"This is Cock Rock" - Jon Fishman 9/29/00
Indeed. The band really revved up their Rock n’ Roll engines for this show. Was it because it was the opening night of Phish's last Vegas Run before the Hiatus, the frenzied Friday Night crowd, the knowledge that Kid Rock would be sharing the stage later, or perhaps all three? I like to think it was just in the air.
Besides a “Bathtub Gin “ that slowly opened like a flower (reminiscent if my all-time favorite played on 6/28/00) and a short two minute Siket Disc-like meander between “Fluffhead” and “Meatstick”, the Grand Funk Railroad impersonators onstage seemed to skip any real jamming. In fact, a standard version of “Meatstick” might have been the only other tune The Kid might have deemed a "Hippie Song". “Moma Dance” and “Fluffhead” were tight and all business. Nearly flawless. Even “Chalk Dust Torture” failed to show any glimpses of the jam vehicle it sometimes has been since the Hiatus (and occasionally before). Only pure adrenaline here.
From the grinding “Carini” opener to the arena rock of "Frankenstein" and the punk "Dinner and a Movie", all through Kid Rock's lengthy appearance; both band and audience never let up on the fury. During "Rapper's Delight" Fishman rapped and danced a Joe C. imitation while those in attendance waved their arms in the air and sang along. The lack of apology for "supposedly" offending vocal improvisations was, for me, woven into the ferocity of the music that night. Whether or not the audience was tired of his posturing and screeching; the momentum was just too much not to bring Kid Rock out for the encore. The ovation after, while the lights came up, left me with visions of The Boys smiling tired smiles while wiping the sweat from their hair with towels backstage. After all, this was "Cock Rock".