------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 15 Nov 1998 00:31:37 GMT
From:    FahtHarpua 
Subject: --==^*^Friday the 13th - Cleveland Review^*^==--

**Friday the 13th - Review**
--
11/13/98 CSU Convocation Center - Cleveland, OH

I:   Chalkdust, Wolfman's, Roggae, Ginseng, It's Ice, Cars Trucks Buses,
Farmhouse, Water In The Sky, Sloth, Antelope

II:  Down with Disease, Sample, Dirt, Birds of a Feather, Meat >
Digital Delay loop Jam > Meat > Harry Hood

E: Good Times Bad Times
--
Well, we arrived in Cleveland at about 5:00pm, and by that time, the sun was
almost completely set, and it was getting pretty cold. The show was already
Sold Out. The lots were pretty much scatered throughout the city, around the
Convention Center, and they were all packed. I saw some great new shirts last
night, but I think the best thing I found was the "Cactus" poster. It was
amazing. If you ever find the guy selling one, and you are a big Gordon fan, be
sure to pick one up. They are so great. Anyhow, I met up with some friends and
walked around for a couple of hours trying to locate another friend of mine. I
have the flu, and I had a temperature of about 101* by showtime, so I didn't
really get the chance to check out the lot scene as much as I would have liked
to. Oh well. I had 2 extra tickets for the show, and I got to miracle 2 people,
which I aboslutely love to do. (If you've never had the oprotunity to do so,
try it. It will leave you with such a warm feeling in your heart) Anyhow,  they
moved people into the venue rather quickly. I had to wait in a huge line (there
was a special line you had to go in if you had a backpack) and I only stood
there for about 4 minutes. It was great. -- Show time!--

--==Set One==--

Mike, Page, Fish and Trey finally took the stage at about 8:05pm. They all
looked very happy to play, Fish in his frock, Page in his usual outfit, nice
pants and shirt, Trey just in a pair of jeans, a black shirt and his pair of
sneaks, and Mike in his infamous 'black shirt with the flourescent orange
stripes on the sleves', which seemed to be glowing all night long. The floor
was pretty crowded, but not too bad. Antelope Greg was there, right in the
front, with his cast still on, and there seemed to be a nice 2 foot free area
around him, were nobody dared to stand. Unless they felt like getting smacked
in the face all night. Phish didn't waste anytime, and busted right out into
the first tune.

**CHALKDUST TORTURE - Pretty standard, but with a great jam in the middle. As
soon as they started this tune, and I could feel the energy they were putting
into it, I knew we are all going for a ride throughout this show.

**WOLFMAN'S BROTHER - This was a great tune to pull out. Although it wasn't a
33 minute version like the 'ween one, but it was still pretty long with a great
jam in the middle. I don't remember too much about it, but I guess I will when
I hear the tapes again.

**ROGGAE - Pretty standard, but always great. A great "cool down" for us.
Nothing out of the ordinary, but a great chance for the band, as well as the
audience, to enjoy a nice, slow, relaxing tune.

**GINSENG SULLIVAN - Being a big fan of bluegrass and also a big fan of Mike
Gordon, I love hearing this tune. It was a pretty standard version, with solos
from both Trey and Page, and a few flubbed/forgotten lyrics by Mike.

**IT'S ICE - This was a nice surprise.  This hadn't been played in a while and,
it being one of my favorite tunes, made it even more enjoyable.  It was a
pretty standard version, although the piano solo in the middle was great.
Durring which, Fishman balanced on his little stool, and did a little dance for
us.  Just picture him Hoola Hooping on top of his drum kit, without the Hoop.
He seemed to be having fun with this. I am always amazed by the guitar work in
this song, and as usual, Trey was right on target.

**CARS, TRUCKS, BUSES - Pretty standard, but always Funky. I love seeing Page
get the chance to show off for all of us, and he never disappoints me. He
really seemed to be getting into this, bouncing all around and such.

**FARMHOUSE  - (I am pretty sure this is called 'This is a Farmhouse'. That's
what Trey introduced it as at Farm Aid, and that what Page calls it in 'The
Phish Book') Anyhow, this was a nice treat.  I love hearing this song, and it
seemed that most of the audience does as well. They got a very welcoming cheer
when they went into it. It was a pretty standard version, but still great.

**WATER IN THE SKY - Pretty standard. I don't remember too much of this.

**THE SLOTH - The crowed went nuts when they started this, and for good reason
as well. This tune is so high energy. There was only one flub by Trey, durring
one of the verses, but nothing to noticeable. It was very nicely jammed out,
and Page especially stood out.

**RUN LIKE AN ANTELOPE - This was a very tight jammed version, and is was
amazing. After the show I talked to people who thought this was the best
antelope they've ever seen, but I guess you'll have to hear the tapes tp
decided for yourself. It was complete with a "Marco Esquandolas", but lacking
"Set the gearshift for the high gear of your soul". Instead, Trey screams "Set
the gearshift for this side of the hole!". What he meant by that, I couldn't
tell you, but couldn't seem to control his laugher after he said it. The jam
was long, and full of energy, and it was a great way to lead us into setbreak.
When they finished, Trey says that they are going to take a break, and that
they are having a really great time so far, and they hope everyone sticks
around. Hey, at least he's not saying "We'll be back in about 15 minutes"
anymore.

All in all, set one was very enjoyable, very jammy and full of nice suprises.

--==Set Two==--

The boys took the stage again, after about a 49 minute setbreak. Before they
started to play, Trey introduced Bruno Bradley, their Monitor Engineer, and
then tells us how Bruno got too drunk at the Flats lastnight, and came in late
for work today. Trey then tells the audience how Bruno loves it when Chris
shines a neon purple spotlight right on him (kind of like the 'yellow light'
incident with Fish at the Fillmore show last month). Chris puts the light right
on him, and Mike suggests that they play the entire 2nd set with that spotlight
right on him. They turned it off soon after. There's some historic stage bantor
for you all.

**DOWN WITH DISEASE > JAM > DOWN WITH DISEASE - I was loving this. It was a
great, energetic second set opener, and they really seemed to be getting into
it and having a lot of fun. Trey was bobbing all around the stage for this one.
About halfway into the song, they totally veared off into a jam. Trey was just
fumbling around with some neat chord progresions. After noodling around for a
while with these, they swung back into DwD.

**SAMPLE IN A JAR - This was played very nice, but I think the best part about
this tune was seeing the 250 lb, very built and clean cut, securtiy guard
smiling and bobbing his head around durring the jam. You could tell Phish was
starting to rub off on him. The jam was very tight, and this was one of the
better versions of this song that I've seen.

**DIRT - This was a great 'cool down' after the intense jams played earlier.
There was nothing to different about it, except for the fact that Mike didn't
sing the "never hear your voice again" lines under Trey's whistling.

**BIRDS OF A FEATHER - Despite what other people think of this song, and though
I don't like seeing it on the lists for every show, I was definatly glad they
played it tonight. I'm not sure how long it was, but I'm guessing it was about
8-10 minutes, most of that time was spent in a long jam. I don't think I've
heard this tune played as well as the first time they pulled it out on the
Island Tour in the spring, but this was very close to it.

**MEAT > DIGITAL LOOP JAM > MEAT - This was, without a doubt, the best Meat I
have heard. Before they started it, they were all talking to eachother for a
while. Probably a good 2 minutes or so. Mike and Trey were laughing about
whatever was being said, and then Trey walked over to his cup, and talked into
it for a while. For those of you who don't know, the cup has a microphone in
it, and that's how Trey talks to Page durring the show.  Then they broke into
the first chords of Meat. This was a very funked out version, and Mike's vocals
sounded great.  They stopped and started it about 4 times, leaving a pretty
long time span in between each re-start. After about the 3rd stop, Trey created
a Digital Loop, that he kept going while the other band members quietly play
over it. After the show he said, all together, he had about 4 loops going at a
time. Then, with the loops still going in the background, they started 'Meat'
back up again finally, and when they reached the part where they would normally
end the tune, Trey looks over at Fish and tells him to keep the groove going,
and they break into an *Extended 'Meat' jam. Instead of ending it with the
standard "dun dun dun" they pull it back into another jam which segued right
into......

**HARRY HOOD- I am contemplating whether this was the best Hood I've ever seen
or not. If not the best, the definatly 2nd best.  They busted right into this,
everyone with glowsticks in hand.  There just seemed to be a 'funk factor'
built into this version.  There was even a rare, eerie organ solo by Page
before the "Harry..Harry, where do you go when the....." The begining seemed to
be longer than normal (before the quiet jam).
The glowsticks came out, and I was very happy to see that only about 4
glowsticks were tossed towards the stage. Unfortunatly 2 of those 4 hit Trey
and Mike. The one that hit Trey created a loud "pop" over the PA.  I don't know
if it just his his mic, or his guitar or what, but if you get the tapes, you
will have no trouble picking out when this took place. This Hood was a great
set closer, and full of energy, as much of the second set seemed to be.

--==Encore==--

**GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES - This was a pretty standard, jammed out version.
Everyone, especially the audience, was getting into it, jumping around, singing
along, and the best part about it was the crowd noise after Page wails "I know
what it means
to be alone.." It gives me the chills. But it was a great choice to close this
increadible show. Bravo!
--

The show ended at about 11:30 or so, and I was suprised to see how fast the
place emptied out. The crew got everything packed up right away. All together,
a great, high energy show. The boys all had a lot of fun.

Most energetic - Trey
Best Dressed - Mike, all the way
----------------------------------------------------------

><> )>*<>*<"\\\><( <>< ><> )>*<>*<"\\\><(<><
"Good Funk, real funk is not played by four white guys from
Vermont.. If anything, you could call what we're doing cow
            funk or something.. - Trey Anastasio



--------------

Date:    Mon, 23 Nov 1998 14:30:21 -0800
From:    "R. Schadle" 
Subject: Cleveland, Friday the 13th - long review and set list

From:
        "Jeremy Welsh" 
 Subject:
        Cleveland, Friday the 13th - long review and set list



11/13/98
Cleveland State Convocation Center
Set I:
Chalkdust Torture
Wolfman's Brother
Roggae
Ginseng Sullivan
It's Ice->
     spacey middle jam
Cars Trucks and Buses
Farmhouse
Water in the Sky
The Sloth
Run Like an Antelope

Set II:
Down with the Disease  (Rock and Roll teases?)
Sample in a Jar
Dirt
Birds of a Feather
Meat->
     reprises (four times) jam with delay loop . . .
Harry Hood

encore:
Good Times Bad Times


Well, let's see . . . this was my first show since I
was lucky enough to see Phish perform both nights in
Prague.  I was supposed to go to Starlake this past
summer, but I was sent on a business trip that I
really couldn't say no to.
     I was extremely ready for this show, to put it
mildly.  I was shut out on my first attempt for NYE
tickets, and the week at work was a rough one.  My
girlfriend and I plus another friend left work early,
and raced off for the Ohio turnpike, fighting the
Pittsburgh rush-hour traffic (which was not all that
bad).  We had apple cider, cheese, hummus, and a good
supply of music (newly aquired Other Ones from the
summer, Nassau second night set II, some String Cheese
. . . ).
     We got to the parking lot right around five to
eight, and rushed our way to the Will Call booth.
That line was not a problem . . . the line to get into
the show was a pain in the ass.  Really clogged,
cattle-like . . .  As we rushed in, looking for our
seats, we heard the sounds of a seemingly average
Chalkdust Torture.  As we got to our nice seats
(directly behind the floor), we found lots of dancing
in the aisles (at least for a while).
      Wolfman's Brother followed, and I was rather
excited after hearing about the Brother that was
played at Halloween.  Oh well, as the Brother really
didn't go anywhere.
     At about this time, my fears? were arising again
- my only show last fall was Cleveland, and as this
year, it was the first night of a three night run.
Not too exciting of a show, and I was starting to
sense the same thing.
     Roggae was nice; payed a little more attention to
it this time than I did in Prague.  Ginseng Sullivan,
well, the required Mike's blue-grass tune (kind of
like the Bobby country tune, eh?).
     It's Ice was a really pleasant surprise . . .
never really a huge fan, I enjoyed my first live Ice.
The vocals were done rather well, but if I remember
right, Fishman came in too early on one of the verses,
and made Trey laugh.  The spacey jam in the middle of
Ice was really well done, and could be the best jam of
the night.  Also, Chris did a great job, as to be
expected, on this one.
     It must have been an indecisive night for the
boys, as they did a lot of talking before tunes.  Trey
going to Mike, then to Page, then Mike telling Fishman
. . . got lot's of cheering from the crowd, but
nothing too spectacular came out of these discussions
. . .
     Like the Cars Trucks and Buses.  I kind of forgot
about this song, and it was a nice boppy little
number, but again, nothing special.
     Farmhouse was a great surprise, at least in my
opinion.  The first time I saw this one live, since
that night on Conan.  I really enjoyed this song, and
they jammed the end out a bit.  I really like the
vocals on this song, and they pulled it off really
well.  (I talked to some a taper friend at set break,
though, and Dave really disliked it - oh well).
     Water in the Sky has been improved with the new
drumming by Fishman, but again, nothing special.
     The Sloth was rocking, and got a great reception
by the crowd.  I felt as though this was more like it,
the boys rocking out a bit, and it wasn't Character
Zero.
     And with the opening sounds of Antelope, I knew
they were bringing this set to a close 65-70 minutes
in.  I was keeping my fingers crossed on this one, and
I was not disappointed.  The opening segment was nice
and long, as each of the members took a little solo
thingy - I really like when Page pulls out the Moog (I
think that is what that keyboard is).  Really strong
version got the crowd up and dancing.  Trey changed
the lyrics around a bit at the end as well, something
about setting the gear-shift "to this side of the
hole."  Huh?
     All in all, an extremely average first set.  Ice
was the highlight, as well as Farmhouse (at least for
me).  I tried to get my hopes up thinking of the last
show I saw that had Antelope close the first set -
Darien Lake, one where the first set was full of
averages, and where the second set got crazy.
     The hall-way was really crowded, and interesting
enough, a lot hotter than inside the arena proper.
One thing - they were selling beer at the venue, and
as my girl-friend pointed out, that really kind of
changes the atmosphere of the crowd.  Possibly less
smoke, but certainly loud and obnoxious fans.  Also,
fans who pass out as two did right next to me.
Passing out?  What the f . . .?!  Why would you do
that to yourself at a show?  Oh well . . .
     I believe Olu Dara was the intermission music . .
.
     As the band came out, Trey talked a little bit,
telling the crowd how Page got really drunk the night
before at the Flats.  This got a great cheer out of
the crowd, and kind of fore-shadowed the Down With
Disease opener.  Starting with a long bass fuzz by
Mike, it was easy to guess.  This was a really solid
20 minute or so version of DWD.  I really enjoyed this
song, and really got my hopes up.  In the middle, Trey
started to tease a song, which sounded to me like VU's
Rock and Roll.  But I may be wrong since I won't be
getting my tapes for few more days.  But that didn't
go anywhere - just teases.
     Sample was kind of a let down, as I was hoping
for maybe a Piper coming out of the end of DWD.  But
it was a good Sample.  Kind of rocked, actually.
     Dirt was really well done, and is really one of
their more successful slower, emotional songs in my
opinion.
     Birds of a Feather really, really surprised me.
I did not expect to hear this, as they played it their
last show in Grand Rapids.  And although they rocked
pretty hard, and did a good job, I couldn't get over
that this was a repeat.  Disappointing . . .
     And at the beginning of Meat, I was not too
excited . . . but I my feelings would be proven wrong,
as this Meat is something to hear.  It followed a long
meeting by Trey and Page, and started off pretty
normal.  They played it pretty close to album version
before the first reprise, and had a brief pause.  They
kicked back into it, played a bit, and stopped for the
second time.  This time a bit longer pause . . . and
this happened two more times, each time getting
longer.  About the fourth time, a delay loop had
kicked in and they decided to take it out into a nice
jam.
     The delay loop continued after the song, and into
the opening notes of Harry Hood - although I was
excited, as always, to hear Hood, I realized this was
it.  I guess it was kind of predicable, with all of
the glow-sticks that were evident in the crowd.  The
Hood chants were really loud, and the pre-glow-stick
part was pulled off really well.  And as soon as the
quiet section began, Chris dimmed the lights and let
the glow-sticks go to work.  My first "war" was really
rather impressive - "like giant lightning bugs" my
girl-friend said.  It seemed as though most of the
tosses were going across the front of the stage, and
only one seemed to come close to the band, as it
sailed to the feet of Page.  Looked pretty controlled.
 I rather enjoyed it, actually, even tough I was
tense, hoping none would hit the band.  The set was
about 80 minutes or so . . .
     I was hoping for a unique encore - maybe a Curtis
Lowe break-out to respond to the balloon that made it
up onto the stage; maybe a Runaway Jim to acknowledge
the fan that ran from the back of the stage and jumped
feet first into the front row.  But a huge grin on my
face appeared at the beginning of Good Times Bad
Times.  Really well done version!  Especially Page's
vocals on the "I know what it feels to be alone!" -
great stuff! ; )

     All in all, a pretty average show.  Kind of
seemed like a Trey/rock god show.  Lot's of posing and
sollowing, on the Sloth, Antelope, DWD, BOAF, Good
Times Bad Times . . .  Interested to see what they
play these next two nights . . . they certainly left
room for some great songs and jamming, that is for
sure.  My itch certainly is not scratched.
     Highlights: It's Ice, Farmhouse, the "stage
diver", the Down With Disease jam, the Meat reprises,
and the encore.  If you are a tape collector, as I am,
I would possibly think of the second set . . . if you
have a tape sitting around.  I will be getting it from
Dave, I guess . . .
     Hopefully I will be seeing you in New York, if
Ticketmaster comes through . . .

jeremy

"The Sun never knew how wonderful it was,
 until it shown on the wall of a building."

      -L. Kahn


----------------


------------------------------

Date:    Thu, 3 Dec 1998 18:36:05 -0400
From:    Jonathan Shedletzky 
Subject: 11/13/98 Cleveland Hindsight.

What's up, y'all? I've recently just returned home to Toronto from a weekend excursion which included stops in Cleveland and Cincinatti. I saw both shows and would first like to present my thoughts about Cleveland. This was, in fact, my first show of 1998 as I was preoccupied all summer and couldn't make it to any shows. So, take that for what you will. Keep in mind, should you choose to read on, that Phish shows and Phish's music are purely subjective. What I like may, probably will, differ from what you may like. I love Phish! That is all that matters.


The setlist is as such:

11/13/98  CSU Convocation Center, Cleveland, OH

I: Chalkdust Torture, Wolfman's Brother, Roggae, Ginseng Sullivan, It's Ice, Cars Trucks & Buses,   Farmhouse, Water in The Sky, The Sloth, Antelope

II: Down With Disease > Sample, Dirt, Birds, Meat -> Jam > Harry Hood

E:Good Times Bad Times


THE SCENE:

Similar to that of last year, the scene in Cleveland was nice. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits in anticipation for the show. The layout of the small portion of city that surrounds the venue is such that there were several lots packed tight with people. A plethora of vending, of ALL sorts, serenaded you as you neared the Convocation Center. However, after the show, the scene became a little heated -- turned to Shakedown. A wave of cops took over and shut down all the vending. I saw a few arrests made.


THE VENUE:

Wonderfully small and cozy, however, the place to be is on the floor. Last year, down there, I was only feet in front of Fish with tons of space around me to groove. Unfortunately, we were stuck up in the stands. The sound is shit in the Conv Center. Mike was very prominent in the mix, and everyone was audible from my vantage point, however, I was subjected to an odd, intermittent high-pitched feedback for much of the 2nd set.


THE SHOW:

CHALKDUST -- This was a very appropriate opener. Cleveland is, of course, A city of rock 'n roll (there are many), so they stayed true to their roots by playing a rocking Chalkdust. It wasn't very jammy, but, for the short time that it did jam, it was enjoyable. The jam kind of teetered on the edge of being atonal and just loud. The result was an energetic beginning to the night, which seemed to set a common theme.


WOLFMAN'S -- I was very psyched to hear this tune in the 2nd song position. This is quite a natural placement for the song as it brings some jamming early. I didn't expect this Wolfman's to be a monster this early in the show, and it wasn't. The jam was a very pleasing, calm, serene sort of funk. A good blend of funk becoming space. It began quite funky with Mike slapping through the tune and first few moments of the jam. Myself and Stephen Chapnick both heard the jam begin to melt into a Sneaking Sally theme and anticipated a segue which inevitably never came. The jam subsided to a little bit of space -- maybe the Mind Left Body jam that some say they heard, although I didn't -- and faded out.


ROGGAE -- This tune works well following the funk of Wolfman's. This being my first time seeing the tune played live, I was interested to see what they'd do with it. The answer is...not much. It's a nice, chill song, but I was glad to see that they didn't try to extend it because the jam probably wouldn't have gone anywhere.


GINSENG -- This song is supposed to be becoming rare, yet it follows me to nearly every show I hit. I believe this is the first time played this tour. I didn't not enjoy it but I would have preferred many songs over it. It provided a quick increase of energy following a laid back Roggae.


IT'S ICE -- This was another first of the tour and a definite pleasure to see/hear. This, the first song of the night which truly exhibited Phish's compositional talents, was played extermely tight. It was captivating, yet I was disappointed by the middle section. I expected a jam or a segue at best, however, all there was was some noise which lingered for a couple minutes until they broke back into the song. I wasn't disappointed -- It's Ice is a treat to hear -- but was expecting a little more.


CARS TRUCKS AND BUSES -- Another first for the tour, and a treat to hear. It was very unexpected and added some more groove to the set. Page executed some funky solos while Trey accompanied him on the wah. It wasn't terribly long, unfortunately. I believe that it was cut short because some idiot ran up on stage from behind, dashed past Page and took a foot first death jump out into the GA crowd right in front of Page and Trey. Very soon after that they ended the song and I was left with somewhat of a sickened feeling because this dude probably hurt somebody on the way done. It ruined my vibe for a few minutes at least. To whoever that guy was; for a harmless, safe, creative way to express yourself see Naked Chick from 11/14 Cincinatti...


FARMHOUSE -- I was suffering from a little buzzkill as a result of the abrupt end to CTB so I honestly don't remember anything about this tune. I'm sure it was nice, though. It usually is pretty nice...Phish doing their Pavement impression, is how this song comes off to me.


H2O IN THE SKY -- I like the new arpeggiated version of this tune better than the original. It's the type of song that I enjoy now, and don't mind hearing live, but, should it be overplayed, I may get sick of it...


THE SLOTH -- Another nice breakout to beef up this first set. It was played very tightly and rocked thoroughly. I think songs like this and Spock's Brain can really go somewhere with the whole groove/funk deal that Phish has let seap throughout their repetoire. Sloth brought the energy back, which was necessary, and set the stage for the set closer....


ANTELOPE -- At the beginning of this tune it was clear that Antelope would close out the set. From what I can recall, this Antelope was pretty standard. It wasn't anything out-of-the-ordinary, but it definitely wasn't lame -- to put it simply, it was awesome just like any standard Antelope. Trey really brought the jam up to insane energy levels before bringing it down for a slow, funky Marco Esquandolas section. There were alternate lyrics for the Gearshift -- something like "Set the gearshirt for this side of the hole".


Overall, I thought that this was a very solid start to the weekend. It began beautifully with the Chalkdust and Wolfman's. I'd have to say that my highlights were the Wolfman's, It's Ice, and especially the hyped Sloth/Antelope closer. The only real weak spots I found were the Ginseng and one of CTB, Farmhouse, and H2O could have been replaced with something like the Meat From set II. At nearly 80 minutes, this was a solid set.


The second set:

DISEASE -- This jam was easily the highlight of the night. It, once again, served masterfully as the set opener. From what I recall, the jam was very intense, loud, and fast. They'd hit a peak or climax, if you will, and then quiet down regroup and build and release again. That was the focus of the jam, but what was really interesting was that, the few times the jam "chilled out", it was still insanely powerful and fast. The return to the Dw/D outro was executed flawlessly -- it seemed like it was played in double time. At 20 minutes, this Dw/D was hot! I don't recall very much specifically about the jam, however, it was probably the highlight of the entire weekend as I was truly lost in the jam. I think the tapes will prove that this Disease is better than I make it sound.


SAMPLE -- Buzzkill. Like Ginseng, Sample follows me to literally every other show that I attend. It's not a terribly bad song, but i'm just tired of it. It was short, as per usual.


DIRT -- I like this song because it's chill. But Dirt was placed terribly in this set. There was no real need to cool down, and Dirt merely took away From a set that had some jamming potential. Set the stage for.....


BIRDS OF A FEATHER -- I don't hate this tune because it's now their single.....in fact, I've never even heard it on the radio. But, this being the 2nd night in a row that they played it, I was not psyched to hear it. I even recall grasping my head with both hands, looking at my friends, and asking "What are they doing?". Truth be told, I've never liked this song since the first time I heard it. Some respect to the jam must be given, though. It was akin to that of the Chalkdust but definitely crossed the line from being loud to dissonant.


MEAT -- I like this song alot. It is my favourite of the new songs debuted this summer and immortalized on SOTG. It's funk and rhythm are simply intoxicating. This version was the best out of the meager number that I have heard, although, it's placement was quite weak. We needed some jams thrown in to make this a true 2nd set. The stop/start ending stopped stopping after a few times and subsided to a spacy, funky jam laden with DDL and other effects. After a seemingly short jam, Meat melted into.....


HOOD -- I was very glad to hear this tune, as it somewhat salvaged an otherwise sketchy set. However, this is why I am not fond of glowsticks. As per usual, the glowsticks emerged at the beginning of the jam. Maybe because of the lack of attention being payed to the music, or due to the numerous fluorescent flying in the band's direction, the beginning of the jam seemed rushed. To me, this took away from the entire jam as the slow build is the trademark of Hood. I'm not sure about times of this Hood, but it seemed short to me. Yes, the glowsticks look cool (from an elevated vantage point, when I squint, it looks like stars hopping from one point to te next....like that motorized game "Bed Bugs") but the music is the focus of a Phish show, no?


I was disappointed with this set, as I'm sure a lot of people were. I was expecting jams. The first set almost had more jams than the second. This set started off ideally with an insane Disease which I think you should check out. The Sample was a buzzkill for me. Dirt was poorly place. Meat, although quite cool, was oddly placed. The Hood was rushed. I prefer the first set to the second.


Encore:

GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES -- Being that we were in A city of rock and/or roll, GTBT was an appropriate closer. I was foolishly expecting a sick jam to make up for the lack thereof in set II -- like a single-song YEM encore -- but it didn't come. They extended this tune a bit.


Overall, I was not disappointed with this show as a whole. In fact, I'm never truly disappointed by a show. Yes, I am critical, but I'd hate to be so anal to leave a show feeling cheated out of $44 Canadian. Phish is therapeutic whatever they play. I had a great time, but this is obviously not one of their better shows.


Nevertheless, I want to hear it again. So, if you can kindly hook a brother up with these tapes, I would be eternally grateful. Should you hook me up, I'd be more than willing to offer my copies up for a mass b & p deal.


Thanks kindly. Peace.



-------

11/13/98 - CSU Conv Center, Cleveland, OH


Cleveland  11-13-98

For some reason, the whole day i was expecting this show to be awesome.
I had a very good vibe, the weather was nice, I met some great people on
the way...just good vibes.  CSU is a nice place, fairly small....nice.
For the first set, the security sucked.  They would not let us stand in
the aisles for anything.  Everytime you would go there, they were on
your ass like vultures, never letting up.  Finally I got away and was
able to watch the set in peace starting with the middle of CT&B.. Before
that I was constantly moving because the security kept hassling me.  I
hate to move at shows....ok, anyways, at the middle of CT&B I was
finally able to watch in peace.  What a great set...ice was a treat,
CT&B was ok, Farmhouse was great, i really love that tune......Sloth was
a treat, first time Ive heard that one live....Antelope was just killer,
very intense   "Set the gearshift for this side of the Hole" was the
line tonite...it was a great set except for the security not letting me
really get into the first half of the set.

Set 2- A great set, I figured there would be a four song lon-jammed set,  
but it was very nice.  trey was teasing around w/the sound man when they
came out. (not paul, but the guy who is on the side of the stage).  mike
said that paul should keep a light on the guy the whole set.  DWD to
start was great, this being the second time ive seen it out of 14 shows
was nice.  very jammed for about 15 or so minutes.  the jam definitely
got away from DWD standard jam for a while...it was incredible. Then
right into Sample, I really like this tune, was happy to hear it.  Dirt
was a good little ret brake, very flawless and beautiful.  I love this
tune. I wasn't expecting BOAF tonite, i figured we'd get it in
Cincinatti, but they busted it out tonite, and although I was kinda
unhappy w/it at first..they suprised me.  They definitely got away from
the Standard Birds jam and were exploring for a while, it was very
phat.   definitely best version ive heard.  Meat was great, i love this
tune so much live.  they did the pauses for a while there, but at one
point, the stopped, did some delay loops for about 5 minutes.  I was
expecting(and hoping) for a 2001, but they kicked right back into the
duh duh duh duh  MEAT again...very nice.  This time though, they jammed  
on meat for about 5 minutes, it was sweet then flowed into HOOD.  Wow, I
was so happy, but i knew this would end the set.  An awesome hood, i
obly saw three glowsticks get on stage i was happy about that.  But i
saw one fly right at pages head and right it was gonna hit him, he
flenched hard and swatted it away.  That really sucks that some people
are stupid enough to throw them at the band.  Anyway, good set, very
solid.  Then GTBT for an encore was great, very nice rock n roll
ending.  Al in all, excellent show, I headed off to cincinatti very
happy and excited for next night's show.

Marcus     Reynermb@miavx1.muohio.edu             



There was a full Highway to Hell rendition/tease in the middle of DWD,
played to the beat of the jam they were in without guitar distortion and
again before going into Sample.
Also at both Cleveland and Cinncinatti the same guy ran across the
stage, but was tackled behind Fishman at The Crown.

Alex Taner





This review is coming from a very different place than the others you
have posted here, but I thought you just might enjoy a different perspective...

I'm a 44-year-old, long-time rock & roll fan and former rock musician
(I had an original rock band here in Clevo from the late seventies to 1987).

I still love music, and try to go to at least a few shows a year -- not
so easy when you're in the work machine and have two little mouths to feed.
But I've seen some great ones, including REM, Smashing Pumpkins, OASIS,
etc. in the last few years. Always the grayest one, but what the fuck.

Well, 'bout three years ago, i started reading about this band called
Phish. Never heard a note -- they don't get played on radio here and I
don't listen to radio anyway, because it sucks so bad. But something
sounded awfully intriguing about them, so when I heard an announcement
a few months ago that they were coming here, i immediately bought a couple
of tickets, and purposefully avoided hearing any of their stuff so i'd
walk in a phish "virgin."

Well.

It was quite a scene. It started in the parking lot... It looked awfully
familiar to me, as a former flaming hippie and a veteran of a few dead
concerts (though i was never a big fan; i'll get to that in a minute).

The vibe was peaceful, real and YOUNG: it seemed that virtually everyone
was well under thirty, and many were teens. I figured it would be
old deadheads, but no: these were beautiful young people living something
that was strictly their own -- no geezers to be seen, 'cept me and my bud.

We had some smoke and bought some beers in the lot, and chatted with
the kids. I knew we were in for something good, even if it was only
a cultural experience.

We got to our seats, and continued to be overwhelmed at the beauty and
integrity of the kids we were now surrounded by. (Many politely asked us
why we were there, & seemed very proud of the scene they had wrought.)

So phish comes out, and proceeds to absolutely destroy us for the next
three and a half hours. I won't recount the set list because I couldn't
if I wanted to; I'll leave that up to all the true believers out there.

But the simple fact is that this band could only be described as somewhere
at the intersection of YES and The Allman Brothers, and were TEN times
as good as the dead ever were, even on their best nights. (OK, that's an
exaggeration, but I mean it: The dead NEVER played with this kind of polish
and precision. For every good show, there were five very mediocre
ones.) The sound was perfect at EVERY spot in the auditorium

I can tell you that they concluded an unbelievable night with GOOD TIMES,
BAD TIMES, from the first Led Zep album -- a classic piece of brit-boy
blues that they carried off with aplomb.

It was an unbelievable experience for a middle-aged guy to travel back
in time to another era -- and see the band get it right!

Wow. I'm not sure I'll run out and start buying phish records,
but I will NEVER pass up an opportunity to see this band again.

Thanks, kids!

Oh -- and the weed was great, too!

Paul from Cleveland (pjoseph@stratos.net)


THE TRIP:  My travelmates and I (Doug, Josh, and Patty) planned to leave 
Rochester, NY at 1pm.  We got to Doug's house and were ready to leave, and
to just make sure, he asked me if I had remembered the tickets.  Needless
to say, we ended up leaving at 1:45pm, thanks to my steel-trap mind.

The trip to Cleveland was enjoyable, as we speculated on what they might
play, talked about past show memories, and listened to live music.  If
memory serves me, we listened to moe. from 1/97, Dead 5/8/77 set 2, and
then, as the shotgun DJ, I whipped out 2/17/97 set 1...the best part of
the trip.  As Phish played Divided Sky after a grooving Marley cover, I
noticed that right as they sang the chant, the dashboard clock turned to
4:20, and so we took part in the relevant libations.  As we entered our
post-4:20 haze, the sun was starting towards dusk, and as Trey's guitar
wailed out the closing jam, the overcast skies parted just enough for the
gorgeous, neon-red sunset to make itself visible.

We were going to stay at my friend DT's place, but he had told me on
Wednesday that he and his girlfriend were going home to New York, leaving
us without a place to stay.  Josh had called a hotel near the Convocation
Center, and had booked a room for two (that the four of us would all stay
in) that cost us only $100 (down from $170) as a special.  Not only did
the hotel end up being only one block from the venue, but it was probably
one of the Ritz-iest place I'd ever stayed at.  We arrived at around 6:30,
and decided to just check in, bring in our bags, go "bowl"ing, and head
out to the lots.

LOT SCENE:  The lot scene was sparsely distributed, but in one section,
you could pretty much get whatever you were seeking; in the fifteen
minutes I walked around, I saw glass, sweaters, grilled cheese, veggie
burritos, pizza, shirts, nugs, and that's only what I can recall.  Doug
and I bought some decent French bread pizza.

On the way to the venue, we bumped into our friend TJ, who hadn't been
able to score a ticket (I guess he figured it wouldn't sell out, but
eventually, it sold out on Thursday).  After speaking with him and finding
some gooballs, we entered the venue.

PRE-SHOW:  Aesthetically, the CSU Convocation Center reminds me a lot of
Rochester's War Memorial.  However, unlike the mild security in Rochester,
the CSU Center had almost no security whatsoever, and the security guards
I talked to were very mild-mannered.  When Doug and I had noticed that
near one exit, people were freely smoking (tobacco, that is), we asked the
nearby guard if there were any other sections around the concourse.  He
told us no, because it wasn't an official smoking area to begin with; he
was just "being cool".  If that isn't laid back, I don't know what is.

When we got to our seats, we were initially disappointed; we had gotten
the very last row, on Fish's side, around the middle of the arena (center
ice for a hockey game).  However, we soon came to realize that we were
around the same height as we had been for the Holiday Run in '96 at the
Fleet Center, and those had been middle-section "VIP" seats.  Plus, we had
an enourmous area to dance; around two-and-a-half seats for each of us.

SET ONE:  Chalkdust Torture, Wolfman's Brother, Roggae, Ginseng Sullivan,
          It's Ice, Cars Trucks Buses, This Is A Farmhouse, The Sloth, 
          Run Like An Antelope

CHALKDUST TORTURE:  I really can't complain about a Chalkdust opener; in
my opinion, it works so much better as an opener than it does a set
closer.  It's just pure, high-energy, adrenalized rock and roll.  This
version was error-free, and if I remember, the jam reached its usual
allotment of tension buildups and releases.

WOLFMAN'S BROTHER:  When the first notes rang out, I was very excited in
light of the unbelievable Halloween version I had seen on the webcast, but
I knew not to expect every version to explore that huge range.  It was not
far off, though.  What started out as a very tight funk jam loosened up
and got into that textured, spacey groove that I really love.  I read on
r.m.p. that there was a "Mind Left Body" jam somewhere in there, and
although I hadn't noticed it, I don't doubt it.  As it finally died down
after 20 minutes, I was thoroughly satisfied; a very impressive version.
Not as good as 8/16/97 Great Went, 11/30/97 Worcester, or 10/31/98 Vegas,
but I think it'll receive its fair share of support in time.

ROGGAE:  Yes!  My favorite of the '98 debuts, I think this song has so
much jamming potential.  Even though its pace is pretty slow for a jam,
they could really space it out if they want.  A flub-free version which I
think was tighter than either of the others (8/12/98 Vernon, 8/15/98
Lemonwheel) I have seen.

GINSENG SULLIVAN:  I can't remember if this is the song Mike flubbed some
lyrics; looking at the setlist, it appears as if this would be it.
However, minor flubs usually do not bother me.  I find that it even can
add character to the particular version.  Regardless, this is one of my
favorite bluegrass songs Phish performs.

IT'S ICE:  My first time seeing this one.  Doug had called it before the
show, although he had called around ten others and had only gotten this
one correct!  The little Fishman dance during the piano/guitar riff after
the beginning lyrics was hilarious, as Fish stood on his stool and twisted
to the music.  The middle jamming had some serious space in the middle,
and because of the past two versions where they inserted Swept Away-Steep
and Lengthwise, I was convinced they would go into something.  Eventually
though, they just went into the end.  A very nice performance.

CARS TRUCKS BUSES:  This set was beginning to look more like a song
showcase and less like a jamfest, but isn't that what first sets are for?
CTB was very nicely done with nothing really of note.

THIS IS A FARMHOUSE:  I'm calling this one by its apparent full title, in
light of Page's comments in the Phish Book and Trey's banter at Farm Aid.
Very psyched to see this for the first time.  The ending jam is some of
Trey's finest soloing in a non-jamming song.  Again, flub-free if I can
recall.

THE SLOTH:  Not quite flub-free, but again, sometimes that works for the
better in my eyes (or is it ears?).  When Trey had brutalized his part
between the first and second verses, he hilariously sang the next line
"That sounded bad" instead of "He's so bad".  When they quickly improvise
like this, I think it represents Phish at its best; they never take
anything too seriously, and they compensate for any faults with ease.

RUN LIKE AN ANTELOPE:  Aaaahhh, my very favorite song to close any set
(with Slave a close second).  Previously, my favorite version I'd seen was
4/3/98 Nassau because of the sheer fun of the "Carini's gonna getcha"
improv, but musically, this one takes the cake.  It had been real solid
leading up to the little guitar riff Trey usually does right before the
ending section, but all of the sudden, Trey (I think) screamed excitedly
into the mic, and they ended up shifting gears again, stepping it up into
the most energized version I have heard.  Pure adrenaline.  This is also
notable for the changed lyric; instead of "... for the high gear of your
soul", Trey sang what sounded like "... for the center of the hole".

Overall, set one was very enjoyable, with the highlights being Wolfman's
and Antelope, and without any real lowlights.  I hate grading music, but
to conform, I'd give it a 6.0 out of 10, with 5 being a solid,
unspectacular set.

SET TWO:  Down With Disease, Sample in A Jar, Dirt, Birds Of A Feather,
          Meat- Harry Hood

DOWN WITH DISEASE:  As they went into the aquaspace beginning for DWD, I
felt just a small twinge of disappointment.  Out of fourteen shows, I had
now seen it seven times.  However, I don't think I have ever seen a bad
one, so with that streak, I hadn't minded so much.  And let me tell you,
that streak is still going strong.  This may have been the best of those
seven.  Right out of the bat, very much like the Antelope, it was pure
adrenaline, and did not relent for at least five minutes of hard rocking.
After a while, they slowed it down into an interesting little funk, but
the rock and roll elements were still very much present.  This jam led
into textured space, which built and built, until it exploded into the
ending riff and lyrics.  I was literally drenched in sweat when the song
had finally ended some twenty minutes into the set.

SAMPLE IN A JAR:  Always trying to look at Phish's music in a critical,
yet positive mindset, I thought to myself that if they were going to put
this song in the second set, this was probably the best spot.  After an
unrelenting rollercoaster of an opener, Sample let the crowd breathe,
while still maintaining most of the energy DWD created.

DIRT:  While I do hold Dirt as one of my favorite Phish mini-ballads, this
was curios placement.  After Sample, I had expected the meat of the set to
commence.  Just not the best timing for this song, although it was
flawless.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER:  After Sample and Dirt, I could not hold back an
eye-roll as Birds started.  While I had been blessed to have seen its
magical debut (4/3/98 Nassau), I had felt that by the time I had seen it
four-plus months later at the Lemonwheel, the energy and creativity of
this once-promising song had been sucked out.  I was pleasantly surprised
when they actually let the song open after closing it up neatly for the
summer; this version ended up being almost as exhilerating as the debut.
However, I enjoyed this version even more so than Nassau.  Why?  One word:
Toph.  I had heard that Chris had been real fucking hot this tour, and
whoever had said that was damned right.  Chris must be the absolute best
light engineer/designer/etc. in history.  Even though the band has said
that Chris influences their improv like a fifth member, until this show,
and especially in this song, I hadn't really noticed it before.  I have
never seen Chris as on as he was in this song; for those who were there,
that green, red, and yellow pattern he had on the side crowds was
unfuckingbelievable.

MEAT:  Love this tune.  I respectfully disagree with Charlie Dirksen's
opinion that they have to speed this one up, although I wouldn't be
adverse to it.  I think at either speed, it is Phish's best James Brown
impersonation.  Anyway, this version may have been the most jammed a Meat
has ever been.  The first two times they stop/started, it was the standard
stop for 10 seconds and then start 'er up again fakeout.  After the third
time, they started getting real spacey, with Trey getting delay after
delay -- I think I read somewhere that he had FOUR delay loops going
on simultaneously -- and it sounded like 2001 or Bowie would start up.
The space had to last for at least 5 minutes, and then lo and behold, they
went back into Meat!  As if that weren't enough, they started jamming out
this fourth run through of the closing, and several minutes later, Fish
belted out the start of...

HARRY HOOD:  Lately, I've been real cynical about Hoods, probably due to
the not-at-all predictable glowstick wars associated with them .
The intro was really excellent -- Page's little part was done with some
real spacey synth work, and there was other heavy improv that I can't
recall.  Smooth and flub free leading to the jam, and then the glowsticks
came out.  Thankfully, only around 4 or 5 reached the stage, at least one
hitting Page and another hitting a mic and causing a god-awful noise.
This time, however, the war stopped less than halfway through the jam, and
I got to see Toph in action on this tune for the first time since New
Years '96.  Really nice build up to the final verse, and then then bowed,
ending around 70 minutes after they came out from setbreak.

Set two was interesting if anything.  The setlist was a little lacking,
but they damned well did the most they could do with it.  A major
highlight was the DWD, and if you are a fan of this tune, I suggest
picking this one up on tape.  Birds gained most of what it lost since the
Island Tour, Harry was solid, and Meat may have very well broken out of
its shell.  Once again, I reluctanly will grade this one, and I'll give it
a 6.5 for taking each song to the limit.

ENCORE:  Good Times Bad Times

GOOD TIMES BAD TIMES:  Being a Zeppelin fan, I always have loved Phish's
version of this one, since the studio version fades out during the last
lyrics.  This version was similar to the opening Chalkdust; high octane,
nothing too noteworthy, but it made for a nice tune to end the night.
What the hell, I'll give it a 6.0, making the show a 6.2 (my little
formula, making each set twice as significant as the encore).

Definitely not one of the best shows I've been to, but I've been extremely
lucky, so in no way does that detract from this show.  This is surely one
of the most energized shows, and goddamn was Toph hot this night!  I'll be
getting CD1's of this show soon, so I may offer a B&P as soon as I have
time (overloading by four credits is a bitch and a half).

Peace and happy phishing,
Brian Levine


Well this was my only show of the fall tour, so basically it had to
count in my books. Didn't take much of the lot scene in, so I can't
really comment. Venue is nice and comfy, although kind of bland. Our
seats sucked (behind the stage, Fishman's side, second level). I'd never
seen a show from back there, and but to tell you the truth, I really
enjoyed it. It was cool to see them from a different angle. In any case,
I had an amazing time. I saw the last eight shows of the summer tour,
and I had as much fun at this show as at Merriwhether and StarLake
(where I had the best times in August). I don't care how "good" the show
actually is, just if I'm having fun or not. I will however be objective
with this review.
First set: Chalkdust was a solid opener. It rocked hard and Trey hit
some nice tension/release moments pretty much right on. The last drive
right before they go into that post-solo section right before the lyrics
kick back in was impressive. I was definately very happy.
Wolfman's followed it up. I was expecting to hear this as it hadn't been
played since Vegas. They jammed nicely on it. Although it seemed to be
headed towards some very funky territory, before it got too thck, they
headed towards more rockin' territory. Trey worked on a theme for a
while that was quite distinctive.
Roggae was a nice breather, and definately one of my favourite new
songs. I love the lyrics, especially the "I can't forget to turn the
earth so both sides get their share of darkness and of light" line. The
power chords are also wonderful. I can't really say if this was an
outstanding version or not, but I loved it.
Ginseng is always welcome. This is my favourite bluegrass tune, and
considering I had a taken a whole lot of ginseng before the show, quite
appropriate (that was the only thing I'd taken, btw.)
It's Ice I hadn't seen in quite some time and a great tune.
Unfortunately, the mix of the sound where I was wasn't the best, and I
had trouble hearing Mike and Page, which for It's Ice, sucks because
Mike's bass line is so good. The jam in the middle got very scary, and I
was almost expecting them to go into some Floyd. But the bust back into
It's Ice was great. They nailed it. Some guy ran out from behind the
stage and jumped into the GA floor. Crowd liked it I guess, although I
hope no one was hurt. Didn't seem like the right time to do something
like that to me (I would have waited for the Antelope).
CTB is a great song, but for some reason, I never really get into it at
shows (except at 10.16.96 where it made an amazing opener). I do
remember Trey doing some really nice rhythmic work on his axe though.
Farmhouse was awesome. I love this song. Everything about it. This was
solid solid version, with a very nice solo by Trey.
Water in the Sky was alright, but not a great placement. I definately
like the new version more. I didn't think it worked that well as a
straight bluegrass tune, but with descendos by Page at the beginning and
Fish's use of the cowbell, its got some energy that I think can work
well live.
In any case, they followed up with Sloth. Great tune and somewhat of a
rarity, it was the rocker I needed. Trey flubbed it at the begining when
Page usually takes his groovy little solo (he played his atonal section
instead.) They got it together in the middle and it was full on rockin
by the end.
Dankelope to close the set. Sah-Weet!!!! My friend Tait hasn't been to
too many shows and never experienced the power of a good Antelope. I had
been telling him about it before the show and he was pretty psyched when
it started up. When they busted into the jam, he nearly lost his shit.
So did I. I threw down during this tune like never before. When Chris
lit up the seats behind the stage, things got really intense for me.
Trey said something different for part of the lyrics (I can't remember
which lyric). Anyways, a solid Antelope. The chill part was drawn out a
little, which I always like, and they nailed the end.

Set break came and I was in a daze. I really had a blast throughout the
set and danced my ass off. I know however it wasn't the best set I've
ever seen. Started strong, ended strong, but lagged in the middle.
Farmhouse was awesome though.

Second set:
DWD: Amazing. Musical highlight of the night in my opinion. After some
really strong DWD-style jamming, Trey started to strum some chords that
just epitomized rock and roll, imo. It was amazing. The rest of the boys
followed suit and a very strong jammed based on those chords ensued.
Trey eventually started towards a climax of sorts and when he peaked, he
went right into the DWD solo again to end it off. Very nice. Very very
nice.
Sample is a song I don't really like, but always enjoy at a show. Its a
rocker and a good one. Good energy, good everything.
Dirt is in the same class of song as Roggae and Farmhouse for me. Just
beautiful and I love it. I am really happy they played this because I
hadn't seen it in a while.
BOAF: Wasn't expecting this in the middle of the 2nd, but why not, eh?
Trey's solo was intense. I think they left the BOAF territory for a
while and ventured into Maze/Stash/Timber style jamming for a while. The
lights on the crowd during this looked amazing. When they started
singing the chorus at the end, Trey wouldn't let his solo die. It was
great.
Meat: By this point, I knew there wasn't going to be another big jam
song. Little did I know that Meat would take that role. Great tune and
the funk they went into was great. Nice digi delay loops from Trey (I
love the loops and wish he'd use them more again). The rhythm is so
strong in this one, it was still in my head when they started up...
Hood: Called this one. Good opening section, with the loops still
going!! Small glow stick war at the beginning of the jam with only one
or two at the beginning going towards the stage. Chris brought up the
lights soon enough, killing the war, which I really liked because then
the focus was on the music again. Trey had a very nice run right before
they went into the "good about hood" finale.
Enc: GTBT: Very strong version, with Trey not letting the solo stray too
far out (which I find happens more often then not when he wants to
create tension, but just can't seem to get it back). This version rocked
straight forward.

Second set left me obliterated. I again had a wicked time. DWD was
amazing and different from most I've seen, BOAF was longer than most and
slightly different, and Meat was a solid funkfest. Objectively, could
have used one more really big type II jam, although I'm probably being
picky.

In comparison to the summer shows I saw, this one wasn't quite up to
par, although it did have some really solid moments. Nonetheless, I had
an amazing time (I know I'm repeating myself, but I've been all smiles
since last night. I love it when a show leaves me like that for a
while).
Hoping to see a least one of the MSG shows,
Mathias





Worst show of 1998, look no further than last night in Cleveland.
A very deceiving venue, looks new and fairly intimate without the
imposing third tier of seats I've become accustomed to the past couple
of fall tours (which are thankfully sparse this tour), however the sound
towards the back was very low, and had that annoying echoe heard in the 
more cavernous venues (ever been to the Bryce Jordan Center). So the
band already had that going against them.
  Now don't get me wrong,  I've seen this band many times, and am a
stern believer that nobody has a better thing going anywhere in music
today.  They take me places musically that I didn't think were possible
to go.  However, some nights, and it is only once in a great while, they
just don't have it.  Even though an off night for Phish is a career
night for most other bands, they are under such a microscope with their
own fans, that anything short of an epiphany is viewed as sub-par, and
last night was one of those nights.  
  They started off with a pretty good Chalkdust, and a Wolfman's with
another impressive jam, but from there things just went south.  They
just weren't clicking on songs like Roggae, I'ts Ice, Farmhouse (listen
to 11/7 Chicago for the best version to date of this song), and even
Antelope, which never got to it's peak in the jam portion.  Trey also
seemed to be a step off everyone else during The Sloth.
  Set II started with a very rushed DWD, or at least the lyrics were. 
The jam was awesome, and segued into a now somewhat rare Sample (love it
or hate it, you know you got the chills the first time you heard it
live).  Then Birds of a Feather reared it's ugly head for the second
fucking night in a row.  This version never took off.  Meat followed,
with it's awesome funky sound but got very sporadic towards the end
(once again Trey a little off the rest of the band), then segued into
Harry Hood. Unfortunately, Mr. Hood failed miserably in his attempt to
save this already sunken ship known as 11/13/98. 
  What's a better way to finish a show like that than with Good
Times/Bad Times.  This one wasn't so good, and maybe the band knew it
themselves.  One thing you can't forget though..They play again tonight!





I was pretty pumped for this show, having not seen one  since Star Lake
this summer.
The crowd seemed pretty excited and when the band came on and kicked
into a ripping Chalkdust the energy was running high. Wolfman's followed
and I have to admit that this is one of those songs that, when it
starts, doesn't really make me too excited to hear it. But, as with
other Wolfman's I've heard (like the one at Star Lake), this one took
off in the jam. They kicked out a funky jam for a while, which I enjoyed
a good deal and then something happened that I didn't expect at all:the
Mind Left Body jam. This was not a tease, quote, hint, or otherwise
undeveloped stab at the MLB; this was full-blown and awesome. I couldn't
believe it. It was definitley one of the highlights of the show.
I figured that after an awesome jam like that they would probably play
something from the new album, and it  was Roggae. This song was pretty
cool and they did a nice jam in it. I especially liked the end where
everybody sings their lines at the same time. Ginseng was Ginseng, fun
but the same as every other Ginseng. It's Ice was next. I didn't think
I'd hear this and was pretty impressed by it. They got really spacy and
out there in the middle, after which they brought it back in to the
chorus smoothly.  CTB had Page in good form (as always) and Farmhouse
had a bit of a No Woman No Cry feel to it (Everything's gonna be
alright, never ever had a clusterfly). Water in the Sky is in the same
category as Ginseng and Sloth is always good to hear. Then came
Antelope. Long and jammed, they did it really well. They didn't seem to
rushed to get to the end, either. Gradually they built and built and
built until it was absolutely screaming. It was really smoking and this
song is still, in my opinion, the best first set closer in the Phish
repetoire.
From its spacy beginnings I could tell that DWD would open the second
set. They seemed to be excited to get to the jam and, like the one at
Star Lake, took to the verses at high-speed. The jam was really good
with lots of high intensity and energy. The crowd was just eating it up.
They did a jam over the DWD riff that morphed into another jam, all of
which really rocked. Unfortunately they felt Sample was a good follow-up
to this awesome jam. Oh well. Not that Sample's a bad song, it's a fun
sing-along and all that, but it just doesn't belong after an awesome jam
like that after DWD (they did the same thing at Star Lake over the
summer:after an awesome Maze which should have closed the first set Trey
started right into Sample which got an apreciative cheer from a good
portion of the crowd. I'm glad somebody liked it). Dirt on the other
hand is a song that, while mellow, is still really cool. I really dig
Trey's solo, even if it is the same everytime. It's got a lot of feeling
in it and the words actually have meaning, which is quite an
accomplishment for Phish if you ask me.I was glad they played this at
CSU.
Birds of a Feather was not one of my favorite songs prior to this show,
but the CSU version changed my opinion. They really went out there.
This, the subsequent Meat,   and the Farmhouse and Roggae in the first
set  really impressed me, as they all showd that Phish can still write
good tunes that have good potential for jamming. At CSU on Friday night
Phish proved that to me. To top it all off, they gave everyone at the
show a great gift: Hood. This is the best show closer Phish has (and one
of the best songs they have) and this version didn't slack at all. The
opening was cool as Fishman toyed around with the rhythms a little, the
weird-time part was a melodic as ever, the heavy-metal part kicked us
all in the ass and the ending jam was, well, soothing, calming,
energizing, grooving, moving, jamming, everything that makes that jam
what it is, everything that makes the song what it is. I don't care if
the glowsticks are expected, theyr'e still damn cool. After this, as
with every version of Harry Hood I've heard, I felt really good about
Hood. A Good Times Bad Times encore was your typical rock'n'roll reading
of this song, with Page wailing away and everyone in the whole
Convocation Center generally rocking out.
All in all a good show. Granted there was that Sample, but there was
also that Wolfman's (particularly the MLB jam), that Antelope, that DWD,
that Birds, that Meat (probably my favorite of the new songs), and, of
course, that Hood. I left Cleveland that night feeling pretty good...





I just got back from the Ohio shows, so here is my Cleveland review. 
First off the scene.  It was crazy.  There were many tour rats who were
extremely disrespectful.  The town got trashed.
        Now to the show.
CHALKDUST-Surprised by this to open.  I thought it would be something a
little crazier.  It was good, though. Trey was rocking.
WOLFMAN'S-Another semistandered tune that caught me off gaurd.  The funk
came as expected.  The post lyrics jam was wonderful.  There was a
beautiful mind left body jam for two or three minutes.  They stopped the
jam, paused, and
ROGGAE-odd placement but once again Trey was on.  He was throwing odd
cords in left and right.
IT'S ICE-wow!!!what can I say.  This was amazing.  At one point Chris
had these purple lights on the stage and all of a sudden he had one
white light on Fish, who was standing on his seat doing this crazy
dance.  The song got way out there, with Fish throwing in great fillers.
I thought they were taking it into another song, but they brought it
back.
CT&B-Two Page tunes in a row!!  He delivered here.  His solo was intense
and longgggggggggggggg.  Superb.
FARMHOUSE-My first one live, but I've heard all of them on tape.  By
far, the best version played to date.  The jam was very long and
inspired.
H2O IN THE SKY-More Page, great placement.  Thought setbreak was coming,
but..
SLOTH-Great with no flubbed lyrics.  Rocked hard.  Set Break?  NO!!
ANTELOPE-Are you shitting me?  It amazes me that they still find ways to
improve this tune.  This version was even better than Nassau.  Trey
brought this to a peak almost two dozen times.  Mike had a nice solo. 
Fishman was all over.  Trey changed the lyrics to "Set the gearshift for
this side of the hole."  Trey and Mike both hit a nice effect peddle at
the point where they say spike.  It sounded like someone hammering a
metal spike.
Set I: Started slow, but ended great.  I give it a 7 1/2.  Highlights
include Ice, CTB, Farmhouse, Sloth, Antelope

DWD-classic Mike spacey intro.  I was thinking 2001 would start this
show so I was a little disapointed.  The post lyrics jam was dripping
with energy and guitar.  They eventually brought it back around and it
faded into
SAMPLE-this dissapointed many, but I liked the placement.  Nice Trey
solo.
DIRT-i love the emotion Trey pours into this tune, but I didnt like
where it was in the middle of the set.
BIRDS-I figured we would get this, but it was very blah.  The solo was
well boring.  It just was not happening.  
MEAT-So glad to here this.  Mike delivered the funk, while Fish held the
beat.  Lots of pauses.  It ended up in a long delay funk groove, by far
the longest version of this song played.  I love the funk.
HOOD-Such mixed emotions.  I love this song, but I knew that the glow
war was inevitable.  The lights dimmed and the idiots started.  The
crowd got so loud the jam was not to be heard.  I was surrounded by
people screaming and cheering at the sticks.  Down with glowsticks. 
Page got hit twice.  The tune itself was great with the beautiful build
up that sent me to THAT level.
encore: GTBT-Same placement as usual, but well jammed.  I was very happy
walking out with Page stuck in my head.  I know what it means to be
alone!!!!!!!!!!!
Set II: Like first set, it started slow but picked up.  Highlights
include DWD, Meat, Hood.  Give overall set 6 1/2.

Overall show: 7, no make it a 9.  It was my anniversery so it made it
that much better for me.



first of all i think CSU is one of the best places to see a show.  one
of the coziest rooms on fall tour. alot of space inside, huge hallways,
large platforms to boggie down and not to mention the most bathrooms i
have ever seen, anyone been to worcester know what a pain in the ass it
is to have a dozed urinals in the whole building.

disease smoked---great job by chris on the lights
wolfman rocked, the funk never stopped and the crowd was hypmotized by
mikes bass, which has really come into its own this tour.  over all
though this show rocked

prem





 Just came from Cleveland, very good show, but slightly disappointed by the length of the second set.  This show though
had a whole other feel in itself.  From the opening note of Funky Bitch I knew this show was going to be special - as did the
rest of the very energetic crowd.  The band's intensity level, which came to fruition in mid-last night, had carried over and
had taken control of The Crown.  Every song played, whether you are not even interested in hearing a certain song, was
jammed to the fullest capacity - in tradition of such shows as Red Rocks '94 type energy level - they were on and they knew
it.  Stand outs of the first set include the ever expanding and evolving Reba, which was taken to another realm.  An
anticipated Tweezer led into a phunky ass Moma which gave even the security people a little funk to their step.  The climax
of the set came in the tail ends of Sparkle, jammed faster than you can imagine - which took us into the most powerful
Character I've ever experienced.  The entire Arena was bouncing as Trey jumped around in ecstasy. 
    As the set break came to a close a naked woman appeared in the crowed behind the stage.  She stood her ground to the
cheers of the crowd by lying in the isle, finally to be escorted out by the police.  Moments later Bowie rang out the opening
notes for what was the craziest set ever.  Something in the Way - oh yes - enough said.  Every song was hyper-extended
with intense organized chaos.  After Guyute, Trey nearly dropped his guitar and ran for the drums and seemed so psyched
to be behind the set again; they all were just having a great time.  Just when you thought they might end the set, they start
YEM (always nice) took that on for another wild ride into a solid Julius.  Again everyone thinks its over, but to mix it up
even more they go acapella for Ragtime.  The tightest set came to a smooth halt in classic style.  Before the encore the sheet
music came out - practically injecting the crowd with adrenaline.  A sweet treat, So Lonely rocked this crowd into a Reprise
closer which defined the level of this show. 
    Great time in a great trip - one to remember. 

- Alex Taner, with inspiration from Greg (also at the show) Cohen. 
Syracuse University 


Worst show of 1998, look no further than last night in Cleveland.
A very deceiving venue, looks new and fairly intimate without the
imposing third tier of seats I've become accustomed to the past couple
of fall tours (which are thankfully sparse this tour), however the sound
towards the back was very low, and had that annoying echoe heard in the 
more cavernous venues (ever been to the Bryce Jordan Center). So the
band already had that going against them.
  Now don't get me wrong,  I've seen this band many times, and am a
stern believer that nobody has a better thing going anywhere in music
today.  They take me places musically that I didn't think were possible
to go.  However, some nights, and it is only once in a great while, they
just don't have it.  Even though an off night for Phish is a career
night for most other bands, they are under such a microscope with their
own fans, that anything short of an epiphany is viewed as sub-par, and
last night was one of those nights.  
  They started off with a pretty good Chalkdust, and a Wolfman's with
another impressive jam, but from there things just went south.  They
just weren't clicking on songs like Roggae, I'ts Ice, Farmhouse (listen
to 11/7 Chicago for the best version to date of this song), and even
Antelope, which never got to it's peak in the jam portion.  Trey also
seemed to be a step off everyone else during The Sloth.
  Set II started with a very rushed DWD, or at least the lyrics were. 
The jam was awesome, and segued into a now somewhat rare Sample (love it
or hate it, you know you got the chills the first time you heard it
live).  Then Birds of a Feather reared it's ugly head for the second
fucking night in a row.  This version never took off.  Meat followed,
with it's awesome funky sound but got very sporadic towards the end
(once again Trey a little off the rest of the band), then segued into
Harry Hood. Unfortunately, Mr. Hood failed miserably in his attempt to
save this already sunken ship known as 11/13/98. 
  What's a better way to finish a show like that than with Good
Times/Bad Times.  This one wasn't so good, and maybe the band knew it
themselves.  One thing you can't forget though..They play again tonight!


After getting mail order for Cleveland, Hampton and New Haven, I was
skeptical to skip the Cleveland show but instead I couldn't pass up
seeing the boys before Hampton.  This was my 21st show and I have about
400+ hours of phish, if any tapers are reading this please drop me a
line if you have copies!!!  My expectations were very high and I knew a
place like Cleveland would be a standard show.  The General Admission
crowd was mellow, we killed the time by playing UNO on the floor, we
played the longest UNO game (45 mins) to pass the time.  If one of you
guys are reading this, THANKS! Onto the show:

Chalkdust - Nice opener, page and trey were raging, really got the crowd
going, segues nicely into Wolfman's, this wolfman's was very slow, one
thing I noticed about the boys is they are not rushing into their
songs.  Trey was crystal clear (along with page), then came into the jam
and WHAT A FUCKING AWESOME Jam, this was one of my expectations, jamming
out... Went into a disco funk jam that lasted for about 5 minutes, VERY
COOL!!!  Then came Roggae, I really dig this song, very mellow and was
hoping to hear this one.  Next up was It's Ice - standard with a very
weird jam in which Fishman got up and started doing weird jerky moves,
very funny, they ended that and went into Ginseng Sullivan, cool, Mike
was right on.  My first Ginseng... then came another one of my Favorites
and was not expecting this at all. Cars, Trucks & Buses!!!  Whoo hoo,
very cool, nice job Page.  Then another one of my favs came, FARMHOUSE,
by this point it seems they were in a bluegrass mood tonight and clearly
showed as they went into Water in the Sky, very nice as well.
Sloth was next and was AWESOME, very cool jam, by now I'm thinking Slave
or Zero to close the set but whoa, after trey was talking to Mike and
Page, I heard the opening notes to Antelope and the place went NUTS.  a
roaring 15-20 minute Antelope that was INSANE.
The first set blew me away with the song selection which is what I
expected, after a 25 minute break, the second set started off with:
DWD - very stellar, cool jam that lasted for about 10 -15 minutes
altogether, so I'm thinking this set will be a 4-5 song set with lots of
jamming, they go into Sample In A Jar - whoa, weird placement but this
song rocked, I never really like this song but after hearing this I LOVE
IT, next up came the one song that I've been waiting for and hasn't been
played very frequently lately DIRT, yeah Trey is the guitar GOD, very
nice and mellow, next up came BOAF, blah I don't care much for this song
although it has cool lyrics, the jam was extended for about 10 mins,
then came the highlight of the show MEAT-Harry Hood -  This Meat
smoked, lots of stop and go and Mike was great ' I am a Prince, I have
it all ' lasted for about 15 minutes then came Hood, This was the shit,
fully complete with a beautiful glowstick war in which I caught several,
none were thrown onto the stage, the crowd was very quiet and attentive,
which made me feel good consideration all the negative remarks about
glowsticks ruining the jam after "Thank you mr. miner", awesome, I
almost had tears in my eyes, this ended the set and I was hoping for a
Guyute! encore but what better way to end the show with Good Times, Bad
Times, everyone was all smiles.

Thanks for reading this and please send me comments or replies if you
want to trade or if you have these tapes (I never got replies after
putting up reviews).

see you all in Hampton (whoo hoo)




CLEVLAND!!!!!!!!!!!



I caught Grand Rapids and Clevland so id like to compare the two
together. 
I have high expectations, yet i was pleased very much my the Grand
Rapids performance...
Clevland on the other hand was a little disapointing....

It may have been due to my seat, i was slightly behind the stage, sec
228, looking on an angle, and i could'nt distinguish Mike's bass all
that well, and i though the sound could have been better. Second off it
seems to me like the whole Hood glowstick war is dying off...Compared to
the war at Lemonwheel, clevland's was dull and boring as more and more
assholes on the floor kept rifiling the glowsticks at the stage. I
counted at least three that hit page's pianos, one kit fishman, trey
dodged a couple...soon enough there were like 8 lying on stage. It was a
weak war, and personally I think Phish should lay off hood for awhile
cause everyone seemed let down.

The first set was highlighted with an awesome It's ice and a killer
Sloth, with a nice farmhouse as well, closed off by a ripping antelope
Second set highlights included the amazing Meat and two killer cuts from
hoist being DWD and sample. Yet the repeat of BOAF again, (Played in
Grand Rapids) was a bit of a let down, they jammed it out way better in
Michigan. 

the encore was GTBT, an amazing song i might add yet it seemed a little
short, and it looked as if Phish wanted out of there in a hurry. 

Foolish me for heading back to canada without catching Cincinnati cause
that show's setlist kicks ass...
Hopefully my venture to Albany will make up for my disapointment.



I arrived later than usual and couldn't get parked in the
main lots across from the venue. After driving around
for awhile, we finally found free street parking only a
block away! It was almost 6PM, so we immediately
walked past the lots and into the line for the general
admission floor. It was rather chilly out with a nasty
wind, but no snowstorm like last year at this venue. The
lots appeared to be pretty mellow with very little
vending going on. The doors opened a few minutes
past 6, and once we got our floor bracelets we were in!
We sat about 15 feet from center stage. Long wait until
the show started at 8. Jason masks were being
distributed in honor of Friday the 13th.

Set I:

Chalkdust Torture: What an opener!! Got the crowd
really moving. Seemed to be an omen of a really
exciting and upbeat show.

Wolfman's Brother: Very nice version of this classic.

Roggae: One of my favorite songs from the new album.
Done pretty much like the CD version, but sounded
superb over the PA. Really cool song.

Ginseng Sullivan: Yeah!! Always a crowd favorite.
Probably my favorite of the bluegrass songs. Everyone
around me sang/shouted all the words.

It's Ice: First time I've caught this one live, and what an
excellent verion. Sequed right into...

Cars, Trucks, Buses: Really nice selection from Billy
Breathes.

Farmhouse: Again, a first time live version for me.
Heard this on David Letterman show in fall 1997. Nice,
mellow song. Very pretty.

Water in the Sky: Have heard this 3 of last 4 shows I've
seen. Still don't recognize it at first since I'm still used to
the pre-1998 version. Lovely words and melody. One of
my favorites, but still like the old version better.

The Sloth: Yesssssss! Was hoping for a good
Gamehenge song, and this was it! The crowd was really
rocking!! Italian Spaghetti!!

Run Like an Antelope: Just when you don't think a show
can get any better, Trey starts into the subtle jam at the
beginning of this show-stopper. Crowd is going
completely nuts! Seemed to last a good while before
any vocals. Out of control!! What a set closer!!

I can't remember what song this happened during, but
somewhere in the middle of set I some guy comes
running out from behind Page and dives head first into
the crowd, then scampered quickly away. He almost
landed on us. Trey looked on extremely concerned that
everyone was ok (and I think they were). Let's not do
this people!! This isn't a White Zombie show.


Set II:

Down With Disease: Great opener. Was longer than
usual with some outrageous jamming! One sick
Disease!!

Sample in a Jar: A ferocious one-two punch. Crowd
really going nuts.

Dirt: Not one of my favorites, but was a good breather.
Nicely done.

Birds of a Feather: Sounded really nice, but some
people were bitching about this selection. I guess you
either really like it or really hate it! Longer and more
rockin' than the new CD version, with extended guiar
solo in middle.

Meat: Very cool. Second time live for me. Fairly long
with an interesting  delay loop  space jam and
multiple false endings. Excellent song!

Harry Hood: Unfreakingbelievable!! Everyone was really
psyched now! You can feel good, good, good about
Hood!! Excellent version. Wicked glow stick war ensued
for a good 6-8 minutes. Very cool!!! Set closer. This set
lasted 1:27, but seemed like about 15 minutes.

Encore: During the short break here, I wondered what
cover they were gonna do since they really hadn't done
any yet (except technically Ginseng Sullivan). It was
Friday the 13th. Superstitious, maybe? Nah. The band
reassembled and launched into the rockingest Good
Times, Bad Times I've ever heard!!! Page was
absolutely hilarious singing the "I want to love you,
each and every day..." part near the end. This once
again proves that Phish is the best cover band in the
land, bar none. Very enjoyable show. I had brought 2
friends to the show who had never listened to Phish
before; they were totally blown away!! Gotta find this
tape!!

The lot scene after the show was ugly. Uniforms
everywhere. Helicopters with spotlights flying overhead.
No vending at all save a few veggie burritos. Oh well,
who wants to hang out in cold and windy downtown
Cleveland this time of year anyway?

Peace,
Magilla