7-20-01 - Riverport Ampitheatre, Maryland Heights, MO

Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 07:15:38 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Muir [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Trey Riverport Show
 
This was the only Trey show my friends and I were
going to see.  We figured that we had so much fun at
Riverport in '98 that we would go back.  We all went
with little or no expectations.  We knew there was no
variation in setlists, but thought we would give it a
try anyway.  The one positive aspect was that we
didn't have to fight traffic that usually goes along
with a Phish show.  But that was it.  I couldn't tell
you what songs they played, but that doesn't matter.
And people may rip on Tony and Russ and the rest of
the "band," but that's not who i'm concerned with.
The main problem with Trey's band is Trey.  My
girlfriend was in the show for a little under 10
minutes and started to cry.  Now, i'm sure a person's
perception of Trey depends greatly on what Phish
show's they have seen.  In our case, we have hit many
of the epic shows in the last 4 years, so we know what
he is capable of.  When he is on, he gives the other 3
room to explore and take leads.  He performs at his
best as the utility man, filling in where they are
lacking, and taking leads when it is his turn.  He is
not Phish's conductor, but simply 25% of their genius.
 Granted he wrote most of the music, but it took the 4
of them to take it to the level that they did.  With
his current band, i see the exact opposite of what he
contributed to Phish to make them great.  At
Riverport, he was just standing there, strumming,
constantly looking back and never even coming close to
finding a groove.  The music that he is writing now is
based primarily around the jam.  The music that he
wrote 15 years ago was based around so many things i
can't even begin to understand, but i know that jams
arose and had a destination.  There is no destination
with this band.  There is no journey.  Exploration and
improvisation are what every Phish kid was there to
see, and the band wanted it as much as we did.  And I
believe that in their moments of true genius, they
couldn't even control it.  Trey was a simply a vessel
through which enlightenment flowed.  The times when he
didn't try and control it were the times that he moved
us most.  There is no chance for this band to do that.
 I have no negative feelings about Phish going off
tour.  I believe that they made the best choice they
could have.  In their last year together they gave us
more then we ever could have imagined.  Their show on
6-22 changed my life and gave me a view of that world
that i wouldn't trade for anything.  Trey's band will
not change lives.  Trey's band will never come close
to something as meaningful as The Curtain With.  When
i think of Trey's current project, all i can picture
is the part of Bittersweet Motel when Trey and Fishman
are talking about their first gig.  "You paid us" they
yelled, holding up the check.  That is the vibe i got
from him, and it hurt.  But no matter what Trey does
in the future, it will never change what he did with
Phish.  And we will never forget the connection we had
on those truly special nights.  For so long I thought,
why couldn't I have been my parents age, and seen the
Dead in '68 and '69.  But upon reflection, what Phish
created makes me proud to be the age that I am.  They
are a symbol for everything that I believe in, and
that is forever.
 
Michael


Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 08:39:46 -0700 (PDT)
From: Ricky Duke [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 7-20 Riverport Show
 
I need to preface this review by stating that I am not a trust fund hippie. I
do not have endless amounts of time to go on tour, and I do not sell items in
the lot to supplant my income. I have a job, and as such, I can only see one
or two shows a year. Last year with Phish 2000, I was lucky enough to see
four: two at Columbus and two at San Francisco. But this summer I only had
time for one show, hence St. Louis.
 
And what a show it was! I am constantly amazed at these so called fans (from
the reviews that I have read) arriving at the show and not understanding why
"Mike's Song" is not being played.
 
It makes me wonder where these reviewers would have written back in 1984.
"Dude, why do they always have to play 'Divided Sky?'" "What, 'Fluffhead'
again?"
 
I know now why Trey has been thanking people on this tour for coming out and
seeing his new stuff, because he has probably been reading these reviews from
people still clinging on to Phish.
 
If his new stuff doesn't grab you, then don't come. But let me tell you, it
was extremely easy to hear what he has been working on before I went to the
show. He had a webcast, there have been oodles of mp3's floating out there,
and to show up at the theater and be flabbergasted thinking that it sounds
like a bad George Clinton show, well that is just ignorance. Anyway, I
wouldn't mind seeing P Funk on a bad night.
 
As for those who complain that he is playing too many of the same songs, all I
can say is GET A CLUE! You read the Winter tour setlists. He is not doing any
Phish...except for the occassional acoustic "Bathtub Gin." The man only has
about 20-25 songs to mess around with. So it's your own fault if you bought
tickets to four or five shows. Personally, I wish I could see the next four or
five shows.
 
We had third row seats, and the show was awesome. Starting into the extremely
bass driven "Last Tube," we knew the night would be extremely groovin'.
"Cayman Review" is very Marshall-esque, and my friend, Rob, is a big fan of
the "Shakin' it up, Shakin' it down" sequence.
 
"Burlap Sack and Pumps" showed off the horns, and "Moesha" was hilarious! I
think that song is great, and those of you who are whining because it is too
goofy or you don't get to hear "Squirming Coil," well come over to my place
and I'll play about 20 different versions for you.
 
"Alive Again" started out slow, so I wasn't sure that it would close the set,
but it built really nicely, leaving us with an hour and a half first set.
 
"Money, Love and Change" has great power, and it was one of the songs I was
not as familiar with. The slow song after that gave us time to pull out our
bubble guns. Shannon Remley (hey, I promised I would put her name in here)
started blowing bubbles toward the stage, and for some reason, they just kind
of floated around, surrounding the musicians, who it looked like, were getting
off on it. Well guys, that was us.
 
The next song was not "Quantegy" like the setlist says but rather "Mr.
Completely" which just tore off the roof. Big wall of sound there....into the
highlight of the night..."Sand" lasting about 25-30 minutes long with each
section breaking it down old school (like an old fool).
 
"Push on til the Day" with a great new horn jam and "Will it Go Round in
Circles" finished off the incredible evening. Didn't get my "Mozambique" but
I'm not complaining.
 
I just wish that other "fans" could accept changes the way I do. I'm not
saying that you have to like everything that the members of Phish put out
(personally the worst thing I have ever heard is the CD "Crimes of the Mind,"
which sounds like a bad Van Halen cover band) but the critiques this time are
unwarranted. Too much repetition...not enough improvisation...it will just
never be enough until the four lads take it on the road again, will it?
 
Trey, I think the new stuff is rockin'. I wish I could see another show, but
I'll be back at Oysterhead. See the real fans out there.

Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 11:16:59 -0500
From: "McKenzie, Chris" [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: riverport show 7-20-01

I would just like to say that this show like so many of the others on this
tour(based on the reviews of intelligent right thinking people) is right on.
Definitely different than PHISH and many other bands, but excellent in their
own right.  Trey is the man.  He has always impressed me with his talent, but
to be able to put this band together and in such short time produce the songs
and perform like they have is unbelievably impressive.  I look very forward to
seeing him again and with others(Oysterhead).  Different doesn't mean bad,
because in this case it is definitley outstanding.......

Christopher P. McKenzie
[email protected]

Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 13:04:20 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mike Crawley [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 7-20-01 Riverport Show
 
ALL I CAN SAY IS YOU COULDN'T HAVE SEEN THE SHOW THAT I SAW!!!  All of these
negative reviews are wearing me out!  I mean anyone with ears at Riverport on
Friday night couldn't have left disappointed!  The intensity levels were there
right from the very first note of Last Tube and just continued to build
through the last note of Alive Again....and exploded again with Money, Love
and Change all the way to the end when we were all Going Round in Circles.
 
My question is this....WHY must every other review try to analyze these shows
like a Phish Show?  OR THIS TOUR LIKE A PHISH TOUR?  IT'S NOT PHISH!  IT'S
DIFFERENT!  TREY'S proven that HE'S NOT TRYING TO MAKE "PHISH WITH HORNS!"  I
understand that it may get old seeing the same 15 songs over and over
again...but he told you all that this is what he was planning on doing....he's
introducing us all to what he's in to...and it's a beautiful mixture of things
that he could never pull off with Phish.  Don't go to the whole tour if you
don't want to experience today!  Go get a CD if you want to relive yesterday!  
I do it all the time...(NOT ALL) but a lot of you need to look at this tour in
a different way...Each show should be looked at as a show...for that
night...and not as "why is he playing the same songs as last night?"  This
tour is about THESE SONGS and how THESE SONGS can be used to create different
emotions and different feelings by placing them in different situations in a
setlist.  I thought it was brilliant!  I've heard a couple of the other shows
on cd before I went...I was at the Fox Theater Shows in Atlanta...Trey is in a
beautiful creative place...it's not the same as PHISH...but it's not supposed
to be.  Most of you seem to be so blinded by the past that your missing the
present.
 
I'm sorry that I had to jump up on my soap box, but I'm sure someone out there
feels the same way!  I'm digging Trey's new band.  I was on the 3rd row at
Riverport and I saw how much fun they were having and I felt the energy in the
room.  The people that are writing negative reviews were nowhere around me or
my friends.  So for those of you yet to experience what we were blessed with
on Friday night....don't put a lot of stock into all of this negativity!  Go
in with an open mind and I promise Trey and Company will blow it for you!
 
I've written too much to review this show, and I hope someone will write in
and do it justice...but I have to say John Medeski added a lot to this
show...he was driving a lot of the ambient grooves and made a lot of
noise....This show IMO is one you have to hear for yourself to believe.  Not
because it was "so much different" than the night before, but because it was
great music....and I hope that's what we're all into....not the cry baby stuff
I've been reading about!


Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2001 19:21:25 -0500
From: jorie eplee [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Riverport
 
All I can say is that I would rather of seen Little Feet (Blues and Jazz
Fest at KC) that night.  The show was good but not worth traveling for.  Too
much of the same thing over, over, and over again. By the end of the first
set I was bored.
I didnt know any of the new songs and probably wont for a long time because
they all just seemed to blend together like a bad George Clinton show.
I did enjoy the majority of the horns and all of the keyboards (Medeski
stole the show for me).
The kicker of it all is that I went to go see Trey play with these other
musicians and I ended up respecting them more than the main guy.
It took me awhile to get used to phish, and with this gig he's got going on
it's going to take a lot longer.
I'm very interested to see Oysterhead....
Anyway, Trey's Rave was not much..I guess I need to start doing drugs again.
Oh yeah..I could start my own business bootlegging beers to "kids" under
21..I got asked 3 times with offers of payment..didnt feel like it sorry-ill
buy ya a mellow yellow though!!!
And one other thing...how can people review like they do?  I mean geez i
understand that you write the songs down and all but you can remember them
that good to write a paragraph on one song..geez thats like going to Venice
and looking at the map the whole time when the purpose is to get lost in it!


Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2001 16:57:25 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 7-20-01  Riverport review
 
Ok, while this was my first ever Trey show, I have heard plenty.  I know that
being there and hearing them is not the same, but I think this show
absolutely SMOKED.  Some people were clearly perturbed at the fact that they
were not seeing Phish, but they should have expected that when they bought
the ticket.  Another thing that kinda gets on my nerves is people talking
about Tony's bass lines.  They say he is too repetitive.  When Trey first put
this band together in '99, that was his whole point.  He said he wanted a
bass player and a drummer that just lock in on a groove and go.  And that is
absolutely what they do.  Tony ROCKS.
 
When the band first kicked in, something felt odd.  I don't know if it was
that Medeski didn't fit right in at first or that I was used to seeing Phish
in this large a setting, and it was something related to Phish, yet totally
different.  After the first few songs, it seemed like everything really
started to click and the night started raging from there.  Let's Go Downtown
and Alive Again absolutely smoked in the first set.
 
Set 2 was incredible from the beginning, with a Money Love and Change that
was totally nuts.  That Storm Drawing Near song is really nice, I love the
Arabian feel the horns add to it.  Then you have your Sand.  And oh what a
Sand it was.  I don't know if the others on the tour have been this good, but
if so I find it hard to believe.  The instrumental after Sand was absolutely
beautiful, like going to church.  Push On was a fine closer and it looked as
if Trey would pick up one of his acoustics for the encore, but it wasn't to
be.  Instead we got a rockin' Will it Go Round.
 
The fact that Medeski was there just made the night that more special.  It
was my first live viewing of him, and he is an absolute maniac on the keys.
I can't wait to see what the band has to offer without his added wizardry.  I
must say that I haven't seen Trey have that much fun in a while, and it
wasn't just him.  The whole band was just absolutely digging it.


Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2001 13:04:05 -0600
From: Campbel Levy [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: riverport review
 
        The main thing that comes to mind when I review the show at
Riverport was a lot of repetition.  I know Trey doesnt have a whole lot of
material to work with thus far, so it makes it acceptable; unfortunately
acceptable isn't necessarily exciting or even worth touring for.  The thing
that made Riverport especially hard to enjoy for me was having the shows at
Red Rocks only days beforehand.  I was fairly surprised to hear Let's Go
Downtown once again, but many of the fans around me who hadn't seen any
other shows yet seems happy about it.  I think they played Sand at one
point, but it was just too much like the jammed out Sand the second night of
Red Rocks.  Additionally, Money, Love, and Change sounded strong, as did
Alive again.  Moeshia is already wearing old on me and Trey seems to play it
exactly the same everytime.
        On the positive side, all of the songs that Trey's band repeated got
noticeably stronger.  Once the band becomes comfortable playing all of the
new songs, and Trey is comfortable with the band's understanding of his
writing and orchestrating of the songs they will begin to change up some of
the bass lines, and Tony, who has taken the brunt of the fan abuse, will
have a lot more freedom to change what he is doing.  He is a capable player,
but I think the band is lacking the familiarity with the songs to change the
bass line up completely.  If any major changes were taken the band would
probably lose where they were and not be able to find their way back to the
song.  I was a bit disapointed by Medeski because he wasn't as strong as I
wanted or expected him to be.  Perhaps this was simply because he didnt want
to overstep the other original keyboardist.
        Hopefully when I join back up with Trey in New Jersey the band will
have mastered the music and many new jams and changes to the bass lines will
take place.  I think the main thing to do now is not to expect Phish as I
heard so many fans at Riverport continuously complaining about.  Trey looked
like he was having a great time, and I think this is the most important
thing.
-Campbell

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