7-1-99 -- First American Music Ctr, Antioch, TN

Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1999 15:49:50 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: review for 7/1/99 - i dont fully agree with all the other reviews of
    this show.

Tenessee was the first show this year for me. Since we were driving from New
Jersey we figured that it was just too damn far to drive to Kansas and all
the way back to Tennessee. Just before the show, someone was telling me about
a rumor that they heard that Willie Nelson would be appearing on stage. I
didn't believe it at the time.

The Review:

PYITE is such a great song to start off a set/show with. My buddies and I all
knew what the boys were going to play as soon as Trey's pick played the first
muted intro note. It was so tight I couldn't even get a groove on, i just sat
in my *awesome* seat and smiled as big as i could have smiled.
Billy Breathes came out next, and it just rocked. Once the singing was over,
Trey played the lead as good as I've ever heard. The first thought I had when
it was over is "Trey sounds more like Trey than ever!"
Guyute couldn't have been tighter, and this one brought me to my feet. The
whole song was great, especially the end when Trey played the lead. He was
turned slightly to his right and looking slightly up, right at my seat, and
wailing out the notes on that custom languedoc of his. It was awesome.
Then they announced that they would like to bring out some musical guests
from the area. "I can't believe Willie F*cking Nelson is really here!" I
thought. I was wrong. Instead they brought out a couple of local
musicians.
I'm not sure who they were, but once they started playing it really didn't
matter. It seemed that things could have gone a little more smoothly, but its
gotta be nerve racking to appear infront us all expecting so much from Phish
and also to actually try to keep up with them. I thought every one who
appeared on stage kicked some serious ass considering this. It was the first
time I heard "Back on the Train" and now that I have heard it in concert
about 3 or 4 times I have to say that the one in Tennesee is WAY better than
all of the rest of the ones i heard. I love Phunk and this song really   
delivered. Phish played most of their "bluegrass flavored tunes" with the
exception of Ginseng Sullivan. Ever song seemed appropriate, and all of the
musicians got a chance to solo for a little bit, and they all were
awesome.
        During set break, my oppinion was that the first set rocked, but
being my first show of this tour, I wanted to see PHISH and was not quite
fully satisfied, but it was still a great time.
        Down with disease had me rockin' hard core. It was long and great and
got all spaced out for a little bit, and when i realized Trey was bringing
the lead riff back into the song i started groovin real hard again. This was
weird because i thought i was the only one dancing for this, but then i
realized that it was just because i totally saw trey bringing it back
together before everyone else new what was about to hit them. Caspian was
next. At first i thought they were going to play Caspian, but then after
thinking about it for a few seconds I thought they would play something a
little more complex, so i started getting excited. The spotlight lit up trey
and it was Caspian. It was OK, and i was happy to hear it knowing how much
Trey loves to play this song.
YEM was the peak. The band played the written parts beautifully, and broke
out into such an amazingly full sounding jam. In my oppinion, this was the
best jam of tour so far (besides Kansas-I wasnt there). The lights were the
best I've ever seen, and the whole band knew what they were doing, but i
think they had just as hard of a time believing it as i did. Trey was groovin
all over the stage, looking at Mike and Page and smiling widely, and mike and
Page smiled back even wider. The feeling it gives me to see the guys having
so much fun onstage is like no other feeling in the world. The best jam of
the tour ended, and the boys left the stage with the excitement of knowing
that they just kicked some serious ass.
I have to apologize to all who are reading this for what I am about to say:
Character Zero Encore: Totally killed the show for me. I don't mind listening
to the song once in a while, but I don't really like it and it just wasn't an
encore song I wanted to hear at that moment, although it was played pretty
well. I told my buddy after the show that I hate that song, and everyone in
the place turned around and gave me a dirty look! Oh well. You can't even
imagine how pissed off I was when Phish closed VA Beach with my all time 
favorite song ever - Simple, only to come on and do yet ANOTHER CHARACTER
ZERO ENCORE??? I literally left the planet when simple was played after such
an awesome show, and actually frowned and sat down during character zero. It
ruined my roll.
Sorry to get off track. Tennesse rocked and you all need the tape. I hope to
see you on the rest of the tour! 4 days in a row of Phish is really tiring. I
need this break before Great Woods - we all know how awesome that show
will
be!

Joe
[email protected]   

Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1999 02:13:58 -0500
From: mkingrey 
To: [email protected]
Subject: Antioch Review 

    This show was my first since last November, in Murfreesboro, TN. It
really kicked the hell out of that Murfreesboro show. The atmosphere was
so thick you could cut it with a knife. And you could feel that you were
engaging in something unique.
I enjoyed the guest musicians and the country sound given to the songs. I
liked Wolfman's Brother a whole lot. Pyite rocked the house too. It was a
really fun concert and it was great to dance in the walkways and have the
security boys chase you back to the crowd.
    The storm was iceing on the cake. It was like the weather was the 5th
band member, providing a steady beat and an awesome lightshow. I felt
like i was at Woodstock when the rain came pouring down, and I'm standing
there shirtless and see a hill of mud to conquer.
    I was hoping for Rocky Top for the enchore but i can't complain. I
left the show wet and muddy as i walked to my ride with a group that was
bonded by this show.
Everyone stops at the exit and just starts yelling and cheering for no
apparent reason. A perfect end to a perfect night when i literally waded
in the Velvet Sea.
-matt kingrey 

Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1999 17:44:56 -0600
From: CFP Front Desk [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: brief review Antioch  7/1

This is going to be as short and sweet as possible-
       Due to the evil time restraints placed on me by work- my longtime
Phish bro (first show together '92) and I weren't able
to hop on tour like so many times before and were only able to catch
Sandstone and Antioch. So coming into Antioch I was
really geared up for a hot one; one that would leave me no choice but to
quit my job and jump on the train. We had scammed
a room at the Marriot in Nashville for really cheap, which allowed us to
soak our bones in the hot tub after the lenghty over
night drive from KC. So feeling revived we headed to the lot, which had a
strange feel to it, small yet spread out--alot like
Walnut Creek. It was a relaxed scene and quite a contrast from the madness
that would ensue during the second set. We
found a chill spot low on the center of the lawn and settled in. The boys
came on and wasted no time getting down and dirty
with a quality PYITE. Billy provided a good opportunity to take a breath
and relax. Next came Guyute... this tune has been
a favorite ever since my first 12/29/94. It's always fairly standard (as
far as Phish goes) but it gets down and dirty and tonight's
version had the "dark" quality that I love. "Guyute glances in my eyes, and
manages to hypnotize..."   After this some special     guests sat in with
the band. The rest of the set had a hoedown type feel, which was
appropriate being in Nashville. The horn was particularly cool during Poor
Heart.  All in all a great first set. At some point during the first set
Trey mentioned that they were "REALLY happy to be here." I think the band
felt a lot more relaxed than the night before, a show which had moments of
greatness but never really gelled.
    Lights go down, time for second set. I was praying that it would be a
complete meltdown set...and it was. It began
with the eerie feedback and Trey's guitar loops which usually turns into
either a 2001 or DWD- I love it when Phish starts off a
set like this, you just know they are going to get into some thick freaky
shit. Well, tonight we got DWD- I was fired up
because you know this song can go places and that the boys will go with it
as long as they want. Trey seemed to continue
the great guitar rift after the last lyrics "This has all been
wonderful...." a few more times than usual before diving into the jam.
This seemed to get the crowed fired up and I felt that the band really fed
off all the added energy and were ready to take this
one places. They didn't do anything too off the wall during the jam, but it
was super tight and Mike was just dropping bombs in
all the right places. Towards the end of the jam (20+ mins.) they slowed it
down a bit and just as everyone was about as
spun out as possible Trey quietly brought the DWD rift back around and took
the song and the entire venue to another
peak. They slowly started morphing back into another familiar sound, yep
Prince Caspian....I was a little bummed when they
first started playing it because it is so traditionally slow. Yet this one
actually sounded good, some incredible flow to it. The
way they played just felt "wet" which made the lyrics more poignant.
Towards the end of the song it actually did start to get
wet as a light rain began to fall. There was a beautiful jam out of Caspian
and without hestitation BAM! Right into YEM. It was on
kids! The events that followed during the YEM belongs on an episode of the
X-Files. As the song built the rain bulit.
When Trey hit THE note there was a tremendous flash of lightning and it was
obvious that we were thick in the pudding at
this point. The jam in YEM was just sick- so heavy- and the harder they
played the worst the weather got. It seemed that with
every pinnacle the boys would hit there would be a corresponding bolt of
lightning- it was scary. There was so much electricity
in the air I really thought that someone was going to get struck. I think
Phish got a little freaked themselves and went into the
vocal jam earlier than they would have otherwise. But this was no typical
vocal jam, it was more like a chant to the gods and
I kid you not when I say that they summoned a monsoon. MELTDOWN!!!!!!
The Character Zero encore was powerful too,
although shortened by the weather. This song appropriately concluded summer
99 phish for me- the dilemma of deciding
whether to keep working in the straight ass world or jump back on the road
with the band I love.
  "Things I knew that I forget....no one taught that to me yet!!!!"   Until
the West coast in the fall...
 
Jared Proctor

Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1999 16:11:24 -0500
From: "Overman, Ryan" [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: 7/1/99 show review
 
7/1/99 show review:
 
Just a couple of comments about the show...
As mentioned before, there might have been some sort of problem with the
lights throughout the entire show.  The lights were not particularly
amazing, rather bland...definitely not anything like the pictures I see at
http://eyes.stanford.edu/ATL7-3-99/index.shtml and
http://eyes.stanford.edu/ATL7-4-99/index.shtml
The opening three songs seemed to follow the trend that Trey spoke of in
interviews- playing and emphasizing well-written songs with less dependency
on band arrangement.  Furthermore, all three songs were performed by Trey
solo on his Electric/Acoustic tour this spring.
Though I feared it wouldn't due to the guest onstage, the funk in Wolfman's
Brother did manage to reach abyss-like depths that became pinnacle to the
jamming of 1997 and 1998.  Have no fear, lovers of funk!  The new trends in
Phish playing don't seem to be taking over their need to kick out the
back-end of your ass with the thick and heavy groove.  The remnants of the
playing style of the last two years are still there, though is decreased
proportion.
The Roggae jam struck me as a testament to the influence of Page and Trey's
playing with Phil Lesh this spring.  The jam churned around without chord
movement with the many voices scanting around without a dominant voice,
reminiscent of the jamming style of The Other Ones, which is a reincarnate
of Grateful Dead jamming- stylistically similar but involving more voices
without predomination.
Perhaps I'm just a Phish puritan, but I did not particularly enjoy the 7
songs played with guests- with the exceptions of the Wolfman's Brother and
Roggae.  Being one the first shows of the year, I was hoping for an
awakening of that forceful yet joyous spirit and that ceaseless creativity
inside the realm of the Phish planet, but I was not quite ready for a
reinvention or the creativity from outside that realm.
The second set was the answer to my desires.
Though I heard some speak of a disenchanted Down with Disease afterwards, I
was totally entranced by the primordial scream that opened the second set.
The jam slowly lost it's 'pipe-hitting' orientation and driving force (be it
over a period of 15 minutes or so), and slowly become disoriented and
dredged along without much unity- harmonic, rhythmic, or otherwise.
However, I perceived this as a conceptual plot that the jam naturally
followed (opposed to thinking of it as a lack of communication between band
members, as I heard one other analytical lad mention).  And at the deepest
point of despair and disorientation, a single voice (you know which one) was
raised up in that familiar melodic line and began slowly picking up the
"diseased" pieces of the jam and brought the band back together in a roaring
reprisal of a long lost theme.  Regardless, it was long and loud, big and
nasty- just like I like it.
Prince Caspian, always charged up with Trey's relentless fervor, was rather
wonderful.  It was unfinished, as Page's soloing ended abruptly and without
any signal that I could see as You Enjoy Myself launched off on the exact
next beat where Prince Caspian left off.   As expected, Trey fiddled with
the techno keyboard during an extremely long ambient section.  The rain
started to pour and lightening started to wail, as if it were choreographed
by the Jam God himself.  And most memorably, a huge sequence of lightning
lit up the sky just as Trey let loose the famous 10-12 second note.  The jam
found Mike riding on the Meatball, flopping along onstage in envelope
heaven.  The jam ended in early-to-mid 90's fashion with the ominous
unintelligible line being reprised at the end of a Mike solo.  The vocal jam
did manage to give me goose-bumps with its euphonious harmonic content, and
I was happy to see that the vertically 360-degree-spinning-light theme did
not surface.
The rain persisting with enormous strength, Character Zero ended the
shortest set 2-encore waiting period in history.  This song seems almost a
perfect blur to me now, having been completely soaked and in some-sort of
trance...I can say that it was loud.  Did I mention that it was raining?
 
In all honesty, this may have been my least favorite Phish show that I have
attended.  (I have been to some duesies in my day- can you say "11/14/98
eighth row center"?)  But that is no kind of testament to the quality of
playing that was to be had.  Many were overjoyed by the guest performances.
Many were overjoyed by the rain.  I was overjoyed just to be at a Phish show
after this long wait.  But overall, it was like an experience that begged
for more.
 
Ryan Overman
[email protected]
www.butler.edu/~roverman/home8.html

Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 22:46:41 EDT
From: nathan donat [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: antioch

Good show last night in Nashville, but felt like a tease.
Coasted right into the lot around four and bought a ticket.  Pretty laid
back lot, grabbed a fantastic and cheap quesadilla and walked over to hear
the soundcheck.  Caught the tail end of a song I'd never heard before. Also
heard (quite clearly, which was very nice) Water in the Sky, and a very
heartfelt, beautiful Brian and Robert.  Particularly good to hear a slow one
outside of the context of a show, when you can concentrate on the subtleties
of the music without the crowd growing impatient.

Grabbed a seat just about dead center of the lawn.  What's up with the new
stage configuration?  The boys arrived fashionably late and launched into a
great PYITE opener.  Got very pumped for what would hopefully be a rocking
night.  This was followed by an oddly placed Billy Breathes.  Nonetheless,
it was well played and I remember being particularly impressed with the 
vocals.  Guyute, tight as always.

Then the first set became fantastic.  First they brought out a guy on
dulcimer for a straight up raunchy Wolfman's.  He added a great sound. They
then brought out a mandolin and a fiddle for a couple of fun bluegrass
numbers.  Sweatin like a pig by the time they busted out... Roggae?  What
the?  This is why I love Phish.  They are always exploring the possibilities
of sound.  With a mandolin, dulcimer, and fiddle on board, Roggae would have
been just about my last call, but man, did it make for a richly textured,
spacey Roggae.  I really liked it.  Then they played a new song about a
train.  I think I heard Trey play it solo this spring, but I could be
wrong.
  I really dug this song.  Kind of bluesy structure but what made it so good
was that it was really bouncy and funky.  Loads of fun.  This song is a
welcome addition to any set.  Pure Phishy fun.  Water in the Sky was kind of
a jones because everybody kind of backed off and gave each other space but
nobody filled it.  That song begs for quick little solo notes, but just
about everyone played rhythm.  Still good.  Closed with an absolutely 
spectacular Poor Heart that added an unannounced horn player who really
kicked it up a notch.  Everyone was getting down.  There were eight people
on that stage!  Wow.  Great first set.

I had a lot of expectations for the second set.  I hadn't seen Phish since
last fall, and was itching to hear the four of them lay down that groove all
together.  And the first set didn't really provide that since they chose
mainly structured songs and then brought out guests.  So I was hoping they
would get into some thick jams in the second set.  DWD opened, which I
really like as a set opener.  However, DWD is mainly a Trey goin off song,
and I was hoping for a Ghost or Bowie where everybody is stirring the pot.
Still though, can't complain about Trey goin off.  And off he went.  Good
stuff that melted down into straight up noise.  Thick, muddy, spaciness. It
was cool.  This more or less segued into Caspian, which was Caspian.  At the
end, Page was playing very light little notes like the end of Coil with Trey
adding some here and there as well, and I loved it.  Really delicate. This
more or less segued into YEM.                           

Here we go!  The lightning began approaching and became more frequent as the
song progressed and the rain began slicing through the humidity and just
started pouring.  The post tramp work was TIGHT.  Absolute sickness.
Everybody gettin down.  Mike was throwing down some wet nasty grooves.
Funkalicious.  I had a stellar time during the YEM.  Just soaked, whole
crowd whooping it up.  Literally hosed.  And then...

they walked off.  Aaargh.  I understand the concerns with the lightning and
all, but... ugh.  The show was just getting started.  And to add insult to
injury they encored with Not Another Character Zero.  Aw man.  And then just
walking out in the torrential rain with no veggy burrito and beer kids
waiting to greet you.  Worst end to a Phish concert ever.

Still though.  All in all, heard some great music that night.  Nobody puts
on a better show than Phish, hands down.  Can never get my fill, but
particularly after Antioch, it's gonna be a long wait til Alpine Valley. 
Hopefully when they come around to the Pyramid, they'll give Tennessee a big
fat rain check.

Sharin in the groove

Trone

[email protected] 


Date: Fri, 2 Jul 1999 23:45:04 -0400
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Antioch show

I just wanted to make a quick review of last night's show before the
weekend. I'm really looking forward to the Atlanta shows and I think last
night left a lot of opportunities open. The first set got it kickin with a
great PYITE. Absolutely packed with energy. With this kind of momentum I
was completely shocked that they played Billy Breathes next. While still a
pretty good version, I can't help but be sad that things slowed down so
much. The Guyute that followed was more than welcome as I was ready to get
back to dancin again. This time the boys didn't let me down following
Guyute with a nice Wolfman's made sweeter by the dobro of Jerry Douglas.
After this, I kinda felt that things got a little sloppy (Beauty of my
Dreams, Done My Time?, Roggae, and Water in the Sky). I guess this was just
cuz the guests had trouble keepin up with the phab phour. But not to worry.
It was great dancin music. Really enjoyable with an EXCELLENT Poor Heart to
close the set. Each of the guests took a solo and it was a blast. The
setbreak was almost a welcome rest for my legs.
I was really anxious to see what the boys would open up with for the second
set. (that PYITE was really groovin) Not sure what to expect I was
surprised by DWD. My experiences with this song in the past haven't shown
it to have that much energy, but this TWENTY-FIVE minute version really
rocked. Not much to dance to after about 15 minutes, but it was just great
to listen to with your jaw on the floor and whatnot. This was quickly
followed by a nice Caspian that totally prepared me for the YEM that
followed. As the rain started to fall, I realized that YEM was going to
have to be the closing tune so I was hoping for a really long one. While it
wasn't another 40 minute version, it nicely filled about 25 minutes and it
was PHAT. This was an excellent version of YEM and I couldn't have been
more happy to hear it that night. I felt like the energy of the song was
building perfectly with the storm around us leading to an absolute downpour
(of tunes and rain) by the time the vocal jam started. The rain didn't let
up for the phun Character 0 encore that quickly followed and our boys were
off.
Not that great of a first set, but it was good for dancing. The second set
was rockin and we had a lot of fun dancing in the rain. I do think they
were holding something back though. Anticipations are high for this
weekend.

Date: Sun, 4 Jul 1999 16:03:36 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: double light show
 
I am going to keep this one nice and short, because the previous reviews
explained pretty much every thing.  For my first phish show, this was an
experience.  The first set was great, and the vibes were extending from
everywhere.  The first set was a bluegrass frenzy. I have traded tapes for
about a year and I have yet to write on one setlist so many asterisks and
arrows for all the guests (it almost didn't fit).  PYITE was a surprisingly
great opener, and Billy Breathes was flowing.  Guyute was a great
transitional point for the guests to come on stage.  Then it started to
groove, into wolfman's brother, roggae, and the rest.  Great for a first set
and a tapers dream with the guests and all.
By the time the second set started the lightning began, and as it progressed
on, the bolts came closer and closer.  The DWD was great, i hadn't heard a
jam like that with DWD before.  Caspian was soothing as usual, then the
chills began with yem.  The vibes were really great throughout this song and
it seemed that we were all trying to do a rain dance.  As the song went on,
and the trampolines ensued, the rain became harder and harder.  I don't know
it might have been some stuff, but it seemed like the lightning and the rain
were in tune with the music, my friend leaned over and said it's a double
light show.  After being a little nervous about the lightning i finally gave
in and somewhat urged the lightning on. The point when yem ended after all
the climaxes, the sky opened and we all aimed our heads to the sky and felt
truly free, for a moment.  Then i realized that, that was it, all be it
good.
 Character 0 was a great encore.  It was difficult trudging through the
tretorous muddy way out.  But every one was still in a good mood, despite
the
hard hitting rain.  Later after hitting the waffle house down the highway i
found out there was a tornado in a town just a little north.  Being my first
show  i was in awe.
 
check you later
 
Patrick


Date: Fri, 2 Jul 1999 13:03:15 -0000
From: character-0 [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: The Water In The Sky Show

Well, well, well...
Still drying out after the show at The F.A.M.C. in Tennessee, and despite
the deluge that occurred during the second set, much chaotic fun was had by
all in the pouring rain...
My wife and I were lucky to have receive 9th row tickets to witness the
Nashville home cooking that was to occur in the first set...
Continuing with the on-going practice of incorporating a wide variety of
musicians to perform with Phish in order to test new musical waters, the
band was joined by local Nashville players Jerry Douglas on dorbro, Ronny
McCoury on mandolin, and Tim O'Brien on fiddle...These three guys are some
of the most predominate new bluegrass players in the country and they
helped open-up the door for a genre that Phish has tapped into on several
of their albums...
Jerry Douglass appeared first to play Wolfman's Brother, and while seeming
overwhelmed for a few moments, the gracious space given by Trey and the
rest of the band loosened-up his masterful and fluent slide runs on the
dobro...
The jamboree continued through the first set, ending with a throw-down,
bouncing, old-school free-for-all with Ronny McCoury, Tim O'Brien, and Gary
"El Buho" Gazaway on "Appalachian Trumpet" (?!?)...
Definitely not a typical Phish set, but incredibly perfect for Nashville
where there are lots of great "pickers" existing among the mainstream,
"Hollywood" modern country music...
The second set, however, started to get really weird, really fast...
As the set opened with a rocking "Down With Disease", the groove was on. In
overwhelming excitement, my wife's dancing muse found more room for
movement in the aisle beside our seats. Her bliss was rudely cut short by
some weird, nervous security guide who kicked us out of the pavilion and
our great seats even though we nicely agreed to return to our "proper
places"...
It was during a very moving "Prince Caspian" that mild sprinkles of rain
began to cool down the hot summer night but as the set moved into "You
Enjoy Myself", the Water In The Sky Began to pour upon the crowd in what
seemed to be Biblical proportions...
Some folks decided to take shelter at the concession stands, but my wife
and I, considering our states of mind, danced like soaked dervishes,
relishing in the the intense lightning and thunder that rumbled an
earth-shaking undercurrent to the dynamic swells of  "Y.E.M."
The forces of nature usurped the provided light show but unfortunately
seemed to cut short the set...The encore proved to be cryptic for me on a
more personal level as they ended-up with the song that I have chosen for
my cyber-space name...
"Character-0"
Weird, Wet, Chaotic and intense...What more could one ask for from what is
the most interesting and un-predictable musical experience on the road
today...
I can't wait for my next Show...

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hits since 7-5-99 5pm pacific(many)