7-20-99 -- Molson Amp, Toronto, ONT, Canada
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Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 05:01:32 -0300
From: D-ROCK [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: My Toronto review... I'll keep it simple in case you wanted to
post one of my reviews.
After Oswego I was ready for anything to happen. I deemed this show
special for several reasons. One being that Phish hasn't played north of
the border in years and two... I'm celebrating this event on my
birthday!!!! How lucky is that??? Thankfully I had a day in between
shows to catch my breath. I wish I woulda had money to enjoy Ontario
Place though...
First Set - Chalk Dust - I was hoping I wouldn't hear to many songs at
back to back shows... but I could always handle a little Chalk Dust
Torture.
Sample - Along with the Guelah and Axilla from Oswego... I really wanted
to hear this one.
CTB - I don't care what anyone says... this song is quirky and I like
it!!!
The Sloth - How sweet was that??? MMM damn sweet I tell ya. I stuffed
that one in my sack too.
Divided Sky - I was groovin so much that the plane that flew overhead set
me off even more. How was the crowd's energy Trey??? I thought the
crowd would go nuts after Trey holds that note before the solo ( you know
the one ) and they did.
Waste - Love this song because of its sentimental value. It's time to
think of that special someone.
Ghost - Bring in the phunk!!!
Wilson - Could you hear that Wilson?? We were having fun!!! Heavy
version.
YEM - Are you kidding??? Back to back shows??? I couldn't believe
it... but when YEM rolls around you take it and run with it!!!!
Set comments - Me oh me oh my... what do we have here??? A Phishin
party in Canada perhaps...
Second Set - Twist - Love this tune. What to hear more of it.
Moma Dance - Like a couple of others, I heard this one in Oswego... but
I love it too much to be disappointed.
What's the Use - Still groovin guys...
Train Song - A Beautiful song... but I knew they would have to pull out
a big one soon and that was...
Also Sprach Zarathustra - Who knew?? Ha Ha Ha... love those white
lights Chris. And it sounded great from were I was ( My first
Amphitheatre show ) dodging the blue shirts up on the lawn. I guess I
should say walkway.
Misty Mountain Hop - The lawn was vibrating... because we were hoppin
mann
Encore - Guyute - Love that pig
Hello my baby - I'm sure that was for me. I don't care what anyone says.
Show comments - The first set was fairly long. which I like of course,
but it left little room for the second set because of an apparent
downtown noise bylaw. I don't know if the boys knew that. I bet the
person who got wacked in the back of the head with the glowstick was just
as pissed as the person who threw it when the stage lights came on to
signal the end of the show. Chill people chill with the glowsticks. Ya
gotta toss em, not launch em. Anyway, Thanks to Phish and everyone who
kept a peaceful vibe to ensure no reason for Phish not to return to
Canada next year. Please. I had hoped that this mini-tour of mine would
go off without a hitch... and I think it did until I attempted to drive
back to New Brunswick ( 4 hours east of Limestone, Maine.) The timing
belt collapsed on the 401... about 60 kilometres outside of Toronto.
Thanks to the people of Cedar Park Resort for letting us rest our weary
heads there. Your generousity was much appreciated. And to the BRITS
who fed us and helped get my car off the highway. Until New Years...
Smell ya later,
D-ROCK
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 1999 03:56:37 -0400
From: J.W.Trenholme [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Toronto Show
...after the fact, yes, but sometimes you can't get a feel for a show until
you get the tapes - note: this will be brief, but for the sake of
argument/dispute/diatribe...i felt following the show it was average, not
great, not poor, just fine (considering it was Toronto and all...)
Chalkdust: standard - saw Oswego, this song varies little, but rocks
hard....fine opener to a show, kept it upbeat and album-y, as I expected.
Sample: expected to hear this as well, but 2 crowd favorites back to back
is somewhat unnecessary...still, a happy, mellow, grooving tune to get the
'uneducated' (for lack of a better word) crowd interested....
CTB: Love the song, hated the version.....Page really was doing very
little in this....all in all, generally boring, and believe me, there are
very few 'Page' tunes i would label as such.....
Sloth: Came out of left field --- wasn;t expecting it, and really ended up
enjoying it--not the kind of tune I hope to hear, but one of those treats
where you think, yeah, haven't heard this in a while...funky and
flawless...at this point, the set took an upwards jump for me....and
then....
Divided Sky:
...went right back down...let me be frank - I don't mind the song, but at
the show I thought they played it poorly, and listening to the tapes my
suspicions were confirmed...no, as some other reviews suggested, they did
not sound like a cover band, and they did not sound like four year olds,
but it was average at very best - Trey adding very little to the mix in
what should be a staple song for the band....
Waste: Pretty..not much more I can say - however, this is when Page
started come alive (it would have been nicer during CTB, but who can be
picky watching the best band in the world??) mellow, nice break, but maybe
if Divided had ripped a little more I would have been happier....
Ghost: a couple of loops out of Waste, and then... hands down, highlight
of the night - it should have made the HONor roll on Sportsdesk - all
right, fine, Trey and Fish fucked up the re-intro, but damn, this is
super-funk to the extreme....fifteen minutes of bliss...worth the tape in
itself - I personally do prefer Fall 97 versions, but after hearing this on
tape, my mind is changed.....
Wilson: Heard in Oswego, a kind of warped, jargon-filled version (it
sorted of singled out the pint of wackiness for me, and i'm sorry, but by
that point I was hot, hungry, and exhausted, and it kind of left a bad
taste in my mouth (BTW, make no mistake, Oswego first night may very well
be the best I've seen (out of 19) but I digress....the skinny is, I wasn't
too anxious to hear repeats, so this, needless to say, didn't blow my
mind...however....
YEM: This seems to follow me around, and I hope it never loses my scent -
to me, hands down, the quintessential Phish song - it has it all....twenty
minutes of beauty..all right, fine, the jam is standard (read: mindblowing)
as far as YEMs go, but the vocal jam is out-fucking-standing----(mind you,
in Oswego they could have murmured jargon for five minutes and I would have
been on ass anyways, but...)
Great Set: all in all, crowd favorites, but while I was secretly hoping in
the lots for some obscure, jammy Phish, I half-expected a 'hits'
setlist......
Setbreak: 35-40 minutes (What's with the concession stands taking the caps
off he bottled water?? We're not three-year-olds, we're not going to CHOKE
on them!!!???
Twist: All I can is 12.6.97 II - fell in love with it, have wanted to hear
it ever since - first live, a fucking treat, but in hindsight, listening to
the tapes, extremely standard...
MOMA: Ten minutes of funk is always welcome, and I remember this moment
vividly...I've probably seen 5 Momas live, heard three time \s that on tape
(hardly an expert) but Trey just seemed to tear apart the end at the show,
and the tapes confirm this...absolutely fantastic version!!!!!
What's The Use: I don't know...kind of trippy ambient shit....If i'd had
to piss....
Train Song: Standard....this set, after a hot opening...(I remember
thinking Great Woods, 1st night Set II...Twist---Moma---Guyute
---Lizards---Bowie...wasn't to happen...
2001: Was expecting this - some sweet, really entertaining guy in the beer
line mentioned the whole Neil A. landing of the moon, blah, blah, blah....I
gather he was American, and I hadn't really seen any newspapers since being
on tour, so I wasn't overly surprised... short, sweet, but unfortunately,
becoming standard....Albany version last fall was a billion times better -
can't really justify why except the timing and the vibe.....
MMH: Along with Ghost, hands down highlight of the night!!!! Was that
really Page singing?!?!?!? Outrageous.. now for my brief plug...I was
lucky enough to get backstage passes through my girlfriend, and I met
'Janice' (forgive my ignorance if the name is wrong), who'd hung out with
Mike most of the night - pre-show on, and she said during setbreak he
played a little fooz before relegating himself to the practice room to
rehearse MMH...twenty min. was more than enough....funky, jammy, certainly
NOT poorly played as some reviews have suggested, esp. as far as first time
covers go....stellar, but, as a friend of mine mentioned later, this
'mediocre' (all terms relative, folks) show would have become great with a
Possum, Frankenstein, Antelope or Slave closer....alas, they bow, leave the
stage, and come back out to.....
Guyute: Sorry....absolutely blah....imagine if they played Reba,
Fluffhead, McGrupp, Tela, etc. etc. every fucking night??? All great
songs, but only when they're a surprise.....this was so painfully standard,
Fluffhead, McGrupp, Tela, etc. etc. every fucking night??? All great
songs, but only when they're a surprise.....this was so painfully standard,
I spent the whole time pitying those who we'ren't going beyond TO for the
tour...myself inc. anyhow, now that I hear the tapes, quite well played,
very tight, but that's how they do it anyways....
Hello My Baby: Cute. I'll never get down on acapella.....can't wait for
them to come back....
As a final note, at the risk of sounding monotonous....for those of you
seeing your first show, I'm glad you loved it, and I don't understand how
you could not.....for those of you seeing your 676 th show or some
reasonable facsimile, I also understand how standard it was and how your
trip through customs may not have even been worth it, but Christ....simple
words, for a band who's got it simple, this IS as good as it
gets....agreed, 5 repeats from Oswego is perhaps a little weak, but with
any other band you'll catch fifteen in successive nights....hope summer
tour 2000 includes a molson amphitheatre stop....hey americanos, did you at
least like the beer?!?!?!?
peace. see you in nassau/albany.
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 23:11:25 -0400
From: Mathias [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Toronto Thoughts
Stats: 39th show, 5th of the summer (Great Woods, Oswego). Thoughts: This
show had moments. The boys weren't "on" all night, but they certainly were
during Divided Sky, Sloth, Ghost, and Moma (and of course, Misty Mountain
Hop). Divided Sky had perhaps one of the best solos I've ever heard Trey
play on that tune. Much more staccato than a lot of other versions and
much more melodic. Ghost had a great jam (Funky/ambient, whatever.) It was
pretty much wank-free with Trey playing very restrained, barely soloing.
Instead, he provided a nice rhythmic layer, adding a little punch to the
groove, as well, as giving us the sweet phunk chords. Sloth was just a
treat, as its fairly rare and rocks hard. This version was also flub-free,
which isn't always the case. As for Moma, of the four Moma's I ended up
hearing (I also saw StarLake), this one was by far the best one. The boys
were super tight, and the song had a strong, forward groove (in comparison
to the laid back, lazy summer daze version in Oswego. And of course, Misty
Mountain Hop rocked the house. Although I was exhausted by this point, I
still appreciated the jam, even if it did go on a little long. It reminded
me a lot of the way they rocked out some of the VU tunes in Vegas. Lots of
brain shearing, ultra fast notes from Trey. This show also had some let
downs. It started off a little weak, with nothing special in any of the
first three tunes (Chalk, Sample, CTB), and the big jam tunes fell a
little flat. YEM was good but with a fairly uninspired jam that went
nowhere. The vocal jam was the best I've ever heard, with wonderful a
cappella chanting that sounded a little Beach Boys-esque. Twist Around is
one of my new faves, and albeit a great song, this one's jam outright
sucked. Trey seemed like he had an attention span disorder on this one.
Constantly changing effects, he never settled on a single groove, and then
when they finally got something going, he steered it back to the chorus.
2001 was short and easily the weakest version I've seen. Again, Trey
couldn't seem to settle on any particular groove or mode of playing,
thereby making a mess of the song. (This was so different from Great
Woods, where it seemed he found a groove he could jam on in every tune.
His solos/jamming there was the most interesting I've heard since 95, and
he sounded a lot like he did in 92, when you could follow the melody he
was developing, instead a bunch of tired cliches like so many of his
efforts today... Sorry for the tangent! ;) And then Guyute. This dirty
pig is now in my bad books (along with Stinky Bitch and Prince Poopy). Its
not that I don't like the song (I like the other two as well). Its just
that for whetever reason (perhaps hearing it nearly every other night) has
made it impossible for me to enjoy it. Anyways, it was great to be able to
walk to the venue from my apartment and to see the boys in the more
chilled out atmosphere of Canada (even if it was in Toronto, and not in
the much cooler city of Montreal...) with a bunch of friends.
BTW, I have a feeling most of the people who thought the show rocked did
not see Oswego and were probably Canadians catching a rare show. To them,
I say, I'm very happy for you. Having a great time is what its all about.
And those who thought the show sucked are likely disgruntled cynics who
haven't enjoyed a show since their first and take this all way to
seriously. To them I say, lighten up and have more fun. Try and regain a
sense of childlike wonder. Obviously not every show will be a smoker, but
ferchrissakes, you're still seeing Phish!!
later
Mathias
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 09:24:06 -0700
From: Cam Duffy [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Molson Amp Review - 07-20-99
Hey Now to all
I have read the reviews. Lot reviews, local papers,
Canadian Tapers message board, and now - Andy's board and
the only thing I can say is - weren't any of you panners at
the same show as me ?
I will say right off the top that I am not a road weary
veteran of (insert multiple digit number) shows - just two
- Rochester in '97 and this one but I listen to the tapes,
play the songs, etc., etc., and all I can say is if going
to all these shows makes one so jaded - then maybe it's
that person who needs to take the sabbatical ! having said
that it's review time !
S.C. - My Soul - sounded really good from behind the venue
and then some jamming stuff that we really didn't pay much
attention to.
SET I
Chalkdust - Thank you, thank you, thank you ! I jammed in
the lot prior to the show and even I opened with
Chalkdust. I thought this one rocked the roll but still
fairly standard, y'know rocked the roll !
Sample - Insert same amount of thank you's. This is one of
my faves, in my home town, sample in a paper in my hand -
doesn't get any better IMHO.
CTB - say what you will about this one - I find it kind of
quirky and it reminds me of cartoons (no pun)! Strange
placement but kinda neat all the same.
The Sloth - Oh baby ! Does this song just make the hairs
on your neck stand up or what ! Right from the opening
chop to that nicely held bend and beyond. This is the tune
that made me want to live in the ghetto, eat nothing but
spaghetti and spend all my nights in bars ! This is the
one that seemed to get everyone going.
Divided Sky - Lovely ! During the huge break in the
middle, the boys just stood there looking out at us for
what seemed to be an eternity ! While they were standing
there just looking I jumped up with my Canadian flag and
spread it out for them to see. Ya gotta understand that
this flag is 8' x 16' LARGE and everyone in my area (just
behind the tapers to the right a touch) grabbed a piece of
that thing and we all held it high for about a minute and a
half ! It was at this point (I think) that the guys
realized that coming to T.O. was a good move ! BTW -
special thanks to anyone the was behind us during the flag
rasing and lost there site line - THANKS it was a real buzz
!
Waste - I have to agree with Josh on this one. lots of
folks I talk to don't really dig this tune but it's one of
our (me and the missus') faves and placement in the set was
great, after all, a sit down was a good idea !
Ghost - I saw this one in Rochester in '97 and when they
played it there everyone was kinda looking at each other
going "what is it ?" guess 'cause it was new. Not this
time though. Good groove, nice funkiness and it wasn't as
long as Rochester. Then again Rochester was a stand up
affiar from start to finish and they did Ghost late there
so....
Wilson - WIIIIL - SONNNNN ! Was everyone into this or what
! Love this tune. I love it when they play it, I play it,
you play it, I don't care who plays it - just play it !
YEM - My first taste of YEM was on A Live One (my first
exposure) and at the time I thought "what the hell is
this" Well let me tell you that was then and this is now
and this tune is really wild ! Loved the whole "we be
jammin'" Carribean thing - vedy interesting !
That's one of the best 1.5 I have ever spent (the best
being the first set of my first Dead show - Kingswood '85 !)
Highlites - using the same opener I used in the lot,
Sample, YEM
SET II
Twist Around - No really familiar with this one but I like
it a bunch. Can't wait to get the tape so I can hear it
again. All in all a good punchy start to the second.
Gotta agree with Josh again - I was looking for a Mike's >
2001 > Weekapaug. Mike's/Weekapaug because they hadn't
done it in a while and 2001 for the moonwalk anniversary.
We got Twist instead. More on the 2001 in a few.
Moma Dance - This is one of those tunes that I'm gonna have
to listen to more of. It was good, it was good and funky
but sort of uninspired and uninspiring (that's about as
close as I get to panning).
What's the Use - Sorry but I liked it LOTS ! When they
brought it down to the chest thumping, bone shattering bass
rumble I heard a collective "WHOA FUCK" from everyone
around us ! Ambient or whatever you like to call it there
is something to be said for good, white noise ! If
anything, it was a little bit the same from start to finsh
but am I complaining - what's the use !
Train Song - I only have one tape with this on it and it is
a little muddy but this is another one of those quirky
little tunes that I like and find myself humming when I am
working outside. Strange position in the set, I guess, but
still kinda cool and Mike's vocals sounded good.
2001 - Saw this one coming from a mile away but y'know - I
thought they woulda made a bigger deal out of it due to the
anniversary but I'm kinda glad they didn't go on forever
with this 'cause it left lots of room for......
Misty Mountain Hop - That first run of notes (dum dum da da
da dum dum da da da) and I almost fell over backwards ! I
have just been hit upside the head with the hammer of the
gods and I liked it ! The looks on everyone's faces in the
crowd will be a memory I will keep for a long time. And
did they smoke this one ! A big fat jam in the middle with
some No Quarter teases in the middle (yep, No Quarter not
HOTH) and then back out to finish. Trey and Fish gotta
decide who gonna lead out of the jam on this one 'cause it
was a little sloppy but WHOA ! Nice little surprise for
T.O. ! Page may need an O.B./Gyn. after this one !
ENCORE
The irony here is that my wife and I were talking about
this and that earlier in the day and I got to explaining
(or trying to explain) what a Guyute is. This led to a
whole Gamehenge thing but I'm not sure it cleared it up
much for her. When the tune started I just said "This is a
Guyute" and she said K ! Pretty good but nothing hugely
spectacular.
Hello My Baby - I just find this kind of silliness to be -
well silly ! That doesn't mean I don 't like it, I do and
I dare any or many other bands to try this (acapella to 15,
000) ! Didn't think so. Nice way to end it all though.
Highlites - Without even thinking about it - MMH
Molson Ampitheatre is a great venue and as reported in the
Toronto Sun, 15, 000 was a good turnout for the boys.
Enough to make them want to come back soon I hope !
BTW -for any T.O./Canadian folks - catch the review in the
Sun (Kieran something or other). Sure wish I had a
lobotomy so I could review for the Sun. This idiot started
by insulting the band with cheap jokes and the went on to
pan a band she probably spells the name of with an F (as in
fucked in the head), finally saying that she just didn't
get it. I'm not saying that she has to be a phan or to
kiss their ass but 15, 000 folks couldn't be that wrong. A
critic should be objective in their reviews and sayingf
that "it just gets better with nitrous and pot" just
doesn't hold a lot of water for me. She gave it 2/5 stars -
I give it a very large 8/10
As for the panners - a change is as good as a rest !
L8R
Cam the Canuck - BBFCFB
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 20:24:57 -0400
From: Josh Tizel [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 7/20 Toronto review
Wow was I thrilled to finally see Phish in my home town of Toronto. A
20 minute drive from work and I was there...no border crossings, no long
road trips...ahhhh. I missed the lot scene, which was apparently
scattered anyhow. Was sitting 12 rows back, Trey side. While I have
read many negative reviews of this show so far, I thought it was pretty
solid, with interesting and unique jamming all over the place. There
was also some dull wankering, especially in the second set, but the
first set was fantastic. This was my first and only show of the tour.
On to the music.
set 1
I: Chalk Dust Torture, Sample in a Jar, Cars Trucks Buses, The Sloth,
Divided Sky, Waste, Ghost, Wilson, You Enjoy Myself*
CHALK DUST: Nice rockin' way to start the show. Only word that I can
use here is standard, which means kick ass. Apparently was played at
Oswego, but I wasn't there.
SAMPLE: Again, standard, not the greatest choice, but we were still
early.
CTB: Very poor song selection here, this song does nothing for me,
mediocre version, nothing truly impressive from Page.
THE SLOTH: Off we go, the rest of the set was pure bliss from here on
in. Take away the first three songs, and this set is fantastic top to
bottom. Sloth was well played and very welcome to these ears,
especially after the first three songs.
DIVIDED SKY: Great to hear this increasingly rare tune. Some small
flubs in the composed section, but none the less a treat. The pause was
great, with all four members standing perfectly still. After exactly
two minutes the pause ended and the jam took off. While not quite on
par with the early 90's versions of this tune, this Divided was
excellent. I did think that Trey sounded a bit off key during the jam,
but it didn't affect my enjoyment of the song.
WASTE: This song is great when placed well in a set, and it was. Great
axe-work by Trey...nice to sit down.
GHOST: One of the highlights of the show right here. A downright
irresistible version of this song! Nice funky jam reminiscent of summer
97 lead into a beautiful, near-hose Trey lead jam, that was just a bit
too short. Wonderful, this is why I see Phish.
WILSON: Being played quite a bit recently, so I was surprised to hear
it, but enjoyed it. The heavy metal jam was an interesting variation.
Thought Wilson would end the set, but then I saw Trey count off 1,2,3,4,
which could mean only one thing...
YEM: The set went from short to long and sweet with the first notes of
YEM. Composed section was flawless to these ears. Trey's sustain was a
bit off on his second attempt at the note. Tramps were fun, as was
Page's solo. The Trey-lead part of the jam took a while to build and
didn't go anywhere special, mostly funky chording from Trey, not a lot
of soloing. Vocal jam was stupendous and certainly sounded like some
sort of Caribbean song to me. Above average YEM.
Thoughts on set 1:
Very long and very good. A 90 minute set was very welcome. The first
three songs were very standard though. Things really picked up with
Sloth. Ghost and YEM were also impressive. I was really looking
forward to the second set...was expecting big things. Unfortunately,
this was one of those rare shows where the first set kicked the shit out
of its later neighbor.
Set 2
Twist, MOMA Dance, What's the Use, Trainsong, Also Sprach Zarathustra,
Misty
Mountain Hop**
E: Guyute, Hello My Baby (a cappella)
TWIST: Was hoping for a Bowie or a Mike's to start the second, but I
was satisfied with Twist, which was excellent. This version had a long
jammed out middle that started rocking and ended ambient. I was looking
for a segue but the band went back into Twist before Trey counted out...
MOMA: All right, if the band wanted to give us funk, the crowd was more
than willing to soak it up. The pre-lyrics jam was as you've heard it
before, perhaps a bit longer. Post-lyrics jam saw Trey turn it up one
notch. Good, but not spectacular, this would have worked better in the
first set.
WHAT'S THE USE: My sentiments exactly. More like what the hell? which
was the collective reaction that this musical fart got. The biggest
buzz kill of any Phish concert I've ever seen. This was noise, and not
pleasant noise, not ambient noise, just plodding repetitive, rambling
noise. Nothing redeeming about this 'song'. Please drop it from the
rotation Phish. I'm not against the new ambient sound...but this just
blew and killed the set.
TRAIN SONG: Weak recovery. Poorly placed, this is a first set song
which I enjoy, but I needed a pick me up here, and got it with...
2001: Short but sweet version. I was waiting for some sort of tribute
to the anniversary of the moon landing. Was hoping for a Harpua, but I
knew we would get 2001. Lots more funk from the whole band, good light
show. Got the crowd moving again.
MISTY MOUNTAIN HOP: Highlight of the second set, by far. I was hoping
for a Rush cover, but this was more than welcome. The boys tore this to
pieces. Page hit Plant's high notes *perfectly* "Baby Baby Baby do you
like it!!!????" yes I do. I was expecting a standard cover, as is the
norm for covers songs when they are played for the first time. But no,
this jammed wonderfully for several minutes and I definitely heard Song
Remains the Same teases all over the place by Trey and Fishman, but this
jam went back into Misty Mountain sort of awkwardly. Still a powerhouse
rock jam that had these feet moving.
That was it for the second set, very short at under an hour, but the
band was respecting the 11 PM curfew, which I hope means that they
intend on returning to Toronto.
Guyute, Hello my Baby encore was pleasant and standard. My first Guyute
so I was pretty happy.
Second Set thoughts: Not nearly as good or long as the first set, but
had some good moments, esp. the Twist Jam, 2001 and the scorching Misty
Mountain Hop. Low lights included What's the Use and Train Song and the
shortness of the whole thing.
Overall I enjoyed the show, and loved seeing the boys in Toronto. I
would have preferred Ghost and YEM in the second set and MOMA etc. in
the first, but what are you going to do? Not the best Phish show, but
somewhere slightly above average. I would recommend seeking out the
tapes for the gorgeous Ghost in the first and the scorching 12 minute
Misty Mountain Hop in the second.
Phish, thanks for coming back to Toronto!
thanks for reading,
Josh
--
Joshua Marc Tizel [email protected]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Ryerson Polytechnic University
Radio and Television Arts
-------------------------------------------------
http://www.tapetrading.com/lists/j/j/[email protected]
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 12:52:57 -0400
From: mbies [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: I thought it rocked
Hey all. Unlike a bunch of reviews I've seen, I thought this show
rocked for the most part. The first set slowly became one of my favs
ever attended and the second was almost eqaully as good.
CT: I've seen three shows this summer(Camden, Oswego and Toronto)and
heard this one at every show, but I can definetly handle a Chalkdust
opener.
Sample: Haven't heard this until Toronto. I thought it was decent
nothing too spectacular.
CTB: When I wrote down CT for Chalkdust on my setlist I thought hmmm
CTB. Then when they pulled it out after Sample I was beside myself. My
first, it was done decent, but I was hopeing for a little more from
page.
Sloth: Hell yeah, I really dig this song, my first. I had no idea this
would be pulled out, I was expecting maybe a Tela or McGrupp to come out
of Gamehenge.
Divided: Another Hell yeah. This one was great during the end jam and
also with the 2 min pause. Really glad to see this one.
Waste: Saw this one in Rochester for the encore, really like listening
to this tune while chillin' around the homestead, dug this one however.
Ghost: I knew it was coming this night. I hadn'yt seen it in Camden or
Oswego and knew they would play it here. I thought this version was
extremely tight in the funk.
Wilson: The other song I saw at all three shows. Oh well, who can't
watch a Wilson most of the time.(Thought maybe they pulled it out again
because it went unfinished in Oswego)
YEM: Fuck yeah, thought the set was going to end with Wilson, but nope,
gotta have the YEM, and what a phat YEM it was, definetly grooved during
the funk jam. Vocal jam was out of control(hey ho crribean shit, really
digged it)
Twist: Never heard it live before, great to finally see. Good jam
before returning.
Moma: I really love this groove. This one was sick though. I thought
this kicked Oswego's ass!!
What;s the Use: Didn't know what it was at first. I dig it, but hope
they don't over play it, II could see how I can could sick of it
quickly.
Train Song: Standard, like Mike's vocals alot
2001: Fuck yeah!!! Was waiting to see this all week long. I thought
this one really grooved while keeping some nice space. Was very glad to
see it and see it done well.
Misty Mountain Hop: What???? I can't believed they pulled this out.
When I heard the start of the first riff I went absolutely crazy. I
thought it was done extremely well(thanks Page). Loved the jam, it was
really down right dirty!!!
Encore: IMO this was a let down. I really like Guyute as a
composition, but in concert it doesn't really do anything for me. I was
realy surprised they pulled it out foir the encore after playing it the
second day at Oswego. I was hoping for a Bowie or even a Bag. Hello my
Baby was nice to see, saw it for the frst time in Cinncinatti last fall.
All in all, this show rocked until the encore. I really dug it even
though I saw a bunch of the songs over the past weekend.
See yah,
Mike
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 14:10:46 -0400
From: Chris Morris [email protected]
Cc: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: Toronto Review (in it's ENTIRETY!!!!!!!)
Sorry, hit the wrong button
Well, my first show since Lemonwheel, and unless Phish comes back to
Toronto
(or Ottawa or Montreal or whatever) i won't see them again this year.
Scene: A few cops in the lots...not being assholes as far as I can tell.
Talking to few folks...probably a few busts...pretty calm lot scene tho as
far as I could tell. Security inside was very cool, not causing any
problems.
SET 1:
Chalkdust Torture: Cool opener, had few pretty good peaks in the jam but
nothing spectacular.
Sample in a Jar: Not a huge fan of this song anymore, and this version
didn't inspire greatness in me.
Cars Trucks Buses: Personal favourite, nice groove, nothing amazing, but
far from crappy
Sloth: Cool song to hear, partially because the guys I was with at the
show had never heard the song before, and they liked it, and I wasn't ever
crazy about this song, but i was totally into it here.
Divided Sky: They stood still for so long, we thought it was already the
second set but the time Trey hit that note. Really sweet jam at the end,
nice and jazzy.
Waste: A tad bit of a downer, but I knew they had to throw in a slow song
somewhere, and this one really fit I thought
Ghost: Heard the loops, new it was Ghost. Started off with a really nice
groove in the jam, then started to really pick up. We were totally into
this jam, they had us moving like maniacs. The jam really picked up after
a
while and ended being a total highlight of the night for me. Great
version.
Wilson: Always a fun one. My band covers this one on ocassion, so we got
a big kick out of it. Trey got really weird with the Digitech Whammy
during the metal jam. Thought the set was over, but alas
YOU ENJOY MYSELF!!: Yes! I have waited two years to hear my favourite
Phish song live....after I ran around for 5 minutes freakin out...I went
back to my place and just grooved, totally loving it! Nice little funk
jam. Things picked up, got pretty funky, started rockin a bit, thought
they were gonna let Mike have his old bass solo at the end like they did
up until like 96, but they went into a really neat, clean vocal jam with
all that Caribbean "hey, ho' stuff or whatever you wanna call it.
All in all, reallllllly long set, with great lights (of course) and great
music.
SET 2: Twist: Never got too interested in this song, but I really enjoyed
it here, nice jam in the middle, and they brought things back around to
the chorus nicely.
Moma Dance: Straight into it. Pretty straight forward...good energy at
the end. Not much else to say
What's The Use: I hadn't heard this song before this show, and I think it
scared me! Kinda weird, kinda jazzy, kinda ambient, kinda freaky, but
still pretty neat. I just sorta stood and stared at the lights, trying to
figure out exactly what was happening with this song. Overall, neat shit.
Train Song: Same as always...worked well after what's the use tho...
Also Sprach Zarathustra: One of the better versions I've heard of this in
a
while. A little more energy, a little less spacy, and a little shorter.
Incredible lights! Really good version.
Misty Mountain Hop: WOW! Big surprise. First time played. I think Page
must have squeezed his legs together realllllllllllllly tight to hit those
Plant notes, but he did it! The jam, was weird. A lot of the time it
seemed like Page, Fish, and Mike were all together, and Trey was just all
by himself. There were things that Trey was doing that sounded like he
was trying to go somewhere with it, but the other three said "No, we wanna
rock the fuck outta this song, keep being a guitar god!" So it sounded
kinda disorganized, but the I thought it sounded like they had been
performing this song for years, it was that tight. A lot of energy, but a
bit of confusion trying to figure out why they weren't really playing
together.
Second set = short. Expected a huge encore
GUYUTE: I really don't care much for this song, until it gets to the
middle section, which is always neat, despite being the exact same
everytime. So I was pretty bummed at first, but I was in the groove by
the end.
HELLO MY BABY: When they got set up for accapella, everyone thought "Oh,
Canada" but they did this one instead. Still a fun one!
OVERALL: Better first set, weird second set. It was cool being able to
see a show with my friend Rob Anderson, who turned me on to Phish
originally 4 or 5 years ago, and with three of my best friends from
Kingston, who all smell realllllllllly bad. I remember a lot more about
this show then the Lemonwheel, I guess being sober helps. I'll have to
make up for me sobriety this weekend.
That will be all.
Chris
e-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Homepage: http://www.angelfire.com/sd/keteela - KETEELA, the official band
of the Millenium Falcon.
All the
Acoustic-Comedy-Blues-Funk-Folk-Alternative-Hip-Hop-Mofo-Metal-Marmalade
music your ears can handle.
Tapetrading: http://www.tapetrading.com/lists/s/k/[email protected]
"I told you. We're an anarchosyndicalist commune. We take
it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week." - Dennis,
from Monty Python and The Holy Grail
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 14:36:21 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: toronto review
07/20/99 Molson Amphitheatre - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I: Chalk Dust Torture, Sample in a Jar, Cars Trucks Buses, The Sloth,
Divided
Sky, Waste, Ghost, Wilson, You Enjoy Myself*
II: Twist, Moma Dance, What's the Use, Trainsong, Also Sprach Zarathustra,
Misty Mountain Hop**
E: Guyute, Hello My Baby (a cappella)
This was my second concert at the Molson Amphitheatre, so I knew basically
what to expect. It's a great place to see a concert. The acoustics are
nice, and even the lawn isnt too far away to see what is happening on
stage. They have big monitors to catch the action for you. We arrived and
were dropped off about six, which gave us some time to wander around the
lot, which was pretty spread out. After wandering through Ontario Place
(a family amusement park) for a while, we found some seats on the lawn and
relaxed, meeting some other phans. I was dissapointed to learn there was
an 11:00 curfew. Phish came on and busted into:
CHALKDUST: Wow! They played this first night at Oswego, so it was a bit
of a surprise to hear it again. But no complaints, even though I had been
counting a Split opener. This was solid Chalkdust, with a short but sweet
jam. SAMPLE: I dont care what anyone says, this is a good song. It has
some of the best lyrics Trey has written, and I love hearing it.
Definite plus here, despite how typical the first two songs were. CTB:
Sweetness. Pager seemed a bit reluctant at the start, but he smoothed
things out with a little help from Mike. Nothing strange yet in this
show, just solid songs. SLOTH: My second Sloth, always a treat. This was
a normal sloth, except for the fact that it rocked the house. No obvious
flubs, which was good since this song is so rare and so complicated.
Nice placement. DIVIDED SKY: Yeah! I was so psyched to hear this, since
I have never seen them play it. They ripped into it. TRey's playing was
great, with lots of sustain. Great set so far. WASTE: Nice placement.
I sat down and took a breather. Very chill. Nice solo from Trey, then
some delay loops and they launched into: GHOST: This was ass-kicking.
By far the best Ghost I have ever seen or heard. They started this one in
a deep funk groove and just kept building it up until it was raging. At
the end the band was just going totally nuts. It was great. I kept
thinking they were going to seuge into some heavy metal song, like
heartbreaker, but it never happened. I definitely heard Mike tease Walk
Away at one point though. Anyway, Ghost raged for a while, and then
dropped back to the theme. An excellent song. WILSON: Another surprise,
since they did this on 2nd day Oswego. I guess they just wanted to finish
it, since it wasnt finished at Oswego. This Wilson was great. It brought
the house down. Very tight. During the jam section the band, led by
trey, immediatly settled into this hard rock groove, which they rode until
the next lyrics. Very rocking. It was great to hear Trey finally say
"Black boom bibbity boom bibitty boom", or whatever. YEM: Sick Sick Sick!
Yet another surprise, since they had played it first night Oswego. There
was some jamming in the Pre-nirvana section that I have never heard
before, very hard rock-ish. Trey belted out this chord that would have
seemed too loud, but actually fit somehow. Nirvana was great. As the jam
started Page put down some great piano work, as Mike and Trey did some
great tramps work. Their movements were perfectly in unison. The jam
started very funky. Mike played a variation of that groove he plays in
YEM sometimes, and they rode that for a while. I was a bit tedious, and I
was wondering if Trey would ever solo. He did eventually, and it was
great, but nothing earth-shattering. After he soloed he immediatly
started the vocal jam. Page stood up also and began singing. Mike and
Fish funked along while Trey and Page started the vocal, and I was
disappointed because I had wanted a sweet D&B section. But it was not to
be. The vocal jam was very laid back and had a definite theme, which they
didn^�t really depart from. Overall, a slightly above average YEM, good
enough for me.
During the set break I donated some money to Waterwheel and waited in the
food line. Unfortunatly they came back out before I got to the front, and
by the time I got back to the lawn they were well into: TWIST AROUND:
This was a decent, funky Twist. Definitely a crowd pleaser. Nothing
really special about the jam, but a nice opener to what I knew would be a
short, but hopefully sweet second set. (They had to end at 11:00). MOMA
DANCE: This really got the crowd shaking. You could see the entire
amphitheatre shaking it out to the phunk phish was projecting. They laid
it on pretty deep. Trey had been looking a little down earlier in the
show, but he was grinning again as he soared. The second set was heating
up. WHAT"S THE USE: This was one of the new songs, and I needed the help
of the guy next to me who had been on tour to identify it. A slower
instramental, still managing to be hard rock. May have potential, but
this time it didnt really go anywhere. They fuzzed it out for a while,
they stopped. The spotlight fell on Mike. It was time for: TRAINSONG:
Yes! A personal favorite of mine. I think Mike writes the best lyrics
out of anyone in the band. His voice is also very clear. I stood and let
him serenade me. 2001: This started with a distored noise jam that I
couldn't identify. They next to me was writing something in his book and I
asked him what song this was. He said "2001", and that they had done this
same opening earlier in the tour. Sure enough, pretty soon Fish laid down
that funky rhythm and Page started it off. This was a great 2001.
Nothing spectacular, just incredibly tight space funk, along with great
lights from Chris. This song totally pumped up the crowd, who cheered
madly each time Trey played the theme. They eventually stopped, which was
a bit dissapointing since I wanted a segue into something big, maybe
Bowie. But all regret vanished once the next song started. MISTY MOUNTAIN
HOP: When the first chords started I could not believe my ears. I was
sure they were playing another songs that just sounded like it. But when
the lyrics started I knew it was Misty. This is one of my favorite Zep
songs, and it was awesome. Page did his best Plant, screaming out those
high notes. It was bliss. For a first time played, the jam was
breathtaking. The started from the Misty theme and just built it up until
everyone was raging away. Trey had not really been that active this show,
but he just took control and steered this jam to some great heights.
Highlight of the show. I really hope this makes it into regular rotation.
The jam can back to earth and landed squarely back in the Misty theme.
Great song. I was dissapointed to see the that guys were bowing already.
As I talked with the phan next to me, we tried to predict the encore and
hoped for a Harpua. Phish came out and started into:
GUYUTE: Decent choice. Better than a wussy song like Bouncin or Coil,
but not as cool as a Harpua or Carini. This was typical Guyute action
that got the crowd cheering. Nothing special, nothing even close to the
reality-warping, mind-fuck of a Guyute jam we were privy to in Oswego. I
was hoping for more of the same stuff, but they played it out pretty much
by the book. After it ended I was expecting them to leave, but they
conferred and moved without thier instruments to the from of the stage
for:
HELLO MY BABY: Sweet. I was hoping for a Freebird, but this was just as
nice. Good to see them working on those group harmonies, and good to see
that they fucked the curfew, even by ten minutes. They bowed and left,
and I gave them a soaring round of applause for a show well done.
This was definitely a quality show, despite the stunted second set. I was
with my little brother, who had always denied liking Phish but had agreed
to come after I gave him a copy of the Bomb Factory. There was no denying
it now. He had been dancing and mingling with the heads all show, and he
had a blast. He told me that he liked the Sloth song the best. I thought
the highlights were Ghost, Wilson and Misty, with 2001, Sky and YEM thrown
in for good measure. Defitely a quality show from what they had to work
with. No real low points. One more thing: Molson is a great venue.
Even the lawn is pretty close to the stage, and you can see the sunset and
seagulls gliding over the harbor. Very peaceful, except for the geese
shit on the grass. And the sound is very clear and audible, with nice bass
tones. No rating, just a great time.
-Felix Gottdiener
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 14:16:31 -0400
From: David Robins [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: Molson Amphitheatre
Despite so many negative reviews, I can only say that the Phish show in
Toronto was awesome.�� Great venue and good vibes all around.� Like many
others, I have seen the band several times since 1990.� I also had the
benefit of catching over 50 dead shows.� Watching Phish develop has been
a treat.� Their sound is innovative and their energy never ceases to
amaze me.� I thought both sets were incredibly solid and was amazed with
the first-time-played Zeppelin tune.� What's the Use, from the new Siket
disc, was also a nice new treat.� I'm amazed at how critical people are
with new sounds and styles.� To be honest, it is always this "unknown"
that keeps me coming back for more, otherwise, things get boring.
�
It was such a pleasure to catch a show at home instead of the usual long
road trip and hassle at the border.� THANK YOU PHISH FOR COMING BACK TO
TORONTO!
�
People ought not to be so analytical and critical when it comes to these
shows.� The funniest aspect of all of this is that the phans analyze
things and take each show far more seriously than the band.� For those
of you who are unable to escape all the negative vibes you got from this
recent show, I think you should try to take a break and open your minds
to other music out there.�� Toronto has had some phenomenal world music
performed here this summer.� Check it out!
Peace.
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 17:03:03 -0400
From: Matthew Elek [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Toronto
Reading over some of these reviews, it seems apparent that many of
Phish's "faithful" are missing the point. This was my tenth show, and
although I am not so worldly as those of you who have been there since
the eighties, I am still able to enjoy the raw beauty and adrenaline of
a show.
I will agree that it wasn't strong as some others I have seen,
but to cut up a band that brings good vibes everywhere they go is
ridiculous. It seems your pretense is holding you back from enjoying
the reasons why you started listening to Phish. I am sorry, but your
attitude degrades phish's vibe. If you are so sick of the
"funky-ambient-whatever you want to call it" shows, then don't come.
You seem too preoccupied with labling the music and saying why it
wasn't up to par to appreciate the music and the people on elementary
levels. I am not saying Phish is unidimentional, but it is ultimately
their vibe and their music which embodies "the Phish experience" to me.
My advice, stop whining and realize how lucky you are to be a part of
something so fundamentaly good.
Matt
Toronto, Canada
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 13:29:36 -0400
From: Christine J. Spohn [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Molson Amp. - 7/20/99
I wasn't going to do a review of this show, but after reading a few of
the unbelievably critical and downright mean "reviews" already posted, I
had to voice some sort of reply. A reply, at least, for the semmingly
fewer and fewer of those who still listen to Phish for a reason and
actually enjoy going to shows.
Why go to a show and come home only to bitch and moan and complian like
some spoiled grandchild because "phish didn't play like it was 1989 or
1992?" Look, people of little faith and obvious little musical taste
(what has caused it to rot away anyway? You started seeing this band for
a reason, right?) Russel and Debbie are right: my opinion of some Phish
fans is continually getting lowered because of their seemingly worthless
thoughts on any given show. If it is not 12/31/95 or a 12/29/94 Bowie
then, by god, this is the worst Phish show you've ever seen. Who are
you? Why are you so negative about a band that is so goddamned good and
so remarkably talented? This is live, improvisational (sp?) music, not
pre-recorded, dance-hall half-hearted-hip-hop crap-rock that you can see
on almost every other tour sucking its way around the country today.
I thought the Toronto show was really good. Of course, I can take a
smoke break and relax during Waste, but why not have something like that
in a set? (This was my 33rd show, for those who care to know, but please
don't think less of me because I'm not in triple digits yet! I just
couldn't handle it!)
Sloth was really fun and a great one to get the set going.
Divided, although not the most rocking one ever, was well played and how
can you not appreciate a Divided Sky?
Ghost>Wilson?YEM???? C'mon! Yes, a seeminlgly shorter Wilson, but
nothing was missing, nor was it a letdown. Just the opposite.
Twist Around, Moma, What's the Use, Also Sprach, Misty Mountain
Hop!?!?!?!?!?!?!? What more can you ask for? Of course, everyone has
their dream set, but if you don't get it, which of course you probably
never will because you are too damn critical and cynical, don't come
home and tell eveyone the show sucked. It lowers people's opnions of you
and the band and , though most couldn't care about your thoughts, people
care about this band we all love.
Try to re-evaluate your stupid "ranking scales" and remember that this
is 1999, not 1989. The band wants to evolve, change, and move on. Why
can't you? This is not a personal attack on anyone, but an open letter
of invitation to everyone who has ever been overly negative about a
show. No one wants that or needs it. Grow up and realize that the band
is as remarkable as ever and the concerts are a place to have fun,
relax, and listen to the boys lift the tops of our heads right off. Like
Russel said, "Go see the Backstreet Boys if you want that sort of
thing." Stay at home and listen to your entire 1992 Spring Tour tapes
next time instead of going the show. I think they might do you more
good. At least you can fast-forward through the slower songs.
For the rest, have a great remaining Summer Tour and we'll see you in
the Fall.
Aaron Spohn
[email protected]
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 22:53:18 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Newbie at Toronto Show
Tuesday night was my very first Phish concert and I can't believe that
anyone has the nerve to put them down by saying the show in Toronto was
poor. Give your heads a shake people and get off the tour for awhile! This
is by far and away the greatest band I have ever seen play live and I'm 25
years old. In the past year I've seen Big Wreck, Big Sugar, The Black Crowes
and The Tragically Hip and none of these bands can even hold a candle to
Phish, especially not Canada's own Tragcially Dull. The only other band that
even comes close to being as exciting as Phish were the Grateful Dead, who I
saw in Buffalo in '93. But that's beside the point because the real issue
here is this... When you begin complaining about a band of this calibre then
you should take a week off and go home because Newbies like me think that
this band is incredible and we could use the extra leg room in our seats
when we're gettin' down!
-Mark Hanson
Producer, Host of "Crossroads" on Trent University Radio, 92.7 FM
Peterborough, Ontario
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 17:40:00 -0400
From: steve [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Virgin Phish
Hello All. Helter here, from Hamilton. I'd like to start off saying i'm
surprised at all the heavy Phish critics. Being my first Phish concert, I
was new to the whole Phish Experience. Too me, it was amazing. I couldn't
name all the Phish songs I heard. Hell, I only recognized Wilson! This
concert was a beginning. I don't own a Phish cd(i'll will be purchasing many
soon) Maybe that is why I appreciated the music so much. Everyone compared
the songs played to the past concerts, I can't. Compared to everything else
that is being played today, Phish is something else. My ass was kicked, by
Phish! I'm looking into the Fall dates, mainly Albany, New York.
The music is only a part of the Phish Experience. The people were all so
friendly, I could not believe I was in Toronto! If Phish did not live up to
some of the seasoned veterin Phish fans, maybe they should catch Woodstock
99. I have a feeling they will be deeply miss Phish, possible recindling
their appreciation for Phish.
Oh and something to ponder. The concert was held on Ontario Place grounds;
Imagine the families who brought their kids for a day in the park thought
when they saw thousands of Hippy's strolling the grounds. Flash Back!
Peace.
Helter
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 18:10:37 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 7/20/99 Molson Ampitheatre
All I can say is that Toronto was a blessing. I love the ambient
jams...something to just close your eyes to and drift away in the
spirituality of music..........
This ambient phase that Phish is going through is absolutely wonderphul. I
can't believe others don't like it so much....I love the ambience and please
keep it up Phish!
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 14:20:33 -0700
From: Ari Petroff [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Toronto 7/20/99
I'm not going to review the show too much here because there was not much
to write about. After seeing the Oswego shows (which were both
fantastic), I wasn't surprised that this show was a let down. This being
my 46th, and finally seeing the band in my hometown for the first time in
5 years was something special. Unfortunately I'd have to say that this
was the weakest I've heard them play to date. Each show is something to
everyone in its own right, but this one was awful. Too many repeats from
the weekend, and the band was going through the motions (emotionless is
more like it), and the jams were simply weak. Misty Moutain was great to
hear and they tried to belt out a great jam, but overall it was weak.
I've never come out of a show not having a desire to get the tapes.
There's a first for everything. But of course I'll be back, everyone has
their off nights, unfortunately it had to be in Toronto.
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 13:38:53 -0400
From: Chris Morris [email protected]
To: Phunky Bitches
Subject: Toronto review
Well, my first show since Lemonwheel, and unless Phish comes back to Toronto
(or Ottawa or Montreal or whatever) i won't see them again this year.
Scene: A few cops in the lots...not being assholes as far as I can tell.
Talking to few folks...probably a few busts...pretty calm lot scene tho as
far as I could tell. Security inside was very cool, not causing any
problems.
SET 1:
Chalkdust Torture: Cool opener, had few pretty good peaks in the jam but
nothing spectacular.
Sample: Not a huge fan of this song anymore, and this version didn't
inspire greatness in me.
CTB: Personal favourite, nice groove, nothing amazing, but far from crappy
Sloth: Cool song to hear, partially because the guys I was with at the show
had never heard the song before, and they liked it, and I wasn't ever crazy
about this song, but i was totally into it here.
Divided Sky: They stood still for so long, we thought it was already the
second set but the time Trey hit that note. Really sweet jam at the end,
nice and jazzy.
Waste: A tad bit of a downer, but I knew they had to throw in a slow song
somewhere, and this one really fit I thought
Ghost: Heard the loops, new it was Ghost. Started off with a really nice
groove in the jam, then started to really pick up. We were totally into
this jam, they had us moving like maniacs
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 13:29:23 -0400
From: J.P. Copeland [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Toronto Show
The only comment i can make about the show last nite in TO is that most
everybody had tons of fun. As a fan in anticipation of their coming, the
fact that Phish graced us with their presense again was enough to make it a
wonderful experience. Of course they will not be great every place they go,
but one thing i do know is that since 94, its the greatest live Phish
Toronto has seen!!!
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 12:35:13 -0400
From: Kevin McHugh [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: review toronto july 20, 1999
Molson amphitheater-Toronto Ontario- July 20, 1999
I have read a couple of middle of the road or downright negative reviews
of the show. This was my 20th show started seeing the boys in 1993.
Using local knowledge and mind control techniques we found non-lined up
entrance to the parking lot around 4 PM. This was the only show on the
tour that we were doing, as it was a hometowner and speculation was high
that this would be "the show" of the tour. I have not heard any of the
other shows on tour so I cannot comment until I get some tapes. Lot
scene was slow in developing and scattered throughout several divided up
large lots. Enthusiastic crowd started entering the Molson amphitheater
at around 6PM (30 minutes late). We made our way inside just after 7.
We were out just to the right of Trey eight rows out (thanks Ricardo
via Ellis for the smokin seats)
7:40 the boys come on and started a passable if unremarkable chalkdust.
It is my experience that sets starting with chalkdust always end up
being the "arena rock" kind of set and I think this is supported by the
rest of the set list. Not the greatest version but got the crowd
rocking.
Sample- I again would put in the "passable but nothing to write home
about category." Having said that I think sample has one of Trey's
best-composed solo's at the end and I always enjoy hearing it. This of
course is one of the benefits of keeping it to around 3-4 shows a year.
CTB- was a little bit surprising in that I thought it would b a 100%
rocker set. CTB is OK but I like it place when they are doing a funkier
set. They still seemed to be feeling things out
Sloth. Rock and Roll! I thought the set went from ordinary to
extraordinary here. They upped the energy level considerably with this
song. Not overly jammed out by well-played and high intensity.
Divided. This song seems to follow me a little bit, but who can
complain about that. Nice "sun setting", lengthening shadows Divided.
A glorious finish corrected a couple of Trey flubs early. I would rank
this high among divided skies. Fishman also got a gleam in his eye
during this song and just continued to push the envelope all night
because he is the man. Pause was exactly 2 minutes. Does anyone know
if Trey sings to himself during the pause to measure the time? Sure
looked like it, perhaps he just counts.
Waste- Show low light for me. They just killed it at the start, at
least the sound I was getting. Seemed to take a little energy away from
the crowd. Still they got it together and the harmonies at the end were
a nice display of their sometimes-maligned vocal abilities.
Ghost- I thought this was just incredible. Started into a funky jam
section as usual, but Trey keeping with that rock and roll theme,
eventually took the jam into high octane screaming guitar space. During
this jam seemed to be the first time there was any true 4 part jams
(everyone listening) before Trey took the lead at the end.
Wilson- More arena rock. Seemed like a shorter version. Fishman seemed
bound to get everyone to do the heartbreaker grove, but they never
really picked it up a la' Clifford Ball a few years ago. This was a
"rockstar Trey" set if I have ever seen one. Great set up to now IMO.
Made me hope for a "Jammier" second set, as they are sometime want to
do.
YEM-Well this is going to be a long set. I thought this was a
tremendous YEM. Tramps were brought out and used. Seemed like a long
Jam segment. Finished with a nice vocal jam.
First set 90 minutes exactly! Good Divided and YEM in one set. I
thought the jam Ghost was excellent while both Wilson and Sloth and
perhaps Sample were above average. I'd have to give this a 7.5 on the
SJ concert scale for length, set list and the ghost jam.
40 minute set break
AT 9:50 the boys come back and start up twist. I know some people don't
like this song, but I like most phish songs where there is composed
section>jam>composed (i.e. DWD). I thought the jam was great,
indicative of the newer style. I hate people using the word "ambient"
for this stuff. I think it is just far more of a four part jamming
style with all contributing to the overall sound. I like the term
soundscapes much better. I thought it set the tone for a more jam
oriented set.
Long intro to MOMA. Again more four-part soundscape type jams in the
middle of the song. Fishman is the MAN!!!!!
Train- Mike sounded great where I was. Better than average for Mike's
vocals.
What's the use-Never heard this before. Really liked it!! Can't
comment further as I have nothing to compare it to. Sounds like it
could be taken out a lot longer and has epic jamming potential.
ASZ-Shorter, punchy, funky version. CK5 rockin on the lights. Nicely
done, but not near 12/29/98.
Page starts playing something its, its its', holy crap it's Misty
Mountain hop!!! This raged!!! Scott said they went into The Song
Remains The Same at the end of the jam but I' will have to defer to any
zeppelin heads out there. Whatever they played, the jam was IMHO Phish
at it's absolute finest. All four just raging, playing and listening to
each other, did I say Fishman is the fucking man! Someone complained
that this jam just crashed which I don't completely agree with, but I
think reflects how powerful this jam was. If it was aborted at all I
attribute it to the curfew problems.
Encore:
Guyute- Well played. Didn't hear too many flubs. Nice whistling by
Trey. Did I mention that Fishman is the human metronome, and the man?
Ragtime gal- Oh well nice to hear their vocal talents. I was hoping for
freebird, but hey who is complaining
Second set and Encore 70 minutes. Second set was full of great four
part and new "soundscape" jamming. Twist, Moma, What's the use, ASZ all
had exceptional jamming spanning most of the phish styles. Misty
mountain!!! Legendary as far as I am concerned. The jam coming out of
it (or song remains the same if Scott is correct) was one of the most
intense jams I have ver heard. I give the second set 8.5 for the
jamming and the zeppelin. Overall, this show is an 8 for me on the SJ
concert scale. I would rank this as one of the best "regular" show I
have seen Clifford ball, new years runs excepted.
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 09:07:14 PDT
From: Daniel Austin [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review of Toronto Show - 07/20/99
Very unimpressive. This being my 26th time, I awaited the show with nervous
anticipation, only to be treated to incessant wanking! I thought that,
after not having visited Toronto since 1994, the guys would have treated us
to a magically mysterious gem, but all we got was a hap-hazard YEM.
The highlight of the night: Misty Mountain Hop.
The low-point: Everything up to Misty Mountain Hop, including the jam after
it.
It seems that Phish is more concerned these days with cranking out ambient
trash and testing our tolerance to spacy instrumental mish-mash rather than
treating us to the zany spontaneity of old. There's only so far you can go
trying to funk along James Brownish jamming before it gets boring! Note
that Moma Dance, the jam that followed, and 2001 all incorporated this
signature pseudo-funkadelia. Phish only serves to show me that there is
other music out there that transcends the boundaries of conscious expanding
exploration.
Though they have crossed this boundary in the past, they certainly didn't
last night. I enjoyed the jazz at the set break though.
Dan Austin
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 14:14:29 -0400 (EDT)
From: John Wood [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Your toronto review
Hi, Dan.
I read your review of last night's Phish gig in
Toronto. I quote:
------
It seems that Phish is more concerned these days with
cranking out ambient trash and testing our tolerance to
spacy instrumental mish-mash rather than treating us to
the zany spontaneity of old. There's only so far you
can go trying to funk along James Brownish jamming
before it gets boring!
-------
This is exactly why I have cut down on Phish shows
over the last 3 years. When people were going nuts
over "the funk" from '97, I would get flat-out
bored because it was too damn one-dimensional and
the wanking got old fast. These days, I now
do a handful of shows per year (the last being
the recent Tweeter Center run, which was fairly
good but not anything that made me grin until
Scott Murawski showed up), in contrast to the
early-mid-80s where spontaniety and desire to
go in different directions were the norm.
I just wanted to drop you a note saying that if
people razz you for your words, you are not alone
in your opinion!
Sincerely,
John
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 11:25:40 -0400
From: Michael Turow [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Comments of Toronto
In mho i thought the show last night had many great moments. Divided Sky,
You Enjoy Myself rocked the first set! 2001 whaled in the second! Nice to
see the boys exploring a little with Misty Mountain Hop.
I was fortunate enough to see the dead play 68 times and now i have seen
Phish 8 times hopefully with many more in front of me. I have never heard
so many critical fans in my life. Why are so many of you down on a band
that gives you so much happiness? Lighten up and enjoy yourself! Let them
explore and take the chances that make magic happen! Enjoy Pitt !
Mike Turow
[email protected]
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 11:05:03 -0400 (EDT)
From: nick osen [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 7-20-99 review
What a fun night is was in the Molson Amp, how nice to see Phish in my
home city (after so many years of ignoring us Torontonians). The sound was
fantastic, security was almost non-existent and the usual oppressive
advertising that we are all sadly becoming familiar with in the new North
American Amphitheaters was at a minimum.
Phish came on at about 7:40 and played for over an hour and thirty
minutes delivering a set that was nothing short of fantastic. Beginning with
a blistering Chalkdust and ending with a Phunky YEM (which itself ended with
a vocal jam reminiscent of African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo)the
set rocked the house to the ground. The Divided Sky, always one of my
favourites, topped many of the Divided skies I have seen or heard and
thoroughly captivated the 15,000+ fans (as did the bands roughly 2 minute
immpression of statues during the middle of the peice). It is peices like
this that re-affirm in my mind why I have seen so many Phish shows, with all
the exciting changes and rhythms contained within Divided Sky the song moves
through Rock, Jazz even classical and is nothing short of an adventure, no
doubt!
Any set with this kind of Phish music in is good in my books. That is not to
say that the rest of the set was not equally as good but for me DS was the
highlight (wait until you hear the tapes!) In short, set one was a good old
Phish set (with some wonderful new Phish) played to the fullest, and A+.
After a 35 minute break (perhaps a little long if one considers the
by-law in T.O that reqiures that bands finish up by 11:00pm) Phish came back
on (9:50pm) and delivered less than an hour of very dissapointing music. Not
only did the second set have a strange, if not boring, choice of songs but
their new so called 'ambiant style' af jamming once again fell short of the
mark. I have no objections against a band exploring different areas of music
(this style works very well in parts of YEM and is perfect in Ghost) but by
the time the Momo Dance had ended that groove had gotten very tired. So much
so that by the end of the set my friend turned to me and said 'nice Phish if
you are lying in bed going to sleep'. And he was right. Had this set been 30
minutes longer and included something in the vain of Bowie, Maze, Fluffhead
etc...(you know those crazy tunes that fry your brain) or, had this set been
the second of three I, and my friend, would have been much happier. Of
course we can't always get the songs that we would like, and in all fairnes
the first set was very long, but with such a huge amount to choose from
would it have been so bad if Phish reached into that bag and pulled out one
of those mad peices that brought us all to this band in the first place? Why
play that new ambiant sound at the expense of all else? They obviously still
love to play that old Phish sound so why not mix both in each set? One set
of old Phish sound and one of new...I mean come on, after all this time to
come back to Toronto and hit us with Twist Around, Train song and Moma Dance
as making up the majority of the second set...I was not happy.
I know that a lot of people love this new ambient jam sound that Phish are
heavily into but I just find it to be much less interesting than I know they
can be. Never before had I found myself checking my watch during a Phish
show. In fact, had it not been for the great, and long, 2001 (that of course
we all hoped would be a 2001>Bowie) and the Guyute encore, I would have been
happier at home for the second set and waited to listen to the tapes. Now,
don't get me wrong, Phish are still the best thing going and I will still go
and see them whenever I can. Its just that as I get older and other
responsibilities present themselves my time becomes limited and when I do
get to shows I still expect to be dazzled throughout, a task that at this
point Phish are not up to as often. I said it before and I will say it
again...I think that these guys should take a sabbatical soon and try and
figure out where they want to take their music (I think they could use, and
of course deserve one).
Still, with all said and done, I would rather go Phishing than do most
anything else.
:-)
Nick
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 06:54:46 -0400
From: "Gary E. Comley, II" [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Molson Review (actually more of a direct pan)
I don't usually do this. I tend to believe opinions are like assholes.
But the show in Toronto was so bad that I just have to vent some
frustrations. For the first part of set one (namely the piano solo in
Cars, Trucks, and Busses), I was beginning to worry that this show, which
started out on the wrong foot with an ordinary Chalkdust and an uninspired
Sample, wouldn't exactly highlight Page's talent on the keys. He was
hitting all the wrong notes and seemed to be trying just too hard. So
Divided Sky happened and it turned out to be possibly the worst performance
I've heard in over one hundred shows. It was so bad, I thought a cover
band was on stage. I began to blame the boys in full. Then, during the
funkier portion of Ghost, ol' Page came to life, Mike and Fishman fell into
place and I realised that Trey was hitting, well.... nothing. To be
honest, there was not one special "Trey" moment in Toronto. In fact, his
playing at this particular show was downright awful. It certainly looked
like he was trying and the rest of the band was dynamite, but he really
wasn't doing anything. He would send out loops but never develop them. He
would noodle while the rest of the band slammed. The jam out of Misty
Mountain Hop to close the show fell apart so badly that it left me feeling
cheated. I got over it, of course (Sunday in Oswego was sensational), and
will hopefully get redemption from tonight's show in Pittsburgh. I have
not lost faith, but I would like to smack Trey around a little. He's still
better than Bob Weir.
On the usual scale of 1 - 10, this one gets a solid 1.5 from this reporter.
Gary Comley
[email protected]
-peace ese-
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 11:30:31 -0400
From: russell gibbs [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: molson amphitheatre review
this is more of a direct rebutal to gary e comley's review of the show...it
is people like you who ruin my opinion of the kind of people that listen to
phish...the over critical kind of person who doesn't realize they would
really be nowhere without phish...who are you to cut down their playing
like that? really man? are you some music genius? i don't think so...the
problem with people like you is the fact that you take everything phish is
doing for you for granted...and unfortunetely you won't realize that until
it's gone...and i quote the great gary comley "I have not lost faith, but I
would like to smack Trey around a little." sounds to me like you have lost
faith man...it's too bad...maybe you should take a break and go and see the
backstreet boys where you know their playing ability will be perfect
because they use pre recorded music...i think that is what you might be
looking for.
i on the other hand enjoyed the show...thank you phish...it was a great
feeling to see you in canada...you are welcome back anytime. cheers
-rg
gary this is not as personal as it seems...i read too many reviews and
complaints by little shit head fans and this one was the last straw man...i
enjoyed myself so much at this show...maybe you went to a different
one...and if i offended you personally i apologize and if you want to yell
at me i understand just email it to me...no need to waste space on
phish.net
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 11:44:35 -0700
From: Debbie
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 14:59:16 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Amen Russel
I would have to agree with russel on this topic. I did not attend the show,
but I have heard it on tape, and if you think that Twist>Momma>Whats the use
is a waste of you time, then you need to seriously re-evaluate what the hell
you are even doing there.
I get so sick of people like gary e being pissed off at the band because
they dont play the shit from the early 90's like they want to hear. You go
to a show to have a good time, relax, and hear some good tunes.If you
constantly nit-pick and bitch abought what you did or didnt want to hear,
all you are really doing is bringing down the people you are with, and the
people around you.I think people like you neesd to just sit back, chill and
not ruin other peoples show.
Thats just
my opinion, though.
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