From cdhoard@umich.edu Sat Dec 12 16:21:20 1998
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1998 19:58:37 -0500
From: Christian David Hoard 
Cc: andy@gadiel.com,
    Dan Hantman 
Newsgroups: rec.music.phish
Subject: **11.11.98 Grand Rapids Review**

Van Andel is in my hometown, 15 minutes from my house. It's one of those
multi-purpose, plastic sports arenas, which means that, while it's cold
and impersonal-looking, it's also very clean and easy to get in and out
of. This show was obviously not sold out; after Chicago's crowded-ness
the scene here was refreshing (eg, no line here to piss in a trash can). 

I should have seen the PYITE opener coming. At any rate, I think this
song makes great arena-rock and a great opener. Very funky and groovy;
typically good PYITE.

GUMBO is definitely one of those older songs which has benefited from
the funk-influence (see 8.3.98 Deer Creek Gumbo). This one did not
dissapoint. A very thick funk jam floated throughout, with Trey playing
around that riff which he *always* seems to be teasing (see 8.2.98
Possum solo, the afore-mentioned Gumbo, and the Chicago Ghost). What is
that? Jump Monk? Anyway, I wish they would have extended this jam a bit
more...

CALL ME IF YOU EVER NEED A FOOL, GLISTEN were both nicely placed. 

TELA was fantastic. Great to hear this. Page was on.

BIRDS had to happen. I've got nothing against this song, I just can't
believe Phish wrote it in 1998. Chalkdust, anyone? Trey's playing on the
jam was godawful (by Trey's standards). He just wanked and wanked on the
upper reaches of the 'doc. This jam has some real funky, Llama-esque,
Talking Heads-esque possibilites, if Trey would just lay out for a
second.

THEME was okay. Trey chilled out a little bit, but Mike looked like he
wasn't having too much fun. 

JULIUS just seemed wrong to me when it started. Then again, most people
seemed to really dig it, which is cool. Anyway, I have the same
criticism of Trey's playing here as I do for his playing on BIRDS.
____

Set II:

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is *the* HALLEY'S as far as I'm concerned.
I've heard the 11.22.97 Hampton version, and I think this jam is much
stronger. Seriously, this was one of the most memorable Phish jams I've
ever heard. Trey finally chilled out, and the guys just built a
tremendously hip texture and played around on it. At one point, Trey and
Page were playing these beautifully-intertwined, counterpoint-ish licks.
It was obvious that everyone was really listening to each other. Just a
spectacular jam. I'll have to hear the tapes to say more about it.

SIMPLE started up just as HALLEY'S faded. It was great to hear this
song, but the jam was cut short. I think it was at the end of this song
where Trey and Mike had a little duet jam going (Fish and Page layed
out) which was very nice.

WALK AWAY was superb. I thought this was a breakout (last being Bomb
Factory '94), but I see this was played once earlier this tour. Page
sings this one very well, and this version featured some nice,
straight-ahead jamming.

LIMB BY LIMB was my third already this year. It's starting to wear on
me. This version was nicer than the Chicago version, however. Actually,
the jam was quite good. Trey played a lot more tastefully here. Fishman
screwed up his little solo at the end, which was kinda funny. 

CIRCUS was really nice to hear. I've had this song stuck in my head for
a few days, so it was cool for them to play it. It rocked.

I was a little dissapointed to see GHOST (I was hoping for a Bowie, Hood
or something), only because I just saw it in Chicago. The jam segment,
however, made up for it. This was a terrific Ghost jam. It was one of
those jams that reached a climatic point, but unlike the climaxes Trey
has been forcing of late, this one really worked. Very powerful.

As Ghost faded out, Trey said something to Page, then decided to leave
the stage. Mike had no idea what was going on, and sorta lingered for a
second, thinking they were going to play something else. I guess that's
why we got the CONTACT, ROCKY TOP, FUNKY BITCH encore, which was
terrific. Pretty odd for such a meaty set to be followed up by a
three-song encore.

The second set is a must-have. It sounds like one of those terrific fall
'97 sets. Trey played really well just when I thought he was on some
drug. The Halley's was amazing, and the Limb and Ghost jams were also
terrifc.

Thanks for reading. If, by any chance, someone has an extra NYE ticket,
let me know.

CDH



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


Date:    Thu, 12 Nov 1998 16:16:04 GMT
From:    Tom Constanten 
Subject: TC's Grand Rapids Review

To start off, here's the setlist from Andy Gaidel's page:

11/11/98 Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI

I: Punch You In The Eye, Gumbo, Call Me If You Ever Need A Fool,
Glisten, Tela, Birds of a Feather, Theme From The Bottom, Julius

II: Halley's Comet, Simple > Walk Away, Limb By Limb, When the Circus
Comes to Town, Ghost

E:  Contact, Rocky Top, Funky Bitch

The parking lot scene was rather small, lots of glass for sale.  I saw a
couple of arrests and a few undercover cops, but otherwise the scene was
relatively cool.  The weather was much better than last year's Michigan
show, so I was happy.  I went into the GA section and got a spot between
Page and Trey about 7 people deep, right in Antelope Greg territory.
The PYITE opener came as somewhat of a surprise, the intro was jammed
out nicely although I feel that there's really nowhere the band can go
with this introduction.  2 friends of mine were experiencing Phish for
the first time so this was a great opener for them (and a great 1st
set).  The Gumbo was nice and it contained some slow and lazy funk, the
funk meandered into a "ambient jam" which lasted for quite a while.  The
"ambient" stuff is cool, it's part of their overall sound and it'll be
here to stay for a while.  The Gumbo -> Jam (is this allowed anymore?)
showed some intresting indications of the band's new sound.  Trey is the
leader now more than ever, we watched him make Fishman quit playing the
drumbeat of the jam they were in and give him a dirty look.  Trey seems
dead set against segues this tour, he stops everything even if something
is being teased, only to start it up fresh.  The band seems to be
working on their songs as long compostions, rather than have them flow
from one into another.  The opening pairing of PYITE and Gumbo made this
set and show really promising.

Trey decided he'd play a couple of lesser known songs, Call Me If You
Need A Fool and Glisten.  For those who don't know Call Me If You Need A
Fool is a bluegrass number which Trey sings.  Trey stepped up to the mic
before the third verse and could'nt remember the lyrics so Mike mouthed
the first couple words to Trey and he sang it with a lot of excitement.
Glisten is a new Trey song, it's really slow and really boring.  I
did'nt catch the lyrics, but I hope this pattern of writing 10 shitty
slow songs for every one jammin' tune ends soon.  What followed Glisten
was Tela, Page's showcase tune.  Page was on ALL NIGHT.  Trey knew this
and let him sing a couple of tunes.  The Tela was nice, Page's vocals
were a bit rough at first but that added a nice feel to the tune.  I
wish they'd bring back the "Shadow of Wilson's castle" section, I love
it.

The BOAF which followed Tela was UNBELIEVABLE.  I'm not a huge fan of
the Letterman or FarmAid version but tonight Birds was incredible.  Trey
was letting the "machine gun" riffs loose and really jamming hard.  He
took it to new heights tonight.  Unlike the 4/04/98 version, this felt
like Antelope and Chalkdust with lots of screaming tension and release.
>From all reports this was the best Birds of the tour and I can
understand why.  Theme and Julius were well played, and each sounded
uniquely different from tours of the past, the band seems to really be
playing around with older material.  I can't pinpoint anything specific,
but these songs had improvisation in sections which usually don't.  Only
the tapes will explain what I'm trying to say, but, trust me (this was
very evident with Limb by Limb as well).

Overall a really good set.  A nice long jam in Gumbo, rockin' PYITE and
BOAF, and Tela!  I'm going to give this set a 7.9 out of 10.

Set II was quite exhilerating, a great showcase for the Fall '98 tour.
The Halley's Comet jam was really long and total Type II.  Page took a
lead for what seemed like 10 minutes and absolutely ripped it up.  Like
I said before, Page was on tonight.  After Page's leads, Trey grabbed
the reigns and unleashed serious guitar.  Trey reminded me of Fripp
meets Hendrix tonight, the heavy influences were everywhere.  The
Halley's had some quick Simple teases so I was'nt too suprised when Trey
started up Simple after ensuring that Halley's came to a complete and
crisp ending.  Simple was simple, during the quiet part I got the
feeling that Trey really did'nt want to be playing it anymore, so he
started with the rock 'n' roll riffs and came to Walk Away.  Again, the
band had the opportunity for a quick, slick segue into Walk Away but
chose to bring Simple to a complete stop.

Walk Away was phenomenal, I started seeing shows in '96 and was glad to
hear that they played it at the Greek and I'm even more glad I got to
catch it in Grand Rapids.  Trey seemed to be letting Page have his way
through most of Walk Away with the exception of his two screaming
solos.  The Limb by Limb which followed contained a really big Type II
jam, breaking away from the normal "Taste Jam".  I don't know that Limb
by Limb has ever sounded like this before, it was huge.  It reminded me
of the STTTL from 12/05/97 which had a very un-Slave like jam.  Limb by
Limb was tooled with as well, it's as if the boys are progressing too
fast for their own good, they're already re-arranging their new
material.  The Circus bored me, and Trey's vocals were a little rough
around the edges, but that gave it some charm.  The Ghost absolutely
kicked ass, the funk's not the same as '97, but Trey's effects driven
solos make for a lot of tension and release riffery (my new word for the
day).  I can't say enough about this Ghost, it was killer.

At this point in the night, one encore would have been fine and I
thought that was Contact - the first song Mike sang of the evening.
When Rocky Top followed Contact and Mike sang again, I was sure it was
over.  The Allman Brothers-esque riffs of Funky Bitch sounded out and
Mike belted out his third song in a row, he was having a good time.  I
like really long encores (who does'nt?), but this felt like another
mini-set and lacked any intresting jamming (unlike 12/30/97, 4/03/98).

The second set and encore gets an 8.7 out of 10.  There was phenomenal
playing all night long, 2 jams really stick out in my head: Gumbo and
Halley's.  Yet another killer fall show with great jamming, a bustout
and a big encore - the band is in fine form.  Overall the show gets a
rating of 8.3 out of 10 - it was fun...

Look for Cleveland, Cinncinati and Tennesse reviews in about a week...

later,

TC

-----

11/11/98  Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids Michigan



Date: Mon, 30 Nov 1998 11:31:41 EST
From: Aarmill@aol.com
To: dws@protos.lifesci.ucla.edu
Subject: FALL98_REVIEW

11/11/98
Van Andel Arena
Grand Rapids

PYITE - In my mind the best opener for a show. It has a long, drawn out
instrumental section that explodes into a section where everyone yells
HEY!
Trey then whips out the lyrics. During the part in The Landlady where only
Page and Fish play, Trey and Mike did a funny dance on the stage. Love
this song.

GUMBO - This was a really slow funky version. I guess it was good to hear,
but the jam went nowhere and they wrapped it up just as it really died
out.

CALL ME IF YOU EVER NEED A FOOL - I like it. Another fast and insane
bluegrasstune. Really puts a smile on your face. Very fun.

GLISTEN - After this song me and my bro looked at eachother and said
something like "what the hell was that?" It was a very slow, short song,
kinda like Fikus, but I like Fikus better. I really hope this song never
gets played again.

TELA - Yeessss! First time I've seen it, and I was in no way dissapointed.
What a beutiful song. Wow.

BOAF - When I heard the opening I was like "give it a rest already."
However my thoughts changed when it was over. Without question the best
Boaf so far. The jam just screamed. I felt like Trey was that guy frim
Scanners, because it felt like my head was gonna explode.

THEME - I never liked this tune very much. I think the music during the
verses is cool, but the jam doesn't usually climax or anything. I wasn't
mad, but Iwould've liked to hear something else in this spot.

JULIUS - Taht's more like it. I love this song. Just crazy. Thish was just
so much fun the whole way through.

I think everybody in the arena noticed how good the lights were during
this show. Chris is without a doubt the 5th member.

Set I - gets a 6.5 - There were some definite highs, and some definite
lows

During the setbreak my bro's friend who had floor tickets cam up to our
seats. He swore that they would open the second set with Tube. I really
don't call songs, because I don't know what they are going to play. But he
asked me what I though, and I said it would be cool to open the second
with Halley's Comet.

HALLEY'S COMET - From now on I will call setlists. Waht a great set opener
(once again). The vocal section is like nothing Phish has done before
(probably 'cause they didn't write the song). Anyway the jam was great,
and very long. At certain points during the jam, I thought "aright what
are they going to seague into now?" But the jam kept going. And finally we
arrive at

SIMPLE - I don't get all that excited when I hear Simple on a tape, but I
do get excited when I see it live. The jam was average in length. Then out
of the jam I heard the opening to

WALK AWAY - Niiiiice!!!!! The place went nuts. Not much to say about this
except that it rocked from beginning to end.

LIMB BY LIMB -  Pretty good version. The jam started out a little slow,
but then it bouilt up into a nice, beautiful jam. Above average version.

CIRCUS - I guess a good cool down song, but there wasn't much to cool down
from. Doon't get me wrong, LxL is a great song, but it doesn't have the
energy that say Chalkdust or Possum has. I was a little bummed about this
song. 

GHOST - I heard the delay loop, and went crazy. Ghost is great when they
hit it right, and boy did they hit it right on November 11th. Holy shit,
just thinking about the Ghost that night gives me the chills. It was not
te standard super funk jam that Ghhost usually is. Well it started out
that way, then just kept picking up energy, more and more, better and
better, until the jam was  screaming. Holy shit! Once again I got that
Scanners effect.

Good thing they ended the set right there, because everyone needed a rest
after that Ghost, even the people who sat down the whole show. Now it was
time for the encore.

Set II - 8.5 - Blistering set. Circus was the only lowpoint.

CONTACT - Woo hoo. I love this song. Page's solos between the verses were
some of the best I've ever heard. I like how when when Mike sings his solo
part, that all the lights go out on the stage except for that big
spotlight on Mike. We then get back into the verses, and go into some hand
waving. I think everybody the arena was waving there hands, even the guys
at the food stands.

ROCKY TOP - Sweet. Great, fast bluegrass. Oh what fun. When RT ended I
thought they were done, but then Tey waved his hand to Fish, meaning 1
more. Oh boy what were they gonna play?

FUNKY BITCH - Yes, yes ,yes! Incredibly phat. I love this song. Not much
to say about this song, because it is alway great.

Over all - 7.5 - No rarities or weird seagues, just purely insane jamming.



My two cents on the show.  

First set highlights:  The PYITE was one of the better one's I've seen.  They
drew out the intro for a long time, and the crowd got really into it.  Super
opener.

The TELA was also very well played.  It had been a while since I caught this
song, and they truly nailed it.  Brought me back to my UVM days, for sure.

The BOAF  simply rocked!  I wasn't thrilled with this song when I first heard
it, but it has developed into a set-stealer.  Trey exploded into his solo and
blew the roof off the place.  Awesome stuff.

Second set highligts:  Halley's was a great way to open the set.  Caught me by
surprise, as the last time I saw it, it was an encore.  It got a bit spacey
though towards the end.

A little bummed that I saw Simple and Walk Away paired up again, as they had
done that at the Greek.  But... they are two great songs and they sounded
great.  Old school rock and roll.  Also, enough with the Limb by Limb already.
There are so many better songs on the new album, I don't know why this one
gets played so much.  It was decent, but again, a Greek repeat.

Circus was very pretty, and the lights added a very nice touch.  Things had
gotten pretty mellow, and I was ready to dance when the digi-loops started.
Oh, yeah, it was time for Ghost.

A great version.  One of the best I've seen.  It was very long and focused.
They just couldn't stop jamming at the end.  Two thumbs up.

Encore.  The Contact was nice,  been a while since I saw it.  Everyone waving
there hands at the end was pretty funny.  Didn't think they'd end the show
there, and I was right.  The Rocky Top which followed was a lot of fun and
real fast.  During the wind down at the end, I started to think about leaving,
but then I saw Trey signaling Fishman, and I couldn't believe we were in for
one more.  What would it be??

BAM!  FUNKY BITCH!   Only one word to describe:  Awesome.  I was totally
pumped that they pulled this out.  It made an otherwise very good show into
something special.

Wish I could finish out the tour



WOW!

Normally I'm lazy, but after my 5th consecutive GOOD show, it's time to
write a review... First of all, a little background info on Van Andel. 
I knew as soon as they released fall dates that I was catching the
Madison and 3 Chicago's as well as Cleveland, which meant I already was
going to 5 shows, BUT I go to U of M in Ann Arbor, and G. Rapids is a
mere 2 hours away, so I decided that maybe I'd catch it if I could. 
I'll start off by saying that I expected G. Rapids to be the low point
of the 6 I'm seeing on fall (maybe 2 Hampton's, any one got an extra for
each night? :), and that is PRECISELY the reason why they BLEW my mind
tonight.  

A little more preshow banter: Tonight was number 45, and NYE will be my
50th b/c I went tonight, which I'll have to admit was a big factor, BUT
my WORST show was 11/11/96, at none other than Van Andel Arena, which
made me a little worried about a show exactly 2 years later in the same
venue (1st set was a disappointing 50 minutes, my shortest set to date).
So, I didn't have a ticket, but as a DAT taper (please no requests
unless you have DATs of Utah, sorry :( I happened to bring 1st gens of
10/31 Set II, and also 11/9 Set II (both of which were smokin' FOB's!)
to possibly get a GA for $10 plus the 2 tapes.  Well, I got my cheapest
ticket to date at around $3, b/c I found a KIND head who gave me a 200
level ticket for the tapes, so needless to say I KNEW I was going to get
my money's worth tonight...

I went to the show with 3 kids from school who all had GA, so I was down
on the floor about 10 mins prior to show time, giving me just enough
time to get settled and enjoy my 40 row back dead center Trey seats (one
of my favorite locations), and get pumped for the madness shortly to
come.  And OH, was it MADNESS!!!

PYITE:  At 14 mins, you just CAN'T get much better of an opener unless
you're on Mars, and this was obviously a solid version, not my best, but
it got me grooving hard for what would be some of the best 3 hours of
Phish I have ever seen...

GUMBO:  Well, well, well, nice guys... Didn't possibly expect this
somewhat rarer (at least in '98!) song to pop out 2 songs into a really
phat 1st set.  VERY well played, with most notes by Mike and Page (and
of course Trey) being played as close to perfection as I've ever seen. 
This clocked in at 12 mins, and I personally really liked the placement
in the set, especially after Punch...

CALL ME IF YOU EVER NEED A FOOL:  not much to say about this song, well
played, nice Mike song, I'd rather hear this than Brian & Robert any day
(sorry if you like this song, it's just not my cup of tea!), so it
sounded good to me...

GLISTEN:  Very interesting.  I heard this for the first time sometime in
September when I got the 5/7/98 Bearsville Studio Outtakes tape that had
about 30 songs that weren't used on Story of the Ghost, but were
recorded and heavily considered.  I like the structure, b/c if I recall,
it's very mellow and has a nice ambiance to it, and again I liked the
placement, but I had no fuckin' idea that the boys were about to bust
out a really beautiful...

TELA:  By far one of my favorite earlier composed Phish songs, Tela
showcases the band's songwriting as well as vocal abilities.  If someone
asked me why do you like Phish so much, tonight's version of Tela would
be one of numerous songs I would play for that person.  Page and Trey
nailed every vocal note beautifully, and I truly forgot just how
unbelievable the jam at the end of this song was.  EPIC.  When I say
that Trey was on the money, I mean he was one note ahead of perfection,
which in my opinion, is close to impossible to do.  Can't say much else,
except by this point in the set, I knew that this was clearly the best
1st set out of the 5 I saw in the last week.  Quick note: favorite
version has to be 11/4/94 Syracuse, just look at the sick Mike's-
Weekapaug placement, oh boy!

BIRDS OF A FEATHER:  Well, hmmm, I'm not the biggest fan of this song,
but I must admit that the band truly rocked the hell out of this
version, from the opening licks to the nice vocal choral melodies to
close out the song.  IMO, the best Birds I've ever seen live, and heard
on tape, and I was at the Nassau Coliseum debut in April, and I thought
this was the best I had heard, but tonight it was dethroned.  Tonight
made me realize that not only is this a GOOD song, but it has some
SERIOUS potential in the future as the next Wolfman's (what do you
think?) with a lot of epic jams in shows to come.  Anyway, I knew the
boys were ON tonight so I really didn't mind what they played for the
rest of the show, but I'll take a...

THEME FROM THE BOTTOM:  This song has always been nice to me, nothing
too hot, nothing too shabby, just an all round good song, with Dayton 97
being my fav. version to date.  Very well played tonight, as was every
other song (sorry if I sound redundant, but Phish's 98 Fall tour is
clearly better already than 97's, and I did NOT think that was going to
be possible- excuse me, the FUNK!!!) So, the next song was somewhat
expected as I called...

JULIUS: to open the show.  I knew tonight was going to rock as soon as I
scored my $3 ticket, so as per the rest of my review, this version was
solid with no Trey flubs and overall good job.

Finally, after an 1:10 1st set, I got to sit down and relax for a very
long 45 minute set break, after Trey distinctly said "we'll be back in 5
minutes..." - I don't let these things get to me, since Phish is too
good right now to complain. :)

HALLEY'S COMET: WOW!  This was the QUINTESSENTIAL version of
Halley's...from start to finish I kept on shaking my head in amazement
and awe at the BEST band in America!  This is one of my all time
favorites, and to open the 2nd set, one of the best placements this song
will ever get.  It is the best launching pad for Phish's epic sets, and
tonight proved to be just that.  My first and probably fav. version of
this song was 6/24/95 in Philly, and I fell in love with this song well
before I saw at that show live for the first time.  As I have mentioned
previously, not only is this song structurally and rhythmically
beautiful, the band's vocals are some of their finest, and personally,
possibly some of their best lyrics in the whole repertoire... So, it
ROCKED, didn't stop smiling for a single second, knowing that I was in
for a special treat for 2nd set after this version broke the 15 minute
barrier, the rest is all in the books.  At 25 minutes, I have to openly
state that this is the BEST Halley's Phish has ever played, and I have
quite a few versions of this on tape...

SIMPLE:  If I only knew I was in for this beautiful next song, I don't
think I know what I would've done since my favorite classic Phish shows
are 12/30/93 and 6/22/94 epic sets which of course always have a Simple
early on in the set.  To say that this song is a big warning sign for a
HOT set is an understatement... At 10 minutes, a very sweet version that
led into a even cooler...

WALK AWAY:  WOW!  After listening to 5/7/94 endless times, I always
prayed for a Walk Away back in '94, but never expected my wish to be
granted!  Not only was I psyched to see this song for the first time, I
was psyched because it is a high energy rockin' song that was placed
(again, I'm sorry if you think I sound like I worship Phish's set
building abilitly, but I think it is at an all time peak!) in just the
right spot.  The transition, as were a lot during this past weekend, was
note for note on the money, and I loved Page's vocals (and the fact that
Page is by far louder this tour than ever before!) as he smiled through
this fun song.

LIMB BY LIMB:  After seeing the solid, IMO, version played on 11/7, I
didn't think this would reach those hights, but I'd have to say I liked
this version almost as much if not the same in it's own little way.  I
used to think that this song was a little cheesy, but I think the band
has really stretched the original versions of this song to new levels as
of late...

WHEN THE CIRCUS COMES:  I like this song, but I was really happy when
they started playing it because it usually has a great song that follows
it (see a great Hood encore a la 7/22/97 Raleigh!), and I knew we were
in for a Bowie or something high energy, and I wasn't diappointed in the
least when I heard that now infamous digi loop that signifies the start
of...

GHOST:  After seeing a very beautiful version on 11/7, I thought this
might take a little more hard energy rock/funk approach and just be
great from start to finish... AND IT WAS!  Not much to say other than
great Trey Type I jamming at the end, Page sounded as funky as ever on
his fusion like keys, and Mike was ripping fat bass lines throughout
(but isn't he always? :) and Fishman keeping that very important solid
beat.

CONTACT:  This confirmed to me that not only did Phish have a great time
at this show, as the audience was one of the more respectable I can
remember (at least as far as the never-ending Glowstick saga), and I
think this was a treat for the ride home.  More importantly, this
version was reminiscent of Fall 94 and some classic Phish shows of that
run (anyone else see some serious similarities between 94 and 98 fall
tour-the 4 year evolution came back to a new peak), and it made me feel
like the old days.  Mike on vocals was fun, and the crowd seemed to
enjoy this one, as did I.

ROCKY TOP:  Even more 94 show feeling, this to me is the biggest sign
that the band had a GREAT time at a show (a la audience and playing
levels at perfect interaction), and I thought for sure this would close
out the show.  Well, it wouldn't be a Phish show if my predictions were
always right, and they ripped into a phat...

FUNKY BITCH:  Always fun, this funky song pleases everyone and I can't
ever recall not dancing hard to this song or enjoying every version I've
ever seen/heard.  I saw Trey look over at Phish and I knew with his
infamous finger swirl that we were in for one more, and I called Cities,
but I guess they had a different vibe.  Either way, I was quite content
knowing that I caought a 1:35 2nd set and TRIPLE encore.  

So, if you've made it this far I have a reward.  I will be willing to
spin 1st gens off my new Sony R-500 Pro DAT deck onto my 3-head Denon
tape deck for the first people to respond with comments about this show
and tour in general.  I'm looking for interesting ideas to trade for the
tapes, so be as creative as you want.  If not, maybe I'll do blanks and
postage for 2 people for tonight's show.  Just e-mail me.  

Well, it's 4:49 am and I have class at 1 pm tomorrow, so I'm signing
off.  I definitely would like to hear some comments about my review and
do a little spinning in the process, so until Fri. the 13th (wahoo!!) in
Cleveland, I'll see you next time.  Oh, if anyone has extra Hamptons (1
each night) please e-mail me.  I would pay face plus throw in some first
gens of Halloween, UIC, and Grand Rapids.  Hope you had as sick a night
tonight as I did!

                                Thanks for reading (it's been a while),
                                Todd Stanley
                                stanleyt@umich.edu



This show was the best I�ve ever been to (out of 8).  I think because of
the distance and the Monday off, all of the tour rats didn�t show up.  I
only saw one person with a finger up in the air.  Van Andel doesn�t have
its own parking lot, so no venders or drum circles.

PYITE-     It was really tight, but nothing creative.  The only thing new
was a opener tease in which Trey played the beginning notes over and over
again.  Even though no improvisation, the song was a great high energy
opener for a mostly high energy show.

Gumbo-    Flaming jam by Page on the organ.  It seemed like Trey was just
following Page�s wicked   arrangement.  This turned into a great porno-funk
jam that wasn�t long enough, but I like what I got.

Fool-        Great blue grass song, but just like rocky top, they played it
straight through.

Glisten-    I believe the only bad song of the concert.  I think Trey knew
this and ended it really short.  I think the whole crowd stopped dancing
because it was so life-less.

Tela-        Never heard this one live before.  Sweet ass jam by Trey, but
Page needs to learn how to sing.

Boaf-        WOW!  I couldn�t believe how much this song improved over the
summer tour.  I guess if you play it enough, it becomes standard like yem,
Wilson, bouncing.  The played the whole song through, and right before the
last verse  Trey just whipped out a amazingly technical jam.  I think he
even thought he was on key because he was mouthing �oh yeah� while playing.
 I hate to say this, but maybe the best song of the show.

Theme-  Very standard, but entertaining

Julius-    A great high-energy opening that made me excited for the second
set.

Intermission-  What the hell is with all of the late-comers squeezing up to
the front during intermission?  It really pisses me off, when I get to the
show a hour early just to get a good spot.  I don�t think they understand
that this isn�t a pearl jam concert, PEOPLE NEED ROOM TO DANCE.

Halleys Comet-  Again another awesome set opener.  Someone said this song
was 25 minutes, but it didn�t feel like it.  The jam was tight all the way.
 During this song the glow sticks came out.  Grrrrrrr.. I don�t understand
why some retards do this.  A person in front of me got whacked in the head
by one and they hurt!!

Simple-  A sweet song that�s really danceable, but it was very standard.

Walk Away-   Really good cover.  Page made up for the bad vocals on Tela.

Limb by limb-  One of my favorite�s from the new CD.  Again Trey tore it up
with a heavy jam.

Circus-   Boring song, but nice lyrics

Ghost-  I hate the lyrics to this song, but you have to admit it has ton�s
of funk in it.  I think anyone would       
            groove to this one.

Encore-  A triple song encore!  I think it lasted at least 25 minutes.
Contact was sweet with the whole crowd getting into a hand wave to the
beat.  I don�t understand why people don�t like it but, Rocky Top is always
good and Funky  Bitch was a great closer.

All in all, I�d have to give it a 8.5 out of 10.  Kill Circus and  Glisten
and I would have gave it a near 10.  Great crowd (except for a few) and
great venue with chill security.

Sean Doody
s.doody@wayne.edu 



Date: Tue, 01 Dec 1998 20:06:41 PST
From: Stephen Brereton stevethedude@hotmail.com
To: dws@protos.lifesci.ucla.edu
Subject: VAN ANDEL 11/11/98 SHOW REVIEW

I'll start off by saying that this was my very first Phish show so I
don't exactly have other live shows to compare it to but I do have tapes
and have heard many versions of the songs they did.
Anyway, we got there from East Lansing about an hour before the show and
I got a nice spot to the left of Page's piano set and about four rows
back to sit.  As we sat there people ran around handing out name tags
that all had the name of "Lizard" on them.  I guess these guys were
somehow hoping that the band would see all the name tags and play the
song.  They didn't but Tela was close enough.  Finally the lights went
out and we both towards the center but still in the fourth row.
Fish was in his mumu!!!

PYITE The band broke out into this funky jam which I didn't recognize
into Trey started to sing after which I knew it was PYITE.  I made myway
to the side and got right into the second row a little to the left
of Page.  The Landlady jam was great with Mike and Trey doing a goofy
dance when Page was playing but I was a little anxious for them to get
to the rest of the song which kicked ass when they did.  Great opener!!

GUMBO The song ended and the band broke out into "Gumbo" which was great
as everybody sang with the band and the jam that followed was great.
Trey kept looking up at the third deck during the jam and everybody was
turning their heads to see what he was looking at.  I knew that he was
just really concentrating on what he was playing; he was really into
this jam.  It was great too, lots of dancing going on.  The jam really
slowed down to a single guitar riff and Trey went to Mike and Page and
started whispering to them which really got the crowd going.  Then they
went into the next song.

IF YOU NEED A FOOL I had never heard "Call me..."  but it was a really
nice song (I want a copy!!). 
GLISTEN I didn't even notice that the two minutes of "Glisten" after it
"Call" was a separate song, I thought it was a finisher to "Call Me."
It was at this time that I had stuffed my way into the front row, where
I stayed for the rest of the show.

TELA Then they started playing those opening cords to "Tela."  I
couldn't believe it!!  Just before the show I was talking about how they
rarely played this song and here it was!!!  It was great and Page was
tight on the lyrics.  No fast upbeat jam part like in the original but I
didn't mind.  The jam at the end was beautiful!!

BOAF Then they went into "Birds" and to my surprise everyone went nuts!!
Balloons flying everywhere!!  I thought that nobody liked this one.
Everyone sang along with the chorus and the jam on this one was much
faster and with more energy than the "Gumbo" jam.  Having never heard a
live "Birds" longer than five minutes, this was amazing.  Definitely oneof
the best jams of the show.  After it ended, the band paused for a
while and the people around were yelling for "Squirming Coil," one girl
was screaming for "Contact" but most of us including myself were yelling
"Wilson."

THEME FROM THE BOTTOM Didn't matter, the opening piano cords signaled
for "Theme."  This was a beautiful song, and not too slow.  Being right
by Page, I was able to see him beating on that piano for the whole song
and I realized how amazing this guy was.  Move over Mozart!!

JULIUS "Julius" instantly followed and was a great jam but pretty
average for that song.  Still everyone was jumping around.  A balloon
got on stage and evryone went nuts (especially when a security guard
tryed to grab it without getting in everyone's view and only ended up
pushing it further onto the stage,  all the other security guards where
laughing at him).  Trey finally finished up saying, "We'll be back in
five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes, who knows!!"  Trey then kicked
the balloon but someone knocked it back so Page kicked it and it
fell into the pit.

       This intermission was pretty long.  There were jokes going around
that the band was on their way to Ohio already and were just realizing
that they forgot the second set, while another was that they were across
the street at the restaurant.  The head security guard decided to have a
little fun as he told this kid to the right of me that if anyone in the
front row threw something on stage then he would be kicked out.  They
scared the hell out of the kid as they told him but just about everyone
new that he was joking.  There was also people joking about the balloon
that Trey and Page had kicked.  It was a long intermission but still was
fun.  Everyone was in high spirits.  Finally after what seemed to be
forever, the band went back on.

HALLEY'S COMET The band broke out into the familiar "Halley's Comet"
lyrics as the whole crowd sang along.  Sure enough, the glowstick
cometsfollowed.  I could see why people were against these things.  There
was
only about five or six going around and still one flew about a foot to
the left of Trey, another landed right in front of Page's piano set, and
still another went inside Fish's drumset but luckily it didn't screw his
playing up.  Still, none of them even flinched.  I was told that I was
nearly nailed by one too but I didn't see it until it was on the floor
in front of me.  Anyway, I knew that the jam was longer than the rest
but I didn't think that it was twenty-four minutes as I saw later.
Still this was a great jam and not boring at all.  I was dancing through
the whole thing.

SIMPLE Then they went straight into the opening cords of "Simple" which
is always a pleasant surprise.  The band sang great together the and jam
afterwards was fun but nothing I hadn't heard before.

WENT AWAY "Went Away" got an amazing reception although I had only heard
the original a few times before and didn't know it that well.  Page had a
high pitch to his voice that sounded amazing.  I had never heard him
sing like that before.  Still the song was great and the crowd responded
to it well.

LBL Next came "LBL" and I went nuts since I love this song.  The lyrics
were done perfect and I couldn't believe that after five minutes or so
Page was still chanting "Limb by Limb."  The jam was great!!  Trey was
really into it as he stared up and the ceiling again and I could see him
singing along with the guitar, man he was concentrating!  They sped up
into a faster jam with Page's funky organ sounds throughout before they
went back to the original jam and finished this awesome song.

CIRCUS My brain must have been turned to mush by all those great jams as
I couldn't figure out what the next song was until Trey finally said the
words "When the Circus Comes to Town"  I'm really glad they did this one
since first, I needed a rest from dancing to all the previous songs and
second, since this one was beautiful.  No big jam or anything, but Trey's
lyrics were top notch and the music flowed great and the crowd
knew it as they got a big reception afterwards.

GHOST Finally, the next song that just made the show for me followed.
When I heard that high-pitched siren-soind of Trey's guitar repeating I
thought that it was "Also Sprach Zarathurstra" but I noticed that the
drums were too slow, but through those funky cords I knew it was
"Ghost."  Remember, my brain was mush.  The opening lyrics were awesome,
everyone sang in perfect harmony.  Right before the big chorus the band
paused for a good twenty seconds before giving it their all for the
chorus as the whole crowd sang along.  Then the jam came.  It started
out still funky as Trey kept the rhythm going and Page played some crazy
organ sounds amid lots of applause.  Then Trey took over and Fish sped
up the tempo into a Chalkdustish tempo.  What followed must the most
mindblowing jam I've ever heard.  Mike was beating the hell out of his
bass, Fish went nuts on the drums, and Trey prodused the most amazing
set of playing I had ever heard from him.  I recommend everyone to get a
copy of this show for this song alone!  The band finished and left as
the crowd went insane.

     The encore could be called 1: Mike's Encore since he sang all the
songs, or 2: The Let's Have Lots of Fun Encore due to the songs that
they played.

CONTACT Those familiar guitar cords gave the sign that "Contact" was on
the way.  The girl to my left who had been yelling "Contact" the whole
show finally got her wish.  The band was having a ball as they were all
smiles and the crowd danced away and sang along.  Finally it ended as
the band stopped playing and waved their arms back and forth while still
singing and the entire crowd followed.  It must have been so cool for
them to see that.  The crowd went nuts after it finished

ROCKY TOP What followed was the fast beat and familiar guitar which I
instantly recognized as "Rocky Top."  This was one of my all time favs!!
The whole crowd jumped around to this one, and the band produced an
amazing performance.

FUNKY BITCH Finally, a perfect ending of a perfect show, as "Funky
Bitch" started up.  Great song, Mike did great on the lyrics and they
even did a cool jam on the end while still keeping the original sound of
the song.  They finished and even bowed!!  How many bands do that
anymore?  They left and the lights went on to signify the show's end.
Wow!

       I noticed that no one really mentions the light show in these
reviews.  The lights were amazing and Kuroda produced some really cool
effects.  If you get a tape of this one, and you hear cheering in the
middle of the songs, know that many times that was for the what the
lights were doing and not just the band.  The lights during "Ghost" were
phenomenal.  Also the people were very respectful of the music and the
band (except for the glowsticks that were thrown on stage) and the
security guards were great and were having a good time.  I was even
talking to one during intermission.  Great show and great experience for
my first.  I look forward to future shows definitely.