9-25-99 -- Woodlands Pavilion, Houston, Texas
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Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 21:14:55 -0600
From: James W. Adams [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: 9-25-99 -- Woodlands Pavilion, Houston, Texas
This is kind of a poignant comment on this show and on attitudes of Phish fans
in general.
First of all, the Woodlands is in the midst of Gen-X post-Yuppie surburbia and
blows dog in the first place, so all the "lot scene" comments in my view are
superfluous.
It's like VaBeach, it's Nazi territory, but at least the cops were a lot more
decent than they were in Merriweather in 1998 or VaBeach the same year. let
alone the cattle drive that took place in Providence on the Island mini-tour
in 1998. In VaBeach Maria was searched to such an extent that she was forced
to throw away a bag of cashew nuts in her purse to enter the faciity. I
somehow expect that had she been white instead of Latina, she would have been
waved through without a thought. At the VaBeach show in 1998 we were
constantly observed by police with binoculars from a hilltop at the back of
the lawn area, and subject to immediate interrogation for so much as offerring
change to a fellow fan for a $20. I have been to the Czech Republic to see
Phish, where the cops carry Uzis, and have never been treated with such
disrespect for civil liberty.
I'm a relatively old man at the age of 45, and I strongly resent this sort of
Jim Crow attitude. I grew up in the inner city, and most of my schoolmates
were African Americans, and my high school, long since demolished, is
prominently featured in the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN.
Due to the fact that my wife was dying of terminal cancer at the time, we
missed mail order and had to stand in line behind a bunch of obvious scalpers
to deal with TicketBastard. To our amazement, largely because the young woman
who drew the lottery realized that we were the only true fans there, cheated
and we got front row seats in the orchestra pit right in front of Trey.
Considering that this was the end of the relatively healthy period of her
life, I don't feel bad about that. At least after many shows she finally got
a really good look at what live Phish is all about.
My gift to my then new wife (we married on 6/27/98...she died of cancer on
5/25/2000) was the entire 1998 European Phish tour as well as the whole East
Coast tour including Lemonwheel.
I guess my greatest regret in that regard is that she never got to hear
"Farmhouse," which she would have loved, but she did get to hear "Brian and
Robert" which was perhaps her favorite Phish tune.
I have received a very kind sympathy card from the band regarding her death.
They really do care.
Jim
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 1999 12:12:58 -0600
From: "Wagner, Reid D." [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: 9/25/99 review
This is my first submitted review of a show. I am compelled to do so
because of the scene and show itself. First, the lot scene SUCKED! Way
too much security. Although the passing out of free water was nice.
This was my first and hopefully last time in Texas. What a boring, flat,
treeless, and hot place. Apologies to all the friendly Texans I met
along the way, but your state sucks.
Anyway, about the show. We were lucky to get 10th row center through
mail order so my impressions are maybe enhanced because of the overall
intensity level when sitting that close.
set 1
Tube -- Yes Yes Yes!!! My first Tube at my 61st show over a 10 year
span. I could not have been happier and the boys did not dissappoint.
Love the phunk!!!!!
Runaway Jim -- As always, very good. The jam was more rockin' than usual
which is fine by me. I really liked the fact that it ended when it
should have. Not too long and not too short.
Yamar -- One of my personal favorites. Very good and tight.
Horn -- Haven't seen it since '92. Hasn't changed much but it still was
great and was a joy to see.
Limb By Limb -- I did not like this song when it came out in '97. But
since then I've acquired a taste for it. The jam was super tight and
really featured all 4 of them nicely. Again, not too long and not too
short.
On Your Way Down -- Cool bluesy tune that I've only heard on my 9/24/88
tape. Trey's licks were solid for this one.
Sleeping Monkey -- Always a treat. I think this version was a lot better
and tighter than ones I've seen in the past. Isn't Trey the coolest dude
on earth by the way he honored the phan request AND brought her on stage?
Wilson -- I called this one. I always enjoy Wilson but they could lose
the heavy metal jam. Otherwise, it was as solid as ever.
set 2
NICU -- Another one of my personal favorites. I'm glad they increased
the speed to where it should be. If you don't know what I mean, listen
to any NICUs from 1998. This version was real nice. Also, I think it's
a great set opener.
David Bowie -- BOOYAA!!! Need I say more? A side story to tell... At
the beginning of the jam, a security person wanted to take my pipe from
me. I simply told her that I wasn't causing any problems and was just
having a good time. After a minute of this she said ok and left. A word
of advise for you stoners like me...if you get confronted by security
personnel, just be nice and polite and explain why you're smoking. More
likely than not, they will leave you alone.
Squirming Coil -- Page was stellar for this one. I only wish he would
have done a long piano solo because I really needed the rest after Bowie.
Prince Caspian -- My second least favorite Phish tune. I took a dump.
Rock and Roll -- I'm glad I made it back for this one. Never heard it
before and was greatly impressed. It was a real good dancy kind of tune.
2001 -- Pretty standard. Is it me or was the 2nd half of the 2nd set a
strange placement for this song. Anyway, I liked it.
Frankenstein -- Absolutely kicked ass. Best one I've ever heard.
Julius -- All I could think to myself after a rippin' Frankenstein was
'please don't play Julius to end the set'. Julius is my least favorite
Phish song and this version did nothing to take away its lowly status
with me. I wish I would have dumped during it instead of Prince Caspian.
I know that lots of people really enjoy this tune but doesn't everyone
have one song that they just don't like?
Encore, Character Zer0 -- I guess its better than something like Sabotage
for an encore. Actually, this version rocked pretty damn hard.
Post show activities -- This is where it all came apart. The cops were
such assholes. We got back to our lot and after only about 30 minutes
they broke up everything and made everyone leave, using the line "get out
of here so we can" Fuck that! If you don't like it then get a new job.
The guy parked next to us worked diligently all day preparing his French
Bread Pizza. He sold maybe 10 when the cops made him either throw them
all away or give them out for free. In typical fashion, many phans gave
him money anyway. The vibe was so bad that I would recommend to Phish
not to ever play there again.
All in all the show itself was real good. I'd give it an 8.5
Pheel Phree to send me a response.
Reid Wagner
Pittsburgh, PA
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 1999 11:03:21 -0700
From: Joel Tison [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: Review of Woodlands Concert
This concert was the first show by Phish that I have ever
attended, and I thought it was INCREDIBLE. The music was awe-inspiring,
the weather was perfect, and the light show was marvelous. I thought the
highlight of the evening occured when the band played Wilson. The version
they played was much more pumped up than the one on their album A Live
One, and everyone was screaming and dancing as they jammed for around
10-15 minutes. Overall, I thought the show was great, and they went from
being one of the bands I know least about, to being one of my favorite (if
not favorite) bands
Date: Wed, 29 Sep 1999 08:44:41 -0500
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Houston reviews
Well, as is probably true for the cities, the crowd at the Woodlands show
(just north of Houston) was the exact opposite of the crowd at Austin.
First of all, the crowd was a lot smaller, I wouldn�t be surprised if it was
half the size of Austin (Austin = 25,000?, Houston = 12,000? best guess).
The Woodlands Pavilion is a beautiful venue, similar in design to any of the
big outdoor summer venues (Deer Creek, Lakewood, etc.) but smaller and
nicer. The pavilion was maybe 75% full (lots of open seats) and the lawn
looked maybe half full. Although smaller in number, the crowd was PUMPED
from the get go, and once again, Phish did not disappoint.
Tube is my favorite Set I opener, and rarely have I seen a show go wrong
with a Tube opener. This one was short, extremely funky, and we got a bass
solo in the first freakin� song! What more can you ask for? From note 1,
you could tell that the band was on. Jim came up next and again, seemed
shortish, but there wasn�t a wasted note. Trey was on fire, in fact. Ya
Mar came 3rd and did Leo blow us away! Fan-tastic organ solos, and Trey�s
segment was nice too. Horn was Horn, with no noticeable flaws. Limb By
Limb was long and went many places, even sounded jazzy for a while there in
the middle before they pulled it back in. Fish joins Mike on the solo list
with the solo ending (nailed perfectly) On Your Way Down simply smoked.
Sizzling slow blues, and the changes were tight. After On Your Way Down,
Trey was tuning and then looks up as if something has caught his ear. He
then steps up to the mic and says "We�re going to play this next one for
this young lady here. She�s been screaming Sleeping Monkey throughout the
entire show. Well my Sleeping Monkey is your Sleeping Monkey. Fish is
going to sing it extra long, just for you." So they started Sleeping Mokey,
and Trey is singing the whole song directly to her (they had the big video
screens going, so you could tell). Before Fish�s solo part, Trey unslings
his guitar and he and someone from backstage (Brad?) help the girl up onto
stage, he walks her over and helps her up onto Fish�s drum platform, the
lights go down except for the spot, and he sings it directly to her. Trey
helps her down before the "Let It Be" organ, straps on his guitar, and as
the finale kicks in, the girl is at the lip of the stage and gives a
Fishman-esque "hands to the sky in victory" move and the crowd goes
wild(er). They wrap it up and kick into Wilson, and the crowd is singing
their hearts out. The heavy metal section rips, as does the "Blap boom"
ending segment, and we�re recovering at set break.
During the break, I think to myself that the energy from Austin�s 2nd set
pervaded the first set, and that Houston�s first set definitely outpaced
Portland�s and Austin�s, and has set a high first set mark for the 6
remaining shows I�m catching this fall and winter.
The second set begins with NICU and some more incredible solos by Page.
Bowie�s up next, long, spacey, it got into a real "major" sounding jam in
the middle, so much so that I thought for sure that they were segueing into
something else, but it eventually returned to the Bowie theme and wrapped up
nicely. The Squirming Coil was great to hear, as I haven�t caught it since
�97. It sounded great (great sound system) at a nice, quiet level until the
very, very end (Page�s solo), and then the woo hooers took over. Caspian
started in the quiet and came to life pretty quickly. It had a nice jam out
of the end, but the naked guy jam out of Caspian at Madison last fall is
still the definitive version for me. Rock & Roll starts up and Page takes
us through the verses and choruses and just before we get to the "It was all
right" round, Trey messes up the composed lick. Boy did he recoup, though,
for his solos throughout the jam just tore, and he was stepping and hopping
and bending all over the place. They reprised the vocal round, and you
expect the song to go back into the chords and end, but Trey extends the jam
on the other side of the vocals before bringing back the chords. He gives
the band the "keep it going" hand signal and throws down a bunch of loops.
I�m thinking Ghost, then Fish kicks in and it�s 2001. 2001 is long (much,
much longer than the Portland version I caught), the intro features great
work by Page, they run through the verse once, and then comes the best stuff
I�ve ever heard Phish play. The funk jam between the 2 verses was so
incredible, it featured Trey chording, soloing, playing the keyboard, and my
favorite part, where he just stopped and watched the other 3 groovin� for a
long time. I was following Mike�s bassline intently, but there was magic
from all 4 of them. If I were one to say "This is the best version of�..
I�ve ever heard" in my reviews (and I don�t, because there�s so many
versions I�ve not heard, that I�m not sure how much weight that statement
carries), I might say it about this 2001. I�ll just urge fans of 2001 to
get a hold of this show and check it out. So, 2001 was long, so long in
fact, that I thought to myself "Do they ever do 2001> a short closer, a
Frankenstein or Golgi, for example?" Well, my question was answered as
Frankenstein ripped forth. Great Frankenstein, insane keys from Page, I
thought for sure it would close the show. Julius started, and before my
next comment, I�ll just say that the band was so on, that the leads Trey was
playing under the chorus at the end were unbelievable. Julius as a set
closer and Character Zero as the only encore. For me, personally, that
doesn�t look that good on paper. I�ve heard Julius in the wrong slot late
in some recent shows (11-14-98 and 7-26-99 didn�t do it for me), and I just
think Character Zero is overplayed. But like Chalkdust the night before,
these songs seemed fresh for me, and I thought they both smoked.
In summary, I�d say this show was the bomb. The only other show that
approaches it in �99 for me was 7-25-99. Both sets were incredible, the
playing just crackled from start to finish, and I think the 2001 is a
must-hear.
Was it the band? Was it the listener? Both, probably. Who knows? I�m
just extremely psyched for Ames>Normal next weekend and then Cincinnati in
December!
Mike Powers
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 1999 20:32:17 -0500
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Houston - 9/25/99
What is with all the complaining. "The lot is no good". "I couldn't get
fucked up enough, because of security". Bunch of frigging cry babies.
Also, I am seeing a trend in how phans base their opinions and reviews. It
seems to me that people seem more concerned with what the actual setlist
was than how it was played. I mean don't get me wrong, I love to see Phish
trying out new covers and songs, but come on! I thought we were going to
these shows to appreciate what those guys are creating in the true present.
Personally, I would give the show an 8 out of 10, but the second set was a
solid 10. I have never in my all my phish life been able to immerse myself
in the music as I did in Houston. Never before have they been able to grab
a hold of my mind, body and let my spirit soar like they did during
Saturday's second set. Better than 4th in Atlanta. Better than any Deer
Creek. I know these are bold statements, but bear in mind that this is my
review, not yours.
I enjoyed the 1st set thoroughly. Saddened by the the Vancouver and Gorge
shows, I had little expectations going into the second set, which could
have been the reason they blew me away. Nevertheless, watching Phish
evolve from last year's Houston's show to this years, has earned a place in
my heart, like no other.
Astounding. Incredible. Beautiful. Funky. Mind-Blowing. Divine. No
word or phrase can begin to describe how Phish has transgressed past
musical norms and boundries into a realm only describable when they are on
stage. Thank you boys.
As you may have picked up, the second set was pretty much as good as gets.
NICU delivered the juice to boogie. Bowie exploded, leaving most mouths
open in awe. Great intro, love what their doing with this Favorite.
Squirming Coil was an unexpected treat with amazing work by Page, very
tight jamming leading me to places unknown before. Price Caspian wasn't
what I was looking for but did the job (excellent work by Trey) gliding me
into Rock n' Roll - Screamin' all they way down. Mike got nasty with 2001.
Spacey, funky, great rhythm. I felt that they boys really connected on
this one leading into an all out Frankenstein. Julius is always I great
closer. Yea, I like most, am always looking for a Halley's, It's Ice,
Mound, or a phat Slave, but what those guys are doing with music itself is
a god-send.
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 1999 16:00:31 -0500
From: Tim Hardy [email protected]
Reply-To: ELN/[email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 9/25/99 Houston
Okay, so the lot and tap water sucked, but this was a sweet venue in
a pretty place. Once again the weather was great. Tube is a great way
to open, and I danced hard. The Ya Mar and On Your Way Down were
excellent, as was the Jim, but the only real standout was Limbx2. I
found this to be some stellar group jamming. It sort of left to a
spacey area for a bit, until Fishman double timed the beat and the boys
jammed back into the reprise. I've never heard a Limb do this before.
Excellent. The obvious highlight of the show was the Bowie. Man oh man
alive was this one hot. You really just need to hear it. Insane
jamming and then a huge, high energy climax. I found the rest of the
set to be rather average, although the 2001 was *very* funky and the
Rock and Roll and Frankenstein were great, too. I hate Julius, and
never in my life have I heard one as tame as this. Good god was this
boring. And then to top it off we got more Trey wanking in Character
Zero. I was very let down by the encore and closer, but on the whole
this was a very entertaining show and I definitely got my money's
worth. Oh and the Squirming Coil actually is nearing a jam at the end.
The boys played much longer than usual into the Page section. I don't
know, my recommendation is get the tapes if offered, but don't go
searching(except maybe for the Bowie and 2001). I found the jamming to
be a little lacking(as with the last night save the Wolfman's->Lizards).
Later,
Ry
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 19:58:51 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: your 9/25/99 phish review
I read your review and thought it was a very good one. I'm 15, and this
was my first phish show. i moved to texas during the summer of 98 from
philly, where i became familiar with phish. so anyway, i have to agree
with you on how uptight and anal the cops and security are. the thing is
that the woodlands is a "family-oriented" town. the people here arent used
to this kind of invasion. on monday at school all my friends were talking
about all of the "freaks" down by the pavilion. i was like Hey!! im one of
those freaks!! the people who were born hear in tx have never even heard
of phish. so when i asked people to come along with me to the show, they
were asking what songs do they sing?? and i said if you have to ask, you
probably dont know who they are. so anyway, i just wanted to apologize for
the crappy atmosphere. the woodlands pavilion is the only decent place to
have an outdoor show near houston, so its this or no show. and i honestly
prefer this
anyday. adios!
peace,
betsy whitney
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 1999 13:56:08 CDT
From: Jeff Skaggs [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 9/25/99 Review
What a night! What a show! After last night's dismal show I knew that the
boys were going to serve up some great sets tonight. They did not let me
down. From the Tube opener to the last strums of Character Zero this show
was flawless all the way through. While the setlist may look a little
basic, the jamming and high energy was not. The boys were definitely on
tonight.
Highlights of Set I include a Sleeping Monkey that was played for a girl who
had been requesting it all night. During Fishman's a capella section, Trey
pulled her up on stage and Fishman sang to her. It was a great moment and
fun for everyone in attendance. Also, the first set Limb By Limb was the
best that I have ever heard with intense jamming up until the reprise of the
melody. It was a transcendental moment. Combine these with a rare On Your
Way Down and a rockin' Wilson and you've got a brilliant first set with high
energy.
Set II continued where the first left off with a nice NICU. Then, is it
Ghost? Maze? No, it's Bowie. And what an amazing Bowie it is! Flawless is
the word to describe it. Then, set just kept getting better with superb
song choices such as Squirming Coil, Prince Caspian,and Rock & Roll. All
were great renditions, especially Rock & Roll. Then came the homage to the
home of NASA as the boys gave us the expected Also Sprach Zarathustra,
followed by a hard rockin' Frankenstein. Julius capped off a great second
set and ended the set with the high energy that had been created throughout.
The Character Zero only reinforced the fact that I was seeing one of the
greatest Phish shows ever.
Overall, this show had me dancing non-stop. I don't recall any low points
in this show, and it would be my choice for Phish's next live release. Seek
out the tapes and you will see why.
Jeff Skaggs
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 1999 15:51:32 -0500
From: Boyd Logan [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 9/25/99 Lot Scene with some review
I don't get all of you people griping about the lot and the scene. The lot
I was on, which admittedly was the first one to be filled and not one of the
private/corporate lots, was one of the coolest I've seen. They actually had
recycling bins set up throughout the lot, guys with water coolers
circulating and handing out free water, and cops who were super cool
throughout the day. One reviewer gripes about the strict security, then goes
on to relate how he didn't have his pipe confiscated? Ummm...that's not
exactly strict security. On two different occasions, I saw cops pass up on
opportunities to arrest people. Once, before the show, a guy was selling
'ludes in front of the venue and the cop said, "Hey, you can't sell those
here, please go back to the lot if you want to sell that stuff." And then
after the show a cop says to a group of people trying to make a deal, "Hey,
sell your pills and get the hell out of here." Neither of those two
incidents are indicative of overly tough law enforcement in my opinion. So,
they want to clear people out after the show? So has the security at every
other show I've ever been to. I wasn't too happy when the cops shut down
the guy who was doing some nice picking on his banjo after the show and was
about to be joined by a mando player, but I can understand that they are
ready to get home. As for the show:
Not as good as Austin in my opinion. The show was a rocker, if you are into
that side of Phish. There just wasn't much exploration and improvisation
throughout the show, as there was during the DWD, Wolfman's, and Sand the
night before. The boys did rock, though, and they seemed to have an
extremely good time. Trey and Page kept giving the thumb's up to various
portions of the audience down front, inciting massive yelling and screaming
throughout the show. This crowd was much more boisterous and loud than the
fairly mellow Austin crowd the night before, and I think the music reflected
it (or maybe the crowd reflected the music, I'll never figure out how that
relationship works;) Lots of jamming throughout the night, but they were
mainly pretty standard rockin jams, not the improsiational dissolution that
I dig on more.
The highlight for me would have to be the 2001, although I wasn't entirely
thrilled by the synchronized clapping during the funky space of the song,
another indicator of the type of crowd it was, but again, Trey seemed to
enjoy it as he started doing a little dance in time with the crowd's
clapping. The lights were wonderful as always during this song, and I
really appreciated them this time as I was with my girlfriend (she had sworn
off Phish after touring back in 95 and is now back on the bus, praise
Icculus!) who is extremely visually oriented and kept marveling at the
lights. I think she's now a CK fan more than a Phish fan;) All in all, I
enjoyed both Austin and Houston, thought the vibes and scene were great at
both, and was glad to get to catch Phish over the weekend.
Boyd Logan
T2K Grant Technical Assistant
East Campus: Lab4
Personal: [email protected]
Lab Scheduling: [email protected]
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 1999 13:07:42 -0500
From: kyle wallace [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 9/25/99 Houston
The Phish show in Houston was a solid, but mostly standard arrair. The
first set was fairly mellow, and the second was a good set with a killer
Rock & Roll>2001>Frankenstein>Julius to end off.
here is the breakdown:
Tube: great song, this was a standard version that was a good opener,
but couldn't match the disco funk 2000 feel of the tube @ Virginia Beach
this summer
Runaway Jim: They played this 2nd in the first set last year in Houston
also...Standered version
Ya Mar: I love this song, but like most of the set it was a standard
version much unlike the Ya Mar in Austin during Summer '98 that really
opened up and went new places
Horn: the first time i have seen them play this great song off Rift, it
was fairly close to the album version
Limb By Limb: the highlight of the first set, the guys have been really
doing neat things with this song the last two years...
On Your Way Down: the Little Feat song that was brought out for the
first time in a decade at Shoreline a week or so ago... a bluesy tune
that was new for me
Sleeping Monkey: this was a request from a female fan in the front, Trey
brought her on stage & she was serenaded by Fishman
Wilson: the only big jam of the 1st set, good song, but stayed standard
to the typical performance
set II
NICU: i love NICU & this was the first time they played it at a show
for me
BOWIE: this was a breakout Bowie that was really long & intense, the
best version i have seen--Trey on mini keyboard for spacy intro
Squirming Coil: a majestic wasy to catch our breaths, wonderful song
Prince Caspian: i love this soon more every time i hear it, it really
sets my floating on the waves...
Rock And Roll>: fully jammed out Velvet Underground classic...highlight
of the show
2001>: they played this last year in Houston as well, great song, more
typical, a big change from the really slow building and spacy version in
North Carolina this summer---trey used his mini keyboard again...
Frankenstein>: always a raved out rocker, this really had the energy
peaking out
Julius: great set ender, energy levels peeking out. i thought
Frankenstein would end the set, this capped off a great overall end of
set run.
Character Zero: they encored this last year in Houston, typical
Character Zero encore, i like this song, but it rarely changes around
much.
overall a standard show with a must hear second set.
kyle
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 1999 13:55:49 -0500
From: "Scheffler, Craig S." [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: 9/25/99 Houston
excellent, solid show.....then again, all of them are in my opinion.....the
woodlands pavillion in houston is an excellent venue to see a
concert.....except for, of course, the parking lot......
ah, yes....the parking lot scene....here's the situation.......
the woodlands pavillion does not have a central parking area, nor does it
own any of the surrounding lots in the area....the pavillion simply rents
these lots from surrounding businesses for shows.....so, needless to say, if
the owner of the lot comes down hard on the pavillion for allowing
tailgating, the pavillion in turn comes down hard on the phans.....hence,
many, many corporals on horses patrolling the area......believe me, i'm not
condoning the beefed-up security.....just relaying this info to all of you
who are wondering why the situation was the way that it was......
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