Best-of-the-decade versions of Gumbo(!) and SOAM(!!) and an appropriately evil/silly Carini > Magilla highlight this otherwise standard-excellent summer '03 show.

phish was coming off a very hot show, but as always at deer creek, we were looking for them to top the previous night. i don't know if they topped it, but they came down close.... i'll let others debate their favorite of this run...

punch: nice hot version. they dug deep in the intro before making it into the "song".

beauty of my dreams: ahhhh.... i love this song. good snappy version. got the slightly buzzed crowd jumping.

gumbo: here we go! this was a dark, nasty, funky gumbo. it might be my favorite ever. it is at least my favorite version since tinley park 97. fishman held down a nice funky beat while trey, page, and mike just laid down this nasty funky jam. lucky for us, we would get to revisit this realm in sneaking sally the next night.

the divided sky: after a 20+ minute gumbo, i was expecting the boys to chill on this one, but they kept the ball rolling. trey really soared on the post silence portion of this sky. there are a goof or two along the way on this one.

boogie on: quick and to the point, but this kept the momentum of a nice no nonsense first going.

carrini: talk about momentum...this got the creek rocking. they started to stretch this one out a bit before quickly turning a corner into the seldom played...

magilla: talk about an odd pairing! this magilla really caught the crowd off guard. page was killing this one, and trey quipped afterward that they should play this one again. good 'ol deer creek.... you can expect just about anything here.

possum: they closed this set with a barn burner possum. trey lights up the night on this one. he was hitting those hot, bluesy, licks that he finds in possum so often. very good, completel band effort here.

set 2:

soa melt: this one had been shelved for a while, and some rust was evident. once they "breathed deep in the steam dream," they absolutely took off. this jam was spectacular, the best of the 3 night run and maybe the best of the year. after really rocking and rolling the melt theme, they find themselves in this far out spacey/bluesy jam. for a minute i thought they would go into jesus left chicago, but after a little more exploration they moved into...

free: this fit like a glove. this free had more of a funky mid section than some of its hard rocking brethren. gordon was hot on this one. good free, following a sick melt.

friday: hmmm... gotta cool down some time.

the lizards: nice little treat here. nothing out of this world. good solid lizards.

walls of the cave: i wasn't a big fan of this song, and this version didn't do too much to change my mind. the deer creek 2004 version with the dwd ending nudged me a little in its favor. trey and page were sharp on this take though.

enc:

bouncing around the room: nothing to see here

frankenstein: nice change of tempo after bouncing. they ended a great show in style.

overall:

this was a good solid show, with some thick jams in some slightly unexpected places. I did feel that the 2nd set petered out quite a bit torward the end, but who can complain about anything after that mind blowing melt.

1st set:
gumbo, carrini>magilla>possum

2nd set:
soa melt>free

This show has an excellent jam out of Gumbo, which begins when Trey takes a hard left into downtempo staccato psych before we hit the 6 minute mark. The early part of the jam feels more like a fall 97 Stash jam than a typical Gumbo jam. The music builds tension as it swells and drifts rather than grooving towards a funky peak. It is clear early on that this jam is going to be different. Trey throws in some light saber blues licks around 7:00 and page compliments on piano. Mike thumping away and Fish following Trey, the groove remains loose and jazzy, with the band finds themselves in and out of funk and rock grooves but never committing to a build before syncing up for a sustained bliss section at 9:45 for about a minute until Mike drops some heavy notes that initiate a the band locking this strangely dark bliss groove into a steady build. Around 11:30 Trey hits a couple of chords then sustains a beautiful echoing note that allows the band to lock in to the established groove. A minute later, Mike plays a couple minor notes that Trey immediately picks up on with some heavily distorted chording that signals the beginning of the dark final build, which is gathering force at 13:00 but Mike and Fish remain in a loose, jazzy pocket and never push Trey into a huge peak or faster tempo. Still dark jazzy bliss with Page (still) on piano when at 13:29 trey unleashes a beautiful lick that is one of my fav in his repertoire and he solos in a particularly majestic mode for a while. 14:16 sees some sick disease-like trill and the jam has a dark edge but is definitely a majestic major key hose jam like a slave or hood something. Lagging tempo makes it so anthemic. This is strangely dark beautiful bliss with a huge but smoldering volcanic peak. Short but sweet cool down after the peak. Must-hear version.

This show features an out-of-nowhere awesome Gumbo, a hilariously paired Carini>Magilla, which contrasts mayhem and old timey hammed-up jazz executed wryly and flawlessly. Then the SOAM. This piece helps along to define a year when the four explored an atonal battle dance like no other time. It menaces discomfortingly into a well-earned and yet strange and sometimes frightening resolution that > excitedly into Free. This version keeps the energy high and positive before settling out into a delicate and beautiful space then > the best placed Friday of all time-- and it shines. Lizards, a song that has lost a bit of its holiness with age brings an old school head nod and offering to what had just transpired.

This was my second night of the three day run. I was happy so far with the first night and was hoping for another one. I came to this show solo, and down the road, this wouldn't be my last one doing this. Thank GOD I didn't drive the first night, anyway, it ended up being as decent a show as it was the night before. Very surprised with the set of songs they did the first set. Very good Punch You In the Eye, great Gumbo and Divided Sky, both first timers for me. Another great first times was Carini and ending the first set with a great Possum. They can't go wrong when they do this tune. Not only do I love it, but usually the crowds do to. Started off the second set with a sizzling Split Open and Melt and going into Free, and Friday. Then came Lizards, another good one and ending with a great Walls of the Cave. That was the first time seeing it and I was not disappointed at all. They finished off the night with Bouncing Around the Room and a great Frankenstein. So far so good with these two shows. What was gonna happen my third night? I didn't know what to expect at this point. I'd have to wait and see of course....

This is still my favorite Free. The Split>Free is where it's at in this second set. Maybe the most underrated Gumbo ever. These are the highlights of a kinda ho-hum 3 night run at Deer Creek.

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.

Having been involved in the 2003 Jam of the Year bracket, I am familiar with two of the "tentpole" jams from this show. Interestingly, I had long since forgotten about each since that tourney concluded -perhaps a harbinger of things to come in this review? Needless to say, I was looking forward to listening to these jams within the context of this very strange Phish show.

Punch You in the Eye starts the disco groove right out of the blocks. One of my favorite all-time opening song selections (not this one per se, but just the song in general) PYITE always sets the groove tone dance party. Energy high, expectations higher (with how strong the previous evening was...almost at least) the crowd was abuzz for the seond song of the evening... until it was Beauty of my Dreams. Weird choice. Not a bad choice, but a weird one, Phishgrass after dancegrooves early in the first set is an odd pairing, again not bad, but odd. The dance party picks back up with the first Gumbo of 2003. Woo hoo! Let the swamp funk commence! Hmmm... well... I mean I like this jam but I am not in like with this jam? Ya know? Maybe not? Fair enough, as this jam has got the "highly recommended treatment" and many .netters have waxed poetic about this 18-minute version. But this .netter though. I find this jam take a while to get rolling, and when it does, it is a little sloppy and disjointed. It darts in and out of major key, uplifting jams, only to be bogged back down into - well - not swampy cow funk like the extended Gumbos of old, but just kind of a quagmire of trying to resurrect the past. To my ears, you can almost feel the band consciously trying to stretch the jam out, but it feels as though they are trying too hard, rather than letting the jam unfold, as so many Winter 2003 jams did. Let's take a moment hear to compare that - unfolding vs forcing. Winter 2003, nothing felt forced. Every jam just happened. Every extended jam (and yes, I know the rule about never using absolutes) but really, every jam felt natural and organic in the moment. It's what makes Winter 2003 so special. In Summer 2003, I think Phish was trying to recapture that magic. But that's the problem: trying. In Winter 2003, they didn't try, they just did. Now in Summer 2003, especially in the middle part of the tour, they seem to be trying too hard to jam. I can hear it now... "LOL FUNKY! WTF are you talking about?! "Trying too hard to jam?!" KYS. We'd give anything for an 18 minute Gumbo in the first set these days." True enough, and fair enough, but contextually within the framework of this tour this Gumbo is trying to way too hard to be a Winter 2003 jam. For me, it never gets close. But for some people, it might. And that's the thrill of the chase. Sojourn on, loyal listener. Having waxed poetic about alllllllll that, Gumbo was a pretty sweet #3 song in the set. A solid, extended Divided Sky comes next and I gotta admit, even though DSky's 2003 tone is gritty and not-as-pretty as it was in pretty much any past year, these versions are all smokin hot. I mean Trey and Fish really get after each and every version with fire and gusto. This one is no different. A standard and dare I say tame Boogie On comes next and provided nothing but standard funk, which isn't a bad thing, but don't expect anything fancy from this version. A terrifyingly heavy Carini drops in next and scares the pants off of all in attendance. Like Boogie On, I will never relisten to this version again, but I am 100% certain in the moment at this show these two jams were dancey and energized, even if the replay value is neither. An oddball but very fun jazzy number called Magilla comes in next, and quite frankly I am stoked on this song. I cut a rug on our hardwood floors (turns out I stepped on the cat) as the swinging jazz sashays through Deer Creek. Fun stuff. A smoldering Possum closes things out. Possum in 2003, like Divided Sky, ALWAYS rips. This is a good version.

Set 2 starts off with another "weird' choice in Split Open and Melt. Weird seems to be the theme of this show. So why not go all in! This jam is highly polarizing for me. For the first 12 minutes, it is a dissonant wank-off. Nearly unlistenable and cringe-worthy, it just has no teeth. But then whammo! They turn the corner at the thirteen minute mark into a funky, locked in, up beat groove. This groove swirls and dips and dives some about 5 minutes: crawling into funk, jumping into energized jamming, and swaggering back into more funk before an almost clean -> Free. If you can get through the first 12 minutes of this Melt without your ears dying, the remaining 10 minutes will be worth it. Free is standard fair... for 2003. But contextually if this were to drop in 2016 we'd be freaking the f*** out because Free (today) is 5 minutes of normalized quasi funk. This one is 10 minutes of dirty, gritty funk. Cool to hear what Free *could* be. Sigh. Next up is a song whose name I will not mention because it is the worst song in the history of time. Trey must have been mad at you guys in the venue that night, to drop this song in middle of set 2. But he quickly made amends by playing Lizards next THANK GOD. Easy come easy go... Lizards was a super treat, again the first of 2003 I do believe, and this one, though kinda crunchy, was more than welcomed in this set. Walls of the Cave finds its home as a raging set closer and this one delivers the goods! 17 minutes of IN YOUR FACE shreddage, striking again and again at the peak, this version EXPLODES with energy! Perhaps the highlight of the set? I mean, say what you will about the last 10 amazing minutes of Melt, the first 12 minutes just sucked... and there is nothing sucky about this WOTC. Bouncing, Frankenstein encore is exactly what it looks like on paper.

All and all, a weird show. An example of Phish tying too hard in my opinion. But at least they're trying, right?

Must hear jams: Split Open and Melt, Walls of the Cave
Probably-should-listen-to jams: Gumbo, Divided Sky, Carini > Magilla, Possum

This show would be an easy four stars from me, based on the strength of the Split Open & Melt -> Free, Walls of the Cave, and Carini. The SOAMelt is clearly the highlight of the night, with a jam which cooks during the standard Melt portion and then kicks into a rockin' high gear. The Carini is short but very strong, and the Walls of the Cave is a raging closer.

But the show is loaded with slop, even for 2003. Almost every song is messy, but the composed part of Melt is terrible, and the Magilla is flat out the worst version I've ever heard. Even the jam in Gumbo, which ends well, starts out rough and takes time to smooth out.

Based just on the amount of slop, I'd would have to go two stars, but combined with the four star aforementioned jams, I think it evens out to three stars. But definitely check out the Carini, Melt-> Free, and WotC.