7-21-03 - Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, IN

review submisions to me at [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

please review the show, not the other reviews....
sorry for delay, i was out in the mountains all morning...

Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2004 17:18:31 -0700 From: eric tipton Subject: Re: Phish 7/21/03 review from Phish.net: 7/21/03 - Verizon Wireless Music Center - Noblesville, Indiana Set 1: Cities, Runaway Jim, Meat, Water in the Sky, Stash, My Old Home Place, Vultures, Birds of a Feather > Mike's Song > I am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove Set 2: Suzy Greenberg > Taste > 46 Days > Tweezer > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Limb By Limb > Good Times Bad Times Encore: Loving Cup> Tweezer Reprise Huge props to JNap for trading me his pavilion ticket for my lawn! Ahhh, back at my old stomping grounds! Being from Toledo, I caught 95, 96 and 97 and made it to '00 from Colorado. You come to expect alot out of your favorite band when seeing them play the same venue so many times and play it so well. Dead Creek may as well been called Phook Creek. Great times! We made the drive from Alpine in short order. We got to Dead Creek mid afternoon and set up our camp in between JNap and thebigz. Z banked big time for four days, going thru a shitload of fat tire and grilled cheese. I ended up getting pretty damn drunk on Sunday night. This really came in handy. I was one of the people that never woke up at all during "The Perfect Storm." I just sort of remember waking up in the morning in my tent, sleeping in a very large puddle of water. No worries, I pulled out my sleeping pad and went back to sleep on the grass and dried out for the most part. Ask JNap about this one! Is there any truth to a tornado touching down nearby during the maelstorm? Onto the show, First set: Cities: Wow, sweet opener; never would have called this. The Cities I saw at Deer Creek '97 about put me into the funny farm (in a good way). This one was the exact opposite, very cut and dry, no real jamming - very tight version and an excellent way to open up the Creek run. Jim: Nice, something about this song, to me; says Deer Creek. Not sure why but it works for me. Nice Runaway, nothing too crazy but tight all the same. Meat: Next please. Water in the Sky: Nice nod to this morning's storm. Stash: I don't know what's up w/ this tune this tour, but none of them have really grabbed my attention. Until now. This Stash really goes out there and gets it done. Very cool and spooky Page breakdown in the neighborhood of 9 minutes. Best of the tour thus far by far. Kind of allayed my fears about the future of Stash. Old Home Place: Standard. Vultures: For a song that has got to be very difficult to nail as a band, they have to be very proud of themselves w/ this Deer Creek version. Lyrics/Vocals: Nailed. Composed sections: Nailed. It just sounded great and I've got to think this tune is one of the more underrated songs that they play. BOAF: Rips your face off! Not as good as say Columbus 99, but this Birds really gets everyone moving. Wailing guitar courtesy of your favorite red head. Sweet segue into > Mike's: Whoa! I never saw this coming and it straight knocked me on my keister. I love the fact that they are once again playing Mike'sGroove to end first sets (see Utah)! It's such a great capper and unexpected at least for me. Mike lays down such a thick foundation behind Trey. Short Mike's w/ a shaky Trey lead segue into > I am Hydrogen: Gotta love this classic when it's played well by you know who. Once Trey gets thru the segue, everything else plays out quite nicely. Segue into > Weekapaug: Big time goosebumps for me throughout Mike's intro solo. Dancing like a goofball with a bunch of other freaks somewhere in Indiana, it just does not get any better! Crosseyed tease by Trey from 5:19 -> 5:25. What the hell is the vocal at 7:51? Sounds like Page... Good 'Paug, highlight of the Groove for sure. Setbreak, First Set highlights: STASH, Vultures, BOAF, Weekapaug. Second set: Suzie: Crikey! As the opener? Whatever you say Phish! "Forgot my name did ya? That's ok, happens to me all the time!!" Every time I hear that it just rolls me, Fishman's a funny, greasy troll for sure. Great interplay between Mike and Page in here! Taste: Phish has made a statement w/ this song on this tour. They want it to be more of a jam centerpiece I think. It's taking spots in sets that hold alot of importance I think, moreso than in the past when you would consistently see it mid first set. Love it or hate it, if you are a fan of Phish than you must appreciate the extreme tension the band builds w/in this song and then explodes back into itself. Trey struggles to wrap this one up a bit at the end and Page even hits on a rare missed note. 46 Days > Oh geez, things are definitely going to get dirty now! It's on for sure (I was wishing I had some coal [wink.gif] ). This one actually stays much more low key than I expected. Alot less arena rock and much more ambient style jamming, especially the last three minutes of it. This melts/segues into > Tweezer: Again eh? Number four I think. The energy in the joint is sky high at this point. Mike Gordon is a bass master, the man can flat out play. At eight minutes, Page takes over. 3 minutes later segue into > 2001: The mothership has arrived friends, jump on board. CK5 = thou knows no equal. The man is a flat out genius. Short 2001. I don't think it really segued into LxL but Phish.net thought so > Limb: Placement sucks. Flat out. Sorry but I have seen this song so much since 97 - oddly enough I think this and Taste have very similar jams. But late second set at the Creek you want a heavy hitter, and this is not a heavy hitter. What followed however, was. GTBT: Wow! That 8/10/97 show is really showing it's face as both Good Times and Cities were both played that night at the Creek. Again like the Cities, that GTBT was completely different than tonight's. 97 was an exploration in mind fucking your audience. This version was straight up arena rock.Blistering. I thought my head was going to explode. Good God, what an a mazing way to end the set. Totally out of left field, no one could have seen this coming! Encore: Loving Cup: Now this on the other hand had to have been called by 50% of those in attendance. Very appropriate though. Tweezerprise: See above comments. Second set highlights: Suzie opener, the seguing (not necessarily jamming of these songs) 46 Days > Tweezer > 2001. Great fluidity between these songs. But nothing really stood out and grabbed me in regards to the actual jamming. Tipton-o-meter: 7.5. Back to Dead/Phook Creek for late night partying (Wawawawawawawa!). Thank God for no "The Perfect Storm" sequel on this night. peace, et
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 01:46:20 EDT From: [email protected] Subject: Phish review 7.21.03 So I think this is the way I review a show...If not let me know the correct way! So...a review of Phish at Deer Creek July 21, 2003: I am not a friend of the band(though I wish I could holla) but I got some "band tickets": via Upstaging (Kuroda) Productions so I found myself damn close for the first time. I was introduced to the music of Phish in 1994 or something. To the music/vibe first and then a brief Phish synopsis(it'll be good I promise): Arrived early...5 or so..to find a bunch of campers ready for 3 days of love(I was there for six hours total) Hung out(FREE PARKING) and drank a few MIke's Hard Lemonades...stood in line to piss(Mike's Hard Lemonade) and then headed in. Walked in to the lower(and I do mean lower) pavillion just as the gents wanted to play...It was really cool to see them come out(goose bumps). I was VERY happy to be there. Set 1 Cities: Seemed like they were happy to be there too... and so a spur of the moment opener. The sound was perfect as usual at the Creek and everybody just sunk right in.."some good points...some bad points(see set II closer)" Runaway Jim: One of my favs and also called by me over a Mike's in the parking lot. Trey(or him, or he) was feelin' it for a minute...Some of the best lyrics by Phish by the way..was it Lawn Boy that this song was cut from? I can't remember... Record it sir's... Meat: After much debate..sure, why not? Maybe they had Filet Mignon for dinner... Water in the Sky: Reminded me of El Cypresso Grande. Stash: Underated and understated...I guess it's the crowd involvement that get's the energy going here..."Maybe so and maybe not"...seemed the band decided to cohese during this jam... Vultures: HELLO JOHNNY B.!!! He doesn't wake up till 8 p.m. anyway. Birds of a Feather: Here we go! The band woke up too...Nice ass frickin' jam on the tail end. This is rock n' roll duuuude. Rock star Trey(him or he) for a bit...This song will continue to grow...I liked the Rock/Space stuff though.. Mike's Groove: Tempo was good...very good funk section of Weekapaug. Sharin' in the groove...we appreciate it. Set II Walked to the top of the lawn to get some perrrrspective... Suzie Greenberg: Trey talked to his wife at setbreak duuude, I just know it. Way to bring the noise though. Totally unexpected and very good. Oh yeah, and > Taste: I can't see through the lines but one of the better compositions. Beauty of a constructed jam..Page-a-licious. Oh...> 46 Days: I like this song and think it has the rock 'n' roll elements to become a nice ass jam-piece. They certaintly did it here. Who is Lee Fordham anyway? This got me headed back to my "choice" seats....> Tweezer: I was starting to analyze again and this song never came to mind(I love it when that happens). One of the tightest licks around... "The Rest"(a.k.a. Mike, Page and Fish) decided to turn up the juice around this time..or maybe it's 'cause I could hear them again. I was honestly ready for anything at this point. Dude offered me a toke but you know I pussied out. > 2001: Also Spract Zharatutsa(sp?) takes to too long to type. Bass and drums are the foundation. It was REALLY cool to see Mr. Kuroda at work here. Step up homey..this one is for you... Very tight by the band too. Waka-waka-waka..... > Limb By Limb: Holy Canoli! A very good song played from Phish's best album to date. The harmonies were there as well as the energy. Rock Star Him...I usually space out on segue's so maybe this was awesome but I don't know. Very tasty work on those fret's, Parrot Head. GTBT: See "Cities"...Did I mention this is a rock band? They ain't tryin' to be something there not...and it sums up a lot of people's lives. We will have up's and down's so just go with both of them. E: Loving Cup>Tweezer Reprise: Ain't nothin' better than "drinkin" from a Loving Cup! I had my face full of it about 3 a.m. that morning..know what I mean? So...quickly...a GREAT time was had and I will remember it forever. All you haters need to drink some Haterade, relax, and realize these guys have been around for 20 years and can do what they damn well please, and they are looking forward while at the same time acknowledging(but not dwelling on) the past...and they have a LOT of it(the past,not Haterade). There is something about this band that keeps me listening and enjoying. I am the best air guitar player in the world.
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 16:01:47 -0400 From: whitney ray Subject: 07/21/ 2003-please reply OK, so--after being out of the country last winter and missing out on the triumphant return, I had made plans to see the band again for the first time since Riverbend in Cinci in 2000, almost 3 damn years. There's no better place to plug back in than deer creek in the summer, and this 4th week at the creek was most likely the best of all my times there-- especially the insanely temperate weather--fuckin great. onto the shows, for chrissake: monday was a long day of driving and setup for us, so whiskey and weed were the buzzes of choice, and perhaps at this point in my career of showseein--my favorite. this was my reunion with the boys, long-awaited-- and sentiments were at the brim, to say the least. i was fucking stoked. arrived in the back of the lawn in gleaming evening sun through big maxfield parrish clouds-- man it felt good to be home. cities opener. i thought it was great-- an immediate sendback to a 96-97 vibe (that for me penetrated the whole night), and for a talking heads fan like me a fuckin treat even if a little mellow. jim--definitely added the energy we were looking for, and set the crowd a-boogiein'. meat-- reminded me of hampton 99-- except this time i was glad to hear it. tightly played, well sung, and unlike hampton, not TOO damn long. water in the sky--always a favorite for this kentucky boy-- bluegrassy, happy, deftly picked--and always puts that big cypress sparkle in the eye for those who were there. maintained the upbeat but mellow summertime energy. stash: as kodos would say, "holy flurking shnit!". the whole subdued thing was pretty much ripped to shreds by this bad boy. every bit as good as any i've ever heard. the boys sounded absolutely freakin huge on this one, and the crowd really started to get down and dirty. my old home place: again, for a kentucky boy-- good shit-- i was hoppin around and do-si-doin with the best of them, although i imagine it was a bit of a letdown for some after the enormity of stash. love to hear mike sing, however. and its a rad song, redneck or no. Vultures-- well sheeit. good to hear-- a first for me and a treat-- trey sounded great. made the night feel special and brought jamming back to the fore. Birds.-- this for me even eclipsed the stash in hugeness and power-- as a page fan this was nice to hear the organ wail-- since he seemed to stick to the ivories for most of the week-- he is definitely playing differently and with different gear, but this is such a favorite , that the energy of the night was at a fever pitch, even after the rollercoaster variations of the previous 7 songs-- i was totally prepared for this to close the set, but something about the momentum told me i was wrong-- MIKES!!!-- dude, are you kidding me-- we had all called this for different points in the week, but i totally didn't think it would be this early. absolutely sick, raging, etc---maybe not the tightest of all time but top of the list for exuberance and style--gordon made his presence known--continuing into Hydrogen: i thought spacy, interesting, exploratory, although still plenty tight. thought maybe some weird teases in there but couldn't decipher anything other than a couple subdued Simple riffs in the undercurrent-- was hoping for a simple, after all what is a band without skyscraper, but all of a sudden they motored right into WEEKAPAUG-- again, a 97 or even 99 kind of vibe again here-- audacious, like they were saying-- "yeah this is the first set of 6, eat yr damn hearts out."ended triumphant with everyone just kind of flabbergasted by the insane juggernaut of a first set. i remember looking at my notebook and saying "11 songs, holy shit." set dos:to continue the old-school favorites-- Suzy: to open. nice-- had been a very long time for me--always fun-- reminds me of all the tripped out girls i've known who loved this song--great energy, made everybody nice and loud. Taste-- this was such a showcase of sound and light-- the mix was pristine-- fish sounded so perfect and brilliant, and it seemed like kuroda was inviting us all in. i would imagine the dosers were pretty gassed by this one. trey got nice and gigantic again-- i was amazed as always-- i had gotten pretty anti-trey during the hiatus since i didn't really enjoy the solo shows i saw, but man if he didn't redeem himself completely this week. building and building-- 46 days-- a preview of the hard-core rock and roll vibe of night 2-- i was impressed and enthused by this one, although not so familiar. but then familiarity itself was embodied in Tweezer: how many times have i smoked pot in kitchen walk-in freezers? not nearly enough to do justice-- knew just from how they were playing that the second set would be even huger in intensity than the first, even if there was no way to compete with the volume of songlist-- this one (for me) did not fade-- and man if i didn't get my wish for a little of bit of funk to follow with 2001: this was pure 1999 for me-- perfect, brief, amazingly energetic-- hands down the best dance song of the night, and while page's new setup is surprisingly Moog-deficient, he ruled this one on the fender rhodes and made me give his new gear a chance. god damn he is bad. at this point, seamless segues were the nature of the beast, and after a final chat with zarathustra we were sneakily immersed in the beginnings of Limb x Limb: the tightest and most powerful i have yet heard-- just reading this setlist without being there i would have been maybe a little skeptical of the ability of this song to maintain the rock-solid energy of set II thus far, but hell naw, it was bad-ass. my friend amy had been wishing for this one and i was stoked for her. the raging continued-- and again, the hard-core rock and roll vibe of night 2 was foreshadowed by the classic GTBT--good. a little standard, but phish definitely knows how to work this tune. after eleven songs in set one, i was a little surprised this was the closer, but there wasn't a soul out there who wasn't expecting a gigantic encore-- and the sea of lighters was not denied. Encore Loving cup--a Page piano anthem, and one of the best songs off of exile, my favorite stones album-- i know this is a chestnut, but anybody there who had been to more than a couple shows was sure more was yet to come--nice to hear page clear and clean after all trey's majesty, but then he came right back to the front, with what i was rooting for: TWEEPRISE: they build up and peak few songs better than this, and this show was no exception. a triumphant and traditional end to a great night-- trey's little break during the cup freshened him up during this and he was trademark-electric. All in all, genius, i must say-- kept us guessing through one of the biggest set ones i have ever seen, covered my favorite bands (even if a little more than necessary), gave my kentucky ass plenty of bluegrass, played a dynamite set 2 with unstoppable energy, and above all, played like they had never even put down their instruments. my sincere thanks to the band that i still love to see live more than any other-- i know its late, but welcome back. "Therefore, what other men teach, I will also consider and then teach to others. Thus, 'the strong and violent do not come to a natural end.' I will take this as the father of my studies." -Lao Tzu
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2003 14:09:10 -0700 (PDT) From: D. Lucas Subject: 7-21-03 Deer Creek review O what a beautiful buzz... Ok, so I'm a huge Phish fan, I know the shows, I know the songs, I hear the changes, I enjoy all the trivial things that the uninitiated fan does not care about. But I'm not the fan who has been to a thousand shows, or even fifty. 7/21 was my fifth show. You see, I actually have a philosophy about this thing that says if you go see every show that you might become desensitized to the magic of the music. Phish concerts, to me, are a combination of an anticipation, wonderment, and realization in that you spend the days before the show(s) wondering what it will be like, how much fun you'll have or what you'll see hear and hear when you actually get there. I knew that I would only see one show on this tour, so in my mind, the experience could no doubt be a great one, whether they broke out a song not often played, or raged all night long, or the night-ending grilled cheese was a little burnt...the experience for me was dependent on all these factors, but really it was also independent of all the things, because after all I was seeing Phish! My brother and I got to the lot about 5-5:30, little traffic thanks to a little directional help from a local friend. We sat around, listening to some tunes from MMW to SKB, all the while downing a healthy dose of Dos Equis and pretzels. Shakedown Street was crowded at 6 when we checked it out, regular mix of hippies, wookies, and grilled cheese vendors, so we headed back to the car for a few more beers. Seven beers later, we headed towards the gate, and we were actually walking in, when, at ~7:35 the bars to Cities kicks in. We had pavilion seats in the second tier to the left, which in the end, were great seats. When I attended my first Phish on 8/10/97 Cities was the second set opener, a huge 20 minute version that could hardly be matched. This first set Cities really got the show moving at a good pace, and by the time we got to the seats the Creek was getting their groove on. Runaway Jim was next, and typical of most solid Jims, the middle jam was rocking. While Jims are usually placed as the opener, it was nice to see the crowd already into the show by the time Jim came along. Meat was cool, I was happy to get to see this one live, because it is somewhat of a rarity. There's not much to say about the playing of it though, as it was a standard version. Nonetheless a fun tune, and they extended the start and stop jam a little more than what is one the album. Water in the Sky is a song I've always dug because it's Phish's own bluegrassy tune. Towards the end, I excused myself for a trip to the bathroom, and the band wasted little time in cranking the energy level up about ten notches with Stash. I missed the opening because of my pit stop, but it was great to hear the opening rift walking back to the stage. You know things are great when you can't help but dance-walk back to your seat! I don't have any live Stashes to compare this one to but I know it was a real cleanly played, collaborative effort from the boys. I don't really know who the "all-star" performer was this night, everyone played really well. Stash was worth admission alone. (I know that's cliched, but an apt description here) I really like bluegrass, so My Old Home Place was a welcome, cool down after Phish had basically destroyed and built anew the crowd at Deer Creek with the Stash. Here's another clich� for ya: get the tapes. Vultures was great, but not altogether memorable to me. It wasn't because it wasn't into the song; in fact it was the exact opposite. You see, sometime during Stash, I slipped into a alter-conscious Phish reality whereby my whole being was consumed by the music and all I could do was receive the auditory deliciousness that was Phish was serving. Whether my feet were moving to the beat, or my arms were jamming with Trey on air guitar, I was totally into the moment and the music. The rest of the set was a dream, a sequence you could only wish for in your greatest Phish fantasy. BOAF contained a momentous, melodious jam that I thought would carry the crowd to set break happiness, but indeed Phish had more in store for us. Mike's->H2O->Weekapaug was something I had personally hoped for. For one, I'd never seen one, in my four previous shows. Secondly I believed that Mike's would be held back for the third night, as I believe Mike's is Phish penultimate jam. I was very happy, and I think about 20,000 people were too. There was a repeat jam in Weekapaug that was glorious, one that lingers in my mind still today. I actually thought at one point during the show, "this will be awesome to hear on tape. Short set break, during which I spoke with some folks the first set. OK. So the second set, what a monster! For one thing, the segues not only were all fluid, but Phish let the energy drop even a notch. No Fridays, no Velvet Seas, no Caspians to let you catch a breath (or the freakin' bathroom for that matter). If you look at that set on paper, it pretty damn exciting. Well seeing it fold live was something to behold. Suzy is a huge crowd pleaser, an old school tune that is compositionally interesting, albeit a lyrically silly. What a fun start to the set! So from here on out, Trey was genius, cranking out magnificent leads, that weren't overbearing or vainly produced, but rather with a "I'm hear to blow your mind"-type attitude that you could just feel coming from the stage. Taste raged, 46 Days was like something Phish had been cooking up, just waiting for the perfect time to bring out and feed to all the hungry fans, and all the nay sayers about the new material. The segue to Tweezer I missed because of a bathroom stop, but this Tweezer was a tight, straight on, no bull shit song. It's hard to give much detail about how awesome the segue from Tweezer to Also Sprach was, but this version didn't have the long build up that I've heard before, but a rather a swift, no frills, all thrills version. The segues were truly fluid, I can't recall any moment sitting thinking, OK what's next, Phish never gave me the chance. LimbxLimb was also great, and GTBT showed that Phish can take a cover and make it their own. Trey, I think, really was trying to lift the roof off the building during this one, if Deer Creek has to many more energetic explosions like that it might need maintenance. The encore was perfect for the time, as I thought of all the people here that really were enjoying a beautiful buzz. I know Loving Cup is played as an encore often, but it really didn't diminish the greatness of the show. One final thing: There are a lot of great shows that Phish has played over the years, but in a lot of the shows you can point one song or moment when they brought energy down with a slow song or cooled things down with a less than raging jam. That^�s what made 7/21 so great and original. In that second set you'd be hard pressed to find anything weak about the song selection, segues, or jams. They all worked, and they were all a joy to experience. For that I thank Phish. I'm interested to hear some of the other shows of the tour, because if they contain the energy and greatness (or even some of the same stuff) then this tour has been and will be a great one. Hopefully I won't amend my review after I get the flacs (thanks livephish) of the show this evening.
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 12:41:39 -0400 From: Brandon Kraemer Subject: July 21st, 2003: Deer Creek Show #1 A really impressive show by many counts. �I am a sound guru and the mix was just about perfect from the beginning of the show. �I called a cover opener, Cities was �funky and slow, �a good warm up version. �Runaway Jim was great! �I like any song that Mike sings but the long pause between Jim and Meat during which a row of phans held up lettered signs spelling a request (vultures?) had all ready for a big jam, then the slow Meat, had a heavy groove. �I was really blown away by Trey’s guitar soloing Vultures. �He was really on this night and Birds of a Feather continued in this vein. �Loved the Shock the Monkey tease in Weekapaug! Set 2 was even more off the hook, special nods to Taste, 2001 and my favorite Zep song Good Times Bad Times. �They really tore the roof of the dump with this one, and it reminded me of my 3rd phish show, also at Deer Creek when they wailed a Whipping Post that ended all Whipping Posts! �Velvet Sea Never, Arena Rock Forever!
ate: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 01:58:55 -0500 From: Thomas Laxson Subject: review of 7-21-03 I'll keep it short, since I know that no one even reads the long reviews and no one cares what the lot scene was like. I: Cities, Runaway Jim, Meat, Water in the Sky, Stash, Old Home Place, Vultures, Birds of a Feather> Mike's Song> I am Hydrogen> Weekapaug Groove II: Suzy Greenberg> Taste, 46 Days> Tweezer> Also Sprach Zarathustra> Limb By Limb> Good Times Bad Times E: Loving Cup> Tweezer Reprise Cities was really tame and rather boring. It shouldn't have even been played. Jim should've been the opener. Trey really tore some shit up during the brief jam. Unfortunately, his energy was wasted as we were dumped back into soundcheck territory for a few more songs. Meat blows. Water in the Sky was probably the longest one I've ever heard. Some gorgeous soloing, but nothing to write home about. Stash had a massive (or so it seemed) jam that really got the energy flowing, but then it never peaked; it just returned to the "maybe so, maybe not" theme and then ended like a standard Stash. There were a couple minutes in there where it sounded a lot like Back on the Train, which I was thinking would have been one hell of a segue. Old Home Place is the same Old Home Place. Vultures, though one of my favorite songs and one of the two that I was hoping to see tonight (the other being Ghost), just never hit it. The intro was different, perhaps flubbed by Page. The jam wasn't really jammy, and it ended just when it started to pick up. I think the boys realized that the show wasn't going very well, because from here on out they tore my asshole open! Birds was probably the best ever. It was probably only around the twelve minute mark, but it was so fast and loud and just hard core. It returned to the main theme, and everyone figured they were just going to end it like they usually do, but Trey didn't want to stop. He tagged on a couple of minutes of spacy jam that segued very well into ... Mike's. Not the best, but definitely the most rocking version I've ever heard. This got me wondering if Trey had been listening to a lot of Jimmy Page lately, because he was a fucking rock star. It was so on and so raging that, for a couple of minutes, I forgot about all the heartache and guilt that falling in love with my best friend's wife has caused me lately. After a few minor flubs in the transition, they were into Hydrogen. Beautiful as always, but you know what to expect from Hydrogen. Weekapaug had a really nice old school bass intro. The jam sounded a lot like '97, with a gradual build-up, some tempo changes, and a very organized peak and return to theme. For once, the setbreak wasn't long enough -- at least not with those bathroom lines. Suzy was too short and mild for my taste, but it's fucking Suzy, so I can't complain. I totally called the Taste, which was probably the best version I've heard. I noticed a trend by now: they kept fucking up, but then making up for it in the next tune. This Taste went on and on but never got boring. Trey's new style really works for me, just the way he tears into every solo like it's HIS band. I mean, he writes 90% of the material, so it pretty much is his, and he proved it on this tune. Once again, Trey is a ROCK STAR. 46 Days is my least favorite song on Round Room, but tonight changed that. It was jammed, like the 'Paug, in a really '97 style of coordinated thematic jamming. It too had a bit of spaciness at the end, leaving everyone wondering what could segue out of this. Tweezer was a complete surprise. After hearing Jim, Stash, and a Mike's Groove, I don't think anyone was expecting another classic epic song, but we sure as hell got it. Relatively short (for Tweezer), it too ended with a couple minutes of space. It was nothing special as far a Tweezers are concerned, but this was Deer Creek, this was Phish, and this was Tweezer; I don't think anyone could ask for much more in life. 2001 was extremely short, but I liked it that way. It tends to drag, but not tonight. Quicker than you can say "Bob's your uncle," Trey was playing the now classic ascending chords of ... Limb by Limb. Again, Trey took the opportunity to make this the best Limb to date. This time he combined the two successful jamming strategies of the night: at first he ripped it open; then he let the other three guys inside for a really nice, tempo-shifting, coordinated jam. GxBx had the rockingest and loudest jam that it's ever had. It may have been Phish's longest version of this song as well. This was stadium rock at its best. Loving Cup was a disappointment because they play it all the time -- and always as an encore. Also, I wasn't thrilled about cover songs opening the show, closing the second set, and being the encore. I must have forgotten about the Tweezer just half an hour before, because ... Tweeprise shocked me. It was really tight and had an extended ending. Other than that, it was just Tweeprise. Though I didn't mention it, Fish was really on tonight. Page had his moments, but they were so brief and so few. Mike seems to have loosened up a lot since the hiatus, but he's still not taking center stage as much as he could. Trey was on fire, but it took him a while to get stoked. This was more of a rock n' roll style Phish than we've ever heard. This was my first show since the hiatus, so I don't know if that's the way it has been, but it was definitely nice. There wasn't as much funk as '97, not as much space as '00, not as much exploration as '94-'95, not as much crap as '96 or '98. This really is a new band. Most of the fans have always seemed to get into the harder, faster, louder stuff more than anything else, so it's a great direction for everyone; and, despite the first set's flaws, this show epitomized what Phish has become. Then again, by definition, doesn't every show do that?
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 1:07:05 -0400 From: [email protected] Subject: Wow, Deer Creek Night 1 a keeper!!! 1st night back at "The Creek" in 3 years and the boys were on top of their game!! Cities got the groove going right away,and a sweet Jim followed smoothly., but the real action for me and everyone else was a 40 minute segment from Set 2. 46 Days>Tweezer>2001 was as tight jamming as you'll ever see. Lots of energy, very upbeat, its gonna be tough to top over the next 2 nights. gREG
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 10:18:56 -0500 From: [email protected] Subject: Phish - Back at Deer Creek 7/21 - Review Got to Deer Creek about 5:30. The lot was good and well. Everybody was pumped for the show and having a great time. No problems at all from security, etc^� and none of this $1000 vending ticket bs I^�ve been hearing about at Alpine. The staff at Deer Creek proved once again that they respect the Phish fans and their love for music and having a good time. Anyway, on to the show. On the way in to the show, got a glimpse of the limited edition Pollock prints for the Deer Creek show. $40 bucks a pop but they sold out as the show started. Sweet print though. People were surprised as the band came out early at 7:35 with Cities. The place went nuts and the energy was extremely high right off the bat. This was my first show since the ^�break^� and Phish proved that they haven^�t lost a beat as they rocked through the first set. Stash was a highlight ^� really nice jam. I thought BOAF was going to end the set ^� then ^� holy shit ^� you started hearing the 1st notes of Mike^�s and the crowd was re- energized for about a 30 minute mike^�s groove. The first set came in at a hour and a half! Everybody was excited at the set break and damn did I have to take a piss. One of the most high energy 1st sets I have seen. People expected the same and more in the 2nd set and boy did we get it. The band let Trey shine in this second set. Once again, started off high energy with Suzy Greenberg into Taste. They jammed 46 days very nicely and got into a really slow Pink Floyd- like jam that chilled everyone out and them bam . . Tweezer baby! Re-energized the crowd again and the energy never stopped from there. Kick ass 2001, then Limb by Limb, and a ridiculous Good Times Bad Times. Trey really rocked the fucking house on this GTBT. Encore was a very happy, energetic Loving Cup that just made everyone feel good and the highest energy Tweezer Reprise I^�ve seen (a lot of the time, people know its coming and leave or don^�t care, not this one though) At the end of the Reprise, the show ended with Trey doing some crazy feedback shit with his guitar pointing it at the crowd and then ended with him playing and holding his guitar above his head with one hand ^� crowd really loved it. Got a grilled cheese and a bomb ass veggie burrito in the lot and chilled with some friends on a beautiful night in the farm fields of Indiana. See you^�all the next 2 nights.
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