At 3.8 as I'm writing this, I think this show is almost criminally underrated. Well, criminally might be too far, but how about freaking severely.

The first set is obviously anchored by a fantastic Sneakin' Sally that really heads on out and grooves, and has an Eminence Front flavor at one point. Spectacular Sally, but that's not all, as the set opens with a tremendous 20 minute S&SS which releases into a solid Theme. Throw in a tasty Seven Below and you've got a powerhouse first set.

The DwD to open set II is just as great as the S&SS to open set I, and it lands brilliantly in Squirming Coil. Makisupa-> Buffalo Bill brings the lulz, and Antelope is flat-out BLISTERING. Thunderhead (much like Billy Breathes) is one of those songs that I didn't really care for when I first heard it, but since have come to love, and here it is paired expertly with a powerful, set-closing Slave. You could add Waste to the list of songs that has grown on me a lot over the years, so I don't mind the encore at all.

For a 2003 show, there's not even all that much slop, aside from a somewhat butchered Rift. This show is 4 stars at *minimum*, and I personally enjoyed it quite a bit more than the previous night. Even though I think 4 stars or slightly above is a good rating for this one, I'm giving it a 5 to help boost it to where I think it should be.

I drove back and fourth from Dayton Oh (about a 2 hour drive) to Deer Creek all 3 nights because of work. Being that the concerts were a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I could not get off work or get anyone to cover for me. Getting 4 hours of sleep each night sucked but I stuck it out. That Thursday at work, I was a zombie. Ever been too tired to fall asleep. That was me Thursday night. I recovered by that weekend. Looking back though, it was well worth it. Fantastic three nights of Phish. Loved all three shows. This venue is the best to see Phish live; by far.

Hmmmmmmmmmm. ::ponders the yonder:: Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

What to make of a show with stratospheric highs and, using the parlance of our times, epic flubs. Do the jams carry the weight? Do the flubs weigh down the jams? Let us explore!

The twinkling, hollow-cave intro to Scents and Subtle Sounds is mesmerizing. Tiptoeing into the song, the intro alone sets a tone of imaginative improvisation. I wish they'd do this more often, the intro, because it so mysterious yet so harmonious. To open this show with SASS (+intro) is amazing. Oh wait. This version is 20 minutes long! Not only is it 20 minutes long, it breaks from its "standard great" euphoria outro jam (at about the 11 minute mark) into a full on high-flying tidal wave of bliss! Wow! For the sake of brevity, I will say this falls firmly into the "Must-hear jam" portion of this review. Then thinking it's a show opener... wow... they just don't make em like that anymore. Off we go! The jam settles into Theme From the Bottom which picks up where Scents left off. A rocket ship full of fireworks, Theme scorches Deer Creek like an asteroid that crashed... except everything burned... it was that hot. Annnnd then the train went off the tracks. An "attempt" at Rift was egregiously bad, with Trey barely playing. What the hell? With how the first half hour of the show went, how is this happening? Who knows. You'd be wise to skip this Rift. Sample in a Jar picks the energy back up, and with the help of short term memory loss (with the help of THC) Rift is forgotten, Scents > Theme is remembered, and Sample serves as a launch pad into a dirrrrrty Sneakin Sally. Good god, Phish, why do you do this to me. Sassy and sultry, this Sally is up there with the all-time greats. It starts off slow, sashaying through Swamp Funk before the pace picks up into Soul Funk (I am making up variations of funk, but I think they do the music justice). Soul Funky gives way to Rocket Funk which drips into Punctuated Funk. Amazing segment of music. The jam ends rather abruptly, but who cares. 15 minutes of xxx-rated funk doesn't require a clean ending (see what I did there.... gross). So now we are really back on track, the energy level couldn't be higher, and wouldn't you know it, the band drops a Billy Breathes on us! WOW!!! Except... sigh. Much like Rift, this version is painful to listen to. Trey is missing notes and passages - it hurts. It hurts so bad. How can the set feature such extremes? Ugh. Exhausting! Billy Breathes limps to the finish line and then, completely outta left field, Seven Below takes the stage. Another "standard great" version of this song allows the energy to swell and our hopes are replenished. A nice little version here. Cavern though follows the pattern of epic jam -> letdown flubs. Dang. So here we are. I typed straight for seven minutes trying to match the manic nature of this set and now I am out of breath and my fingers hurt. This set is something else though, the mixture of GALACTIC HIGHS and chasm lows. Can the second set show more consistency?

Down with Disease growwwwwwls through the speakers and we are off! Other than Tweezer, I can't name a better second set opener. And with the quality of jamming (on the jam vehicles) on this night and in 2003 in general, the set is already showing promise. Disease blisters through its normal structure and departs into a multi-faceted quasi rock groove. Sounding nearly like 2003 Piper jams at times, this gnarly version doesn't reach the pretty harmonies and funk of Scents or Sally, but it does create volcanic, pulsing rock grooves. The jam rummages along, feasting on dissonant licks interspersed between rampaging rock anthems, before finally settling PERFECTLY onto Squirming Coil. Wow. I cannot think of a time where I have heard of seen Coil in the middle of a set. Let me tell you, this was amazingly unexpected. It was a 10/10 choice for the next song of the set. The crowd knew it, I knew it, the cat knew it (he moved from couch to sunpatch on the floor when Coil started). Beautifully played (thank god) this version is a treat. Trey sticks with Page for most of the outro jam to create a melodic dreamscape of music. Purely beautiful, the set was off to an inspiring start. Makisupa was fun and bouncy. Longer than the epic 2.16. Vegas version, but nowhere near as creative or peppy, this was a perfect fit into the set. A clean -> Buffalo Bill continued the near perfect setlist execution thus far (huge jam -> ideal landing pad -> sooper happy fun songs). They could've ended the night here and we would have left happy. But no. There's more, much more. Antelope hops next into the setlist with a shoutout to he-who-shall-not-be-named. This version is jammier than most... especially nowadays. It creeps into Type 2 territory with a playful-seriousness before returning to its smoldering, frenetic structure. The peak was hit with gusto. Although not an all-time version, this version did have a vein of darkness that makes it eerily difficult to turn away from. Thunderhead (swooooooon) comes in next and we are all turned into feathers fluttering on the breeze. Oh how I love this song. With an almost Grateful Dead full-band sound, Thunderhead drifts effortlessly through the venue. It ebbs and flows, recedes and builds ... it is pure beauty. It whispers harmonic melodies and while listening to its own melodic harmonies. Beautiful music, I wish they'd play it today. Slave adds a huge exclamation point to the evening. This version really builds nicely, taking more patience in the Trey/Mike opening segment, swirling in and out of momentum before finally culminating in an affirming (even if not the strongest) peak. Waste sends us off with an inspired, heartfelt version (and solo) from Trey and the band. We forget the lows, we celebrate the highs, and we are left not high-fiving, but rather hugging our friends within the musical journey Phish just took us on. What a journey it was.

Must-hear jams: Scents and Subtle Sounds, Sneakin Sally, Down with Disease > Squirming Coil, Thunderhead
Probably-should-listen-to jams: Theme From the Bottom, Run Like an Antelope

I just wanted to clarify "The lyrics to Makisupa referenced writing a letter to Max Creek" -- Trey said "wrote a letter to my friends Max Creek...it started DEER CREEK" referencing the former name of this venue, the name by which everyone still knows it, regardless of their current corporate sponsor.

i had visions of them petering out tonight, ala deer creek 2000's 3rd night, but hopes were still high that they would close this run out in style.

scents and subtle sounds: i really like this song in '03, and i could not stand the rearrangement/cutting out the cool intro. anyway, this one had a really nice multi textured 20 minute funky jam. it had some real nice "remain in light" style playing. after thoroughly exploring scents, they dip into...

theme: very good take on theme. trey sounded sharp here.

rift: blah

sample: blah... alright, they need to play something hot next....

sneaking sally: yep, that'll work! this is one of the best sally's ever. it explores a lot of the same ground explored in the gumbo from the previous night, and everyone who was at the previous nights show, was more than willing to dip back into that realm. good collective effort on this dark murky funk jam.

billy breathes: nice cool down. good take of this one

seven below: this was more first time seeing this one, and i really dug it. i would not be completely sold until the alpine version the next summer. this one was short and sweet before kicking out...

cavern: always a popular set closer. it didn't matter what they played after sneaking sally!

set 2:

dwd: a fairly predictable opener, but they tacked on a very interesting fast paced, very layered jam to this one. they rode that out for about 20 minutes with page displaying some hot licks here before petering out and going into...

squirming coil: very cool placement for this song. i liked it 2 songs deep in the set. good take of this classic with the typically nice page solo at the end

makisupa policeman: i really liked the whole sneaking the "dear creek" into the "key word" slot. funny stuff!
this worked right into....

buffalo bill: gotta love buffalo bill. it's an easy tack on to makisupa, so hell, why not throw those deer creek buffalo bills around!

run like an antelope: antelope was dedicated to some dude named greg. well, if greg is an antelope fan, then he must have been a happy camper. this was a very fiery version with trey really steering the ship on this one.

thunder head: blah

slave to the traffic light: very good version of page, and it worked very well out of thunder head. unlike antelope, page seemed to be taking the helm on this triumphant slave. great way to end a great run.

enc:

waste: hmmm.... not my favorite, oh well

over all:
they came out and played 2 strong sets here tonight. all in all, i would say this was my least favorite of the 3 nights at deer creek, but that does not mean this is a subpar show. there's just so much to hear on this run, that's its a really tough call. some could say this was the best based solely on the sneaking sally and i could not argue with them.

highlights:
set1:
scents>theme, sneaking sally

set 2:

dwd>coil, makisupa, antelope, slave

Ahh my first show. Had never heard phish before that night. Although in retrospect it's one of the best shows I've seen (still my only makisupa!) at the time it wasn't until the raging antelope that they were able to break through my 17 year old brain. The hot White House lights Kuroda was flashing on and off during the extended tension building section looked like dazzling lightening bolts. As I review this 12 years and 80 shows later, I'm delighted that I went on that night of all nights. I don't know if anything less would have made an impact but wow did if ever. At this point I've witnessed 26 antelopes but this is the version I go back to for the glorious tension. Trey bends the hell out of those strings! Only one I've seen that almost compared was jones beach 2012 and it doesn't compare. Sass, Sally, disease, antelope--all worth hearing.

The fun bits are fun, but if nothing else, please hear the Sally and Scents from this middling-to-swell show.

Obviously, expectations were running really high after the past two nights behind us. I was hoping we would not see a letdown on night three like the '00 run here. Some people will tell you '03 night three was a letdown, but I won't be one of those people.

SET 1: Scents and Subtle Sounds: Wow, big, huge gamble by the band opening w/ this newbie tune in the face of the aforementioned expectations. But you have to love the willingness Phish has to take chances. This Scents is not for the faint of heart. It jams way out there, a good twenty minutes or so. I personally loved it but I'm sure some will not agree w/ that sentiment. Very sweet segue into>

Theme From the Bottom: Woo hoo! Would it be as good as Philly from February? Not even close. But I love this tune when it's played just a couple of times a tour. Good Theme.

Rift: Good not great Rift. Still chasing that 100% clean Rift that I have not heard since 96. This must be such a difficult song to play!>

Sample in a Jar: Meh, it's Sample. Again.

Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley: Nice, another one we've been calling for all tour! This Sally like Scents is not for the faint of heart. Jammed out like there is no tomorrow. Definitely the highlight of the set for me. I happened to be at the 12/30/97 bust out of Sally. 7/23 is just a tad behind that one in my book. Very sweet jam.

Billy Breathes: Minor flubs, not used to hearing difficulties w/ this tune so it was a little distracting for me.

Seven Below: Very standard and short. Nothing to write home about.

Cavern: Ah Trey, you've been practicing haven't you. Quite the improvement over the debacle that was the Bonner Springs Cavern.

SET 2: Down with Disease: Great way to start off the last set of the Crick run! At 9.5 minutes it goes off into some more introspective space but by 13 minutes is back to its nasty old jamming self. At 19 minutes it calms down again and is over and done at 21 minutes and change – the last couple of minutes are very mellow but the entire body of work is impressive >

The Squirming Coil: Odd choice if you ask me. Save this for the encore but second song second set?

Makisupa Policeman: This song was quite appropriate for what happened to my dumb a** friend Pat during it! We were set up on Page side, 20 rows back: close to the aisle. He was quite open about his "smoking" and subsequently had his piece taken. Dumb***! Hilarious Makisupa w/ this as the keyword: Thought I'd write a letter to my good friends Max Creek. I said Dear Creek. [Long Pause] Then I smoked some Pot! Funny shit! Killer segue into ->

Buffalo Bill: Nice!!

Run Like an Antelope: Big dedication goes out to Antelope Greg from Trey. This version gets pretty mellow around the five-minute mark, and you can tell the boys are just settling in and will rip it in a few! At 8 minutes it slowly begins to crank back up. Page hits a really nice stride at 9:50 w/ Trey playing behind him. By 10:30 it's back to machine gun Trey, shooting holes in my brain! Nice tension and release. Sweet Antelope. Very, very impressive version, they really delivered on this one!

Thunderhead: Beautiful jam!!! >

Slave to the Traffic Light: Fuckin-A-doody! I don't care what you say, it does not possibly get any better than being at Deer Creek night 3 seeing Slave to close out the run. Magical. Apparently, the fellas read my mind and decide to melt me once again (seemed to me a constant theme for me during these shows at Deer Creek. At seven minutes Trey breaks my trance and starts machine gunning Slave the way it's meant to be! Nice, progressive build up here. Trey's solo is completely irrepressible. Was it as good 12/7/97? Course not. But I liked this version more than the Utah version if that means anything.

ENCORE: Waste - Well, at least I'm going onto Charlotte is what I first thought. However, it was played well and with plenty of feeling. Trey gave it a proper ripping!

Replay Value: Scents and Subtle Sounds, Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley, Down with Disease, Run Like an Antelope, Thunderhead.

Summary: What can I say? It was wonderful being back at Deer Creek amongst so many great people. This was probably, no definitely; the most fun I had on the whole tour - the experience as a whole is a must have for any serious Phish fan. Everything comes together here, and you need to see it for yourself. This was a great show and the best of the run! I would rate it a 4.4 out of 5.

Being that I drove over here back to back shows, (didn't drive the first night to Indy thank GOD) and only getting 8 hours sleep in the last two nights wasn't all that great. My wife came over with me since I had come solo the night before and she didn't want me to do that again. She's really not into Phish at all. She's seen them two other times and really doesn't like the atmosphere or the people at all. Anyway, being that I put a review on here before, I won't put much more into it. The first I loved. The four songs that stand out were Theme from the Bottom, Rift, Sample in a Jar and Sneaking Sally through the Alley which were all great. That was the first time seeing them do Sneaking Sally. I love that tune and wanted to hear ever since I heard it from a New Years Eve show from NY. Anyway, they ended the first set with Cavern. The first three songs of the second set did me well. DWD, The Squirming Coil and Makisupa Policeman were all great. Then came a weird one, Buffalo Bill. Then came another favorite of mine Run like an Antelope. At this point, my wife went out in the concourse area to take a break. Near the end, I also went out there which was a big mistake on my part. When I sat down, I was through. After three nights of Phish and driving, I was done. She said she was alright and I could go back in there, I said no. It had taken a toll on me at this point. I sat out there for the last two songs and slowly decided to walk to the vehicle. I love Slave to the Traffic Light and decided to hear all of it before heading out to the lot. I didn't worry about missing Waste when I heard them start the tune. I drank an ice tea out in the vehicle before heading home. I will never drive back and fourth between Dayton to Indianapolis ever again. It took a major toll on me. Hopefully in the future, I will stay in a hotel before driving back and fourth, or miss the shows all together. I said I wouldn't say that much more, and I did. Oh well, great three day run, and hope to do it again in the future, but staying at a hotel will be a must!

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

After managing to catch all 21 shows this summer, looking back on them, they seem like one big blur…with a really boring drive through Kansas somewhere in the middle. However, there were several personal highlights for me: 1) the overwhelming amount of "Holy Shit!"s and "O My God!"s being tossed around at the Star Lake show, 2) the blistering "Wolfman's” -> “Jesus Left Chicago" from the Gorge ( I mean chills people), 3) the entire Utah show, and 4) Deer Creek in general.
By the third night of Deer Creek, I felt like part of the walking wounded. I was so happy to be seeing my third show in a row at the same venue (plus two at Alpine right before taboot!). Anyway, this night's show wasn't the best one they played all tour, but has some exceptional moments nonetheless. It started off with "Scents and Subtle Sounds," which was a standard in the rotation this summer, followed by one of my favorites, "Theme From the Bottom." "Theme" soared as usual and was followed by "Rift," which always gets a show moving by picking up the pace. Next was "Sample in a Jar," followed by my personal highlight of the show: the triumphant post-hiatus return of "Sneakin' Sally." This is one of the best covers Phish does. All I remember is Mike going nuts and my tired, ragged body digging down for that little extra to get me groovin'.
Set II opened with a great version of "Down with Disease." As much as I may complain, I really don't think I get tired of this one. Then came my long, lost love that I had been waiting for all summer (and thought I would get at the Gorge): "The Squirming Coil." Page should be my uncle, that guy is the man! "Antelope" was complete with a dedication to Antelope Greg (hope all works out brother), and this “Antelope” ripped. Maybe it was Greg's presence, who knows. . The set closed out with "Thunderhead" and "Slave," which was the perfect closing curtain on three memorable nights at the Creek.

Trey speaks a BIT too extemporaneously during the Makisupa keyword. Horrible pun. Um.. anyway. Wasn't a huge fan of this show, although like ANY show by our ichthyoid hosts, it had its moments!

Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley is sooooo dirty....5 stars Sally....Mike's bass is orgasmic at about 6 min in....gotta love those 2003 moments of bliss

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

A look inside the mind of an eighteen year old at his first Phish show:
What awaits me inside the gates of the amphitheater in Raleigh? Stories of the greatest audio/visual show on earth echo in my head as I present my ticket to the out of place looking security officer, a middle aged woman who looks like she has seen enough dreadlocks and smelled enough weed for a lifetime. Slowly we make our way to the section on our ticket, weaving in and out of the throngs of people gyrating to the recorded sounds of the pre-show music. Finally we make our way to Section 9, Row U, seat 27, and behold the stage.
At first, it strikes me as not what I had expected, looking like a normal stage in the waning hours of the day. But all I needed to see to know that it was far from normal was the neon day glo Phish... well Phish fish, I guess...on the drum set to know that this was something different.
7:30. Half an hour to show time. I sit in the Section 9, Row U, Seat 27, shirtless, basking in the steadily disappearing sunrays. And as the sun disappears, I see a face I have only seen in photographs, then another, another and one more. These four faces I have been waiting to see take their places behind their instruments, beginning to strum to make sure everything is exactly perfect. Then, before I know it, I am lost in ethereal sound. The guitar blends perfectly with the bass blends perfectly with the drums blends perfectly with the keyboards...perfectly.
Before I know it I am lost in a “Divided Sky” that is not as good as some versions I have heard, but at the same time is perfect, because I am actually seeing the movements on the frets of the guitar, seeing the sweat drip off the faces of the musicians as they pour their heart and soul into making our evening...perfect. A “Llama” that makes me want to scream it is so good. Then lights, and I sit in Section 9, Row U, seat 27 and bask shirtless and oblivious in the neon glow of the false lights overhead. I slip in and out of reality, finally wrested back to the only reality that matters, the thumping bass of “Ghost” opening the second set. I don't remember which song it was when I looked back at the seemingly innumerable masses gathered together and saw a sea of fire emitting from their hands, lighters held high. The world I was living in ended with a single man symphony as the piano played a beautiful ending to a song with a very peculiar name. Left alone on stage at the end of “The Squirming Coil”, the genius behind the ivory keys sent me and the thousands who populated Phish's sea of fire into a place very few are able to go...a perfect utopia.

i so remember Antelope Greg !!! the dude was always at the front and dancing like crazy!! i was wondering if anyone else remebered that guy!!

Hey all, I was at this show (great show btw), but I think they closed with Wading in the Velvet Sea, not Waste - this was my last show for the summer tour (started in KC), I remember it pretty well.