7-26-99 -- Deer Creek, Noblesville, IN

review submisions dws@www.phish.net or dws@gadiel.com

Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 19:19:56 -0400
From: Andy Sweet asweet@voyager.net
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: 7/26/99 Review

    First of all I would like to thank Phish for all of the indescribable
music they have provided for us over the years. Without them who knows what
we would be doing. For the pointless disclaimer I have seen 15 shows and I
saw Burgettestown through the Creek this year. I had a tremendous time and
the scene was in full force. The only bad thing I was was the morning after
Burgettstown when people had a WILD argument on how one guy ripped them off
with nitrous. The other guy smashed his window in and all hell broke loose.
One guy had a hatchet but luckily never used it because someone snagged it.
In the end $100 was payed and they were on the road (hopefully not to the
next show). Of course the root of all this hate was the Nitrous scene which
has to stop. So nobody buy nitrous and all will be great! On to the show.
 
The Scene: Great mood, with some interesting choices as always but I was
always in persuit of the Ice Cone venders because it was tasty and too damn
hot the whole time. Lots and lots of ticketless but that is a given on a
tour ender. I had very high expectations. So high, I thought this could go
down as the best show. Perhaps this was bad but it can't hury to be
optimistic. I did what I had to do and made my way to where I try to always
be: right in front parallel with Page.
 
Farmhouse: First time with the new intro but you could tell what it was. I
like this song very much and can feel Trey's emotion as he sings from his
heart.
 
Get back on the train: Another unexpected one. I heard this in Columbus and
thought they might jam it out like the second spot Fluffhead but am glad
they didn't. I love this song but wanted to heard more.
 
Vultures: I heard this is Deer Creek 97 and it is a Phish song so of course
it is great but one of my songs I could go with out. Keep in mind I am not
being negative, I liked what was going on because there was great energy
coming and you knew it was going to be a great show. The guy next to me who
taught be a lot said Phish were knocking down the pins and this made a lot
of sense.
 
Sleep: I really don't remember this one so I can't say anything
 
Gumbo: Great tune.I always welcome a good Gumbo. Some of my favorites are
8/3/98 and 8/15/98. Had some good energy. I can't think of the groove but
it was sweet.
 
N.I.C.U. I didn't want to hear this since I heard it the other day but who
can complain. You're watching Phish for their summer ender.
 
Beauty: Nothing much to say, standard as always.
 
Bathtub: The pins have started to tumble. This Bathtub rocked! I was having
such a good time as was everyone around me. Just a great jam.
 
Mnts in the Mist: I like this song a lot. I saw it in the spring and love
to hear it. I don't like the negative comments about this song earlier on
this page. This song has some great changes.
Axilla: Guy next to me saw Trey say it and as all Axilla's do this one had
lots of energy.
 
Stash: This Stash was out there. Insane, wild, melting, everything. This is
improvising at some of its best. Great way to close the set.
 
Setbreak: A great setbreak because I had tons of energy and hooked up with
an aftershow. I was ready for a great set. My prediction was
2001-Mikes->Piper->H2o Meatstick->Groove E: Hood. Boy was I ever wrong! I
don't know what night it was but there was a large inflatable penis
floating around and Trey gave it to Fish and he busted out this cool beat.
 
Wolfmans: My first Wolfmans and I was loving it. A great jam with tons of
energy. Bruno was digging it as some other crew watched as well. Just flat
out amazing.
 
Piper: Easy call. Piper is one of my favorites. I love how Phish blend so
great together and bring it up a notch every time.
 
Theme: Another first. I have always wanted to hear this song after
listening to Dayton 97. Well done as always.
 
Disease: At this point I was thinking Mikes or something but Disease did
not disapoint. This is my favorite Disease I have seen and the only one
that beats it from hearing in my opinion is the 8/16/96 set III Disease.
Just sick.
 
Feedback Jam: I was telling everyone they were going to play 2001 and Trey
even said 2001 Fish was laying the beat down. I think they do this now as a
joke when they were confused earlier on the tour about this one.
 
SOAMelt: Of course this jam was great because it ended the whole summer 99
tour. I can see where some people were disappointed but you can't complain.
Just an all out great jam. Trey said some comment as he put it "From the
bottom of my Heart" about the scene and about Woodstock. Great speech.
 
E: At this point 6 dozen roses were passed out and when I got mine I threw
it towards Page. Great show of appreciation by the Phans.
    Woodstock: Very appropriate and nice to hear.
    Julius: I wanted something better but this was definately one of the
best Juliuses ever played.
 
Aftershow: Tons of people but I got lucky and Mike was alone right when I
walked in so I had a conversation with him about Woodstock and what Trey
was talking about. He was in very good spirits. Kurodo strolled by very
fast and Fish was on the scene talking about the best and worst songs ever.
I believe he said the best song as Row, row, row your boat. #2 was Amazing
Grace and 4 was Trenchtown Rock and he talked about this amazing Marley
experience which changed his life. He was right in front of the show and
they played Trenchtown Rock and when the women sang "the one good thing
about music is you feel no pain" he started to cry and it changed his life.
 
Thanks to everyone I met that influenced and or changed me and the guy with
the Phamily pens!
 
 
Andy
btubgin@hotmail.com

Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 21:35:41 -0700 (PDT) From: dtenholder@POMONA.EDU To: dws@gadiel.com Cc: dtenholder@POMONA.EDU Subject: Phish Deer Creek July 26th Forwarded review from my friend John Mahon: Okay, this was about my 30th show and only my second of the summer tour. I'll let you know that I ate a gell tab, and it kicked in during the third song of the first set. While I realize this altered my perceptions, I have seen plenty of shows in this condition so I believe my views are valid. I apologize in advance to anyone who cannot handle negative comments about our favorite band. Farmhouse-Didn't expect this, but enjoyed it! Got the crowd moving. Back on the Train-My first, but it was great. It had that familiar feeling that all good songs seem to have the first time you hear them, and Gordon showed us some of his skills that have made him so vastly improved since my first treck to the 'Creek in '96. Vultures- This song summerized the show for me and seemed to form sort of a pattern (when considered in the context of Gumbo, BathtubGIN, Theme from the Bottom, DWD, and most clearly SOAMelt I'll explain below). The paranoia of aranoia of this song definetly fit my mind set, and I think that of Mr. Anastasio on this night. Glisten-(I call this song glisten, but I guess its really called Sleep) I heard this accoustic at the Bridge School shows, and while I like it more there, I still enjoyed it this time around. I was at this show with my girlfriend and this song was really nice to hold on to her and sway quietly to a peaceful song. Gumbo-Awesome! I have always liked this one, but ever since Chicago '97 I've realized how good it really can be. This one was no exception, and I realized that Trey was really focused on his lyrics this night. In fact, he sometimes seemed to forget about chording away, and instead focused on enunciating TM's words. He even seemed to be almost SPEAKING the words at times rather than singing them. The jam on this tune was nice, and not over-drawn out. NICU-Unless they start playing this every single show without fail, I'll never get sick of it. I have the summer '97 tour shirt of Mike as a giant cactus and the "Swim w/ the Catus & Float like a Stone" line on the back. Anyway, the point is that this version was nice as always, and Paige delivered after Trey's "PLAY IT LEO!" I believe it came as a nice segue from Gumbo. Beauty-The only bluegrass tune of the two nights if memory serves, and I danced my ass of to it. Some kids don't seem to dig the electric Bluegrass of Phish, but don't count me in that profane bunch. The lyrics are simple and flow well, and it didn't hurt that I had a lovely young women named Mary-Pie dancing her ass off right next to me. GIN-YES! Include this in the Gumbo category of songs that I'll take any night. Page came in with his usual emphatic pounding on the piano, and Trey did his usual great job of straying from the songs quirky theme and returning for the end of the Jam. Not to long, actually just right! Trey's playing was intense, strange, and tweaked out as it was all night imho. He seemed unwilling to give us cheap thrills by using an obvious approach to building up his solos to a creschendo, but instead seemed to just build and build and build tension, often times trading off the big realease for strange exploration. Mtns in the Midst-Again my first, but this didn't due nearly as much for me as 'back on the train. Without my girfriend dancing closely with me, this would have bored me. It sounded like Trey started having his first of several issues with lyrics, and this version as a whole could have used some practice backstage before the show. Anyway, a little close slow dancing and half a cigarrete later I was rocking out to: Axilla I-It's all about the reverance for the witch. Even if I don't always like it when Phish slows down the action, they almost always do it succesfully with the overall pacing of the show. The Gin,Mtns,Axilla I sequence was a great example. I don't think I saw any mention of it on others setlists, but I wrote down Riker's Mailbox as a segue after this tune. I might be confused (I haven't listen to any of my Phish CD's in quite a long time) about what this song is exactly, but my memory is that it is a kind of melting down slower strange groove, and thats what happend after the Axilla. If it wasn't Riker's Mailbox, forgive me. STASH-Yep, sweet. More stangeness and intensity (what do you expect, it was stash) and I really like the tension in this one. I found it quite effective. As usually, Trey brought in the ending out of nowhere and kind of took the rest of the boys by surprise. SETBREAK:Miles Davis Kind of Blue (Starting with So What) Wolfman's-A lot of fun with a great jam afterwords. Piper-Not my favorite tune by a long shot, but I liked this version because they didn't spend 10 minutes playing those 3 chords during the intro and cut to the chase much quicker. The jam was solid as usual. I believe there was a nice segue into: Theme-I like this song and Trey seemed to really want to push this to far out places like he did most of the night. He emphasized "don't you see anything that you'd like to try" more than usual. DWD- If memory severs, the Theme jame ended witha mike solo, and he simply just busted into the intro. Fun, but the vocals weren't great. Great jam though, but I for some reason was picking up some frusteration or almost bitterness from Trey:I assumed it was just me at the time, but I was getting some strange vibes. He REALLY seemed to emphasize the line about not being able to "..stop these deamons that keep / dancing in my head" The 2001 jam was great, as was the trey spacy feedback section with awesome lights from Kuroda (who seemed to recover from the probable hangouver from his birthday party the night before) The bust into SPLIT surprised me, but at this point I was thinking that Trey was melting in a way similar to me. This was confirmed by his attempt at talking to us at the end of the Jam. What I was most shocked about was that he seemed to jump right into the end of the jam and interrupt it by saying something to the effect of "Its over okay, Summer tour is over." His monologue left me and those around me baffled. He had one hell of a time trying to communicate anything tangleable, but he seemed to alternate between genuine thanks for the audience, and bitterness for the state of live concerts today and those attending them. He said something (and I try to summerize if not able to directly quote) about the "shit that went on up in New York...well, they burned it all down." He basically stutterd, stammered, and blabbered, and tried to convince us to "stay on the right path." I (and I don't think I was projecting because I never felt this at a show before) became convinced that my thoughts throughout the show that Trey was tripping on something were absolutely and undeniably true. E:Woodstock Julius Alright, don't crucify me, but I think this encore sucked. I don't have any problems with the (I believe its a CSN song??) selction of Woodstock, but they didn't sing the whole song and almost seemed like they decided to sing it back stage inbetween the end of the 2nd set and the encore. I thought it was clever and smiled, but definetly not up to Phish's potential. Then, the biggest surprise/dissapointment since I saw that Phish ended thier carreer at Red Rocks with Golgi and Bouncin': Julius doesn't make since to me. I failed to see what was supposed to be communicated to us as an audience (it seemed like Trey wanted to teach us some kind of message with the Melted lecture at the end of Split coupled with the encore of Woodstock), although the jam rocked at points as always, Trey became completely befuddled and useless to sing at one point. Flubbing is one thing, but I almost expected him to pull a Henrietta from the night before and say that Julius was merely and excuse to play the vaccum. I'll take Julius to open a show, or even to close either set, but not as a tour ending encore done completely half assed. Summary: I loved the two shows I saw and considered it a privledge to do so. 2 day highlights:MyFriend MyFriend ->Jam, Whipping Post, Makisupa/the bands completely blitzed mindset in the fist set of the first night, Boogie on ->Jam, Suzie Greenberg (the piano solo), The Short but sweet Boogie on Tease right before the YEM vocal jam, Gumbo-NICU, GIN, Wolfman's, and the SOAMelt before Trey started jabbering. After the 2nd night I talked with at least a dozen folks after the show, and while a good half of them simply said your typical "Awesome show, I loved it, Trey was great" sort of stuff, the others all had similar experiences as I did. They all thought there were wierd vibes in the air, and that Trey kind of bugged out in the second set. After the houselights came on, every ounce of energy in the venue disappeared. It wasn't just because the tour had ended. It ended on kind of a bummer. Flame away, but that was just how I experienced it. OH, BTW: I haven't seen it posted yet so the Sound check on Sunday began at 3:35 pm, and consisted simply of one run through of the refrain of Birds of a Feather, and about a five minute jam. I was sitting in the same location that I heard the Soundcheck from after the show (behind the back of the lawn back by the lake), and I was SHOCKED to hear the sounds of a live band floating across the water. At first I thought it was a recording, NO, then I thought it was another JAM band, NO, then I realized that I was hearing a Full on CITIES jam when trey starting singing "Think of London." Phish sounded like they were having a blast, and I assure you it was too loud to have been coming from a sound system other than the PA. Did anyone else hear this? Have you heard them play after shows before? I really think it was them, because it was clearly Trey's voice, and I saw the Band's busses pull out of the venue well after the music stopped again.
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 23:43:29 PDT From: Kevin Liska runawayfox@hotmail.com To: dws@gadiel.com Subject: Deer Creek Show 2 Review To: dws@gadiel.com From: Kevin Liska (PhreePhish) runawayfox@hotmail.com Subject: Deer Creek Show 2 Review FIRST of all, you gotta love the lot scene at Deer Creek!! (I ttok many pictures) Also, if you ever have a chance to hit the Hooters in Merriville, IN DO IT!!!! And now, on with the show review... Most of the stuff i bitched about in my Alpine review (hitting the stage late, long set break, really short set II) is the EXACT oppositte at this show...so i wont complain... It is really difficult to find any flaws in this show; i mean they were THAT on.... anyway... (my times may be a little off... hey you try to remember the timing for eleven set I songs without paper and pencil!) Hit the stage at 7:50 (yes!!) Farmhouse (6:18): Seemed to rock it out more than usual. A great opener and played flawlessly. Not jammed too much. We then get... Get Back On The Train (6:30): What a groovy little number! Love the drumming in it (of course ima drummer myself, and I pretty much like anything Fishman plays, so im biased). Perfect again! Vultures (8:35?): My first at a concert; i love it! The music almost has a gamehenge-like quality to it (say like Lizards or Tela). Personnally I think the can revolutionize the jam into something much more special, but they still do a great job with it rocking out the ending. Sleep (3:08): Is this called Sleep or Glisten? The guy with the electronic message hat had it listed as Sleep (you know who I mean). A nice little slow number. 4 songs in and no really serious jams, but thats ok. Gumbo> (9:30): Bring on the funk! Very nicely done as usual. They spaced out the jam not too long into it though, eventually leading perfectly into...> NICU (5:35?): Always a crowd pleaser. Gotta love it. (6 songs in, but no serious jams (Gumbo was nice, but i mean SERIOUS!) Beauty Of My Dreams (3:05): Oh yah! bring on the bluegrass! And unlike a couple versions I have on tape of this one, Trey nails it (what can I say, they were on; you wont here a lot of bashing in this review)! Bathtub Gin (13:58): Here come the jams! A decent-lengthed jam (good enough for me!) to get us really going. Very melodious, possibly resembling the 8/9/98 Gin (one of the best I have). Mountains In The Mist (7:17): a nice new Trey song. not mus=ch to say about it. Axilla (4:55): Rockin! I believe it was Axilla II w/ Axilla I ending? I could be wrong of course. Stash (14:30): First one in 14 shows!!! I new it was coming! Trey did some nice things with the melody, dancing around it and such. The jam wasn't that experimental, the couple minutes was the normal pressure/release jamming (7/8/94 on A Live One) done to perfect execution. Great trippy lighting by Chris for this one and the whole set actually (I appologize for giving Pete Carini the credit for the lights on my Alpine review as one phan caught and mailed me; obviously he doesn't do the lighting...maybe the Alpine atmosphere hadnt worn off of me yet when i was writing it!) Set I: 11 songs, 84 minutes. Can't argue with that!! Can't remember setbreak too much...40 minutes or so. As set II started someone through a huge blow-up penis onstage which Fish used for comic relief. You had to have been there! Wolfman (19:05 (starting with the Fish/dick thing)): Great funky jamming for minutes on end! Then about 12-14 minutes through, it took a turn into a really nice thing. What that was I dont remember (Im doing this review two days after...god i need the tapes for this show!) But, whatever it was, it was great!!....> Piper (9:07): Several power chords were held out... in the same key as Piper (I knew it was due)!! Thwn it finally started I was extatic. Truly I cant recall ever hearing or hearing of a bad Piper. If you know of one, I probably wont believe you anyway. The glowstick war was unreal!! (I you are pissed about the glowstick wars, just do what i do...throw them behind you! They wont hit the band , and people can see them coming!!) Theme> (14:15): My first Theme (they dont play this one that often anymore!!). Beautiful. They definately didnt have hold the last note out for 3 minutes though!! Actually i kinda hate that. Thats fine if its the last note of the show, but here its kinda useless. On the good hand though, the bass line did flow seamlessly into...> DWD>Space> (18:04): A rockin Disease, mainly all Trey in the jam. In other words not too experimental, until...> **Disclaimer** When I label the next part as "Space", I AM NOT comparing it to a Grateful Dead Space or Feedback jam. Whenever I label something on a setlist as "Space", I use it as a GENERIC TERM describing any effects jam that cannot be listed as a song. The fact that the Dead often did "space" jams is purely coincidental (though im sure thats were the term was key-phrased from). Just so you know... ** ** At this point Trey set an amazing guitar sound loop and began experimenting with it. The only way to describe it is to get the tapes (if you do get the tapes, I WILL TRADE for them!! Just so you know). Eventually the rest of the band joined in the fun. Chris K responded with many strobes and interesting lighting techniques (If I remember correctly). As this ended, Fish started up what I thought was the 2001 beat, but was actually.....> Split Open & Melt (15:28): What a great jam. I had no idea they were going to end with this. When Trey started talking though, I knew this was it though. He gave a great speech about the tour, the phans, the world, etc. Once again, get the tapes for this one. Set II: 76 minutes Enchore: Woodstock> (2:05): Identified right away by a phriend of mine. It ended after 2 minutes then starting up....> Julius (9:45): What a rockin way to end the tour. Trey just went completely nuts to end the song/tour. What a great end. Like i said, their really wasnt much i could bash at this show (at most, maybe not enough jamming in set I or the end of Theme and DWD if you didn't like the space) because they were just SO ON!!! So i guess its not much of a review; if there were parts in the show you didnt like, im sorry, but you arent gonna find many better than this in my opinion!! later
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 13:46:45 EDT From: Darb61376@aol.com To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: deercreek thoughts let me start off by saying when i was driving into deer creek around 5:00 i heard a portion of the sound check (beauty of my dreams and day tripper) and i had a good feeling that the guys were in a good mood. this proved to be absolutely correct. the only problem with yesterday's was the heat and that didn't even phase me all that much. the lot scene was about the same as it always is at deer creek. it was some what different this year because of the on site camping that the venue is providing and imo this helped out tremendously with the parking situation. we were only in line for about a half an hour, maybe forty five. the only bad thing about the lot was that shakedown is now "walled off" because they decided put up a fence at the very edge of the path and block off the nearly twenty yards of grass on the other side. it just made everything a little more crowded that's all. now on to the show. i ended sitting towards the top of the lawn on page's side so all of this is from that perspective. meat is a great opener. nice and funky to get everything started off. looking out on the rest of lawn during this song was the best part. everybody was just bopping up and down in unison to the beat. my friend was extra good (i am talking about the song now). it was extremely tight from the opening notes all the way through. then they went into what i thought was just a jam but since i haven't heard anything off the new disc i didn't know that it was my left toe. this jam was really cool and this is about the time that my molecule started to kick in. mlt morphed into a real bluesy rift and all the sudden bam...whipping post. this absolutely kicked ass. trey was right on in every facet from his guitar to his vocals. i woke up an hour or so ago and the only thing in my mind is whipping post, i've been singing it since i got up. makisupa was cool because they into a reggae style happy b=day to chris kuroda. trey sang first about how the band was going to get chris "so wasted tonight", then mike took a solo, then fish sang about getting ire and rolling up a "giant spliff, mon", then chris took an unaccompanied light show solo. i love it when the band takes time out and talks to us, it makes it seem more personal for some reason. i saw it again was a real good choice in my opinion. i had only heard it on one tape so this was extra nice to hear at this show that was already leading up to being tops on my long list of favorites. as i said before, the guys were in really good moods tonight. boogie on reggae woman was a nice choice. i heard it last year at deer creek and for the first time in dayton. this was a very solid version "i like to see in the raw, under the stars above". cavern was all right, but at this point now that i look back i can see that certain parts of the show trey didn't "punch it in" like he normally does. this happened during antelope as well, which by the way was a really cool version like i have never heard before and i have heard a lot of antelopes and it is still my favorite song to hear at a show. but anyway. my friends noticed it as well. it was like trey was holding off or something. it didn't ruin anything though so no big deal really. second started with boaf and since i was at polaris i immediately though "oh, no not again", but this version was good with a solid jam that had a lot of "structure" as opposed to polaris' crap. during the intermission my roommate found me on the lawn and we started talking and one of the conversations pertained to how he would like to see a have mercy or a walk away tonight and i told him walk away would great because i hadn't almost completely forgot about that song. lo and behold, out of boaf comes walk away. nothing really spectacular, but really fun to hear and dance to. antelope was like no other antelope i have ever heard before, get the tapes and maybe you will agree. my roommate has seen 23 antelopes and he feels the same way. suzie rocked. page sort of missed his first solo, but more that compensated for it later on with some extraordinary piano playing during this song. i saw trey take his guitar off and i knew that fish was coming out to play something. earlier in the day, i told my friends how i thought fish was definitely going to sing one of these nights and how i thought he might sing purple rain in columbus because it was raining during the second set. but he did it here instead. funny version because he forgot the second verse and "thank us for contributing to his addiction...playing the vacuum". anytime is a good time for yem. this was a real good version with trey teasing boogie on in the middle jam section. the encore was short but sweet. all night trey's vocals were on. in columbus, he sounded like shit, all out of key and louder than everyone else, but tonight he sounded good and he really let his guitar take control during the solos. i can't wait to see them tonight. i am kind of on the line because i told some friends that either harpua or mockingbird were due because it is the end of the tour, but right now it is just wishful thinking. this show has completely restored my faith in this band. ok, i am out of here....
Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 14:12:56 EDT From: HComet9926@aol.com To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: 2nd night deer creek Well, I have seen a lot of mixed reviews of this show, and rightly show. The simple fact is that it was a wierd show. Wierd for the tour closer and wierd for the Creek. This was my 34th show and my 6th Deer Creek show. I have to admit, as far as setlists go, it was the most standard Creek setlist I've seen and quite possibly the most standard setlist I've seen anywhere. It does seem as though the nights should have been reversed. My friend seems to think they were pretty hungover, which would make sense the night before being Kurroda's birthday and all. Trey even mentioned something about being wasted first night. All this is true, but I truly think this show was a perfect expample of how you can't judge a show by it's setlist. This show was truly blistering at times, and there is no denying that. The first set had a very mellow vibe, but any set that contains more than ten songs I feel I have gotten my money's worth. Every song was standard, but every version was through the roof. The Bathtub and Stash jams were so good. I usually go outside during stasth, but this one had me on my feet dancing through the entire thing. Axilla, NICU, and Gumbo will never tire me, I love those songs till the end. And Vultures I find to be a masterpiece. This whole vibe of *I don't like that song, they play it too much* has gotten ridiculous. The trick is to let it be new every time, or you will never enjoy a show. For example, I remember two years ago, everyone love Guyute and went nuts when it was played. Nowadays, it seems to be the cool trend on Phish tour to hate Guyute, it's just so silly. Think for yourselves, people. Second set: Simply phenominal. I found such a spiritual vibe to be present during this set. Every lyric cut through me like a blade. Word were words I sailed upon, now I'm on my way, don't you see anything that you'd like to try. Wow, I was so blown away. During the space/feedback jam, I was just waiting for the aliens to land, it was awesome. The jams during every song in this set were so hot. They just rolled over and over and the energy was in perfect control. I was truly impressed and despite how standard the songs were, the set was sweltering. Now this encore I have to agree with most of the other reviews, it seemed pretty weak and lacking for the Creek. The Woodstock was nice, but unfinished. I found the Julius finisher to be a bit of a cop out. Not only do I feel indifferent about Julius, but this version was hurtin at the begining. I feel that the crowd was a big part of this however. When Julius started, the energy died and it was at this time that Trey flubbed the lyrics. It was almost as if the crowd messed him up. I found it to be so appropriate that when he finally got the lyrics right, the line he said was *what's to return on the faith I've provided*. I screamed, *yeah, give the man some faith, he's a human being!!!!*. So, this left the crowd with a somber vibe and the campsite vibe after the show stayed somber as well. It happens, but I personally thought this show was quite incredible, and that's after 34 shows. First night, of course, was much better, but I didn't let my expectation get too far out of wack because it was the Creek or because it was the tour closer. Let it be new every time. Let's enjoy what we have. Thanx Jason
Date: Sat, 07 Aug 1999 18:04:50 +0000 From: michael doyle mdoyle@erols.com To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: deer creek 7-26-99&this summer I decided to write my first review because I feel like it was necessary to state my opinion of the show(7-26-99) and because I want to see what everybody else was thinking of it. Let me start by saying I absolutely love this band. Why else would I spend my time following them around the country? This summer though I must say I began to question what in the hell is up with the fab four. I was able to see a good portion of the tour(13 shows) and I must say a good number were not up to PHISH's standards. There were many miscues, flubbed notes and altogether poor playing. I dont know if the new arrangement had anything to do with this and I am in no way saying that were not any highlights, there were many (7-1 I,7-7,7-9,7-12&13,7-15,7-16II&7-26)but even during those shows there were times when I was questioning things. It seemed at times as if there was bad feelings between band members. I know that I don't truley know what they were thinking because I do not have ESP and I have not had any conversations with the band but being close at every show you are able to see there expressions and how they interact and react to different situations while they are playing. For example, the first night at PNC Fish laid down the drum beat for 2001. You could tell Trey was into it but then out of no where came Mike with the SOAMelt bass line. You could see Trey and Fish were thrown by it and so were the phans that were actually paying attention. It was not a tease, it was Mike saying we are not going there tonight. They did play 2001 the next night but that incident the night before was just wierd. I began to down play that event but there it was again at Deer Creek. The SOAMelt at DC was totally flat and definately the worst one I have EVER heard. It really seemed like the whole night that they were just not themselves. In the beginning of the second set I began to think back to 10-31-98 which definately had the same vibe. Maybe the whole Woodstock thing bugged them out due to its effect on how they will be able to plan huge events in the future. I don't know. What I do know is that the night before was incredible(W.Post,Maki,Boogie On,funked out Suzie, P.Rain, YEMw/B.O.jam). That definately knocked a lot of shows out of my top 5 and I read that Trey ranked it in his top 5. So then what the hell was up with the next night. Tour closer, Deer Creek,they blow the doors off that place(usually),for those who dont know refer to the HPB or Tour Extra99 vol.7 no.6. I know drugs are part of the scene for the the phans and the band, I just hope this is not leading to any wierd vibes between band members. During Treys ramble during SOAM it seemed as if he was paralleling a lot of what happened at Woodstock to what could happen on the scene if people dont realize that Phish is just a band playing music, having fun and making a living. Greed exists on the lot, it might not be some big corporation telling you what you can and can not do but it is there. Have you ever bought a skimpy bag,fake doses or argon instead of nitrous?(the last one being there for all you hippie crackheads out there,you know who you are) All Im saying is the foudation is there for something beautiful so lets nip this in the bud before it gets to the Deads porportions. I know some of you remember the Dead had to write a letter in 95 saying that if things continued the way they were that they would be forced to retire from the road. Could you imagine a summer without Phish. I couldn't. Lets hope it never goes there. Let us make sure that when the band decides to call it quits it is on there terms, not because of some chumps that don't give a fuck about anything especially Phish. Well I believe I feel a nap coming on so its time to end this review. Please remember "We are all in this together" so stay positive, be safe and hopefully we will enjoy some shows this fall and on into the next millenium. peace, Lincoln p.s. thanks for reading this and I would love to hear some feedback
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 16:51:45 -0500 From: Leo Wolf lwolf@shrike.depaul.edu To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: phish vs. woodstock/DC second night review Hey now everyone, I took a break from phish tour this summer to focus on school and even missed two of the three midwest shows (I'm from Chicago) in order to go to (I know I can't believe it either) Woodstock. Anyway, I did see my 26th show on the second night at Deer Creek and while I thought that the show was mediocre and that the energy level was low from both fans and band (probably because of the end of the tour), I would like to comment on Trey's live-music/Woodstock speech and my experience at Woodstock. So, my girlfriend and I headed out to Woodstock, looking forward to seeing moe., planet drum, Hornsby, DMB and others. All of the music that we saw was really, really excellent. It exceeded all expectations. At the bands listed above (with the exception of DMB) the crowd was comprised of primarily family and we felt right at home -- plenty of smiles, "brothers and sisters", and excellent vibes. Outside of those performances, however, evil prevailed. First of all, grills were not allowed, so while you camped onsight ala Cliff. Ball, Went, LemonWheel, you were forced to purchase food from booths. The prices were exorbatant to say the least (i.e. $4 for water, $5 for burger). Drugs were plentiful but there didn't seem to be a lot of trustworthy folks around who I would buy hallucinigens from. The camping was ridiculous as there wasn't nearly enough room and tents were literally set up on top of one another. There were not enough garbage cans, and nobody used the available ones, so the place was covered, and I do mean covered, in garbage. Port-o-pottys were tipped over, creating mud. People engaged in mudfights and then devolved into jerks when they attacked clean peaceful people with the mud. Few people were friendly. A Mardi Gras atmosphere persisted as drunk men yelled "show us your tits to any and every woman". We felt dirty. We left early because we could tell that this festival was going down hill. We slept at a brother and sister's in Syracuse and watched the news which proved our instinct correct. The next day we drove 10 hours to the CREEK. We were so excited to be HOME. The lot was excellent although more crowded than the Creek in past years. It felt great to see smiles and friendliness everywhere (and to pay $1 for food!) We smiled through the entire show (I particularly enjoyed the GUMBO). At the end of a phatty SplitOAM, Trey gave his speech, which summed up all of the feelings my girlfriend and I had been having throughout the entire night. When a lot of time is spent at Phish shows it seems that people begin to complain (i.e. "it's too crowded", "it's not as family oriented as the Dead lot was", etc.) All of the people who have complained like this (me included), need to take a step back and realize what a great thing we have going for us in Phish. If you can't realize it through thought, go out and experience something like Woodstock. It gave us a rebirth of appreciation for the Phish scene and you might need the same. Take it easy brothers and sisters. I'll see everybody in Florida! Love, Marshall J. Harris "Mutch" Karma2all@aol.com
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 20:50:19 -0700 From: Heath Condiotte h_condiotte@simplykind.com To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: 2nd night deer creek review Okay here's the scoop on the giant penis that made it's way to the stage before set 2. The penis's name was "Thundercock", and it toured with my friends from Oswego to Deer Creek. It's exact length was five feet--quite a cock if you ask me. Many of you saw it at the on-sire campground as we ran amuck throughout both days with "the cock". It made it's way to the showers a few times, the port-a-johns, sjakedown, etc. Everyone loved the cock (except for a few random folks). Many concert goers even requested having their picture taken with the cock. (I'm proud to say my picture with the cock is in the hands of many strangers). Our goal was to get the inflateable wonder on the stage at the beginning of set 2 to make the band laugh. Little did we know what would come of it. No, the cock was not a ploy to get the band to play meatstick, as many assumed. It was just our gift to the band and the fans. Look for something similar to come fall tour.... Have you seen my thundercock? Heath
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 15:28:50 -0500 From: Mark Johanneck redhous@usa.net To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: Deer Creek 7/26 Well I've been reading some of the reviews of the Deer Creek shows, and since nobody seems to have the same opinion I have, I thought I would share my $.02 First off, a little qualifier, I've been to about 20 shows between '94 and the current Summer '99 tour. Some friends of mine and myself jumped on the tour in Alpine and managed to catch both shows at the Creek, even though we had no tickets when we got there. So thanks to all of the kind souls who hooked up with their extra's (and at face value, the way it should be). As Phish took the stage for the start of the first set, my friends and I all dropped. I don't have much to say about the first set. It was pretty mellow, but I did enjoy it. I really dug Vultures, and the Gumbo>NICU was incredible, along with the Bathtub Gin and Axilla I. All and all a good set, but nothing too spectacular, especially when compared to the first set of the first night of Deer Creek (The Post, Makisupa, and the Boogie on Reggae Woman). It seemed to be a pretty normal set break as far as time went, and the Miles Davis was a nice touch. Right about the time the second set was getting started I was beginning to feel the effects of the dose. The Wolfman's opener was excellent and moved into Piper nicely. Now this is several days after the show, and some of my memories admittedly are a little muddy, but I seem to remember them teasing Also Sprach in the jam of Piper. It seemed to me they were trying to move to Also Sprach (as they had been teasing throughout the first night of Deer Creek) but for whatever reason it didn't move that way. With a sudden stop and quick start to Theme from the Bottom, they were moving along but I could tell that Trey was upset as they played Theme and the anger or whatever seemed to be directed at Mike. As some one else mentioned, Trey seemed to be emphasizing "Don't you see anything that you'd like to try" which he almost seemed to be growling at Mike. At this point is was becoming obvious to me, at least, that something was up with Mike. He didn't seem to be "getting" the groove. From Theme, them moved right into Down w/ Disease which I was hoping would bring Mike back to his usual incredible playing, but beyond the opening notes to the song, he still was struggling. He was playing Disease too fast and Trey was having trouble singing it right because the tempo was off. Again in this song he was almost always looking at and seemed to be singing to Mike, emphasizing "waiting for that time, when I can finally say that this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way." Someone else was saying they were getting some weird vibes from this part of the show, and I couldn't agree more. It was definitely messing with my head. With Mike not on top of his game, Trey (and Page and Fishman) took over. That feedback jam that Trey did with his loop and delay pedals was simply awesome. Between that and the incredible light show that was going on at the time, I had to sit down so I wouldn't fall down. Once again they seemed to be trying to go into 2001, but once again Mike simply refused to follow (or maybe his head was someplace else and simply couldn't follow). After searching around for what to play, he finally busted out with the base line for SOAM. The rest of the band followed and did a good job with it. Then Trey went on with his speech about how they really enjoy doing what they do and it's all very special and all the stuff about Woodstock (and I think he was very subtlety apologizing for the lackluster performance that night and possibly at Alpine). Anyway I was glad he made the speech and tried to turn the vibe around because I didn't want to leave with all the negativity that was hanging in the air. I also think that they didn't want to leave the last summer show before 2000 on a weak note which is part of the reason he was getting so emotional during the show. So when they came out for the encore, I think they wanted to lighten things up and send everyone away on a positive note. The Woodstock they played was definitely the Joni Mitchell song and although they didn't play it particularly well, I enjoyed it. I personally think that the Julius closer was more intended for Mike then anyone else. Trey seemed, once again to be singing to Mike and emphasizing "Don't blame it on yourself..'Cause if you lay it on your brother when your sleeping, you'll wake in the morning you'll be gone." Maybe he was trying to make amends with him because he was being so hard on him during the show. Now I know some of you are thinking I'm crazy, and while I tend to agree, I also happen to know that Mike was not on top of his game that night. We camped next to some tapers and go to listen to the show again that night when we got back to the campground. With a second listen, it only confirmed my feelings about Mike's playing that night. For a good example, when you get the tape, listen to how late Mike comes into Julius. Trey is already singing before mike strikes his first note, this is definitely not normal. The whole point of this is not to trash Mike or Phish, but simply to point out that Phish are not Gods. They, just like the Dead did, have off nights. That is all part of the game when your on stage and improvising, trying to let it flow. But when I hear someone come out of a show like that saying it was the greatest show they've seen, I wonder what show they were at, because they obviously didn't hear the same thing I did (and this is true of some of the people I was there with). All and all, I had a great time at Deer Creek and wouldn't have changed a thing. I think that the scene at Deer Creek is something very special and you can bet that I'll be there again next year. I hope everyone had as good a time as I did and hope to see you all there again next year.
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 16:47:45 -0700 (PDT) From: Blaine Sheaver phishin99@yahoo.com To: dws@gadiel.com Subject: deer creek This is just a point that I would like to make. I saw some remarks about the Woodstock encore and I think that people have missed the point. I do not believe that it was just randomly cut short. You see, I wasn't sure if they were playing what I thought it was and it was cut short right before the line that would have told me for sure that it was in fact Woodstock. It was a very symbolic place to end. I checked it when I got home. The line is as follows... "By the time we got to Woodstock, We were half a million strong, And everywhere was a song and a celebration." Well, I think we know now that it wasn't like that this year. And you should know that the ramifications go far beyond the burned trailers and trashed equipment. Big fat rock shows with camping just got a black eye and it will be harder and harder for us to have ours. So if you thought Trey was too preachy I hope that you can see that both the band and us have a lot at stake here. As much as people hate to admit it, bureaucrats (mayors, police, city councils, you know, folks generally considered to be uncool to begin with) ultimately determine if these events take place. Now the idea of 100,000 Phish fans camping for the weekend carries with it a whole new set of baggage. Trey started by saying, "Well I guess you heard about the shit that happened in New York..", to which I would responded, "No, I haven't heard any news. I've been camping in a dusty field waiting to see the best band around." I hope I have that opportunity in the future.
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 01:44:10 EDT From: Oopap@aol.com To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: Deer Creek Closer Review I just wanted to submit a short review about Deer Creek.. The bottom line is - Neither the setlist nor the jamming did the tour closer justice. I saw 17 of the summer shows including Atlanta and Great Woods, and the intensity just didn't measure up to a suitable finale. The band opted to forego several regular rotation songs like Foam and Mule, but did manage to toss out 8 or 9 more BirdsofaFeather. Had day 2 of Deer Creek been anywhere but in the closer spot, I wouldn't have nearly as much of a problem with it. How did that Theme get into set II? They were on such a great groove with day 1, I suppose I set my expectations too high. Excellent tour otherwise. Quick summary - Less Meatstick dance - More Meatstick jam whooaa o Take Care Everybody
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 20:07:22 PDT From: Dan Daly danielshanahan@hotmail.com To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: 7/26/1999 notes I'm not offering much of a review here other than to say that I thought both nights of Deer Creek were mind-blowing. Having been in Atlanta for the 3rd & 4th and at Starlake, I had very high expectations for these shows - last two shows of the tour, awesome venue, getting ready for Fuji Rock, etc. Anyway, I wanted to tell others that weren't there and remind those that were of something that I thought was very, VERY funny. When Phish came out for the second set of this second night, someone in the crowd blew up a huge inflatable penis, and the fans tossed it up to the stage. Trey instinctively handed it to Fishman, who then placed it in his lap sticking straight up into the air. This thing must have been 6 or 7 feet tall! Fish, then reached around it and played a little beat. I think Fish wanted to show us how much he liked playing for us. It was truly fucking hilarious. One additional note - in the Happy Birthday part of the first night's show, the reviews I read said that Fishman only babbled. I was on the lawn and could still hear him very clearly. In a great Jamaican accent, he noted that Chris will roll a giant spliff, but then not share it with anyone. Again, fishman had me holding my gut laughing. Thank you, Fish and thank you Phish
Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 21:18:21 -0000 From: Mark Maynard moemaynard@bemail.com To: dws@gadiel.com Subject: Deer Creek review Sorry, after reading reviews on Alpine I had to say: I love to hear people complaining about hearing a song twice in one week or even twice in a row. Some quotes from some people on this board: "the first set was ok but it was misplaced....." Misplaced? So you are the expert on when Phish should play certain songs now?? Maybe you should apply for a job with the band so that you can make sure they dont play anything out of order. Another quote: "I thought they might play some sort of sell-out set with DWD....know what I mean......" I wont name who said this but you can read his name on the reviews. You are a fool........ DWD is a great song. Why people label this song, which was released as a video on MTV, a "sell out" song is beyond me. Take your head out of your ass. It seems to me that people who are seeing phish for the first time or perhaps those people who see the occasional show are the ones that arn't bitching. And do you know why???? Maybe because phish is a rock and roll band and when you see a band for 2 months straight things might get boring. There is no band that can perform at their best every night no matter how bad you want them to. Phish does not live to respond to the tour-heads every beck and call. You fuck'in losers that go to every show and then bitch about 80% of them, get a job and see phish once in a while, you will learn to appreciate them. Grow up and lighten up. What is happening to the phish scene????? Bring on your rants fools. I am sure that I left tons of open ends in my comments. But unlike a lot of you I have other things to do except think about phish. And oh yeah I gotta get up early to work tommorrow. That is the word for today JOB. "J...O....B" Get one... Sorry for the repetition if you read this under Alpine reviews too, Maynard
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 09:42:13 EDT From: CPCGrafix4@aol.com To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: Deer Creek Thoughts I've been having mixed emotions about the Deer Creek trip this year. Only on a few occasions have I seen two nights in a row be so opposite in energy and vibes. Usually the weaker show falls before the hot one, but I guess from what I heard about Alpine from several people, the first night at the Crik was the cleanup. And boy was it ever. Several "first time this tour" songs, and three not played in awhile cover-song treats. First Meat opener ever, a jammed out My Friend, a super fun Suzy G that I haven't heard in three years, among other unpredictable mayhem, and no Meatstick. It was an emotional evening, as well. Hearing Chris Kuroda thank the guys for the birthday tribute in Makisupa ("Hey guys, this is Chris in the light booth....you guys are the best")was goose bump inducing. You knew you were at a special show. At the evening's end, we all wondered how it could be topped. After attending 35 shows over 8 years, it had broken into my top five, among shows like 7/31/93, 6/22/94, 12/7/97 and more recently 12/31/98. I should've known that it would take some treats to make the tour's last night just as special, but never thought it would feel this way. Despite the fact that I was feeling ill from heat exhaustion the whole first set, I knew the vibe was missing. The opener (Farmhouse) was appropriate, as several farms are visible from the lawn, but lacked the vim that can make this song occasionally fun. The jam felt flat to me, so I hoped that it would re-coup as the set went on, but between every song there were long pauses while the guys just looked at each other, as if they were waiting for someone else to take the initiative to start something. On most nights, the moment a song ends (or before), someone is itching to start the next, but this night they looked at each other and seemed to wonder. The highlights were short lived and a hot moment would be followed by mellower songs and unfocused jams that were funky but quickly faded. The second set didn't have any big surprises either, until a nice Down with Disease that everyone thought was going into 2001, but Mike had different intentions, or just wasn't paying attention. I have always liked a good and scary Split Open and Melt, but everyone felt like the set was finally evolving and it changed directions again. Not a single rare song, or tour firsts. Just mediocre versions of songs that were played throughout the whole tour. For a special night like a tour closer, at Deer Creek no less, I felt that there wasn't a special moment that signified that. It seemed all rehash to me. It was nice to hear Trey talk about what was going in New York at the end of S.O.A.M., as I had heard several people grumbling about it throughout the weekend. It was obvious that it had been bothering him and he had to share his feelings about it. Point was taken and they left the stage. I felt a bit disappointed, but when they waited so long to come back for the encore, I was guessing that they were working something out backstage, something they'd never played. Upon their return, I recognized the song with the first line "I came upon a child of God, he was walking along the road...". I thought, "Wow, they are making a real statement here." It was one of concern and heartache for the state of affairs in the live music industry. The whole reason Joni Mitchell wrote the song in the first place was to let music bring people together in peace in a time of war and unrest. I was worried that people weren't catching on. I've never heard Phish make such a statement before. I'm not sure how everyone else in the crowd received this. I looked around the lawn behind me and people just looked confused and tired. The entrance of Julius got some good responses, but I thought "Julius? Is this gonna end the tour? Why?" I tried to get on the vibe and enjoy it, but as Trey butchered the second verse, I was lost completely. The ensuing jam was fair, but not anywhere as poignant as I've heard this song end a first set or open a mid-tour show. At it's conclusion, the crowd roar was as dull as I've ever heard it, the lights came on, and the mood was never so somber. Was there anything about this show that was unique as it should be for a Deer Creek tour closer? As far as song choice, aside from the first encore, I found nothing. Was it the heat? Was everyone dead tired? Were the events at Woodstock on the minds of the musicians, channeling the uneasy vibes into my soul, inhibiting me from really enjoying myself like the night before? Am I just too damn critical about the band that has been a huge part of my life for 8 years? Whatever it is, I plan to re-evaluate my expectations and look forward to the next shows I attend and hope for the best. The next morning, the sun came up and restored my faith. This is still just a band, and we take what we want from it. We must not look for the destination, but enjoy the journey itself. For that is why I keep coming back for more. -Rob Mottice rmottice@cello-poly.com Columbus, Ohio
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 18:53:51 EDT From: Mlynch315@aol.com To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: Deer Creek- quick thoughts Just a few quick thoughts on Deer Creek: First, thanks to the band for the great summer tour. It made things exceedingly special having them close out in my home state. Second, why no Meatstick? I thought it was a virtual guarantee the second night. After hyping it up to all my friends back home, the whole crew wanted to see what it was all about. Maybe the band is worried about overplaying it, but I really hope they break it out in Chicago this October. It's just so fun if you let it be. The second set was sweet for me, with the call on Piper and Theme making me feel self satisfied. I enjoyed the DWD, especially Mike's plucking on the bass a la Phil Lesh. Only disappointment was the lack of a 2001, teased in the weird feedback jam. Woodstock was good to hear, though after not being near a television or newspaper I had no idea what Trey was referring to. It is pretty special though, this whole Phish scene. Thanks for the memories everyone- see you in Florida.
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 19:12:32 -0500 From: Kevin Hanley kjhjmh@worldnet.att.net To: dws@archive.phish.net Subject: Phish 7.26.99 Review Hey now, I just returned from the Creeks and thought I would write about both shows --- I also saw Columbus and Alpine, but much has been written about those already and the general stuff (ironic encore at Columbus, Trey's screwups at Alpine) was of the same opinion as mine. So my 17th show comes after a great night camping at Dead Creek campgrounds, under the big trees....great campground, walking to a show rules! We got a nice spot on the lawn, left-center, and we saw.... First set: Farmhouse opener was nice and standard, I was hoping for a Foam or Llama, but good nevertheless. Get Back, very common this year, still a nice tune. Vultures was the first tune I really got into -- I liked it back in '97, still like it now, the harmonies are well-sung. Sleep was new to me, mellow tune....but Gumbo, yes! They slowed the Tempo of it, and phunked it out in NICU, which blew me away since we just had the double-Leo delight back in Columbus! Beauty was beauty, standard. The Gin was GOOOD.....well-jammed it started an uphill trend in the set......Mountains was a nice mellow tune for a change (I have a hard time taking other mellow tunes like Circus, Roggae, Frankie Says, etc) but Axilla set the stage for the raging Stash that closed the set --- Trey took this one really far, and he used a nice mix of the newer sound he plays from his guit with the more old school wailing guit circa '93. I would say that NICU, Gin, and Stash were the highlights, but overall, a relatively average set (but *average* Phish is still incredible!). Set break was the average 40 min or so, I was hoping (as were 10,000 others, I bet) for a 2001 opener, but... Second Set: ...the Wolfman's was a beaut! My last one was Vegas, where it segued into Piper (after a 20 minute Ambient jam) so I was eager to see what they would do with this one...and it was much more structured than Vegas. I liked this Wolfman's much better, and when they started to tone down the music in the search for a song to play, I heard the familiar chords to...Piper. But this one was started quickly, and as it gained momentum, so did the crowd, who started boogying like crazy! The Theme was very well-recieved by the crowd, and it led into a smoking Disease that had one of my favorite Phish jams in it, ever! Alongside the Free jam in Columbus, this jam was just Trey pointing one big phat hose at us and dosing us with gallons of notes! The jam mellowed out into some feedback, mainly featuring Mike, then Fishman begins the drum beat to 2001!!! I was jumping for joy, and then I hear the bass lines to SOAM....argh!...what a tease! But this SOAM held its ground, it was jammed out nicely and featured some great Treyspeak at the end of it. He basically talked about how they were backstage and how they agreed that they are so lucky to have phans like us and to have the ability to put on shows like this, and then Trey mentioned how "today's live music concerts are going down the tubes..." and how when greed takes over, you will have problems like in New York. Now, I didn't know, nor did anyone else around me, what he was referrring to, but we were told later about the rioting at woodstock. He then thanked us for everything, that they had a great time, can't wait to tour in the fall, and how they are excited about Japan. So the encore, fittingly, was a song with references to Woodstock, and my buddy thought it was a Joni mitchell tune, but phish.net says otherwise. Julius as the last song, though, was a letdown of sorts....the song raged despite Trey's lyrical flubs (which are becoming quite common lately!) but how about a nice Guiter to send us weeping home? :-) While I think that the first night was better, both nights at Deer creek did not dissapoint, and they made up for Alpine's show (sans the phat 4-song encore), and of course, the whole ambiance and environment of Noblesville always makes it that much better. But I did happen to catch my eye on some NIEGHBORHOODS being built up on SR 235!!!! I hope we don't loose the coolness of the Creeks to the Greedy Gregs of greater Indianapolis....go develop in Terre Haute or somewhere!! ;-) Can't wait for fall tour, Mike www.public.asu.edu/~mjhanley <--tapelist and more
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 10:05:40 -0400 From: "Gagliano, Michael (Cahners - CHI)" MGagliano@cahners.com To: "'dws@gadiel.com'" dws@gadiel.com Subject: deer creek 7/26/99 Quick qualifying statement. Have seen 45 shows since 1992 and have seen 4 shows this tour. This show was simply awesome. The vibe from the opening note was incredible. Although Farmhouse isn't my favorite opener, there was something that said "TONIGHT WILL ROCK!". Get Back On The Train was great with Page jamming on the moog organ. Vultures was the biggest surprise of the night for me. Total arena rock song. Fishman was on fire on this one. Sleep was short and sweet. Gumbo was well played with about a 8 min jam that segued into NICU with Leo taking charge on this one. I can live without Beauty Of My Dreams, but it was well played. Next was Bathtub Gin and Trey did not let us down. He fuckin' wailed on this. For a first set Gin, the entire band was locked into an awesome groove! After about a 10 min jam, Trey led the band back into Gin. I never have heard Mountains in the Mist and hope I never do again. It's just too slow for me, sorry. Thank God Axilla was next because it got the Creek rocking complete with the fade out ending(Axilla II?). The finale of set I was indeed the best version of Stash I ever witnessed. Trey did not miss a beat. I'm not bull shitting anyone when I say Trey took Stash to new heights. It wasn't an extremely long Stash, but an excellent JAM!!!!!!!! I would say the first set was about 80 min. The second set was the best of the 2 Creeks and Alpine in my opinion. Wolfman's jam was incredible! With the jam snaking thru 2 or 3 different grooves(Mike leading the way!), this was just your typical great Wolfman's JAM!!!!!! There was only a couple of options to come out of the jam and it was Piper(I thought maybe Ghost or Maze). This song ALWAYS kicks ass. When the band speeds up at the end, the crowd generally loses it and I did too! Theme was next and the band did not disappoint. Again Trey was on fire. He built up the ending frenzy perfectly! The true highlight of the night was what followed. DISEASE>FEEDBACK MELTDOWN>SPLIT OPEN. For this 30 min segment of the show, the band was transcending. The Disease was the best since the WENT 97. No ambient jam, no slow shit, just complete Rock and Roll! After finishing Disease, Trey took the boys into SPACE! This was insane. For 5 min I thought I was at a 1973 Dark Star. Of course Split Open had to be next. Page and Mike led this song tonight. I'd give this Spilt Open an 8/10. Trey gave a little speech about the Woodstock scene and for the encore they did just that sing WOODSTOCK! Although short, it was well placed I thought. The only letdown was the uninspired Julius complete with messed up lyrics by Trey. Overall I'd have to rank this as one of the best shows I've seen. In general, the entire tour was great! I think we all have to cut the band a little slack. Sure they make mistakes, but as we all know when one sees a bunch of shows in a row, the intensity tends to decline and that tends to lessen an opinion of a particular show. But when I hear the tapes days later, they rock!!! Can't wait 'till the GORGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mike Gags
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