PHISH, TUESDAY 07/22/2003
VERIZON WIRELESS MUSIC CENTER
Noblesville, IN

The amount of money spent in Noblesville by Phish fans really is amazing. I wish I could see a stat somewhere of how much money is brought into the local economy during a Phish 3 night stand. I know I spent my fair share. On this day, I bought 4 new tires for my car, ate at Bob Evans and spent some coin at Wal-Mart as well. It's like the whole town is taken over by the fans - funny stuff. Pre-show was all about drinking, partying and hanging out w/ friends. You only get this kind of experience at Deer Creek where all the serious freaks come out to play. Thanks to runawayjesse for the killer microbrew in the lot (I still have your cup man; hope you don't mind!). Big huge props to Z and JBK for stubbing me down tonight – it was great hanging out w/ you guys.

SET 1: Punch You in the Eye: Well of course we had been waiting and calling for a Punch all tour. The crowd about went into a feeding frenzy as this opened first set. Unfortunately, Trey really struggles w/ this one. The Landlady segment from 5:10 -> 5:40 and is pretty embarrassing. This is the worst PYITE I've seen or heard on disc, seriously. After 5:40 it's all gravy though and they finish up pretty strong. >

Beauty of My Dreams: Again a couple of very minor Trey flubs, nothing as bad as what just happened in PYITE, but it's there.

Gumbo: Now we are talking! Again, another song we had been calling/waiting on all tour. I had no idea what we were in for! This Gumbo is just insane. At 9.5 minutes we have lift off folks - the band just locks up w/ each other and they groove into a very uplifting jam. At 14:15 there is a brief DWD tease by Trey, really quick but it's there. Much of the 12 minute thru 17-minute mark is pure 97 nastiness. In listening to this Gumbo a few times now, it has a lot of similarity to that sick 12-6-97 Tweezer. I bet this blew some minds, I know mine was awesome Gumbo. I saw the last Gumbo 9/27/00 (which is almost as good as this Creek version, it does not get the props it deserves nor does that second set, but I'll save that for another day) and was jamming it out at Alpine.

Divided Sky: My favorite song. Not just my favorite Phish song but of all the music I listen to. Surrounded by friend’s w/ a crowd that is going freakin' bonkers, I don't know that it gets much better than this. This Sky is right on the money. A ripping version that has no let up for close to 18 minutes. Thank you Phish! So why do you guys think Phish has decided to bring Divided Sky back in such a huge way? It's obviously once again entrenched in the rotation much like any pre 97 shows. I for one am a happy camper but would like to hear some thoughts. Personally, I think coming off of hiatus they realized how much of joy it was to be back together w/ each other again and to be able to play a song w/ as much feeling as Sky has, well that is what the band was and is all about. My .02 cents.

Boogie On Reggae Woman: Nice! What a way to follow up 18 minutes of bliss. Mike's bass is so chunky on this tune, I love it! Nice Boogie but much like the Shoreline second set opener, relatively short (6:29) and not jammed much at all. Not complaining just stating a fact. >

Carini: Great way to follow all the happy stuff of Divided Sky and Boogie. Plain nasty, tear your head from your body stuff right here. So intense. >

Magilla: Never could have seen this coming. The band as a whole is kind of rusty on this but that's to be expected really - last time played 7/4/00. My first time seeing this one and last time as they have not played it again since! Enjoyable and a nice breather after that intense Carini.

Possum: Excellent way to close out a really hot set. Again like Runaway Jim, this is a song that to me just screams Deer Creek. I saw it at my first two shows at the Crick: 6/19/95 and 8/12/96, both those versions closed out the second sets. This song is just too fun to dance to, looking around the venue seeing thousands of people w/ smiles just like mine makes it a real treat. This Possum flat smokes into set break and I pretty much collapse into my seat with a big, 'ol s*** eating grin on my mug!

SET 2: Split Open and Melt: Finally! I had this pegged as the opener for Phoenix what w/ the heat and all. But it figures that they save it for this slot here at Phish Mecca. This Melt really was torquing hard core on my reality helmet for sure - man! I love that Phish can still take me into space, scare me, thrill me, awe me - all in the same song! This one is hard driving up until the 11:20 mark or so and then backs off the frenzied fever pitch that had preceded it. Page is running things around 13 minutes and I'm thinking in the back of my mind, Jesus Left Chicago? Nope - continuing w/ Melt, Trey and Page lock up around 14 minutes w/ Mike providing a really nice sonic background. During a jam that is SO FAR out there as this one was, much respect goes out to CK5. He knows the band so well that even this far into space he is still able to follow what is going on and direct the mothership accordingly. Fantastic. 18 minutes in is when Fish and Trey decide to bring things back up to speed a bit. At almost 24 minutes segue into ->

Free: This seque was so farking good that it honestly about brought me to my knees. This kind of stuff is why I love this band so much. I am no spring chicken to be sure, but while I have the opportunity to still do so, I will travel far and wide for these guys because they still "take me there." Yep. Free, my God this song is so appropriate in this spot. Anytime I see this song I think how truly lucky I am to be able to do go out and see Phish as often as I do. Mike just floors me w/ his bass solo after the lyric outro - Bombs people! This Free does in fact smoke although Trey's vocals are really flat for the ending section. Phish.net says there is a segue into >

Friday: Seriously listen to this people and tell me if there is a segue here?? They (Phish.net) are hitting the crack. There is a little jam that I have not heard before a Friday before, but it definitely is not a continuation of Free! C'mon! Anyway... Friday, huh? The little Trey/Mike jam before the launch the song proper is sublime! I was bummed w/ the placement here, but not for long. Trey's solo "Lifts me up and spins me around", gorgeous. When it was over, I didn't mind one bit.

The Lizards: I called this after Friday was over. Chris gave me a funny look that I think I won't ever forget. Makes me laugh every time I think about it! Big time goosebumps throughout - first Lizards since hiatus. Once again this is a song we'd been waiting for all tour. Surrender to the Phlow line gets a big reaction from everyone of course, me included! Apparently, the band must have been practicing this - it sounds like it could have come straight out of 95! Both the Page and Trey solos are simply beautiful. Trey's solo pretty much put me on a different planet.

Walls of the Cave: I was a little indifferent at the outset. That was not the case when it was over though, good not great set closer I thought. This is 15-16 minutes of rock and roll pretty much, machine gun Trey at his best. Really ripping it hard. Good stuff.

ENCORE: Bouncing Around the Room - Please don't be the only encore is what I'm thinking.

Frankenstein: Hell yeah! As always, a VERY visual Frankenstein thanks to CK5. I love the fact that they play a raging tune to end up a raging evening. I mean you just cannot encore w/ Bouncing and let it stand alone after such a great show, so it was very cool to hear Frankenstein after it.

Replay Value: Gumbo, SOAMelt

Summary: My rating = 4.25 out of 5. Love this show now and then. Gumbo is fantastic and the SOAMelt is too – both are all timers for sure. This show rocks very hard front to back. Big, big fan.