair reviews.
    Big Cypress was a gift from Phish.  This wasn't just a new year's for the
phans, it was Phish's new year's too.  Rather than dwell over the legistics of
each set, each song, and each jam, critical phans should consider the bigger
picture.  Phish gave themselves to us.  They gave us 80 degree weather, a
phatty red forest, 3 days of no worries (besides where to find nugs), and 14
plus hours of passionate music.  More importantly, they gave over 80,000
people a reason to come together in celebration.  Who cares if they opened
with DWD?  Who cares if Gamehendge was left out?  The fact is they played, and
they put everything they had into it for us and for themselves.  I would like
to thank Phish for giving me the best gift and hope that others appreciate
this gift as much as I do.
 
Happy 2000
See you during summer tour-
Ashley and Court

Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 16:06:19 -0500
From: Amanda McCreary [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE 2000
 
There are no appropriate words in the world to accurately describe the
experience of Big Cypress. Despite the traffic mishaps, the words utterly
amazing do not describe this event with enough exhuberance. If you weren't
there, you'll never know what you missed but it will never be recreated again
and it could never have been done by anyone other than Phish and all of our
phellow phriends. Thanks to everyone who was there for collectively creating
the experience of a lifetime...

Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 15:46:14 -0500
From: Matthew Keith Owens [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Phlorida
 
To everyone involved,
        Wow.  Its hard to put into words the feelings that I took away from
Big Cypress.  I guess I'll just say thanks to all of the smiling faces, thanks
to everyone that hung out through the last night of camping to party, thanks
to all of the Phans with the kick ass fireworks in the lot, thanks to everyone
that helped pick up trash, thanks to all of the wonderful new phriends I made,
thanks to Dean (drove the whole way) and Brian (brought the headies), thanks
the Seminole Indian Tribe for their hospitality, and most of all thanks to
Trey, Leo, Bob Weaver, and PHUNKmaster Mike for laying down the phat jams all
night long.  The four days I spent in Florida were like none other.  Can't
wait for the next show!!!
                                                Phat Matt
P.S.   Joey and Andy from Wisconsin send and e-mail if you happen to see
this.

Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2000 03:26:00 -0500
From: Jeff Christian [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: review review
 
hey pholks happy new year!  i tend to stay away from writing reviews, but
enjoy reading them - it's fun to hear the stories and thoughts about the
shows and all the drama involved in getting to them.  i spent an hour or so
reading the reviews posted here and it put a smile on my face all over
again.  There were a few submissions that tore me up, though.  First, i know
cuttin' a rug over an infants head is an uncomfortable spot to be in, but
come on - some pholks need a break.  Don't chastize people for chillin' at
dawn at the end of one of the most energy-packed jam sessions ever.  You may
have remembered your Wheaties, but I know as soon as the bass line hit in
DWD, the last thing I was thinking about was pacing myself for morning.  And
speaking of DWD, this one goes out to my buddy who didn't show up in the
glades  but still managed to stop by and drop off a
review  (peter h) "thanking the high heavens" he stayed away.  Thank the high
heavens somewhere else and stop killing the magical vibe that shot through
every phan the minute they saw the traffic on alligator alley.  Looking at a
set list and calling a show a "waste of time and money" is something I
wouldn't expext out of a longtime fan such as yourself.  The music was
magic.  The music IS magic.  Hell yeah - I would have loved a gamehenge or a
guest musician or two or an album cover or whatever, but I came with no
expectations because I knew the band would pull it off no matter what - and
they did - without any tricks.  Just raw phish for seven and a half hours!
HOW COULD YOU ASK FOR MORE!?!  To all you who are reading these reviews, read
on - remember (or imagine) hearing the mystery band rock out the delta until
dawn, remember the paper airplanes in the trees, remember the rave in the
woods, remember the intensity and relief and the smiles AND THE MUSIC.  Trey
doesn't want to be an MTV rockstar,  Trey wants to be Trey.  Phish wants to
be Phish.  Please don't be upset if you aren't catching your old favorites as
often as once before Don't turn off your ears and your soul - when you do,
you might end up missing a NEW favorite or two.  Phish blew me away over
NYE.  Absolutly amazing - the band, the vibe, everything.  I thought our 30
hour ride home was going to be a nightmare - 'oh god, NYE2000 is over and now
we have to drive across the country again.'  Not even close.  All I felt was
complete satisfaction, and it tears me up to hear of people who didn't make
the trip
complain about the shows.  Here's a cheesecake to all of you that made it
and i hape to see everyone in the summer!
 
***************THANK YOU PHISH*****************
 
and thanks you phans for sharing this experience with me - you all made it
what it was - magic 

Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 13:14:18 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12-31-99
 
Well, it's 5 days after i left Florida with a bittersweet feeling, and i
figured that it's time to write down my thoughts. After getting my pics back
today, it's fresh in my mind again! (Anyone have good pics from the venue?)
To echo the thoughts of so many people, this day and night were among the
best i have ever experienced.  This whole event was something special,
something more special and emotional than can possibly be expressed in words,
by me or by anyone. I have never experienced a wider range of emotions in
such a short time. I think that these feelings really were the theme of my
experience. The music, the atmosphere, and perhaps even more than all, the
people, gave me the ability to feel everything more strongly and in entirely
different ways. It was such an individual experience, but only because we
were all together was it so strong!!
Now to the music...
I woke up in the morning with the ever-present sun beating down. Everyone in
our site rose before 9:30 each day, despite late bedtimes, because it just
got so frickin' hot...After several trips around the venue, it was already
time to head in. We took our usual place on Trey side and settled in, and
about an hour before gametime, we met a mutual friend who sat with
us--another high point for all of us. Things were looking gooooood!!! And
suddenly, the music stopped and here they were...
Runaway Jim: Great call for an opener! I love this song and i was hoping for
an epic jam, but of course it was the first song of the day and i couldn't
expect too much. Sure enough, the jam was pretty short and sweet. There was
some good work from Trey, and the rest of the band seemed like they needed
some time to warm up. But a solid Jim nonetheless.
Funky Bitch: I'd been waiting for this one, and this song did a lot for
everyone. The crowd got up and grooved, the band caught on fire, and suddenly
i realized that they are ON! One of the best versions of this song that I've
heard, that's for sure!
Tube: OK this is an amazing set already! This Tube smoked!! Very fast, with a
long funk jam in the middle that Mike was loving! Good work up top from Page,
and the communication between band members was definitely working. They are
having so much fun...and it continued with...
I Didn't Know!! Yes! The crowd was so energized at this point, and those that
didn't know this song were laughing along. And so was I--they were so psyched
up on stage. And here comes Fish with the vaccuum. He was really on this
time! Great solo, many laughs, and i must say that i was really impressed!
Back into the chorus and more laughs and then a short break...
Punch! i screamed this one out loud when I heard Trey's first scratch,
causing just a little bit of embarassment when I realized that everyone else
was pretty much silent. Not to worry, though...what a clean, tight Punch this
was! The dancing was funny as always, and there was not a single flubbed
note. This song gets me energized like few others can. Where could they go
from here??
Bouncin: Ehhhh...Well, I knew they'd play it sometime (right, Lauren?), and I
needed a break anyway, so I wasn't that disappointed. It's kind of a fun tune
anyway, despite how sick I got of it. Trey's fast line at the end was
flawless.
Poor Heart: I was waiting for this one! And when it came I was so ready for
it. Great placement and I was sweating up a storm! Thanks to the friendly
crowd around us--I remember everyone being extra-friendly during this one.
Roggae: i love this song and i especially loved this long, pretty version.
People behind us were gettting pretty impatient, and i wanted to tell them to
just listen and get lost in the notes that Page was playing. He was magical
during this song. I loved the song order so far!
SOM: Nice! The boys talked and laughed forever before this one through the
cup, and I didn't know what to expect. The version was tight (surprise) and
the jam started traditionally, but then went ambient with great lights. They
brought it down quickly, and i knew there was a segue coming. Trey was great
in this one--great noodling--and I noticed Fish doing some crazy things back
there. So where were they going...
Catapult: Whoa! This came from nowhere. Very nice though, and Trey made
everyone laugh by saying that "only at a festival like this could we get away
with a song like that."
Get Back on the Train: I like this new tune, although it doesn't seem like
many do. It was as bouncy as ever, and pretty short. It seemed like they just
wanted to get it out of the way. The crowd wasn't into this one at all, but
it's a fun tune.
Horn: Nice placement here! Well-played composed tune. not much else to say,
really...
Guyute: Now we're talking! This was a major highlight. The energy in this
song was fantastic, and I think that a lot was due to the fact that everyone
(esp. Trey) was just so on. The balance was perfect, and all the fast parts
by Trey were spectacular. Unbelievably tight! And I thought this was the
end--it would have worked just fine!
After Midnight: WHOA!! Talk about energy! i was amazed. Trey was just smoking
through this whole set, but he was on another level during this one! They did
just what they meant to do--sent us off dreaming of the coming night.
For me, this was one of the more amazing sets I have seen, something that
could have worked for any set, anywhere. This set is a must-have. The energy
from the band is something I will never forget, and to have another
unexpected friend (hi Mike!) with us just made it that much better.
 
Many games of Euchre...Trips to the bathroom...More walking around...A few
beers...the champagne...and we were ready. The time went so fast! And we went
in pretty early and got a great space on the grass, more toward the center
this time. Everyone was going around saying "happy new year" and i have never
seen this many smiles. There was an incredible amount of anticipation,
something I have not seen anywhere, anytime! This could not get any better...
...But it certainly got weirder. The lights went down, and I thought, no,
they can't be on yet! And no, they weren't...but Father Time was! On a
bicycle, with a huge clock showing us that it was just past 11:30. Rather
spooky in a way...we didnt' know what to think! I speculated with my
friends--Tom Marshall? The Dude? To short for Fishman. What's going on? Much
confusion and anticipation. Suddenly, 11:51--Oh no! Father Time collapsed!
There won't be any New Year! What's going on?? Abuot 4 minutes later, the
Air-boat appears on the screens, but where is it? There--behind us! And the
crowd erupted. They're on the hot dog! Perfect! And where is Meatstick coming
from? So much confusion. Meatstick followed them on stage, an instrumental
version that was played out of the back speakers first. The boys were
assisted on stage by some women who helped them get to Father Time and feed
him...what else?...meatsticks! He got back on his feet, and there was the
countdown, starting at 40! Pandemonium. I have never felt such joy. I had a
smile on my face that I thought was going to stay the rest of my life. I
bounced and jumped around and hugged every one of my friends one-by-one, and
also some people i didn't know. This was a moment that I will never forget.
The year 2000, and I was with the best people in the world seeing a band that
has come to mean an incredible amount to so many people. It just doesn't get
any more intense.
Back on stage, there was ALS, and quickly, as I expected, there was DWD! A
very long version with some intense soloing from Trey. The boys seemed so
determined. They had a job to do! What a DWD, I think...I was still enjoyng
the moment and wasn't listening too much! Suddenly...
Llama! A first for me. Standard version, and the band was still energized.
Fishman was really loud in this one!
Bathtub Gin: I remember this one being a strange version, but to be honest I
don't remember why. I know they finished singing, and that the jam was
heading somewhere, but my memory fails me. Long version, I think...:)
Trey then tells us that it's time to be on TV! Much anticipation. He
explained the cheesecake thing (pretty cheesy, but what else would you
expect?) and we were laughing again. At this point, I couldn't believe that
it was almost 1:00 already!
Heavy Things: Short, clean, expected. The cheescake chant was weird, not too
together, but still funny. I don't know if it worked...anyone hear it?
Twist: Now we're back on track! A great, loooong Twist, must have been in the
20-minute range. Nice lights especially in this one. Segue into Caspian, and
this one was a really nice version. Sad, in a way, but it didn't bring me
down.
And suddenly, out came Rock and Roll! Great singing from Page in this one.
Some really pretty things from Page and Trey here. Another long, beautiful
jam and I was mesmerized.
Crosseyed and Painless: I don't remember much about this one. It was fun,
that I know, but I was thinking mostly about the best route to the bathroom.
I left near the end, and I was hoping that they wouldn't play anything huge...
YEM: AGHHHH! I was on my way to the portolets and I heard the opening chord.
I got there and heard the tramps. After I was done, we danced until the v.j.
right there! Lots of open space, and my friend and I had fun despite the fact
that we were without the rest of our friends. Good vj, cheescake chant was no
surprise, but a good time was had by all. Pretty standard YEM.
Minestrone: Nice, pretty. Didn't know there was a cheesecake part to this
song, though!:)
Sand: Now we're talkin! I love this tune. I heard a great one in Providence,
and this one was similar. Great jam! Perhaps the best jam of the evening.
There was a pretty blatant My Soul tease in there somewhere. Great lights,
but the crowd was tired. This had the biggest percentage of people sitting.
Slave: Came right out of Sand, and I wrote down "great segue!". Solid, not
spectacular, but some people woke up! Good Slave.
Albequerque: (or however you spell that!) Pretty tune, and was there
cheesecake in this one too? I can't remember. Good job, Trey.
Reba: Great song and I was ready for it, but the placement could have been
better. Well-played and lots of energy from on stage.
Axilla: I am not the biggest supporter, but talk about a crowd-mover! I was
soooo ready to dance and I was about 5 feet in the air during the opening of
a song I don't even like that much! WOW.
Uncle Pen: Perfect! Got my friends going and i was smiling again.
Bowie: WOW. Spectacular. The best Bowie i have ever heard, hands-down.
AMAZING! 4:20 hit during a quiet part and there was much rejoicing.
My Soul: I knew I was not sitting down for the rest of the night. They rocked
this song, although the tempo was slower than i remember them playing it.
Page--great vocals and keys. This one belonged to him. Another small break...
Drowned: Yes! We had been listening to this one on the way down, making the
opening chords that much more sweet. A great, long, pretty jam that went
everywhere, and in the middle came a reprise of After Midnight that really
got things smoking. The jam after AM was all funk, and Mike once again made
his presence known, to say the least! I heard 2001 coming out of this one
over and over, and I must admit to be really hoping for it. I wanted to hear
it at night! But they defied expectations. They slowed down to a steady,
hardcore funk and suddenly there was Horse>Silent! I was expecting this a few
hours later, but no complaints! Immediately after came Bittersweet Motel, and
I thought the band was getting tired. I thought it was pretty, but I was
ready to go after Silent.
Piper: WOW! Another highlight. Power jam that just took off. They didn't
finish this one, like I had a feeling they would do. Trey played some
interesting stuff on keys that Page echoed and then expanded upon. They then
took this one down to...
Free! Rather slow, standard, not the energy I was looking for but wow, was I
into it anyway! And this one got some people to their feet.
Lawn Boy: I didnt' think Page walked around, but according to others he did.
Whatever...still fun. Some around me were sleeping during this one (Mr.
Beck?), but I was all smiles.
And here came HYHU! I knew something fun was about to happen, and fish came
out with vaccuum in hand. Love You was a great choice. Lots of fun,
especially on Fishman's solo! Again a great solo! Fishman running around
stage and taking his flop was a moment i won't soon forget. I've never really
seen his antics before.
Roses: An interesting choice here. I was hoping for a more high-energy tune,
but the band wanted to throw in some ambiance. And they did! After a solid
Roses, their jam lasted about a half an hour! Talk about people sitting
down...I don't blame them, really. Nice time to take a break but i stayed up
somehow. Fantastic jam, and they teased us way past the point of breaking by
throwing in sounds from 2001. It began to get light and I was sure they'd
play it...aghhhh...
And there was Bug! i like this song as much as any new one, and this one
seemed to fit the mood very well. Great version!
The opening to Hood?! What? Much confusion and no one knew what was up...
2001!! Finally! Playing this song while it was light was a first for me. I
would have preferred a while earlier, but this 2001 rocked, especially with
the little reggae beat they threw in that made me think they'd go into
Makisupa. But they rocked this to its high-powered conclusion. I danced like
a maniac in the early-morning light. It carried us into...
Wading: The most emotional thing I had felt since the countdown. People were
crying around me, and I was feeling it pretty hard myself. We had come so
far, and we knew it would be over soon, and to see Page putting so much
feeling into it despite how exhausted he clearly was was an amazing thing.
What a bittersweet moment. I will never forget it...
Meatstick! We knew it was done. They started with this, and of course it had
to end here. No one was doing the dance, but they didn't play the whole
version and it didn't matter anyway. This song just added to the emotion.
Trey spoke about how much of an experience this had been, and his pure
honesty here was felt by everyone. He left us thinking "what's next?", that's
for sure. I couldn't believe it was over, but as the final chords wound down
and the band left the stage for the last time, I thought back to what an
amazing experience this night had been, and I was filled with such a
happiness because I knew there was no other place I would have rather been.
The drive back was uneventful, and as I sit here in Rochester once again I am
grateful. I want to return and be back there with the same people again, but
it cannot be duplicated and I am just incredibly glad I got the chance to
experience what I did. Thank you Phish, and most of all thank you to all the
people that shared it with me. Andy, Dena, Lauren, the whole Binghamton Crew,
everyone that was there, you guys are terrific and let's do it again
sometime:)
until next time,
karl


Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 20:19:46 -0800 (PST)
From: Edward Bender [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/31 review
 
Hey Dan... here's a quick review from me:
 
This isn't a song by song review. It is a review of the general vibe I
personally took away from the event.
 
I did not feel the sense of community or enthusiasm traditionally felt at
a Phish concert last week in Florida. Rather, I found things
to be competative, rushed, and lacking personality. While the music was
most certaintly great - the energy in the crowd was nothing like what I
have experienced at places like the Centrum, MSG, The Gorge, or even the
Went for that matter.
 
By competative I mean cramped for space inside the "venue." By rushed I
mean the energy the traffic created among people once inside the lot. By
"lacking personality" I mean people weren't as open with eachother as
usual, I noticed a lot of groups sticking together and lack of random
"hellos" and hugs amongst the fanship.
 
To me, it seemed as there were way too many people there who weren't
really a part of the community. I feel there was way too much beer,
sketchy drugs, lack of "inter-crowd intimacy" which took away from the
overall potential for the event.
 
After seeing Phish more than 80 times, I walked away from the show feeling
content not to see them for a long time, and just enjoy the Etree
community's offerings until things simmer down.
 
Perhaps living in Seattle for the past 3 years has put me in a vacum -
isolated from what is happening to the scene back East- but the crowd in
Florida was not the crowd I have come to love and find warmth in over the
past 7 years of my life. I don't like where things might be going (is this
an East Coast only phenominon?) and frankly I welcome the rumor that Phish
might take 1-2 years off.
 
This is no put-down to the band or the music - but rather me sharing my
feelings on the energy of the crowd.
 
Thoughts/Comments? - [email protected]
 
Peace - Edward B.

Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 11:00:17 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Seminole Show!!!
 
Cheesecake!  I just recovered from the most fantastic -- what I can remember
of it, anyway -- weekend of my life. It took a few days, but I was so besotted
with various chemicals that I needed the time to detox after seeing the
Greatest Band In the History of the World. The Seminole show was a
mind-blowing, life-changing experience for me. It started early on the 30th
when I arrived with my best friend. We had to wait four hours to get in, but
that was no problem as we had plenty of Cheeba and Phishlegs to listen to. We
got in and smoked some crystal meth to get the day of to a flying start. I
then lost my buddy but hooked up with a girl I met at Great Woods. We got
stoked on some 'ludes and then settled in to listen and groove to Trey and the
boyz. What a show, after leaving the woods, after a quickie with ''Darling
Susie'' we started dancing and didn't stop. Some highlights: Piper was
incredible. We snorted a little heroin during it and the song really took off.
Bouncing was - as always - fabulous. Caspian is one of my faves and it didn't
leave me disappointed. After Midnight rocked so hard that if Clapton ever
heard it he'd quit music. I met this dude from my college, the University of
Alabama, and we left the show for a while to go in the woods and drink a few
bottles of beer. He had some cool hash and we torched that up and then started
smashing the bottles against a bunch of trees. It was a groovy experience. We
returned to the show and some guy gave us a few tabs. I only did one because I
wanted to see the sunrise. I did...along with the dragons and snakes. What a
time! Thank you all! Sorry we left our trash everywhere without cleaning up,
but I was not in my right mind. See you on the road and don't forget to bring
some China White.

Donny Ways(ted)

Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2000 10:56:04 PST
From: Josh Bodyfelt [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE Review

D.W.S.

Here's a NYE 2000 review for you:

   After a long and arduous journey from Laramie, Wyoming, it was
absolutely
wonderful to be rewarded with a Tube, Curtain and I Don't Know, not to
mention the bitchin' After Midnight. Not much can be said to those who
didn't go. This show was a definite "Had to Be There" of grand
proportions.
Long around 3:00 I had to piss like a Russian racehorse, but I felt if the
boys could play for 7.75 hours, by Icculus, I could hold my piss for four
hours. And I did. Looking forward to next NYE


Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 13:30:13 -0500
From: Michael Rothschild [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: Aftermath of 12/31/99
 
Dear Phish, GNP, and most of all the phans;
 
        I am a Fort Lauderdale native who lives within 75 miles of the
reservation. I have been a phan since Mike delivered food to the crowd
gathered outside a little club in Tampa about 8 years ago. This NYE was my
82nd concert and one of (if not the best) I have seen.
        Anyway, I am also in the legal profession in South Florida and have
daily contact with law enforcement, county officials, and other public
figures. Since my return from Big Cypress, I have made an effort to find out
what people in this community thought of the show (if they went) and if they
didn't attend what did they think based on press.
        The reaction from those that went is typical of the other reviews
and so I will not go into those people. I talked to some Florida Highway
Patrol officers who patrolled Alligator Alley. They were nothing but
complementary. They were impressed how such an enormous crowd could be so
passive, so compassionate, and so well behaved. All I talked to would
welcome Phish back with open arms. The other people I talked to had pretty
much the same attitude. Forget the drugs, forget the traffic, it was the
people that made the impression that will be remembered. The colorfulness of
the crowd in pictures, the representations from the local media that peace,
love and harmony reigned o'er Big Cypress, these things will be remembered
by this community.
        In the end, we as phans proved that Phish is bigger then music,
bigger then 80,000 people in the middle of nowhere. We are a true community,
with culture and a sense of pride that translates well for those unfamiliar.
South Florida is well aware of that. For this I thank all involved.
        When I drive my car to work now, I get far fewer stares at my varied
stickers and my odd music blasting through my windows. South Florida has
learned to love Phish and I can only thank all the people that made the turn
of the century such a thrill..
 
Peace and Love,
 
Mike Rothschild

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 17:55:58 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: nye
 
To everyone who thought they could save a little money and a little
inconvenience by skipping the show and smugly saying "Its ok, my friend has a
burner.  I'll just get the files off the Internet, bounce them onto CD, and
be all set."  I'm sorry.  You really dropped the ball on this one.  Get the
files if you wish but understand that there is absolutely no way you can put
this experience on a CD.  My pathetic words cannot describe to you how
amazing this spectacle was, so I wont bother wasting your time.  I'm sorry if
you couldn't make the show, but if you skipped it voluntary because you
didn't have the grit and determination endure a road trip, a few bucks spent,
and some yucky outhouses, I can't have sympathy.

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 18:03:38 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: searching
 
I attended the NYE 2000 show.  It was my third.  I've been enjoying Phish
only since Oswego.  But that's not the point.  I'm searching for two guys.
Dan and Tim.  They were standing on the Garbage can with me on New Years Eve.
 I believe that they go to school in Boston.  Dan lives in Maine and Tim
lives on the border or Conn or New Hampshire I can't remember.  I don't know
how I remember this much.  Well anyways guys if you read this my boyfriend
(nate) and I thought you guys were really cool.  Write me back if you read
this.
        Ellen,  New Yok

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 14:55:49 -0600
From: "Leever, William E." [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: Big Cypress Review
 
I can't do justice to all of the other set list and song reviews, but I know
a great concert when I hear one.  Phish has set the standard for all other
live performances.  Great songs, great musicianship, and a great vibe!  I
would wait in traffic another 15 hours to get another chance to attend such
an incredible event.  I still cannot adequately explain to others what an
incredible scene this show was.  Can't wait for next New Year's!!!
 
Bill Leever

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 15:33:28 PST
From: Truman Booth [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Phish
 
To all those complaining that they had to sit in traffic, and as a result
never made it to the show,
 
Maybe you would have seen the show if you had left a little earlier, Me and
my friends spent tuesday night in palm beach, and left at 4:30 in the
morning to drive the two hours to the concert site.  We got there in plenty
of time, knowing that they would open the gates well before 12:00 on Wed. We
got to our campsite after sitting in traffic for only an hour and a half, at
around 9:30am.  Maybe you should have planned your trip better, and maybe
you should stop fucking complaining you stupid bitch.  Phish is one of the
best bands ever and they deserve their respect, it's not their fault if over
80,000 people wanted to come see their new years show.  If you hadn't been
such a pussy you might have gotten into the concert site and discovered that
it was probably one of the best planned and thought out concerts you had
ever been to.  No one in the place had anything to complain about.  It was
Heaven in south florida.  So, shut the fuck up!
 
your pal,
Truman

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 22:00:13 -0500
From: William Scott Jennings [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: scooby's 2nd review
 
OK I call for a repeat performance but I need your help. The perfect
place from now on for Phishin' in the New Year. Anyone 2nd that
Emotion?  Let's hear it!    Peace, Scooby.


Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 20:38:53 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Dream Show: 12-31-99
 
This is the first and probably only Phish review that I'll write.  The only
reason that I'm writing this is because a full two weeks after the event, my
mind still goes completely numb every time I think about this fantastically
blissful night (and the preceding nights for that matter).  Without a doubt
in my mind, this benchmark show was the best show that I could have possibly
hoped for.  It didn't matter if I heard Mound and other rarities, or if I
only heard Sample In a Jar.  Phish simply performed a musical masterpiece on
stage that night.  The only thing that I have to say about what they played
is that the Rock & Roll, YEM, Crosseyed & Painless (wow!!!!!), Minestrone,
Sand segment of the night was simply unbelievable......  I pity anyone who
wasn't in attendance ....

Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2000 14:07:32 PST
From: heath anderson [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Phish review
 
man, come on don't question one's loyalty.  i had mail ordered firt day,
first postmark and traveled more than half way across the country with
tickets for this one.
 
you know, i know what i missed. i didn't get in detail on the review but
certaintly you can understand the frustration of not getting to see the
shows.  as to why we left the line...my girl friend had to and i really mean
had to use the restroom.  didn't have an option.  after sitting in that
traffic for so long she didn't want to get back in at the end after hitting
a restroom in ft. lauderdale.  i tried to get her to stay the night and try
again on friday but it was her car, we had partied all night, didn't sleep
and she just wanted to leave.   was that the decision i would have made, no,
but i can understand.
 
anyways, i don't know who to blame or even if blame matters anymore.  my
point and i don't know how well i articulated it (i wrote the review
thursday night at a friends in athens, ga and was extremely pissed at the
situation) was simply, come on you guys could have done a better job.
several people emailed me to my surprise with remarkably similar stories.
as one guy put it:  all the bowl games, equal if not more people, and none
of the traffic problems. the people at phish.net agreed with what i was
saying and understood the frustration.  thats why they posted my review or
lack thereof first for a week or so.
 
next time, i would only hope whoever produces these things (greatnortheast?)
will take care of us.
 
anyways, take care.
 
heath anderson

Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 21:21:23
From: Erik Nilsson [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/31 review
 
I enjoyed my time at Big Cypress.  However, these shows will undoubtedly be
grossly overrated.  There were plenty of highlights, but overall it didn't
do it.  I've been more impressed with several of the 43 shows I've seen
since 94(Yes, I'll pat myself on the back and, no, that doesn't make me an
expert).  Just because there was a 7+ hour set does not translate to best
show ever status-sorry.  Just because it was a holiday show does not
automatically = best ever.  Just because you traveled all the way from
bumblefuck, USA, with your other pre-teen friends may have meant you had a
damn good time, but it doesn't say anything about the sets.  Rationally
analyze the music you heard with the benefit of time to reflect.
 
As for me, I'll gladly take my critical attitude to only standard tour stops
from now on while you wait in ridiculously long lines and sit on a pile of
shit in a porta-potty at another of these festival shows.

Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2000 12:14:44 PST
From: Gabriel Huddleston [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Um...wow!
 
Got back yesterday from one of the greatest times I have ever had.  I really
can't do any of the shows justice by trying to reviewing them.  EVERY SET
WAS KILLER!!  Especially the NYE set.  Every song was 15-20 minutes long and
every one of them kicked ass.
My main reasoning for posting this email is address some griping by some
fellow event goers and non-goers (peter@yahoo).  Traffic, yeah it sucked,
but there was over 75,000 people there, going to one exit.  WHAT DID YOU
EXPECT?  My only major gripe was that there was a lot of people there who
didn't have tickets.  Especially the Florida dudes behind me in the white
van.  You caused more problems for the rest of us.  I understand wanting to
be there, but buy a ticket!  If you can't afford to go, don't.  Phish made
clear that people without tickets would be turned away, why go down there?
But I understand the traffic.  My buddies and I enjoyed going crazy and
after awhile we had to laugh at the fact that we saw the sunrise in our car,
on alligator alley after being there for 12 hours.
To Peter@yahoo, and all those others who are complaining that Phish didn't
have any gimmicks or didn't play Gamehenge, Big Country Horns, or whatever.
DUDE?!?!  THEY PLAYED FOR 7+ HOURS STRAIGHT!!!  What more do you people
want?  I had a hard time standing for 7 hours let alone playing instruments
and singing!!!!  Every song was great.  And as far as old songs go what
about "Light Me UP or Leave me alone"  or Corrina, Corrina.  Yes both are
covers, but both hadn't been played in over 900 shows!!!  (and peter, "Prep
School Hippie"? that song was retired a long time ago man. . .maybe you
should as well.)
Okay now that I have that out of the way, some highlights...
1)Mike's Groove-I have seen 10 plus shows and have never seen any component
of Mike's Groove, hard to believe I know.  I finally saw it, and what a
groove it was.  A Simple Groove at that.
2)Water in the Sky-"Filter out the Everglades"
3)Corrina, Corrina-great song, last played in 89!!!
4)Chief Jim Billie-dude got up on stage and jammed!!!  I would've shit my
pants!!!  And welcoming all of us as Seminole Indians was heartfelt and
amazing.  Thank you!
5)Farmhouse
6)Curtain->Tweezer-At this point in the show I was walking in and just
danced through the crowds, talking huge exaggerated steps.  Great jam
7)GT/BT-are you kidding me?  Haven't heard a Zepplin cover in awhile and it
was great to hear.
8)Poor Heart
9)After Midnight!!!!-Great cover, "We gonna let it all hang out!!"
The entire Sunset to Sunrise set was great here are some hightlights!
1)The whole Father time peddling the bike was very cool.  AND THE
HOTDOG!!!!!!
2) DWD was good, but I was surprised as its selection of being the first
song of 2000.  Long jam for DWD which was cool.
3)THE BALLOONS!!!!!  I couldn't get over the ballons!  They were over us
during Bathtub which kicked ass.  "We love to take a bath!!"
4)CHEESECAKE!!!  Who's got my cheesecake?
5)Minestrone-Just Trey and his guitar, simply sweet!!
6)David Bowie-The band was messing with our minds.
7)The Horse->Silent 1st time I've heard this live.  Two of my favorites and
they were tight.
8)After Midnight Reprise!!!!
9)WE ARE PHISH 2000!!!! (Love You)
10)2001, great!
11)Harry Hood Tease- I know Phish teases other songs and stuff, even when
they already played.  But I have a theory that the guys forgot they played
it, then remembered.  I'd like to think that anyway...
12)WHOA SHOCKS MY BRAIN!!
 
All in all, wow!!!!  Thank you Phish, thank you Seminole Indians, thank you
to eveyone who was there. . .I loved it...SEE EVERYONE THIS SUMMER!!!
 
[email protected]

Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 09:51:40 -0600
From: Dakin Dugaw [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: NYE2K!
 
To Page, Trey, Mike, Jon, the Seminole Indians (so gracious), my 11
courageous and caring companions, our fantastic RV, the sweet Phlorida sun,
Hampton & 5th, the trusty quesadilla people (and other vital vendors!), the
cool security guy who saw me drop my camera and looked the other way, the
Ferris wheel, Father Time, the Hot Dog, cheesecake, all the blood-and-sweat
Phish people behind-the-scenes who created this wonderful temporary world we
lived in for three days and, of course, all of you - the most kind, phun and
beautiful music fans in the world -- THANK YOU SO MUCH!  I can't explain.
It was just...it was just so amazing and humbling to be a part of this.  And
all of you made it happen.  I'll tell ya - after 25 shows, I thought I had
seen it all.  I was way, way, WAY  wrong!  And I'll never be the same again.
Anyway, I hope everyone had as great a time as I did (and returned home
safely).  Have a wonderful 2000 and I look phorward with peace and love to
seeing you all at phuture shows around the world.
 
T'boot -
Dakin Dugaw
Chicago, IL

Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 12:56:38 EST
From: K. Hansen [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE
 
I've been sitting here this morning reading the numerous reviews of the Big
Cypress show.  Most are so very positive and it brings me much joy to read
them.  I myself had a wonderful experience in Florida and I feel lucky that
my situation allowed me to be there.  However, before the second set on
12/30, my friend saw something that disturbed me down to my soul when he
related the story to me.  Apparently, a group of dreadies had gathered to
share some pre-show hugs and vibes.  As my friend watched, more "tour kids"
wandered over to join the circle.  My friend, also shared in their circle
briefly.  As he watched, a girl wandered over who was obviously having the
time of her life.  She was all smiles and radiating the most positive vibe.
She noticed the circle of people, and figuring them to be similarly minded,
wandered over to share her love.  The problem?  Well, I guess this group of
too cool dreadies thought she didn't look the part of a real Phish fan.
Where were her dreads, patchwork, hairy armpits, piercings???  When she
approached these kids they called her a "custie" and one actually said, "I
never turn away a pretty face, but get the fuck out of here you custie."
In a lot of ways, just hearing about that one incident put a damper on my
whole experience.  This is not the first time I have encountered what I call
the "appearance hang-up" on the Phish lot.  My only advice is to never judge
who a person is by how they may appear.  I know kids who look the part so
well and could probably only name a handful of Phish songs.  I know other
kids who look like they just fell out of a law firm who could tell you every
lyric Trey has ever sung wrong, at which shows and on which dates.  Never,
ever turn away someone who is trying to share a good vibe.  Someday, down on
your luck, stuck in a bad situation, you may need that vibe.  Unfortunately,
it may not be there because by being judgemental, you may have turned
someone off of the Phish scene forever.  Peace to all of you in the New Year
and especially to the girl with the good vibe who got shut down that night.
Don't give up mama.

Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 18:26:16 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE200
 
Dear Trey, Mike, Fish and Page,
 
Thank you for the most memorable experience of my life.  This weekend will
live forever in the hearts of many.  You truly are the greatest.
CHEESECAKE!!!
 
Thanks,
Justin
 
p.s.  After Midnight you really did let it all hangout.
 
peace to all ten heads in Big Blue

Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2000 21:02:42 -0700
From: Kevin Blanchard [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: How BAD the NYE2000 was.
 
Would like to post an ad of how bad the show schwagged

Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 11:47:36 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE- WOW!!!
 
Just a couple of quick notes on New Year's! Just amazing! Just when I thought
I had seen almost everything at a Phish show, they bang out a 7 and a half
hour set, WITH NO BREAKS!!! couple of quick song notes, Crosseyed- Waaahooo!
I don't even think most people knew what this tune was, but I have been
"still waiting" to hear it since the first time I heard it on tape (Star
Lake-97?) Piper- Listen to this tune and don't even try to tell me this
version could'nt have closed a set. I know there are a lot of critics
(usually including me) of this song, but wow what a change!
And for a few critics of this show that were dissapointed they did'nt get a
Destiny or Gamehendge, you obviously don't know the band that well. Those
types of moments are saved for Tuesday night shows in Topeka on Fall Tour
type settings! How could anybody be dissapointed by this epic performance? 7
hours non-stop. Happy New Years, good health for you and your family, See Ya!

Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2000 22:43:42 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE2000

The Big Cypress show will never be topped.  I've never seen that kind of
energy for an entire show, and that energy lasted for 71/2 hours.  Trey
had
to have been blasted to go that long (he was itching his nose a lot).
Crosseyed and Painless sealed it for me.  Jamming as long as they did on
After Midnight reprise almost made me shit my pants.  How can you jam out
that song for 20 minutes?  The great vibes were there to. No place on
earth I
would have rather been.

[email protected]
Keep it groovin

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 07:34:32 -0500
From: xian [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: bliss.
 
When people ask me if I had a good time for the millenium, I can only nod my
head and smile. The impact those 4 days had on my life cannot even be put
into words for those who were not there. Every minute was filled with pure
joy and ecstasy from everyone around. It was a purely magical time…I
knew this from the moment I arrived. Not even ten minutes after I set up
camp, I was fortunate enough to find my friends from college among the 90,000
people in attendance. Familiar faces were everywhere…old friends from
past shows, the 2 kids I gave a ride to in Florence, SC, Lawnboy, just to
name a few. Smiles and tears flowed from everyone throughout the event.
Watching 2 friends find each other in the midst of the beautiful music during
the last set put a tear in my eye. This by far has been the most incredible
expierience of my life. When four normal people can bring almost 100,000 to
the middle of no where to celebrate one day of the year, you know
there’s something VERY special going on… Thank you Phish, thank
you Seminoles, thank all of my friends in the community. I love you all, and
can now die happy as I now know what it’s really like to be alive.


Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 09:14:51 -0500
From: Dave Wolcott [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: Review of 12.31.99
 
Firstly, I didn't decide to go to Big Cypress until after both Hampton shows
(backed out of my other NYE plans and lost a big chunk of money).  But after
those shows, there was no way I could pass up the opportunity to hit Big
Cypress and let me say that it was the most amazing show to date -- the
experience was priceless.  I could write a dissertation here but instead
I'll just make a few notes about what were highlights for me during the
shows... two incredible sunsets; suzie greenberg; corrina, corrina; mike's
song; runaway jim; after midnight (and yes they did let it all hangout);
AMAZING fireworks; cheesecake; roses are free; sand; meatstick; great
camping; good times with friends; the crazy grove of trees and a mesmerizing
sunrise -- basically everything about this show was incredible.
 
For those who it appears didn't have the best of times for whatever reason
(traffic, setlists, etc.), that's really too bad.  Because 99% of the people
I've talked to disagree with you.  Sure, traffic sucked but, on the other
hand, partying on the side of Alligator Alley was actually pretty fun.  And,
for those songs that you're not crazy about (hell, even I don't like all
Phish songs) -- sit down during the song, take a load off, chat with
friends, close your eyes and succumb to a wave, smoke one.  There are plenty
of things to do when you reach a song that isn't one of your favorites.
Whatever you do, please don't say Phish is somehow selling out or losing
their talent -- that simply isn't the case.  I think they only get sweeter
with age.
 
A very special thanks goes out to Trey, Mike, Fish, Page and everyone who
helped set-up this undertaking.  There were a lot of areas where Phish could
have cut corners to 'make an extra buck'.  But, that surely didn't seem to
be the case.  We had plenty of camping space, ample water and ice, the
cleanest port-a-craps I've ever seen, great food, etc., etc., etc.  This has
surely been my most memorable New Year's to date and I will always remember
Big Cypress.
 
Further, a concerned 'hello' goes out to 'big, fat, red-headed naked guy'.
Hope your OK man because you were trashed.  Wish I had whatever you were on
(or maybe not).  Did anyone else see this guy??  Really, a piece of work.
It's too bad I opted not to bring my camera that night because a picture
would have been classic.
 
And lastly, if anyone got the ABC thing on tape, I'd love to get a copy to
see some overhead shots of the event.  Or, if any tapers would like to
contact me, I'll make copies for myself worth your while.  Drop me a line. I
hope everyone had a blast and is gearing up for a great summer tour.
 
Dave

Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 00:22:34 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: nye 2000!!
 
WOW! What an incredible event! easily the most intense experience of my life.
Ive been to 20 shows and have sountless tapes but nothing could prepare me
for what I experienced. Sure i wish they played a Lizards or Tela but what
they did play was amazing. It seemed as if the band played every song as if
it would be the last time  they ever played it. Piper (which in my opinion
has evolved into a gem) and Roses really did it for me. I def. thought they
would play Divided Sky at around 7am but got 2001 instead. It rocked anyway.
To say the least, After Midnight they sure did let it all hang out!
 On a negative note...i want to know what right anyone has criticizing this
show if they werent even in attendence. i dont care how many shows you have
been too, or what you thought of the set list. They couldve played an entire
Gamehendge set and butchered the thing but some people would look at the
Gamehenge set and automatically say "wow...that was awesome." My point being
that Phish has the ability to turn an average set (on paper) into a classic.
One has no right to comment on music they have never heard. What one song
sounded like on the last tour could be completly different than what it was
on NYE! Phish = musical evolution. If that means less old school tunes then
so be it. In the words of the great Vajona Fishman (ie:oswego)...they are
Phish 2000! If you dont like it...sorry -  Peace to you! Cant wait to get the
CDS/Tapes.....but i doubt it will compare to the real thing. I think when all
is said and done this show will be remebered as a classic. It already is in
my mind!
lots o' cheescake in the Y2k baby! by the way...who was holding out on the
nugs? Never have i been to such a dry show....oh well...it happens.
-DixBKosha

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 10:36:24 -0800
From: Greg Johns [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: A life altering concert
 
Just wanted to tell the band and many thousands of people who worked
tirelessly to put that ^�event^� together, you just knocked the word
perfection out of its league.
 
Thank you for the awesome Bowie @ 4:20^�the next 1000 years will have a lot
to live up to.
 
Johns,
Los Angeles, CA (and worth every damn mile I traveled!)

Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2000 22:45:09 PST
From: Bob Osborn [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE2000 Review
 
The NYE2000 weekend at Big Cypress was one of the most, if not the most
incredible experiences of my life.  Thank you to Leeor, Aton, Aaron, James,
Wyatt, Kip, Bill, Brian, Chad, Sean, Melissa, Tara, Kellie, and Stephanie
for experiencing this unbelieveble event with me.  I can honestly say that
the moment the milleniun turned and Phish began to play, I was the happiest
person in the world.  I was surrounded by all of my friends and was about to
greet the next century while listening to the most amazing set of music ever
performed. Four days later I still got choked up when I think about watching
that incredible sunrise.  I will never forget the feeling that morning as we
walked back to our campsites in total silence.  I felt truly blessed for
having had the opportunity to listen to such an incredible performance, in
such a beautiful setting with 85,000 of my closest phriends. "We're all
professionals here.....".
 
boboso

Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 14:12:06 -0600
From: Jeph [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: Big Cypress Review
 
Hey everyone!  I won't even attempt a review of the music because it really
needs to be heard to be understood.  I wanted to write a little review of my
experiences at BC - I've loved reading everyone's own experiences and finally
decided to share mine with all of you.  I live in Dallas, Texas and had the
luxury of flying to florida!  I flew into Tampa and met up with my buddy from
around here and three other car loads of friends who met us at the airport.  
We rented a car, bought some beer and food and hit the road to BC. Everything
was going smoothly until right before we hit the traffic jam.  A girl we were
with realized she had left her wallet at a truck stop about an hour back!  
After a long debate we decided to let the wallet go.  Next thing you know
we're in line.  Once we realized we were going to be in line ALL night, we
cracked open the beer and started mingling with fellow traffic jammers. This
is when I had the great realization that Phish did this to us on purpose!  
They wanted us to have our own traffic "JAM!"  That's right, the phans had
their own all night jam session!  (well, I had to deal with it somehow)  
Anyways, we made the best of the traffic and partied, walked, and smiled and
talked about our predictions and expectations.  Sometime in the middle of the
night when things started to wind down, I grabbed a trash bag and made a mile
or two walk down the roadside pickin up trash.  I had a small talk with some
officers who had just gotten a late night dinner and was pleased to find out
that they were in good spirits about everything.  When I got back to the car
someone just a few ahead of us decided to break out his NO2 tank.  Then I
slept.  I woke up to Patrick driving us to the gates!  We're here!  We ended
up parking and camping at 126th off of 2nd street.  Way in the back corner.  
We set up our tents and crashed.  The heat eventually woke us up and went off
to sell a few Harpua shirts.  I made my money quickly and put the rest away
for the weekend so I could enjoy the sights and sounds of BC without
obligation.  I trade my extra Dolphin tabs for some fungus, grabbed my dat
deck and headed in for round 1 of Phish!  First set was pretty good, I
thought, and took it as a warm up set for the mayhem to follow.  After the
first set I found my buddy Patrick and his taper friend Dave (AKG 480/ck63 >
GP DMIC-20; right section, inside rail, right behind the board! - phatty
tapes).  The following sets were fabulous, we explored the grounds, made some
friends and grooved with the fungus.  When it was all said and done for the
30th, we explored the Delta and the forest.  I didn't catch the name of the
band playin in the Delta that night, but I gotta give the drummer props for
his resourcefulness and skill!  His kick drum pedal broke mid-set.  He just
turned the drum over and played it like it was another tom - not even phased!  
At this point, everything was bliss.  The weather was great, the people were
kind and beautiful, and the vibes were pure.  Then I slept.  I woke up for the
31st with a spring to my step.  I made eggs for the group and we chilled.  
The afternoon set was great, we anticipation was almost too much to handle.  
After Phish rallied their phans with a great rendition of After Midnight we
were left with four hours to change, catch a buzz and get back to the concert
grounds.  I again have to give props to Dave (taper) for he and his girlfriend
stayed in the taper section during that entire break in order to not lose his
sweet spot!  Pat and I went back to the tent and geared up for the night.  We
had a few guinesses, patched a few problems with his tape and got dressed for
the event.  You might have seen us.  He had on a black jacket, red afro wig
and a black and red boa!  I had taken a tuxedo to wear, only this wasn't your
ordinary tuxedo.  I took gold sequins and glued them on every inch of the
jacket!  I had a ruffled shirt, a gold cumberbun and some big yellow glasses!  
It was a riot!  For the all night set I paced with extacy and some fungus and
manged to successfully tape, see and be seen and not lose my mind completely.
Running three hour tapes put limits on how long we could be gone from the
tapers section but in those three hours we had more fun making people smile
and meeting people than I can ever remember doing.  But come dawn, it wasn't
about the tapes or the jacket or the drugs.  Starting with Bug, phish turned
the biggest party of the year into the most surreal, most peaceful and most
beautiful moment ever.
 
I have one more prop to give out.  I want to thank everyone who was there!  
We showed the world that in this riotous age, that 80,000 kids can get
together at a concert, get fucked up, have a good time and not destroy the
place or the meaining of the event.  I want to thank you all for not ruining
the moment, letting phish do what they do.  Throughout the quiet sets in the
morning, no one seemed to feel the need to yell.  No one felt the need to
disturb the quiet just to be heard. It was beautiful.  The sunrise was
perfect.  I'll never forget the way people were looking at the sun, looking at
phish, listening to phish, feeling phish play.  It was one of the best things
to ever happen to me and I'm sure for many many out there.  Again, thanks for
making it beautiful!
 
Jeff
[email protected]
 
ps- A state trooper had found the wallet with all it's contents!  It was a
nice surprise on the ride home!
 
pps- lemme know if you happened to get a picture of the jacket, I'd like to
see it!

Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 13:54:28 -0500
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Thank You, For A Real Good Time       NYE 2000

[email protected]
 
 
       I have been a fan for long enough and I still can't figure out if
Phish "blew it up or burned it down "  at Big Cypress.  THANK YOU.  NO REALLY
THANK YOU TREY!  THANK YOU FISHMAN, THANK YOU MIKE.  AND PAGE  some one said
it best around four in the a.m.  "O.K. I GIVE UP.  PAGE IS PHAT."   I have
enjoyed myself at many a concert and I was a huge fan be for New Years; but
it is so bad now.    Everyone knows now that Big Cypress was some thing
special.  That was the greatest musical event  any Phish kid could have seen
in thier life time or mine.  I want every one to realize how important and
special an event it was.  Be thankful to the band for letting us smoke the
swamp for three days.  I'm also very proud of the way we conducted ourselves
at the shows.  Hey I know we are all family but some times we are a little
disfuctional.  I did not hear one argument or witness or hear any thing about
any fights.   As for the music,  GOD DAMN !!!! I am still wading in the
velvet sea.   Thank You Phish!  We all had a great time.
 
                                                                        ian
p.s.  your all so cool


Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 17:10:58 -0600
From: turnerb [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/31 review...phew
 
I'm back in ohio now.  I think every phish fan at a time or two has had that
dream where phish was just playing, no time constraints, no set structures,
just the harmonies that they can emit flowing forth.  The sunrise set concert
was that dream.  I went down to the show early because I scored a job working
for clean vibes.  So, yes, no traffic jams for us at all.  I got a free $150
wristband, got backstage, made 8 bucks an hour helping to recycle and pick up
trash (for 20 hours) (which I would have done anyway) and actually found $100
(another friend found $40 and some buds, and yet another shook hands with
trey!).  Big Cypress was my dream.  The music rocketed my soul into the new
year  and I don't think that vibe will ever leave me.  I was so beat before
the new years show and had no idea how I would make it through the night, but
that very first down w/ disease jam that completely mellowed out and made the
crowd realize just what was about to happen sent my spirit skyrocketing. I
danced for the entire show and am still captivated in the music, stayed around
to pick up all the trash I could and was delivered the most incredible natural
high I've ever experienced through music.  The jam on rock and roll was the
most incredible improvisation I have ever heard live, it was probably a 40
minute groove full of changing tempos and harmonies that gives me shivers to
think about.  I don't know how I will ever look at phish the same way again.
After 6 years of being drawn by the band in mysterious ways, the sunrise set
made me realize why.  I heard it through page's tears in wading in a velvet
sea and will not forget the concert for the rest of my life.
 
And for all the fans who couldn't attend..don't worry.  The entire spirit of
phish was there that night.  Every fan who has ever been moved by the musical
ecstacy that phish can create took part in the magic that was in the air.  The
band could not have played like that without the unbelievable support of their
family for so long now.  All those who waited in traffic, couldn't find nugs
or x or whatever, experienced a deeper triumph within the phish experience and
the silence in the morning reflected that.  I get so overwhelmed by olfactory
hues.
Peace and love to all who kept that beautiful land clean too, I was much
impressed. ~brian t  [email protected]


Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2000 21:14:04 -0800
From: Bradley Boulch [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: The Big Cypress
 
Wow,
 
That was a really good time.
 
Ft. Lauderdale, which is 1300 miles from home was a great place to spend the
night and party after being on the rode for 19 hours straight.  Thank you
Phish for playing so close to that funky little town.
 
The morning of the 29th, six of us guys from Missouri load up on food and
beer and hit the road.  We hear from a local in the hotel that it's going to
take us 45 minutes to drive up to "BC."  By the time we get to the toll
booth two of my friends have already sold their extras for face value, half
a case of beer had already been consumed, and possibly some beautiful
nuggets had been burned.
 
We get through the toll booth and have enough time to play frissbee,
possibly burn more nugs, make friends with some people in the cars around
us, finish the case of beer, and then everything changes.  This brother is
running down the center median wildly waving his hands, a cop car is coming
down the center lane behind him with it's lights and sirens in high gear.
They stop like 10 - 15 cars in front of us.
 
The cop gets out and starts pumping this brother who is motionless, laying
sprawled out in the fast lane,  just in front of a stopped car.  The cop
keeps pumping his chest, and breathing.  More cops show up, and help with
the CPR.  They must have kept it up for over an hour.  No traffic was moving
past the accident, and ignorant people (mostly people who weren't going to
the show) starting trying to drive up the center median.  A few jerks even
tried to pass the accidents and were stopped and seriously yelled at by the
cops who made them turn around and go back at first.
 
The scene had us feeling very upset with these people who were disrespecting
the lost life that was right in front of us.
 
I think that we were all close to tears a few different times through this
ordeal.
 
after we had been at a complete standstill for 4-5 hours we were moving
again.  The coroner was there and a yellow blanket was almost completely
covering our lost brother.  I didn't want to see that.  Most of the next few
hours were spent in a somber mood.  No music on our radios.  Just silent
driving.
 
The campground had these amazingly surreal fog clouds.  We set up our new
homes.  It was a nice tent circle. Eventually four of us grabbed some drums,
a woodblock, and a tambourine.  We ended up in front of the facade of a
western town.  It had real porches to sit on and everything.  Right in
front of the porches there was a sidewalk that was wooden and had rails on
the other side so that people wouldn't fall into the marsh, that was
directly in front of a grove of cypress trees.  What a perfect setting.  For
the next few hours we drummed our hearts out.  There were many other
drummers there.
 
To me, it was a healing experiene.  It was like a fond farewell to our
potential friend that had died on the highway. Some beautiful sisters danced
around the circle of drums.
 
The rest of the weekend was marvelous.  The giant phamily was incredibly
wonderful to each other (except for the greedy, sneaky nitros guys, that
is.) Maybe they should stay home.
 
Thank you Phish, thank you Seminole's, and especially thank you beautiful
people that made this even more memorable than the Clifford Ball.  Thank you
very much.
 
I'll see some of you on the road again.  Take care.
 
Happy New Year.
 
Brad
 
P.S. Don't forget the low-flying fog clouds...


Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 15:38:49 -0500
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/31/99 Note
 
New Years Eve in Florida was so special. So far away from all the hoopla
and the all-day TV coverage. After Heavy Things, when Trey said that it
was just us again, I nearly cried (it would have been the third or fourth
time those few days, the first during Antelope, the second during After
Midnight, the third when they popped out of the airboat 15ft from me).
Anyways, this is not a review, but I merely wanted to express how amazing
those shows, that experience, was (If this little essay is totally
confused
and disorganised, its because there's no way to coherently express how
incredible it was in words). So I won't try. All I want to do is give a
shout out to the people who were behind me during the midnight to sunrise
set. They were a group of kids from Japan and they had seen Phish once
(this summer with 500 people) and I guess something hit them really hard
over there. They travelled all the way from JAPAN to see Phish bring in
the New Year!!!! I can't express how that made me feel. It was simply
amazing. They love Phish so much and made my night even more special.

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 00:21:14 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Phine Show
 
Despite waiting in line for 10 hours to get into the Big Cypress Reservation,
I was excited. I was very pleased with the people I went with, many people I
met, the way the place was set up and especially how Phish played. I didn't
get a few songs I wanted to hear but I did hear many I wanted. I expected a
whole Gamehendge or something off the wall. I guess they did. They played for
seven and half hours straight. I don't think any other band can top that.

Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 16:01:20 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12-31-99 review
 
I'm sorry, but I must add my two cents in.
 
- 27 hours from door to tent zipper.  Loved every minute of it!  Quit your
complaining!
- Never saw a bad vibe on that reservation.  Some people see negativity
because it is what they're giving off and what they are looking for.
- First four sets were rocking!
- As a Clifford Ball, Lemmonwheel, Went, and Woodstock '99 (not proud)
veteran, I can say that Phish has perfected this multiday festival thing.
They clearly respect and appreciate their fans!  clean portos, spacious
living, and oh, by the way, 14 hours of music.
- I proposed to my girlfriend at 7 a.m. on the 31st (midnight at the
international date line).
- I ran into my best friend from my youth and sat with him for the midnight
set.
- Next to us were a group of Japanese heads bobbing their mops, passing
around bowls.
- All of that and the phab phour too!  We must've been in heaven man! (-Wavy
Gravy)
- I've been on a strict diet of cheesecake and meatstick for the last 9 days.
 I've put on 15 pounds but boy do I feel great.
- Peace to everyone, but especially those sitting around me (Ali, Marni,
Phishkin, Pope, Glenn, Liebmans, Japanesers, and collective and attachments)
 
Mutch
 

Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 16:31:51 -0500
From: Larry Pallante [email protected]
Reply-To: Larry Pallante [email protected]
To: [email protected]
 
I would like to start this review by saying that I had an incredible time in
Florida.  I drove from New Jersey and the entire experience was well worth it.  
I would not have even considered being anywhere else for new years. With that
said, being a veteran of 4 of the last 5 new year shows (missed Boston),
Clifford ball and Oswego I feel bad for all of you that wrote reviews saying
that the new years marathon set was the best set you ever saw.  I guess your
are not giving the band enough credit.  After seeing some of the most
incredible music in the past and knowing what the band is capable of, I have
to say that I was disappointed along with my other New Years Veterans.  The
MSG show 1995-96 was the best show I have ever scene and the mad scientist new
years countdown was mind-blowing.  I know that I can not compare sound quality
of an outdoor show to the sound of the best arena in the country (MSG)  but I
will say that I got stuck behind the same blown speaker in Florida that I was
unfortunate enough to be behind in Oswego.
 
Being a little older and moving on to the Phish scene from the dead scene the
youngsters at the Phish shows need a few lessons in random acts of kindness. I
see a lot of spoiled kids who could give two shits about anyone except scoring
some molly.  I heard a lot of people complaing about the crowd sleeping during
the new years set and I can say this.  I am not one of those people who party
too much and get to fucked up to enjoy the show.  I never even sat down during
a phish set in my life, but I too could not feed off the energy of the band.
 
I guess I have seen and felt the creativity and the energy that this band has
produced and was expecting at least the same energy from the past.
 
If you think that the band let it all hang out, then you need to see more
shows or you scored the best molly in the lot.
 
I had a great time and feel sorry for those of you that waited in the same
traffic to leave the concert as you did to get in.  We found an escape route
and were out of the concert grounds in 10 minutes.
 
So if you think that you saw the best set ever keep going to Phish shows
because they are going to blow your mind away in the future.


Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 17:16:31 -0600 (CST)
From: tyler cunningham simons [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: New Years Eve
 
Mark Midford,
 
Ripped off? I got to the traffic jam twenty minutes after gates were
supposed to open at noon, and was parked just before six oclock. All we
brought was schwag, expecting to find some dank there, but there was no
weed being sold! My girlfriend can't handle camping. We started to leave
big cypress at 12noon on the 1st, and got onto the highway about 10 hours
later.
 
I would do it again tomorrow, even if I had to spend three times as much
money and time in traffick.  Even with the bad, it was the single best
musical/social experience of my life. You sound like you are very jaded
and belittling, but even your attitude can't change the feelings of the
people who were there.
 
Tyler Simons

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 12:29:09 EST
From: John Tringle [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Phlorida
 
Thank you for such a wonderful time down there.....one of the things that
made this so wonderful was the weather and i'm specifically referring to the
evenings!....one of the toughest parts about Oswego, etc. was the intense
heat (I would imagine you guys don't want to play when it's 95 and
huuuumid....so.....let's say you do a summer weekend festival
(pleeeeeeeeease)....why not the middle of JUNE?!?!
or early SEPTEMBER?!?!? i would much rather get *into* my sleeping bag than
use it as a sweat sponge. Once again......thank YOU.
 
p.s.......E S T H E R!!!!

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 00:44:51 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE 2000
 
To All of you who mock and ridicule Phish and its Phans for the NYE mess, I
say to Hell with you all!!!
 
I drove 13 hours, then sat in traffic for another 13 hours, but there was no
way in hell i was gonna let this ruin my new years!!!  I paid 150 hard earned
bucks to see the greatest show of my life and thats what i got.
 
Trey and the guys rocked it out in three phenomenal sets on 12/30 and by the
end i knew why i had put up with all the bullshit.  For those of you who
turned back... too fucking bad, i say.
 
As for 12/31, what can i say that Phish already hasn't?  7 1/2 HOURS???
Nonstop???  for those of you who complain about the new fans and how phish is
too big now....  None of those fantastic 7 1/2 hours wouldn't have been
possible without everyone there.
 
I choose not to disect each and every song and whine about how this 2001
wasn't as good as it was at Great Woods and  such and such and how Possum was
too slow or whatever.  I enjoyed every single minute of it.  Where else would
I rather have been??  Definently not bitching to myself on the ride home for
quitting and wasting my money...  Phish is not reserved for you people who
have been seeing them since '92 or '93. If you don't like the crowd, go see a
different band next year...  Or think ahead next time and leave much
earlier???

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 19:02:50 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review of  Big Cypress
 
Well, I just returned to NH from an indescribably amazing trip to the
Everglades, and am at a loss for words!  I'm not going to bother reviewing
the show song for song, because I've read the other reviews, and its been
said before!  Instead, I just want to share an overview of the beautiful
thing that just happened at Big Cypress.
    First of all, we all had to travel from our respective base camps that
we'd been at since Hampton, and I'll have to say that a 3-day drive is so
much easier with so many beautiful kidz travelling alongside you.  And can I
just say one thing about the trip south on I-95.....SOUTH OF THE BORDER!
    Florida is truly beautiful, despite the fact that it is a giant swamp,
and the cities of Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale especially stand out in my
mind on this trip.  The traffic into Big Cypress was pretty frustrating, but
at no point during that 14 hours did I lose the joy in my heart, again,
thanks to all of you beautiful people.  We can make any situation phun!  The
loss of a brother on the highway was devastating news, but accidents do
happen, we need to remind ourselves.
    Now, inside, the scene far surpassed anything I'd expected.  I had been a
little worried about "mixed vibes" but soon realized that this was an
incredibly chill crowd.
The maps were pretty slick, the lots well-planned and the cypress grove and
little boardwalk were SO cool!  Mad props to the glowstick guy who had me in
a trance in the forest, and to all of the drummers who kept the rhythm
flowin'!
    The first set on the 30th was really laid-back and relaxed, and Chief Jim
Billie performed a couple of his tunes.  Highlights for me were the Ghost
(really groovin) and, in Suzie Greenberg, when Trey says "...forgotten my
name"  fishman replied
"uh, thats okay, I do it all the time!"
    Second set really got me movin, so did the sister dancin in front of me
:).  Stoked to hear Curtain, I had guessed they'd play it on the ride down.
Good Times Bad Times was pretty badass too, and even though Tweezer isnt one
of my total faves, that was a phat jam!   Third set was in the same vein
pretty much,  did anyone else hear the "Immigrant Song" tease in Mike's?
Boogie On Reggae Woman always gets me, and by the time I heard the tweezer
rep, I'd forgotten they'd even played Tweezer!
    the next day's afternoon set was another nice, chill set, with a ragin
After Midnight that I was so psyched to hear! The Tube and Split Open were
also highlights.   The vibe I was getting from everyone was so wonderful, I
dont think that shit-eating grin left my face for the whole event!    My
energy level just kept rising as I cruised, gettin ready for the party.  Mad
love to the kidz who boogied with me over at the Disco Winnebago!
    Now, the midnite to sunrise set, I don't even want to try and explain.  I
know, they didn't play anything too weird, or Destiny, but  that set was a
JOURNEY!  from meatstick to meatstick, we were all pretty much transfixed!
And let me say, Trey's "cheesecake" idea was great!  Every time I've seen
kidz on the road or at rest stops or McD's or wherever I yell "CHEESECAKE"  A
few other highlight:  Rock and roll, the swirling maelstrom of Crosseyed and
Painless, Trey's lilting notes on minestrone, the smile I got as Piper began,
the phunked-out Sand, David Bowie at 4:20, roses are Free, fishman singing
Love You "uh, sorry, are we at a concert?"   Bug almost bringing a tear to my
eye as I looked at all those around me.  The blitzkrieg funk of 2001 as the
sky became a giant kaliedoscope of clouds, meatstick closer, and the beatles
Here comes the Sun over the PA.   Leaving the staging area, I was in a misty
daze.  I have never had such an ethereal, joyous, mindblowing experience as I
did in the everglades.  Mad props to Kuroda, as always, superdupa thanks to
the crews who kept things goin', to the Seminoles for letting use their
beautiful land, to Chief Jim Billie, to the alligators and snakes for not
eating us, mad, mad silly love to all of the people who I was overjoyed to
celebrate the new millineum with, and mostly, my utmost respect and total
exaltation to those four guys who made EVERYTHING at big cypress possible.

Date: Fri, 04 Jan 1980 14:46:19 -0500
From: Dave Sigler [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: new year review

It feels strange to be affected so personally by something more than
70,000 people shared.
But we all know what it's like listening to those tapes. The note is
hit, the fist is pumped, the crowd roars.
That's what we want.
That's what we got.
It all led up to the end.
I'm no expert, but Free in the wee hours, Fishman's Phish 2000
exuberance and a few days of perspective have made me feel like I
witnessed a slice of history.
 
Tastes like cheesecake.
 
Jim Nichols
[email protected]

Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2000 00:44:23 CST
From: Trae Dodson [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: NYE review /   Reference to review from [email protected]
 
        First Off I would like to thank PHISH for the wonderful, beautiful,
mind
blowing adventure I had at Big Cypress!  The setup was so sweet!  I could
not have been anywhere else in the world and had a better time.  I went to
extreme measures to get to Miami. My girlfriend and I flew from northern
midwest to miami Friday morning.  (Yes, we missed 30th)  But I still got my
moneys worth & then some!  I have never been to Southern Florida/ Miami & I
fell in love with it as soon as I got off the plane.  The Weather was
impeccable/ Palm trees on new years eve!/ who ever would have thought! & The
Most Incredible band presently together and runner up for greatest band
ever / jamming out during the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen in my
life!  Yes - there were people sleeping all over the place which kind of
thinned the vibe out / and yes there were (at least 1) large group of dark
hooded Yo/Yo's definitely giving out very negative vibes to the right side
of the tapers section/  but in any huge crowd you will have lots of people
just there for the party/ locals/ etc. etc.  This, however, did not affect
the bands output.  There was massive energy flow throughout the crowd.  I
can't complain at anything they played--  I was in pure heaven from midnight
to sunlight!
**REFERENCE TO [email protected]*****REFERENCE TO
[email protected]**!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     How dare you write a review about a show you were never at!  Thats just
like the schmuck off the street saying phish sucks when they have never seen
a show!  You've seen 23 shows supposedly and you already say your sick and
tired of hearing crap like Sand & Heavy
Things!  You sound like a total FOOL!  You haven't even seen enough shows to
make up a tour/barely and you are saying they need to take a break from
touring and re-think the concerts they play?  Why would they ever play a
Gamehenge at a huge festival like atmosphere were at least half the people
that didn't even know what gamehenge is!  The magic of Gamehenge could never
be captured in an open field 75,000+ when at least 1/4 to a 1/3 were laying,
sleeping, or standing.  Please don't come to any more shows so someone else
can be in your place who appreciates what phish does for their phans!  Its
people like you who bring negative vibes inside of a show & stick out like a
sore thumb when the magic starts to happen and everyone else starts
connecting into one giant force of energy. And while your at it please quit
using valuable bandwidth to broadcast your negative views about something
you obviously don't get!!!!!  Spend your time writing positive words about
your beloved david grisman quintet to there fans on their website!  My
girlfriend & I spent an incredible amount of money on two sets /9 hours of
music though/ and two days in Miami & it was worth every penny & then some!
            Thank you again Trey,Mike,Page, & John. I will never forget NYE
2000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 17:02:04 -0500
From: Jason David Tincher [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: What a phascinating experience...
 
First off, my condolences to the family and friends of the poor brother
who lost his life on the way into the show...
 
Now, on to the good stuff.   I won't even try to review any songs, as I
can't say that I actually remember how any of them went!!
 
I remember at one point of the crazy New Years set, I was truly
convinced that the band had set us all up with a new mysterious
substance called "cheesecake."  I really believed (in my twisted
mind-set) that they had contaminated the water, food, gooballs,
brownies, etc. with something, and the whole "cheescake" thing for ABC
was a huge joke that they had played on all of us.
 
At about 3 or 4 in the morning, I looked around (for once) and realized
that was it.  We're never going to see a musical display of such
proportions again in our lifetimes (more than likely).  It was then that
I was reaffirmed of just how beautiful Phish is.  Because of their
music, we all came together in peace, in love, and in phriendliness.  I
knew from experience that Phish crowds are phriendly, but this was the
epitome of unconditional love.  I try to explain this to folks back home
in northwest Indiana, but they simply cannot comprehend what we all
experienced during our journey to the Glades.  A little later, I
remember thinking "What next?"  I was convinced Phish was going to call
it quits for good after this event (again, dilusions of my mind)!  I
mean, what could they do after this?!  But, then I was again reminded
that Phish is not the total experience.  They bring us all together and
let us play like little kids with new toys at recess.  They gave us a
playground with a jungle and an ice pyramid, and gave us basically free
reign of the whole place.  The most beautiful part is what we did with
it.  We didn't fight, we didn't kill, we didn't conflict like so many of
us do (no one is perfect, mind you) in our daily lives.  I left this
event with the resolution to be a decent person, as much as I can,
regardless of what others do or say.
 
I think if we all take that great feeling we all experienced away with
us and demonstrate it in our daily lives, it will be contagious to those
around us.  There's no reason that universal peace cannot be
attained...I think perhaps it seems difficult because the wrong people
are in power positions (Bill Clinton...need I say more...?).
 
And, to anyone near the crazy Canadian decked out in glow-necklaces, all
I have to say is "YEEEEEAAAAHH  BABYYY!!!"
 
Thanks to "John" for the nugs in that hellacious 15-hour traffic jam...
 
"Emily," I hope you found your phriends, it was cool chillin' with you
for a set...
 
Peace and love to all the phriends....
 
Jason Tincher

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2000 17:22:08 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: New Years
 
Cheesecake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Happy Moo Year Everybody!
 
The Phish Cow

Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 11:14:26 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: (no subject)

Happy New Year, Kids...I love you.

Cheesecake...say it like you're pissed..CheeseCAKE!   anyone else sing
Happy
Birthday to Cheesecake?

Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2000 11:30:29 CST
From: Daniel Walker [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/31 review from a newbie

cheesecake!

there are no words to express how amazing that show was... first, i should
say that i'm a new phish phan, and this was my very first show... nothing
could have ever prepared me for what i was in store for... no tapes or CDs
or mp3s, nothing.
everyone there was so excellent, it was like having 75000 of the happiest,
craziest people in the world in a big backyard, so much love and hugs and
smiles and dancing... the weather was awesome, about 80 during the day, very
hot sun, and cool at night with awesome stars... the camping went on
forever!
NYE blew my mind! i'm not kidding... all the hundreds of balloons, some 10
feet wide, the fireworks that went on and on, the people, and OH WOW WOW WOW
WOW!!! PHISH! i truly only knew half the songs, but it never mattered,,, i
was in complete bliss for 7 hours, couldn't believe it!  i know i couldn't
give a true song by song review any justice, but BOUNCING was awesome,
SILENT in the morning was heaven, and the first thirty minutes after
midnight i couldn't contain myself!!
like i said, there are no words to express this show, but i think trey said
it best with "unbelievable"... it truly was...
thank you from the bottom of my heart phish, for everything


Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2000 10:06:07 -0600
From: Tim Hardy [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/31/99
 
    Okay, tons of people have talked about the traffic and stuff, but I'm
going to skip that(especially since it only took me three hours to get in :^).  
The vibes here were *the* most incredible I've ever experienced.  I've been to
Hampton, I've been, well, pretty much everywhere to see these guys and these
vibes were the best.  Everyone was psyched.  I would like to comment on the
litter situation.  I think we did a pretty damn good job.  The 30th and first
set of the 31st saw the grounds being pretty clean for 90,000 people being
there.  The Mid-Sun set predictibly saw the litter level go up.  I know my
friends and the groups around us cleaned up behind the tapers section, but it
did appear as though there was more litter moving towards the back.  I think
that considering how many people were there, though, we did a pretty decent
job(with room for improvement of course!).  Secondly, I don't think that I've
ever seen so little sketchiness at a show of this scale.  Somebody camped next
to some of my friends got his banjo stolen and some guy cut a food line, but
other than that everybody was very cool.  Big thank you to Phish also for the
huge number of port-a-johns and water around.  In a place where temperature
swings like it was down there, people can get testy pretty easily, but Phish
did a good job of making sure everybody was taken care of.  I don't think I
ever waited more than two minutes to use the bathroom.  My only problem with
the event was minor: the walk!  I was on 4th Ave by Snake Rd., north of Amy's
Farm and that was a long walk.  I hate to imagine how far people camping at
10th would have to go.  If the stage had been moved to a more central location
and people could camp on all sides of it that walk would have been cut down
immensely.  Even that had it's upside, though, because the more time spent
walking the more coolness and creativity you saw.  Onto the shows: I think the
highlights(and I'm very picky with my highlights, believe me, there was rarely
an instant where I was not completely digging the show) were the Ghost in the
first set, the Tweezer in the second, and definitely the Mike's Groove in the
third.  I think the Mike's may have been the topper of the whole day.  It was
seriously crazy, dark, and intense.  Everybody was getting into it, dancing
and just going insane.  CK was all over lights and fog and whoever was
controlling the video screens was doing some weird things. They were focusing
in on individual lights and the candles on Trey's amp!  All rules(except
->Simple ;^) flew out the window for this jam. One of the best Phish jams I've
ever seen.  I'm going to skip reviewing the first set of the 31st as it was
completely overshadowed(predictably) by the next set, but suffice it to say
that it was crisply played and the SOAMelt>Catapult is must-hear.
    The big set, the ultimate set was incredible.  I'm not going to review it
all, but wow.  I go to shows completely sober, but I felt like I was at the
Acid Tests during this.  I'm going to focus on the Sand as I thought that it
was the best jam to come of the evening(YMMV of course!).  As I saw people
falling asleep and started to realize that I have no idea what time it is
except that it's probably well after 1:00, maybe 2:00 and I'm seeing Phish
just break down to its essence.  That was the whole event: the essence of
Phish and the scene.  There was no security to worry about, nothing.  It was
just Phish and their fans getting ready to dig in.  And dig in we did.  
During this Sand the boys started doing the sparse jamming they've spoken of
in interviews and the people who were still awake were just digging it.  Very
intense.  Kuroda was going like a madman and turning around I could see people
dancing only because of the glowsticks and glowrings they were holding.
Complete darkness.  I don't know how many of you know this feeling, but you
know how it is at four in the morning outside at home.  That completely
peaceful feeling that you're one of the only people awake. Well here it was in
full force with Phish jamming their brains out and your crazy-ass best friends
going wild all around you.
    Okay, reading over this I realize I haven't done this experience the
justice I've wanted to and I can't think of a way to do it.  I have to agree
after all with the people who've been saying if you were there, you get it, if
you weren't, I'm sorry.  Oh and by the way, speaking of incredible moments,
when that Slave started after Sand, I went berserk. If you heard somebody just
screaming "WAKE EVERYBODY UP!!!!!!! IT'S SLAVE!!!!!!!!!" that was me.  Sorry
if I woke you up, but admit it, you're glad I did.
    Later,
      Ry

Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 12:20:54 -0800 (PST)
From: Gregg K [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 2nd Night~
 
The day set was amazing! perfect atmosphere. perfect that security didnt check
anyone. i even saw one guy with a dog inside the venue. was my favorite set of
the weekend......night set was also amazing but i was so shot i listened to
the end of it at my tent! Thanx everyone for keeping the scene real and thanx
to the security for be so lax!

~Cheesecake~

Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 19:42:00 -0500
From: Alia [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Big Cypress Review
 
I'm sitting here reading all the reviews that people have written, and all I
can do is cry as I think of all the beautiful most wonderous things I have
witnessed at the greatest Phish experience ever. This weekend could never been
put in words (or at least not enough words), but can only be described in the
countless thousands of satisfied grins and overloaded smiles of the faces of
the phans who shared in NYE with Phish. Nothing can compare to the huge hugs
that everyone was giving to each other after the show. The excitement, the
pure bliss, the overwhelming joy of the entire event was unbelievable. Yes
there are things I wish Phish had done, but I could never ask them to change
what they did. My highlights (among being with my best friends) include the
silliness of the Seminoles and specialness of their appearance (THANK YOU SO
MUCH FOR LETTING US USE YOUR LAND!!!), the Curtain, Good Times, Bad Times,
ANTELOPE (could Page possibly have ever performed better?? I totally love! d
what he was doing!!!), BOOGIE ON, REGGAE WOMAN!, Runaway, TUBE!, After
Midnight, Reba, Drowned, Crosseyed and Painless (STAAAAAAAY AWAKE!), Piper,
Horse (if I were here, and you were there, I'd meet you inbetween~), Bug (but
it really DOES matter), the teased Harry into 2001, and the beauty of seeing
Trey so overly emotional at seeing so many masses of phans still dancing and
staring at the stage as he thanks us from the bottom of his heart saying we
have no idea what this means to them. Phish, you all have no idea what this
all means to us! No other band in history has ever outperformed the crowd!!!!
I think the only thing that could have left the show with a funny twist, would
have been to have saved Possum for the last song, and added the Secret
Language with an All Fall Down where the entire band just collapses onstage,
only to crawl off in sheer exhaustion. Phish has given us all everything we've
ever asked for and more, and we could never thank them more than we can wi! th
our undying happiness at what they do, and our continual!
 support of every decision they make.
 
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
Peace, love, hugs, and the power to believe~
Love always,
Alia


Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 15:51:56 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: phish2000 BIG "c"
 
I am going to make this short and sweet. If you missed it get the tape. If
you saw the show live get the tape. If you never listened to phish before,
get the tape. 7 and 1/2 hours of pure happiness. I think I peaked 10 or 20
times. This was the single most moving moment in my life. I never wanted it
to end. The tears that streamed down my tired face at 7:20 am on 1/1/00 were
joy.
    trey, jon, mike, page I thank you for giving me a feeling that can not be
duplicated ever again. I only wish every person in the world could feel the
way i still feel after being witness to new years 2000 at big cypress. THANX
SO MUCH!!!

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 16:15:10 -0800 (PST)
From: michael marks [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE2000
 
This was the all-time, undisputed, heavy weight champion of PHISH shows.  
Besides the traffic going in, the festival was perfect.  I'm not going to bore
anyone with reviews of each song, but I don't remember hearing one song that
wasn't at least great.  I saw a number of people in wheel chairs at the show,
I was happy to see that the remote location and the camping didn't deter any
fans from showing up (I hope everything was accessible for handicapped fans).  
The marathon set, from midnight to the greatest sunrise the world has ever
seen, was more than I could have ever imagined.  I want to thank PHISH, the
Seminole Indian tribe, the crew, and anyone else responsible for this event,
you all did a wonderful job. There is so much more to say, but I hate to type.  
So everyone have a great 2000 and don't forget to eat your "cheesecake".
        HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE,
           Michael P. Marks
 
Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 11:10:35 -0500
From: "Lee, Kevin" [email protected]>
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: Review 2000
 
As a professional music critic, and a lover of the fine arts, I can say only
this:
I laughed.
I cried.
I shit my pants.
 
Thanks Phish, it was a real horn-honker!
Kevin

Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2000 8:58:15 AST
From: Raul Dutari [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review 12-31-99
 
This was The Ultimate Concert Experience. I was just waiting for that
spaceship looking stage to take off, thinking this guys must be aliens or
something. I flew from Panama with my girlfriend (it was her first show. Not
her last) and some other friends for this show, and I have to say it was the
perfect new year's celebration. I met great people, I want to thank the guys
who gave me that wire hanger to open my car. I also met Jackson Sneed on the
tapers section before the midnight set, who was kind enough to send me a copy
of both shows. Dec. 30th was my fifth show, my first since I graduated from
college and left the States in Dec. 1995. Thank you so much Phish!
 
ANASTASIO IS GOD! (Eric
who?)
 
Raul 

Date: Mon, 08 Jun 1998 13:16:59 -0400
From: Buddy Bowman [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review of 12/31/99 evening show

John Bowman This was my second phish show.  I had a wonderful experience
and met many awesome people.  I even heard all the music I've ever wanted
to hear, except maybe the rest of Gamehendge.  To Peter, who reveiwed the
show, but wasn't there; how can you say anything about a festival that you
didn't experience.  Where were you at midnight, when I was watching phish
on a hotdog, in the middle of the everglades.  Did you smoke tons of weed
with all 75000 of your phriends, during the last 4:20 of the millineum.  
Could you hear David Bowie during the first 4:20 of the year 2000.  If you
don't like to party with phish fans anymore that's fine, but don't imply
that I didn't fully enjoy every bit of my experience. This review page if
for phans who review the shows that they still go to.  If you don't want
to go anymore, then don't review anymore.  I know more about this show
than you do and I've only seen two shows.  Also, Here Comes Sunshine was
never played:  not even over the PA.  I love the tune and would have loved
to hear it, but Phish has something about there sound that deserves
recognition, without too many Dead references.  (I say this, even though I
have been a dead fan way long before I ever heard Phish.)  The song which
you weren't there to hear, and which you mistakingly reviewed was Here
Comes the Sun by the Beatles, played over the kick ass PA system.  I felt
like I was back in the sixties.  Thank you for the happiest moment of my
life thus far Phish.  Thanks for being careful on the way out everybody.
Cheesecake!!!

Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 14:01:00 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review 12/31/99 Big Cypress
 
Yeah.. it's New Years.. the millenium.. phish
 
The weather was perfect. Low to mid 80's during the day, cold at night in the
low 40's though. Good mix. The place was absolutely enormous. Imense is more
like it. We camped at "Hampton". There were made up streets like 3'rd, 4'th
and so on, canals, rivers, swamps, man-made bridges, forests, man-made towns,
palm trees, wild-life, millions of port-o-john's, vendors, ferris wheel's,
hot air balloon rides, acrobats, lots of sand, spiders on my tent every
morning, snakes, did i mention wild-life??, 10 hours of traffic, many many
phans, and most importantly, about 17 hours of pure & beautiful phish
 
It's funny, Debbie (my tourmate) & I usually see phish summer tour every
year. And hopefully this year will be no different. Also, we see some big
"festival" show as well. Like shows up in Maine or New York, like Oswego this
past summer. All these big weekend shows have the same exact unique
atmosphere though. And it was weird down in florida because it felt that it
was not new years at all, but in fact summer tour. It actually felt to us
exactly like august and we were up in Maine. That is of course before you saw
palm trees and talked to all the southern phans with their accents, and you
remembered exactly where you really were. Ya' see we're Rhode Islander's and
suffice to say, this is the farthest south we've ever seen the boy's play.
Our camping neighbors were from alabama and they were real cool too. But I
have to say, for myself, it wasn't to new year'ish at all.. It was hard for
me to get into the feeling of it
 
The music on the first day was good solid phish. Every song was it's own
highlight. The jams in many if not all of the tunes were some of the best i'd
ever heard before. No crazy segues or silly antics though.. Just straight up
jamming. I like it any way I get it, and it was good. I have to say that it
wans't perfect or spectacular, but it was damn nice to hear. Phish definitely
has given me some of the best music that i've heard from them in a while this
past month
 
The second day's first set was much like the first day's sets. Very soild.
Key jams in many songs allowed some tunes to be really stretched out more
than usual.
 
The new year's set is why I want this show on cd or tape so badly. Why I'm
yearning for it, to listen again. It made the rest of the weekend look
sub-par, and beleive me, it wasn't. The music was amazing, beautiful, thought
provoking, long, strange, rocking, jamming, and just abought every other
adjective great in describing phish. It was truly, truly stellar,
magnifiscent music. i mean, bowie at 4:10am it's like "shit mon." Most every
tune was strectched and jammed for well over the ten minute mark, and some
reached or came close to being thirty minute's long. Obviously not including
the small & quiet "take a breather" tunes. Every song was played like there
was some sense of overall urgency, like it was the last time they were ever
to be played. I have to say in my opinion that most were the best ever played
before. Not all of em', or at least some of the best my ears have heard. The
band had so much energy. From the hotdog, to the fireworks, the port-o-john
on stage, the champagne, the kissing, the hugs, some of the most friendly
people i've ever hung out with at any phish show, the amazing music, to the
frickin' millenium, this will all go down as one the greatest moments in
phishtory
 
This weekend wasn't about new year's millenium hype, crazy onstage antics,
guest appearences, rare songs or anything else along those lines which made
many new year's shows in the past great. Which some people still had to bitch
about.. It was all about the music. The music was splendidly beautiful. Like
a finely aged wine, a perfectly preserved cigar. that european sports sedan.
It was luxury phish at it's phinest. The music was that good. This is why
I've always come to shows. I've said it before in the past, and i'll say it
again now. I do like the scene at shows and everything it comes with, but i'm
primarily there for the music. Someday, if they take away everything else,
leave the music alone. That's what we love, and keeps us coming back for
more. I mean, we're still standing and still grooving at 7:00am and haven't
stopped yet. 7 hours.. The sun's rising. The birds are out and the boy's are
still playing..
 
peace,
Brendan

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2000 20:00:28 -0500
From: Robert Reardon [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: review

Hello to all, well this show will alway top all show that we`ve all been
too and only one word will explain this nite too you ...."CHEESECAKE"...
just ask a friend who went to this show , let them smile and tell the
whole story.
   Love too all in this great new year,
                Robert

Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 12:21:22 -0500
From: Jamie Aultz [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Cheese Cake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I just rolled on into Orlando. I have to say to wait to get out was
just slightly less painful than the wait to get in.  Words cannot describe
the music that occured these past two days. thank you all for making the
trip a great success!!!!!!!  Cheese Cake in the next millenium!!!!

Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 11:28:09 +0000
From: tom gottsacker [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: nye 2000
 
Big Cypress was a BLAST!
i couldn't believe how well the event was put together..i appreciate
everything that clean vibes, and N.E. Productions did to make this event as
good as it was.
traffic sucked, but hey...NYE 2000, what could you do?  some of the people
that missed the opening set, well...then that is their problem.  you've got
to be prepared.  as you find out soon enough. wandering around asking for
thos tasty nugs"
can't wait for the next big event!
last night i saw fishman w/jazz mandolin...it is so nice seeing them in the
small scale.
peace,
        Tom G

Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 11:17:54 -0500
From: Mike Probst [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: New Years Review

Just a quick review of the scene.  You could not have asked for better
weather over the two days of the festival.  Security at the campsite was
lax.  The traffic control absolutely blew donkey getting into the show!  
I thought the shows were great and well played.  However, I was very
disappointed with the sound throughout both days.  I was not into battling
people up front, so I hung back and to the sides mostly.  I kept waiting
for the band to crank up the sound, but I don't know if the sound was down
too low, or if the sound was simply lost in the wide open space.  This was
all compounded by the fact that for some reason, there are people who love
to scream uncontrollably throughout songs whenever a solo starts, or for
some other stupid reason.  Listen, when you start to scream like an idiot,
you can't hear what the band is doing, and chances are, no one around you
can either.  Also, the band can't hear you either.  So, try shutting the
hell up during the songs and save your screaming for the end of the song.
Alright, enough venting.  All in all, it was definitely better to be in
Florida than to have missed the shows.  Happy New Year!


Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 09:23:20 -0800 (PST)
From: peter h [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: new years

first off, i have to say that i have been present at 23 phish shows
(including new years 1995...incredible) and that i did not attend the new
years show in florida. i for one, am thanking the high heavens that i did
not waste my time or money travelling to this festival. from looking over
the setlists, where are the rare and favorite oldies that should have been
played??? I.E>> alumni blues, prep school hippie, camelwalk!!! for a major
phish music event like this concert, a few rarities should have been
played. for making the fans travel all the to florida, a fully naritive
gamehenge should have made its way into the loop. i mean, try and name a
better time to play gamehenge than this new years festival. also, having
the giant counrty horns would have been a nice benefit, but they might not
have been able to make it. how abut some special guest appearances (ie>>
ben and jerry at the "ball")??? all in all, i bet the show was a blast,
but it looked very dissapointing for such a huge concert event like this.
in my humble opinion, i think phish should take a seriously long break
from touring (like a year) and really re-think the concerts that they have
been putting on lately. i firmly believe that trey wants to be an MTV
rockstar and does not care about the longtime fans anymmore that are sick
and tired of hearing crap like sand and heavy things. maybe if they alter
their concert setlists, i will return to seeing them in concert. until
then, i would rather drop my $25 to see the david grisman quintet in
concert, who by the way, blow phish out of the water musically.i agree
with the above poster that a closing song of "here comes sunshine" would
have been ideal, but excluding fishman, phish cannot even come close to
the talents of the greatful dead so i guess they didn't want to butcher
such a great song. feel free to flame my opinions, but this is how i feel.
for all of you who attended, i hope you had a blast. i am jsut very
thankful that i did not attend to hear DWD again.

Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2000 15:53:42 PST
From: Damian Schrey [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE2000 review
 
Before I say anything about the concert I have to write a quick rebutter to
the ass complaining about sleeping concert goers. Sure there were a lot of
people crashed out on the ground during the New Years show, but what do you
expect. First of all most of the people there were trapped in traffic ( I
being one of them) all night on the 29/30th without any sleep. Coupled by
the fact that anyone staying in a tent couldn't sleep past 11:00am because
the heat became unbearable. Of course the person this rebutter is addressed
to stayed in an air conditioned camper and wouldn't know what its like to
survive on 4 hours of sleep a night. I have to defend the sleeping people
because I was one of them. I fell asleep not because of miss timing my buzz,
  but because the acid I purchased to keep me going was bump. It was nothing
but blotter paper with a tripy design printed on one side. Which brings me
to another point, this says something about the crowd that showed up to the
new years show. Dishonesty, greed, and disregard for the environment ran
rampant. Back to my original point, I did fall asleep. I am happy to say I
didn't pass out until around 5:30am so I saw most of the show. My girlfriend
woke me up in time to catch the very end of the show. If you had trouble
walking around or over those who were sleeping the problem isn't that people
were sleeping, the problem is that you were probably to fucked up to be
walking around anyway.
One other point I have to bring up. I was extremely disappointed by the
total disregard for the environment. There was trash everywhere. I saw all
sorts of people within a short distance from a trash can just throw stuff on
the ground. The people camped right next to us left a huge pile of trash
when the left. They didn't even have the thought to put it in a bag. What
surprised me the most was the people you would think would be
environmentally conscious were some of the messiest. A small group of
flagrant hippies(dreaded hair, patchwork cloths, Grateful Dead stickers on
their car) camped across from us also left a huge pile of trash. Which
brings me to my final point, hippies today just don't understand what they
are supposed to stand for. If you going to dress, talk, and run around
calling yourself a hippy, AT LEAST ACT LIKE ONE and respect our beautiful
mother earth.
Remember, the earth doesn't belong to us, we belong to the earth. I know
someone will say something about how there were people there to clean up
after us. My reply to that is: Why should it be their responsibility to
clean up after us. The world would be a much cleaner place if we would just
all clean up our own mess.
Now the review....
I really enjoyed the concert in general. It had to be one of the greatest
experiences of my life. The music was great, the sound was great(although it
could have been a bit louder) and most of the people were great. I was
really feeling the love. I really liked the incorporation of Chief Jim
Billie. It wouldn't have been a complete show without his contribution to
the music.


Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2000 19:16:00 -0500
From: The Gendells [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: new years eve review
 
    what everyone else has said has pretty much summed up all the music and
the INSANE sets phish played, however I saw a few things that haven't been
mentioned as far as the rest of the event.  There was a ferris wheel in the
concert field as weel as 2 hot air balloons for people to ride on, as well as
another ferris wheel at the delta along with some building cuttouts with
stages on them that a bunch of jazz trios played on.  And the delta was all
by this forest with trippy red and orange lights glowing in it that
accompanied the nonstop drum circle there.  The whole event was one great
party even the day of the first when half the people were passed out in
various ditches and roadways.  After the afternoon set on the 31st, every
single person there went just nuts as everyone raced back to their camps to
recharge for the big night.  After me and my friends got out of the concert
field we heard a drum circle and went to check it out, but it turned out just
to be a mob of people banging away on the giant metal trashcans and the
wooden board on top of it and banging on the poles with beer bottles.  That
was just one sign of the madness between 6:30 and midnight on the 31st.
Everybody went back to their camps to eat food, try in vain attempts to catch
a nap amidst all the excitement, and of course drink lots of beer and stuff.
My friends and I came back to the concert field at 11:00, when the madness
still ensued, with two bottles of champagne, a camera, and some other
*various illegal paraphaneilia.*  And then HOLY SHIT.  THE SECURITY GUY AT
THE GATE GAVE US A HIGH FIVE AND TOLD US TO HAVE FUN.  That was insane.  The
fireworks at midnight were just crazy, they satisfied everybody after
watching the thousands of little fireworks go off at people tents during the
*recharge* period between sets.  When phish played that night, it was beyond
anything phish has ever meant to me.  They were just backround music for the
craziest party ever in existance.  We all drank lots of champagne, smoked
ourselves retarded, and just had the wildest 7 and a half hours EVER.  Phish
was definitely dissapointed at the ending meatstick, but, there was nothing
anybody could do, it was the millenium and everyone had partied themselves
stupid.  IT WAS SIMPLY THE FUCKING CRAZIEST PARTY........ ever.


Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2000 13:44:08 -0700 (MST)
From: Mike Hanley [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/31/99 review
 
Hey all,
 
I just returned from big cypress and since i've only seen a coupla revies
posted, i thought i would tell you what i saw on my 22nd show.   i'm still
grinning from all that went down!!
 
I was with my buddy matt, jim, tiffany, sara, debbie, pasta, jen, todd,
dustin, robbie, and a host of others during the event.   i'm sure that many
others will talk about the scene, traffic, and weather, so i won't do that
here.   i will say that every thing about nye2000 was amazing but i'm curious
to know if anyone left the shows in less than 8 hours during the day
yesterday...all day long, there was a line of cars going absolutely no where!
 
onto the show....i won't review every song, but i'll talk about what sticks
out in my mind the most.   our seats were near the soundboard tent, so we had
a great view of kuroda's magic.
 
the vibe was unbelievable intense....unlike any other show for certain.  as we
waited for the first set to start, i took in the surroundings and just
couldn't believe that this day had finally come.
 
set 1:
jim was all about the runaway jim opener, and it was a great way to kick off
the day.   tube was nice an funked out, and it was a nice solo by trey which
put his guitar more in the spotlight during the jam segment than usual.   i
didn't know was GREAT -- the vacuum solo was standard -- and then came PYITE.
great buildup and release.   soamelt was really jammed nicely and it segued
into catapult, played over the song similar to alpine 99.  gbott is a new
favorite of mine, and it was standard, along with horn and the pig song.  :)
 
but the highlight of the set was the After Midnight.   Never played before, it
made absolute perfect sense and we were all jazzed beyond belief at this
point..we're about to experience the zenith of phish!!!
 
setbreak:
my buddy and i went back to camp and cooked some grilled cheese and relaxed
for a bit.   around 930 we went back to take a late seat saving "shift" for
the others with us.   jim had gotten us a whole pizza and a few gallons of
water so we would all be set until sunrise!
 
the buzz was beyond beautiful at this point...the band had set up a black
curtain behind the stage, so we knew SOMETHING was up...and at 11:30, the
curtain falls to show a huge wall clock, with Father time on the left on a
stationary bike keeping time going, and on the right was a pendulum.
everyone is like, wtf??  we're loving it but it only makes the anticipation
more intense....WHAT ARE WE IN STORE FOR??
 
Well, how about an Airboat!!  The band comes out about midway through the
crowd on the left side in this huge airboat, which then explodes and leaves
behind the HOT DOG made famous five years ago!   The band rides the weiner to
the stage, where they are greeted by dancers.   the band takes to the stage,
during which meatstick was being played over the pa, and they started playing
aud lan syne, and WELCOME TO THE YEAR 2000!!!
 
What followed was a MAJOR fireworks display, which folowed into the disease
they played next.....a fireworked disease was one of the most amazing things
i've ever seen.....words can't describe how incredible it was.
 
so now we're on our way....i got my first llama, and a nice gin, and then trey
talks us appearing on abc for 5 minutes.  he wanted us to do someting other
than clap after the song was over, so he says, "say cheesecake after the song
is finished.  chant it....cheesecake, cheesecake, cheesecake."
 
so the house lights went on (so abc could show the world a  phishy audience)
and the band plays heavy things, to which we do a pretty good job of not
clapping and grunting "Cheesecake..cheesecake...cheesecake...".
 
"Ok guys, 100 million people are gone now."   Back to business...first
project?  a lovely twist->caspian.     i was psyched to hear the rock and
roll, since i was at vegas for halloween when they first covered it.  You
can't ask for much more than a 2 am YEM, and this one was a short but sweet
rendition.   Crosseyed was the first time i think we had liftoff -- the jam in
it was full of energy.
 
at this point, trey takes his acoustic guitar and we have the first band
member to surrender to mother nature and use the port-o-let which was placed
on the stage, fishman.   after he finished his business, the band breaks out a
crazy Sand, which was taken into the sky with a huge funky jam.   definitely
not your typical Sand, but it's almost 3am, we're not even HALFWAY finished,
and you could tell the band was letting the music play them.
 
we get a great reba, and the the band breaks into axilla, which i think woke
everyone who had passed out.   i would say most of the crowd was standing, but
if i didn't have that pizza and water, i don't think i could have standed the
whole time.      uncle pen was a great song to hear, my first and it didn't
let me down.   a bunch of people were calling for a 4:20 makisupa, and i
realized that this might be the first concert in which the band was
actually playing during 4:20!  add to that the fact that this was the
first 4:20 of the millenium, and you've got a lot of people prepared by the
time bowie comes on.    bowie continues through four twenty and goes into my
soul, so no band acknowledgment of the occasion.
 
now we get drowned!!   a great song, and this too was taken into another realm
with a sick jam...it evolved into aftermidnight, and back into drowned and you
couldn't be any happier.     i know i'm not really giving many details of the
jams and how the songs were played....all that is on the tapes.   i'd rather
give a good picture of how it was to be there..
 
i was wondering if the band was trying to see how many people they could
lullaby to sleep with bittersweet motel.   i like the song, but at 5:30 or so,
it was tough to not fallasleep to it.   piper got us all going again, this
version raged and segued into a nice free.   the free wasn't as mind blowing
as i've heard, but it was still a good run.   page schmoozed the crowd with
lawn boy, and then fishman has his turn with the "elvis portion of the night",
Love Me.    And his vacuum performance was hands down his best in my book.
definitely one of this longest, he produced sounds of his vac which i've never
heard before.
 
next came a true highlight of the evening....the 20 -plus minute Roses are
Free.   this jam was all over the map, with lots of keyboard goodness from
both page and trey, along with many different explorations.   about this time
i could see the sun trying to peek its way, and wen bug started, the band
acknowledged the blown-out-of-proportion y2k "bug".
 
so it's finally nearing end time...the band is putsing around the stage,
discussing what to do.   fishman starts the drum into to ... HOOD?  what? we
just saw this last night!  but....after about 10 seconds, the band does a 180
and dives headfirst into a beautiful 2001, on the dawn of a new millenia.
Absolutely stunning.
 
they close up 2001 with page striking the opening keys to velvet sea.   i've
come to really like this tune, and watcing it in the now-daylight sea of
brain-shocked phishheads was pure bliss...but we were wondering about the
meatstick, sicne they didn't play it yet (the opener was just pre-recorded
music), and at about 7 am ,  they start it up.    but there was no mention
about the world record, and i don't think many people were doing the dance, we
were all too fried from what we've just experienced.
 
sometime near meatstick trey says, "thank you so much...this was unbelieable.
unbelievable.  thank you!"  or someting like that and after the song was
finished we get the bows and that's it.    we all hugged each other and just
stood in a daze at what just went down.   it was the best thing i've ever seen
live, the best phish show...it lived up to the hype.     the band was
definitely playing better becasue they didn't have any time limits.  you could
feel that in the music.   definitely on another level.
 
as the beatles Here Come The Sun played over the PA everyone just walked back
to their campgrounds..the vibe was really cool but strange...we all couldn't
believe that we're leavinga phish show at 7:15 in the MORNING!
 
our whole group met up at our circle of tents and we compared notes.  all
positive, needless to say.   traffic leaving was a nightmare at best, but i
think that was to be expected since there was only one 2 lane road leading
out.   we all chilled for the rest of the day and into the night, and matt and
i left  around 12:30, when traffic finally started moving at a semi regular
pace (that's 1230 am, 17 hours after the show ended) and we were on the
highway at 4 am.
 
so that was my new years at phish.   your milage may vary, but i hope that
those who were there had just as good as a time as i did.
 
gotta jiboo,
mike
  ++
"Cheesecake.   Cheesecake!   Cheesecake...cheesecake..cheesecake.."
   -Trey Anastasio
++

Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 13:34:58 -0500
From: Bob_Quinlan_LTBSQW [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: nye 2000

okay.  this was my 80th phish show and all i have to say is that it was
the best fucking show i have ever seen.  it would be pointless to review
song by song, but i will say that every song they played they played
perfectly.  They did not miss a beat the entire 7+ hours.  The highlights
for me was the absolutely ridiculous YEM, cross eyed, and the Reba.  But
honestly it was all amazing.  i was living my phish phantasy come true.
The rolls and the liquid put me in a dream state in itself and the fact
that phish was playng onstage for seven hours made the whole thing even
more surreal.  it was a phish phreaks dream come true.  It was for the
hardcore. i have had my doubts about them lately, but they showed me that
they are still the greatest band out there.  Only Phish could stay on
stage for seven hours.  They are Rock supergods!  I do not understand how
they can play a string of crappy shows in a tour and then play amazing
for seven hours straight.  I really feel that they can turn themselves on
or off whenever they want.
     They finally proved that they can outlast the fans - we must admit
we were getting pretty tired by the time they played meatstick.  If you
missed the show then you missed THE SHOW.  Nothing will ever compare to
what they did in Big cypress.  Not to mention that the people were all
chill, the location was perfect, and the weather was absolutely
beautiful.
    Two more things - I have concluded that phish are definitely robots
because humans could not play that well for that long.  I swear they were
still playing just as well at the end.  The other thing is that Phish is
best viewed through cheap women's sunglasses.

Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 17:32:25 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: wowweee- New Years Show
 
It is midday on the third and although my body is suffering from severe
exhaustion my mind is still racing as full speed. Visions of the glorious
three days in Big Cypress continue to surface and bring back such a wide range
of emotions. The positive vibe that permeated throughout the whole event is
what really sticks with me the most.  The scene was unbelievable. Thank you so
much to the Seminoles and to everyone who poured their hearts and suls into
this production. I feel very proud to have been a citizen of the heavenly city
of Big Cypress, nothing will ever manage to compare. Throughout the long
weekend I saw such a wide display of creativity from so many people I am still
chuckling constantly. Thank you to those who created the massive millenium
bicycle and the participants in the drum circle in the enchanted forest.  You
seemed to really be calling the native american spirits with your level of
intensity. I had chills. The moments building up to the final hour of 1999
were quite a buzz in themselves.  The ticking of the clock really got the
crowd wondering what we were really all in for. I never knew it was going to
be quite that explosive. It exceeded any expectations one could possibly have
made.  And then..... the grand entrance.  Fantastic really. It was so clever
and silly and true to the essence of Phish.  Down with Disease launched me
into orbit and I remained there throughout the eerie walk back to the campsite
at 7:30 am.  I am still struggling to communicate in normal language and don't
think I am capable of commenting on all of the treats we received but to recap
a few highlights: YEM and the cheesecake vocal jam, I particularly enjoyed the
soulful, 80's funk style "chocolate cheeeeesecake", Slave, it had been awhile
for me with this one and it was a very good crisp jam, an explosive Piper, a
spine-chilling Silent, bringing back After Midnight from the afternoon as we
all realized how much we were really letting it all hangout, Roses are Free-
what a tresure really. Wading-My body and soul was wrapped in plush velvet.
2001-- We all reached into the depths of our energy tanks for that one.  The
breaking of day was completely surreal and Trey's early morning voice was the
sweetest birdsong ever.  These are moments to be savored.  Thank you, thank
you, thank you. I am filled with glee just remembering.  This may be the
pinnacle of my days so far as I can recall. A funny little anecdote- we made
it out with much ease on the 1st and we spent the night in naples at the Super
Eight. We went to Olive Garden for a grand feast and our sweet waitress had
been unable to go to the shows because of a family emergency. We sat around a
large round table and reveled in our delirium. At the end of the meal we were
craving just one huge piece of cheesecake and our waitress brought it to us
and unaware of its significance she said that she would like to buy our piece
of cheescake for us (layered with Ghiradelli chocolate no less).  We fell to
pieces and passed it around the table squishing it in our mouths and saying
"mmmmm....Cheesecake" in a variety of styles.  A perfect, unforgettable
ending.  Love to all and peace and good luck in the upcoming year.


Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 10:13:24 -0800 (PST)
From: Karla and Joe Papagni [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE 2000

All i can say is thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.  This was the
most amazing experience of my life.  I feel so fortunate to follow a band
that is so generous to their fans.  who else do you know that would create
an entire city for their fans much less rock balls for a straight 7 1/2
hours?!  this place was utopia.  i saw a deal going down on in the middle
of the road when one of the "security" guys drove by and saw what was
going on.  All he said was "hey- take it to the side of the road."  
anyone could do anything, anywhere, and anytime.  the only downfalls were
the nasty as hell port-a-potties and the SERIOUS traffic problems.  I will
say, though, it was worth every moment of the 13 1/2 hours i spent on
alligator alley.  i would do it again in a heartbeat.  the whole reason i
decided to write this review is because i want to express my sincere
gratitude for the 3:30 a.m. reba.  it is by far my favorite song and i
have not seen one live in 4 years (my last being 10-31-96). I was begining
to think i was under some sort of curse or something.  this reba, although
not flawless (who can blame them at that time of morning) was so fucking
beautiful.  i could not stop crying.  this was the best present i have
ever recieved.  i also want to express my condolences for those of you not
fortunate enough to have made it down to big cypress.  this was the show
of a lifetime.  all i can say is get the tapes asap- you'll see what i
mean.  happy new year to everyone out there and thanks for all the
beautiful memories.


Date: Sat, 01 Jan 2000 13:10:43 +0000
From: Jack Tullos [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review

What the phuck.....no GAMEHENGE...very unsatisfied....infact....I am not
going back!!!!

Date: Sat, 01 Jan 2000 14:11:41 -0400
From: Richard Thomas [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: aftershock
 
ok i believe i was put on earth to witness and experience what i did these
past 4-5 days....talk about a bag of tricks, they pulled out all the
stops...some
key points...anteope, absolutely sick-  i loved it when page and trey played
off each other at the slow part after the jam kindof and twisted echo but in
time....disease was faster than i ever heard and totally on point...2001 gave
me chills up and down my spine as i was still dancing at 7 in the
morning...there were just too many thiungs to mention, i cant even
begin...a four word summary you ask?  BEAUTIFUL CHAOS
oh yeah...also a psychadelic warzone.....all i gotta say is WHO'S GOT MY
TAPES????????????????

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 00:40:26 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: ?Review?
 
After reading some of the reviews already posted, and trying to explain to
friends who were not fortunate enough to join us, we all know that there is
no way to put this experience into words.  Yet, whenever we run into phriends
in the streets or at shows, with one shout of "cheescake", we'll know what we
share!
To all of you who we saw on I-95, from FL to NJ, who knew what we meant when
we shouted cheescake across three lanes, and those who know when we shout it
across three time zones, Happy Millenium!  We couldn't have started in a
better way.  See you at the next stop!!
 
P.S. Whose got MY heddies???

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2000 23:41:00 -0500 (EST)
From: Brandon Click [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/31/99 Review
 
   It is really hard to put into words the absolute beauty and
significance of just how incredible the band played the 2nd set.. To
have no time restraint no inhibition and playing in front of thousands
of people completely or mostly intuitive to the music was intense.  It
feels like Phish is culminating a wonderful musical family. For me I
have been seeing them exstensively for 5 years and have had incredible
spiritual times throughout, but I think Phish and alot of people are
ready to move on... Maybe its just me but I can'r see them topping this
weekend, nor could I see them trying too...
                          Mad Love To Everyone,
                                                 Brandon


Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2000 00:42:45 EST
From: Brian Fegan [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE 2000!!!
 
Hi Everyone,
 
Let me start by saying that this was one of the best experiences of my life
and I just want to thank everyone who was a part of it and made it so
special. Except for the fucking horrible traffic (took 15 hours to go 55
miles), I have only positive memories of the whole weekend. I don't think I
have it in me to write about everything so I guess I'll just give set
highlights and then go on in detail about the 7.5 hour NYE set.
 
The 1st set on the 30th was okay. Pretty standard stuff. The native greeting
song with the chief was cool because I think it let everyone feel just how
lucky we were to be where we were.
 
The 2nd set definitely kicked it up a notch. And incidentally, each set just
got better and better throughout the 2-day stand. This set was highlighted
by an amazing Curtain, a super-funky Tweezer, a smooth Gotta Jiboo, and a
rockin' Good Times Bad Times.
 
The last set of the 30th was great also. It started with a longer-than-usual
Chalkdust, and I always love hearing a Sloth. But this set was great for the
Mike's Groove. The guys really had their shit together towards the end of
the set. The Boogie On encore was really sweet as well, and everyone was
just super-pumped as they left the concert field.
 
As for the 31st, the first set started out great. The first four songs were
so good. And Fish's vacuum solo was the best I've ever seen. He was fucking
wailing on that thing and it was cool because with the big TV screens, you
could actually see how he makes the sounds he makes with it (sort of). Then
it mellowed out a bit in the middle of the set and then came SOAM. This was
great, and the Catapult that came out of it was so cool because it was sung
over this really funky groove rather than the standard Catapult. But After
Midnight was what this set was all about. The energy level was so high for
both Phish and the audience. It was the best 1st set closer (for
circumstances) I've ever seen and I was so pumped for what was to come.
End-of-set music was Prince's 1999.
 
The concert field started filling up again at about 10:15. Everyone was so
pumped. The security was practically non-existant as my friends and I snuck
in 4 bottles of champagne and many other assorted goodies. At around 11:35
this big clock lit up on stage and Father Time was riding a stationary bike
that made the clock go tick-tock. This went on for like 20 minutes and got
the crowd so fucking ANXIOUS! Then around 11:55 Father Time passed out. The
boys then popped up from the left in a huge fake Everglade air-boat. It
opened up and there were the guys in the Hot Dog. They cruised up on stage
to Meatstick playing over the PA. When on-stage they fed Father Time a
meatstick which gave him the energy to get us to the new millenium. 10, 9,
8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... the loudest screaming and coolest fireworks I've
ever seen. You practically couldn't even hear Dw/D over everything but it
was still so amazing. The energy level was so high.
 
Now I had no idea what Phish was going to do. I figured there would be some
standard stuff, some long jams, some ambiant stuff, maybe an album. But they
just stuck to their guns and played a Phish set...EXCEPT IT WAS 7.5 HOURS
LONG!!! It was the most amazing musical thing I have ever witnessed. And
certainly the coolest thing I have ever seen Phish do (35 shows). The mental
stamina they exhibited is such an inspiration. Anyway, the Bathtub Gin, Rock
and Roll, Crosseyed and Painless, Sand, Drowned>After Midnight, 2001 were my
fav's from the set but the whole thing was fantastic. I probably only sat
down for all of 10 minutes (may have had something to do with something I
ate). By the end everyone was really tired but it was such an amazing
evening and I thank Phish for being the best band in the world and having
the ability to pull off such a feat. What can I say? GET THE TAPES!!! Happy
Millenium to all and I'll never forget this for the rest of my life. Peace
Out.
 
-Brian

Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2000 17:42:07 -0400
From: alan tenenbaum [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE 2000
 
Happy New Year's All! Where's my Molly?
What can one say about this show? SICK, LONG, INTENSE, STRANGE, you name
it, everything you could possibly want from a show occurred on 1/1/99.
So many musical realms were explored.
But if there's one thing that I'll never forget is MIKE"S bass. For
those of you who were next to the speakers/amps, then you know what I'm
talking about. For those of you who are clueless I'll try my best to
explain. As the night commenced with a raging DWD (fireworks were in
perfect synch) I noticed that Mike was turned up a notch or two in the
mix. Thank God, because Mike was driving the band the entire night with
these bass notes that were somewhat reminiscent to the beats you hear at
raves. Not Drum and Bass or "Feel the Groove" Techno beats, but... phuck
I can't put my finger on it. But when you hear the tapes you'll notice
these phat beats occurring in and out of all the jams they did all
night. From this day on I'll never be able to hear Phish in the same way
(actually I don't think I will listen to them for the next few months;
there is a thing called Phish overload you know).
As for the rest of the night, the band jammed as hard as they could. Not
all jams were climactic (PIPER was) yet it didn't matter. Phish was here
to provide a night filled with music and that's what everyone got. Now
where's my cheesecake?

Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 17:50:13 -0800
From: TOMMY KINZER [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: PHISH 2000
 
Seminole Indian Reservation 12/31/99
 
What can I say I could talk for hours and not even touch the
surface, for me this was the best experience of my life.
This was my 21st and 22nd show, but by far the most unforgettable.
I wont go into setlists or songs it would be too long to read.
Forget the traffic,forget the lines; that set made up for it all, we
drove from California a couple more hours (10 to be exact) was not going
to make the difference.
 
What did make the difference was where we were from 12:00 dec. 31st to
7:00 on Jan 1; everyone who was there, who experienced the musical bliss
that penetrated our souls, the unbelievable vibe that
radiated from the audience. The parking lot before the set.
 
By far the highlight for me was three seperate occasions; Run like an
Antelope the night before, did anyone notice how awsome this one was ;
Sand - by far the funkyiest jam yet; and 2001- my absolute favorite,
musically not my best ever, but emotionally, one I'll never forget.
SUNRISE, NYE, PHISH   THE BEST
An EXPERIENCE I'LL CARRY WITH ME THE REST OF MY LIFE.
 
By [email protected]

Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 00:52:00 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Phlorida Phacts and Review
 
here is some of the low down on big cypress. Traffic was hell. But it was to
be expected. We stayed in traffic for 6 hours but i heard of people in
traffic for 13 so we made out good. Got there at 11pm the 29th. The place is
beautiful. They built a old town victorian houses with a boardwalk  along the
water canal. A bridge lead over to "the rain forest"...a bad as place to hang
out. They stuck lights in the trees and huge drum circles went down as you
did your thing..very tribe like.
They had the ferris wheels rolling. The one inside the concert field was
wicked....like two mini wheels stacked on each other. The food was
awesome...plenty of room...lots of venders...no nugs (eeeeveryone
looking)....plenty of other things to dabble in though. The weather was
perfect 70's day, 50's nights.
The music was definately the highlight of course. Hands down "Light up or
leave me alone" was one of the best things played all weekend. Page  belted
the lyrics and mike laid down the funk! They had awesome video screens set up
on both sides of the stage . Trey first said he was speechless, then informed
everyone that they were indeed going to play all night long on the 31st and
to plan accordingly!! The chief was cool. He gave everyone a indian speech
lesson and sang a couple tunes with several musicians. He said that he was so
happy how everyone was staying in the grounds and that some of his people
didn't know we were their??strange? anyway the set closed with a ripping
Character O with a glowstick war taboot!
the second set was probablyone of the best flowing sets. The Curtain was
Short but so huge with the "Follow the lines going south" line. Tweezer
actually suegs into Taste perfectly. Meat was a highlight for me as it is
such an awesome song,,,very underated. Jiboo, HOOD, GTBT was just off the
hook nuts.
Third set was highlights by a Mike song that got down right wicked with more
fog than I have ever seen released on the boys. You couldn't see the damn
stage..CK with the lights. Sloth was awesome and circus was nice with the
ferris wheels spinning and trey singing "never thought I could make it this
far" with 75000 people staring at him.
Encore was uneventful as they basically sang it and stopped it with no jam
into an obvious tweeprise.
The NYE afternoon set was up and down. Tube was awesome as was Horn. SOAM
kicked ass until they stuck Catapult in that did not work. Fishman and page
were playing so fast as mike and trey sang it to such a wierd tempo and it
fell apart. After it Trey said only at the biggest concert of NYE could they
get away with playing that. But it was quickly forgotten as After Midnight
just blew everyone away. It was such a perfect song to play and they new it.
NYE show started with father time sweating his ass off peadeling for 21
minutes with a ticking sound that just added to the tension before passing
out. It was cool, he was so trippy looking as he would wave to the crowd and
wipe his head. He looked like something out of DR, Suess. Then Phish came
storming in on the HOt Dog and feeding father time the meatstick to revive
him and pedal us into a new millinium. We counted down from 30 and watched an
Unbelievable fireworks show. I am talking 5 mintues long. these things were
big boy fireworks. They lasted well into DWD as huge ballons were unleashed
into the crowd. Champaign spewing everywhere it was just incredible to be
there.
 What happened next. 7 hours of phish onstage nonstop. Heaven on earth if you
ask me. I will say that there was an incredible Glowstick war during YEM
before the sream section. Uncle Pen was played instead of gensing sullivan as
the setlist are saying. Trey was very chatty before we were on TV. Got
everone to scream Cheescake after the song to confuse TV land. Does anyone
know what trey said when we first went on TV? He said something but everone
was scraming so loud you could hear what he said to TV land. something about
spreading peace and unity. anyways after it was over he told us that it was
just us again and that they were  " Back in their Living rooms" sarcasticly.
There was a cheesecake vocal jam. Trey inserted Cheescake  during
"Albuquerque"   "find some cheesecake and county ham". REBA was highlight for
me. A long 4 years since I have seen her.
Cosseyed and Painless was Huge. Fishman did a good job on the lyrics.
Page gave Silent in the morning everything he had. Very inspireing.
Love You had fishman first standing infront of the crowd motion less until he
said " oh there is a concert going on". He then ran arounD the stage like a
nut. He ratteled off everyones name and said " We are Phish 2000". BUG was
unbelievable with the sunrise as it had become mostly cloudy with a burning
red glow of sunrise. They then tricked everyone with the opening of Harry
hood sliding directly into 2001...these guys are unblievable. Meatstick i
honestly dont remember. I now it ended with them taking it down real slow to
like a basic beat until it just stopped. That was it.  Call it what you
will...I call it Epic. Everyone did a great job of cleaning up after
themselves and each other. I met some really cool people and shared the
groove with 75000 of the best damn people in the world and will carry this
experence around with me as long as I am breathing. Thankyou Phish.
                 Peace,
                      TJ Gr8tful


Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2000 10:21:57 PST
From: Jon Welch [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: NYE2000
 
Amazing!
Yet again they've done it.  Before midnight they entered through the crowd
on a giant hot dog.  They came to the stage playing Meatstick and gave
father time many links of sausage.  7.5 hours of jamming!!!  This was the
most intense anything I've ever seen.  The guys didn't let up for one
moment.  The crowd was ready for the new year, but not for the show.  Much
of the crowd couldn't take it; much of the crowd consisted of "newbies."
They kept building and building and left us with a setlist that is breath
taking.  You can tell that the band's happy with this new style of jamming,
it is solid, intense and defines ensemble.  At the end everybody was ready
for more.  Warm weather, and awesome music, great.  Only one complaint from
me.  I seemed to be surrounded by people not concerned with the show so much
as a lack of nugs.  As the show went on people became extremely restless and
kept moving about the venue.  I was pushed and moved, and "excuse me" around
too much.  Something's wrong here people.  Anyhow the show was worth every
minute of the 12 hour traffic jam.


Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2000 17:22:21 -0700 (MST)
From: Mike Hanley [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/31/99 review
 
Hey all,
 
I just returned from big cypress and since i've only seen a coupla revies
posted, i thought i would tell you what i saw on my 22nd show.   i'm still
grinning from all that went down!!
 
I was with my buddy matt, jim, tiffany, sara, debbie, pasta, jen, todd,
dustin, robbie, and a host of others during the event.   i'm sure that many
others will talk about the scene, traffic, and weather, so i won't do that
here.   i will say that every thing about nye2000 was amazing but i'm curious
to know if anyone left the shows in less than 8 hours during the day
yesterday...all day long, there was a line of cars going absolutely no where!
 
onto the show....i won't review every song, but i'll talk about what sticks
out in my mind the most.   our seats were near the soundboard tent, so we had
a great view of kuroda's magic.
 
the vibe was unbelievable intense....unlike any other show for certain.  as we
waited for the first set to start, i took in the surroundings and just
couldn't believe that this day had finally come.
 
set 1:
jim was all about the runaway jim opener, and it was a great way to kick off
the day.   tube was nice an funked out, and it was a nice solo by trey which
put his guitar more in the spotlight during the jam segment than usual.   i
didn't know was GREAT -- the vacuum solo was standard -- and then came PYITE.
great buildup and release.   soamelt was really jammed nicely and it segued
into catapult, played over the song similar to alpine 99.  gbott is a new
favorite of mine, and it was standard, along with horn and the pig song.  :)
 
but the highlight of the set was the After Midnight.   Never played before, it
made absolute perfect sense and we were all jazzed beyond belief at this
point..we're about to experience the zenith of phish!!!
 
setbreak:
my buddy and i went back to camp and cooked some grilled cheese and relaxed
for a bit.   around 930 we went back to take a late seat saving "shift" for
the others with us.   jim had gotten us a whole pizza and a few gallons of
water so we would all be set until sunrise!
 
the buzz was beyond beautiful at this point...the band had set up a black
curtain behind the stage, so we knew SOMETHING was up...and at 11:30, the
curtain falls to show a huge wall clock, with Father time on the left on a
stationary bike keeping time going, and on the right was a pendulum.
everyone is like, wtf??  we're loving it but it only makes the anticipation
more intense....WHAT ARE WE IN STORE FOR??
 
Well, how about an Airboat!!  The band comes out about midway through the
crowd on the left side in this huge airboat, which then explodes and leaves
behind the HOT DOG made famous five years ago!   The band rides the weiner to
the stage, where they are greeted by dancers.   the band takes to the stage,
during which meatstick was being played over the pa, and they started playing
aud lan syne, and WELCOME TO THE YEAR 2000!!!
 
What followed was a MAJOR fireworks display, which folowed into the disease
they played next.....a fireworked disease was one of the most amazing things
i've ever seen.....words can't describe how incredible it was.
 
so now we're on our way....i got my first llama, and a nice gin, and then trey
talks us appearing on abc for 5 minutes.  he wanted us to do someting other
than clap after the song was over, so he says, "say cheesecake after the song
is finished.  chant it....cheesecake, cheesecake, cheesecake."
 
so the house lights went on (so abc could show the world a  phishy audience)
and the band plays heavy things, to which we do a pretty good job of not
clapping and grunting "Cheesecake..cheesecake...cheesecake...".
 
"Ok guys, 100 million people are gone now."   Back to business...first
project?  a lovely twist->caspian.     i was psyched to hear the rock and
roll, since i was at vegas for halloween when they first covered it.  You
can't ask for much more than a 2 am YEM, and this one was a short but sweet
rendition.   Crosseyed was the first time i think we had liftoff -- the jam in
it was full of energy.
 
at this point, trey takes his acoustic guitar and we have the first band
member to surrender to mother nature and use the port-o-let which was placed
on the stage, fishman.   after he finished his business, the band breaks out a
crazy Sand, which was taken into the sky with a huge funky jam.   definitely
not your typical Sand, but it's almost 3am, we're not even HALFWAY finished,
and you could tell the band was letting the music play them.
 
we get a great reba, and the the band breaks into axilla, which i think woke
everyone who had passed out.   i would say most of the crowd was standing, but
if i didn't have that pizza and water, i don't think i could have standed the
whole time.      uncle pen was a great song to hear, my first and it didn't
let me down.   a bunch of people were calling for a 4:20 makisupa, and i
realized that this might be the first concert in which the band was
actually playing during 4:20!  add to that the fact that this was the
first 4:20 of the millenium, and you've got a lot of people prepared by the
time bowie comes on.    bowie continues through four twenty and goes into my
soul, so no band acknowledgment of the occasion.
 
now we get drowned!!   a great song, and this too was taken into another realm
with a sick jam...it evolved into aftermidnight, and back into drowned and you
couldn't be any happier.     i know i'm not really giving many details of the
jams and how the songs were played....all that is on the tapes.   i'd rather
give a good picture of how it was to be there..
 
i was wondering if the band was trying to see how many people they could
lullaby to sleep with bittersweet motel.   i like the song, but at 5:30 or so,
it was tough to not fallasleep to it.   piper got us all going again, this
version raged and segued into a nice free.   the free wasn't as mind blowing
as i've heard, but it was still a good run.   page schmoozed the crowd with
lawn boy, and then fishman has his turn with the "elvis portion of the night",
Love Me.    And his vacuum performance was hands down his best in my book.
definitely one of this longest, he produced sounds of his vac which i've never
heard before.
 
next came a true highlight of the evening....the 20 -plus minute Roses are
Free.   this jam was all over the map, with lots of keyboard goodness from
both page and trey, along with many different explorations.   about this time
i could see the sun trying to peek its way, and wen bug started, the band
acknowledged the blown-out-of-proportion y2k "bug".
 
so it's finally nearing end time...the band is putsing around the stage,
discussing what to do.   fishman starts the drum into to ... HOOD?  what? we
just saw this last night!  but....after about 10 seconds, the band does a 180
and dives headfirst into a beautiful 2001, on the dawn of a new millenia.
Absolutely stunning.
 
they close up 2001 with page striking the opening keys to velvet sea.   i've
come to really like this tune, and watcing it in the now-daylight sea of
brain-shocked phishheads was pure bliss...but we were wondering about the
meatstick, sicne they didn't play it yet (the opener was just pre-recorded
music), and at about 7 am ,  they start it up.    but there was no mention
about the world record, and i don't think many people were doing the dance, we
were all too fried from what we've just experienced.
 
sometime near meatstick trey says, "thank you so much...this was unbelieable.
unbelievable.  thank you!"  or someting like that and after the song was
finished we get the bows and that's it.    we all hugged each other and just
stood in a daze at what just went down.   it was the best thing i've ever seen
live, the best phish show...it lived up to the hype.     the band was
definitely playing better becasue they didn't have any time limits.  you could
feel that in the music.   definitely on another level.
 
as the beatles Here Come The Sun played over the PA everyone just walked back
to their campgrounds..the vibe was really cool but strange...we all couldn't
believe that we're leavinga phish show at 7:15 in the MORNING!
 
our whole group met up at our circle of tents and we compared notes.  all
positive, needless to say.   traffic leaving was a nightmare at best, but i
think that was to be expected since there was only one 2 lane road leading
out.   we all chilled for the rest of the day and into the night, and matt and
i left  around 12:30, when traffic finally started moving at a semi regular
pace (that's 1230 am, 17 hours after the show ended) and we were on the
highway at 4 am.
 
so that was my new years at phish.   your milage may vary, but i hope that
those who were there had just as good as a time as i did.
 
gotta jiboo,
mike
 
 ++
"Cheesecake.   Cheesecake!   Cheesecake...cheesecake..cheesecake.."
   -Trey Anastasio
++

Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2000 14:26:32 -0500
From: Charlotte Forman [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE2000
 
For all those who keep bashing NYE and weren't their.....wait.....I'll
establish my credibility(NYE was my 55th and 56th shows)......AND IF YOU
WEREN'T THERE...YOU JUST DON'T KNOW HOW RIDICULOUSLY SICK EVERYTHING
WAS!!

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 19:40:50 -0500
From: Ron Taylor [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: nye at big cypress
 
Hello wonderful beautiful people... I have just arrived back to my abode
after drivin and flyin my way home.  First I must say CHEESECAKE....  I have
never in my 23 years of existence experienced such immense bliss and joy as
Phish radiated into my heart and soul on Dec. 31 1999.  There's really too
much to say about it.. I want to say HEY BOOGIE TARP members hope you all
made it home safely.  Meghan, Briggsey, Jamie, Jeanette, Davie boy, Jonah,
Lee and all of my other phine Burlington VT buddies.... you all rule!!!!!  I
will never forget the glow rope we formed and the exciting moments we
shared.  I want to say a special thank you to my 3 traveling
companions...Pete, Isadora and Nic.  You 3 are the most wonderful kids
ever!!! Funky days are back again....partee (with a double e , eh?)  anyway
to Page, Mike, Jon ("Oh, I'm sorry are we at a concert") and Trey (yeah...say
it like youre pissed) you are the dankity dank of the dankiest. I love you
heart and soul and hope to make my 33 shows double before you take your
break!  For anyone who wasn't there....I'm sorry.  You missed the best
ever!!! Love and eternal happiness, Elayne Parrish

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 23:44:07 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: quick review
 
I think everyone has just about addressed the amazing musical merits of the
new year's shows...I would just like to thank Trey, Mike, Fish, and Page for
a life-changing experience.  I am forever changed by the wonderful experience
that I had down in Florida.  I have finally found the route to happiness and
can never fully express my gratitude for the enlightenment that I found
during my three day stay down in the swamp.
Brian Davis

Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2000 20:39:35 -0500
From: kathryn [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE2000
 
I just want to say mike's song was amazing...the lights made me feel like I
was flying.   RIGHT ON KURODA!!!!  CHEESECAKE!
 
Jennifer
Massena, NY
"May the bird of paradise fly up your nose"

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 20:30:50 -0500
From: "Haessler, Dan" [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: NYE 2000
 
All day i have been trying to think what could i possibly say about the New
Year's show.  I guess the best word that described it best is
 
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Thank you everyone and thank you Phish for putting on the best damn party I
have ever been to.
 
And thank you for Piper!  I found out a lot about myself during that song.
And I found out exactly what I love about the music!
 
Thank you!  Maybe next year I'll see you guys after midnight again!
 
dan

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 16:47:50 -0800 (PST)
From: Yaniv Cohen [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Phish review
 
Hello fellow brothers and sisters,
 
I have yet to attend a Phish show and not have a distinct & direct spiritual
experience. Everything was so lovely!  Even the traffic!  It was the traffic,
both in & out that forced me to drop all excess baggage and lose my identity
into the multi-dimensional swirly groovin' Phish mothership.  I hardly had to
speak a word but all around me I heard & saw my thoughts reflected at me.
 
Thank you everyone!  Thank you for the dude next to me who got me laughing as
hard as I ever have for voicing "Cheesecake for nuggets" ... one of the
funniest things I ever heard that came at the exact right time.
 
Thanks for the dude leaning on on the way to the bathroom.  Thanks for your
love everyone!
 
Let's send up our prayers for our brother who lost his life on the road.  He
was with me in spirit all along.
 
For all of us who saw the aliens, yay!  We all knew they'd show up anyhow ...
 
And lastly, Thank you Phishman for giving Syd a tribute!  If there was any
cover I wanted to hear, it was a Syd Barrett one ...
 
Love you all!

Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 00:43:35 -0500
From: deborah a. havens [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE 2000
 
Hey all you PHANS,
 
OK I dont want to comment on the not so practical layout of camping, the
heat, bugs, lack of toilet paper and phones, etc.  I only want to comment on
the fact that these two shows were not only as close to perfection as
possible (setlist and quality wise), but ( and Im not insane ) spiritually
moved and enlightened me.  I must admit I now, because of this NYE show, know
what it is like to truly be alive.  This band put energy and love into this
show and everyone who experienced it knows that is the truth.
 
Some of the major highlights for my friends and I besides the set, entrance,
lights, fireworks, balloons, and glowsticks, was obviously the music.  Many
phans passed out, But I stayed up and saw the whole thing I had to and those
eight hours may have been the best of my life.  Ok so the music...
12/30/99-   Great set....great variety, great sound, awesome jamming.
highlights for me...farmhouse....ghost (was the tease here guyute? whatever
it was phantastic), character zero, golgi apparatus, taste, antelope, Mike's
song, I am Hydrogen, and Weekapaug Groove.  The whole night rocked out, but
these especially sounded great to my ears.
 
12/31/99 * Major credit to the stamina and spirit of PHISH to do this all for
US...Oh and CHEESECAKE everyone!
Highlights? THE WHOLE THING...but especially, Funky Bitch, I didn't know,
Punch You in the Eye, Bouncing, Split Open and melt, Guyute and After
Midnight.......
Then........DWD, Prince Caspian, YEM (so good), SAND, REBA, AXILLA, My Soul,
After Midnight (again), Bitter Sweet Motel, FREE!!!!, 2001, Wading in the
Velvet Sea!
 
I especially loved the end of the show, pure perfection, in the middle of
nowhere, the sun is rising and you've got a tired band, a tired crowd and a
completely perfect Wading in the Velvet Sea to top it all off.  PHISH you
know what we want, and you do it so well, HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE, see you in
the summer, I HOPE!!!
 
Samantha

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 17:12:57 -0500
From: Shane Atkinson [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: Cheers!
 
    [ The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set. ]
    [ Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set.  ]
    [ Some characters may be displayed incorrectly. ]
 
Best wishes go out to the entire Phish community for making this adventure
one of the highlights of my life. The positive energy that emanated out of
thin air is still swirling around my mind (and I thought I'd be all phished
out by the time this december was over and done with....these reviews bring
it all back in vivid color).
For those that couldn't make it for whatever reason under the sun, don't
worry-we indians danced our silly little asses off for you.
Here are a few highlights that conjure up a whirlwind of emotions inside:
playing in "traffic" along alligator alley; picking up monica on the ride
in-turns out she came without a ticket but found one walking along darkened
snake road (proved to be our positive karma deed for festival); setting up
camp along 5th and murat to the tunes of thin air radio; checking out the
enchanted forest for the first time (was it me or did some of those stumps
come to life and start dancing like elves?); guy passing out free "jah love"
stickers along hampton; riding the sick mike's song; trey golf carting out
to video tape  those of us baking under the sun waiting for prime nye
afternoon seats!; the wild antelope sprint to reserve those prime afternoon
seats-survival of the fittest at its best (or worst); eating wacky sugar
cubes; making balloon animals with our friendly neighbors who helped us blow
up those enormous red, yellow and green balloons (thanks for the early
morning new years day slave!!); ripping up the reservation to the tune of
"after midnight"; frolicking back to the homestead under a sea of
pre-midnight fireworks; rolling back to groundzero to the tune of shakedown
street, decked out in full nye regalia; seeing the world through those fine
glowing 2000 glasses while sipping on a Magic Hat; sharing the mindblowing
moment of the countdown with all 80,000 of my brothers and sisters; riding
an ecstatic crest for most of the 7.5 hours (thank you Reba, Bowie, Roses);
sending love out on the stars above to all those that couldn't be there with
me; strolling out of the divided sky only to return shortly thereafter to
grab a few bags and help with the trash pickup at the concert site.
I think I nailed most of them. I'd love to hear yours.
We all have waited and planned for that moment quite along time and now it
is behind us yet propelling us forward into uncharted waters. Take that
love, that positive overwhelming feeling that you had when 2000 struck and
incorporate it into your everyday life. The Phish experience doesn't have to
be confined to a concert site....make your everyday life a damn circus and
enjoy the results.
Peace and Jah Love to You All-
shane
 
Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 23:05:54 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE 200
 
I just wanted to let everyone know how I felt about the show.  I think that
this was the single most amazing experience and I will never forget how sizk
it was.  Not only was the nearly 8 hour long set a trip, but let's not forget
some of the classic tunes they played.  First off, Light up or leave me Alone
may have been the highlight of the weekend. Never thought i'd hear them play
it, and they jammed the hell out of it. The curtain...need i say more. Curtis
Loew in their wed. night soundcheck. I  could go on naming countless songs
but i won't. Just realize that if you were there, you can appreciate phish in
a way only the people that were there can. This weekend was so truly special
i almost wepped when it was over and trey was saying thanks to everyone.
Phish...thanks for the weekend, i will never forget it. To everyone who
missed it, don't bother getting the tapes, they wouldn't be able to express
what really went down. Cheesecake to all, and to all......PHISH2000 kicks
ass!!

Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 18:59:19 -0500
From: "Cotsibas, Jason" [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: New Years Show
 
As for contention that the band might be money-grabbing, I doubt that.  The
problem with getting into the show seemed to be the relatively slow pace the
guards that were checking tickets had.  As for the shows, I believe the 30th
was a much better overall show.  Being "old-school" though, I have one
comment.  The scene at Big Cypress compares to nothing I had ever seen
before.  The good vibes from everybody, the pleasantness of the security,
and the fact that in three days there I saw no cops at all was awesome.  Yes
I still wish they were playing for 2,500 people, but you can't have help the
fact that people like them.  In 1993 I was fortunate enough to have dinner
with the band, and Trey made this comment, "We never want to play a
stadium."  Luckily for every Phishead out there, they have been men of their
words.  Makes me wish I was 18 again.


Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 21:04:22 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: thank you
 
i just wanted to take a minute, now that i have had some time to rescue and
gather my mind to say the biggest thank you to Phish for the best experience
of my life.
 
i might have lost part of my mine out there on that field NYE night for a
brief period, and what i witnessed was truly one of the most amazing things
anyone can ever want to be a part of. i'll do my best here to talk about what
it was like to be there NYE night.
the afternoon set was smokin and i was feelin fine. the way the crowd felt
when 'After Midnight' came on was just undescribable. i paused for about 30
seconds doing circles watching the joy on everyones faces and hearing lots of
"oh shits!!!'" from the corwd, myself included. can you say "boogie"? as the
crowd filed out the roar was long and sustained. it would start at one xit
and continue on across the whole field for 10 or more minutes. wow. we were
all riding so damn high and the smiles could not be contained.
 
if you were smart like me, you prepared yourself wisely for what was to come.
i returned to my tent and slept for a few hours and gathered myself, drank
lots of juice and then commemced to partying with some special party favors
at about 11:15. i high fived the security on the way into the field while
holding a bottle of champagne in one hand. they seemed as happy and free as
we were! my friends and i had 2 bottles of champagne and were ready to
boogie. the anticpation was tremendous. i want to take a second to try and
find my wonderful neighbor of that night, jennifer from New Jersey. I hoisted
you onto my shoulders so you could watch the band come in on the hot dog and
didn't let you down till after midnight where we shared a beautiful hug. i
wish i had gotten your info, but maybe you will read this and remember!
 
After i let my new friend down we boogied and boogied and boogied. the
fireworks display was better than any i can remember even as a kid. it went
on and on and was so powerful. to see the band ride the hotdog through the
crowd gave me chills and tears in my eyes. i looked all around and was so
thankful to be with 80,000 people who really seemed to know what it was all
about. i mean it. everyone there was so beautiful that nothing will wipe the
smile off my face when i think of this night EVER. my roommate and friend
said it looked like i had won the marathon b/c my arms were raised in triumph
for a good 30 minutes until i realized it felt good to let them down also.
hehe. party favors will do that to you.
 
anyhow, can i just say that the people i met as i rotated about in my 15 yard
radius were all so great. i shared my bowl with as many as i could as this
wave of happiness washed over me. i want to say thanks to that guy next to
me. he had rolled the "millenium" joint of all joints. it was as big around
as a coke can and it took me about 30 seconds to realize what it was! i am
not kidding about the size either. as he passed it to me i looked at the end
which was pure bright KIND green. this guy had rolled the biggest joint i had
ever seen and it was all kind bud. wow. if you were within that 15 foot
radius i heard you coughing as you hit it!!!!! i hope someone out there
remembers that thing! god bless that man.
 
that really got me roaring and then there was the glow stick war. how
incredible. can anyone estimate the number of sticks going? 25,000??? i mean
it was something else. i haven't really commented on the music too much b/c
so many others have. all i can say is that they never let up. there was no
such thing as "too long of a jam" although i remember a point around 6 am
where i almost had to sit. but NO!!! i danced all night long damn it.
 
so here i am at home now and i wish to simply say to phish that i hope you
read these reviews b/c what you did out there on that concert field for 8
hours was what i call magic. is that as close a word as we can come up with
to describe it? magic. :) i think so. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU!!!!!!
the best experience of my life!
 
Dave Regan
Charleston, SC
 
CHEESECAKE!

Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 21:48:04 -0600
From: Jeremy Scott [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Big Cypress 2000
 
 I am a new Phish phan. This was my first show and man was everyone right.
Thanks to Brad (quite possibly the biggest Phish phan of all) for introducing
me to the greatest band I have every heard and now seen, unfortunately due to
finaces Brad couldn't make it. I want to thank everyone around me during my
two sets I got to see you don't see fans like that anywhere for any other
band. This was the far most greatest experience my fianc�e and I have ever
experienced. The music was beyond great,the aura was awesome, and the tracers
WOW!! set to the music of the greatest band of my time, I will never forget
this. Again thanks to Phish and all the people I met from all over the place
for making this new year the bet year of all.
"wish you were there Brad"
                             later
                               Jeremy and Laura

Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 12:37:09 -0500
From: The Gendells [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/31/99-1/2/00 review

really, what can anybody say about that night except for GODDAMN, and
also CHEESECAKE!!    HAPPPPPY root beer!!
-bathtub Jim 


Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2000 21:04:57 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 2000

i just wanted to throw my 2 cents in. these guys are troopers. they
sounded soooo tight all week long. i had the best time of my life at these
shows, no exaggerations. most of all, WE ALL need to thank eachother for
the vibe that was there. the crowd was peacfull, respectful, and simply
having a great fucking time. onlt PhisH could throw an event this massive
nowadays with the energy that was at cypress, peace out and hopefully i'll
see you all sooner than later.

Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 10:50:08 -0500
From: Jeffrey R. Killion [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: I'll take one Cheesestick and one Meatcake please.....
 
        Well, this is my first review.  With the 31st being my 20th show, I
figured it was a perfect time to say a little something.  After such an
indescribable week I really don't know where to start, so I'm just going to
babble a few thoughts.  First off a big THANK YOU to Trey, Page, Mike, Jon,
everyone behind the scenes who made this possible, the Seminole Indians, and
everyone one of you for making this experience so incredible.  I really
can't imagine being anywhere else in the world this past week.  I already
miss you all.  Who else could turn a 12 hour traffic jam into a positive
experience?
        Even if I could sort it all out in my head, I wouldn't give an in
depth review of every song.  It only needs to be said that the performance
our boys put one was unbelievable.  They got me to twist a glow ring, and
myself, for 7 hours straight.......   Well, to spare from repeating what
everyone else has already said so well, I'm going to say goodbye for now.  I
know this isn't really a review, but I just wanted to express a little of
the ecstasy which I still feel every time I close my eyes and filter out the
everglades.  I hope this happens once again.
 
See you all soon,
Killion
 
P.S.  Anyone in the D.C. area, let's work together to get copies of this
amazing event to anyone we can.  I'm working on getting it myself right now,
but hope to have it soon.  Drop me a line if you've already got it, or just
want to babble.

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 16:23:39 -0600
From: Pat & Janeice Williams [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE comments
 
The New Years shows were great.  We all passed the patience exam with flying
colors.  I think the fact that everyone knew we were in for unknown territory
musically caused everyone to explore unknown territory within themselves.
Really a very inspiring event.  Im a changed man, at least for now.
Bryan

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2000 15:08:36 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: g

given the unprecedented and unpredictable nature of this
millenium-culminating event, my crew and i conjured only abstract
expectations of what could be.  we regrettably missed the first set due to
illness and other delays but thankfully arrived in time for the rest of
the festival.  the second set was nothing extraordinary save 'the curtain'
and 'jiboo' which, for me, made the set engaging.  the third set was pure
adrenaline with only ephemeral reprieves in 'circus' and 'hydrogen', which
were ostensibly much needed for trey who seemed utterly exhausted from his
earlier endeavors.  these endeavors reached one energy-debt summit after
an excitingly unique 'antelope', featuring a sustained pre-marco segment
with trey on keys.  however, the apical performance was the 'mike's' and
the ensuing jam, where trey commonly laid a subtle delay loop upon which
he founded unusually percussive riffs.  kuroda complimented the dark jam
with thick bursts of smoke that consumed the stage like i had never seen.  
the energy-deficit was most evident after the 'mike's' jam where they
predictably segued into the pedestrian 'simple'.  at this point trey
seemed in desperate need of a second wind, which he most obviously
acquired in order to sustain a fun 'weekapaug'.  as trey thanked the fans,
he told us to be aware of the enchanted dancers of the forest, which
hinted at the band's emergence from the forest to left of the stage the
following night.  the afternoon set featured 14 songs, including a phunky
'tube' and a sensational 'after midnight' debut that left us all in wonder
and anticipation for the final set of the millenium.  the black backdrop
raised immediately after the afternoon set was released at :35 to the
millenium, where a gigantic clock powered by a fatiguing father time was
evident. he peddled for about :20 until he passed out from exhaustion.  
no sooner had he slumped over the handlebars of his cheesy exercise bike,
did phish arrive in a gigantic airboat from which the boston garden nye
hotdog emerged containing the band tossing candy.  as the attention of the
fans was diverted away from the stage, 'meatstick' came over the p.a. as
the 'meatstick' dancers took the stage.  phish was assisted from the
hotdog by the dancers, fed father time some huge link sausage to
rejuvenate him, and played 'meatstick' momentarily before performing 'auld
lang syne' with fireworks and balloons over the audience.  a turbo 'dwd'
got everyone dancing feverishly.  'disease' was just one of i believe 4
songs they jammed for a half hour or more.  i truly enjoyed the subsequent
song selections.  whether the list exemplified the band's roots and
evolution is o'f no importance.  the list was heavy with new tunes, which
was appropriate in showcasing the band's musical direction and
experimentation into the new millenium.  the network broadcasted 'heavy
things' was a lot of fun, where the fans received the performance with a
unanimous cheesecake chant in satisfaction of trey's request.  'sand',
'minestrone', revamped 'twist', 'bug', and the incessant 'crosseyed',
'piper' and 'roses' jams were breathtaking and replenishing despite the
hallucinating fatigue plaguing the waning attention spans of the fans at
dawn.  trey maintained a somewhat consistently high energy level
throughout the 7.5 hr morning set, no doubt with some help from the
frequent trips to the port-o-potty to enjoy it's magical provisions.  
mike should have made a few more trips to regenerate. the steadfast epics
they chose to play were more than adequate for me, namely the ''reba',
'slave' and 'bowie'.  with only minutes left, the pre-'asz' jam was tight
and creative despite the convecting exhaustion throughout the atmosphere.  
perhaps, the 'meatstick' should have been performed earlier, but the song
served merely as the theme and by no means the set's backbone. the fact
that trey did not choose to synchronize everyone in hopes of setting the
record, was befitting of his ego-removed nature and a subtle message to
all. but, if he felt everyone was simply to tired to engage in such an
event, that is cool, too...whatever.  one of phish's greatest attributes
is their equivocally unpredictable nature in nearly everything they do.  
my crew and i left the reservation more than just satisfied that we were
part of the most magnificent millenial party in the world.  we left with
the consequence of phish's literal persevering musical brilliance, a
tangible experience of their reciprocated devotion and appreciation for
their followers, and that temporal fervor for this band cannot exist, for
i cannot wait to experience them again.


Date: Wed, 29 Aug 1956 23:03:58 -0700
From: Jenny  Gregory [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: phish new years eve

    I just made it back to santa cruz and can squeeze out a few words
before sleep finally takes over. Big Cypress was amazing in almost every
way.  The site was perfect, the vibe was good and the music (especially
the 31st imo) was amazing.  it is so rare to come away from such a big
event with so much hype and expectation and feel so totally satisfied.
    The 30th had some peaks and a great setlist but Trey seemed unengaged
for a lot of it,  though the third set got pretty sick.
     The collective experiment/experience of the 31st is why i'm writing.
it should go without saying that every experience is subjective and
concerts are no different.  I was raging as hard and feeling as good as
the band last night (and that's saying something) and my buzz no doubt
influenced my perspective, that said:
     the first set was great with a sick "after midnight" featuring a
blistering solo from trey.  but the monster set was on a different level
from anything ive seen in a long time. there was a feeling in the air, it
connected the crowd and band (i was at least a quarter of a mile from the
stage and i know the energy i produced dancing was felt on stage) and it
connected the four on stage.  It was a spiritual night.  they seemed open
and conscious to a degree that made 75,000 people feel intimate. they were
so locked in and thoughtfull in their interactions.  in a word, i
experienced last nights seven plus hour set as the finest music I have
seen phish play in the 30 shows i've seen since 91.  Not every solo was
great and not every song was played to potential (how could they all be)
but there was a continuity and flow to everything they did and it just got
better and better.  the musical integrity was so high it seemed like no
note was waisted or out of place (and thats rare in for phish these days).  
the songs were good but the space between songs that connected them all
was trascendental.  a phishified brew of jazzphunkrave2000 was just
flowing and they couldn't have turned it off if they wanted to (thus them
playing an hour and a half longer than the six promised hours.)  there was
gooey gelatinous groove juice that had settled in on the band and got
thicker and thicker.
    I wouldn't try to break the whole thing down song by song but a couple
of memories: the best vocal jam on yem i've seen in years, a mind blowing
reba, FREE (people were crying hugging and dancing during this, the
spiritual peak in any phish show i've seen) and the best 2001 this year.
Not to mention a sick cross eyed and painless, drowned and the most
bittersweet albequerque of all time.
     Phish's music has changed rapidly.  Less is more now.  i've wondered
where phish was going musically, more than once this year.  i've listened
to more shows than i can count from years past and wished phish still
sounded like that but there is no music played by phish in the past or any
band now that i would have rather seen last night.  as 97 brought the
phunk and 98 added rave\electronica sensibilities to the equation i've
wondered what would come next.  i never thought i would be saying this but
i think where phish went with the liquishish swirling spiraling phunk in
that monster set made it clear to me that they have evolved to yet another
level (not totally different from the last few years but unmistakably
separate) that i like even more than the last.  as a friend said to me in
'91 "i don't know what it is but they just plays exactly what i want to
hear."
     phish has matured once again.  im not saying that they are as
consistent as other times or that every show will get this high but given
the right venue and enough time to really get it going, they have more to
say in a more beautiful, articulate and painfully perfect way than ever
before.
    Get the tapes or cds. listen to a lot of it at once to catch the
feeling of the night. the last few hours are pure magic.  enjoy!

                  -almost asleep now scott

Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2000 20:33:49 -0600
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]

my friend was drinking at the show and passed out right before midnight
he missed the whole thing!! but i guess he has a story to tell even if it
isnt a very good one.


Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2000 20:33:46 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: my review of nye

started out nice but as you know it just kept going every one was severly
cashed by dawn but the weekend was a blast wouldn't trade this mellienium
for
anything !
awsome piper  and they should've done the meatstick sooner no one could
move
.
keep playin and we will see you at new years in madison square next year !
keep it real ,
                ETHAN C.
                        

Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2000 18:39:28 -0800 (PST)
From: Chuck Ronan [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE Review
 
Don't even want to review (I am so tired).  I just want to say thank you to
every one who was there for a great time and tell every one who couldn't make
it that we missed you, but you were there in spirit.  The greatest thing about
the whole event was that after all the speculation about what would or could
happen, the band just jammed.  Jammed for 7+ hours.  It was amazing and the
stories and reviews will take weeks. A happy cheese cake to every one.


Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2000 18:48:04 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/31/99
 
wow, i dont think i can go to another show after that one.  first off though,
first set on the 31st
runaway jim- knew it was coming up as an opener for one of  the two sets,
nice version, though i think phish wanted to    save some jamming for later
funky bitch- another cool song with lots of groove
tube- cant beleive they busted out with this- very phat     version with a
really "on" jam in the middle
i didnt know- just standard version with a cool vacuum  solo...but wait, i
guess all vacuum solos are cool
PYITE- just great, trey nailed every note of    landlady...absolutely phat
Bouncing- i figured theyd have to play it somewhere, almost     hoping theyd
play it that night and jam it out...oh well
poor heart- pretty cool, though this set wasnt shaping up to    be like the
previous nights, gotta wonder if phish was i    ntentionally playing short
songs or not....?
Roggae:see poor heart
SO & M- thanks guys, they finally busted out with a phat jam    and segued it
into catapault, which was pretty cool...my  first catapault
gbott- nice little version. pretty tight
horn- another first- id been wating a while for this one.   holding back on
the jamming once more though
guyute- another song not to be jammed (is it ever though) however i still
love it, figured that would be the last song until after midnight but...
after midnight- great selection and very well played, had me    pumped for
midnight set- i dont think this one can be described by anything they had
father time on a bike to start and then fish came in, first on an airboat,
then on the famed hot dog throwing miniature meatsticks to the crowd which i
was luck enough to snag.  anyways, they fed father time a meatstick, and that
was the last thing they did i could possibly understand.  there was just so
much jamming and the setting was just so amazing that it will never be
replicated.  i  know it will take me months just to sort out what i heard and
realize how it affects the rest of my concert going life.  the dwd was really
cool.  nice jamming; they werent quite into stellar mode yet, but still the
best i had heard up to that point.  llama was really cool, same jamming as
tweezer but bathtub is where it got insane.  they just started playing from
their souls, and it was unbeleivable.  i think the quote of the night was,
"so this is what raw phish is like, maybe they should call this the sushi
set" said by some guy who i dont even know.  anyways, it was raw phish.. not
curfews, they knew they were gonna be up there for a while, and they came to
show us what they could do, and man im blown away twist -> caspian -> rock n
roll -> yem was a religion all in itself.  every note was just too much, and
there were a lot of em. crosseyed was beyond me so i wont say much about it.
minestrone doesnt belong here, no jamming at all...wonder why they played
it??  sand was one of my highlights, but then again it wasnt sand that was
the highlight, it was the jam that followed.  A beautiful trafficlight
followed, then an albequrque that wasnt as transcendent as everything else,
but then followed by an excellent reba.  axilla just was pounding straight
into me and everyone else, and kinda brought the crowd back to the realm of
earth for a second, before the band launched into another phar out jammed
bowie...one my soul later and i was back in a trance, listening to the band i
thought i knew go deeper and deeper with songs i had heard so many times
before.  drowned -> after midnight was supercharged, i think this is where
the band hit the deepest level yet.  horse-> silent was great...so much
emotion coming from guys who had been on stage for almost 6 hours.
bittersweet was really cool, and piper was as transcendent as any i had
heard.  i felt like the boys were plugged into my soul.  after they jammed
piper into a sick free, they cooled it off with a lighthearted lawn boy and
another fishman song.  i thought that wouldve cooled them off, but they
busted out with an amazing roses are free, which was another highlight.  i
dont know why they chose bug, but it was very deep, and when they emerged
fishman was started the hood intro.  they kinda did that for a minute, and
then went off into a wild and crazy 2001, just as dawn was visibly
approaching.  velvet sea was really beautiful and just fiilled with
everything the boys had left.  i was expecting a mention of the record in
meatstick, but i think the crowd was too dead to move.  maybe phish knew that
and chose not to do it, or maybe they simply realised that after all that
insane jamming, there was no way they could do the dance...who knows.
anyways, they didnt encore, but they didnt have to.  they couldve played a
whole show for an encore, and it wouldnt have sufficed for the show.  the
only way to recreate the feeling would be to put yourself many many hours
away from anything, get almost a hundred thousand of your close friends and a
band that can groove from midnight on....anyways this will never be
recreated.  sorry if you missed it becuase this was the best show ive ever
seen, even beats dead.  hands down.  i dont think tapes can do it justice,
but for all those people that were there, im just glad i had a chance to
share this experience with all of you.
    see "yall" on tour
            matty


Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2000 23:22:46 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Phree Phlowting

I know how long everybody else's reviews are because I just read them so I
will keep this short.....what more could you ask for from life than
phloating with the love of your life on a double ferris wheel during a
Free over 75,000+ people having a kick ass time?  I love my life and all
the people that know what I am talking about!!!!!!!


Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 12:28:21 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: What a NYE !
 
It took lots of patience, but (as we all knew it would be) it was all worth
it.
My bros all car pooled down from Atlanta, and we thought we had it when we
made it to Alligator alley. Little did we know we had another 6hrs to go when
we hit Alligator Alley(6 hrs to go 30 miles?!!!!) Any way they blew it out
like I knew they would
The boys played all the hits and then some.
After Midnight was the damn FIRE!
 I was lucky enough to be on abought the 12th row for the all night set, and
I must say, the played it all.The only song that I can say that I wanted to
hear was 1st tube, but I have seen it twice already, so I can overlook it.
The  clock at the first of the set was so eary, I abought lost it.
They just kept on and kept on, I absoutly loved it.The scene was so cool,
too.It was like PHISH came in and set up their own little town.I have never
seen anything like it.
We saw cars from at least 25 different states and even some from Canada on
the way down, so there was a wide variety of people there.It was an awsome
weekend and I will remember it forever.
                                                         Brent "norm" Waldrop

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 13:03:04 -0500
From: "Cohen, Evan" [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: nye2000review
 
To all who attended,
 
When you sit back, take a deep breath and remember what all of our eyes
witnessed over these two days in December just smile and realize that you
were part of something so extraordinarily special and magnificient.  Besides
for the music which through my many Phish concert experience is always
fantastic, the overall experience, the overwhelming energy, and the
unbelievable feat of human endurance that Phish demonstrated all adds up to
one truly special experience that none of us shall ever forget.
 
Thank You Phish , Thank You Phans, Thank You Florida Weather
 
Evan
 
Ohh Oh Shocks My Brain

Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2000 00:00:09 GMT
From: Oscar Tache [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Phish New Years
 
I know waiting in traffic for 12 hours sucked but as soon as me and my
friends got our camp set up I put all of that behind me and I had one of the
best times of my entire life.  Phish put on a show that may never be topped
for a long while, if ever.  Playing for seven hours is incredable. I hope
ever one else had as much fun as I did!
Happy New Year!
 
If anyone has any good pictures of the show let me know, not all of mine
turned out.
 
Oscar Tache
[email protected]

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 12:03:13 -0800
From: "Creon\\" [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Big Cypress NYE show!
 
Hello folks!
The Nye show was one of the best shows I've ever seen.  Yeah the 12 hr. wait
on I75 was pretty rough, but really we had fun partying on the expressway.
The show, was seriously the best sets of Phish I've ever seen (and I have
seen many) The fisrt set's jam of Traffic's "Light up or Leave me Alone" was
very very cool.  Other memorable moments included dancing on the ice steps to
Tweezer. Watching the Band come out on the giant hot dog was so cool.  Other
than the show, the Enchanted Forest, (The cool wooded area with rave music
and cool trippy lights) was a wonderful place to find.  There were so many
suprises all over and it was a really great place to have the show.  I had a
blast.  I am definately there if they do the same thing next year!
 
Marty H. Chicago Il,

Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2000 13:00:49 -0500
From: Charles F Kozlowski [email protected]
To: [email protected], Chuck [email protected]
Subject: Y-2-Trey
 
What an awesome time.  Top notch Phish sets (II and III on the 30th really
smoked), festival organization was great except for all the full
Port-a-potties, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous the whole time.  If it
weren't for all the goddamned snakes, spiders, alligators, wild boars, and
scorpions (who would have thought?!?), it would have been paradise.
 
Happy 2000, and remember.... CHEESECAKE!!!
 
~C~

Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 18:52:24 -0800 (PST)
From: robin dzvonik [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: TREY IS A DRUG ADDICT !!!!!, read on ---
 
TREY IS A DRUG ADDICT !!!!!,  read on ---
 
my name is robin dzvonik and I am going to write on possibly the most
important point of the entire concert, since it seems everybody is too caught
up in phish's fleeting greatness to even truthfully admit that yes, EVEN THIS
GREAT BAND IS GOING DOWN THE TUBES. I will state that for the past three years
my usually regular attendance at phish shows has gone down because the
consistancy of the bands quality has also. I will say that I have noticed an
increased usage of drugs by TRey and I could not be more disimpressed.
 
   Over the summer at both PNC bank shows in NJ, Im sure Trey could barely
remember his name he looked so fucked up. I dont know what he was doing but it
was definatly not helping his playing.
 
   whatever, that is old shit and in the past, this is a review for NYE2K!! a
two day celebration of phish led by phish, of which Trey participated in far
too deeply. Albeit, the last night/dawn show rocked, I have a feeling it was
due to the other band members pleading with trey to sober up a little for the
show, good thinkin guys. The first night was absolutey even worse than the PNC
bank shows.
 
    I really wish all you "Phans" would have cared enough about phish and
really paid more attention to the band, YOU WOULD HAVE NOTICED TREY POURING
COKE INTO HIS NOSE BY THE THUMBFULL EVERY FIVE MINUTES. You would have seen
Trey walk off the set during the middle of some jam, I think it was around
gotta jiboo, it was a song or too right before hood I think, he walked out on
a jam to go get a fix!!!!!! HE LEFT MIKE STRANDED THEIR JAMMIN ON HIS BASS
WITHOUT ANY ACCOMPANYMET SIMPLY FOR A FIX!!!.  Did any of you oh so attentive
"phans" ever pick up on why phish had so many mellow jams? IT WAS BECAUSE MIKE
WAS THE ONLY GUITARIST FOR MOST OF THEM!!!! I will never forget the look Mike
gave Trey at the opening of Hood as if to say, "havent you had enough? because
i am tired of playing for you."  But phish must play and dead air is not good,
so,mike begins song with a bass line rif for a couple of minutes so trey can
get another fix. honestly, by the end of the show, I thought Trey would drop
dead, I really was worried. his closing words during Antelope about some
fairy's in the enchanted forest or something? (trying to be funny making a
joke about the woods near the delta, wasn't funny, none of his jokes were that
night, and he wasn''t corny like usuall, simply wasted and incoherent) I
thought antelope was a phat jam, I definatly had never seen anything like it
with trey all fcoked up running around on stage pounding strait noise into the
keyboard, so was hood, I will admit that too. wilson was allright, so was
golgi, gotta jiboo, tweezer ... everything was alright because Trey SUCKED !!
He simply didn't hit those high notes with the same spirit as he normally
does. by the end of the night, Trey could barely stand and appeared to be
holding onto life by his guitar as he constantly swayed backwards and
forwards. Honestly, Trey would be a just a regular guy if were not for his
guitar so in a way he is holding onto life with his guitar and that isnt
working out so well right now either. I love Trey and I love Mike, Fish, and
Paige. the latter three played their instruments with the same accuracy if not
with more because of their lagging "rock star" phriend. thanks guys for
holding it together.
  
   I saw you guys watch trey the whole show. Even though I was at the second
row of speakers, I could see the problems with Trey, Hell he was snorting and
wiping his nasal drip in front of the entire audience on the big screens. I
saw him always sneakinbg back to the amp with a couple of candles on it to
Fish's left for something whenever the lights were dark. I feel bad you guys
have to put up with that selfish drug-addict, asshole, sellout. TREY HAS A
PROBLEM AND I WANT HIM TO FIX IT FOR YOUR PHANS.
 
As for Trey, you are an ass!!! I thought you were about the music man???!!!!
obviously not if you are standing on stage posing as a musician being nothing
but a drug addict.!!!
 
the next time you guys invite us fans a couple of thousand miles for a
150$(that is alot of money), come to make music and put on the best show of
your life. I will be honest, I have seen better 30$ shows from you guys,
(12/29/98, vernon downes '98, the gorge in '98... all the way back to the
begining). this was not worth the 150 beans, i did have a good time though.
 
love and unity,
 
robin dzvonik

Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 17:39:22 -0500
From: black47 [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Phish NYE
 
As much as I wanted to, I could not afford to go to Florida for these
phenomenal shows.  I downloaded the m33s, waited for the setlists, and
when the people that I know who went returned, I kept them up for hours
(despite their obvious exhaustion) to learn of all the fun I had
foolishly missed.  My point is this:  to all you people bitching about
traffic and other stuff, SHUT THE HELL UP.  By all account I have heard,
it seems to me that you all witnessed the most incredible musical
adventure of your lives.  I wish I was there.  You complainers need to
realize the point and purpose of your journey to Florida.  And I'll make
you this deal, if it was so bad, next time send me your ticket.  I don't
mind waiting for 10 or more hours to see the greatest band I have heard.
 
Thank You

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 17:29:20 -0000
From: Shawn Davis [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE 2000 Review

This was absolutly amazing!  I had such a wonderful time!  Although the
traffic was a little frustraiting, it was still a good time to meet a lot of
wonderful people.  The best part of this concert for me would have to be how
well the phamily came together.  Everyone was so helpful and nice.  It was
absolutly amazing spending my New Year's Eve with 85,000 of the coolest
people on this planet.  The security also kicked some ass!  They were great!
It was just a damn good environment.  I was also absoluty amazed that Phish
could jam for so long - I couldn't do it!  But let me tell you haw there is
nothing better than passing out to live Phish!

Date: Sat, 01 Jan 2000 20:16:17 -0800
From: Mark Midford [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: should have gone to wsp
 
well all you phish phreaks feel riped off? spent how many hours in traffic,
spent how much money? was it worth it?let me know iam interested to hear at
[email protected]  if you got the nerve leave your real addy so i can reply
matt

Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2000 12:44:24 -0500
From: sanick [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE 2000
 
Got back from the show on Jan. 1st. I left right after the show and made
the track back to Atlanta.
Today I recoup and try and fathom what just occurred.
 
The first night and 1st set of the festivities had shaped up to be an
overall great time. I would say it equalled Cliff Ball and Oswego as
well as any other shows I had been to(50 to date)....until the 8 hour
marathon that transpired and now I am scarred for life. I can no longer
attend another Phish show because I have now seen the best and
everything after it will be average. You know how most people say "you
had to be there." Yet when you get it on tape you can pretty much gaige
the level of intensity and get a good feel for the show....well, it
can't be done here. All rules had been broken....all walls had been torn
down. This show....this set is a landmark in Phish history. When you
look at the setlist you see songs, I see 20-30 minute explortations.
I will now try and relay my experiences. I will not go song by song,
that would be impossible, but hit the highlights and give you a feel of
what it was like for people who were not there.
The crowd was as pumped as any show anywhere...imagine 80,000 people all
smiling, carrying champagne bottles, yelling and screaming, hugging,
laughing, and genuinely having a blast after the first set ended up
until the midnight. The band came out in what looked like a computer on
the left side of the stage and went out in the crowd and blew
up....inside the computer was the hot dog with the band and they threw
out candy or something as the hot dog flew over the crowd to the stage
and they fed the guy meatsticks and then did ALS and the place went
bonkers. Everyone was so happy...it was the best place to be. They had a
huge fireworks display and kicked DWD which raged for like 20 minutes as
people went completely bonkers and balloons were everywhere. The place
stayed electric for like 2 hours...I would say until YEM and then people
started to fall out like flies. I guess some people just couldn't hang.
No matter though, I would say 75% of the crowd stayed awake the entire
time. And for those who didn't, I really feel sorry for you. You missed
legendary jams and moments. As if the set up until YEM wasn't crazy
enough, what followed was incredible.
Imagine, if you can, not worrying about set openers or closers or what
followed what or when they did this song last because it was 8 freaking
hours and the band had no boundaries and just let it all hang out. They
had no time table in which to stop or start. They could do whatever they
wanted and the band took control. The songs were very precise and the
jams were intense and very creative. When they release a "best of" like
thing of all versions of songs, it will say (see 12/31/99). For me, the
magic took place in the Roses are Free jam which lasted I would say
about 30 minutes, maybe longer. The jam transcended from night to day.
The jam really fed off the day break and can only be described as earth
shattering. To see night transform into day with this mind-numbing jam
of epic porportions setting the tone, it was incredible. The set had
everything you would want. I experienced so many emotions during the
set. From complete hysteria and bewilderment of YEM to laughter of the
cheesecake reference through the entire set and other fans comments to
absolute tears due to happiness.  I also remember looking at my clock
when everyone was screaming 4:20 and Phish was in the middle of the most
insane Bowie, and saying to myself this is the best moment ever. Yet,
when they ended with Meatstick and left the stage and the PA music was
"Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles and you look over your shoulder and
you see the most intense sunrise...it brought tears to my eyes and I had
to fall to my knees and kiss the ground at what I had just witnessed.
I don't think Phish ever reads these things, but if they do...I want to
thank you for giving me the best moment of my life besides getting
married.
I know all of this sounds a little bit over the top, but I have never
felt this way after an experience as one where you spending an ENTIRE
night with the band and people you love.
 
-scott

Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2000 09:45:56 -0800 (PST)
From: Ernie Melchiondo [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE
 
pholks,
my phriend just phoned me from phlorida. she said
second set was phucking 8 hrs. long and the band (jam
kings phish) looked like they were going to collapse.
she said that Highlights included the DwD and a balls
to the wall Piper. oh, and the meatstick at the end
was a disaster--nobody could phucking move. :) oh
well... she has more news coming when she gets back on
the road.
happy new year. Love, Ernie Melchiondo
http://www.thirsty.8m.com/


below are reviews of the above reviews, reviewers or the opinions
expressed by the authors

Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 18:24:50 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: a supplement to my 12/31 review...

Thought you folks might be amused by this, the thanks I get for my review,
and my reply:

from:   Dberko
To: Garrettph

i just read your review of nye i was there too you are a negative fuck who
should not be aloud to write for anyone let alone the positive vibes of
phish, i am actually pissed after reading your review.  you don;t seem
like you enjoy many people don;t come to phish shows if that many people
piss you off, you are also ungrateful to the majesty of phish.  fuck you
and your divided sky

You are kidding, right?  If not, take a look at your E-mail to me and tell
me who's negative!  Other people are entitled to opinions and I'm sorry
mine didn't match yours, but that's life.  Lastly, if you think my review
suggested nothing of the "majesty of Phish", then you are as big a moron
as the pathetic punctuation in your E-mail suggests.
Garrett
P.S. Have your Mother translate what I mean.

Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 11:56:47 -0600
From: Katie Gavaghan [email protected]
To: [email protected]

I first want to say that to whomever submitted the weak reviwe that read "
no gamehendge...not to return to a show ever again because of that".  is
obviously a pro at taking things for granted.  I was unable to go to the
event because I work on computers and could not leave the state...I
thought heavily about quitting my job, but was advised by my closest
phriends not to.  With that I honestly wiped my tears as they left in a
caravan of eight cars and suffered through the following four days.  I
came to the conclusion, I should have quite my job shortly after I saw the
setlists played.  How could you have anything negative to say about such a
beautiful experience, I get the feeling that it was somewhat spiritual
too...I understand now as I did the day my phriends left, I was missing
something that would never take place again.  Many people I spent the new
years with continued to say " there will be more shows"....I laughed and
realized all the people that would understand what I was going through
were in Florida.  The only thing that lifted my spirits was when I heard
about "cheesecake".  Oddly as it is, I sat at home and devoured a few
pieces of cheesecake on new years...I guess I was with you all in spirit.
Thank you all for being safe, giving my closest phriends a great memory,
appreciating the music and retreating back to your grounds in
silence....as it should be done.  Peace and happiness in the new year to
all.

Kathleen

Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 12:41:54 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: NYE
 
Just a few words after reading many reviews.  I've been seeing them since 93,
(over 50 shows)and I wanted to comment on those of you who were dissapointed
that they didn't play Forbins, Tela or Destiny.  Sure I was saddened also, but
keep seeing the band and you'll catch these songs.  But what was played, words
give no justice to.  In the sixteen or so years that the band has been
together, there experiences both good and bad have culminated into this one
point in time.  Sure you may have seen a show where they played your favorite
song, but never before in phishtory have they played so TIGHT and FUCKING HARD
all night long.  Ever single song that was played in THE set Raged to an
extent not describable in words.  This is why I will give no song reviews.  
There was more energy exchanged between band and audience than ever before at
a phish show, and probably won't be duplicated ever. Those who were there know
how fucking nuts it was as midnight approached.  It was sad when it! !
 was all over, but it was exciting to see sooooo many people having the time
of their lives.  It seemed to me that 75% of the people were grooving the
majority of the show. At least where I was.  I didn't sit the ENTIRE time.  
From midnight to sunrise, I danced harder than ever before. (i'm still sore)
Thanks a million for everyone who was there.  This event will never be
forgotten;  I'm mean, can you name another band that would play all fucking
night long without stopping for a break once!?!


Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 14:19:29 -0800 (PST)
From: jay von Lehe [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: what a shame
 
A memo to poor impatient Heath Anderson
 
Undoubtedly, this isn't the first response you have received to your "traffic
report" posting. What would you have the band do, build a six lane highway
through what is basicly a swamp? As far as there being so many more people
than there were 7 years ago, I'm not doing sumersaults either. I started going
in '91..... shows with less than 30 people present..... you could say things
have changed. But to imply that Phish fucked you blah blah.... BULLSHIT. There
was more than ample warning given that 75,000+ people were going to be
bottle-necked onto a two lane road. Anyway, I hope you made it home or
wherever in time to still salvage something out of the whole experience. Next
time go see Widespread, they are basicly the same band they were seven years
ago and your bitchy attitude will fit right in with the crowd! 
Best wishes, Jay von Lehe Charleston, S.C.


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