Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2000 17:25:05 -0400
From: Thomas Laws tlaws@waca.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: review VA BEACH 98
 
 
8-9-98 Va Beach
All right this was my 6th show and I am like 2years late w/ the review but I
loved this show every moment was overwhealming so lets get started
 
SET 1
Punch You In The Eye= This is always a sign, I have seen punch open 2 sets
7-23-97 set 2, and this one and now I know when they bust out a Punch thats
on, thats tight w/ a dank ass build up opener like this one we are in
trouble-Very good version
 
Bathtub Gin= What an awkward noise Page can make w/ that piano wow this is
one of those rockin gin's that ends up all out--much like the went gin-the
jam has a beautiful melody it just rolls and rolls untill we all roll into
space when all of a sudden Trey reminds us we aren't in space this is a
bathtub as he cuts the band back to the begining notes
 
Allright this was real cool here we were spun out very spun, and Trey starts
hitting the opening licks to Tela and my friend was like "WHAT" and then I
was like "WHAT" and then we saw the light as the opening licks to
 
Lizards=Great version I am a sucker for gamehenge the hengish vibe was layed
down well too the solo work was breathtaking--I guess you just have to
surrender to the flow
 
Moma Dance= PHUNK did you here what I said PHUNK dammit the PHUNK is here
ahhhghhh every body DANCE!!!--nice version great time
 
Birds of a Feather= This song rocks a nice addition to chomp a few hard rock
licks--I see a lot of potential--
 
Esther=Now this is a very intense song on a good bit of drugs--I love it
Esther is the first PHISH song I ever heard and this is the only version I
have ever heard--WOW this show is starting to have one of those feels to
it--the crowd energy is great  a lot of good-hearted phans into the music
 
Roggae=This is a cool as song to puff to very relaxed-warm feeling to it I
like the ending "trippy"
 
Bouncin= Bouncin is Bouncin and we Bounced
 
Bowie=David Bowie You Be 40 and spacey, funcky, and you like to wind it up
and release it wind it up and release it wind it up and release it -----By
now my toungue is in the grass and my feet are going nuts---real skull*&^%
at the end.
 
Allright wait a minute that was just the first set WOW this is a good one
 
 
SET2
AC-DC Bag= This is what we get to look at while we play---well the jam was
so phunky and different to this one we new what was to come--The band has
worked so hard to make sure they are on there game they sound good--real
good---scary good My favorite bag I have ever gotten
 
>Sparkle= I am not a big sprkle phan but when they are on it all sounds like
heaven and this was no exception a greatversion w/ high intensity levels
 
Antelope= This was a diff. paced antelope than we were used to they used the
time the slower pace gave them to really explore this song the jam instead
of beeing all wild and out of control was like a Bowie jam dwindling to
nothing and then droping the bomb--the slow part was cool Mike's bass
sounded nice---and then we were RUNNING
 
Brian & Robert= A lot of folks were ill about the placement to this song but
my heart was racing after antelope and I needed to stare at a wall for a
little while Trey had my full attention here I like this song it reminds me
of what is important and to never stop beeing young and open to new things
 
Waste= Again a total jaw dropping tribute to those who work hard all year to
do the things they love--to the blue collar man--the solo was flawless and
this was a very emotional point in the evening
 
>Somewhere Over The Rainbow=  WOW I had shivers up and down my spine in
total AWW this was a nice treat and a deffinative point for me
 
You Enjoy Myself= YEM is always a show stopper the phunk was in the air and
the masses were moving---This is the first time I really got a "Phamily"
feel at a show we suffered the abbuse of the VA. Beach Nazi Ragine all day
but let it ruin our show we did not every one was so full of energy and
connected at the ear--
 
>Frankenstien= The lights were great Kris was on all night the way they
incorporated the lights with the jam and the seague was incredible
 
>Chalkdust = This was awesome they just kept a ragin pace so much fun
 
Hello My Baby= A-capella so good so good ----Hey Erick
 
 
Encore:    Terripan Station   WOW  WOW WOW WOW OW WO This was one of the
single most importantthings I have ever seen in my life is this fair did
they plan what would happen ---what if I internelly just blew-up could I
hold them responsible----this was amazing everone was all grins and smiles
this huge PHISH-DEAD happy median was felt inside total euphoria
 
If you read this and want a copy feel free to drop me a line I will B & P it
to amyone
 
Thomas Laws
Service Coordinator
tlaws@waca.com

Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 22:57:01 EDT From: MixMy1200s@aol.com To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: An added review to 8-9-98 Just to add a few words about this show. For anyone who happens to read this far down in the reviews I would just like to say a few thing about this show. I thought it was one of the better shows I have ever seen. The show from start to end gave me the weirdest, most surreal vibe I've ever gotten from a show. I though the AC/DC jam was great. The Moma dance was probably the cleanest, most error free, most synchronized version i've heard. BOAF was clean, and Trey totally dug into the jam. The Roggae was by far the best i've heard yet; I haven't heard one that even begins to touch it. The Antelope to me was outstanding, it strayed from its usual predictable course into a whole new dimension. If you were there then you know that Trey absolutely sunk his teeth into the this Antelope, It was amazing. Listening to my tapes of this show I've realized that this waste is unbeleivable. I've never heard Trey do what does in this waste, it's enough to bring tears to your eyes. Finally I just want to tell the people in the parking lot that I heard saying "Fuck Phish playing the Dead" that they were utter idiots who didn't understand the significance of the tribute that the band made. I kind of think the reason I loved this show was the prominence of Mike. My tapes really capture Mike better than any other tapes I have, and my friend Mike's Dat's of it rumble when played on a good system. Everyone takes something different away from a show, but on some REALLY strong liquid I took away a lot of positive vibes, even with a phucked up lot scene.
From comstock@tez.net Sat Dec 12 16:21:28 1998 Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1998 23:43:40 -0500 From: PHIL COMSTOCK comstock@tez.net To: dan@archive.phish.net Subject: show review; va. beach 1998 i will start off the review by stating that i feel this was the best show on the summer tour or at least the top three. the scene before the show was pretty nice, i met mike riding around in his cart, and i was by myself, so i shook his hand got a pic, and when i told my friends they did not believe me. i tried to tell them that mike does it alot, but they thought i was shittin. the scene was pretty fun until the cops came. the crap involving the man and some phans was going on about 30 yards from me and i really felt for the kids gettin thrown in the patty wagon. i think the four most popular geeks in the world had to know about it because the show was so intense i thought they were making up for the scene outside. this was only my fifth show and i do not pride myself on knowing everything about phish, i just really dig the music and the vibe. and i think i get the jist of these reviews, alright here goes.. set 1: PYITE, Bathtub, Lizards, Momadance, Birds of a Feather, Esther, Roget, Bouncin, Bowie set I was incredible, i had awesome seats for this show, front row, the only place i did not have access to was the orchestra pit. PYITE, this was a pretty sweet set opener, the band was very energetic and seemed as excited to play as everyone was to see them. the opening jam was as usual, no surprises. trey made it throught the whole song without any flubs, i remember the crowd gettin down pretty hard to this song, i think the whole scene outside made everyone really want showtime to come quickly. BATHTUB, i was totally psyched when they played gin, i had called it before the show and i did not expect it, so i was glad. page really banged the ivorys in the opening, and it seemed this gin had a good funk to it. the boys really started breakin it down early in this one, even in the choruses they were throwing some clintonesque fynk in the mix. trey really mimiced his chords well, mike seemed a bit lost in the mix, much to my chagrin. this gin jam was right on time, it seemed to lose the funk after a bit and move towards the status quo jam. no complaints here, just my thoughts while i hear the tapes. ---------- 8/9/98 - Virginia Beach Amp, Virginia Beach, VA I: Punch You In The Eye, Bathtub Gin, Lizards, Moma Dance, Birds of a Feather, Esther, Roget, Bouncing Around The Room, David Bowie II: AC/DC Bag Jam Sparkle, Antelope, Robert & Brian, Waste, Somewhere Over The Rainbow*, You Enjoy Myself, Frankenstein, Chalkdust Torture, Ragtime Gal E: Terrapin Station** * Instrumental only, no lyrics. ** Grateful Dead Cover, (1st time played)(3rd Anniversary of Jerry Garcia's Death-8/9/95) What's Up fellow Phish fans, I have read all of the reviews of the 8/9/98 Virginia Beach show and I agree with most of them. The lot scene was horrible. I saw people's trunks being searched and I saw a girl get fined for vending water. The show itself was, the best thing I have seen yet. I have only been to ten shows, but this one is by far the best I attended. The entire first set was so full of energy, and it was a great setlist. PYITE, Lizards. Bathtub Gin, and an incredible Bowie. At the end of the first set I could hardly breathe. The second set was also amazing. AC/DC Bag, Antelope, Over the Rainbow, YEM, and Frankenstein were all nuts. The vocal jam at the end of YEM was the best vocal jam I have ever heard in my life; on tape or in concert. The lights were the coolest ever and Chris is definitley the man. The encore was of course Terrappin Station which was superb. It was a little light on guitar solos but Page was absolutley incredible on the piano. For those of you who don't like the dead, you have problems. It was an awesome show even without the encore, so get the tapes. That's it. I can't wait to see everyone at Hampton, New Haven, Worcester, and MSG. Have fun and I will see you this fall. Peace, Alek
First of all, Virginia Beach is near my hometown. Last year, I was greeted with an amazing show there to kick off the summer tour. This year I had determined that things were going to be just as great. I was well aware of the fact that it was the third anniversary of Jerry Garcia's death, being a bigger Deadhead than a Phishhead. (Don't get me wrong, I'm definately into Phish though.) My brother and my friend Sam was with me on the 5th row, right in front of Page. It was his first show, and I was about to get him hooked for life. "Punch You In The Eye" was a great way to get things started. That song much like "Frankenstein," which was played later, always get me going. I thought that the "Landlady" portion of the song was played especially well. "Bathtub Gin" followed. Last year this song was a 25 minute funk party. At one point in the jam, I was convinced that it was going to be the rest of the set and the second set was going to be a reprise of the same funk jam. This year's "Bathtub" was also wonderful. Instead of a lot of prolonged funk, there was a more melodic jam that followed the composed portion of the song. "Lizards" had me going crazy! This was one of a few songs that I had never seen before that would amaze me as the night went on. This was very well played. "Moma Dance" was another new one for me. I recognized it right away from the "Black Eyed Katy" intro. I really like this song. The funk definately was flowing throughout. "Birds of a Feather," one of the new ones from the Island Tour was nice. I think that this song has a lot of future jamming potential. There is a lot of high energy that is flowing through this one. "Esther" was definately a surprise. Another first for me. This was beautifully played. This is a song that I like a lot more now that I have seen it live. "Roget" is one of the better new songs that they debuted this summer tour in my opinion, at least from the ones that I have heard so far. I think that this has a huge potential to become the next big song of theirs. "Bouncing Around the Room" .... this the bitching point for many Phish phans. Personally, I dont think that there is a lot to bitch about. This song is pretty consistant - it is usually around 3:50 or so. It's not anything that I think Phish is ever going to take really deep or anything like that. But I do think that it is alright enough to hear for a little less than four minutes. I mean we wait sometimes an hour for them to walk on stage, why not make it four minutes while they are already on stage without complaining. "David Bowie" was incredible!!! This is what did it for my friend Sam, who was witnessing his first live Phish experience. After a 50-60 minute setbreak, the band walked back stage and pointed out the full moon that was shining over the lawn in the very back of the amphitheater. Quite appropriate for something to light up the sky the way Phish was lighting up the stage. "AC/DC Bag" kicked off the second set. And this was a nice and strong version. After the composed part, the band took it really deep and then Trey started funking it out. It finally calmed down and flowed into..... "Sparkle," which was kind of a surprise. It was nice though. It kept people moving after that incredible "AC/DC Bag." "Run Like an Antelope" was up next, and they took this deep. The jam ended rather abruptly before going into Trey's spoken bit before the chorus. "Brian and Robert" followed. This was the first time that I had heard this song, but I recognized it right off the bat because of the lyrics, which I had read about before the show. It is nice and slow, but I like it. Kind of funny, because one of my best friends, Bryan Roberts, is one of the people who got me into Phish. Kind of fitting. Trey outta have him come up on stage during the next performance of this song..... "Waste" was next. I really like this song a lot. I had never seen it live before either. Trey did a really good job with this. His melodic guitar at the end really sounded great. Coming out of the end of this was.... "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Trey really did a nice job of this. Some say that this was remembering the rainbow that was spread over the back of the Virginia Beach Amphitheater last summer (7-21-97) when Phish first took the stage there. "You Enjoy Myself!" I love this song. The first time I heard it live was on the Island Tour in Providence, RI (4-5-98). They really funked it out there, and I was more than impressed. Well, they didn't let me down this show either. The vocal jam at the end was absolutely crazy because they kept building it up and timed it with the lights. It's something that is hard to explain. You had to be there. The end of the vocal jam is similar to Pink Floyd's "Several Species of Small Fury Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict," off of the "Ummagumma" album. "Frankenstein" came after that. This song always gets me going at shows. It is one of the better covers that Phish plays. I thought that the set was over here, but apparently I was wrong.... (no complaints!) "Chalkdust Torture" was up next. "Can't I live while I'm young...." "Ragtime Gal" ended the set. The guys were standing directly in front of me. The crowd went nuts after it was over too. Now the wait for the encore.... Well the guys came back out and I was just thinking to myself, what the hell can they play now?? The show had been absolutely incredible up to this point. Since I was on the 5th row, I almost made a sign for the show. As a joke, I was going to write "Fire on the Mountain" on it and hold it up so Trey and the guys could see it. But then I figured that it would just piss them off. Then the first notes of "Terrapin Station" rang out of the speakers. I went crazy!!!!!! I couldn't believe it!!! That is one of my absolute favorite Dead songs to begin with, but seeing Phish play it?????? It was incredible. Trey seemed a little reserved at parts, but altogether, a nice rendetion. I still can't believe it. What an appropriate ending to the best show I have ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!!! -David Marshall terrapin.station@vt.edu in memory of Jerry Garcia 8/1/42 - 8/9/95
Thought I'd add my .02 to all the others. The first set was fantastic, but I was distracted because I was four rows above the cordoned-off handicapped section that was a wide-open boogie floor. The only weak link here was "Roget", which I think is very weak and will be shelved it I'm lucky. The Esther was wonderful and the Bowie didn't cease to amaze. I sensed from the begining of this show that there was something special in the air and the boys were totally on. After a 110 minute smoking first set, you knew number two was going to be mind-blowing. I made an effort to get into the handicapped section, (in which there were no handicapped people, so one could boogie totally guilt-free), but was rebuffed. This prompted me to quip: "well, whoever designed this place is handicapped, isn't that close enough?" I mean, it took forever to get to the bathroom and back, the bathroom had one way in and out, etc. I think all the security was there for the people who inevitably melt down when they can't make a simple walk somewhere. Anyway, I was able to slip into what was essentially a wide open dance floor with perfect sound for the second set. This was important because it was sardine city where I was and the boys were fixin to blow my mind. AC/DC bag was extended and funky to start off as I thought about how I was in one of those places that I'll always remember, complete with the moon just over the crowd that Trey so thoughtfully pointed out. How perfect everything was at this point. Sparkle was hilarious to me because we were right next to all the private boxes with the tables and the whole bit. Now, the song Sparkle is essentially about peeling away from your friends and being yourself. There was an unfortunate girl that was sitting, (that's right, they all were sitting), really moving, but couldn't find the courage to just jump up and shake it like she had no backbone. Rose syndrome from Titanic, if you will. Anyway, suffice it to say it's always funny to see people sit through Sparkle or Antelope, for that matter. Antelope smoked, as usual, and this early in the set confirmed to me that indeed this evening was da bomb and it wasn't just me. I was amazed at how they brought down the searing peak and kind of did a start-stop, gear-shifting thing down into the groove before the lyrics. Usually this is just an abrupt stop, but they are always re- inventing, and this was a gleeful example. Brian and Robert is one of my favorite new songs, and it's notable that this song is an example of performers being confident enough to bring things all the way down, because they know they can get it back up---only the great ones...Waste was sweet as always and I would echo another's sentiment that it reminds one of tours past. The Somewhere over the Rainbow riffs were affirmation that I was witnessing a pinnacle of my Phish experiences. It was just so perfect and emotional---utterly sublime. YEM followed and I must admit that I'm sick of this song---I saw a lackluster version in ATL and it's lost it's snap for me. It was a nice version, though,(as if they'd phone one in at this point), and I was treated to the specatular perpendicular white lights for the ending vocal jam. These spin around at varying speeds as the band makes noises that make one feel as if they're on a rollercoaster or something---especially cool now that I was on the Jerry-prints doses. Anyway, the Frankenstein was searing, as usual, and I think this may be the song theat Phish plays better than any other. It is absolutely perfect for them and I wish Edgar Winter could see one of these---I imagine it would make him jealous---what a song, and what a set! But no, how about a Chalk Dust just for the hell of it? A song that always delivers and is a perfect addition to the soundtrack for this time of utter bliss for me. Indeed, can I live while I'm young? The Ragtime Gal was sweet, as usual, especially since I needed time to get my breath back. Always amazed at the effect of Phish's versatility. O.K., the encore is upon us. This show has blown my mind already and all I'm thinking is Coil to make this the perfect show. I'm asking the true fan next to me if he still thinks Merriweather was better and he's finally wavering. (I missed that show). Note: He was on four jerryprints for that show, the night before. (dude, if you read this, E-mail me!) Anyway, the opening notes to Terrapin float out and beverages and God knows what else fly---total bedlam! I'm hugging strangers completely beside myself, and, oh, yeah, it is August 9th isn't it? I've seen 37 Dead shows and was lucky enough to catch this tune quite a few times, so it was veeerrry emotional for me. I cried because I miss Jerry and probably cried because the greatest thing in my life, Phish, were playing a perfect tribute to him. It also occurred to me that Trey was a huge fan too and he was absolutely pouring his heart and soul into that song. How he managed to sing, I'll never know. To summarize, I saw Spartanburg in '94, and Chicago and Atlanta for Halloween, and I think this show is right there with Chicago as my favorite of 27. Phish are at their best right now, and that's like the Michael Jordan of music. P.S. Please write, (snail mail), to Phish and plead with them to boycott Va Beach also, we need to move Lemonwheel to Montana or something because all the thievery, etc. was due to the punks from Boston who had a relatively short drive to ruin a lot of people's experience. Thanks and Peace....Garrett Phillips GPhil34380@aol.com Phish P.O. Box 4400, Burlington, VT 05406-4400
I got there about 3:45 with my father...who also attended the show, but i'll get into that later. To tell the truth I was a little scared with the parking lot scene at fist, as the couple in the car next to ours started to make a stew of some sort. We left the car for the gate about 4:45 and sat on the lawn in front of the gate. The gates opened promptly at 5:45(15 minutes late) and my father and I got great lawn seats(front middle section about 10 feet from the front) and we relaxed while the other fans were getting seated. There were some nice college guys in front of us who were talking about the other summer setlists and one of the guys gave my father a tie-dyed antelope sticker. The show started promptly at 7:45 (45 minutes late) and the first set went a little somehting like this: Punch You In the Eye which, never hearing it before i naivelt thought was Wilson. It was a pretty good jam(i've desired a liking for the song) and really got the crowd going. It really got me going when i saw on the screen how into it trey was and how happ he looked up there(i always pictured him more vain). From that look i knew the show was going to rock. Next came Bathtub Gin which i though was good....it was familier to me so i liked it. By this time i figured screw the fact that I was there with my father i'm going to have some fun. So i started to dance and really got into the song by the time the jam was at it's peak. And to bring the crowd 's energy back up from the funky Bathtub Gin came Lizards, which as i said was full of energy and really got me grooving. By this time I realized there was an attractive gal not to far away from me in a red tank top. Although she was with her boyfriend who was about twice my sive i could tell she was into me. It seemed to me that the guys were really putting a lot of effort into the song and tried not to make too many errors, keeping it pretty standard, next however came... Momma Dance, which was another new one to me but is now one of my favofavorites, Starting off very funky and then ending with an awesome jam. Birds of a Feather, brought the crowd up to yet another intensity level. Unlike the providence version this one had a lot more energy. Hoping to see this one on the next album Esther really struck me as out of place but the crowd as well as myself really got into it. Another jam which the guys especially page meticulously delivered. At this point i told my father that i bet they end with David Bowie Roget came next and I can't really remember that much about this one...a good jam though. Brought the red shirted girl a few more inches in my direction until we started... Bouncing Around the Room, which I'm not really into expecially since i figured that the set was over after it, but i was wrong when after a spacey intro i heard the first recognizable notes of David Bowie, boy was i on. They really jammed on this one and i mean jammed. Especially on the section just before the endingas you could tell they wanted to give the fans enough energy to hold for.. A 50 minute intermission, which i took part in the crush to the restroom and got the urinal after a guy in a skirt. Well while waiting 50 minutes I started to recolect on the first set and i concluded that it was simply awesome...and the only way that the second set could top it was if they did a YEM. So the second set started at about 10:20 and started off with trey commenting on the full moon that the stage was facing a beautiful sight to accompany the beautiful sound of ... AC/DC Bag which totally rocked the house...full of energy...what jam lasted for about 12 minutes and then moved in to Sparkle. By htis time Miss Red shirt was definatly into me and i could tell in her moves that she was not dancing with her Boyfriend....what evershe did with him she was picturing it was me...Our sexual energy were coliding making the guy in between us dance really crazy. they guys were really going crazy on the ending of Sparkle which ended and made the crowd go wild as they started Run Like an Antelope, which i think is an awesome song and danced it to every note. They really put a lot of energy into this one and you could tell that it was there goal to give this show a theme of high energy. Almost like that kind of energy that you get after drinking one of those protein shakes. And what better to digest the shake with than Brian and Robert. Which personally left me confused as it did the rest of the crowd it seemed. But if gave me a good chance to check out miss red shirt. After that nice little jingle came Waste, which is one of those songs that you don't anticipate them playing but when you see how happy trey looks while playing it you are so grateful for it. It made me just want to look Somewhere Over the Rainbow which Trey beautifully squeeked out of his guitar. this song really broght me into another land which was the closest thing to heaven as they started You Enjoy Myself.....i couldn't believe it....a YEM at my first show, so naturally i thought it was awesome, they played it beautifully and i was so amazed and flabbergasted when i saw the trampoline act....i had heard of the trampolines but never really understood what they did with them, but now i know it as the synchronized bouncing, which should be an olympic sport. The vocal jam i thoug was cool and the lights really were awesome. the think that the vocal jam was making a reference to the planes flying above....at least that what i though of it. Well i being kinda new to phish was really confused when they went into Frankenstein. I don't have to much to say....I thought they were doing a cover but silly me. By this time I'm sure they were going to walk off stage but i was mistaken when I heard the first notes of Chalkdust Torture...which was a great jam and everyone was going crazy and we could tell that the set was soon ending and the guys almost walked off the stage but sat a little... Hello My Baby and really got the crowd going wild. Everyone was really looking forward to the encore and had no clue what it would be......never in my life have i seen tears of joy flow so much as i did when the first notes of Terrapin Station came out of those speakers...now i'm not that much of a dead fan and don't know much about their songs...but i thought the jam was good as did the other 25000 people that were there. If i had to rate it I'd have to give it a 10 being my first show and getting two sets 90 and 80 minutes long with an 11 min encore, and having a YEM, a great encore and a red shirted girl near by. Leaving was a bit of a hassle and i got a neclace from what i now realized was a beatiful young lady. My father enjoyed it...except for the standing....if anyone say a 200lb man with grey hair in his late 40's wearing a bright yellow polo shirt and looking like a big lemon drop....drop me a line at harmonio@flinet.com and that was my very badly mispelled $0.2 i'd really like this show on tape since it rocked and was my first....so if you can help me out i have some hq to trade. Given all the reviews of VA Beach already, I'll just throw a few extra thoughts in. This is a must-hear show, not only for the encore! The flow was a smooth contrast to Merriweather, and jams- creative, unpredictable ones the way I like 'em- popped up here and there throughout the show. My favorite was the Bathtub Gin: I got hosed by this one just as I was hosed by last year's at VA Beach, but in a totally different way. Where last year it was a charging funk groove, this one was pretty and melodic, banking and soaring like a hawk in the clouds- and then at setbreak I even saw one go sailing by! The post-AC/DC Bag jam was another highlight, but started out rather ham-handedly by Trey. He stubbornly played in the direction he wanted to go until everybody else finally steered over there- into classic '97-style "Trey jam" territory, and then some. Other memorable bits: All the times Mike was "vibrating people"; the weirdly veering spots in Antelope; the lullaby Rainbow rising out of space before YEM. I joked Trey was a year late, remembering last year's rainbow, but my husband said, "No, it's been 3 years, this is for Jerry," and it suddenly felt even more touching. (Hence the extra surprise from me for Terrapin- I felt the memorial had already been played!) The only unmemorable bit for me was Robert & Brian. I don't generally have strong negative reactions to Phish songs, but this one was like watching paint dry: don't the lyrics even call for that ("staring at the walls")? :) It wasn't just because it was slow and quiet, because I loved the gentle Waste that followed- in fact, the redeeming feature of R&B was that it served as such a nice contrast for how darned good a song Waste is. Maybe R&B will be OK to hear on the album when we *are* staring at the walls at home, but thumbs-down in concert. Finally, I loved the other new songs, eg Roget (aka Plaid Underpants Song). I finally got to listen to it this time around and will love to hear it on the album. Roget sounds like it has great potential to open up even more live, too- another Ghost? Birds of a Feather vectored forward like a train on tracks, and I kept hearing guest accompaniments in my head. Does anyone else see a harmonica, sax or even a whole horn section working with this? If they're going to play like this all the time in Virginia (isn't that area blessed, what with Hampton?), I hope they'll stay for 2 nights next summer! BTW, the water was great, too! Diana Hamilton -- hamilton@umbc.edu -- Baltimore, MD USA what a beautiful end for a three show run - as everyone has mention'd - the parkin' lot scene sucked and the traffic sucked - enough said - get beyond all of that and you have one the best shows ever - the smiles on everyones faces that night will never leave me - lots of love at these past three shows and i'd like to thank everyone for that - thank you phish for rememberin' jerry - we love you guys - terrapin station was absolutely beautiful - hope everyone whose makin' the haul to maine takes the time to look around and smell the roses - be safe, keep the scene clean and enjoy - good luck to everyone mail orderin' for phall - wish me luck for hampton and vegas peace everyone, karmen and jodie piland csi@csidirect.com We got to the show a little bit early and were walking around the parking lots. The fed's were so strict busting people for drinking beers in the parking lot. Usually they just make us pour them out. Well we moved to the other lot and it was much better. Mike was riding around in the golf cart before the show and we got to chat with him for a little bit which is always cool. Anyways, I had a feeling that this show was going to ROCK and it did. PYITE: This song as a first set opener is a little wierd. It wasn't really good placement for the song. During the Landlady portion it seemed as though Trey was messing around in excitement. I thought maybe something amazing was going to happen. Bathtub Gin: Wow! I called this song and they played it. What an amazing version of the song. It must have gone on for about 20 minutes. I always love hearing this song. The jam from this song went into... Lizards: This song was a surprise. I wasn't expecting it at all. It was an absolutly flawless version. Page was amazing on the piano. At this point I was wondering if they were going to do a Gamehendge set. I was getting really excited until they stopped and Trey didn't talk. It was okay because they played one of my favorite new tunes... MOMA Dance: This song is probably the funkiest song that I've heard Phish play. It was absolutly amazing. I love how they incorperate words into Black-Eyed Katy. It seems as though they really have fun playing it. Birds of a Feather: This was fun to hear again. Even though I've heard it a bunch of times but at least they didn't jam too long off it. It was nice and tight. ESTHER!: Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night. I remember looking up at the screen and seeing what looked like an Esther doll during BOAF. This was the first time that I have seen this tune live and It was the most amazing thing that I have ever wittnessed. Page played so well and Trey usually flubs the lyrics a bit; but this was the tightest version I've heard. Roget: This is another of my favorite new songs. I love Trey's playing during the song. It was such a good song and towards the end was really cool. It's really hard to explain so everyone just has to make sure that they listen to it. Bouncing: A good filler song. Not much to say about it. David Bowie: THE MOST AMAZING BOWIE!! This Bowie was sooooo tight and there were no slow parts to it. Just some HARD CORE JAMMING!!! On a scale from 1-10 I would rate the first set a 9. They played a bunch of songs that I liked and played them soooo well. At the beggining of the second set Trey commented about what we look at being the stage, and what they look at which was the full moon above the crowd. set II AC/DC Bag: I was definently not expecting this song. It's always fun to hear and they didn't jam that long. This song segued into... Sparkle: A definate crowd pleaser. There really is nothing much to say about this song. They played it really fast towards the end. Antelope: I was surprised to hear this early in the set. It didn't really live up to the expectations of other Antelopes I've heard and it was pretty short. Although zI've heard better this is one of my favs. It definently rocked. Brian & Robert: I do not remember this song at all. Waste: This is such a cool song to hear live. If I'm not mistaken they jammed for a couple of minutes. It was a very pretty song. Somewhere Over the Rainbow: WOW! After Waste everything just slowed down and got very mellow. Page just busted it out. The most beautiful thing I've ever heard. Page played a verse, then Trey played a verse. Wow. I was expecting them to play this in North Carolina after the rainbow appeared but that's Phish for you. YEM: Excellent version. The vocal jam was INTENSE! I would say more about this song but I've heard it 4 times this tour. Now I thought they played Chalkdust before they played Franknstein but I could be wrong. Anywho, Frankenstein: Always insane. I love to hear this song live because the crowd goes nuts. Chalkdust: I don't really like this song. I know it's a fan favorite but for some reason I don't like it. I guess it was good but I wasn't really paying attention. Hello My Baby: I love hearing them sing acapella. This was awesome. Everyone wanted Freebird but Ragtime Gal was good enough for me. The second set was really cool although it ended on a sort of slow note I loved it up to Frankenstein but after that, kind of lost my intrest. Overall The second set would get an eight. I'm not even going to mention Terrapin Station (yuck)!!! Hope to answer some of the questions that anone had. If not e-mail me at JefrayN@aol.com All I have to say is that Phish was punishing us for having such a shitty scene, riots the night before, near riots before VA, I think they're sick of it. Listen to the lyrics of the second set and you'll see what I mean. It was one of the worst Phish sets I've ever seen, minus the Antelope, where they were emphasizing how out of control it's getting.The YEM was sooo short! They even rubbed it in by wastin time with the Somewhere Over the Rainbow stuff. Then the Torture just explained it even more! The Terrapin was just adding why sooo many bunk kids are at shows, because the Dead are gone! I can't believe people say that this show was GREAT! :( Without a doubt, the best show I have ever seen in my whole phish life. I don't feel like doing all the songs so I will just ramble. First th lot. What the fuck. I saw some dude beaten up and lifted by his dread-locks. When asked what the charge was, the cop answered that he didn't know, but he knew it was something bad. WHat. My friend got maced. Another got a drinking ticket. What the hell is going on . these cops were out for blood. the show, however, made up for it. For those of you who weren't there to wittness the miracle that was David Bowie, Lizards, and the entire second set, sucks for you. I hate to say that the encore made this show one for ages, but hell, it did. I love the Dead. They were my first love and that's just the way it is. I never thought, with all the animosity between phish and the deadheads, that the boys would do a dead song, but it happened. Maybe it was the cops that caused this, but I have a feeling that the reason that the lot was so quiet afterwards was awe. Pure disbelief on behalf of the phans. I myself couldn't talk. If you were not there, I wouldn't even get the tapes. It will depress you too much. Absolutely indescribable show. A+ (I never thought I woul;d give one of those.) Peace Buck from Maryland I will keep this short, most people coverd the show fairly well. I have to say the Lot scene was sooooo god darn bunk. It really depressed me and Iwas really itchign for some shrooms to pick me up from my lack of sleep. Thank god i never found them. Undercover, mounted cops, you name it, all out in force. SEriously this was the most insane display of police assholiness I ahve ever witnessed and I am one who tendsto defend COPS in many instances, but this was 100% uncalled for before and after the show... The show.... I was not too high on the first set. Did not think anythign was that special and I even dislike Moma Dance. Wish they woudl return back to a straight Black EYed KAty... Esther , my first was cool, but w/ a Lizzards earlier in teh set it was totally a pain in a way. Weird set, Bowie ok, nothing great... STill thought Crowd had no energy in comparison to MErriweather. GOtta love shows in the Northeast. SEcond Set... OK, stubbed down from the lawn to really close Fishman side. I just need to be near the action to wake up. AC DC,--- called it and great version, my first in 17 shows... Sparkle.--- High Energy. Antelope--- Raging.. Brian & RObert Waste...... Both were SOOOOOO needed to cool down. PERFECT placement! I really needed to rest, the sweat wasway high. Rainbow --- Very Cool YEM --- Good stuff, but somewhat lackluster in some way, a flub, low energy, something.. Vocal JAm --- VERY Cool and Chris really took it to a nother level, the band just tried to keep on top of his game w/ the White strobe, streak lights twirling round and round. Sick shit!!!! Frankenstein!!--- OUCH!!!! Chalkdust. ----NOt a rager like Raleigh, but this set was going down well... RAgtime --- Good cool down, long set, such talent. TERRAPIN--- WTF!!!!?!?!?!?!?!? This was soooooo great and such a treat. Must have been a long talk amongst the boys to decide to go for it. The circle was complete. I Was at DArien last summer, and now this so the circle really is kinda there and figured out. This was my 14th show in a year and a good weekend closer. Terrapin was sooo well done, but had one MAJOR problem... TRey actually got all the words down right . Gotta give credit to Josh Zelkowitz for that one.. Great show, one for the ages for the second set. The boys are on fire. YEt, the Venue sucked and I doubt they will ever head back there w/ the cops being such dicks. My friend doing hte whole tour was way down about the scene and so wer all her friends...oh well. Gee, TERRAPIN and SABOTAGE... what a weekend First, let me say I havn't seen a lot of Phish shows. I have seen a ton of Dead shows though and for anybody to say the VA Beach show was less than spectacular from start to finish has lost touch with their senses. All I have to say is the tape speaks for itself. Only on rare occasions did the Dead ever reach the peaks that Phish live on. I am very sorry to hear of all the troubles with the police. It is uncalled for and a shame. This was the best show I have seen in years and the three shows I saw over the weekend were great fun. See you in the fall. great show!! As youve heard the lot was a ghost town due to the police presence. Inside it was bad too my friend got his smoking apparatus taken by security and they were constantly policing the lawn. First set was good with a pretty good Gin and a funky Moma Dance/BEK (Ive only heard one other version [Copenhagen] so I dont know how it compares, but I really do like it a lot). The Bowie was really solid!! Great lightwork by Chris! Second set was great. The AC/DC was really tight and though I wasnt excited when they went into Sparkle ( I think something more funky like Ghost or Tube would have been better) it was good enough. The Antelope was standard. Brian and Robert and Waste didnt do much for me, but the Somewhere over the Rainbow riff had me thinking that they were about to start something nice.. YEMFrankenstein was GREAT!! Trampolines and all and then this crazy vocal jammed buttressed by an insane light show at the end of YEM..The Frankenstein was a great call out of YEM (I seem to recall Frankenstein being segued into although the setlist says differently). A standard Charlkdust followed and then the Ragtime Gal ended the set. The encore was amazing! At first I thought they were just going to tease it (i.e. just play the 'Lady with a Fan' part) but as Trey approached the mike and sang the first words I knew we were in for a treat. Irrespective of all the hoopla about Phish playing a Dead song, they did a beautiful rendition of it and the interplay between Trey and Page was great. This was one of the most intense show-going moments I have experienced (note: I never saw the Dead). The full moon, the beautiful night sky set the stage for an amazing moment that Ill not soon forget. Ryan Murphy WOW] WOW] WOW] I took highway 13 through Maryland's eastern shore to avoid I 95. I knew there would be a toll for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel, but I didn't care--it was well worth it to avoid the quagmire on I95. I rolled into Va. Beach about 5:00 and headed straight to the venue. I was parked in the furthest lot, as usual, and I wanted to swing some beers before the show. I immediately noticed the numerous signs forbidding vending, but, undaunted, I sold about 10 anyway before the show. I iced down the rest right before I went in in the hopes that they wouldn't shoo us out of there too quickly after the show. Anyway, so PYITE opens the show] Every show I have ever been to that was opened with PYITE has rocked, so I was psyched. Straight into Bathtub Gin, which is always a good dancing tune. Then, a slight Tela tease (but they had played it last night]) and into Lizards] I was beside myself--I hadn't heard it in so long and I had been listening to it on a tape earlier in the day hoping to hear it. The Moma Dance came next--sweet, funky tune and my first, although I did hear BEK last year. Birds of a Feather didn't move mountains for me, then, could it be? Esther]] Now, I know a lot of hardcore phans don't like Esther, but I personally love it] Probably a lot to do with the fact that I waited like 18 shows to hear it, and the version I heard (Deer Creek '96) has f#cked up sound. Needless to say, I was loving it at this point. Roget is a fun new tune, and I look forward to hearing it again. Bouncin'--well, at least it is short. Into Bowie] Not the best one I have heard, but a great way to close out a sick set, I thought. At this point, my shirt was absolutely dripping and I had a seat in like row 20 right in front of Mike. It was pretty crowded in there, but I wasn't moving. Unfortunately, to my right was Jane and Johnny First Show and they stood stock still the whole time and they were quite annoyed that I kept knocking into them while dancing, but I wasn't about to stop. I was way ready 't as amazing as some I haay to start it off than with AC/DC Bag? Then, Sparkle which is OK and all, but I have just heard so many of them. Antelope is always a good one, but this one didn't move mountains or anything. They weren't afraid to bust out the Brian and Robert (aka the suicide song) again, then into Waste which was nice because it reminds me so much of summer '96 tour (of which I did all but Utah). Over the Rainbow--yeah, whatever, then into YEM. I was beginning to worry that the show was going to taper off into a FEFY-Lifeboy-Sample type of thing. The YEM wasn't as amazing as some I have seen (like 12/29/96) but the lights and vocal jam were quite cool. Then, Frankenstein--YES] we can deal with this and I knew my earlier fears had been assuaged. Chalkdust, which I always enjoy came next and then Ragtime Gal (pretty standard). I thought for sure a Loving Cup was gonna come out as the encore, but I was stunned to hear the opening notes of Terrapin Station come instead. I have mixed feelings about it, myself. It was definitely nice to hear and I think they did it wel In my 5 year, 42 show history, I have never come back from a weekend more excited. All of my doubts and questioning have been put to rest. Last years summer tour to me was average, including the WENT (as compared to the BALL). The fall toru stepped up a big notch and New Years to many was a let down in many ways (the 30th was better to many). And then came what will be known as the best summer tour ever (in my opinion). I have been watching setlists since Europe with high expectations. And somewhere around Kansas all of my expectations were met. Look at the songs, The Wedge, Tela, Dog Log, Buried Alive, My Friend.....the list goes on including all of these amazing knew covers. These songs are played once a tour if we are lucky and personally, I can't understand why. In 40 shows I've seen 32 DWD but never a Tela. I hear more rare songs this weekend (MD & VA) than I have in the last few years. And even after all of the happiness and satisfying music of this tour, the unexpected and unbelievable has happpened.............TERRAPIN STATION. I still can't believe I heard them play that, I would of cried (literally) if I missed this defining in PHISH history. It was fate that I was there (I can't go to Maine this year) and now I know why. For all of you that missed it..........get the tapes. **** It's not just about them playing a Dead song. It's about Phish breaking through new ground this summer.About going where nobody thought they would or could go musically and spiritually. And that despite all of the negativity that has going around the last year or two, the best band in America will prove to you all just that. To all of the dedicated fans who ignore the bullshit and truly love the music, I think it is safe to say that this tour will propell us and them into the 21 century! Dan Schillace After reading the few brief reviews of Merriwether available here at the Site of Sites, a review of my own came a'gurgling out! The view from the lawn was a bit obstructed by an unusually large volume of tall people. Yup. There was an inordinate amount of phans well into their cups and drunkenly raging. They tell me Summer Tour is like that. The lights were precision perfect like the sun on the ocean. The sound, while a little low, was otherwise clear and sweet. The giant video screen for we lawn phish was welcome and the high speed editing, especially during the HYHU after Fish's soulful "Sexual Healing" cover and that amazing encore, was unparalleled. The encore. I'm jumping ahead here but, I was a Beastie Boys fan before I was a Phish fan. From the times when the BB were playing punk shows at CBGB and the Capitol Theater in Passaic, NJ, with Fishbone and Murphy's Law. Ya' know, the old daze! That encore was so unexpected and joyful and roust-around sing-along good that it made my face hurt from grinning. What was the deal with that minor dust-up in the parking lot after the show? The Mounties quelled the disturbance but for a few seconds the air was thick with bottles and curses. I'd heard it was locals come down to gawk........unsubstantiated at best! Four days til we leave for the Wheel!!!!! Sean "Fathead" Casey i need to say something about the va beach show: you llook at the setlist and basically shit in your pants, then you hear the reviews of how completly on point the boys were in their jams, but one thing that completly makes this show one of the best i've ever seen was the light show. i'm not sure who does the light show for the shows, but he was beyond magical last night. during the "several species of small furry creatures. . ." (pink floyd cover from umagumma--it's the vocal jam that was all cracked out) piece, the lights were rising and falling with the jam, and directly on with the vocal nonsense, making for an incredible spectacle. the entire experience was mesmerizing and the entire amphitheatre was going apeshit. i can't imagine what it all looks like for the band, being surrounded by incredible lighting that joins perfectly with their tunes. the entire second set was like this, simply incredible. LIZARDS was amazing. simply put. by far one of my favorite gamehendge tunes, and done almost flawlessly. I'd never seen the trampoline dances before and was greatly impressed, a great way to get the crowd to go even more nuts. basically the second set was phenomenal. every second, every tune seemed to try and shadow what had been played before; the energy was just building building and building. we were wondering what could be done to make the show end without letting anyone down. the presentation of Terrapin satisfied more than greatly. my friend joe pondered a dead cover b/c we knew it was the 3rd aniversary of jerry's death. he guessed begonias, and when they broke into terrapin, i knew instantly what it was and hoped they carried it off well. they didn't let me down. a monumental and mystical show. not much more to say. well, one quick thing: waste is a great song. . .beautifully done, wonderful lyrics. . .a true song for those in love. i wished anna could have been with me the entire time. . .not to mention the entire show. well, keep on keeping on and i'll catch ya'll next time around. Drew (one day i will have one of the VIP booths at GTE. then i'll give out tickets and say "just go to drew's." it will happen. oh yes it will happen) almost got thrown-out even before i got in the show......cop busted us for an "open container" [$15 + $30 Process fee (what?)] the security was outrageous......you have to ask someone who was there for a verbal description....the lot was like a ghost town by 5:00pm......at that time everything should have been in full tilt.......i think phish knew they would never be back (i know i won't go) so the blew the place apart.......it was like 94 again....the jams were intense rather than funky ...was just me or was saturday and sunday's lot scenes like night and day? it is PHISHIN' time......last night in VA Beach was unbePHreakinlieveable (sp?). 8/9/95 (the day the music died)...8/9/98 3rd year anniversary....phish's encore: Terrapin fuckin' Station....tight as shit...no real jams to speak of...but a lot fun nonetheless.......the first time phish has played a dead song since like 1984 (correct me if i am wrong)...first time they ever played terrapin live (did trey start Wharf Rat and quit it for terrapin?).......the whole place went nutzzzzzzzzz.......one amazing sing along......by the way there was a cressent moon in the sky......unreal.......btw we thought the show was one of the best we ever saw even before the encore....my favorite attended show is 11/29/97....i feel it is even better than 12/30/97....i wish ever music lover could have been there.......it was just crazy. craig ps. i thought i was gonna piss myself during that YEM.....the vocal jam lights were crazy...i wish everyone could have been there.....haven't felt this good since 11/29/97 wooster Set I (90 minutes) PYITE, Bathtub, Lizards, Moma Dance, Birds, Esther, Roget, Bouncin, Bowie Set II (81 minutes) AC/DCSparkleAntelope, Brian and Robert, WasteSomewhere Over the Rainbow (Trey played theme over space jam)YEM, Frankenstein, Chalkdust, Hello Ma Baby* E: Terrapin Station (WOW) Ok, we are gonna hear alot bout this show in the years to come for one reason I think. That being the encore. Cause in my personal opinion the rest of the show wasnt spectacular Phish. Yes, it was the band in good form, but not the intense band that I've seen before. PYITE- The guys cam on at like 7:40, thats the earliest i've ever seen. I knew something was up with this show. Well, theirs really not much to say bout this sound cept the boyz played it right and didnt mess it up at all. Its always a good opener in my opinion, I really rocks when they break into the heavier part after the spacey beginning. Good enough for me Bathtub Gin- I had read alot of reviews of this song in the past few shows so I was hopeing for a great version. Well, it was a good version, Ive heard better on tape and in concert. Trey noodled around for a while and then the groove started kicken. Page and Trey had this dope beat flowin and the Chairman of the Boardss when nuts. Overall, you gotta love this song, no matter when its played cause its such a great groove and they take it so many places. Lizards- havent heard this one in a while, so it was well recived by me and the rest of the crowd. Pages solo was exceptionally long. Trey was talkin to Paul during Page's soloso I think that was why it was longer than normal. They were tryin to get Trey's levels right. But otherwise good solo and Trey didnt mess up the end that much. when he did, he recovered well. MOMA Dance- I saw Trey talk to Fish before the song and saw Fishman pull up the mic to his mouth, so I was euther expecting this or Sleeping Monkey. Im glad i got this. I was a real big fan of Black eyed Katy so this song was well recieved. The funk was deep as usual. Birds of a Feather- Wasnt too thrilled bout this one. Not one of my favs. but I really like how trey has rearranged his solo since the Island tour. Its quite a buildup and gets really spacey at the end, with lots of tension and release. This song surprised me, I think I like it more now Esther- Well, i think a lot of you are gonna hate me for this one, but I hate Esther. I could honestly do without it. Yeah ok, so its never played and I got to see it. Yeah thats pretty cool I guess. But its just personal opinion. So if you like it, good for you, cause i dont. Roget- Good song, probably one of the better of all the new songs. I like the vocal interplay between all the members of the group. I think this may be one of the few songs where all the boys sing some lead vocals. Very Cool Bouncin'- Yaaaaaaaaaaaay, its bouncin, Nuff said Bowie- thank God, a few people thought they were gonna end the set with bouncin. Of course, I knew better. It was a good Bowie, I love the E minor jam. I thought it was kinda short, bathtub was longer. But the ending was one again killer and had some great interplay between the guys. Overall a cool set, very long. Bathtub and Bowie were my highlights AC/DC- Cool opener. I love this song. I was hopein they would bring back the old jam where Trey reachs new levels with his soloing. but they opted for the funky jam much like 12/30/97. I was kinda pissed initially, but the jam progressed and got really cool. All I remmeber is Page goin nuts of the boards. Very cool version. Sparkle- This is about the happiest song the band could ever play. I love the lights during the song. Its not a great song in my opinion, just really fun to dance to and sing along with. Antelope- this was the highlight of my show...and probably every other show ive seen them do it. you really cant ay enough about this song. It always rocks, it always makes people go nuts and it always makes a set awesome. One thing was, they kinda screwed up the end of the jam into the half-time section. Page and Mike kept goin with the jam and Trey and Jon stopped. Overwise, this made my show, cause Im not a dead fan and really didnt care about the encore Robert & Brian- ok, I guess, noce and slow so I could rest Waste- Thanks for givin me more time to rest guys. I like this song though. Nothing different it. well played Somewhere Over the Rainbow-Trey cept goin on the outro to Waste and morphed into this song. It was really cool how he did it. Mad props to you Trey. the rest of the band came in after the first verse section. No lyrics, good they didnt sing it, I think YEM- They picked up YEM with about 30 minutes left in the show, so I was hopein to hear an amazin version. Well this one kinda sucked. It didnt go anywhere. trey barely soloed. After pages keyboard section they just kinda stopped and went into the vocal jam. Vocal jam was cool though. Topher was great on the lights as usual. Does anyone else wanna hear Mike play his old bass solo in this song? Frankenstein- seems every show i got to they play this. Cool song though. very well played Chalkdust-wasnt expecting this one. great song, I kinda wanted the solo to be longer but it was ok. Not alot of tension and release, but the song still grooved Ragtime Gal- acapella as usual, always fun to hear Encore Terrapin- I figured they'ed do another cover. I was never expecting this though. The place went bonkers. Never ehard such a loud reaction to a song before. Well I'm not a dead fan so I wont comment on how well they covered it. Still a good song to hear Ok, now listen. this show wasnt so great. It was really long and had some good songs in it. But YEM didnt go anywhere and there really wasnt anything specia bout the show cept the encore. Im kinda a harsh critic of the band. But if you liked the show, good for you. Still, seein the band anytime is a wonderful experience and I had a great time. I think this may be one of the most popular tapes out there in the years to come. Considering they broke the one cardinal rule they set down back in the day. -John(LCN97@aol.com) GTE Amp. Virginia Beach. just wanted to tell anyone who wasn't at the show last night that the amount of police brutality was uncalled for and should not be tolerated from phans or phish management. i witnessed brothers and sisters beaten in the head with sticks, maced, knocked down by horses, and all kinds of other horrible things just because kids were vending. the whole thing boiled over when they were arresting this sister for selling a water to an undercover and she was crying and the cops were beating her in the head. the crowd went crazy and started throwing bottles at the cops and busted out the back window on a cop car and the cops went crazy and started macing people and stuff. it was totally caused by overzealous cops who have a hard-on for fucking with our brothers and sisters. i encourage everyone in the phish community to voice your opinions to phish management, the virginia beach municpal police, and the GTE Virginia Beach Amp. and tell them that this kind of brutality WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! we are kind people and do not deserve to be treated like criminals by pigs. i personally will never visit nor spend any money in virginia beach again, and i encourage all of you to boycott the city of virginia beach and the GTE Virginia Beach Amp. Justin R. Holt Market Data Solutions Now this ranks up there with 12/30/97 as my favorite show of all time. You guys who weren't there totally missed a really fun time. Trey seemed like he was so juiced for the whole show. After like, every song, he was acknowleding the audience when they cheered like mad. Some of the songs in the show seemed off a bit, but most of them were dead-on. And the song selection will beat you to a pulp if you didn't see it yet. Even though you probably know, I'll post the setlist just for kicks: I: PYITE, Bathtub Gin, Lizards, Moma Dance, Birds of a Feather, Esther, Roget, Bouncing Around the Room, David Bowie II: AC/DC Bag Sparkle, Antelope, Brian and Robert, Waste, Somewhere Over the Rainbow*, YEM, Frankenstein, Chalk Dust, Ragtime Gal E: Terrapin Station** *instrumental (Trey on guitar) **First time played - Grateful Dead tune - (Anniversary of Jerry's Death) 8/9/95 Of course traffic to the show for us was a bitch. It sucked out the wazoo. Didn't get into the lots until I think, 7:45. As soon as I shut my car door, I heard HEY! - which meant that we were missing PYITE, then the long walk which took all of PYITE and Bathtub that followed. first set: PYITE: didn't really get a really good chance to hear it that well, although the closer and faster we walked, we could hear it better, - hey, sounded good to me. BATHTUB: the same goes for this. We got to our seats(in the 8th row, by the time this one was just ending. LIZARDS: Great version. Just about flawless. Don't you just love that weird, wacky look on Trey's face as he stares of into nowhere during that final run?! (man do we have great seats!!! - hey, is that huge-ass doll someone threw up on stage an Esther doll?) MOMA DANCE: A first for me, although I have heard BEK a number of times. I don't know why a lot of people hate this reworked tune. I think it's got a lot of funky-shit flavor. In other words, it rocks!!!! Really impressed by this number. BOAF: Heard this last at Nassau. This one seemed a bit better. They just gotta keep getting the building jam heading back into the refrain better and better and they'll have it. Jamming tune. ( a lot of band conferences this show it seemed) ESTHER: Could it be?... My first ever Esther! Now maybe they'll start dropping this in once or twice each tour! I love this song. Where have you been? (thanks to the great person who threw the doll up on stage!) Did Trey get the lyrics right? I can't believe it. This song has been on the shelf for a while and Trey does a great job singing! ROGET: Good new tune out of the batch. Heard this off of one of my Europe tapes. BOUNCING: Yeahhhh! When was the last time they broke this out. At least they're not playing it almost every show. Good to hear this. Bouncing IS Bouncing. I thought this was it or maybe we would get a Character Zero as usual, but no.... BOWIE: Yeahhhh. What a way to end the set!!!! The place was going nuts when they busted this out. (just not as nuts as the encore would prove) set break (man this was a long-ass set break!) set 2 AC/DC Bag: this was my second bag, and I still haven't heard the usual one with the speed-up to the end. Oh well. My first one at 12/30/97 was a great long-jammed out version. This one was jammed out and better than that one. Got into a funky part and then jammed harder, and then tapered off into... SPARKLE: Finally!!!! After almost 20 or so shows, I see my first Sparkle. It's about time! I think I've heard PYITE like 7 times, but only heard Sparkle for the first time tonight! Go figure. ANTELOPE: Another curve-ball. This early? They seemed to be a bit out of sync after the jam drop-off and before the Marco part, but Antelopes will be Antelopes. And Antelopes always rock. (A lot of glowstick people used this song as their masterpiece since Hood was done the night before already, seeing that they won't get their YEM). BRIAN AND ROBERT: something about staring at the walls. DOn't really recall anything about this tune except it was a nice peaceful ballad. First time for me. Since they're already in this mode, they might as well play.... WASTE: coming back into rotation? and with a better ending each time. Man, Trey is God! Like I said the song selection for this show is just incredible. A little bridge came next.... SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW: A nice peaceful guitar instrumental from Trey whispering the melody of this song on his guitar. Too bad no one was paying attention and making so much noise. Still, I could hear it a little. YEM: Here's your YEM! I may think Beauty or My Soul follows me around to every show, but this one seems to also, and man am I so glad. Great to see the trampoline routine when you are up close. Also, got to see Mr. Brad Sands spring into action as he vacated his spot by the stage and brought the tramps out. Was it me or did Trey's mic screw up during the "Wash Uffizi" part? It seemed like he was testing it for a bit because his mouth was moving as if he was trying to let Paul know that he was trying to see if it worked. Maybe I'm just seeing things. Great vocal jam out of this one. Once again, Chris Kudoda works wonders. Anyone else agree. Man this show kicks ass!!!! Now what is the encore going to be? FRANKENSTEIN: Ooops, these guys are having such a great time just like the audience, that they bust out a few more tunes! Great Frank. Chalk Dust: This song is played so often, like YEM, yet it doesn't get tiresome. Really good raucous version as usual. Oh wait there's one more song!!!!... RAGTIME GAL: (enough of this Hello my Baby correction shit!) I was hoping for Carolina when they congregated at the side of the stage, but any acapella song is a butte. They ate the crowd right up. Trey had such a great time this show - you could tell. Mike even popped a smile before they sang this one. Man this band is awesome. Now I was thinking maybe Wilson for the encore, or something like Character Zero, but I didn't have much time to think because Brad? brought out the lyric sheets! Yeeee haaaa!!! must be a new cover - again!!!! Starts off with this nice melody and suddenly the whole place is going nuts, and I mean nuttier than 12/30/97, I mean even nuttier than that. I had no clue what they were playing, but it sounded good. Erik, (right next to me) said to me after I asked him that it was Desolation Row. After a while, I was like, no it couldn't be, I thought Bobby Weir sang that tune. Then he said it was Lost Sailor, and that's what I thought it was until I heard the part that brought it back to me!!!!! The familiar chords that lead up the chorus!!!! TERRAPIN STATION!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it! Now I'm no Dead aficionado by any means. That's why I didn't know what the fuck it was. I've have this song on tape somewhere, but I just haven't heard it enough to automatically know what it is when it starts. Phish finally busting out a Dead song. Now that is sheer respect. Especially on the anniv. of Jerry's Death. These guys are awesome. what a great time! What a show! Burgettstown, here I come!!! -Paul B. pjbishop@bellatlantic.net Well, I got back from the Va Beach show of last night, and I kinda felt a need to write up a review (I need the practice anyway). I've been really excited about this show for the longest time, and since it was the three year anniversary of Jerry's passing, I was kinda hoping for a Dead cover for tribute. I must say, I hoped that what happened happened, but I really didn't expect it to happen. The Lot-- This was the worst part of the show, imho. Cops everywhere, and a lot of ticketless people with their fingers up in the air. We saw some guy get run down by a undercover on the way in, which was not a good omen.Of course, I was sober the whole time, but it made me uncomfterable. They went on a late, which was fine because it gave me time to use the bathroom and find my seat. I was in section 101, row X, seat 12 for anyone who was around. Good crowd; my section was rabid all night, and exchanged high-fives and hugs for every song. PYITE-- Trey started thumping on his guitar as soon as he go on stage, and then they went into Punch. Good version, everyone in the band looked to be enjoying themselves greatly. Everyone rocked out, and it was a great way to start. Bathtub Gin-- Nice work by Page on the intro, in fact, nice work by the entire band on this one. After a flubless intro, they went into a really nice Gin Jam. Nothing ultra spectacular, they pretty much stuck right witht he groove of the song, but I really enjoyed the jam segment. After they stopped, Trey began fiddling on his guitar, and a lot of people in my section called Tela. I knew they played this last night, though, and after the rest of the band joined in it was pretty obvious we were getting... Lizards-- I freaked during this song! This is one of my favorite "old Phish-tales", and I danced the whole way through it. Tight version. Moma Dance-- I had no clue what this song was until the lyrics started. I loved this song, it was totally cool to groove to. I think they could ditch the lyrics and not lose anything, but for what was there it wasn't that bad. Bring back BEK! Birds-- This was a real crowd pleaser, even though not a lot of people knew what it was (more on this later). I loved this song live, and I'm going to go ahead and make public my prediction this will fill a role simialr to that of Chalkdust in a few years; a classic in the making. I didn't know what to expect next, but I sure as hell did not expect... Esther!-- Yeah, I know they've played this one a few time recently, but I was still shocked to hear it. A lot of people sat for this, to absorb the story and take a breather, but I stood for the whole thing. Hard to evaluate, but Isn't that fact that it was there enough? (it was for me:) Roget-- If you don't like this song, its just cause you haven't heard it enough. This was a treat live, with the spotlight on each member as they sang. Liked it a lot more then I thought I would. Bouncin'-- Sorry, but I was psyched to hear this one live. Everyone in my section jammed, though I could tell a few were let down. Even if you don't like the song, you gotta love the way it's presented. After this song, Fish started hitting his cymbal, and Trey started a little feedback. Now, I figured this would probably close up the set, but this sounded just like the start of Maze, so I was kinda doubting that would be a good close. I guess the band did to, because they went right into... Bowie-- Good version, but I'll leave this one to the experts. I was totally cool to hear this, and danced my @$$ off during the whole jam. A couple of false stops later, and the set was history. The band all came to the front of the stage for a bow (much deserved); no 15 minute announcement from Trey. I was in complete Nirvana at this point, and totally ready for set2. I want down to the concourse, got a ice tea and Summer 98 t-shirt (for all those in need of something to do during a setbreak). They didn't come on again to 10, and the concert was supposed to end at 11, so I was a little vexed about what would be next. I figured we either get a short set, or they would just go ahead and rock the hell out of us, and screw the time limit. AC/DC Bag-- Before this song, Trey takes the stage and says (forgive me if this is not totally accurate) "I know you've been staring up here for 45 minutes or something, so why don't you turn around to see what we see when we're playing up here". We turned around to see a beautiful full moon. They then went into a nice Bag, with everyone singing alog. Nice medium-sized jam, which, segued into.... Sparkle-- This was a good tune to get us up a dancing again. I dug the placement, as it let them stop the Bag jam smoothly. Run Like a Antelope-- Again, I'll try not to get to detailed in reviewing this rocker. Huge pop for this, and wild, fast playing did nothing to calm us down. Great light work from Chris on this song. Big pops for all the lyrical sections, and I feel they did the song well. Great version. Robert and Brian-- Happy to hear this, just not here. Would have liked Stash or Chaldust, but what the hell. Very peaceful. Waste-- I thought about Jenn as soon as they started this. The crowd was really into it, and it was a little harder then other versions I've heard. Somewhere Over the Rainbow-- Nice instumental, but I was getting a little bugged here. Give me something I can dance to! YEM-- OK, this will work. Nice version, and the whole crowd was really into it. Sucking sounds at the end of the vocal jam. which sounded kinda freaky. I was expecting to end the set here, but then... Chalkdust-- Happy to hear it, a real crowd pleaser. Good version, though I thought it may have been a little too much. Ragtime Gal-- Trey thanks his masagage (sp) therapist, Eric, before this one. Ended the set. Alright, this is where things get cool (for lack of a better word), and also why I didn't post a setlist at the begining of this review (for those who have yet seen it). We were expecting short encore since they were well over eleven at this point. Loving Cup was our consensus. Ha! Terrapin Station-- OH CHRIST! We were so happy to here this, everyone was jumping all over each other, it was great! Great to here Trey sing this, and the whole group looked to be loving every minute of it! I can't put this moment into words, it was absolutlely fantastic! You had to be there! Overall-- So many good moments, but the encore makes it hard for me to grade this fairly. I will give in to my emotions here and call this a A-. If you have, will have, or ever have these tapes, let me know! Everyone needs this one! We love ya Jerry! Anthony
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 1999 23:51:29 GMT From: Guyute25 Subject: Re: Why 8/9/98 was gimmicky This is a pretty long one, folks. asludwig@erols.com writes: > First off, this show is one of my favorite shows of all times, and contains > my favorite Antelope of all time. I also love PYITE, Lizards, Esther, > Bowie, Bag, YEM, and Frakenstien. On the other hand, I have odd tastes in > shows. Yes, that would be one of the finest Gins of '98 (see also 11/9/98, 7/29/98 and the 4/5/98, 4/5 mainly for the ->Cities). Not at all shabby for the show's second song. Esther is well done, as are the versions played of the other songs you mentioned but nothing except the Gin stands out to me as above "great" in set I. {snip} > It seems that a lot of the great Phish concerts now all have some gimmick to > them, and that I think is sad. I mean, whats the point of going to see X > number of shows, and hoping your their for the five or six times Phish > really makes a emotional investment. Take Ween 98, for example. The only > reason most of those people were there was to see the album, and when the > album was not "kid" friendly, everyone got all pissy. For me, the best part > of 11/2/98 was seeing all the Ween people bitch about it for weeks. Even though somewhat off subject, on the subject of people loving 11/2 more than 10/31 (which, based on what I've seen, is 100% true -- MAJORITY opinion, I guess) .. well, I'd have to say that personally, it's not even a second's thought as to which one takes the cake .. VU. The moment I heard this set I was hooked -- the emotion that everyone pours into each jam is *incredible.* How 'bout that Sweet Jane :o) Dark Side was fun but not jammed out. I think it's *great* that they did it, but I also think much of the heavy raving was based on the fact that it was played so randomly. > This brings up another question: has the "average" (which for our purposes > is defined as a show at which nothing out of the ordinary happened) > declined, or is it just underappreciated? The last "average" show that > garnered mass praise was 11/22/97 in Hampton (of course, the argument could > be made that 11/22 was not average because of the unconventional > MikesGroove/Hood opener). Again, off the 8/9 subject, I don't think 11/22 is rated as high as it is because of the Mike's Groove/Hood opener -- which features some very solid jamming -- but because of the sick set II. The Halley's contains some of the deepest, spaciest jamming I've ever heard, plus Tweezer->BEK and a very good Antelope thrown in. {snip} > Lets look at the last 2 days of 97 for a moment. On New Years Eve (a three > set show) they opened with Emotional Rescue, played one of the best Limb By > Limbs I've ever heard, played a funky Timber Ho(!), jammed Mikes Song into > Piper, played solid versions of 2001, Tweezer, and Loving Cup THEN played a > 2 song encore of New York, New York (a debut), and Tweeprise. This show, > however, was overshadowed by 12/30 because Trey told a funny story there. > Lets face it, the 12/30 first set was a notch above average, and the second > set, and in turn encore, was completely dominated by Harpua (about the > encore: had the show not included Harpua, it would not have gone long, and > the encore would not have beem so long. Of course that's all speculation, > but it makes sense). Ahh .. but what about the kick ass Bag that opened set II? The Sneakin' Sally > Taste is FIRED UP in Set I, and the encore seems to be better than you make it out to be. I disagree that Harpua dominated the show ... it still would have been superb without the Harpua. As for 12/31/97, I agree that it's somewhat underrated .... but I'm not going to ramble on that any more; it's another posting. > 98 was the year of the gimmick, and just like always, it worked. Lets face > it, even though corney, covers of Sabatoge, Gettin Jiggy With It, > Tubthumping, and that TS song they played at Va Beach, and gimmicks like > Ween and The Dark Side of Utah were the highlights of the year for most > people. Hell, 55% of the new phans on rmp now are probably here because > they heard the Smashing Pumpkins cover at Deer Creek! Yes, 98 included many gimmicks, but I don't think it was at all dependent on them. I really don't think that 'ween deserves to be labeled as a "gimmick," either. It was much deeper than something to just "catch attention." And now, back to Va. Beach. Gimmicky?? Perhaps. I do agree that it was loved so much mainly because of Terrapin, but if you're going to stand by this statement: > way only they can deliver them. I hope this is the year that we really see > the bands fundamental jamming skills return. then I think you should take a little bit more time to see that 8/9/98 was actually an excellent show, jam-wise -- of course this is imo, but how could anyone not see the majesty of that Gin, or even the Bag that opened set II? Finally done, Alec. ------------------------------