7-21-99 -- Star Lake Amp, Burgettstown, PA

Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2001 23:38:32 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 7-21-99--Star Lake Amp, Burgettstown, PA

This one's a contender for show of the tour IMO.  
Lot security was harmless compared to '98.  
The double lawn (as my friends and I call it) always provides plenty of room.
I love absolutely this place!!!   
1st set had great variety.   
The Cities that we thought we'd get in Camden finally showed up.
Pavement!  Yea!   
Trey's psyched.
Check out this Moma.
Taste is a scorcher as well.
They are definitely ON tonight!  
Sure there were some minor flubs and what not, but you gotta give a little to
get...
Setbreak was a blast.  If I remember correctly, we heard either Lucious
Jackson or
......no I think it was Lucious Jackson.
I was sure second set was going to be a keeper.
Of course Mike's opens.   
I instantly remember Desert Sky '98.
Bag and Mike's openers, remember?  Pretty cosmic if you ask me.
7-21 is my good friend's birthday and it only makes sense for this date to
play host to celebrated shows.
Bring on that Simple!!   
Seamless segue into Left Toe which floats lovingly into Caspian and I didn't
mind it at all.
I'm ear to ear as...
Trey supplies a healthy wall of feedback and Mike Slaps this one into gear.  
Fish is a little speedy on the intro, but we're all trying to make that woman
match our moves.
Anyone remember the naked guy on upper Page side during Brian and Robert?
If you do, you were staring at Barry's balls.   It was his last show of the
summer, how fitting?
Yellow in this place is not so mellow.  
Thanks Page!
Solid, solid, solid.



Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 18:31:14 -0400
From: Jeremy Welsh [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Starlake Amphitheater, 21 July 1999
 
     I am not sure how long this review will turn out, so bear with me (It
has turned out to be rather long, so procede with caution).  Bit of a
back-ground: Last evening's show was my first since last December's show in
Cleveland (having been shut-out for NYE); Last year, I was sent away on my
first business trip, so I missed Trenchtown Rock and Runaway Jim here at
Starlake.  So needless to say, I was rather excited for last night's show.
     My friend Laura, my brother, and I all left down-town Pittsburgh around
five, thinking that would give us plenty enough time - we didn't think of
all the south-bound traffic on I-79, coming from Toronto I guess.  We were
able to meet up with the rest of our caravan just a few minutes late, and
our knowledge of the back-roads helped us get to the Amphitheater around
6:15.  (Connections with VIP parking are always nice).
     As for the Scene, it was rather odd.  I can only think that it is at an
end of a long and extensive tour; kind of sad, with all the young,
lost-looking tour-heads.  Lots of ticketless wookies, as the area around the
Box Office was very crowded with Heads looking for a miracle.  And as for
Shakedown Street, well, there really wasn't one.  I was hoping to find some
nice shirts or stickers or anything, but there were just a few vendors, some
food, some water, beer, etc. But really nothing to speak of.  Maybe the cops
were busting down . . .
     We went inside around 7:15 to find our seats, guessing that the 7:00
start time would be 7:30 - we were fifteen minutes off.  Our seats were
good, left of center right behind the corporate "boxes" that Starlake has.  
I guess we were even with the tapers, 30 seats to the left.  Lots of tapers
as the seats filled up.  As mentioned, this was my first show with the new
configuration on stage, so I pondered that a bit as Olu Dara was played over
the PA.  Thinking of an opener, I had a Ya Mar feeling or maybe a break-out,
as they had done the previous two years with Amarina and Trenchtown.
 
     At around 7:50, the band walked out onto the stage - Trey in a black
long-sleeved T, Page in a button-down, I think Mike had on a black shirt,
and Fish in his mumu.  They opened the show with AC/DC Bag, which always
seems to be a bit slow.  But it was nice and funky and really got the crowd
into it - "Let's get this show on the road!"  The funk was carried out for a
bit, with Fishman doing some fun stuff on a wood block (Fishman would stand
out the whole night, IMO).
     The wood block beats carried right into Cities, which got a huge roar
from the crowd.  This version was really nice, Trey hitting all the lyrics.  
You could really start to hear how tight the band was with this song as the
end jammed out a bit longer than usual.
     After Cities ended, the band took a bit of a pause.  Trey was talking
things over with Fishman and Mike, as Fish banged out some fills.  What came
next was a quick song that sounded a lot like The Who, or at least Trey's
vocalizations. Fun lyrics, something about a secret . . . everyone around me
held their pens over their set-list books, shrugging their shoulders.  It
was a nice, quick pop song.  After the song, Trey took the time to say the
song was Pavement (I missed some of what he said, but the song was entitled
Gold Soundz).
     Trey then said the next song will be a cover as well, one entitled
Ginseng Sullivan.  This token blue-grass song was done rather well - except
for a lyric flub by Mike.  He seemed to forget one of the verses, and kind
of mumbled through.  But the musicianship continued to impress me, even on
this standard.
     Keeping up with the banter, Trey couldn't let Mike's mistake slide and
mentioned that they planned on getting all the lyrics correct on the next
song, a Phish original.  That is when the opening notes of Limb by Limb
started. Ever since I heard this song on tapes of the 97 Summer Europe tour,
I was a fan. And this version certainly did not disappoint.  I was at first
hesitant of the change made last year on the Island Run, the addition of the
"rocking" part near the end (that has appeared on Story of the Ghost), but I
am coming around.  It really worked last night - a little edge to an
otherwise beautiful song.
     Funky Bitch quickly started right after Limb, and it stuck to its name.
Mike was given a time to redeem himself, and he certainly did in this hard
and heavy funk fest.  It seemed to morph directly into Black Eyed . . . , oh
sorry, I mean Moma Dance.  I think I am still partial to the instrumental
version myself, but who is complaining.
     Earlier in the car, my brother said he hoped to hear When the Circus
Comes to Town, as he really enjoys Phish's version.  Well, I wish I was next
to him to see his face as the started the opening notes.  I think this song
takes too much flack, as I really enjoy it (as a slow, cool-down), and this
one ended up being a very nice rendition.  And let me use this as a plug to
say Los Lobos is very under-rated as a band and as song-writers.
     The opening notes of Taste started up, and looking at my watch I
thought this might be the closer, depending on how hard they raged.  And as
mentioned before, and especially in this song, Fishman was on last night.  
I like Taste, as he can show off his skills as the rhythms are layered,
while Trey just wails. And Trey certainly wailed, as I wrote down "Wow!  
Wrestling notes out of his guitar!" - he got in this stance, with his right
leg forward, and just worked his guitar.  It was great to watch.  I thought
this was turning out to be a great way to end a set that featured lots of
nice, tight songs (about 75 minutes at this point).  In the back of my mind
I was hoping for an Antelope to close the set, but the Taste simply raged in
a way that did away with any thoughts of (Setting the Gearshift . . . )
     But as the last notes of Taste echoed under the pavillion, they did not
seem like they were leaving.  That is because they wanted to play to the
crowd with Bittersweet Motel.  The crowd gave a boisterous applause the two
times "Half-way between Erie and Pittsburgh" was sung.  A first for me, the
nice song left a big smile on my face.
 
     All in all, it was a very strong 78 minute set.  As I said, they were
very tight and seemed to be having fun, with even a bit of banter.  Nothing
spectacular, nothing too out of the ordinary, but a good first set . . .
plus another break-out for Starlake.  I was beginning to wonder when Trey
was going to sneak a Pavement song into the set-list.  Set break approached
45-50 minutes, during which I was thinking of Ya Mar (again) or maybe My
Friend, as my friend and I found some different seats a few rows back with
more room (and fresh air!).
 
     For what-ever reason, I wasn't entertaining thoughts of Mike's Song - I
seem to always down-play any hopes of hearing that song, so when I do, I
jump and yell and laugh for joy ; ) .  And that is what happened last night.  
As soon as the opening notes were strummed by Trey, I lost it, jumpind and
twisting around. From the new seats that we found, we were able to see the
big screens that were showing some great shots of the band - I kept
switching from the stage to the screen.  The jam segment out of the opening
part was a nice ten minutes long, grooving really deep.  About eight minutes
in, I could hear a bit of Simple coming through.  But they wouldn't play it
for a couple more minutes, after they "officially" ended Mike's and
transitioned into Simple.
     And what a Simple it was!  A cool little noodle at the Band with
Bee-Bop part seemed to set things off, as they jammed out the Simple for
about twenty minutes.  As I read this morning, they played My Left Toe
somewhere in there, but I had yet to hear that instrumental so it all
sounding like a jam out of Simple to me - a jam with many parts and themes.  
Great stuff.  One of the closing jams, which could have been My Left Toe,
had the feeling of a plane flying close the ground, over beautiful
land-scape of England or Ireland.  I don't know if that makes sense, but it
was a driving jam that was also so full of feeling. Somewhere in there, as I
found my brother and sister in another section, I thought to myself of the
Champaign Simple I witnessed from the front row three years ago (11/08/96) -
another great Simple, placed oddly between Boucing and Loving Cup.  That
Simple as drawn out, but I don't think it had as many "phases".
     Near the end of My Left Toe (or jam), it almost sounded as they were
going to go into Lizards.  It had that high-note repetition series, or so it
sounded. But my ears were tricking me as the gradualy moved into the grand
notes of Prince Caspian (or Prince F@ckerpants as some like to say).  And
again, I really enjoyed this song, following the travels of Simple.  It was
grand and big - I wrote "Trey looks lost in himself", as he gazed off,
rocking, strumming away.  Again, a great picture.
     My mind wandered a bit, thinking of what would come next, but everyone
seemed to know that Weekapaug Groove was going to follow.  And Mike made
sure you knew, as he slapped the hell out of his 'Doc Bass.  This Weekapaug
raged, and lasted for a long time, slipping into a little jam in the middle.  
All the while, Mike kept his bass work going - very nice.  During the middle
jam part, Fish started to work a cow bell, banging it out along a
repetitious, almost techno beat.  The percussion, along with some keyboard
work by Page, reminded my friend Laura of a Talking Heads song, something
from Remain the Light.  But no one else really picked up on it.  And I
really couldn't tell you the last time Phish went out of Weekapaug into
another song - any examples, anyone?  Anyways, it was a great groove.
     And although Golgi Apparatus is not one of my favorites, it was kind of
a nice crowd-pleasing closer, with a ticket-stub in everyone's hand.  They
played Golgi at the end of the Starlake show in 97, as well.  I do love when
CK turns on the house lights and we can all see the thousands of people
dancing and getting down.  Kind of had a feeling it would be the closer . .
.
     I really had no idea as to what they were going to play as an encore.
And I actually wasn't too upset with Brian & Robert.  It is one of my
favorite songs off of Ghost, mostly for the great lyrics.  I had a feeling
that we were going to get two songs, and the Axis:Bold as Love was a good
second song.  Gives Page a forum to sing (he sounded just a bit winded), and
Trey a song to show his Hendrix chops.  We also get to experience CK's
command of the colored lights ; ) .
 
     Quick summary - Wednesday night's show at Starlake was very, very
strong. The first set showed a tight band that could jam out songs without
getting too "spacey".  And all they decided to do for the second set was
just turn it up a few notches - way up.  A 30 minute Mike's->Simple->My Left
Toe was pretty amazing, as was the Weekapaug.  The only downer, IMO, was the
scene.  As mentioned above, lots of Heads seemed lost, or only in search of
one thing - and that wasn't music.  But I didn't let it get to me.
     Thanks for everyone who helped make the show a good one - especially
the band.  Any and all comments are welcome.  Please send to me personally
as I can only read posts through Benjy's Digest.  My address is:
[email protected] .
 
     Take care, all.  And have a great rest of the tour.
 
jeremy
 
"I call Architecture frozen Music."
     -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
      (1749-1832)

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 16:15:27 -0400
From: John Dorsey Chescavage [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Starlake in Review

Well, this was my 5th and fnal show of the summer, and it was a nice way
to end my run of shows in the last week and a half.  First of all, I
really like Starlake a lot, I had not been there since 97 so it was nice
to get back.  I think it is really one of the nicer venues I have been
to.  Anyway:
AC/DC Bag-  First of my five shows for the summer.  I always like this
one, although I liked it more 97 style when it got good and jammy.
Solid bag to open, big fast jamming to start the show.  Winds down at
the end to that sort of clicking thing they do, which i always thinks is
going to go into Lengthwise, but instead.....
Cities-  Really psyched!  First of the tour, which I find very odd
seeing as tour is almost over.  Thought this would happen in Camden with
that veiw, but I was happy to see it here anyway.  Typical cities, Trey
with a shit eating grin on his face.  The jam was nice and funky, sort
of wished it would roll into something like Carini or Sally but it just
ended up being a Cities.
Gold Soundz-  Didn't know this at all, in fact I had to go to the
bathroom during it.  In the bathroom somebody told me it was a Pavement
tune, so I knew that much.  Short song, maybe only about 2-3 minutes.
Quick lyrics sung by Trey about secrets or something like that.  Trey
tells us that it is a Pavement song, then introduces Ginseng
Ginseng is the same as always, but apparently Mike forgot to do one
verse.  I didn't catch on to it while the song was going on, I was sort
of looking out at the audience.  Afterwards, Trey apologizes to us
because he felt like Mike missed a verse.  Good banter to start the
show.
Limb By Limb-  This was one of the highlights for me.  It was typical
Limb for the first 3-4 minutes of jamminess but then shifted gears to a
little funkier, Trey led jam. It was not typical LXL jamming at all, but
was covering different ground.  I was hoping that this would end up like
the Camden Chalkdust or BOAF but it came back into the Limb closing   
after about 5 minutes of this different jam.
Funky Bitch-  Good old FB here, nothing really new to report.  Page was
on the organ a little more than usual during his portion of the jam, but
this was a pretty standard version, especially after being in Oswego.
Moma Dance-  This caught me off guard.  This is the third show in a row
with a Moma, which I find very odd.  I still like it, and was actaully
thinking this might not be a Moma and they woudl just BEK it, but it was
not to be.  Good funky Moma, little extended before the lyrics.
Circus- you know all about it if you have ever heard it
Taste-  Just saw it in Oswego, and this one was nothing spectacular.
Good song but it just doesn't do it for me after witnessing the Raliegh
taste two years ago.
Bittersweet Motel-  Saw it coming, but it was just funny.  The
Pittsburgh contingent was in full cheer when their city was announced,
really cheezy.  Oh well, most people got a kick out of it.

Decent first set.  started off really well with teh Bag>Cities, and some
other good stuff but sort of finished a little tame.

Mike's Song-  Was hoping for this one, and was not disappointed at all.
Great Mike's as always, it seems to me that this song has really been
the highlight of summer 99, with the exception of Meatstick maybe.
Great jamming, got really down and dirty for a little bit.  Sounded much
like the Vernon Downs Mike's, which is one of my all time favs.  Got
really gnarly like the VD one with Trey down low on the guitar. Came
back around and ->
Simple-  Could see this one coming as well, and I have to say I dont
really like the combo too much anymore.  That being said, I was
completely impressed with what they did with this song last night.
Perfect Simple with a nice Magilla tease by Page between one of the
verses.  THen off into usual Simple land, which I thought would lead
into either Magilla or Hydrogen.  Instead, ->
My Left Toe-  I had never heard this before, and honestly was not sure
it was being played.  It sounded very much like a song to me at the 
time, and I knew it as much like What's The Use, which this was. So,
about 2 minutes into it I decided it was probably MLT, which I found out
it was today when reading the setlist.  This is a cool instrumental,
much like WTU, but I like WTU better.  Trey is more defined in that one.
So, this was really cool, and really long now.  MLT broke out into what
I would label a jam on the setlists if it was mine.
Jam-  This was the highlight of the show for me.  Really cool stuff lead
by Trey that was not like what MLT was at all.  This was just improv,
and it was good. Lasted about 5 minutes or so if I can recall, but it
was legit.Then it went into
Caspian-  Not a big fan, especially after just seeing this one three
nights earlier.  Oh well, this song loves to come up and ruin a set but
this set had too much to it to be ruined completely by the Prince.  The
ended faded away into typical noisy closing but you could just hear Mike
thumping away on the bass underneath it all.  He was playing the Groove
intro under the outro of Caspian and it was cool.
Groove-  Began as normal, 5 minutes of straight up Grooving, then it
dropped into Funk land!  This was 97 style funk that brought back
memories.  heavy clav work by Page, trey wawaing all over, fish laying
down the funky beat, and mike just doing his thing.  Great Groove, came
back into the mix after about 7 or 8 minutes of funk.
Golgi-  Good high energy Golgi, performed to perfection.

E.  Brian and Robert-  Most people hate this song, I kind of like it. I
was hoping for an antelope out of it, butgot
Bold As Love-  I like this song too, and it was done well.  Good encore,
not great.
Overall, this second set was pretty much great, really well played all
around.  Get the tapes for the second set, and if you love Pavement, get
the first as well.  If I had to give it a grade,  overall probably a 7
out of 10,10 being 12/31/95 or 11/22/97.
Here comes the wait for fall. 

Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 15:34:12 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: star lake
 
to whom ever wrote that they liked the second set, it wasn't just you.  That
set had to have been one of the tightest sets start to finish that I have
ever heard.  The boys were right on with one another making for an amazing
set.

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 02:22:24 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: star lake review
 
man, star lake must have a mystique or something but the last three years,
phish has just rocked the house.  this show was no different at all, i do
believe that the second set that night was one of if not the best ive ever
heard, you could just look at the four of them and tell that there was no
where else in the world they wanted to be but playing the music they were
playing and giving back to all of the audience. Trey was magnificent, Page
was magnificent, Mike was magnficent, and Fish was magnificent. Trey seemed
to just be so intune with playing guitar at star lake, you could tell that
his guitar was just saying and doing whatever he wanted it to do. Trey just
was so involved with the sound that these four guys were giving off that he
seemed as to leave the stage and was gone for about half of the second set,
he just jammed away and felt the music take over and take control. To see it
was amazing i had the same feeling last year at alpine, i felt as though the
music just took over me and led me on the adventure, during tweezer last
year i was in another world.  Phish seems as though they have kind of
matured in a way over the past just five years.  They seem so tight now and
so much into making ever show and note just right and so compatable for the
audience. I would love to just come out to a show and see them jam and go at
it for hours with no words or songs, just do and play whatever the music
tells them to do.
 That second set was just pure joy for me, maybe it was just me but i
enjoyed that to the fullest extreme.  i have enjoyed every show ive seen but
that whole second set was just unbelieveable, to start off with Mike's I
looked around beside me and looked over my shoulder and everyone in the
house was so rockin and into it, it gave me goosebumps.  I felt so at home
and at peace at that show.  eeryone was gettin down and enjoying life at
that moment.  Phish seems as though they have learned about many styles and
about how to play to a big audience and they have mastered just being a band
that can pretty much do anything. but i know one thing, no matter how or
where they are playing if i can get there i will be and ill always listen to
whatever they have to play.

later


Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 08:56:59 -0400
From: Bill Yudichak [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 7/21/99 YES!
 
Let me just start off and say that this show brought back the feelings I
used to get when I first started listening to the band.  The people who say
the band wasn't very energetic were way off.  Maybe they felt this way
since they were taking some time between songs to figure out what to play
next.  Listen to the Funky Bitch and Moma Dance if you doubt me.  But the
first set was a great warmup, nice energy and tightly played (except Mike
forgot a verse in Ginseng Sullivan).
 
As for the second set, this is where the old feelongs came back.  The whole
Mike's -> was the best I've heard in a while.  It contained everything I
loved about the band. At times it rocked, sometimes it was mellow and just
plain beautiful.  I know this new "ambient" way of jamming isn't everyone's
cup of tea but if you didn't like tonight's second set you just weren't
listening hard enough.  I hoping that they would not go right into Simple
but they did and I can't say I was dissapointed.  I am also not a fan of
Caspian but can't think of a better song to follow the whole
Mike's->Simple->My Left Toe.  The Weekapaug was once again everything one
can hope for in a Phish song, Machine Gun Trey made an appearance, as did
the Funk.  It wasn't heavily dependant on one or the other.  Tack on a
Golgi for the hell of it and you have one great set!
 
O.K. on to the encore, I like Brian and Robert, nuff said.  Bold as Love
was great as usual.  But I'd like to take this time to thank the dip shit
who threw a glow stick the landed at Mike's feet during the little reprise
at the end of Bold as Love.  It potentially could have costed us a third
encore.  Right before the reprise (I hope you know when I'm talking about
here) Trey went over to his cup microphone thingy and said something to
Page.  Page nodded in agreement.  Close to the end the glow stick comes
flying at Mike, he looks up at Trey and nods his head at the glow stick,
Trey says goodnight, the band leaves.  Maybe I'm wrong, maybe they were not
going to play another song, but the whole exchange between Trey and Mike
was too much of a coincidence.  So thanks again for the idiots who throw
things at the band!  What are they thinking?!  "Hey I like them soo much
I'm going to try and peg one of them with something hard!" Oh well sorry
about the ranting and raving.


Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 17:21:43 -0400 (EDT)
From: Tim Polak [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: review for starlake

Star Lake was my first show of the summer '99 tour.  I was wondering
what the night was going to be like after seeing the unbelievably sweet
setlist from Toronto (even though setlists don't necessarily mean a
good show).  I have seen Phish around 15 times, and this show was at
the bottom of my experience list.  I love Phish with a passion.  I feel
they have opened doors for the music world that no one else has before.
 I guess I just didn't get that feeling overall last night.  Don't get
me wrong, every Phish show is great and worth going to, but compared to
other shows I've been to and tapes I have heard, 7-21-99 wasn't quite
on it.
The night started off with a bang ACDC Bag, that had a magnificent,
straightforward, climatic jam.  After that, even though some great
songs were played, the boys played kinda lazy, like they weren't really
into it.  Almost everysong had an obnoxiously long, spacey jam that
made me tired and unmoved.  I like a slowly changing funk jam (Bathtub,
7-21-97 or Wolfman's from Slip Stitch and Pass for example), or a
strong climatic jam that makes you wanna scream (Possum 4-4-94 or Maze
12-29-93).  All I heard was space, with the Bag exception. I don't care
for jams that go no where.  I understand that Phish is an experimental
band, but it's neat to hear different instrumental parts through out a
night to hear all of the places they can go.  StarLake 99 was
monotonous.  Again, I don't want to sound too negative, because I still
enjoyed myself.  I mean it is Phish for cryin' out loud.  I guess I'm
looking for the 1994 sound mixed with The Story of the Ghost sound==
Funky Climbin'.  Hopefully I'll catch a different groove Friday.
T from G
Cleveland, OH

===
Cleveland's Spot magazine called Granville "one of its best
homegrown sounds in quite some time."   
Check it out!---http://come.to/granville
New updates!

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 01:28:41 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: review.....
 
ok quick question for all of those at the burgettstown, pa show.  At the end
of Ac/Dc Bag was that a Time(Pink Floyd) tease with the clicking, clock like
sound?
~~~~Pink Phloyd??


Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 17:35:13 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: starlak

Reference 1: StarLake was my 40th show.  My 1st was July 1991.

Reference 2: This summer I also attended Merriweather and Camden.

7/21/99 rocked. It was funky, psychadelic and powerful.

Quite frankly, it was the best show I've seen since the Nassau "Island
Tour" shows in 1998.

AC/DC was a fine opener. The crowd immediatley got into the groove and
responded favorably to the Cities segue.  Thereafter, Trey seemed to get a
charge out of playin' the Pavement tune (a debut) and by the end of
Ginsign the energy level of the entire band seemed to have stepped up a
notch. The three songs that followed (Limb by Limb - Funky Bitch - Moma
Dance) were 100% meltdown phunkadelic jams.  I had to re-tie my shoes
during Circus.  Taste was simply sick; Fishman and Page were on fire. The
Bittersweet ending was anything but ;)

2nd set was pure magic.  Mike's>Simple is always a crowd pleaser and, in
my opinion, achieves rock n' roll anthem status. It was pure meltdown time
throughout the subsequent jamming and during My Left Toe (it was also
obvious that Trey wanted to play Prince Caspian, as he teased it
frequently). When Caspian finally emerged, 45 minutes of magic and hard
groovin' had elapsed from the beginning of the set.  PC was tight, and in
its own right, anthem-esque.  Mike lead the charge out of Caspian and into
Weekapaugh. The Groove, as usual, was groovin' and a great dance number!  
It stirred up the crowd and paved the way for a climatic set closer. Golgi
Apparatus rocked the house.

Encore: I was suprised to hear Brian & Robert, but pleased with the
results. It's been played better (for sure), but this "encore" version was
short, sweet and poignant.  The Axis Bold As Love that followed was as
good as any version I've heard.  No doubt, Hendrix is a band and crowd
favorite. Page's vocals were perfect, Trey's guitar work was classic.

On a scale 1-10, this show gets a solid 9.

StarLake Amphitheatre - Burgettstown, Pennsylvania

I: AC/DC Bag > Cities, Gold Soundz*, Ginsing Sullivan, Limb By Limb, Funky
Bitch, Moma Dance, When The Circus Comes, Taste, Bittersweet Motel
II: Mike's Song > Simple > My Left Toe > Prince Caspian > Weekapaug
Groove,
Golgi Apparatus
Enc: Brian & Robert, Bold as Love

���* Pavement cover, first time played 


Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 16:09:40 -0400 (EDT)
From: Raymond Anthony Miller [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: starlake

Okay, this is my first show review, so don't blame me if it's a little
shaky.  I'm going to keep it breif, no song-by-song review or anything
like that.

The ACDC Bag opener was cool, it lacked the energy of a good second set
rager, but still got the crowd going.  I though the highlights of the set
were Moma Dance and Taste, neither of witch i was expecting to hear.  They
may play Moma a lot, but when Trey starts getting really into it I think
it's as funky as Phish gets.  I thought the first set overall lacked
itensity, but the jam at the end of Limb by Limb was cool, and you had to
expect Bittersweet Motel.  The boys took a LONG set break but kicked
things off right with Mikes.  Mikes and Simple were long and jammed out,
left me breathless.  I didn't know what the hell was going on in My Left
Toe, but I could hear Caspian teases and loved that.  Weekapaug was the
money shot, and Golgi seemed like an added treat.  The encore was so-so,
Bold as Love making up for Brian and Robert.

The main reason i wrote this review was to counter all the negativity I've
been hearing.  It wasn't the best phish show i've seen, but it was still
well worth the 8 hours of driving I did, and enough to send me off to
Columbus and Alpine this weekend.  I heard some kid running around the lot
afterwords proclaiming that "This was the worst phish show i've ever
seen...", well, then quit coming to the shows so I don't have to hear you
bitch. I MAY NOT HAVE HEARD ALL THE SONGS I WANTED, BUT WHO AM I TO TELL
PHISH WHAT SONGS THEY SHOULD BE PLAYING?       


Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 14:07:42 -0400
From: Schwartz [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: SLA

peoples,
let us all remember; three things contribute to a good show: How close
your car/truck/van is to the nearest exit, good health, and whether or
not the sound system is working that particular evening.  Luckily for
myself and the 30 or forty people I was looking forward to seeing at the
home town Pittsburgh show,  the nights festivities met all three
criteria. Although my arms ended up crossed for  short segments during
the show, i got a kick out of the brain farts during the first set and
was damn proud to see sooo many people drinking Iron City 16 ounce
torpedos!  GOLGI and Bittersweet, i'll take if for another three years
at SLA.  Still, once again, i'll have to go thru the two day grace
period before i can pick up my guitar agaian. I'm sure many others can
relate.  Rock on.
-Brendan Joseph   


Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 12:42:45 -0400
From: Morgan Smith [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 7-21-99 star lake review

I had high hopes for this show because my new job cancelled my plans to
hit Polaris and Deer Creek.  This will be my first summer in years in
which I have only hit one show.  Having been checking setlists daily, I
had some ideas of what we might see.  The anticipation of this show was
amplified because I managed to score six tix in the front row center (Pit
A) when they went on sale.  We got to our seats at about 7:30 and waited
about 15-20 minutes for the band to come out.  One of my buddies was
wearing a Weekapaug High T-shirt in hopes of giving the band ideas of
what to play.  I ket telling him we would never see a Mike's groove at
Pitts.  When the boys hit the stage we were amped. The first five tunes,
they didn't look like they knew what they wanted to play next.  There was
much discussion on teh stage.  Trey made a trip to his mic-ed cup after
each tune.
Ac/Dc Bag opener blew my mind!  There was alot of tight jamming, and we
knew immediately that the show was going to smoke.  The Cities that
followed was also very smoothe and jammy.  I was completely confused by
the Pavement cover, but it was good.  Ginseng was also good.  Limb by
Limb is always good to see.  I love the ambient jamming throughout. Funky
Bitch absolutely raged with much great jamming by Page. Moma Dance
brought the funk in and when they went into WTCCTT I was ready for a
slower tune.  The Taste that followed was not the best version I have
seen, but was still appreciated.  Bittersweet was one of the only tunes
we knew they would play, but it is a must at Star Lake.
Set break was pretty long, but it gave us time to rest and to trade seats
off with my friend's little brothers for a while so they could go to the
front.  Share the wealth you know.
When they came out and opened Mike's I was pissed we gave up our seats.
We still had good ones in 7K though.  The Mike's was one of the best I've
seen.  It's up there with Albany 97.  Not as crazy, but very solidly
jammed.  We heard Simple coming for about the last three minutes of
Mike's, so we weren't surprised. The jam was amazing though.  The seague
into My Left Toe was really cool even though I wasn't sure exactly what
it was.  All we knew was that it was no longer Simple.  Caspian was
AWESOME.  By far the best one I've seen.  Weekapaug was expected, but
absolutely ripped.  Right at the beginning, Trey looked right at my buddy
and winked at him (Weekapaug High shirt).  I guess I was wrong.  I was
happy with the set, and expected it to end, but they couldn't end without
a Golgi.  No complaints here.  The encore was also good with Brian and
Robert and Bold as Love.  Overall, I give the show an 8.5!  Anyone who
complains about Phish should have seen this show.  Thanks guys for a
great show. 
                                                                           

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 09:36:22 -0400
From: Vinnie P [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Pittsburgh
 
Hey all..
 
Well, I'll try to keep this short and sweet...
 
AC/DC.. Nice opener, it got me going...
CITIES.. nice segue, great song, Mike was pumpin,
GOLD SOUNDS (pavement-treys favorite band),, well we knew it was a
pavement song, but just didn't know the name..This was a fun treat...
gotta love those covers..
GINSING.. nothing special,
LxL..nice harmony, I don't mind hearing this one..
FUNKY BITCH.. Always fun, but IMO overplayed.. I remember when this was
a special treat..
MOMA DANCE.. bathroom time..
WTCCTT, shoulda went to the bathroom,
TASTE, also coulda went to the bathroom
BS MOTEL.. Half way between Erie, and Pitts..
 
MIKES.. Now this is a way to open a set.. Nice and long,
SIMPLE.. I have no problems with a mikes > simple.. Now this kept
jamming, I had no idea that
MY LEFT TOE, was in this sandwich.. by the time they busted into
CASPIAN, they were like 45mins into the set,
CASPIAN.. I have always liked this song, I love the ending.. its totally
rock and roll,
WEEKAPAUGH... MIKE,.  super bass intro,. i think that Trey started to
drown him out, but oh well..
GOLGI.. fun as always..
BRIAN & ROBT.. nothing special about this one.
BOLD AS LOVE.. I haven't seen this since Cleveland 96.. Nice, I love
when Page sings..
 
On a whole.. The first set raged until Funky Bitch.. I found myself not
dancing as hard as i was during the first 3 songs.. , and then it seemed
to fade..
Second set was hot.. the Mike >>>> WEEK was like 60 mins..that simple >
my left toe, was very spacy, but not to spacy that you lost a groove..
Encore, OK..  I have to rate this show a 6.5.. I know that that might
sound harsh, but IMO, the first set faded hard, that goodness for the
beginning, and second set
 
my $0.02
vin

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 03:06:16 -0400
From: "Gary E. Comley, II" [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Star Lake review, a good one this time
 
In stark contrast to my review of the Toronto show, I have little to no
negativity to report about last evening's events at Star Lake.  In fact,
the only negative item was Mike's brain-fart during Ginseng--and it didn't
even phase me.  I I've enjoyed the last two years worth of Star Lake shows
very much.  In fact, in '97, Star Lake topped out the other 5 shows I saw
that summer (including Walnut Creek and the Went).  There is almost a
formula to shows at this venue.  First part of this formula is Golgi, which
has been played at all three SLA shows (I always dig the tune); the second
is the sheer amount of long, smooth jamming (usually fills most of the
show); and a third is the presentation of some new cover song which never
gets played again (so far it's been Amoreena and Trenchtown Rock--we'll see
if they ever do Gold Soundz again).
 
Once again I'll remind everyone the opinions are like assholes....
 
For this outing, the boys were in top form.  What a difference a day makes,
eh?  Set one was full of fairly standard tunes played very well (AC/DC Bag,
Moma, Bitch, Limb By Limb) with a real smooth, dark outing on Cities
(highlight of first set for me).  Bittersweet Motel, while anticipated, was
still welcome at this venue (great crowd-pleaser).  The second set was the
real deal however, with Trey tearing the roof off during a seque-frenzy of
stark explorations and space-rock madness.  This was the real Trey, the one
that was absent last night (maybe that smack to the head I gave him
backstage worked ;).  Was Toronto's Trey a pod person or something?
Tonight he soared and twisted, did very little simple noodling, and tried
to steer us into new waters at every turn.  What a Mike's Song!!  I haven't
heard one that good since Vernon last summer.  My first time with My Left
Toe left me VERY impressed.  What a dark and twisted jam it became out of a
splendid Simple.  Caspian was even a little more than I usually expect.
Then, just when I thought it couldn't go any higher: Weekapaug.  This was
one stellar jam.  Trey kept banging away like he was about to explode.
Mike was laying down some sick, deep space-funk.  Page was tapping keys at
the speed of light.  Fishman kept it all flowing smooth-as-silk.
Eventually, the jam built to an orgasmic frenzy (as it always does) and I
thought the show would end.  Nope.  They can't leave SLA until they've
played Golgi--and so it was.
 
The encore started out in a strange direction with Brian & Robert, a song
which grew on me once I was able to read the lyrics on my "Story of the
Ghost" LP.  A trippy tune, lyrically.  Even though it seems like the tune
should lull one to sleep, it doesn't; however, being quite hypnotic it
always seems to slow down the pace of a show.  Tonight was an exception.
Perhaps it's placement in the show, but everyone was attentive and on their
feet while the guys sang.  Next came a tune I really didn't expect.  I've
always said a band has to have some balls to play Axis: Bold As Love.  I
mean, it's a pretty sacred tune in the annals of Rock history.  A beautiful
performance all-around with soaring guitar and passionate vocals from Page.
A great capper to an interesting and inspiring (and inspired) Phish show.
 
On the usual scale of 1 - 10, I give good ol' Star Lake a nice shiny 7.5!
Way to go, guys.
 
Oh, and to all my detractors who misunderstood and took out of context the
things I said about the maudlin Toronto fiasco:  GET BENT!  I still think
the show stunk.
 
 
Gary Comley
[email protected]
-peace ese-

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 12:05:53 -0400
From: "McGilivray, William J." [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: Revuews
 
A  7.5........that's it I've had enough of listening to you, you ruin my
lunch every freak'n day at work....
 
The Phuck'n band blesses you with a Slamm'n Mikes Groove and an Axis and you
give it a 7.5!!!
 
They could've farted into the mike the rest of the night and that show is
still at least a strong 9 just as a
 
matter of principle.   And to the rest of the winers who expect a phuck'n
barn burner every night and
 
 bitch about the scene, the traffic and such.......SHUT UP !!!!!!!!!  The
scene is the same as it ever was,
 
and the band just gets better and better.....Every show I see or hear on
tape, I get more and more
 
 amazed by the awesome talent these four guys have....

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