The band comes out of the gates on fire, opening with a 25 minute Disease that's energetic from the get go. This version teases Weekapaug and doesn't really slow down until about the 16 minute mark, when it slowly transitions to a wonderfully ambient space jam. An excellent, unique Disease that is completely overlooked.

Trey is all over the place in Piper, taking the lead with searing notes that go off wildly in all directions with lots of movement up and down his fret board. Adventurous, but not especially focused until about the 13 minute mark, when it settles down into a completely different animal that's much less frenzied.

Sand is 14 minutes of repetitive jamming in that uninteresting, unexciting style that makes many of the 99-00 jams not age especially well.

Bathub Gin has a brief peak, with Trey the band really heating up at around 11 minutes. Twist is a little ragged at first, but gets going nicely without being overwhelming. Lots of slower stuff afterwords, a reflection of the quiet and attentive Japanese crowd. Sure would be nice to hear them revive The Inlaw Josie Wales one of these days.

Check out the Disease and Piper for some interesting 2000-style jamming.

The Drum Logos Warmup.

This show is actually pretty solid if you take into account the rust that must be shed going that far over seas. It's a really really good warmup show.

DWD kicks off the jams right off the bat. The jam starts with a thunderous hose jam and then drifts off into a nice tranquil space. They nail the ending pretty well, what a way to kick things off! Piper continues the jamming. This one is more of a crazy roller coaster. It gets very heavy. You get some more meat out of Guyute. There's not too many 5 song first sets and this one is a bit of a diamond in the ruff.

Quick little Heavy Things played pretty well. Sand get's down to business. They do a pretty good job at keeping it from getting too repetitive and I appreciate that in a good Sand. Gin has a very nice quick hose jam with an excellent peak, very potent Gin. The rest of the set is pretty straight forward.

I love this encore because it features the very nice and mellow Inlaw Josie Wales and then goes into a LxL that is very powerful in it's playing. They seem to play pretty excellent encores in Japan (Remember the cool Brian and Robert encore from the year before?)

Overall an above average show that is a great first step towards the legendary jams a couple shows later.

It’s insane how this show starts out. It makes more sense when you realize that though this is a different venue, it’s only about 20 minutes away from the On Air East. It feels continuous, as if the “YEM” encore from 6/9 is actually the first song of this set. All the songs are self-contained, which makes the show feel a little more vintage throwback than usual (especially in light of the segue-fest that is Drum Logos coming up in a few days). But it overall feels like a bit of a cool down show after the intensity of that previous night’s “Tweezer.” Even the intense “Down with Disease” and “Piper” in this set feel like they could be within the package of jams emerging out of that On Air “Tweezer.” “Piper” in particular goes some intense places and feels like the highlight to me. I also really like the “Gin” and “Loving Cup.”

Overall, that context helps me sit with this show differently than I would if I came to it by itself. As a standalone show, it doesn’t do a whole lot for me. But as a piece in the larger context of the Japan 2000 run, I see where it fits and I like the role it plays. I also see how the elements are beginning to coalesce into what will be the Drum Logos show. Zepp Tokyo is atypical. Nothing particularly exciting but nothing particularly bad either. Worth hearing in the context of Japan 2000.

Set 1:
With about as little preamble as one would expect from a band with nothing to say and nothing to lose (kind of like this review), Phish kicks off their second night in Tokyo with a monstrous Disease. Like the previous night's Tweezer, this Disease features a long vamp on the main theme (this time only about 12 minutes) before breaking off into 2000-style contemplative space. The space expands and contracts, probing the seabed of Tokyo Bay before triumphantly returning to Disease, similarly (again) to the Tokyo Tweezer's "burn it down" rocking jam segment after about 25 minutes of exploration. This Disease is a bit more successful; Trey's playing is more active and there is clearly more improvisational communication going on between band members. Where the Tokyo Tweezer felt lost at sea, the Tokyo Disease feels more focused and more determined. The evolution of a jam style in real time...very cool.

After a brief, joyful Sample, Piper follows. It collapses into sonic dissonance almost immediately and then finds this kick-ass rocking groove that turns out to be...Trey and Fish steering back into Piper! As quickly as パイパー - さん resurfaces here for air, it departs back beneath the turbulent, type II ocean current. Trey and Page furiously whip up a sonic whirlpool that Mike and Fish punctuate with blasts of percussive debris. For most of it, this Piper is a demented, wild ride...as unsettling as it is intense (and is also a MUST-HEAR jam of this brief Japan tour). Finally though, as a welcome, calming coda, the jam cools off and sits at a low simmer; Mike/Trey empty their pockets of melodic and countermelodic ideas while Fish/Page are content to propel the thing along...obviously satisfied with how the night is proceeding. To close, a soothing outro reminiscent of a lullaby...

Enter Lawn Boy: a perfect call at this juncture. Then Guyute. Unfortunately, Guyute is starting to leave its prime so it's not a super well-executed version (Trey). Its customary intensity caps the set regardless, and we excitedly await Set 2. What could be in store following an extremely memorable set 1...?

Set 2:
After a brief plea to Japanese alternative rock radio (Heavy Things), things get underway with SAND. This is back when Sand was less of a celebratory anthem for the band that got everybody rocking...in 1999-2000, Sand always seemed to be an omen of evil portents to come. The droning guitar and delicate, watery keyboard backed by thumping bass and drums...almost make it sound like Phish's version of trance music. But instead of a bass drop...we get a JAM drop. In only its second appearance post-Big Cypress, this Sand gets trance-y early with whirling siren loops, crazy Page, and nary a fill from Mike nor Fish. I think you either love this type of Sand jam or you don't...and if you don't, you are wrong. The joy is in the subtlety, and thank goodness we had a crowd in this tiny Japanese club that was willing to really pay attention and not chomp all over it (mostly). Trey waits a little too long once the band is out of ideas to pull out of the reverie into the Sand coda, but maybe he was just trying to remember how to play Sparkle, which is next...but he doesn't really remember how to play the intro anyway. Oh well.

Following Sparkle are a bunch more songs, all well played, but nothing too spectacular or out of the box. And...that's kind of it. Perhaps indicative of a band about to take over two years off, 6/10/00 is the second straight show where the quality of the first set eclipses the second, either due to a lack of energy, creativity, or both.

5 stars = All-time, transcendent show (there aren't very many of these)
4 stars = Great show (there are a lot of these)
3 stars = Good show with a few highlights or standout moments (there are a lot of these)
2 stars = Average show (there are a few of these, but Phish usually manages to be a bit better than the "average version of itself)
1 stars = Bad show (there aren't very many of these)

This show is a 3/5. If you love the Tokyo Tweezer, don't miss the Tokyo Disease, and please don't miss the Tokyo Piper regardless. Check out this Sand, too, if you're into those giant early Sands that take a lap around type I and remain dark and slinky all the way through.

PHISH, SATURDAY 06/10/2000
ZEPP
Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan

SET 1:

Down with Disease: Has good length to it. The beginning of the jam is actually pretty boring – there a multiple minutes of Trey just strumming around. Eventually around the 12 minute mark things get more interesting and intense with some of that raunchy reverse reverb and general thrashing around. From here, things get mellow for minutes on end before some interesting effects then find them returning to the original theme and they finish the song properly. Would recommend.

Sample in a Jar: Standard.

Piper: Very, very heavy jam that is all Trey and effects driven through the late 12 minute mark. Not for the faint of heart. Very dark and evil. A cacophony of noise. From there things start to mellow out a bit. That statement is all relative though. Because even though things do mellow out – they still maintain a distinctly dark and edgy vibe. Very, very cool! At the 20 minute mark, things do mellow out for good as they pull us all out of the depths of hell. Some beautiful, introspective stuff emerges. Easy all timer and highly recommended.

Lawn Boy: Standard.

Guyute: Has some extra juice.

SET 2:

Heavy Things: Standard.

Sand: Standard.

Sparkle: Standard. >

My Soul: Standard.

Bathtub Gin: Reminds me a lot of early 3.0 versions – under 15 minutes and very upbeat and major mode. This jam is very fun. Super danceable and happy. Would recommend. Has some great hose jamming in the 11 minute range. >

Twist: Standard.

Albuquerque: Standard.

Wading in the Velvet Sea: Back to back ballads in the second set? >

Loving Cup: Standard.

ENCORE:

The Inlaw Josie Wales: Standard.

Limb By Limb: Standard. Has been played just 4 times in the encore slot and this was the last 1.0 version to do so. 6/22/1997, 10/15/1998, 6/10/2000, 8/6/2021

Summary: First set > second set. That second set is pretty weak! 3.5/5.

Replay Value: Down with Disease, Piper

Disease included San-Ho-Zay teases. Mike teased Dave's Energy Guide in Piper.
JAM CHART VERSIONS
Down with Disease, Piper
TEASES
San-Ho-Zay tease in Down with Disease, Dave's Energy Guide tease in Piper