7-3-00 -- E Centre - Camden, New Jersey
review submisions to me, dan schar at [email protected]
or [email protected]
Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2000 03:34:42 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: 7-03-00 Camden
As a reader of reviews for many years, I feel that it is time for me to
submit my own. It comes late, however, I have had a few weeks to ponder and
revel in the times of a wonderful evening. This was a twenty something show
for me -- the important factor -- my younger sister (by 6 yrs) f first show.
She got bit by the bug a week or so after the release of "Farmhouse." After
taping a radio show for a friend, she asked me to identify the songs for
her...the next day she asked to tape everything I had (being only fifteen
w/out a job, I felt it was okay). I have never felt more invigorated than at
the moment my Mom said she could take my extra. The experience offered an
incredible melding of our minds while at the same time it gave me a chance to
give my little sister one of the best possible gifts I could give..an
enjoyment of Phish.
We got stuck in a beat lot so we decided to walk. We had a great time,
and as we Rolled to the show, I could feel that it was going to be an
exhilarating experience.
Instead on analyzing each song, I'll just hit some High points -- The
entire first kicked ass, especially after the short one I caught at Holmdel.
As I copied down the set list for each song, I told gave sis the name and
told her the first thing that came to mind of the song. If a story goes with
it, it's much easier to enjoy. Trey's daughters after DWD really helped the
whole family bonding kick we had going.
During the break we met one of the younger's friends -- a little out
there, yet still enlightened the experience.
Second set, can you say run, run away. It kicked ass, and so did the res
t of the set, Chalkdust to Bittersweet really made it great. My sister
already knew most of the songs and since she was groovin so hard, I wasn't
gonna interrupt.
The only downside was in the lot afterwards. We were sitting next to
someone else's car, and when he cam up I asked him if he enjoyed the show.
The shrug of shoulders, accompanied by the sigh and pissed look on his face
said enough. It got me really mad, almost to the point of saying something
to him...but I refrained. I was there for the good time, and that's what I
had. I'm really sorry everyone else can't enjoy it to the utmost and total
extent that I do, and I hope my sister. From what I hear...Mission
Accomplished.
Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2000 18:54:54 -0400
From: Doug Rice [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Blockbuster Pavilion 7/3, Camden, NJ
Ahhh, the highlights of this show are easy. There is a set II opener that
will take you to places you won't believe and is a musical funhouse, plus
that bustout that followed it - you know what I'm talking about!
SET I - The theme that gets going 20 minutes into this set is best understood
knowing that during the 2 year-hiatused Foam, the weather blew some fog into
the amphitheater and started sprinkling the folks on the lawn. By the time
the band dropped Bathtub Gin on us, it was full on pouring torrential rain
providing off beat crowd bursts of "woooo's!!" with each lightning strike.
This Gin was nothing like the exceptional and funky Gin from PNC, but
instead, perhaps inspired by the weather, was thick and milky. Different,
but delicious. All great performances of My Soul/HThings,Fluff, Circus, and
Antelope broke out of the murkiness of Foam/Gin as the rain stopped.
Non-musical highlight moment: During the opening DWD, Trey's two little
adorable toddler daughters wandered out on stage, prompting daddy Trey to
halt his playing and take them by the hand to lead them off. Awww, just too
cute.
SET II/Encore - Almost every single note of this whole set is grade A. Like
the set II opener the following night in Camden, here is the musical
highlight, folks. Right here. This was no ordinary Jim. Not one second of
this 25 minute version was wasted or indulgent. This Jim actually has some
of the most old-school psychedelic rock sections I've heard them attempt in
years. It was a blatant GIFT - a purely breathtaking experience in musical
improvisation steeped in Phish roots. The must-hear from this show. And
then, BAM! There's the treat I was referring to - Gliiiiide. Some of you
have gotten this giddy closet classic within the last few years, but it has
avoided a lot of us since 1994. Not the cleanest delivery as expected, but
damn it's got that Christmas morning joy to it. Honorable mentions go to the
Theme->Sand. This set is perfect because it gives the old school doses of
Phish in Jim and Glide, then a heavy dose of the new Phish in this stellar
Sand performance that made it seem Theme was BORN to be placed in front of
it. Again, just near perfect music within Jim, Theme, and Sand. I defy you
to attempt to grasp any concept of time while listening to
Jim/Glide/Theme/Sand! Bittersweet Motel and the Waste encore were
beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
Peace,
G.Rice
Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2001 23:02:50 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 7-3-00
Hey,
I would just like to say that this was my first Phish concert I had ever been
to, and to me it kicked ass. I had a lot of people there that I knew that
have been to other Phish shows and that this one wasn't so great. But I just
didn't give a crap. That was the first time I had ever seen DWD performed
live, hell I didn't know that they played it more than twice as fast. Now
when I listen to the version on "Hoist" I get pissed off because it seems so
slow. And also another plus to being at my first show is that I got second
row. I was really exited, but it was almost blown to pieces because of a guy
who borrowed my ticket right before intermission, and then sitting alone
without my ticket, one of the ticket checker dudes was coming around, thank
god he just skipped right by me. But still I was really pissed off at that
guy, and he wasn't the only guy who asked, there were tons of people that
did. If you wanna see phish, than just buy your own ticket, your just
cheating the system and phish. But other than that the show was awesome,
bathtub gin was once again amazing, and I finally found out that the song
meat, was called meat. Yeah and that's basically all I really have to say.
Oh, and I know of another band (that I play the bass in) called "Urban Funk
Monkeys." We are a jam band and working our way up to the top so please help
support our band and visit http://www.urbanfunkmonkeys.com thanks. Later dudes
Jared M.
Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 09:46:43 -0400
From: "Peeler, Jon" [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: 7-3 review
Hello once agian!
Words for Today: Well I think Trey actually said it best: "We're all in
this together. And we love to take a bath!"
7/3/00
Back on tour after kicking myself in the ass for missing the northeast
portion (I knew it. I knew it. I knew it!) I find myself in the arsehole of
Philly, Camden (and hey...I do like Philly). Nice town if you like burned
out boarded up houses and urban blight. Anyway, after a freaking monster
traffic jam on the way in we roll into the parking garage about a mile from
the venue about 7:00 PM. We had managed to start chugging at about exit 4 on
676 so at least I had some kind of working buzz on as we hustled down to the
E Center. Now last years show at this place was probably one of the worst I
have ever seen, but this is Y2PH on the 3RD of July, and dammit not Camden or
Mother Nature is gonna screw this up! We wandered up the lawn and amazingly
find the rest of our tour buddies immediately on Page side (thats the nice
thing about sitting in the same general area for about six years) with a
calvalcade of lovely nice people from Vermont who became awesome companions
for these shows. Finally I get to relax for about ten minutes and the boyz
wander onstage right on time (8:10) and crank into DwD not my fave song ever,
but I enjoyed it, and it got the crowd up and moving nicely. Not as long as
other DwDs from the past year, but in the opening slot, it rarely is. After a
short rest they deliver Guelah which made me happy and My Minds which made me
even happier (BTW this is a Jimmy Dale Gilmour sing, not Mike) one of my fave
Bg tunes and the only one I did not hear in the BG fest that was the SE
portion of the tour. Then things get really interesting, they played a really
really good Foam that signaled the start of the oft threatened rain. I was
extremely happy to hear Foam, used to kinda bore me, but that was in like
93-94 when they played it a lot more often then they do now. Now its a treat
and I love it when they take it all the way down. Now it isn't REALLY raining
that hard at this point, but as Foam winds down, it starts to pick up a
little and as they break into Bathtub Gin, well it was time to take a bath as
the clouds open up. It started raining pretty damn hard at this point, and
our friend lightning showed up as well, Im starting to have flashbacks of
Walnut 97 here, but in my mind i knew it wasn't gonna last all night so i
just stuck through it. Man we got soaked though but it was just so much fun
dancing in the pouring rain and Phish responds with a nice nice Gin. Ive
never enjoyed being rained on so much in my life I think (well maybe once or
twice, but that is for another website) When you hear the show you'll hear
the yells from the lawn as lightning strikes around the amphitheater but not
much thunder. Hell it was as much firworks as we got on the 4th so... finally
BTG winds down (big explosion from the crowd when they wind back into the
main riff) and drops into My Soul. Now I hate this song but nothing was gonna
bring me down tonight so I found some dry doob and made the best of it, nuff
said. Same for Heavy Things, fuggit I expected to hear it so I cant really
get pissed. Figure we were in for a closer, but the band decides to
play...Fluffhead!!!!!!!! Oh Yeah! Everybody eats another pill in clebration
hee hee. After the sloppy disjointed version that closed the show last year
(yes it was!) this was a definate improvement and the whole crowd was going
apeshit including me. I know this isn't going to close the set and I was
right as the band finished up with ample screaming assistance from the lucky
but wet 25,000 in attendance and played Circus which definately indicated one
more. I thought a quickie was in order, but they started...Antelope! WOW!
Once again, the place goes nuts as they played a really intense jammed out
Antelope that climaxed orgasmicly and Trey pulls out an extremely tall guy
and Jersey native named Tom who wrote the thing and finally dropped my "Bring
you to have any SPLIFF mon" on me and the set comes careening to a close and
we all dropped in a rainy sweaty puddle. Damn over 1:30 from what I hear what
a freaking set. Hugs and rubs all around after that one what incredible
energy. Setbreak one hour as normal and a companion got his piece snaked by
security (note: E Center security are some mean bastards, watch your ass in
that place esp. the lawn)
Well, as it always does the lights go down and its time to dance. Phish
seems to agree as they whip into the best Jim since Worcester 97 and the best
Ive seen since 12/31/95 it got spacy for about five minutes, but the rest was
flat out ass kicking jamming. I was so into the groove that I had no idea
that it timed out at about 1/2 hour until the next day. I just got completely
lost in the jam (a j-hole?) and when they finally finished up everybody
looked at one another and said "Holy Shit" (seriously). After a short
conference, of all things they start up...Glide?!?!?! YES!!!!!! Oh my am I
Glad Glad Glad!!! I think my face broke open from my smile and completely
fell apart when during the long pause Trey does some sadly neglected secret
language action and I get to fall down as all the drunk newbies look at me as
if Im the one whos nuts. I love it, I love it, I love it! Followed by a nice
Theme that fit my mood nicely and led to several hugs "Keep whats important
and know who's your friend" indeed! I love that song and that sentiment. A
superfunkalicious Sand got everybody grooving again and unlike several Sands
Ive seen lose focus and wander off incoherantly, this one gelled and ossified
until it was a huge towering funk monster awesome! Meat kept the funk going
hard. I think they took an extra one or two at the end before slamming into a
upbeat intense CDT to close. I love hearing 25,000 people screaming "Can't I
live while Im young" as the band plays the song like they mean it. There was
sooooo much energy floating around the place, it was absolutely amazing. I
couldn't even complain about the Waste encore whatever! We gathered together
in a big group and hugged each other, it was quite emotional and I frankly
dont care if Trey flubbed the words. An awesome energetic night that defied
scenery and circumstance to bring it all back home. And we still had one more
night to go!
Greg Peeler
Date: Sat, 8 Jul 2000 00:02:13 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Camden Review (7-3-00)
Greetings and Wow!!!
That's about the only way I can start this review... From a guy
who missed the New Year's extravaganza and will forever regret it,
all I can say is it seemed to do wonderful things for the band. It
appears as if their concept of what is a long show has been
perpetually changed. Have you noticed how much longer the sets
have been on average this tour? It appears as if they are totally
stretching out and just letting go. Last night at Camden that was
certainly the case. For various reasons, mostly because we added a
third child in Feb., I have not seen a show since the two at
Holmdel last summer. I have kept up with the band's progress via
tapes, of course, but as you may have guessed, I was pretty much
ready for anything at Camden. Still, while I expected to have a
great time, as always, I did not expect to get knocked for a loop
like I did last night. Unbelievable... Mind blowing... Pick your
own adjective... This show for me ranked right up there with any
"regular" show I have seen (I've seen around 20 in seven years).
If you were into "rockers," then this one was probably not for
you. If, however, you were into climbing aboard the spaceship,
taking off without knowing where, when, or even if you would
land... well, then, this was paradise. :)
Just look at the first set. I'm sure you saw the list... but
you're going to have to get the tapes if you weren't there to
appreciate it. Ten songs in all. Trey's kids on stage... Tom
Marshall making an appearance... Plus, they could have easily
ended the set after Fluffhead, but it was clear early on that the
boys were in the exploration frame of mind. Here's a quick rundown
from one fans viewpoint...
Down with Disease was, obviously, a fun start. The jam was long
and intense and at times it appeared as if they were going to take
it somewhere else, but eventually it came back to the glorious
refrain. Guelah Papyrus was a cool second song, rare and done
well. It started a trend that would continue throughout the show -
the band starting, stopping and teasing the audience... My Mind's
Got a Mind was a nice treat for me. The only Mike bluegrass tune I
had never heard. It was short and sweet. I couldn't believe when I
heard the opening riff to Foam... I didn't know how long it had
been, but I knew it hadn't been played in a long time. (87 shows,
I saw later!) It was really cool... Chris K. was right on with
the lights as the dark, ominous clouds gathered over the lawn. It
made an early light show possible and he was up to the task. The
jam fit the mood perfectly, taking us all up and down for a
ride... when it ends... we roll right into the opening chords
of... Bathtub Gin!!!! Page goes crazy on the keys, as usual... You
gotta love that! It almost seemed as if the band planned it...
within a minute or two after the "we're all in this together and
we'd ove to take a bath!" line.. of course, it started to pour.
And I mean a torrential downpour. I was under the pavilion, row N,
so I was what, 12 rows from the lawn... and it just came whipping
in... It felt damn good!!! As noted on the main review, every time
lightning flashed, the crowd would erupt again and Kuroda would
answer with some strobes... As for the boys, for about five
minutes, it seemed like they were just playing background music to
the show that Mother Nature was putting on. Maybe they were just
enjoying the spectacle. Who knows.. :) Anyway, soon they grabbed
our attention again and just soared. Some awesome Gin jams here,
with everyone getting in on the action. When they finally ended
Gin, Trey broke into the opening riff of My Soul. It was fun.
Always nice to hear him shred some blues. :) Page also had a long
solo in this one. Very nice... The catchy Heavy Things followed.
I'm sure not everyone there wanted to hear it, but personally it
was my first (see what happens when you take off a year!) So, I
enjoyed it immensely. After the lightness of Heavy Things... Came
the opening notes of Fluffhead!!!! Oh yes!!! This was a real
treat. I know they played it at Camden last year too, but I don't
think anyone cared. The jam was right on all the way throughout...
Just kept building and building... Damn! When they came back to
the ending FLUFFHEAD refrain, I thought the roof was coming down.
As fans were roaring at the end, I knew that the first set was
going to be over, so I started heading for the aisle to beat the
traffic. Well, what do you know. I was wrong. Completely and
totally wrong. As I reached the outer concourse, Trey begin
strumming the chords for... Circus... I ran up to the lawn to join
the wet and wild ones... This meant two things to me: No. 1, it
was doubtful they were going to end the set with the mellow
Circus, and No. 2, I have read how much Trey loves this song, so
it was clear that he was just in "the mood"... you know, the mood
to stretch it out... :) So, this song was sweet. Very well done
and then... I'm still shaking my head over this... ANTELOPE!!!
That's right.. a Down w/Disease, Gin, Fluffhead and Antelope all
in the first F&*%$#ng set!!!! What more can I say? It just went on
and on... Page was all over it, Mike was all over it, Fish was
right there and Trey just whaled. It was awesome and to top it all
off... as I mentioned... when it comes time for the "lyrics", out
walks Tom Marshall... In a way, it was cool to be on the lawn for
this, because I could see his face on the video monitor. He looked
at us all slyly, did the ole "Rye, rye, rocco... Marcos
Escaundoles..." then grinned and said.. "have you got any spliff,
man..." The crowd went nuts!!!!
What a first set! It was long, wild and crazy, and I was wondering
how the hell they were going to match it in set 2. Sometimes
lately it seemed when we got a really good first set, the second
set was anticlimactic. Take last year, for example. The first set
on the first night at Holmdel was awesome, but the second set
could not keep up the same level. On this night however, it was a
different story...
SET II
We begin the journey with Runaway Jim. After a nice jam in the
middle, the band really kicked it into high gear. I can't even
tell you how many times they switched gears in the middle of this
song. It would soar up, giving the eppearance of heading somewhere
else, then taper off... several times it sounded like they would
just end it, but they persevered... The glow rings were flying,
the lights were intense... Around 15-20 minutes, I turned to my
buddy Tom and said, "maybe we're getting a Worcester Jim"...
(obviously referring to the 65-minute Jim of 11-29-97). At one
point I thought they were going to break into Timber Ho!, but they
were just teasing... Ten minutes later, just when I was really
starting to believe we might be getting a Worcester Jim, the song
basically came to an ominous, dark end... but no! Mike and Fish
kept it alive... until Trey and Page came back in and took it to a
soaring conclusion. 33 minutes!!!! It was phenomenal fun!!! I was
amazed how many people in the crowd stayed with it, dancing the
whole time through all the peaks and valleys. I love doing that.
Again, if this is what you go see Phish for, it was awesome!!! I
could not believe what came next... A song I have always wanted to
hear live and had pretty much given up on... The boys took a long
time deciding what to play and in a minute we all knew why...
GLIDE!!!! Just perfect... everybody went crazy.... they were right
on and to top it off... the ending. They held the last... "and
we're glad, glad glad that you're a....." FOREVER!!! The waves
of applause came and went five times, I swear, louder and louder
each time... and Trey and Mike just stood there motionless.
Soaking it all in. It was great. Then, faintly, I heard Trey do
the "All Fall Down" Phish language signal... I collapsed into my
seat, and Trey and Mike fell to the ground. Not many people picked
up the signal in my section, so they probably thought I was
bizarre! LOL!!! Finally, they dragged themselves up and finished
the song... perfect!!! This is getting long, so I will try to wrap
it up... Theme was very nice and I was thinking they would
probably be ending the set soon.. Instead, they broke into Sand!!!
Another 15-20 min. jam.. Totally funky. The end was really cool...
They found such a nice groove. Then they "ended" it... the lights
went dark... and they came back right at the same point. It was
funny... Meat followed, where they teased us again and again as
usual at the end. It was weird placement, but it worked... and
that was followed by a rockin' Chalkdust Torture!! Always fun... I
was exhausted and said, this has got to be it.. but no... Trey
broke into the sweet sounds of Bittersweet Motel. It was a
beautiful way to cap the set... It worked.
Some may not have liked the Waste encore, but personally, I think
it is a very pretty song. The lyrics are really cool and it was a
fine choice for an encore on this night. After all, it was after
midnight (doesn't Camden have a curfew!? LOL!!) I don't think
many of us had much energy left for another fast song anyway! :)
So, there you have it. I didn't get back to my car until 12:10
a.m. Despite the traffic hassles getting in, and the impersonable
E Center venue... this was one of my favorite shows since the
Clifford Ball. It was a blast!!!
For those of you going tonight, I am jealous... It's back to work
for me. As for those on tour, damn... should be a great ride!
Hope you all have a great time!! Be safe and I'll see you at
Hershey this fall.
Peace and love,
Mike
Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 23:39:04 -0400
From: "Gawronski, Ryan (CORP, Counsultant)" [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: Review for July 3rd, 2000
This was my first show since the radio city opener and I was some what
dissapointed but hey I can't complain. Whenever I get to see the boys, I am
in my glory. Getting into the lot was a mad house and I am a local and took
all the back roads, but no luck knowing the back roads. Got a parking spot
about 2 miles away ffrom the venue or at least it felt like it. Did
purchase a new Phatty piece in the lot on my trek into the venue. Was
hoping for alot of songs that I did not get to hear but oh well there will
be other shows. Well enough of the jibber jabber I guess I'll get to the
songs and break'em down as I go.
DWD> Ahh the pleasent sound of Cactus slapping away on that bass. Great
opener and what a way to get me to start kicking up some dust in the lawn.
I felt the rain starting to drizzle on my head just a bit, but nothing
major. The boys sounded tight and I knew there were good things to come.
By the way I was not aware of the golf cart or Treys children on stage.
Guelah Papyrus> Good old classic. Trey and Mike doing a little jig and just
over all funking it up. The rain kinda stopped, but I could smell a storm a
coming.
My Mind> Cactus giving us some good old bluegrass. The rain started to come
down a bit harder now and we all had no idea what the boys would come up
with next.
Foam> This song must love me because I happen to be a part of the one in
Hampton and the one in Woooooster. Mike and Trey were having a good old
time doing their little jigs. Page sounded great as usual. HERE CAME THE
RAIN AND BOY IT CAME DOWN WITH A VENGANCE!
Bathtub Gin> We were all in this together and we loved taking a bath in the
rain, so to speak. The lightning was striking every once in a while with
the ohhs and ahhs of the crowd with each strike. I was very soaked at this
time and just ready for whatever the boys had in store for me and the rest
of the Phans.
My Soul> What a great song especially to hear in the pouring rain. They
rocked the house with this and I know my soul was feeling great. After what
the boys had unleashed on us I was hoping for a Reba or a 2001, but I was
let down for what they played for us next.
Heavy Things> Great song, but it seems like every show I attend now a days I
hear this damn song. I like it don't get me wrong but I would much rather
have heard a Reba which I have yet to hear at any show I've been to in my 22
show carrer. So far, so good.
Fluffhead> I heard this last year when the boys were here, don't think it
was as good but hey I am not a complainer and will take it as they come.
Fluff always gets the crowd rockin and some reviews I have read so far are
saying that Trey was missing on some parts of this song, but I found nothing
wrong. Great Tune!!!!
When the Circus Comes> Finally a song I could chill, sit on the lawn, puff a
nugg and just sit back and listen to Trey pour out his heart to the crowd.
One of my favorites, No Doubt and was definetley thinking this was going to
be it for the first set, but wait I heard Trey doing some riffs that were
starting to sound like Yup you guessed it ANTELOPE!!!!!!
Antelope> I knew this was it for the first set and what a way to go out. I
have not heard this since October 8th in Nassau and was over joyous when
they busted this out. This song is always filled with some extra additives
and always brings out the scoopin and diggin in all of us. I looked to the
corner of the stage and who do I see but none other than Tommy Marshall to
add in some extra lyrics. "BEEN YOU TO HAVE ANY SPLIFF.....MON!!!!" The
crowd was going nuts at this point and CK5 was also going nuts during the
whole first set with his lighting theatrics. The boys definetley had
everyones gear set to high as they ended the first set with this rager.
Well that was it for the first set and I was very happy and was
still awaitng a Reba or a Caspian for the second. My girlfriend and I had
met up with some friends during the long intermission and were lucky enough
to score some seats in the pavillion for the second set which started off
around 10:30.
Runaway Jim> This version just blew me right out of the water and everyone
else who was in attendance as well. They killed this song and were teasing
songs out the ass. Looked back out at the lawn and saw the glowsticks a
flyin during this jam. The way the boys were jamming then just came right
back to the Jim that they started with was phenominal. What could they come
up with next after this rager but none other than:
Glide> Great classic Phish at their best. All fall down secret language
during this was leaning me towards a Possum, but nope they suprised me with
Theme.
Theme> The boys sounded great and you could tell were havin a grand old
time. I happen to love this song and it was another good opprotunity to sit
back in my newly aquired seat and puff another nugg with my boys.
Sand> Nice jam and some funking going on by Trey and Page and then Jon and
Mike doing their thing.
Meat> Loving it!! This song should be re-named Funk because thats what is
all about.
Chalkdust> Can't we live why we are young. This is another one of those
songs that whenever I go see the boys, they always seem to pull this out of
thier hat, so for me it is relly nothing special, but as always it rocks.
Bittersweet Motel> First time heard for me. Great tune and nothing like
slowing it down for the last song of the set. Slowing it down before the
encore I thought was going to be a good thing. ALRIGHT HERE COMES MY NEVER
HEARD BEFORE REBA. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Waste> Great song, but a little dissapointing for an encore on the 4th of
july holiday shows. Trey just singing to us letting us know that we were
all wasting our time waitng for an encore that we were not going to get.
Leaving the venue was as easy as hell, thought it was going
to be a disaster. Ate some really good goo balls in the lot and can I just
throw in that I think nitrous oxide is the fucking worst thing in the world.
I wish someone would just get rid of it somehow, how I don't know but if
there was a way I would be the one to get it off the face of the earth.
Great show all together and the highlight of the night was by far the
RUNAWAY JIM. The boys sounded tight, CK5 was as always on top of his game
with the lights, and last but not least of all the phans as always were as
phriendly as could be. See ya next time.
ROD G.
Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 18:26:37 -0400
From: "St.Pierre, Timothy" [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: 7/3/00 Review
I like to keep my reviews to the point, since no one could possibly care
what I did for the 6 hours previous to the show, or how bad traffic
sucked, or what some dude I know said to a phatty veggie burrito vendor
on the way in, or who had my farmies. So here goes...
Set I
Down With Disease - This is a common opener. However, I make the
contention here that there is no better opener than Diseaser. No matter
what, it does not disappoint. It puts you right in the mood... grooving
hard. This was even a fairly common Disease, nothing extraordinary, but
just felt awesome.
Guelah Papyrus - After Trey's lil girls came out after Disease (which was
really cute, I have to admit), they busted my only pick of the night.
"Whats your dark horse pick tonight, Tim?" "Ummmm... Guelah Papyrus".
Sounded good to me.
My Minds Got A Mind - Always a fun one.
Foam - At this point, it was clear to me that Phish was making a point to
enforce an old school mentality. They do that sometimes. Bringing back
Foam has not always worked in the past. When I saw it again at Hampton
98, it was nice to hear but not super great. However, this time through
it was absolutely incredible. I just kept thinking, "Hahaha, they GOT
us. We FORGOT about Foam." The jam was vintage underwater Phish sound,
bubbling. It rose and expanded and got more intense, the most intense
part being the tag at the end. Although it will probably not be the
case, I truly believed that they could finally put Foam back in the
rotation.
Gin - While the jam didn't quite reach that ultimate nirvana, I sort of
feel like we're all already there to begin with, because of where Gin has
gone in the past. Everyone in my section, and it seemed like everyone in
general, yelled/sang the lyrics, "We're all in this together, and we love
to take a bath." Yup.
My Soul - I don't have much to say about this at all, except that I did
enjoy hearing it.
Heavy Things - Pretty standard, I feel like we all love this song. What
made me enjoy it so much more was when my best friend (Brendan aka 2001
Man) turned to me during the end section and we both sang "Things Are
Falling Down On Meeeeeeeeeeee" like Trey does in the outro on
"Farmhouse". It would be cool if we as an audience got into the habit of
singing that part at shows because Trey's all busy there, and it would be
more fun than the "HOOD" and the Stash claps.
Fluffhead - Not the best version ever, but who really cares? It was
freakin' Fluffhead. Hell, I sure had some powerful pills that night.
Circus - I didn't really need "the big Circus breather", but I do like
the Fluffhead->Circus->Antelope combo we've seen before.
Antelope - The jam didn't really rip my face off or anything, but, like
the Fluffhead, who really cares? It was freakin' Antelope. The Tom
Marshall bit was a nice touch.
Set II
Runaway Jim - About 2 minutes into the jam, I thought, "Wow, this could
be one of THOSE Jims." I was right, because it turned into a pretty huge
one. 33 minutes was the count that I heard, but it kept moving the whole
time. During the big Jim jams of the past, I have always credited Fishman
with the most compelling direction in the jam. This Jim was no
exception. Fishman was like a greased Scotsman in this song. Slick. Fine
musicianship.
Glide - Did I say "old school" before? My favorite part about this song
is the evil stomping part before the end. Chris had red lights on for
that. During the pause, they did the "all fall down" voice language. I
guess people don't realize that EVERYONE is supposed to fall down, not
just the band. I felt like an idiot falling down when the band did, but
whatever.......
Theme - Fat. I love going through the "Bowie? Maze? Theemme" thought
progression. They really treated us to some rare stuff tonight. And they
did on the fourth too.
Sand-->Meat-->Chalk Dust
I thought of these together during the show (I wonder why), and wanted to
address them together here. Sand was not hectic and crazy, but slow and
funky. I liked that. They did that "stop the jam, then start it up a
minute later" thing again, which was awesome.
Meat is slower than Sand, but it was still super funky. The stops in
Meat paralleled the stop in the Sand jam. When Dust ripped in, I freaked
out. I was waiting for something like this all show, and so was Trey,
judging by the way he leapt forward when he started the opening riff.
He ripped all the way through. My friend Brendan commented on how he
looked at us from a few rows back and we were just getting down so hard.
Bittersweet was nice, and so was Waste, and that was the night. Very
good show, it gets 112 of a possible 137 points (just kidding).
Tim St. Pierre
Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2000 12:14:01 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: review 7-3-00 E Center- Camden, NJ
Wow.....camden was crazy, after a long drive from chicago we pulled up to the
e center in a violent storm. After finally getting in, we made our way to
the lawn, and we had already missed the first few songs...oh well.....got
there right as Foam ended. Thats when it happend. This rain, and im
talking VIOLENT rain, started coming down (and i had lawn....ug). Anyway,
the opening notes of Bathtub Gin started.
Bathtub Gin: Everyone was going nuts, we were all soaked from head to toe,
and
with each lightning blast everyone would cheer (have to get the tape).
My Soul: played nicely, never heard it live before but done well.
Heavy Things: I know alot of people put this down, but it was played nicely,
stretched
out a bit more, and everyone seemed to be into it.
Fluffhead: Great, truely great, always great to hear everyone join in on the
"powerful
pills" line.
Circus: not bad.....i thought that was gonna be it for set 1, so i was
getting ready
to head for the bathroom when i heard...
Antelope: wow! They played this about a week ago, and i thought it would be
forever
before they did it again, but it was the highlight of the show...Tom Marshall
came out
at the end.
Setbreak: lets just say, security were complete jerks. Both days, i mean i
saw 5 guys in yellow shirts (big guys too), almost tackle 4 or 5 girls with
sparklers.
Horrible...just horrible.
Set 2:
Runaway Jim: this seemed to jam out forever, it was great, i thought we might
get a worcester jam, but 30 mins was great too.
Glide: wow! My 2nd Glide, with secret lang and all (i felt like a fool, no
one else went to the ground).
Theme: was decent
Sand: always loved this bass line, great song.
Meat: was ok, never really a big fan of this song.
Chalkdust: Yeah....now we were going, totally rocked out.
Bittersweet Motel: This gave me a new appreciation for this song, everyone
around me was totally into it.
Encore: Waste: alright, but i was hoping for something faster, like maybe a
Frankenstein or something...............
Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2000 18:08:43 EDT
From: Evan St. John [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Camden 7/03/00
Getting through Camden was a little frustrating with the nasty traffic jam,
but we managed to get there in plenty of time. We were at the very front of
the lawn, sort of on the left facing the stage^� just sat there chillin while
the place gradually filled up. The show started around 8:10 with:
DWD: Great way to open up the set, it really started the place off with a
bang. Some very nice licks and noodles from trey throughout the whole
thing, overall pretty standard but also very ripping as disease usually is.
Guelah Papyrus: Very slow and groovy, had the whole place dancing to the
funk. Trey and Mike did the little kick and twist dance which was cool.
Nice way to chill the place out after the crazy disease.
My Mind: Hadn^�t heard it live yet, picked the place right back up, very
bluegrassy and very jumpy. By now the rain had started to drizzle quite a
bit^� seemed like it would keep up.
Foam: Holy crap! I was just pleased I could get such a rare one. Page and
Trey had some very nice solos. The rain really started kicking up now and
everyone had fun just singing along to the lyrics. I just sat back and
enjoyed it while I could.
Bathtub: Yes! Perfect timing because by now it was pouring. The jam started
off a little slow, but as the rain picked up into a heavy pour the jam got
faster and faster. By the middle lighting would strike every now and then
which was followed by a huge ^�WOO!^� from the crowd. The guys really fed off
of the crowd^�s energy from dancing in the mud and just kept the jam going
better and better. Great song, great fun in the rain.
My Soul: This was a great version, and a first for me. Very bluesy and very
rocking, had the whole place up in smoke singing to it. It was still
pouring pretty hard. I remember looking down at my sandals and seeing them
absolutely drenched^� puddles inside and everything.
Heavy Things: Overall, I think this is just a decent song, nothing special,
but great to hear between jams. This version was pretty standard, trey got
in a short but sweet solo before the vocal part at the end.
Fluffhead->Fluff^�s Travels: Holy shit!!!! I was absolutely amazed I got
another rare one. The jam section was very tight, very groovy. The place
went off the wall when it started. They had played it here last year
(7/10/99), as well as the bathtub, so I guess they were just following up.
Amazing version with a lot of energy which would be revived with^�
Circus: I^�m not too crazy about this song, but it gave everyone a nice
breather. Great solo from trey as usual. Plus I realized that there^�s no
way they could end the set with it (it had already been about 70 minutes
when it started), so we were guaranteed with another song^� I was thinking
cavern or character zero.. but was amazed to see:
Antelope!!: WOW! This was a huge surprise for everyone! The jam was so
freaking amazing. CK5^�s lighting was just incredible.. it fit the high
speed velocity of the jam so well^� the whole place was just going nuts. I
was so glad at this point I wasn^�t even thinking about set 2. Then, just
when things are high enough, Tom Marshall comes out to sing his lyrics. The
crowd again goes NUTS^� cheering again when he says ^�got any spliff mon^�..
trey was cracking up as tom left the stage. Wow.. the whole jam was just so
full of energy and the crowd loved every second of it.
I was just amazed that the first set had been so long. It ended at around
9:50, making it and hour and half long. By now the whole lawn was nothing
but a flat mud pile.
Set II: started around 10:30
Runaway Jim: Traditional set opener, had everyone dancing from the start^�.
No one expected what they would get from it though. Trey started it all off
with some really funky ^�wah wah^� licks that sounded sort of like the guitar
in the shaft theme song^� except these were slower and funkier^� from there
they just continued to experiment and jam on. At about the middle the glow
rings started flying.. at this point the jam had a really crosseyed-like
feel to it^� at every minute I thought they were about to segue into a
different song but they just kept going in different places. This was the
highlight for me and a definite for you to have. I checked my watch when it
ended^� at 11:05. It had been 35 minutes. This whole jam was just freaking
amazing and got the place going when they ended it coming back to the
runaway jim part.
Glide: Cool! Another rare one^� had everyone cheering and singing along. At
the end they paused and stood still for a couple of minutes before singing
the last line^�. And I just stood and watched for movement^� which was trey^�
started off the ^�all fall down^� language!!! Perfect night to put it.. I
fell down in the mud, but no one else around me did so I just got up and
watched ... hehehe.
Theme From the Bottom: Very nice.. it was really slow and mellow and just
had the whole place chillin out. Everything was perfectly tranquil by the
end^�
Sand: WOW! funkadelic! It started off pretty standard, with trey and page
soloing on top of the EXTREMELY thick groove laid down by mike and fish^�
later however mike started to experiment a bit and then fish took off along
with him^� at this point the funk level was at the night^�s high.. and I
enjoyed every second of it. Overall.. I think this was Page^�s song of the
night^� he had some really groovy stuff that you might hear in a 2001
throughout the whole thing. They ended the jam and started it up again
after a minute or two for some reason. That was possibly a tease for the
next song:
Meat: Nice song to follow up the funk. Very decent version with the usual
teases as it ends. On the last tease trey went immediately into:
Chalkdust: They had played this last year too^� the whole place went nuts.
It was a great, high energy ripping song as usual. I couldn^�t hear the
music as the whole crowd screamed ^�Can I live while I^�m young!?!?!^� I
thought this would be the set closer but it lead nicely into:
Bittersweet Motel: Stepped the place down a level and had everyone very calm
and relaxed by the end. As it ended I realized they would keep the place
mellow to end the show, which was fine by me.
Encore: not a long wait for:
Waste: Very cool version, with an amazing solo from trey. The whole place
was just really quiet and peaceful and enjoyed the whole thing^� I don^�t
think the crowd minded that it was a slow way to end the night. It really
did fit with the rest of the show, great way to close it up.
Overall this was a fun night filled with a lot of surprises. Highlights for
me were either cheering for the lightning during Bathtub, dancing my ass off
for the antelope, or just witnessing the amazing Runaway Jim. Thanks for
the great show guys.
Date: Tue, 4 Jul 2000 19:21:22 -0400
From: pat donnelly [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 7.03.00. E-Center. Camden, NJ.
How does one begin about a show this incredible? It's difficult to comprehend
how good of a show this was, and the setlist does not belie the quality. But
first things first...
Heh... anyone catch that hour-long traffic jam?? Blah... Actually it was a
fun traffic jam... in a way... Anyway...
Parking was weird, we were parked in a NJ Transit Training Center garage a few
blocks away [ok...]. The lots were pretty cool, and we scored tickets for
both Camden shows. w00h00! Security seemed lax and while there was no real
central Shakedown St. there was still all sorts of vending and such...
Got to our seats literally one minute before the boys took the stage. We
ended up sitting towards the far wall, and let me tell you how fucking soft it
was there... I could whisper to my friend and we could hear each other loud
and clear. That really detracted from things, but still... What a show!!!
Well here goes...
DWD-- Wasn't expecting it for an opener only because I missed both Hartford
and second night PNC so DWD was fresh in my mind. But still... I was pretty
psyched! Pretty standard, pretty ripping as well... They did that noodling
they seem to favor in DWD lately which was pretty cool. A little note-- i
never saw the golf cart on stage, I did however see Trey's kids on stage.
Anyone else catch that? It was so cute!
Guelah Papyrus-- OH YEAH! This was totally unexpected and totally awesome.
Very chill version which was nice because DWD really ripped shit up. It was
just a very grooving, very mellow Guelah; a really really nice version. It
sounds stupid, but I can't think of what to say about it... funked out a bit
too. Oh and the dancing!! Mike and Trey were dancing on stage, rotating
their bodies and legs with the chords... really cool.
My Mind-- Had never heard it before, or even heard *of* it, but it was cool--
good bluegrass feel, and seemed to be really well received, especially by a
crowd who, largely, didn't know what it was [i was asking around...].
Foam-- w00h00!!! WOW!! All I kept saying was "whoa..." Foam was
incredible!! EVERYONE was singing along to this man, and the craziest was at
the end when Trey and Mike just kept "faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalling"
into the deep well. Oh man what a song. Had a cool jam which is a side of
Foam i'd never really considered that great as well. What a song.
Bathtub Gin-- Was cool. Again wasn't expecting it because it was fresh in my
mind from 6/28, and honestly, the 6/28 version was exceptionally good; so this
didn't compare. But it was pretty cool, and the lightning outside the
pavilion [the lawn got soaked!] was a cool crowd thing. There were times when
lightning struck on one of those heavy bass notes, and it was a really
incredible experience.
My Soul-- VERY phatty song. The crowd was ROCKING for this one, and the band
was totally ON. I'd heard a tape of this once, but never seen it, and it was
a really great experience. I was kinda peaking right then [also kinda almost
puking from the shrooms] so i don't really remember it, but from what I do
remember: excellent.
Heavy Things-- I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU PEOPLE SAY: IT'S A GOOD SONG! I'm not
crazy about it, but I certainly don't just like sit down when it comes on as a
gut reaction. It's a cool song, and it definitley had a very bouncy little
vibe to it. Short ass jam tonite [before the closing vocal segment], but
still very cool.
Fluffhead/Fluff's Travels-- WHAT?? Hehehehe!! This was just so crazy and
off-the-wall, and it was a really great jam. The crowd pumping their fists,
the band just going off-- oh man. This is one of those situations [actually
much of the first set] where it's really difficult to describe how much
fucking energy was flowing through the place. It was like we were all lifted
up into this different world. It was extremely surreal-- unlike anything I've
experienced at any show [phish or other].
When the Circus Comes-- YEAH BABY YEAH!!!! I absolutely LOVE this song. One
of my favorite songs Phish plays, originals OR covers. Trey pours his entire
heart and soul into this song, and I was standing there grooving my head off
to this song. I love it- it almost brings me to tears just thinking about this
song. It's passionate, it's emotional, and it's delivery is just amazing. I
consider it a highlight of the show for me, not a chill-out song. =c)
Run Like An Antelope-- ............ what can be said......... this was
incredible. Certainly a highlight of the show. Fucking great great great
jam going into it, and CK5 was absolutely INSANE, i mean INSANE during this
jam [before Marco]. And then, who should appear on stage, but TOM MARSHALL??
Wow... so he comes out and does his lyrics [and of course we all go nuts when
he says "have any spliff"], and the crowd is just wired. When Trey shouted
"Set the gear shift..." the energy was absolutely through the roof. Not a
single person around me didn't have a smile plastered across their face. This
was amazing. I'd been wanting to actually experience this song live, and I
got it...... wow...... I was speechless.
Wow, so an hour and a half first set. Nice change from two 55 minute PNC
first sets, eh? Anyway we were really shocked by the quality of the first
set, and I feel bad because nothing I say can do it any kind of justice. Ah
well. Setbreak was *long* [over 50 mins.], and we found better seats closer
to the center so we could actually hear.... But nothing could prepare us for
this second set...
Runaway Jim-- One for the record books. If you need something to knock you on
your ass, this will do it. This was 30 minutes long, and it went EVERYWHERE.
There was one moment when it got so quiet it was almost a silent jam, and then
they blasted back into the original jam [or some tangent of it]. They had
everyone guessing the whole song. This jam was just amazing, and you could
tell we were witnessing something REALLY special. I mean something REALLY
special. And when they went back into "OOOOhhhh... Runaway Jim..." ... it was
just the greatest capper to the greatest jam I've heard live, ever.
Glide-- Hell yeah! I've never been a big fan of Glide, but this changed all
that. It was funkin', it was groovin', and the stops!!! Holy shit. They
paused several times, and at the end, before the last, very harmonic
"gliiiiide", they paused for a good 3 minutes. The energy level at that point
was through the roof. They've been doing extended pauses recently [Mike's
6/28, [something else] 6/29], but this was nuts, and everyone was shouting at
the top of their lungs through the whole pause. It was a cool song, and one
that I hadn't necessarily appreciated before tonite.
Theme From the Bottom-- Oh yeah! My friend Bridget was pushing for Billy
Breathes material [no Caspian tho!], and she got it. This was cool, and
emotional. I hit a real moment of clarity during this song. The groove was
flowing, CK5 had these watery blue lights going across the top of the roof,
and I just hit this moment where everything seemed calm and perfect. This was
the definition of happiness. The whole crowd going along with the "From the
bottom" vocal jam was also very cool.
Sand-- Funk-0-rama!! The other night's Sand was spooky, tonight's was funky!
This was grooving, this was just really funked out. The groove was flowing
and EVERYONE was moving to this one-- how could you resist?? Shout-out to Joe
who called it literally three seconds before it started. They again did a big
pause here, we were wondering what they were going to do, and then BOOM, they
went back into Sand. Wow.... in-fucking-credible jam.
Meat-- MORE FUNK!! YEAH!! This was also really funked out, like even more
than on Ghost [which is pretty damn funky]. It was just generally a clean and
cool Meat. Mike was on with his sly, "superfly" kinda voice. Oh man it was
cool.
Chalkdust-- WHAT? I mean it was just weird to have Chalkdust here, but man...
the place fucking exploded. Everyone was up, everyone was jumping, dancing
grooving. Nothing is better than seeing 30,000 heads with their fists in the
air shouting "Can i live while I'm young??!!" Decent jam on it, pretty
standard, but REALLY powerful. Heh, and someone was on the complete wrong
chord when they came back into the chorus at the end which provided a moment
of levity. Definitley a cool song, and the more I think about it, the more
magical its placement in the set seems.
Bittersweet Motel-- Oh man, we needed a chill-out, and this was cool. Just a
groovin' groovin' closer. My friend leaned over and said, "I would not be
upset if they closed with this." And I agreed. Whatever they could've done,
the set was so perfect and so magical... this was a fitting end.
So the small break gave us just enough time to speculate... At first I wanted
a rager.... like Possum or Scent or something that just kicks some ass, but
then I heard the opening chord of the Encore, and my friend said...
Waste-- Yeah, man. This was heaven. This was the epitome of my version of
heaven. The smooth chords and flowing vocals pouring over me, Trey imploring
all 30,000 of us to "come waste your time with me." This was what it's all
about. Everyone was singing along, and you got the feeling that you'd get
after ...... well an incredible experience with a bunch of cool people.
Nothing could be more fitting to end this show than the gorgeous, flowing,
beauteous version of Waste they did. Man, I LOVE this song now.
Well I've said it all and then some. I'm writing this at 4:16 in the morning,
so tommorow before I submit it I'm definitley going to edit, and see if I
remember anything else, and see if I can be a little more coherent. This was
without a doubt one of the greatest musical experiences of my entire life.
This was astounding, this was incredible, this was unbeatable. My last show
for the tour [i'm fucking broke], so I guess I'll be seeing some of ya'll at
Pepsi Arena, Hershey Park, and whatever the fuck place is in Maryland come
fall. I hope everyone loves the rest of the tour...
lots of love and huggles
-pat donnelly
P.S. I don't even care that there was no IT'S ICE!! This was too good to be
needing anything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[email protected]
Xlilprince on AIM, 50955972 [lilprince] on ICQ
^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^*:^
But when the lights are turning 'round
The wheels are flowing on the ground
The day I burn this whole place down
When the circus comes to town -los lobos
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Date: Tue, 4 Jul 2000 16:51:25 -0400 (EDT)
From: Christopher Rosenbleeth [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: July 3, 2000
The show in Camden tonight was one of the best that I've been to in my 10
show resume. The first set is rivaled only by 2nd set 12/2/97, and the
1st set 12/10/99.
Down with disease: always a pleasure. It was pretty funky and good omen
for things to come. Whenever they start a show really hardcore, it
probably means there are good things to follow.
Guelah: Good, fun, instrumental section well played.
My Mind's...: 2nd time I've heard it, and all of Mike's bluegrassy tunes
are a treat for me. Besides the old classic songs, this group of Phish
songs are my favorite and I always look forward to hearing them.
Foam: Awesome. Nuff said.
Gin: Very groovy, they didn't slow it down like most of the Gin's that
I've seen in person. THe rain was really comign down now, and the crowd
of my 15,000 closest friends on the lawn were loving it. Hardcore
instrumental section.
My Soul: my first, and it was very highly appreciated.
Heavy things: hated it. I'm so tired of hearing this song that I wish
they would put it in the cellar, never to surface again.
FLUFFHEAD!!!: I was there for the show closing Fluff last year, and this
was just as special. I could have gone after this, but there was much mor
to come.
Circus: nice touch, thought it was the set closer, but...
ANTELOPE: this made the first set such a rival set. It built nicely,
grooved and funked its way to a heavy climax. TOm Marshall was there, for
the caribbean-laced "Marco Esquendolas" lines, alogn with one of his own.
Runaway JIm: The jam in the middle of this blew my mind. Every memeber
of the band was totally in sync as they spaced it out, an then grooved it
back home. THe middle section was very reminiscent of the middle Disease
jam in the Weekapuag on 12/2/97. I was so psyched...it made the wet socks
well worth the trouble.
Glide: first time, hopefully it won't be the last. The all fall down
signals are always welcome, as is any of the secret language.
Theme: a nice touch in the middle of the set.
Sand: very funky, thankfully not as spacey as PNC last thursday. Another
Farmhouse song that could probably stand to be shelved for a while, I am
sorry to say. (In fact, they should shelve the entire album).
Meat: entertaining, but for me the show was over...I had been in heaven
for an hour or so by now.
Chalkdust: very welcome in the second set. THought the show was over with
this one, but the boys slowed it down for the set closer nad the encore of
Bittersweet Motel and Waste. Very fitting end to a fantastic evening.
Can't wait to see what they play onthe 4th.
Date: Tue, 4 Jul 2000 03:40:02 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected]
Subject: camden night 1 review!!
Hey kids!! Just got back from this amazing show and wanted to share some
thoughts with all of you. Having caught Raleigh a week ago and then having
to come home, we were feeling unfulfilled but hopeful for what this 4th of
July weekend would bring us. This was my 40th show and Toria's 20th show so
we knew there was magic in the air for our 4020 show! We hung out in
Cheeseland USA before and after the show, slingin grilledcheeses and water,
met lots of kind folks and made our way in to the back of the lawn where
there was plenty of dancing room. We knew we were in for a good night when
the opening rumbles of
Down with Disease started; This was fairly short but a scorching opener
right out of the gates, they returned to the reprise after i guess ten
minutes of energy filled diseasin and then talked about what to play and
decided on
Guelah Papyrus!! I haven't heard this song in a while, quite a treat, always
love it when Mike and Trey dance!! Pulled off very well especially
considering how rare it's become.
My Mind's Got a mind of its Own: One of our favorite bluegrass tunes. Lots
of fun!
Foam: First one in two years!! Very nice indeed, off to a very good start!
Bathtub: One of the highlights of the first set for me. The rain started
coming down really really hard, and by the time this 15 or 20 minutes was
over we were drenched. There were some true hose moments here, a point where
it almost sounded like the down with disease reprise, without the riff from
trey, lots and lots and lots of good stuff in here!@$@!%
My Soul: fun funky phishy blues, high energy, everyone was gettin down hard!
Heavy Things: It was perfect .. things were falling down on us, the rain was
starting to slow by this point and we were all drenched! your standard heavy
things.
Fluffhead: brought to mind the Fluffhead and a half from Camden last year,
not quite that good, but pretty good nonetheless. We thought this would be
the closer but little did we know.
Circus: One of our favorite Trey Ballads ... trey made sweet sweet love to
his guitar :)
Antelope: Sickness ... came to a screeching insane noisey fast climax ... We
danced so hard we wanted to puke. Tom Marshall came out and did the lyrics
... been you to have any spleef mang?? then trey kept saying "Tom
Marshall!@$!@$" over and over again.
This is the first time in a LONG time (other than big cypress!) a phish set
left us gasping for air at the end. Probably about an hour and a half for
this monster of a first set, you'll wanna hear the bathtub and the antelope!
Those bathrooms were scary but we made it out on time, got a big yummy
pretzel and got back to our spot just in time for the beginning of
Runaway Jam: this was just simple madness. From the beginning they spaced
it out, straight into the alien porn funk, for a good while, then stuck in
space for a few minutes, and nope, trey's not done with the funk!! We
boogied and boogied until we could boogie no more, orgasmic peaks aplenty in
here, this couldn't have been less than a half hour. They eventually came
back to the jim lyrics and brought this full circle. I said after this ...
"they don't have to play anything else .. i'm happy!!" and then !!!!!
GLIDE!@$: Glide is the elusive song i've been waiting for forever and
finally!! big grins for this one, it's been a while for this one too hasn't
it? in the break in the final lyrics they stood around for a while, then did
the all fall down signals.
Theme: Always good to hear Billy Breathes stuff. Pretty standard, good
ambient noise wave finish.
Sand: one of the new songs I had hoped to hear. This was quite different
from the ones last year, the first half had Trey and Page going off, then
they locked back in with Mike and Fish and the whole band made the trance
inducing bassline thick and dark and funkay. They did a little stop in the
middle then launched right back into the groove, then stopped and hopped into
Meat: Good meat, trey took a little solo at the end during a stop, then they
launched into a scorching
Chalkdust: High energy like everything else tonight, great closer ... oh
another one??? ok...
Bittersweet Motel: Philly phans showing the pa pride on the pittsburgh line,
this one hasn't been around much lately.
E: Waste: We made our way down so we could get out to the lots to start
workin again , hoped for another, but this was a good way to end regardless.
great great show overall, one of the best we've ever seen no doubt!!! Jim
was sick sick sick , everything was tight and the band is having funfunfun!!!
The fourth is gonna be madness!!
:)
~toria&jeremy
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
"all good things in all good time"
"people joining hand in hand,
while the music plays the band,
lord they're settin' us on fire!"
~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~
http://www.homestead.com/torialove/jiboo.html
(updated, go look & see!)
interested in buying an '84 VW Vanagon?
http://www.homestead.com/torialove/VW.html
Date: Wed, 5 Jul 2000 09:51:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: Chris Merenda [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 7/3/00 Review
Before I even get started, a little disclaimer about my reviews:
Heading into the two Camden shows, I had seen Phish 40 times and am just a fan
of music. I have no musical training or background ^� I can^�t read music to
save my life. Therefore, my reviews are never filled with ^�real^� musical
critiques ^� they merely express my feelings and thoughts on what the band is
doing onstage.
That being said, here we go!
I was lucky enough to get out of work at 3:00, but I still had to wait for my
girlfriend, so we didn^�t leave until about 5:30. I^�m only about 2 minutes
from Camden, so I managed to avoid most of the traffic through shortcuts and
back roads. Growing up so close to Camden and going to school in North
Philadelphia lessens your fear about driving around neighborhoods such as this
one. Unfortunately, despite my good navigation, we still had to park in the
garage
We started to make our way inside at about 7:10 and after standing outside
Will Call waiting for about 45 minutes, we got our hiking boots on and climbed
the 34,234 steps to the lawn. No matter how many times I see a show at the
E-Centre, I^�m always captivated by the view of the Philly skyline from the
grass. Hey, it might not be the most beautiful city in the world, but it^�s
mine^� Once we picked our spot � up the lawn Trey side, I came to the horrible
realization that I had lost my bowl. I went with the underwear smuggle, but
somewhere along the way, it had fallen out. I thought the boxer briefs would
be sung enough, but I was sadly mistaken and I lost a good friend as a result.
They kicked into Down with Disease as soon as we got comfortable, right around
8:10. After reading Mr. Minors rave reviews of the Diseases this year, I
settled myself in for a long ride. This one fell short in terms of length,
but still got us dancing right off the bat. I didn^�t know anything about the
golf cart or Trey^�s kids on stage, but I^�m curious to hear what that was all
about!
The rain started falling during DwD and continued to become more intense as
they wove their way through Guelah Papyrus. This tune is always fun, and it
was the first chance my girlfriend got to see the Asse Festival dance. My
Mind^�s is probably my second favorite of the bluegrass songs (next to Blue &
Lonesome) and was pretty standard. Standard = fun in this case^�
As they dusted Foam off the shelf, the rain really began to fall hard and
lighting occasionally lit up the night sky, which drew big cheers from the
heads. I really wanted to enjoy this song, but I spent most it trying to keep
stuff as dry as possible. I also became concerned that they would end the set
early. Boy, was I wrong^�
When it rains, it pours. And when it pours, you always get to hear Bathtub
Gin. At this point, I was so wet that I may have been sitting in a bathtub!
Off came the shirt and on went the grooves! I forgot all about being drenched
and just relished in the fact that the boys were jamming!!! A nice, long Gin
was just what the doctor ordered and I loved it! Fun, fun, fun!
Unfortunately, during Gin, most of my group headed for shelter and there was
just three of us left, splashing around like idiots. We also had a good view
of the ten or so people that sprinted past us and dove headfirst down the
hill. Looked like fun ^� I don^�t think my old bones can handle that stuff
anymore though.
From this point on, I thought that each song would close the set. After all,
it had been about an hour and the rain was still coming down really hard. My
Soul seemed like the perfect closer, and it was rocking, but once it was over,
they stayed on stage and Trey gave that familiar little lick indicating that
Heavy Things was next. I^�m a fan of this song ^� I love the grooves and it
just makes me happy. Enough said^�
I wouldn^�t have picked Heavy Things as the closer, so I was happy Trey
started noodling around Fluffhead and the band joined in. I was at the
E-Centre last year for the epic Fluff, so I was fully prepared for an all-out
assault. However, Trey seemed to be missing in some spots and the song never
really reached peak energy. The crowd was filled with energy, but it just
seemed something was missing. I was a little disappointed that they were
closing the set with a sub-par version of any song.
I guess they agreed because Trey decided to make up for it by pouring his
heart into another beautiful When the Circus Comes. This song is just filled
with so much emotion and passion and I love hearing it anywhere.
Since they had closed sets in Holmdel with ballads, I thought FOR SURE that
Circus was the end. But again, the band refused to leave and instead quietly
slipped into Antelope. This was pure badlam ^� people were going nuts, Trey
was all over the place ^� it was just phenomenal. Right before the first
(final?) verse, Trey briefly walked towards the side of the stage and when he
returned, he brought with him a very tall man ^� good ol^� Tom Marshall!
Having grown up in New Jersey, I^�m lucky enough to have seen Tom onstage with
Phish many times, but to hear him sing the first words he ever wrote for them
brought a huge smile to my face. Of course, he couldn^�t miss the chance to
slide in the always-neglected ^�spliff^� reference. Trey belted out the
^�gearshift^� line and then tried to get the big guy to come back out for a
curtain call, but you know how shy he can be.
Finally, the song ended and the band actually left the stage. I looked at my
watch ^� an hour-and-a-half??!!!
I guess they heard the complaints over the short sets at PNC and wanted to
kick us all in the ass! Either that, or they were waiting for Tom Marshall to
appear (or ^�prepare^�)
50 minute setbreak, most of which was spent shivering and trying to salvage a
dry cigarette. Runaway Jim opened the second set and if I had heard before
the show that we were going to get a � hour Jim, I probably would have been
less than thrilled. I would have pictured something dark, something that you
can^�t dance to and spend most of the song staring at the purple lights.
However, this particular Jim was 30 minutes of pure ecstasy! Not a down point
during the whole song ^� foot loose and fancy free! There was maybe 5 minutes
of slow, ambient-like jamming, but it was right in the middle and a nice break
from boogying. My buddy looked over at me when they went back into the chorus
at the end and just mouthed, ^�Holy shit^�^�
A long conference followed Jim, and I think they were just trying to catch
their breath (or give us the chance to catch ours!) While they were trying to
decide what to play, Fishman kicked around the Glide hi-hat. I^�ve heard it
before, and the rest of the band usually laughs it off and plays something
else. This time, I guess someone besides Fish thought it would be fun and Trey
ripped out the opening riff. I was totally psyched ^� I hadn^�t heard this
live in over 5 years. And I tell you what, this song wasn^�t just cool as a
novelty ^� it was just fun, bottom line! The crowd was so quiet and
appreciative and this made it so much more enjoyable. Before the final
^�Gliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide,^� there was a long Divided Sky-like pause, maybe 3
minutes or so (which seemed like 300 minutes). I thought I heard Trey tease
the silent language, but before I could call it, Trey hit the downward spiral
and down they went! Awesome ^� crowd going totally nuts!
Theme was typically gorgeous and gave me to opportunity to enjoy some time
with my girl. But the chill feeling gave way to the thumping bass of Sand.
It^�s so weird to hear Mike just pound the same chords for 10 minutes and I
found myself thinking about how he feels about that. Big-time funk during
this song, as would be expected. They brought the jam to a dead stop (god, I
love that!) and after another conference, picked it right up where they left
off.
The funk didn^�t stop here, though. Meat was oozing and also featured some
cool start-stop jamming. As with Fluffhead, I was expecting a kick-ass
version of Chalkdust since they blew the doors off with it here last year.
But this one was standard, which is not to say it was bad. Of course, I again
mistakenly thought the set would end, but they instead brought out
Bitterwsweet Motel and while I would have liked to share some more time with
my girlfriend, she felt a higher calling and chose to answer it then rather
than wait until post-show.
Fortunately, she made it back for most of the Waste encore and again, if you
would have told me that they would encore with a ballad, I would have been
disappointed. However, there was so much emotion in the air that I just
basked in the glory of this gorgeous song and wrapped my arms around her and
flew through the air. These are the moments that you think about for a long
time after the show^�
We left the show still soaking wet, but full of joy and anticipation for the
4th. The walk back to the lots is always long in Camden, but you gotta love
the acoustics as you make your way under the overpass. Good drumming by the
time we got there!
So, there^�s my thought and feelings regarding this show, the 3rd of July,
2000. I^�ll weigh in with my opinions on the second night a little later on
^� feel free to chime in with your thoughts as well!
Peace,
Merenda
Date: Wed, 5 Jul 2000 18:32:45 -0400 (EDT)
From: Iii William F Luke [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: 7/3 Review
Wow, that is the one word i can think of to describe this show. It was
unreal. Being my 34th show, and i've been to every festival since The
Clifford Ball, i must say this EASILY ends up in my top 3(along w/ BC, and
Walnut Creek '98). DWD rocked, and then we got a Guelah, My Minds, and a
Foam, SWEET!!! The rest of the show was also absolutely insane. Even Heavy
Things was rockin'. The energy level of everyone around me was great, and
CK was on the money(as he always is). I'm not going to break down every
song because they're all going to say the same thing: PHAT, PHAT, PHAT!!
SEE YA'LL IN ALBANY
BILL
Date: Tue, 04 Jul 2000 11:11:15 -0400
From: "[email protected]" [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected]
Newsgroups: rec.music.phish
Subject: REVIEW: 7/3/00 Camden, NJ
Phish 2000 continues to kick ass and take names. At the risk of sounding
like Mister Minor I must declare this another incredible show.
I was on the lawn for this one (my 13th show, 3rd of 4 this summer), and
in the midst of an intense thunderstorm during the first set. If you
hear random cheers on your tape, that's us reacting to the lightning.
But I'd sit through a hurricane to see the boys if they continue to play
as well as they are playing now.
Around 8 they came out and though they didn't do the feedback intro as
in Holmdel, the spacy effects and the rumbling of Mike's bass
indicated...
Down with Disease - Hard-rocking, well done although not exceptional.
Great way to get us going. In the middle of the song the rain started
coming down. A nice nod to us wet souls "dancing on the lawn."
Guelah Papyrus - Tight. Asse Festival section played perfectly. A trend
that would continue throughout the set.
My Mind's - My first. Rollicking. Is it just me or is Mike singing
especially well this tour?
Foam - Wow. First since Worcester '98. You know they know they're
playing well when they dust off a tricky composition like this one and
nail it perfectly.
Gin - Here's where it REALLY started to come down - both the rain and
the "hose" from the band. As in Holmdel, they just kept building and
building momentum with this intense groove. As the tempo of the storm
increased, so did the tempo of the band. Unreal. This was shorter and
funkier than the Holmdel Gin but every bit as satisfying. To top it all
off, Trey teased "Philadelphia Freedom" THREE times!
My Soul - more tightness, more groove. Another first for me.
Heavy Things - appropriate for the situation: "Things are falling down
on me." However the rain stopped in the middle of this one. Did not seem
to get the crowd in hysterics as much as at Holmdel but maybe that's
just a lawn/pavilion contrast. They played it fine, though.
Fluffhead - I'm convinced the band associates specific songs with
specific venues, and the passionate set-closing Fluffhead from Camden
'99 could have been on their minds. As with Asse Festival and Foam, the
tricky composed parts were nailed for the most part. For those keeping
score Trey made one mistake (the big note at the end of Clod) but I
think that was a missed cue more than a bum note and he recovered
quickly. Didn't mar an otherwise spectacular performance.
I was sure that was the end of the set, but no...
Circus - very well-sung by Trey. All the emotion you want from this
piece was there. Despite the recent trend of closing sets with ballads,
I told my friend Carl that since the set was already very long, maybe
they would push it over the edge and give us our long-due YEM. Close...
Antelope - was not expecting this. Not as wild as Holmdel but very
intense and quite funky in the pre Rye-Rye-Rocco section. Then there was
this huge cheer and I couldn't tell what was going on, until the video
screen finally panned to Tom Marshall! "Bid you to have any... SPLIFF,
man?" He was very emphatic about it. That's 3 Marshall appearances in 13
shows for me. A perk to living in NJ, I guess.
At 1:40 or so this set was as long as the 1st set & setbreak combined at
each night of Holmdel. When they are playing this well, and don't have
an early curfew, why not keep going? Gin and Antelope were the best
jamming moments, but what really struck me was their willingness to
tackle (successfully) the tricky composed pieces. That's a band playing
with confidence, and a good harbinger for a 2nd set.
After a 51 min. setbreak they reemerged and started...
Runaway Jim - This opened Carl's first show, 4/23/93, and the first show
we saw together, 7/1/94. Neither of us had seen it since. I turned to
him and said "they've gotten a little more experimental with this one
since then." Boy was that right. They got a groove going, then they
diverged into Zappa-esque trickiness, where it seemed everybody was
playing something different, using strange time signatures, etc. The
dancing on the lawn pretty much stopped and people seemed a bit
confused. This portion stimulated my brain but not my gut. Some will
probably declare it boring. At one point Fish hit the hi-hat and I
figured a segue to Bowie or Maze, but they kept going. But then, they
started up another groove, and locked into a momentous jam, along the
lines of Holmdel's Drowned. They brought this to a screaming climax and
then returned to properly finish the song. Wow. 33 minutes. One for the
history books.
Then there was a long conference, and Trey and Mike were having a heated
discussion. I'm sure Trey was feeling the special vibes in the air and
wanted to bring out a rarity. Maybe he was asking Mike to do Mound? No
such luck, but we got a nice "consolation prize":
Glide - My first, and the first since Alpine '99. I really hate the
studio version but they bring it with force live. Like Foam, this was
very tight despite being in mothballs for so long. Then they played with
our minds again. They dragged out the pause before the final
"GLI-IIIIDE" for over a minute. Then when we thought they were going to
sing it, they did the "All Fall Down" signal and fell down! No WAY were
we falling on the wet lawn, though. Then they got back up and finished
it. For the next selection Fish started up the hi-hat, and I thought we
might get the Maze or Bowie hinted at in the Jim but instead it was...
Theme - Again very well done - and very appropriate for the waterlogged
crowd. The wall of noise at the end was as mesmerizing as ever.
And then, omigod...
SAND - This is not merely the funkiest Sand ever. Call me crazy, but I
think this was the funkiest PERFORMANCE ever. (By the boys, that is. I
love them and all but George Clinton they ain't.) It sounded like a '97
Ghost. I'm not kidding. Mike and Fish just attacked the beat from the
start, and I have never heard them groove harder. There were no delay
loops or Trey keys here. Just straight-up hardcore funk. I am not a
dancer at all but I was doing some SERIOUS ass-shaking. That in and of
itself should tell you how funky this was. Trey and Page kept pace with
some mellifluous guitar and synthesizer runs, and then they got into the
weird funk effects. I thought Issac Hayes was in the house. Absolutely
mindblowing. Then, as with the 6/28/00 Mike's, the groove ground to a
halt, they paused for about a minute, and then started churning the same
groove again before stopping altogether. Best Sand ever? Depends on your
tastes. But it must be considered.
Meat - The Funk was too deep. More groove, more false endings, more
great vocals from Mike.
Chalkdust - Again with the song-venue association. They tore down the
structure of this one here last year, and on this night they got
experimental again. It was not "out there" like Camden '99 but they were
doing lots of intricate stuff while maintaining the basic structure.
This will sound great on tape.
Chalkdust is often a set-closer, and we were nearing midnight (which I'm
sure kicks in some sort of overtime rules) so I figured that would be
it, so there was a collective gasp when they started the uncommon...
Bittersweet Motel - very sweet, not so bitter. Another set-closing
ballad.
I figured the encore would have to be short so I wasn't surprised that
we got...
Waste - very appropriate. One, it is one of Tom's best lyrics so it
makes sense to do it in his presence. Two, given how long the sets were
(1:40-plus 1st set, 1:20-plus 2nd set), we did indeed "come waste our
time" with Phish.
3 shows this tour and 3 keepers. I can't fathom what they're going to
spring on us tonight (HARPUA! PLEASE!). Must... have... more... Phish...
Stunned,
Erik Swain
Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 21:28:23 -0400
From: "Kresge, Matthew S." [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: camden review 7-3-00
Just a side note to those of you reading the reviews: I don't know the
quantities of drugs that some of those who made reviews for this night were
on, but I must clarify that the 'Foam' from this night was not that
impressive. Don't get me wrong, It's great that they dusted it off and
played it, but it wasn't as impressive as many of you think remember, which
is fine. Christ, you can't expect perfection when it's been two years since
you've played a masterpiece like that. They are human (something I think
too many of you forget). Listen to the tapes, I think some of you may
reconsider. The reason I am addressing this is because people come to this
review page to find out what they missed, but sooo many of you seem to think
that every note, chord and jam was dipped in gold, and you often convey that
in your reviews. I just think that some of you should stop the drinking and
rolling and actually listen well if your intend on providing reviews for
those who were unfortunate unough to miss out. That's all!
click here to return to the 2000 reviews page
hits (many)