SET 1: Sample in a Jar, Beauty of My Dreams, Dogs Stole Things, Limb By Limb, Billy Breathes, Vultures, Back on the Train, Maze, Cavern
SET 2: Also Sprach Zarathustra > Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Simple > Guyute, Loving Cup > Golgi Apparatus
ENCORE: Born to Run[1]
Trey teased Super Bad in 2001. Weekapaug included a 2001 tease. The encore was preceded by a story from Trey about how he and Page grew up “around here” in Jersey. Trey then referenced “the greatest songwriter of all time” and said that he, too, grew up in the area. While some in the crowd expected Bruce Springsteen (who was in the middle of a run of 15 sold-out dates at New Jersey’s Continental Airlines Arena), Trey produced Tom Marshall. Tom appeared in the classic Born in the U.S.A.-era Springsteen outfit, complete with red bandana. He subsequently sang the Phish debut of Born to Run. As the song concluded, Tom mocked a bunch of Springsteen-esque arena-rock clichés, such as throwing his bandana into the crowd and jogging offstage to a handler who threw a towel around his shoulders. During the song he even aped some dance moves from the Dancing in the Dark video.
Jam Chart Versions
Teases
Also Sprach Zarathustra tease in Weekapaug Groove, Super Bad tease in Also Sprach Zarathustra
Debut Years (Average: 1993)
Song Distribution
The Story of the Ghost
2
Stash
2
Farmhouse
1
Billy Breathes
1
Hoist
1
Rift
1
A Picture of Nectar
1
Junta
1
The Story of the Ghost
2
Stash
2
Farmhouse
1
Billy Breathes
1
Hoist
1
Rift
1
A Picture of Nectar
1
Junta
1
On This Date
- Jul 16, 2023: Phish - Alpharetta, GA
- Jul 16, 2022: Phish - Bangor, ME
- Jul 16, 2017: Phish - Chicago, IL
- Jul 16, 2016: Phish - George, WA
- Jul 16, 2014: Phish - Clarkston, MI
- Jul 16, 2013: Phish - Alpharetta, GA
- Jul 16, 2007: Page McConnell - Boulder, CO
- Jul 16, 2006: Trey, Mike and The Duo (G.R.A.B.) - Nashville, TN
- Jul 16, 2002: Vida Blue - Boulder, CO
- Jul 16, 1998: Phish - George, WA
- Jul 16, 1994: Phish - Fayston, VT
- Jul 16, 1993: Phish - Philadelphia, PA
- Jul 16, 1992: Phish - Richmond, VA
Performers
This show was part of the "1999 Summer U.S. Tour"
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Show Reviews
, attached to 1999-07-16
(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)
I’m just gonna come out and say it. Rarely will you see a more lackluster first set than the one we got here. But Phish knows how to pick themselves up off the canvas, and so they treated us to a fun second set and a hysterical encore.
The opening three songs had nothing distinctive about them at all, and “Limb By Limb” jammed a bit but didn’t offer anything out of the ordinary either. “Billy Breathes” is one of my favorite Phish ballads, and under other circumstances I would have been ecstatic to hear it, but it wasn’t the energy boost that this set was starting to need desperately. Same with “Vultures.” I love the prog-iness of the thing, but it had no bite, and I was starting to get restless. I was wondering if the band was still burned out from pushing the envelope the previous night.
“Back on the Train” was the first evidence of any kind of interesting group interplay. It was nothing spectacular, but it had a playfulness that was welcome. Toward the end, the crowd started clapping out a beat, as if to get the band psyched up. It must have worked, because then Fishman furiously hit the high hat to start “Maze.” This had plenty of spark. Page was a demon on the organ, Trey noodled on his keys for a while, and the jam built to a satisfying climax.
Then Fishman launched into “Cavern” with a vengeance. It was worth hearing just for Fishman's playing alone. He inspired the others to attack their parts with equal vigor. At the end, Trey waved his guitar to emit feedback like he did at “Tweeprise” from Camden six nights earlier. But it was an empty gesture considering that they had mailed it in for the first two-thirds of the set. In previous sets I'd seen that year, they had gone out of their way to spice up routine songs, or at least one member would put an extra effort into a solo or riff. They had ample chance to do any of that in the first six songs of this set, but chose not to. We figured that either they were still fried from the previous night, they were holding back to save energy for Oswego, or they were restraining themselves in the first set so they would have plenty left for the special things they planned to do in the second set and encore. Some of my friends decided to hedge their bets and left their seats for a spot on the lawn near an exit, fully intending to walk out if the second set was looking as lame as the first. That turned out not to be necessary, to say the least.
The second set began with the “2001” that we were supposed to get the previous night until Mike overruled with “Split.” This was a particularly mesmerizing version: tight, funky, and a little spooky. The energy level, from the crowd and the band, was eons past what it was in the first set. This eventually faded into “Mike's Song,” and the crowd went berserk. It started off much slower than normal, but soon it was up to its usual pace. The jam section got very dissonant, with Trey fooling around more on his keyboard. The noise made me think "What's the Use?" might be ahead, but all the while Fishman was tapping out the drumbeat to “I Am Hydrogen.” A long, slow version emerged from the dissonance. I rather enjoyed it. But the story of this “Mike’s Groove” was the “Weekapaug.” Mike just pounded the bass on his opening solo with a frenzy I can't remember seeing before. The song just kept getting faster and faster, with some incredible lightning-quick soloing from Trey and then another, even more spectacular bass solo from Mike. He was thumpin' it, Bootsy Collins style. I'm still hard pressed to come up with a better performance from Mike on any song. And all throughout, the others kept up with him, pushing the song to incredible heights. The ensuing “Simple” and “Guyute” kicked ass and took names. And “Loving Cup” was even more raucous. The word that came to mind was "raging,” not something I usually associate with this song. Trey's solo was extraordinary, and the crowd went into a frenzy, which maintained through the set closing “Golgi Apparatus.”
Everything the first set lacked, the second had. It was full of energy and spirit. While not as awe-inspiring as the best jams from the night before, it was much more fun.
But lots more fun was in store. When the band came out for the encore, Trey launched into a story about growing up in New Jersey and seeing concerts at this venue and the Meadowlands, and how much he listened to the guest they were going to bring out, “the greatest songwriter of all time, who also happens to be from Jersey.”
Some people really did seem to think at first that it was Bruce Springsteen that came out. I could tell immediately, from the height of the guest, that it was Tom Marshall in Springsteen costume. As soon as “Born to Run” started, I laughed my ass off, loudly. Tom had the look down, from the headband to the tight Levi's, and even did a few moves from the "Dancing in the Dark" video. (Alas, there was no Courtney Cox sighting.) His vocal was horrible, but he was probably drunk, so what could you expect? The band duly plowed through the song, then Tom left the stage with a flourish of arena rock clichés, tossing the headband into the crowd, and having a "personal assistant" throw a towel around his shoulders as he jogged off.
On this night, we learned never to count Phish out, even when they seem to be at their most uninspired.
Review by Anonymous
(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)I’m just gonna come out and say it. Rarely will you see a more lackluster first set than the one we got here. But Phish knows how to pick themselves up off the canvas, and so they treated us to a fun second set and a hysterical encore.
The opening three songs had nothing distinctive about them at all, and “Limb By Limb” jammed a bit but didn’t offer anything out of the ordinary either. “Billy Breathes” is one of my favorite Phish ballads, and under other circumstances I would have been ecstatic to hear it, but it wasn’t the energy boost that this set was starting to need desperately. Same with “Vultures.” I love the prog-iness of the thing, but it had no bite, and I was starting to get restless. I was wondering if the band was still burned out from pushing the envelope the previous night.
“Back on the Train” was the first evidence of any kind of interesting group interplay. It was nothing spectacular, but it had a playfulness that was welcome. Toward the end, the crowd started clapping out a beat, as if to get the band psyched up. It must have worked, because then Fishman furiously hit the high hat to start “Maze.” This had plenty of spark. Page was a demon on the organ, Trey noodled on his keys for a while, and the jam built to a satisfying climax.
Then Fishman launched into “Cavern” with a vengeance. It was worth hearing just for Fishman's playing alone. He inspired the others to attack their parts with equal vigor. At the end, Trey waved his guitar to emit feedback like he did at “Tweeprise” from Camden six nights earlier. But it was an empty gesture considering that they had mailed it in for the first two-thirds of the set. In previous sets I'd seen that year, they had gone out of their way to spice up routine songs, or at least one member would put an extra effort into a solo or riff. They had ample chance to do any of that in the first six songs of this set, but chose not to. We figured that either they were still fried from the previous night, they were holding back to save energy for Oswego, or they were restraining themselves in the first set so they would have plenty left for the special things they planned to do in the second set and encore. Some of my friends decided to hedge their bets and left their seats for a spot on the lawn near an exit, fully intending to walk out if the second set was looking as lame as the first. That turned out not to be necessary, to say the least.
The second set began with the “2001” that we were supposed to get the previous night until Mike overruled with “Split.” This was a particularly mesmerizing version: tight, funky, and a little spooky. The energy level, from the crowd and the band, was eons past what it was in the first set. This eventually faded into “Mike's Song,” and the crowd went berserk. It started off much slower than normal, but soon it was up to its usual pace. The jam section got very dissonant, with Trey fooling around more on his keyboard. The noise made me think "What's the Use?" might be ahead, but all the while Fishman was tapping out the drumbeat to “I Am Hydrogen.” A long, slow version emerged from the dissonance. I rather enjoyed it. But the story of this “Mike’s Groove” was the “Weekapaug.” Mike just pounded the bass on his opening solo with a frenzy I can't remember seeing before. The song just kept getting faster and faster, with some incredible lightning-quick soloing from Trey and then another, even more spectacular bass solo from Mike. He was thumpin' it, Bootsy Collins style. I'm still hard pressed to come up with a better performance from Mike on any song. And all throughout, the others kept up with him, pushing the song to incredible heights. The ensuing “Simple” and “Guyute” kicked ass and took names. And “Loving Cup” was even more raucous. The word that came to mind was "raging,” not something I usually associate with this song. Trey's solo was extraordinary, and the crowd went into a frenzy, which maintained through the set closing “Golgi Apparatus.”
Everything the first set lacked, the second had. It was full of energy and spirit. While not as awe-inspiring as the best jams from the night before, it was much more fun.
But lots more fun was in store. When the band came out for the encore, Trey launched into a story about growing up in New Jersey and seeing concerts at this venue and the Meadowlands, and how much he listened to the guest they were going to bring out, “the greatest songwriter of all time, who also happens to be from Jersey.”
Some people really did seem to think at first that it was Bruce Springsteen that came out. I could tell immediately, from the height of the guest, that it was Tom Marshall in Springsteen costume. As soon as “Born to Run” started, I laughed my ass off, loudly. Tom had the look down, from the headband to the tight Levi's, and even did a few moves from the "Dancing in the Dark" video. (Alas, there was no Courtney Cox sighting.) His vocal was horrible, but he was probably drunk, so what could you expect? The band duly plowed through the song, then Tom left the stage with a flourish of arena rock clichés, tossing the headband into the crowd, and having a "personal assistant" throw a towel around his shoulders as he jogged off.
On this night, we learned never to count Phish out, even when they seem to be at their most uninspired.
, attached to 1999-07-16
This show's setlist is very appealing to me; it kind of resembles an Europe 1997 setlist, with the notable impossibility of Back on the Train having been played that year. 7/16/99 is not big on jams, and the ones there are are brief and "average-great" (another way of saying that by Phish standards they're relatively unrevolutionary) but despite the first set's particular "songiness" (with the exception of an outstanding Maze), there's a lot to like about this show. The encore is surely fun. I would love to get a show like this in the common era of 3.0. I think many phans are borderline obsessive-compulsive about Phish, maybe even some kind of psychopathology resembling the phenomenon of addiction, to the point that a show like this tends to get less respect than something that's obviously mind-blowing but potentially a lot more open to interpretation. It seems to me that a show like this--with the features I've briefly described above--would be a kind of baseline upon which we could all agree: a less controversial show where at minimum there'd be a lowest common denominator of, "Oh, yeah! I remember that show, it was pretty good." I love finding shows like this where after maybe jonesing for the jam show after show, Phish rewards you with a reminder that the "whole thing" we're involved with together has a lot of moving parts and that all of them are important.
Review by fhqwhgads
This show's setlist is very appealing to me; it kind of resembles an Europe 1997 setlist, with the notable impossibility of Back on the Train having been played that year. 7/16/99 is not big on jams, and the ones there are are brief and "average-great" (another way of saying that by Phish standards they're relatively unrevolutionary) but despite the first set's particular "songiness" (with the exception of an outstanding Maze), there's a lot to like about this show. The encore is surely fun. I would love to get a show like this in the common era of 3.0. I think many phans are borderline obsessive-compulsive about Phish, maybe even some kind of psychopathology resembling the phenomenon of addiction, to the point that a show like this tends to get less respect than something that's obviously mind-blowing but potentially a lot more open to interpretation. It seems to me that a show like this--with the features I've briefly described above--would be a kind of baseline upon which we could all agree: a less controversial show where at minimum there'd be a lowest common denominator of, "Oh, yeah! I remember that show, it was pretty good." I love finding shows like this where after maybe jonesing for the jam show after show, Phish rewards you with a reminder that the "whole thing" we're involved with together has a lot of moving parts and that all of them are important.
, attached to 1999-07-16
The 2001 tease in Weekapaug is a "shout out" to the show they played in Holmdel 5 years prior. 2nd set is enjoyable. Solid Mike's Groove.
Review by mcgrupp81
The 2001 tease in Weekapaug is a "shout out" to the show they played in Holmdel 5 years prior. 2nd set is enjoyable. Solid Mike's Groove.
, attached to 1999-07-16
This show belongs very much in the "Ok" category. A score of three seems to fit it well.
The first set is quite dull and could be disregarded all together with the exception of an above average Maze.
The 2nd set is a slight pickup from the first but still fairly lackluster. One exception being an interesting Weekapaug Groove with Mike getting more slap happy then normal. Also Guyute was somewhat of a standout but the problem coming with that is it was a very commonly played song during this tour and is strictly compositional.
The encore was fun for the most part. The poor fans hearts must have sank when Trey trolled them along anticipating Bruce Springsteen coming out when it was Tom Marshall doing his typical singing. But a debut none the less.
All and all a forgetful show. Hope you folks there caught Night 1 to balance it out.
Review by Bob_Loblaw
This show belongs very much in the "Ok" category. A score of three seems to fit it well.The first set is quite dull and could be disregarded all together with the exception of an above average Maze.
The 2nd set is a slight pickup from the first but still fairly lackluster. One exception being an interesting Weekapaug Groove with Mike getting more slap happy then normal. Also Guyute was somewhat of a standout but the problem coming with that is it was a very commonly played song during this tour and is strictly compositional.
The encore was fun for the most part. The poor fans hearts must have sank when Trey trolled them along anticipating Bruce Springsteen coming out when it was Tom Marshall doing his typical singing. But a debut none the less.
All and all a forgetful show. Hope you folks there caught Night 1 to balance it out.
, attached to 1999-07-16
(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)
Since my husband Lyle and I were a little low on funds, we decided to justify spending the money for tickets and travel to five Phish shows in mid and late December 1999 by declaring those shows as Christmas presents to ourselves. It was the first time since the 1995 Fox Theater shows in Atlanta that we had the chance to see three shows back-to-back, and the only time we had seen five shows in one tour, much less the tour-closers. Big Cypress was to be both our first Phish festival and first New Year's Eve shows. Needless to say, we were ending our year and the decade with quite an unforgettable bang!
We made it to Raleigh in the early afternoon and had plenty of time to check into our hotel and grab some dinner before heading to the show. It wasn't until we were headed to the venue that I glanced at the tickets and saw that the doors to the venue were scheduled to open at 5:30 PM for this general-admission show, instead of the usual 6:30 PM. It was already 4:50 PM — yipes! After some mild panicking, we rolled onto the NC State University campus at around five-ish. After a quick but unintentional detour, we found a handy parking spot at the entrance of the parking deck, which was about a hundred yards away from the front door.
Thankfully, miracles never cease at Phish shows. Even though it was less than thirty minutes until the doors to venue opened, the line was surprisingly short. We were not out of luck after all. Actually, the doors didn't open until around 6:45, so we had a bit of a wait, but it was not too bad since we had fun listening to the conversations of the excited phans, mostly college kids, all around us.
We found seats in the too-close-together rows of bright red bleacher chairs inside the basketball gym (behind the one guy who was saving literally sixteen seats for all his friends — what's up with that?), Page side, right beside the soundboard. We settled in comfortably and chatted with the friendly folks all around us. I was enjoying the diversity of the crowd, and though the previous night's show in Washington, D.C., snagged my “Reba”, I was certainly ready to open up my first Christmas gift (so to speak).
“Wilson” was a great opener that really grabbed the crowd. Nothing outrageous, just “Wilson” in show-opener mode. I've heard a lot of “Chalk Dusts” and this one seemed to rage harder than usual. As long as Phish continues to surprise me, I'll continue to be delighted! It was wonderful to see Page croon “Lawn Boy”, but though he stood up and walked out in front of the piano, I thought it was strange that the spotlight never could seem to find him. “Horn” is one of my favorite tunes and this one was beautiful and delicious as always. I was hoping to hear “Limb By Limb” since I haven't in a while. I really dig the Fishman solo at the end. “Roggae” was very ethereal. I love it! “GBOTT” was a first-hear for me and I thought it was a lot of fun. Very catchy, in the best way. I saw some dudes throwin' down some breakdancing moves at the back of the floor, which had gracious plenty of room. I always enjoy scanning the crowd and watching others who are having as much fun as me!
Whoa, where did that “Camel Walk” come from? Right out of nowhere, I'd say! Another first-hear for me and I thought it was fantastic! What a rare gem. The band really seemed to be having a lot of fun in that odd little gymnasium. If that wasn't enough, Phish played another one of my favorites, “Possum”! I love this tune but I seem to keep missing it. A great way to end the set. The energy level during the first set was strong, yet very chill, which I thought was extra cool. I was not a bit disappointed.
Set II got rolling with “Sand” — my first live one and I gushed my toes all in it! Lyle and I both agreed we were hoping they'd save it for Hampton — little did we know! But it was absolutely lovely and at the time I thought it was one for the books. I've been lucky enough to hear several “Mango”s, and this version was definitely the finest one. The band seemed to be taking their time with it and playing it carefully. Chills up and down my spine…exquisite! When Page struck the very first cord to “Velvet Sea”, three girls behind me (not your typical phan girls, either) all squealed really loud. They sang the "mailed it off to you" part loudly, too, but it was not off-key, so I thought it was cute rather than being irritated by it as I usually am when people feel the need to drown out the band with their own voices. “Tweezer” was jammed out in a way I had never heard before, very solid and fabulous. I love when Phish takes an old classic and gives it a new spin. “Runaway Jim” was nice to hear and Trey did the guitar-over-the-head trick, which always makes me smile. To me, that signaled that the boys were definitely having a blast in Raleigh. The “Bittersweet Motel” encore was another surprise; I didn't even recognize it at first but it was great to hear. “Tweeprise” was expected but fun, as usual.
Overall, this was a great show. I think it's one of the sleeper hits of the tour. The second set is well worth adding to your tape or CD-R collection. I was thinking that the chilly willy energy level was an indicator of things to come and I was more than ready for what awaited me in Hampton and Big Cypress!
Review by Anonymous
(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)Since my husband Lyle and I were a little low on funds, we decided to justify spending the money for tickets and travel to five Phish shows in mid and late December 1999 by declaring those shows as Christmas presents to ourselves. It was the first time since the 1995 Fox Theater shows in Atlanta that we had the chance to see three shows back-to-back, and the only time we had seen five shows in one tour, much less the tour-closers. Big Cypress was to be both our first Phish festival and first New Year's Eve shows. Needless to say, we were ending our year and the decade with quite an unforgettable bang!
We made it to Raleigh in the early afternoon and had plenty of time to check into our hotel and grab some dinner before heading to the show. It wasn't until we were headed to the venue that I glanced at the tickets and saw that the doors to the venue were scheduled to open at 5:30 PM for this general-admission show, instead of the usual 6:30 PM. It was already 4:50 PM — yipes! After some mild panicking, we rolled onto the NC State University campus at around five-ish. After a quick but unintentional detour, we found a handy parking spot at the entrance of the parking deck, which was about a hundred yards away from the front door.
Thankfully, miracles never cease at Phish shows. Even though it was less than thirty minutes until the doors to venue opened, the line was surprisingly short. We were not out of luck after all. Actually, the doors didn't open until around 6:45, so we had a bit of a wait, but it was not too bad since we had fun listening to the conversations of the excited phans, mostly college kids, all around us.
We found seats in the too-close-together rows of bright red bleacher chairs inside the basketball gym (behind the one guy who was saving literally sixteen seats for all his friends — what's up with that?), Page side, right beside the soundboard. We settled in comfortably and chatted with the friendly folks all around us. I was enjoying the diversity of the crowd, and though the previous night's show in Washington, D.C., snagged my “Reba”, I was certainly ready to open up my first Christmas gift (so to speak).
“Wilson” was a great opener that really grabbed the crowd. Nothing outrageous, just “Wilson” in show-opener mode. I've heard a lot of “Chalk Dusts” and this one seemed to rage harder than usual. As long as Phish continues to surprise me, I'll continue to be delighted! It was wonderful to see Page croon “Lawn Boy”, but though he stood up and walked out in front of the piano, I thought it was strange that the spotlight never could seem to find him. “Horn” is one of my favorite tunes and this one was beautiful and delicious as always. I was hoping to hear “Limb By Limb” since I haven't in a while. I really dig the Fishman solo at the end. “Roggae” was very ethereal. I love it! “GBOTT” was a first-hear for me and I thought it was a lot of fun. Very catchy, in the best way. I saw some dudes throwin' down some breakdancing moves at the back of the floor, which had gracious plenty of room. I always enjoy scanning the crowd and watching others who are having as much fun as me!
Whoa, where did that “Camel Walk” come from? Right out of nowhere, I'd say! Another first-hear for me and I thought it was fantastic! What a rare gem. The band really seemed to be having a lot of fun in that odd little gymnasium. If that wasn't enough, Phish played another one of my favorites, “Possum”! I love this tune but I seem to keep missing it. A great way to end the set. The energy level during the first set was strong, yet very chill, which I thought was extra cool. I was not a bit disappointed.
Set II got rolling with “Sand” — my first live one and I gushed my toes all in it! Lyle and I both agreed we were hoping they'd save it for Hampton — little did we know! But it was absolutely lovely and at the time I thought it was one for the books. I've been lucky enough to hear several “Mango”s, and this version was definitely the finest one. The band seemed to be taking their time with it and playing it carefully. Chills up and down my spine…exquisite! When Page struck the very first cord to “Velvet Sea”, three girls behind me (not your typical phan girls, either) all squealed really loud. They sang the "mailed it off to you" part loudly, too, but it was not off-key, so I thought it was cute rather than being irritated by it as I usually am when people feel the need to drown out the band with their own voices. “Tweezer” was jammed out in a way I had never heard before, very solid and fabulous. I love when Phish takes an old classic and gives it a new spin. “Runaway Jim” was nice to hear and Trey did the guitar-over-the-head trick, which always makes me smile. To me, that signaled that the boys were definitely having a blast in Raleigh. The “Bittersweet Motel” encore was another surprise; I didn't even recognize it at first but it was great to hear. “Tweeprise” was expected but fun, as usual.
Overall, this was a great show. I think it's one of the sleeper hits of the tour. The second set is well worth adding to your tape or CD-R collection. I was thinking that the chilly willy energy level was an indicator of things to come and I was more than ready for what awaited me in Hampton and Big Cypress!
Add a Review
The Mockingbird Foundation
Review by TimberCarini
While so many shows we attend leave us feeling a variety of emotions, we often return to the shows that we enjoyed the most. I admit that I listen to (and defend) the shows that I attended much more than shows that have only heard through tapes and LivePhish.com recordings. At 100+ shows, I feel like I have a pretty large sample size from which I can draw these emotional attachments for the use of reviews. There are amazing facts about memories and re-living moments that your whole body experienced that goes way beyond hearing music on playback. Reliving those experiences is part of what makes listening to Phish so incredibly powerful. When it comes to listening and reviewing shows for a blog, you get a chance to immerse yourself into shows you never attended or re-live shows you did attend. Shows that you loved, shows that were uninspiring, shows that were "perfect," and shows that carried the emotional baggage of your own personal journey.
This brings me to the next phenomenon: the PAPER TIGER. We are all guilty of judging a show by its setlist. The age of the internet allows communication to flow so rapidly that we get setlists in real time and judge a show as it is taking place. This was not necessarily the case for normal people in 1999. Setlists would pop up the next day or a few days later online (if you had internet outside of your college campus), but with limited information. Tapes/CDs would circulate weeks or months later. CD burning trees would allow you to send blank CDs off to be burned by phans in other states and then you would wait for the return burned copy in the mail. Shows were judged quickly by a setlist or word of mouth - or both. A show with a huge bustout or new cover or crazy theatrics was initially valued higher than a show with an amazing jam. Plus, jams were longer back then so it seemed like every show had a 20+ jam after a song. Paper Tigers are shows like 7/16 with the Born to Run encore. Huge bustout cover in NJ with a special guest - initially thought to be Bruce himself! That was the initial word on the street - by regular phans (not hypercritical uber fans) - that 7/16 was a crazy show. It was not (Sorry, Tom).
7/16
Set 1: I cannot review this substandard boring first set of music. Not worth anyone's time.
Set 2
$$$ Also Sprach Zarathustra > Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove $$$
The 2001 everyone was waiting for comes out to play. Great run of songs. They don't make Mike's Grooves like this anymore. Ambient and flowing right through the I Am Hydrogen into an excellent Weekapaug. It is great. Listen to these 4 songs from this set and enjoy. Maybe check out Tom Marshall pretending to be Bruce Springsteen for a laugh, but remember why you are here and it's not for Springsteen Karaoke.
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