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

Date:    Fri, 20 Nov 1998 18:11:29 GMT
From:    Harpua94 
Subject: Winston-Salem

One phan's take on Winston-Salem:
   I thought it was a high-energy, above-average show and that the band is in
high gear right now. Fans going to Hampton wll surely not be disappointed.
   The first set started off great with Cities into Curtain, and even Sample
was played with such intensity that it was a joy to hear... Ginseng and
Bouncin' slowed things down a bit for me personally, but Maze really made the
set memorable.
   Page took his jam to the limit and it was clear that the band was ready to
step out on a limb as Trey just kept going and going....
   Then I was really surprised when they played Ghost, since they just played
it recently. I have been to about 12 shows and I know everyone else has heard
Ghost, but it was my first time for that and Cities, so I was psyched. They
didn't let me down with a long jam... Then, for good measure, they kept going.
   There was a point at the end of Ghost where they clearly could have ended
the first set. The jam was at its peak, the house lights were bright and the
crowd was going nuts... No one would have complained.
   Instead, they took it back down, got spacey for a few minutes, then jumped
into Golgi! It was a fitting end to a solid set!

   The second set opener made it clear that they were going to be doing a lot
of exploring. You could tell it was going to be 2001, but they teased it so
long before breaking into the opening riff. It was tantalizing!!!
   It was an interesting segue into Rock and Roll, which had a nice jam in the
middle, before they came back for Taste. That's not usually a favorite of mine,
but the jam was really good. The only "letdown" of the second set was Frankie
Says, but maybe the boys were just sending a message to Relax, because they
were just gathering their breath for an awesome finish!
     A funky Gumbo began the stretch run and after a long, funky jam that ended
up in some serious space, Trey broke into Chalkdust - which is always fun, of
course. The Frankenstein that followed was high-energy and again, they could
have stopped there... But they had another surprise in store, the upbeat Jane's
Addiction song, Been Caught Stealin'...   I caught Sabatoge this summer and
that was fun, but personally this was even better. It was upbeat and
entertaining.

    I really wasn't expecting a lot from the encore. It had been a long show
and I felt they had certainly given everybody their money's worth!!! Then,
another song that I surprisingly never heard live, YEM!!!
   Let me just say, I know this is their most-played song ever, but I always
seemed to miss this song by one night, or they played it at a show I was going
to go to but didn't... You know, just bad luck! I didn't expect it because they
had just played it Saturday. I guess it was my lucky night!!! (As well as
everybody elses!)
   They rocked the house with a version close to 20 minutes long - I'm not
exactly sure, because I wasn't wearing a watch and I kind of floated throught
the whole thing... What an ending! The chanting reached epic proportions until
it filled the universe!!! And that wheel thing they did with the lights...
Awesome! Intense!!

    Anyway, I have a hard time rating my shows because they just seem to be
getting better and better... They are certainly in a groove now and I'm sure it
will only continue as they travel to Hampton and then the Northeast... I would
certainly love to be in Worcester for the end of the run...  Well, my little
bro will be, so I guess I can live vicariously through him.

    Hope you all enjoy whatever ones you're going to. Anyone with tapes of this
one, feel free to email me at harpua94@aol.com - my list is at tapetrading.com
under Mike Helsabeck...

Peace everyone! Have fun and be safe!!!


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




Date:    Fri, 20 Nov 1998 22:24:38 GMT
From:    Soulish 
Subject: Greenville and Winston Review

onto salem.  Let me say that this show's energy was soooo high and sooo
constant that i had more fun and was taken more places than at almost any other
show i've seen (since maybe salem last year--Bathtub!!!).  The Cities to start
off the set got the whole crowd into it really quickly, i was sititng fishman's
side at this show, so i had a great view of both the band and the floor.  The
jam was great, not too short, nor too l;ong to start off the set.  The curtain
was great fun, and i think half of the audience sang this song, tho everyone
around me was asking "what the hell is the name of this song?" this kinda
segued into sample which like the alberquerque last nite was perfectly placed,
early in the show and really got the crowd into it.  Ginseng is always nice to
hear.  Bouncin, i and the people i went to this show with don't really like
this song, but at this show i loved it, it fit perfectly here, and since i
haven't heard it in a long while, i sounded great.  The Maze was aMazing, page
went offff on his jam and he was given an abnormally long amount of time (tho
when you're at a show your perception of time is sort of askew, and it was
great.  Then trey's jam just kept getting higher and higher and higher, really
great and really fun.  Something fit nicely here and everyone loved it, it is
such a beautiful song.  The Ghost got everyone going who sat down during
something.  The jam was really nice, not funky at all, just really hard rockin'
amazing jamming which swirled around a while until it slammed down into a great
golgi.  Oh so much fun i had to keep reminding myself that that was only the
first set.  It clocked in at an hour and ten minutes, chocked full of energy.

Second set:  when they came out i really wanted a 2001, and was really hoping
that it wouldn't be Down with disease (which was what i thought it may become)
because i've seen this song ad nauseam, and i got the 2001, so i was really
happy.  The fog and lights during this song are soo great cuz it's like music
is just oming from the great fog. This led to a strange segue into Rock and
Roll which was really nice to hear, since i love VU and this version was really
really good, the jam started off, climaxed and was brought back down and
sounded similar to the wolfman's last night, but i prefectly segued into taste,
which was very high energy and excited me.  Frankie sez was placed well, and
actually pretty interesting.  Gumbo was my show wish and i jumped up and down
for a while when i heard it, the jam was great, and it came swirling down, and
down, still swirling, until......Chalkdust!!!  The Chalkdust, Frankenstein and
Been Caught Stealing were all huge energy and everyone there had a blast during
all these songs, and i think that the whole crowd was singing Been Caught
Stealing.  By this time this set ended it was only about an hour, so i wasn't
sure what to hope for for and encore.

YYYYYEEEEEMMMMMM!!!!!!! What the hell is this doing as an encore, i really
don't care it was great and amazing to hear.  i won't go into the elaborate
details of the song.  I'll just get to the vocal jam.  They started the VJ and
Helouise came out.  This Jam lasted longer than almost any other Vocal Jam i've
ever seen. It was entrancing , i nearly fell down, and i was sitting on the
edge of my seat at this point.   Amazing.

Overall this is maybe the best show i've ever seen in my life b.c of the mix of
energy and overall joy that both the crowd and the band eminated.  again i
won't give a number rating just my guarantee that this is a show you will wanna
hear.

Well if you've read this far maybe you wanna offer this show up to me, but alas
i doubt any of you have it and i'm not one to grovel.  Hope you enjoyed it.



peace
happiness in hampton
brian


--------


Date:    Sat, 21 Nov 1998 07:52:03 GMT
From:    Jason Link 
Subject: **11/19/98-Winston-Salem Review**

I know everyone is abuzz with the 11/20 setlist and would probably
rather read a review of that show.  I haven't seen many reviews from
W-S, so here goes.

Disclaimer:  I'm a fairly jaded fan who has seen 33 shows over the
past 4 and a half years with 600+ hours on tape.  I'm in a bad mood
because I had to cancel my Hampton trip at the last minute.  For those
of you still in school, go to as many shows as you can.  I've been
working for two months now (after 5 yrs of undergrad, 3 yrs law
school).  Things were looking good for me to catch the shows this
weekend until Thursday morning when I got slammed with "emergency
projects."  So, W-S is the only show that I'll see this Fall and my 3
year streak of Hampton Phish shows has come to an end.  Similarly,
this year I'm also missing my first NYE since 12/31/93.

I haven't attached the setlist, so I'll try to remember everything.

First, I should say that the fans at this show were great.  I have
never seen so much energy at a non-big show (NYE, 'ween, etc).  I've
also never seen so many people bouncing as Trey/Mike performed on the
tramps (after ~13 YEM's, 2-3 Mike's w/tramps).  It looked really cool.
Also, the band really seemed to pick up on the crowd's energy.  Trey
really seemed to be having a good time.

Fish was sporting his viking helmet (big horns out the side) like he
apparently also wore in Greenville.  Mike wore a gold glitter
long-sleeve shirt that I don't think I've seen him wear before.

First Set:
Cities opener sounded great and really got me psyched for the show.
Curtain was a nice surprise to follow.  Sample was basically Sample,
but it was nice that they were trying to keep the energy level.  I
think Ginseng and Bouncing were next, but I'm not sure.  At this
point, I was happy with the variety and it was nice to hear some of
the band's older songs.  BUT...I really wanted to hear one of the
band's more "jammier" songs.  The Maze that followed was really good.
The jam section was great, but not necessarily "mindblowing."
Definitely, Type I jamming.  The band did a good job on Something and
I think this is a great song for Page to sing.  Next up was Ghost.  I
am still partial to the Summer/Fall 97 versions of Ghost.  The jam
section was unique, in that it was more rock and roll oriented and did
not have the funk element like the '97 versions.  Although I think it
was better than many of the '98 versions that I've heard, the band
seemed to bail out right when it could have got interesting.  They had
been in this rock jamming mode throughout the song (circa. 1995), and
then slowed it down.  Instead of working there way into another groove
or attempting a segue into another song, they stopped.  Golgi was the
"rockin'" closer.

In my opinion, the first set was no more than a 5.0 on the Scott
Jordan scale.  The song selection was pretty varied, but I put more
emphasis on jamming.  As far as jams go, the only first songs with the
real potential to go anywhere were Maze and Ghost.  Neither went far
enough to pull up this set comprised of largely composed songs.  The
first set was also pretty short coming in at just over an hour.

Second set opened with a nice 2001.  This song was fairly special to
me because it opened the second set of my first show (4/21/94) in the
very same arena.  Chris had the fog machines running at full blast
throughout.  2001 was typically groovy/fun/danceable.  Rock and Roll
was a nice follow-up and was extended (probably not much more than the
'Ween version which I've only heard once).  I was disappointed when
Trey started Taste because I really didn't want to hear it at this
point in the set.  I was surprised.  It contained one of the more
unique jams of the night.  At one point, Trey went into a noodling
mode that hinted at some of the Woody Woodpecker teases from '94
(although I don't think he fully hit WW).  Frankie Says sat me down.
It's a nice song to hear, but it really slow things down.  I was very
psyched to hear Gumbo (my first one; now if I could only catch a
Buried Alive).  The jam section that they've been playing after the
lyric section during the last few years was a great addition and did
not disappoint tonight.  However, like the 1st Set Ghost, they
abandoned the song right when things got interesting.  As noted above,
this was a high energy crowd and the next 3 songs sought to close the
set on a high note (surprising, all 3 could have been set enders).
The Chalkdust was typically great.  Frankenstein was very fun as well.
AFter Frank, Trey went and said something to Mike who relayed it to
Fish who then said something to Mike who relayed it to Trey who went
and said something to Fish.  Obviously, Been Caught Stealin' was not
planned and I'm guessing the discussion surrounded the drumbeat for
the song since it hadn't been played since early August.  Trey's
vocals on this song sound so much like Perry Farrell's.  An excellent
version with a short trampoline section.  Second set ended at ~1 hour
5 mins.

I was so happy to hear the opening notes of YEM for the encore.  I
remember the opening being rough in parts.  The jam section really
never got going.  The band was slow to work into it.  They really
found a good groove when I noticed that Page dropped out (ie., quit
playing).  Trey, Mike and Fish continued for a minute or 2 with Trey
taking several glances over at Page who sat there actually grooving
along.  I thought he might join back in, but B&D made its appearance.
When the extra mic was brought out for the vocal jam followed by a
female, no one was sure what was next.  Having someone who can really
hit the high notes (with a great voice) added a nice twist to the VJ.
Overall, probably a "C" version on the YEM.

I'll close with a few general comments.  Even though I don't sound
overly thrilled with the show, I must say that I had a great time.  I
saw some songs that I had not seen awhile.  The show just was not as
experimental as I had hoped for.  The crowd was outstanding and made
me enjoy the show more.  The band seemed to abandon jams at the point
where they could really stretch them out and perform a monumental
version. They did not really attempt any spine-tingling segues (such
as 11/23/97 Stash>NICU or 7/22/97 Disease>Mikes).  The ">"'s that
appear on the setlist were more of the "Let's build-up a wall of noise
and then Trey can start hitting the chords to the next song" variety
and not the effortless melodic transitions that I love.   Also, I
don't know that I've seen a non-Halloween, three set show where the
band played six cover songs (by different artists!).

Nonetheless, I had a great time and  only regret that I missed
Hampton.  How long was that first set (Funky Bitch, Possum, Melt,
etc.).

Jason


------


11/19/98 - LJVMC, Winston-Salem, NC



From: JOLAMBETH@DAVIDSON.EDU
Subject: FALL_REVIEW

Well, I just got back from Hampton, and I know that everybody is going to
review those shows (which were absolutely phenomenal, by the way!), so I
think I'll review the Winston show instead, since it's probably going to
be horribly overlooked.

Phish played a monster show at LJVM last year following the Hampton run,
and I was expecting the same this year, while still looking forward to
Hampton. I arrived at 6:00 or so, and cruised on in around 6:30.  Had
decent floor seats first set, but was way too cramped, so I moved to the
upper deck for second set so I could boogie unimpeded.

FIRST SET:

Cities - total surprise for me.  I was thinking Ya Mar maybe, but Cities
never crossed my mind.  It was tight and funky as usual, not really jammed
much, but a solid version.

Curtain - this one really got me going.  I thought I'd hear it at Winston
or Hampton, and I really wanted to hear it.  This was my first.  Great
song - one of the highlights of the first set for me.  The part with "came
from the baby's mooouuuuutttthhhhh" was the best!  I love it!

Sample - sounded nice coming out of the Curtain ending.  Not usually one
of my faves, but I was glad to hear it (except that the girl behind me
sang the whole thing right into my ear!).  Well played, not really
anything new or special, but a good placement

Ginseng - Oh yeah!  I was psyched for this - haven't heard it since summer
'97. Mike is beautiful on these bluegrass numbers, and it's great to hear
a tune like this in the first set.  Well-placed.                 

Bouncin - it was, well, it was Bouncin.  I was a little not happy to hear
it, but the kids around me enjoyed themselves to say the least.  This was
better than other versions I've heard, for some reason.  I don't know why
- I was just enjoying it more somehow.  anyway

Maze - best of the first set.  This Maze was sickening.  Page had an
unbelievable solo at the beginning.  It built and built as most Mazes do,
but Trey was all over this one.  Best I've ever seen.  Listen to it on
tape.

Something - YES!  Beautiful - I wanted to hear this one bad, and it was
much better than I thought it would be.  Phish has always amazed me in
doing justice to Beatles tunes, and this was certainly no exception.

Ghost - great stuff.  I thought we'd hear this.  The jam on this was
different from any I've heard before.  The Raleigh Ghost was really tight
and mean and funky this summer, and the Hampton Ghost last year was
free-form funk madness, really spacy and beautiful.  This one sort-of
rocked out the ending, pretty  non-funk for a Ghost.  I almost forgot
which song they were jamming by the end of it, just because it didn't
sound like a Ghost jam.  Very interesting.

Golgi - good, high-energy closer.  I liked the choice.  Lots of people
held ticket stubs up, which was good to see.

OVERALL:  Curtain, Maze, and Something were my faves.  Solid set, but
definitely the worst set of the 6 I saw at Winston and Hampton.


SECOND SET:

2001 - YES!  I called this one during setbreak.  I was so glad that I had
moved to the upper deck for this - a view of the lights from up there was
amazing! Chris Kuroda was on fire all night long, but these were the best!
Smoke engulfed Trey, and I didn't even see him until 2001 was over.
Amazing though - a really funky jam preceded, of course.  Sounded great
into....          

Rock'n'Roll - I heard it for the first time on the Halloween webcast and I
like this one a lot.  Page sang with emotion, and a great jam ensued.
Trey was happy to be playing this one again.

Taste - alright!  another one I had hoped for.  This one seems to be
getting less rotation this year, but I love it.  Page dominated - probably
my favorite jam of the night.  This song is so complex rhythmically, and
it just gets me moving every time.  I loved Trey's solo near the end also.

Frankie Sez - perfect fit at this point in the set.  I love it - such a
great song.  It was jammed out nicely.  Fishman is beautiful in this one.

Gumbo - another one everyone was happy to hear.  I thought they'd save it
for Hampton, but it was great here.  Really good jam.  I thought Page was
teasing Beck "Where It's At" in there, and apparently someone else did too
because that was even mentioned in the setlist.  At the end of this, Trey
was doing this  thing involving two pedals which were very far apart.  He
was nearly doing a split, and shifting his weight back and forth to make
this weird hard rock metallic sound.  It was really amazing.  I thought
they were going into Carini, but Chalkdust was good.

Chalkdust - not as good as some I've heard, but it was good.  Short and
sweet this time.  I seem to hear this one at every show.

Frankenstein - I hear a lot of this one too, which is weird.  I love it
though - so much energy in the Coliseum right here.

Been Caught Stealin' - capitalized on the intensity in the building
following two hard-rockin' jams.  my first live - it was well-played, but
I was hoping for a little more maybe out of a 2nd set closer.

OVERALL:  solid set.  2001  Rock'n'Roll  Taste was the highlight of the
whole show for me.                          

Encore: YEM (w/ Helouise Williams on vocal jam) - a great funky jam during
the pre-vocal improv section.  (Also an incredible bass solo by Mike at
the beginning).  The best funky jam in a YEM I've ever heard.  But the
vocal jam was disappointing.  It was too loud, and it seemed like Chris
didn't really know where they were going with it.  Also, nobody could
concentrate because we were all trying to figure out who the woman was
onstage.  A great encore though - definitely more pleasing than the
encores at Hampton.

I didn't go to Ziggy's after the show, but I knew they'd be playing there
since Helouise Williams's band Viperhouse (some old Burlington friends)
was playing. Oh well.

Winston was a great show, definitely an underrated venue, but it didn't
compare to Hampton.                   

Johnny

 

From: Shaun Smith smitsk00@wfu.edu
To: andy@gadiel.com
Subject: FALL_REVIEW 11-19-98

I must say that when I showed up in the lot, it was a very pleasant
surprise compared to last year at LJVM.  Bumed around, enjoyed some fine
cuisine topped off with gooballs and headed in.  Considering the normal
college crowd that shows up here and at other NC venues, the energy
level was pretty damn high.  Everyone was groovin during the show, and I
didn't run into any buzz killers. that is quite an accomplishment for
this venue.  On with the review: (I like to keep these short, so don't
expect too much anal analysis)
SET I:
Cities, Curtain, Sample, Ginseng, Bouncin', Maze, Something, Ghost,
Golgi   ~68min.

This first set was a bit on the short side, but definately             
entertaining.  Cities was, well, Cities, tight, to the point, with a
brief funky thing at the the end that felt like it might start jamming,
but stopped instead.  Thats all right though since Curtain is such a
damn treat.  it wasn't incredibly developed, but it was tight and
incredibly precise.  The downward cascade of tones and jazz made me
smile. I have no regrets. It is always tempting to be upset when sample,
ginseng, and bouncin' are played in a row and I was tempted to frown
when the opening notes of Sample started, but held it back and grooved.
Trey nailed the solo ( best one I have seen live) and it actually got
the crowd hopping.  They actually seemed to mess around with Ginseng a
bit too, adding a little something new to a song I have heard innumerous
times.  Bouncin'.  You know what it sounds like.  Next up, Maze.  Long,
spacy intro, and a sick, sick , sick jam.  They kept bringing it up and
down and up and down and...you get the point.  It was awesome and
intense.  get this set for no other reason than this song.  Something
was a treat.  Phish is such an amazing cover band when they choose to be
and they do nothing better than beatles covers.  Page sang, it worked  
and they really seemed to enjoy doing it.  Ghost can be summed up much
like Maze; SICK!  Golgi, as always rocked out and ended a short, but
very tight and entertaining set.  I'd give it a 7.

SET II:
2001  Rock n' Roll  Taste, Frankie Says, Gumbo  Chalkdust,
Frankenstein, Been Caught Stealin'  E: YEM     ~84min.

After about a forty minute set break wher I made my way to the floor and
found some friends, they came back with 2001.  Nothing necessarily
special about it, but nothing wrong either.  Props to Chris on the
lights!  Funky, Groovy, and climactic.  This segued into Rock n' Roll by
the Velvet Underground.  I wish I had been in Vegas, because if they
performed the whole album as well as they did this song, well, I don't
know what but it would have been cool.  The jam out of this song was
unreal.  I think this is the tightest I have seen them be when they go
that far out.  The jam segued into Taste.  It was solid, nicely layered,
but not that jammed out and they seemes to slip a couple times.  It was
real good, but I have seen several better ones.  Frankie says.  I don't
like this song too much, so I won't comment.  Gumbo was great! or at
least what I remember of it.  i was in the process of moving back to
seats since my back hurt from the conjection down front, so I may have
missed something.  Chalkdust and Frankenstein were both wonderful.  They
were all on fire.  SOOOO much energy in the place during these.  The few
people who had been sitting down all show near me were up and dancing.
Trey was plying his ass off the entire time, and the band seemed really
pumped when they started playing Been Caught Stealing.  I have heard
great things about this song, and now I know why.  Great set closer.
Give this set an 7.5.

E: YEM

Very tight, well jammed out.  We have all heard good, long, tight YEM's
before and this was one of them.  However, the vocal jam with Heloiuse
Williams I think, was incredible!  Best vocal jam I have ever heard
(that I can remember).  This is a must have!


I would give this show a 7, but the encore boosts it up to an 7.5, maybe
an 8.  I am very upset that I was too broke to get to Hampton, because
if this show is any indication of the weekend ahead, it must have been a
great one. Thank you.
Shaun



Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 10:47:44 -0800 (PST)
From: Jason Martin jason_r_martin@yahoo.com
To: andy@gadiel.com
Subject: Winston-Salem, Nov. 19

My last Phish show was last summer at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre.  That
was a strange show (my fourth)--highlighted by the Trey and co.
singing "I can see through the LIGHT" as one of the worst lightning
storms I've ever seen exploded right over our heads.  I remember that
after that show, my friend Zenn and I talked about how much Phish's
playing had changed.  Instead of big insane guitar solos (where Trey
would mumble the notes silently just before he played them) they were
doing this strange bleep and zap noises; it was obvious that some kind
of change was in the works.  In a way, we felt kind of let down by it
all at that point.  Now, looking back I can see that I just didn't
understand how the music was changing.

I think TSOTG is an amazing album--each time I listen to it, I am
pulled further into its subtlety.  It seems like a dramatic leap in  terms
of Phish directly addressing serious life questions in its
lyrics and music.  I think the whole album is this amazing web of
cross-references ("waterfalls" is a recurrent image, as is "heaven and
hell").  Needless to say, I was very anxious to see them live, again.

CITIES, the opener, jerked me out of my memories of past shows.  I was
reminded of Slip Stitch Pass, which opens the same way.  I don't have
any recent bootlegs since I've never toured extensively and have been
out of college (bootleg haven) for a few years, so SSP was a fairly
big deal for me.  I love the way Trey emphasizes "Good place to get
some thinking done"--which is a perfectly ironic way to introduce a
Phish show.  I looked around in the pulsating lights, and definitely
saw that some sets of eyes seemed more, um, perplexed (!) than others.
. .

THE CURTAIN, was the first big highlight of the  first set.  When Trey
sang, "Followed the lines headed SOUTH" the lights flash dark red and
spooky.  Very cool.  I love how the band goes from scary to blissful.
This song has that cool "chanting words from a song," part too.  "Good
place to get some thinking done. . . as he saw his life run away from
him"  the mood was getting very sinister as they jammed on the
curtain.  I was freaking out and then out of a crazy minor-key jam
they land right on a big ol' A chord that starts. . .

SAMPLE.  This was pretty much note-perfect off Hoist.  It was a cool,
upbeat way for them to swing us out of that bizarre curtain.  Next
came. . .

GINSENG SULLIVAN which I had never heard before.  I really like Phishy
bluegrass.  I wish they had jammed on this for awhile, but it was kind
of short.  I  couldn't really make out the words--in fact, the cool
guy behind me scrawled "Ginseng" in his little black book during
setbreak or I wouldn't have known.  
BOUNCIN' was greeted by nice, sychronized highpitched yells in the
room.  I talked to my pal about how there are so many gorgeous girls
at Phish shows.  This song reminded me of when I just got into Phish,
way back then in college.  Ah. . . Nostalgia set in, then came

MAZE which was the best jam all night, IMHO.  This was another kind of
jam, even beyond the one and two chord funk jams that were persistant
all night long.  I can't really describe the jam, except to say that
it was spooky, scary, and spacey.  But without that sweet bouncin', it
wouldn't have been nearly so startling to be trapped in that writhing,
slippery grid they wove around the LJVM.  It was a cool room, full of
beautiful people who were being amazed.

SOMETHING was Page's big spotlight.  Very cool.  My favorite was when
Trey ripped into that sweet George Harrison 6 note run ("do do-do, do
do DOO!") just before "You're asking me will our love grow--I don't
know!"  I got my wish when they started
GHOST.  This jam was funky, but in a different way.  It's almost like
they seemed tired of playing this song like just a big funk jam, so
they started this otherworldly melodic anti-funk jam right in the
middle. It was a nice jam--but I think Maze was still too fresh in my
mind to really grasp what they were doing.

GOLGI completed the three "easy to get" songs from the first set
(along with Sample and Bouncin').  I remember making mix tapes for
people who hated Phish in college,
and putting all three of these on them.

2001 opened the second set with a bang.  Flashing white beams of light
during the "chorus"-like part of the jam.  This was totally
mind-blowing, and by far the biggest "We are the biggest rock band in
the world" moment of the night.

ROCK-n-ROLL came next, and truth be told, I had never heard it before. It
fit right in, though.  Then they started to play

TASTE, and I had big-time lightning storm flashbacks.  I wonder if
they played it on purpose, remembering the last time in Raleigh.  This
version didn't seem as tight as that night--but I really like this song.

FRANKIE SAYS was the second and final dip off TSOTG for us.  "I've
lost my mind, I've lost my way" drifted around the room, tangled up in
the drippy, syrupy stew. I really like this song.

GUMBO  CHALKDUST was next.  Between the two songs there was a really
dark, insane improv part that I loved.  I don't really like Chalkdust
that much (I'm a school teacher!  My kids wrote a music critique of
TSOTG on October 30).  It sounded great, though. %as reminded of Sli0D

FRANKENSTEIN was a treat.  I've got the mp3 on my computer in my
classroom (nice way to vent while grading journal entries).  They
played it tight, with loads of flashing lights everywhere.  The light
guy has this cool way making a big white grid  behind the band when
they are really making a dense, sonic blanket.  This song was about a
three gridder.

BEEN CAUGHT STEALIN' was a killer end to the set.  My friend next to
me was a crazy Jane's Addiction lover back in the day.  That was the
perfect cover to complete our little nostalgia. . .

YOU ENJOY MYSELF was an awesome encore--I had never seen it before.
They really opened it up.  And then this incredibly tall, voluptuous
blond woman came out on stage beside Trey and they did this outrageous
vocal jam.  How do they do that?  I play guitar, and can read music,
and the whole nine, but I have no idea how they make those eerie
harmonies by yelling up and down scales and stuff?!  

Overall, this was my favorite Phish show yet.  I'm looking forward to
seeing how this amazing group of artists continues to break new ground.        



Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 13:14:35 PST
From: Brandon Saul brandon_saul@hotmail.com
To: andy@gadiel.com
Subject: Winston Review

Hey Andy -

This is the guy you sat next to on the flight from VA to Atlanta.  I
actually had to take the day off from work; the weekend took quite a
toll on my body.  The good news is I have time to throw together a
review or two.  I'll do Winston now and will try to get Hampton together
later.  Hope you've been able to make it through all of your e-mail and
keep in touch.    Brandon


Winston-Salem, NC   LJVM Coliseum   11.19.98

Overall this turned out to be a very enjoyable show.  There weren't
nearly as many people here as last year's sold out show but the energy
from those who were there more than made up for the empty seats.  Phish
had pulled off some notable moments for me in this venue in the past and
I felt they might try to pull off something special  for those in
attendance given that many were looking past this show because of
Hampton.

The Cities opener was well received - first of the tour I believe.  Nice
and funky, got the crowd going right away.  The Curtain was a pleasant
surprise as well.  This song has been making less and less frequent
appearances, giving a great song a more special feel.  Things seemed to
be headed in the right direction... Although Sample never looks great to
me on a setlist this actually was well placed and kept the overall crowd
very energized.  The combo of Ginseng and Bouncin that followed,
however, had me a bit concerned.  The band responded well though and
turned things up several  notches with a powerful Maze.  Not only was I
thrilled to hear this, I was even more excited to see it played to
completion.  My last 2 Mazes (Providence and MSG), although creative, left
me waiting for that insane release.  This Maze more than made up
for that creating what seemed like an even greater than normal tension
buildup before completion.  The Something that followed was played
pretty much as you would expect to hear Phish cover a Beatles song and I
was happy to hear it.  Next came for me the highlight of the show and
one of the biggest moments for the weekend (this and the 2 Hampton
shows).  While I've seen many Ghosts (and have been partial to the
7.23.97 Lakewood one) this Ghost blew me away.  It reached a sustained
peak that I felt put it well above average when the band dropped off
from the intense jam.  I was quite satisfied yet they then proceeded to
take it back up to an even more intense hose level, hold the jam for
quite some time and then give us a brief chance to catch our breath
before finishing the set off with a high energy Golgi.  Despite the
midset lapse the Maze and Ghost carried what I felt was an above average
first set.

The opening space in the second set had us thinking DWD (we thoughtthey'd
save the 2001 for Spaceship Hampton) but it was in fact 2001.
While I don't recall any unique or exceptional musical highlights during
the song the energy and light show (as always) blew me away.  I knew
we'd catch something from Loaded during the weekend and was very excited
to hear the start of Rock and Roll.  I was fortunate enough to have been
in Vegas for the Phish debut of this song where it may have been the
musical highlight of the album for me.  While I didn't feel this version
reached the same peak as the Vegas Rock N Roll it was still very
special.  Superb jam at the end of the song that found its way into
Taste.  I've been surprised by the lack of play time this song has
gotten this year and was happy to see it return.  An excellent jam
section that felt as if they stretched the ending out a bit more, almost
teasing the audience that the song was going to come to a close before
Trey threw in just a few more powerful licks.  Frankie Sez was pretty
standard and slowed things down before the start of Gumbo.  This was my
one call for the night.  I was hoping to hear it go in the direction
that the Gumbo from the 'Wheel went, and although it never became
thatintense it was still very satisfying.  Towards the end there came alot
of dissonance.  Page found this loud, harsh chord that he kept hitting
until out of the confusion came a ripping Chalkdust.  Because it is
commonly played I often look past Chalkdust on a setlist but this again
reminded me that this song should not be overlooked.  Very high energy.
Then came an intense Frankenstein, great lights and maybe even a little
extra drum work from Fishman had me thinking the set might be over.  But
no, a Been Caught Stealin' that put an excellent cap on the set.  The
audience of course went nuts.  You really can't go wrong any time the
tramps come out either.  Looking back a great set despite the absence of
any of the normal monster second set songs.  Needless to say I was very
happy to hear the start of YEM as the encore as I thought they may have
been thinking of something shorter.  This YEM never reached the peak
Trey-led jam that most YEMs  prior to '97 seemed to hit but did sustain
a tight funky sound and an extended vocal jam.  I didn't think the guest
vocalist added much to it but as always Chris worked wonders with the
lights.       
I left this show very satisfied, especially knowing Phish had played
great yet saved alot of potential material for Hampton.