(posted to rec.music.phish in April 1998 - part 1 of 4)

Now that we've had a week to mull over exactly what happened last weekend,
I am going to take the time to offer my thoughts on the Incredible Edible
Island Tour (as I see it, anyway.) Take these with a grain of salt, since
I don't know very much about Phish at all. I still like Character Zero.

First off it was great meeting so many new people, and meeting up with
those of you I knew already. Even moreso than on a normal tour.

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Thursday 4/2 -

Tube opener. 'Nuff said. Did they make it funky? - Yes, but not nearly
in the realm of some of the 'great Tubes,' ie 12/7/97 Dayton. It was
simply a great way to dive right back into the funk they obviously enjoyed
som much in '97. The highlight of set one is obviously the Stash. This
puppy was 20 minutes of great exploratory jamming. Horn was a nice treat,
but with Waste of Time and Chalkdust to close the set, it left something
to be desired (although, granted, the Chalkdust was a "better than
average" version). But, of course we were not let down, as one seldom is
with Phish2000.

Second set, once we passed Simple (which did have some good jamming) was
incredible. "Birds of a Feather" is a new tune that you will be hearing a
lot about, if you haven't already. This tune has been called "catchy" by
many, and it is, but only in the Halley's Comet sense. Not to imply in
any way that it sounds like a pop tune. But this tune is pure _meat_.
Wait till you hear it (and if you haven't yet you can download this set
from sugarmegs) - it's got a jam in the middle that rocks like none other
and begins and ends with the same crescendoing sixteenth-note
bullfighter-type riff. It was a treat to hear this song twice!

The segue from Wolfman's into Sneakin' Sally was incredible, making me
wonder if this was planned or not. Is Sally going to be a new standard?
We'll have to wait and see!

Roget, the other new tune, was strange and dark. You should be afraid of
it. I described it as "Circusy - Horror movie music."

The highlight of set two, imo (though it is hard to choose!) was the jam
after Twist Around. The lights came down behind the stage to create a
strange effect, and there was humming almost like a vocal jam (although
the instruments were still going.) It was some of the most frightening
stuff I'd ever seen Phish do. After that madness, a veritable Also Sprach
jam ensued, with Page being the only member holding them back from
launching into a full-out 2001 Jam.

The Gyute encore was a nice chunky and healthy end to a great "tour
opener" at about 12 minutes.