2-15-03 - Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV

Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 16:20:38 -0800 (PST)
From: Joel Circercha [email protected]
Subject: Sat Night Vegas

�Have to say�1st I really enjoyed this show and it had just a great vibe from
beginning to end.�

Llama-Great start always glad to hear...

Wolfman's Brother-Always a great song to dance to and it had some funk to it

Reba-Really enjoyed this and sounded really tight and well jammd out

Life on Mars-nice to hear and good short rest

It's Ice-I heard a quick antelope rift from Trey then Mike did Ice rift and no
complaints here nice smooth jazzy nice..

Frankie Says-Well have caught to many of these already but gave me time to relax for
what was coming..

Run like an Antelope-Amazing it ripped and Trey sounded so good.You could feel Mike
and Page all night just wanting to let go and jam, they got their chance.

2nd set

Waves-Nice jam

Bug-One of the best I've heard and the vocals sounded great

Ghost-Well the sign people got their wish.It was a good ghost specially toward the
end where it got funky.I liked ghost but the Providence Funk�GHOST has�yet to be
matched�but if Mike add's that funk back all the way through this song�it would be
one of my favorites.

Free-I haven't caught many of these and really enjoyed the jam...

Harry Hood-Always got to love a Hood and this one jammed.� The energy was so high and
everyone got down.� I thought at the end looked like Mike and Paige wanted to play
another but Trey had already put his guitar down.

Sample-OK encore

� This show was very strong and made the trip so worth it. That Antelope and
Hood�will stick with me for a while. I just wanted to say quick about Sunday reviews
and this tour. A band has to know it's fans and these Vegas show's drew people from
all over the country to come hear them.(more then any other venue) Most of us don't
have the money or jobs we had before haitis and couldn't party�in Vegas like in
the�90's.The music needed to trancend the money we spent to come and to many of us
the cost of these ticket's.Sunday failed to do that but Saturday was the high level
we expected and made the trip well worth it.

�������������������������������������������������������� PEACE

Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 22:42:56 -0800
From: sean mcpharlin [email protected]
Subject: vegas 2/15 review

What a bizarre range of opinions on these shows. Here's one more for you.

What do I know? I've seen a lot of shows. I've got another 100 or so on
disc I listen to obsessively. In short, I know the music and love the
band.

I saw the Hampton run. It was in many ways excellent, showed real
intensity by the boys, was fiery and exciting in a way the 2000 shows
mostly were not. They were pyshed to be back, in other words.
Nevertheless, the run was filled with flubs and though jams were crazy and
intense and wild, they weren't strange or spacey or exploratory. And the
vocals... yikes.

So LA was an improvement in some areas; the vocals were a lot tighter, the
technical flubs far fewer, the jams were spacier and more daring... but
still, LA was something of a warm-up. Nothing as fiery as Hampton, and
seeing Trey destroy Carini like he did, and cut it short, was a real
buzz-kill. I was ready for Vegas. Phish did not disappoint.

LLama was a hot opener. Solid, fun. Llama.

Wolfman's was all about the funk. The Hampton Wolfman's was one of the
highlights of that run, an incredibly intense rocker that blew everyone
out the back of the venue, but this Wolf just grooved along for 15
minutes, harking back to the days of '97 funk.

Reba started, and i feared another YEM fiasco as in Hampton, but lo and
behold! They nailed it! Not my favorite song, but once they got the jam
going, it really kicked ass. Got a little more fiery than I'm used to in a
Reba.

Life on Mars? Hot damn! I love this song. It sounded great. Ya, a couple
vocal croaks from Trey, but what the hell, it still sounded fantastic.

46 Days fucking rocked. The Hampton version was a long, meandering jam
that kind of worked, but rocking is clearly what this song was meant to
do.  Tore the roof off the place. People were freaking out, tearing up
seats and throwing them at the stage, hurling their friends onto the
floor! Madness!

It's Ice. Screw people who bitch about this song. It's cool, baby. You
have to love Fishman standing up and scaring the children. This was a
tight version. Lovely.

Frankie Says. Man, I can't figure out why people talk through a song like
this. It's beautiful every time, and they played it so nicely here. One of
my favorite mellow phish tunes. It creeps and crawls around in a space all
its own.

Antelope. A wee flub or two to begin it, but then... damn. They went nuts
with it. Built to a peak and just parked the car there for a week, set up
a tent, went hiking, didn't come down for ages. My head almost exploded.
And I wasn't even on anything. Just fantastic. What a set.

setbreak. why do people review the setbreak? i urinated, if you're
curious. it felt good.

Waves opened it real nice and groovy-like. A wavy good song.

Bug. Not my favorite, but cripes did they play the freakin bejeesus out of
it! Stunning. And right into >

Ghost. Wow. Weird, long jam. I got lost. I loved it.

Free. Okay, Free has been getting weird lately. In Hampton they played a
nice version, but it was a little short. And here? Very short, but check
this out: they get to the funky break part where Mike goes off, and
indeed, Mike goes off. He's throwing the funk down like you wouldn't
believe, and suddenly the rest of the band drops out and let's Mike funk
it up alone. Then back in they come, then they drop - funk! They keep this
up, more and more intense, when boom! Back to the lyrics - I'm
floooooooating in the... No guitar work from Trey, nothing. Just a funked
up like you wouldn't believe midsection, and back to close. Maybe Free has
seen it's jammed out days come to an end. Maybe it's only a Mike
funkmobile from now on. Maybe that's a good thing.

Harry Hood. This hood was fantastic. In the intro section, Trey just hits
the beautiful off-beat guitar chord every time through, so nice. Each time
through the intro, they do something a little cooler. Finally they get to
one spot and everyone drops out. Silent jam, trey bouncing up and down
with Fishman, into ... HARRY! It cruises along then, a real soft beautiful
start to the jam leading into a big phat hood jam, when suddenly darkness
overtakes it. Darkness! In Hood! A three chord, MAJOR CHORD happy jam!
Fucking weird! But bring it on! And finally into the closing chords. Nice!

Sample encore. Not my favorite, but they worked it. WORKED it.

This show was fantastic, plain and simple. After Hampton and LA I was a
little worried. They energy was great, but they playing? Off and on. After
this night in Vegas, though, I breathed easy. Phish is back. And they are
ON FUCKING FIRE.

-RQZ

Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 19:47:19 -0500
From: Matthew De Tessan [email protected]
Subject: feb. 15th, vegas

First of all I have to state that I am not normally the type to write
these contrived reviews, it just isn't me.....(I don't even have a
computer at my commune to tell you the truth).....but this event was so
amazingly cosmic that I had to cruise on over to the local internet cafe
to jot this down. Well here it goes.....I just started a new job last
month working at an organic berry farm in the Central Valley and they
wanted to send me to training in Baltimore, Maryland the same week I was
scheduled to attend the PHISH show in VEGAS!!!!  As you can imagine I
totally bailed training and come to find out that was the same weekend a
huge storm dumped on the East Coast......the roof of the training facility
I was supposed to be sitting in all day actually caved in due to the
weight of the snow!!!!  I totally could have been crushed!!!!  Instead of
sitting in the freezing cold in MD I was sitting in front of Trey and the
boys listinging to some wicked tunes.  The show was exactly what I
expected, the boys were ONPOINT and they totally ripped it up!!!!  They
opened up with Llama and then moved into wolfman which was groovin' alla
1997!!!!  It was an epic experience to finally hear the boys belt out that
opening riff to Reba once again....it felt just like old times hearing
them and my head was on fire by the time they got around to strumming out
Antelope.  (One of the top 3 performances I have witnessed).  So I guess
the moral of this story would be that sometimes it really does pay to
follow your soul and not necessarily your mind!!!!  LET PHISH BE YOUR
GUIDE AND SCREW THE CORPORATE WORLD!!!!!


Stay mellow,


SpacePhisherman.

Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 21:24:19 -0600
From: Matthew Harris [email protected]
Subject: 2.15.03 review

On a personal level, I’d really have to stretch in order to find
something to complain about. Generally speaking, there was a nice vibe at
the venue. �Mellow, yet lively and vigorous. �The lot was scene was good
--some vending, lots of goodies, and even a couple of chefs to provide
ample amounts of quality food. �It seemed like tickets for
tonight’s show were in demand, with everyone wanting to trade
extras for Sunday. �I spent relatively little time in the lot (having
arrived around 5-ish), I wanted to get in the admission line, to ensure a
good seat later. �From what I saw, there was little police/security
presence. �As anyone who has ever spent time in Vegas knows, you can
pretty much do as you please, provided you’re not harming anyone.

�

The wait in line paid dividends in the form of a seat in the fourth row
on the lower level, adjacent to the stage, very close to Page. �This was
probably not the ideal location for sound, but definitely a nice view of
everyone except Fish, who was sort of obscured. �As the arena began to
fill, the faithful in the upper deck hung a banner that read “871
days since last Ghost”. �After talking with others who were at the
Inglewood show, I started to get very anxious for the start –
thinking about what might be played, and what I hoped would be played.
�While the new material is refreshing and fun, I was kind of leaning on
the prospect of some older stuff. �

�

By 8:15, the floor was absolutely packed. �Security was trying to move
people from the aisles, then eventually gave up. The lights went down
around 8:20 – and Phish took the stage. �Llama kicked it off, and
pumped incredible energy into an already electric atmosphere. �I think
there may have been some minor sound adjustments during the opener
– but nothing that took away from the jam. �Next up --
Wofman’s – with some long, seriously funked-out jamming,
reminiscent of Fall 97’. ��Page took control here, laying down some
sick chops on the Hohner, over top of the rhythm laid down by everyone
else. �Trey also took some nice runs on this one. �Then, it finally
happened. �I have been waiting about 10 years to see Reba, but have never
had the pleasure. �Apart from the fact that they absolutely nailed the
technical aspect of the song, the latter portion was filled with all of
the expressive jamming, and ultimately, the fireworks that make this song
so special. �Reba was followed up with Life on Mars, which went over very
well – Page cranking it out on the high-end of the vocals. Next
– 46 Days. �Good ol’ Rock n’ Roll, mixed with a touch
of funk. Trey tore it up, with big-time guitar licks, and true
showmanship. �As far as Round Room is concerned, this one and Waves are
my favorites – ironically, those were the only two from that album
played tonight. �Next – It’s Ice! �Oldie but a goodie –
very tight jamming, nice slowdown and build-up. �Frankie Says – I
was a little caught off guard by this one, but it was placed perfectly in
the setlist. �I kind of had a feeling that it was paving the way for
something special – that something turned out to be the most
rocking Antelope I’ve ever experienced. �Set II opener was Waves,
which in my humble opinion is the finest piece of music on Round Room.
�The band seemed to be indicating that this night, and this set, would be
something very special. �Incredible energy, and focused jamming
highlighted this one. �Bug. �Sung with alternate lyrics? A very nice
choice to cross the bridge into what would ultimately be the tail end of
an incredible set. �Now, the fact that a band could exist on such a grand
scale, yet retain the most intimate relationship with its fan base
strictly through the music is something we all should appreciate more
than we do. To those who hung the banner in the upper deck, thank you.
�The band, in response to this subtle request, proceeded to amaze all in
attendance with a killer Ghost. �Free – wow – the coolest
moment I experienced in the whole show was when the band sang “I
feel the feeling I forgot…” and the entire arena erupted as
if to communicate, “so do we” and “thank you for coming
back”. �As for Hood, I’ve heard it lots o’ times, but
it never gets old. I figured the lights would go down for glowsticks, but
they never did. �Anyway, it was a 20 -minute epic version. �Sample was
standard, but seemed to cap the evening nicely.

Matthew Harris
[email protected]


Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:28:38 -0600
From: Jeff frawley [email protected]
Subject: 2/15/03 review

First time in vegas, and I^�ve got to say I^�m coming back!! The town
itself was crazy, and oh yeah, wasn^�t there a phish show to see? This
first night did wonders for me and my confidence in the band. I loved the
night before, but I must say the second set at the forum left me a little
antsy for tonight. Whereas the night before, I felt the boys were really
pushing the envelope in a new style of heavy, dark,
trey-led-but-not-really-going-off-via-flashy-solos jamming, tonight was
more of a natural, just get out there and do your thing type show. For the
first time since the return, I felt absolute togetherness. Oh yeah, and
there was that Ghost^�

Llama- Good, high energy. Shorter than most llamas. Sound was not very
loud in the upper rows.

Wolfman^�s- Second time I^�ve seen a llama/wolfman^�s opening combo
(10/2/99).  I didn^�t think this one would do much in this slot, but man
did they funk it out! After a funk-less show in Inglewood, they really
broke it out in this wolfman^�s. They kept a nice groove going, and then,
right when I was wondering how far they were planning on taking it, they
dropped into

Reba!!!!- Knew we^�d get it in vegas. It^�d been too long! The sound in
the upper level definitely hurt this one, but it didn^�t stop me from
enjoying it. The slow build to the climax wasn^�t all that mind-blowing;
not much flow, but when they got there, they ripped the hell out of it.
Average reba, but that was just fine with me!

Life on Mars?- Big breakout, but most of the crowd obviously didn^�t know
it from the light response. Perfect placement^�nice break but still
incredible in that it^�d been on the shelf for six years. By this point,
we^�ve gotten a energetic opener, a long funk jam, a reba, and a Bowie
cover breakout. Who can say they haven^�t found their phlow yet now? All
we needed next was a loud, rocking jam to turn this set to gold.

46 Days- Thank you boys, that^�d work just fine. Took a while to start (I
think I like the cowbell on the album to start it the best); this one
started with trey strumming the cords, but the audience went nuts!! And in
the spirit of keeping the flow, they jammed this one to the perfect
length^�only eight minutes or so, but loud and piercing. Don^�t think I
could have handled another 20 minute version at this point^�wanted to see
what else they were pulling out. Left me drooling for another 46 days in
the near future.

It^�s Ice- wow, tell me the setlist isn^�t impressive. While this isn^�t
my favorite song, it^�s always a rare treat. Seemed really short to me,
kind of came and went, which once again I thought kept the flow going.
What a fun set.

Frankie Says- interesting choice. I liked the way they brought it up
slowly, almost like a twist.

Antelope- alright! Way over the top version to close the set, but it was
just what we needed. Trey just wouldn^�t stop building and building until
the reggae break. Definitely a loose, exceedingly climatic antelope, but
you couldn^�t have told that to the audience as the boys left the
stage^�absolutely wild!! Maybe it^�s just me, but this first set setlist
is incredible- up until this point, probably the best set since they^�ve
been back, in terms of consistency and togetherness.The antelope was the
final straw in terms of dealing with the sound up top, and I went to the
floor for the second set, page side. Good choice. Was hoping the second
set would back up the first set a little better than it had the night
before.

Waves- very happy when they started it up. Longer than the NYE version,
and not so Taste-esque-tension-and-release, as that version. I felt they
spent more effort exploring the depths of the jam tonight, rather than
worrying about getting it right the first time as on NYE(not that that was
a bad version). Nice contrasts between some dark grooves and also some
beautiful peaks.

Bug- Hard not to groan when they started it up, but I went at it with an
open mind (after all, it^�s been 2 � years) and the jam changed my opinion
on bugs forever!! Like the waves, less worried about the build to the end
as they were with the power of the jam. Being close to page was a plus, as
he and trey fed off each other^�s ferocity with the song^�s chords. Was
sad when the reached the final refrain, would^�ve loved more, but had no
time to worry as out from the ending came

GHOST!!!!- the sign guys(871 DAYS SINCE LAST GHOST) had to have been
happy;  I sure as hell was. Started off without the delay loop, but not in
the ^�97 way. Started with the chord-progression before the lyrics kicked
in^�gave everyone a couple of seconds to figure out what they were playing
before going nuts. This, the bathtub from the night before, and the piper
from the next night get my best of the west award. Not since ^�97 shows
have I heard them do such a great job of improvising as in these 3
versions. And it really felt like they were pulling together all of the
genres and styles they^�ve adopted over the past decade in this
ghost^�went from funk to rock to space to chaotic distortion and back
again. Plenty of those ^�is this an actual composition or still the jam^�
moments, and at one point, trey hit the first 2001 note(probably by
accident), and half the crowd went nuts thinking they were playing it. Get
this jam by all means! They cut the ^�87^� off the sign for the next
night, and I don^�t think anyone would have cared if they^�d played ghost
again that night.

Free- rose out of the ghost, didn^�t label it -> myself. High-energy free,
great funking by mike of course. They seemed to give him more freedom to
slap out those notes in the jam in this one.

Hood- I was nearly in tears when fish kicked in the drum beat. I was
getting my absolute favorite song which I knew would mark the end of a 5
song second set!! Incredible! This one was definitely beautiful, and
definitely different. They took forever to bust into the ^�feel good^�^�
climax. Trey was having fun goofing around before they did, and he layed
down some interesting licks that I^�ve never heard in a hood. Thought
maybe it was finally time to drop the distortion ending and just end the
song on one beat like old ones, but didn^�t happen. A very long, good hood
but different, this time in a good way. Great second set.

E: Sample- Fine by me. At least one review says the second night vegas was
the best of the west run, but I really think this night was one of the
better shows in years.  The first set had such a strong cohesiveness to
it, and while some of the jams in it weren^�t best-ever versions, I
couldn^�t have been more pleased with the setlist. The second set, for me,
was mindblowing. It was the first I^�ve left a show not worrying about
what they didn^�t play or didn^�t do. Felt like they were finally
^�back^�; continued development of a new tune, finally a really good
bug(imo), a ghost that re-invented the ghost jam, Mike kicking ass in
free, and a long hood...damn fine second set. The only disappointing
aspect was the ^�let^�s get as fucked up as we can regardless of the music
we just saw^� mentality of the lots. What a zoo, but it was no where near
as bad as the next night. Gotta hear the wolfman^�s, the bug, the waves,
and maybe the hood.

Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 18:29:03 -0500
From: [email protected]
Subject: 2-15-03 review

LA>Vegas>Denver (or how I learned to stop worrying and love the Phish) 
by M. Ryan Kious

Part II. 2-15-03 Fear and Loathing for Your Extra!  We were somewhere
around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the two Dr Peppers I�^�^�d
had began to take hold, and I had to pee. The drive from LA to Vegas must
have really changed since the days when Hunter S. Thomson drove his
convertible pharmacy to and from the Mecca of American Debauchery. Gone
were the red convertibles, the serene and empty desert, and imaginary
bats.  Replaced instead by Jettas and Explorers, bumper to bumper, and a
desert filled with very real trash (and who knows what else!)

For me, however, Vegas was just as I�^�^�d left it and I could wait for
more Phish. The Vegas lot is always a fuckin�^�^� party and I�^�^�m pretty
sure it�^�^�s illegal NOT to be drinking or participating in some other
dubious activity.  I can�^�^�t remember ever hearing �^�^�Pharmies�^�^� in
the lot before, but hey this 2003, things are changing. The general
admission rule in Vegas always means someone has to go in early or else
risk sitting behind the stage (which isn�^�^�t really a punishment!) The
show seemed to start a little late but that�^�^�s was good considering the
squeeze to get in. Llama is always a great opener and tonight was no
exception. The Wolfman�^�^�s seemed fitting given the big old yellow moon
that shone over the T&Mack at show time.  They brought the funk out for
this version, just in time too! Reba was well, Reba. One of everyone�^�^�s
favorite and one you don�^�^�t hear every day. This version sounded
particularly good to me but that could have been the layoff since my last
Reba (Denver 97!) I definitely didn�^�^�t expect the Life on Mars that
followed, but it was a treat. It sounded great too, like it had been a
tour staple all along. The 46 days that followed was high energy and a
ripping version. I fell like this one will be played a lot not only on
this tour but for years to come and after finally hearing it live I
can�^�^�t say I�^�^�m too disappointed. The It�^�^�s Ice seemed better
suited for frosty Denver but this short version was a nice treat as was
the rarely played Frankie Says that followed. The Antelope set closer
absolutely blew the roof off the joint and even mixed in a little reggae
and a Stash tease. What a first set!

In true Vegas fashion we were betting with group around us as to what the
second set opener would be (I had a Ghost and Mikes parlay going.) At
first I was a little taken aback by the Waves opener but that soon
changed. Once Kuroda threw on the aquamarine lights and the band started
settled in to a nice groove, I knew this would be a great version, which
it was, which is nice.  I can�^�^�t wait to hear it again! Bug matters,
always has to me. This version was the best version of this song I�^�^�ve
heard. I�^�^�m very glad that they went back to the old lyrics for the
ending refrain. Coming in we saw the banner that read, in old school
Winterland Fashion, 871 days since last Ghost. Obviously the band had too,
and they were happy to oblige. Once they kicked into the Ghost jam it sure
didn�^�^�t seem like 871 days ago. There was some nice improve and funk
jamming that made this Ghost a real highlight of the weekend. The Free the
followed was highlighted by the little Bass solo they gave Mike. It seemed
to me that for the rest of the weekend the solo seemed to wake up
Mike�^�^�s bass letting him cut lose a bit more. Harry Hood was and is,
obviously, the shizznit! Just hearing those notes again made what was
already a great show into a possible classic. This Hood sounded a little
different musically from others I�^�^�ve seen, and was a fine example of
Hood in the 21st century. The one song Sample encore was to me laughable
not because I don�^�^�t like it (I�^�^�ll always love ALL of Hoist.) It
was laughable to me it because it seemed to convey the message
�^�^�we�^�^�re is playing what we want, fuck the nay-sayers!�^�^� When I
first heard about the Wading encore on NYE, I thought, �^�^�bummer!�^�^�
But now I see they didn�^�^�t cut the Vegas or any other encores short
because Trey had to piss, or snort more coke, or wanted to get back to the
Mandalay Bay to party. They play what they feel like playing, and I
can�^�^�t fault them for that. If they start doing a Mr. Roboto, Styx-like
rock opera then that opinion might change. But for now I�^�^�m perfec tly
happy giving them the benefit of the doubt. All in all, one of the best
show�^�^�s I�^�^�ve ever seen, I can�^�^�t wait to hear it again.


Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 12:36:24 -0700 (MST)
From: Ben Knowles [email protected]
Subject: vegas 2/15 review

how do you fit 26 hours of driving and 2 phish shows into 3 and a half
days? i'm not sure, but my friends and i seem to have done it (denver ->
vegas -> denver, if you care), and it was well worth the effort.

some background: this was only my 2nd show, although i have many, many
hours on tape and have been full-on obsessed for a couple years now. in
short, i know what i like and i know what phish is capable of, but feel 
free to flame away at will...

the lots were very chill. met some kind pholks, very little security, no 
nitrous to speak of. waited too long to get in line and ended up in the 
LINE FROM HELL (and hence, somewhat shitty balcony seats), but other than 
that it was great.

here's the breakdown:

Llama - unremarkable opener. worried me a little, because the raucous 
nature of the song combined with our location made for particularly bad, 
boomy sound. i couldn't tell what the hell mike was playing, it was very 
muddy. but it got better...

Wolfman's Brother - here we go. the main thing i remember about this was 
funk, funk, and more funk. long exploratory version. damn.

Reba - this is where i'm sure the guys were thinking "let's show them 
we've been practicing!" the composed section was more-or-less nailed. not 
completely flawless, but no huge flubs. and the jam was NIIICE. great 
chill, especially. the ending was less-that-spectacular, imho, but overall 
i thought i was a solid B of a reba.

Life on Mars? - total out-of-left-field craziness. don't remember much, 
but it was good. 
 
46 Days - slower than usual (can i say that after only a few 
performances?), but ROCKIN'. 

It's Ice - not a huge ice fan, so i don't really have any specific 
thoughts about this one. if you like ice, you'll probably think this one 
is fine. more tight singing.

Frankie Says - man, they totally shined vocally on this night - i'm really 
happy they seem to be paying more attention to their harmonies. hampton 
had me worried...

Run Like an Antelope - slightly botched opening, but insane, TAB-like peak 
in the jam. it just went on forever. evidently there was a stash tease, 
but i must have missed it or don't remember it. oh well.

setbreak: uneventful. the usual shit.

Waves - this was WAY mellow. i liked it though. the jam really developed 
toward the end. a very melodic, slightly ambient groove type of thing - 
think camden chalkdust, but maybe slower and not as epic. i'll probably 
elaborate on this elsewhere, but this kind of jamming seems to be 
characteristic of phish's "new" sound. lots of group interplay, as always, 
but with trey leading melodically.

Bug - don't remember much about this. don't have much of an opinion.

Ghost - OH MY GOD. this was the clear musical highlight of the night. some 
people in the balcony had made a huge banner that said "871 days since
last ghost," so i imagine they were psyched. like most good ghosts, this 
one started out seriously funky and slowly built in energy as it went. 
great shit. there was a small glowstick battle if i recall.

Free - sick, sick mike. serious energy, very well-played.

Harry Hood - good version. opening was tight, great fishman. jam was 
wonderful, as usual. but the part that really blew my mind was a 
stop-on-a-dime silent jam in which trey kept on dancing all around the 
stage. crowd went wild, it was sweetness.

Encore: Sample in a Jar - meh. i would have preferred just about anything 
else. this sounded more or less like every other sample ever played, 
although i am assured by my friend who was with me that it was "really 
good." 

general observations: i'm still trying to get a handle on what exactly 
defines the "new phish" sound, and it's slowly coming together. for one, i 
think the band is playing really tightly right now, which is obviously 
great. lots of full-group jamming, often of a post-'97 groove/funk nature. 
but i also think trey is starting to be a little more assertive in the 
leader role. some people probably won't like this, but i say if it works, 
it works. then there's this whole "new" style of jamming - which really 
isn't new, but it does seem to be showing up more and more. it's where 
they stretch out a jam into some mellow, funky territory, and trey does 
some floaty, melodic, major-key noodling over the top of it. i really like 
that stuff, although if they start doing it in EVERY jam (some aspect of 
this was evident in wolfman's, waves, ghost, and hood) it will definitely 
start to get old. 

alright, that's it for night one. to be continued...

-nub

Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 14:14:17 -0700
From: j m [email protected]

WOW!� I've barely been to enough Phish shows to recognize something
special.� But Saturday night in Vegas was more than I've witnessed from
these guys and the Thomas & Mack was on fire with energy.� At first I
thought it was just me (my head was full)�but it just kept getting�better
and better.� The highlight of the show was the damn funky ghost that
liquified my skeletal structure.� And then straight out the ghost came
one of the harder hitting Frees around with a SICK jam from Mike.� Mike
seems to be leading things right now, but Trey was definetly more
coherent than Hampton.� This show is a must listen to, and the crowd
comes out wonderfully on the downloads from the Phish website.�
p.s.� best forty bucks I ever spent (the ticket)


Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 11:30:32 -0500
From: Chadwick, Paul [email protected]
Subject: 2/15/03

Here is the deal with this show:  You get 5 monster songs that can not be
beat.  You get the Reba, Antelope, Bug, Ghost & Free.  Yes, you can come
at me with Mike's, Moma, Maze, DwD & GBOTT, but I like my chances.  On top
of that you throw in a way-above average Wolfman's and Hood, plus a 7 year
break-out of Life On Mars?.  And of course a monster 46 Days (wow! the
drums on this are insane)...this was a power-packed show with a fantastic
list and I think the flow that everybody has been complaining about since
new years...best show since they've been back...easy

Paul Chadwick

Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 17:25:10 -0800
From: Mike K [email protected]
Subject: KeY

This show was key for a good TriP to Phish In Vegas. backstage both
nights was veign They could at least make an apearance. whatever it's
almost as if there is a wall. Llama was an intense opener. Followed by a
truly funky wolfmans Bro (Turn Page Up) Reba is always a good jam. Life
on mars showed the true talent of phish as Music lovers and not rock
stars. 46 days is a cool drumbeat but the chors are to close to One more
saturday night (You know what I am talking about trey, No Woman no Cry?
or is it Farm house. Funky it's Ice very Good dance not as good sounding
as the album version. Trippy Frankie says Run like an antalope was a
little over the top for my tastes (You can only take one note so far!) I
would be more impressed if they played�straight up jazz standardS ,All of
me, a night in tunisia, Hell why not cover the whole Kind of blue Album,
That would be and awsome phish show. Waves was weak, I like the album�
version but the jam�was off, Bug It doesn't matter ! !�! ! ! bUg it
doesn't matter!� Rockin fREE�way better than on the Billy breathes
version. Oh yeah and a sample in a jar encore (like I havn't heard that�A
million times, (TREY�TOUR 2002 uic pavilion encore)�Please write me back
let me know what you thought [email protected] peace


Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 17:46:45 +0000
From: N H [email protected]
Subject: Vegas 15th show


Just wanted to drop you a line expressing my amazement after the show on
the 15th.� It was my birthday, the trip from Missouri complements of my
fianc�, and I couldn't have asked, prayed, or pleaded for a better time.�
I had heard of Phish's new freshness since hiatus, but nothing prepared
me for this.� My last shows were Chula Vista and Irvine 2000 and my
fianc�s's was Big Cypress.� This was truly a magical night with not only
all my dreams coming true but also those on the second level with their
mammoth declaration of "871 days since the last Ghost."� My only question
is, did they plan on playing that anyway or had they talked it over
during break and thought those who had went to the trouble for making it
deserved to hear it.� Either way Im sure everyone's wishes were granted
that evening.� It was my best birthday ever and one thing is for sure....
THEY ARE
BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NATHAN HORNE


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