both days of coventry
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please review the show, not the other reviews....
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 11:39:34 -0400
From: KenneyCM
Subject: Both Days at Coventry - A Letter to the band
Dear Trey, Page, Mike and Fish: It has been more than a week since your
last show in VT. I have listened to tales from fellow fans, read John
Paluska�^�^�s statement, and was a first hand participant at the festival.
Needless to say, it will take me longer than the 11 days that have passed
to put into perspective what transpired at that venue. I feel it necessary
to write this letter, and if it reaches any of you, that�^�^�s great; if
not, I at least had the opportunity to get this weight off of my chest.
This letter is long, so I will start with where Coventry began for me,
which was Camden, NJ. My husband and I thought it very important to go to
the Camden show. We are both born and bred NJ residents, and decided to
see one of our favorite band�^�^�s last area performances, even though we
knew we were taking a risk of not making it to Coventry. The show was
great. The �^�^�Sneaking Sally�^�^� and �^�^�Rock and Roll�^�^� Velvet
Underground cover was absolutely amazing. We knew we would have to leave
at encore to get a jump on the traffic, so at the end of second set we
made our way to the door, and when we heard the first few notes of the
Frankenstein double encore, we knew it was time to leave. Thank God my
husband is intelligent because on our mad dash to the car, I was ready to
hop on the NJ Turnpike and make the drive through CT, MA and VT.
Instead, he planned a route taking I-87 through upstate NY, driving along
the Canadian border and crossing the bridge over Lake Champlain. When I
reminded him that the band repeatedly said that access to the concert
would be from Route 91 only, he turned to me and said: �^�^�Well, what if
you live in northern Vermont or Canada? Plus what if we didn�^�^�t look
at the website and read the band�^�^�s instructions?�^�^� He was right,
and by God, this was the smartest move we ever made. We left Camden, NJ
at 11:45pm on Thursday and wound up in the parking lot/camping area at
1:30pm on Friday afternoon. The first person that we recognized was our
friend named Smiley, who believe me, was far from smiling. He lives in
nearby Burlington, and literally spent 33 hours getting into the venue.
Because my husband and I have been to every Phish festival, including
Sugarbush, we decided to walk down to the stage area for the traditional
�^�^�night before sound check.�^�^� This is when we discovered that not
only was the stage more than a mile away, but it was also across the
street and down the block. Of course, security would not allow us to
cross the road, so we hiked back (through an area that was NOT all that
muddy, and could have supported camping) back to our campsite, which we
did not pitch a tent due to the fact we were parked on concrete, and our
tent leaks, and it started to rain again. (Little did we know, because of
all the mud, this was a key spot.) By the time we got back to the car, we
learned that we missed sound check, and it was broadcast over the radio.
At least the both of us used the clean Porta-Potty�^�^�s down by the field
because the rest of them were an atrocity and few in numbers. Due to
exhaustion, we decided to sleep�^��in the car�^��basically sitting
upright. Every friend and family member we ran into had the same horror
story, and as Saturday afternoon approached, the tales of woe worsened.
About four hours before the scheduled start of first set, an old friend
approached. I happened to have burritos and offered her one. I was
shocked when she immediately sat down on the ground and started devouring
it. When I asked: �^�^�Are you hungry?�^�^� She replied: �^�^�F&%$ yes!
I got on line on Friday at like 2:00 in the morning, and just got here 15
minutes ago! I�^�^�m glad I didn�^�^�t listen to the band�^�^�s
instructions and wait until the afternoon to leave.�^�^� (Yes, the band
once again lead their dedicated fans astray telling them to stay put to
help with traffic.) I am amazed that a NASCAR event can bring in and park
hundreds and thousands of people in a matter of hours, but within a
48-hour period, the hired parking companies were only able to get 60,000
people on to a 600 acre site. I don�^�^�t care if there was 25 inches of
rain; there was no reason for this. We decided to start making our way to
the stage area and as we were getting ready, turned on the radio to listen
to the latest Phish news. This is when we heard fans with tickets were
being turned away. I looked at my husband who simply proclaimed:
�^�^�I�^�^�d be going berserk right now if I was outside.�^�^� The word
�^�^�berserk�^�^� was an understatement, and this was apparent when we met
up with our friend, Suzanne, who left her 2003 Volkswagen Jetta containing
her food, camping supplies, and clothing on Route 91 and walked 15 miles
into the show with a small backpack. We never saw our friend, Perry, but
heard from others he actually walked 30 miles. I couldn�^�^�t help but
think of all of the people who took time off of work, rented RVs, and
purchased camping equipment and supplies only to wait for more than 15-48
hours to be turned away. (My friends, Margaret, John and their young son
unfortunately were one of these victims.) We were confident Phish would
blow our minds musically, thanking their fan base for enduring so much
hardship. We were wrong. First and foremost, the sound system was so weak
that if one was singing, they were drowning out the music. At previously
festivals we remember enormous speakers hanging from huge chains, but they
were not be seen at Coventry. Other than an effortless AC/DC Bag,
Halley�^�^�s Comet, and Axila, the first night's show seemed like a
complete bust. Trey�^�^�s egomania was apparent when he wasted a huge
amount of time telling the story of the origin of David Bowie. Every
other word out of his mouth was �^�^�I�^�^�. Hate to break it to you,
Trey, but this was not your show. There are three other members in the
band! The YEM would have been more enjoyable, but we had just heard it two
nights before in Camden! We chalked up the lackluster performance to the
band having respect for the fans who didn�^�^�t make it in. We were
confident the following night would be much better. After an exhaustive
walk through mud and muck back to the camping area, we decided to grab
something to eat. The vendors, from their own pockets, paid for mulch to
throw down on the soppy ground, and it seemed to do the trick.
Apparently, Phish didn�^�^�t think it necessary to drop money on gravel or
mulch or hay for their areas of the festival, and the land stayed swamp.
Sure in various spots some mulch was put down, but nowhere near enough to
support all of the fans making their way around the grounds. Of course,
completely beat again, my husband and I spent the night passed out sitting
up in our Honda Civic. When we awoke Sunday morning we were afraid we
missedthe �^�^�unannounced alternative set�^�^� Phish usually plays at
festivals (i.e. Tower set, Flatbed Truck set, etc.) We still have no idea
if this set happened or not. Out of approximately the 20 people we spoke
with, nobody physically saw this set although 50% of us heard the rumor
that you played on that weird wagon stage thing in the middle of the
Commons. However, at the time I was more concerned with my ankles that
were swollen to the size of grapefruits, probably caused by being in an
upright position for days, unable to lay down anywhere. The final day of
the festival, the sun was shining and my husband put down blankets on the
concrete in the morning for me to lay on, and sure enough, some of the
damage to my ankles was healed. Once again, we gave Phish the benefit of
the doubt and expected an amazing show. We were mistaken. The best song
out of all of the sets was Glide, but nobody in the area we were standing
knew this due to the fact that some idiot walked a nitrous tank into the
concert area and was selling balloons during the show. Thankfully, my
crew and some other agitated people let the guy know to take it out to the
parking lot and he conformed. Once again, Trey�^�^�s ego was blazing in
full force, talking up a storm telling the fans all about him and how he
felt. I was incredibly saddened to see Page get so emotional during
Velvet Sea, and then got angry when Trey commented on it, while starting
to cry. Trey, it was more than apparent you were trying to
�^�^�outcry�^�^� Page because hey, after all, as I stated earlier in this
letter, you�^�^�re the only band member right? It would be a shame for
any other member to have attention drawn to them without you making some
sort of statement or declaration, huh? You just couldn't let it go.
Then, the shock of my life came. I will never forget Trey saying:
�^�^�We have to thank one more person�^�^� and then the band busting into
Wilson. Wilson? That�^�^�s whom there is to thank? Not the Lizards?
Not Colonel Forbin? Not Icculus, but Wilson? Talk about adding insult to
injury! Then, you decided to end your musical career by playing Slave to
the Traffic Light. That was the best you could do? Encore consisted of
one song, The Curtain With. Amazingly, this is what tour was opened with
in Brooklyn, NY and there, it was a thousand times better. Once again,
Trey�^�^�s ego reared it�^�^�s ugly head because apparently, the
�^�^�With�^�^� part was in the wrong key and he requested the band start
it over again. It was more than evident when you took the final bow that
tensions between all of you were so high, it was creepy. Lastly, Trey, I
really do not appreciate you mocking the same people who brought the band
fortune and fame. You saying that a symphony orchestra was going to come
out and play Gamehendge was not even remotely amusing. It was a slap in
the face. A lot of fans, including me, were expecting it. As a matter of
fact, most of us were hoping Phish would play their entire musical
repertoire from A-Z. Instead we got �^�^�What Phish Played this Summer
�^�^� A Review.�^�^� Almost everything you performed was recycled. I guess
it doesn�^�^�t matter anymore because it�^�^�s over. Whatever magic you
once had, is gone. It�^�^�s heartbreaking to say the least, but such is
life.
Let me end this on a positive note by saying the hundred plus shows
I�^�^�ve attended over the years were the time of my life. I will always
remember the Madison Square Garden Colonel Forbin on New Year's Eve, Long
Island's Destiny Unbound, Philadelphia's Harpua and IT�^�^�s Dog Log as
the best musical experiences of my existence. I will look back on my trip
to the Gorge in Washington State during the summer of 1996 as the hottest
time of my life (literally and figuratively). I have met some wonderful
friends, and gained an incredible amount of life experience. At 30 years
old, I do not feel sorry for me, but instead for the 20 year-old who just
discovered you, and will never have the chance to explore with you.
Thank you for the music and the memories. I am sorry it ended so horribly
wrong�^��for all of us. I wish you health, happiness and love and most
importantly, peace. I hope all of you find whatever it is you�^�^�re
looking for.
Sincerely,Christina Kenney
Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2004 22:16:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: LYNN ADAMS
Subject: Phish show reviewview
I know everyone has different tastes, and different likings, but the fact
is we all share the common love for phish.� Im not gonna sit here and
review the sets and complain or compliment about the show, Im just gonna
say i had a great time,
Coming from a newer generation phish lover (Not Phishead) I want to say
thanks to everyone who made this a great time, I missed the first couple
songs due to traffic, But thanks to a great man looking for tickets who
informed me about an alternate route to get to the show, traffic free, we
not only got there but also scored tickets for our van-full for face
value, Now despite the music being good or bad, I had a great time.�And
weather you want to admit it or not we all know its not just the songs
they play or they way they play em, its the whole environment of going to
a phish show that also plays a huge role and keeps the fans coming.�I
love phish and i know you all do to, This was my last show due to the
fact that we werent able to get�into coventry, But thank you to all you
fellow fans who made the 30 hours in traffic enjoyable,�and One last
thanks to you all who remain loyal...
�
�
Connecticut...
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2004 13:55:54 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dylan Avery
Subject: Coventry
Blah blah blah, they didn't play this, Trey fucked up that.
Whatever.
Coventry was by far�the most amazing and beautiful musical performance I
have and will ever see in my entire life.� Page crying brought the whole
thing home to me: this is Phish's last show ever.� And I couldn't have
asked for anything more.
-Dylan
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 10:06:17 -0400
From: John Tringle
Subject: Coventry review
Something is horribly wrong and I'm picking it up when I talk to people
but I'm not picking it up from posts or from news articles.
I think something went horribly wrong and you just can't go out like that.
Let's go over some things here:
1. Trey tells everyone to delay their trip to Coventry because of the
weather. The website does the same. But in reality that was not the right
thing to do. The right thing to do would have been to reschedule the
event. When you have record rains and land that hasn't been that bad in
generations, you should reschedule.
2. You announce that there would be ONE entrance. I heard people got in
other ways but how could you not allow EVERY entrance possible, with
TRIPLE the number of check-in gates? I would pay 10% more per ticket to
not spend 24 hours on a highway. How is it that NASCAR handle 200,000
people?
3. You and the Bunny radio station beg us not to "cut" even though many
people were simply passed out in their cars. I personally saw a couple of
accidents and other unsafe situations. In reality, it was these very
cutters who got in! They were rewarded with a show while my family and I
got turned around on a highway.
4. You still played!!!??!?!?! The setlist was average at BEST, the
chemistry was odd, there were some bizzare comments made and very weird
and uncomfortable moments between band members. Now I'm thinking I'm glad
I didn't hike 15 miles to sit in a swamp! Most veterans tell me I should
be more happy to get my money back.
5. I believe Mike, during his on-air apology, said they were
"brainstorming" about what to do.........seems like you made the wrong
decision, or, one band member maybe made the decision for all of you?
So, after 12 years and many thousands of dollars, my last vision of PHISH
is a line of police officers with rifles staring at me after 24 hours on a
highway.
Something is horribly horribly wrong. You can not go out like that.
Thank you
John Tringle
Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 02:20:12 -0400
From: Jennifer Flanagan
Subject: Phish show review conventry
Coventry 2004,
kellie mc in DE
�
What happen to the tours that it was rear to hear repeats? In a 20 show
tour.� Besides the shows were poorly played( by Trey), there was no soul
there. Didn't any one else notice it was like seeing the "trey Band" same
show every night just different venue. News fast the conventry weekend
replayed 21 songs they alright played in the past week, am sorry the past
5 days. What happen to the old days. What happen even in the past few
months.� There were so many sick shows in the past year, Salt Lake 03,
pittsburg 03, Albany 03( that Wolfsman, o my god), and the entire Maimi
run(especially 12/29). I've seen close to or even over 100 shows I ve
never left diappointed, maybe long for a certain song, or a funkyer show
but never dissappointed.� That how I felt after coventry.� Anyone who can
say those shows were good either love them to much and do not want to
admit it, were either to fuck up to know better, or just don't fucken
know what phish is...
The best moments of my life are spead out all over the country at
different venues, I am forever thankful for all and there are many.� But
this for for me was not a bittersweet ending, it just left a bitter taste
in my month.
�
I still do thank Phish for some of the best days� and some of the best
friends in my life...
Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2004 00:46:08 -0400
From: Jennifer Flanagan
Subject: Phish show review
I have have seen over 100 shows since 97 and never have never felt so let
down like I did after Coventry.� In past tours(full tours) repeats were
not often when they did occur, but tis last run was sad.� Mike's,
Hydrogen, weeka. in that same order twice in one week, not to count the
endless number of songs we heard that week repeated(Friday, 7 below,
piper, wolfmans(which should have been retired after that sick version in
Albany '03, ect...)).� Phish is mine(and many others) band, but Coventry
left me hurt and very dissappoint!� I really can complain I saw so of the
most incredible live music my generation could witness, I will never
forget shows like Vernon Downs 98, spectum 97, Albany03.� I love
everything phish is. For me this is not a bittersweet ending, it's just
an ending, that left me with a bitter taste.
Kellie
Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 18:55:18 -0700
From: St. Michael
Subject: Phish show review-you've posted all the others......post this one
Dear crybaby pussies that say the show sucked........
�
Hey man, guess what?, YOU SUCK BITCH
�
not one of you naysayin bitches has enough.......
�
1.disipline
2.perseverance
3.vision
4.ability
5.creativity
6.education
�
to even hold Trey's ballsack, let alone his guitar.......
�
he's over your fuckin FLUFFHEADS,
�
he's over your fuckin OLD SCHOOL BULLSHIT
�
If he's on drugs, how in the fuck is he writing better shit with his
band?
�
TREY BAND 2002 blows the fuck out of any hippie jamband bullshit you
might THINK is brilliant............
�
you fucks have the pleasure to get high to genius musicians, then have
the gall to demonize them when they don't live up to your AVERAGE
expectations
�
you can't figure it out STUPID? then allow me to spell it out
�
THEY TRASHED THE JOINT!!!!!!!!!
�
that's right, you heard me. TREY destroyed everything they had created
over 20 years, and for good reason.
�
HE DOESN'T �WANT TO LOOK BACK, EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
�
NOW THERE IS NOTHING TO LOOK BACK TO, IT'S ALL SMOLDERED RUBBLE.� I was
smiling the whole time, wondering if they could kill the beast,� it was
tough, even the devil has a heart
�
THAT WAS THE POINT YOU STUPID, UNREALISTIC, DISILLUSONED PHANS.
�
it was the last show...............for a reason
�
more than half of you fucks will just go to some other "KIND" band and
the journey(hahaha) begins again
sorry lameducks, I need genius to float my boat, not just any band wearin
ty dye and playing bluegrass or funk in the wilderness somewhere wearing
sandals
�
I LOVE PHISH 83-04- beat it on down the line. bitches!
�
C.S.-42 shows 95-04
Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2004 19:10:00 -0500
From: Bryan Harris
Subject: Coventry Broke my Heart...a review of both nights
As most folks on the reviews scene...I'm a long time Phish fan. My wife
and I fell in love listening to Phish, and they have had indescribable
impact on my appreciation for the power of music. Specifically, the
transcendantal ability of a tight Phish set is godlike...when Phish is on
they have the ability to harness a collective energy that, if it could
ever be replicated or channeled to a specific cause, could do great good
for humankind.
So it goes without saying that I was bouncing before the festival. It had
been several years since we had seen the boys and I could not sleep a few
nights waiting for that first riff and the two nights of energy that
awaited us.
Forgetting the whole getting in bit, the shows were heart-wrenching. It
pains me to type it...but poor Trey. I pray at night that he will get
help, or he's destined to become a stereotpyical drugged out musician
whose career and ability was suffocated early by a lack of self control.
Which begs a more philosophical question....do we have any right to pity
Trey...or feel angry or disappointed? As the cover band Phixband noted on
their site right after the shows...Phish owes me nothing, and they owe YOU
nothing. I am more ALIVE because Phish did their thing, and we all have
profound memories and a belief in the power of vitality because of their
magic. But I also can't help but think...is their an innate responsibilty
to stay TRUE to a gift? Phish is comprised of indiviually talented
musicians...but the sum is surely greater than the individual parts. If
Trey is the primary reason for the breakup and melt down, then should we
place a blame on him for not taking this magic all the way? Is the power
of Phish music, and what it means to so many people, (and the
responsibility of that power) greater than any one band member? Do we
have a right to be mad at Trey?
No I don't. Because why it breaks my heart that Trey died on stage the
way he did in Coventry, and the band ended in a way that only fractionally
represted what they were, Trey has shown us all that although the band has
incredible powers...they are still human. Prone to bad decisions and
personal weaknesses, some tragic just like the poor decisions in our own
lives can be.
I still love Trey and the boys. Long live Phish...in our hearts and in
our memories...
I pray for Trey's recovery.
Bryan Harris
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 18:52:53 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dave Marley
Subject: Phish show review - coventry both nites
first of all, the most satisfying thing about the suicide of phish is
never again having to slog thru the "community" to get to the music.
coventry was the worst festival i've ever attended, truly the bloated
carcass of phish jumping the shark, but the music was sporadically
totally brilliant.
i haven't listened to much of this since, and all these reviews are far
too long, so i'm just gonna pick out my best moments (and i don't care
about the composed sections; of course they destroy them, that's a
large reason why they broke up!):
walls was a great opener on paper, but it was too quiet a song to start
the weekend to....their stacks needed to be much louder....
jim thru yem was great
free jam was very cool
drowned jam - my favorite "rock jam" of the weekend
hood - VERY cool when the band let the audience sing the refrain
reba's gorgeous in a giant field
chalkdust ruled as usual
"sexy bump" was funny
taste was super energetic, it really felt like the last one
dwd - of course....
velvet sea - heartbreaking
glide - awful & more heartbreak
honestly velvet sea thru "we're gonna blow off some steam" was the most
vulnerable i've ever seen ANY artist on any stage....they always find
some new way to surprise and impress me
melt > ghost was just wicked.....weird and alive
7 below was very good with an almost-bisco feel to the jam with
lyric-shouting
simple always rules, although the only thing they could remember was in
a band was skyscrapers.....
piper was as hard as i've ever seen it played
bruno (twiddle those knobs!) and dicky were fun
wilson was super-energetic ("heavy metal now!") and revealing
slave - gorgeous closer
curtain with - didn't quite work for me as the encore, probably since
they were so jittery with it......
i loved trey talking thru the whole weekend, he was talking all tour
and it was refreshing....reminded me of tapes of long ago...
glad i went, see you next year
dave marley
south jersey
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 20:57:59 -0400
From: Ricky Chiarenza
Subject: Coventry 8.14-8.15 review
Hey all- I've been a phish fan since late 97- went to Cypress- IT - and
coventry obviously- I just want to say ( and i hope Trey reads this,
deeply) and also ask- why couldnt you get your act together for your last
show EVER - dont do drugs- dont drink- dont look like a f#cking Zombie- (
with those wide eyes and a dropped jaw)And play what your fans wanted to
hear- and WELL! Trey Anastasio is no longer a good musician in my
opinion-
to the rest of the boys- thanks for tryin to cover up Treys sloppiness....
It obviously didnt work all that well as you can tell from reading most
reviews. After Cypress, they might as well have called the rest of their
touring experience "downhill from here." Anyone who can say that phish
was
playing well, well- actually Trey,mostly, is in denial i think. Thank god
they ended when they did because I honestly would have never gone to see a
show again anyway. I know there are many Trey-haters or people that
aren't
too fond of him now; sadly, i've fallen into that category. People come
for
the music TREY, remember that next time( with your fake wanna be
jerry-band)- not see your beliggerent ass conducting the band in a shitty
manner- only to continuously screw up a countless number of times. I
could
say a lot more about the preparation for the fiasco in coventry but i'll
hold off. It's saddening to see your favorite band plunder into the
ground.
Mikey, Page, Fishman > hope to see you soon rockin out with some other
real musicians- ...Trey........... Oh Trey. I'm sure you can think of
somehting i'd say to you- so it doesnt need to be said- And to all the
people Trey has under a spell- Have fun paying $50 + for his shitbox tour
coming up to a city near you!!-- Never In My Life-
Ricky- from Rochester, NY
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 23:07:58 -0400
From: "M@"
Subject: Phish show review
Coventry Review (both days)
Typed this review a few times and then deleted it all. We had a great
time and I was enthralled by the music both nights as I always am at a
Phish concert. Thank you to the band and the people who put this show
on. I got what I paid for, a weekend full of memories and music.
I've been reading a lot of reviews in a lot of different places online
about this show.
Here's my review: "Memorable, very very memorable."
M@
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2004 16:47:59 -0500
From: Jon Hansen
my coventry weekend
The best and most memorable part of my coventry weekend was when I
purchased a digeradoo from a friendly vendor. It even came with a video
in which a wise, white haired hippie will eventually teach me how to
circle breath so I can produce mellow sounding mediating tunes which are
pleasing to the ear. Unfortunately, the only thing that I got in me ears
this weekend was pure shit. Seriously, if I hadn't bought my digeradoo,
it would have been total waste of a weekend. And like my folks say, you
hate to waste a summer weekend. As if the cock deep mud wasn't enough to
deal with, all 68,000 people in attendance had to put up with a
performance that wasn't worth two shits. Trey sounded like ass, fucking
up every song like you wouldn't believe. The Wedge was one that
particularly stands out in my mind. Oh wait, that wasn't The Wedge he
played, it was a bunch of shit. Tweeezer and Tube were two songs I was
hoping to hear, but now I'm glad they didn't play them, sparing them from
the debauchery that was Coventry. At least those songs were retired with
dignity, not shame and terrible terribleness. And if people who were
there don't agree with that, then we have on our hands a lot of people
with serious issues that need addressing. And to top it all off, how
about that pause/keychange during the last song. That was real swell. I
enjoyed that about as much as packing a fatty bowl at the tent and not
even getting to hit it because there's so many people mooching of me. I
just wanted to get blown out so I didn't have to deal with shitty weather,
shitty music, and shitty Trey. So thank God for the digeradoo, because had
it not been for that, I would be loathing this weekend for the rest of my
life. I'm not that good yet, but me on digeradoo is a lot better than
Trey on guitar. So I will drown out my sorrows on it now, trying to
forget the woes of Coventry past. Big ups. tyler e.
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 12:04:49 -0400
From: Maria
Subject: Phish show review
August 20th, 2004
I survived...yeah!!!
It always comes down to the experience of the awakening, YOU GUYS always
seem to jump start that for me....My body can't help but move to your
vibe!
THANKS FOR DROPPING THE BEAT...nice huh?
Had to hood it out, green style like....understand?????
In love and light,
maria
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 21:21:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: Daniel Raznick
Subject: Phish show review: Coventry
Coventry
�
I'm reminded of some words of Italian soccer star Roberto Baggio.� He
stated some years back something to the effect of this:� "When you win,
everyone loves you.� But when you lose, everyone hates you.� At that
time, you practice really hard, because when you win again, everyone
embraces you."
�
Trey, you lost today.� You're sure to win tomorrow.� Coventry will be
like a bad memory in one sense.� The next victory will make Coventry a
neccessary step in your personal evolution, an unmistakable, neccessary
step that leads you to greater and better things.�
�
Thank you for all of your efforts.
�
Daniel
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 11:57:58 -0400
From: Todd Amodeo
Subject: Coventry review (both days)
I'm slowing crawling out of my psychological shell...
Waking up....coming back to life...
Shaking the last of the mud off my shoes and thoughts.
Coventry (and in particular Sunday night) was one of
the most profoundly emotional and mystical experiences
of my life.
I've had some deep, deep experiences down in the trenches
at Grateful Dead shows, but this was just something completely
different.
Those four boys dug DEEP into their souls, tore their hearts
out and showed them to all of us to share in their joy
and pain.
No band in the history of Rock & Roll has ever had such a deep
communal ritual with their audience as happened here.
It's just plain unprecedented.
Did they miss a few notes on David Bowie, Guyute, etc? My god, yes.
Would it have been nice to hear a Tweezer or Divided Sky or Destiny
Unbound? Hell yea!
Do I have ANY complaints? After what I saw and experienced...NO WAY.
The whole weekend to me felt like the Lord of the Rings Quest.
Through the traffic and the mud and the no more cars announcement
and the chaos and confusion.
And then we reached the pinnacle moment at Mount
Doom. Covered in dirt and tears and sadness...
Surrounded by the mountains...the Sky bursting with energy
and fire....The Explosions. I imagine Samwise Gamgee waking
up the day after the event in Mount Doom...Still in shock and awe.
Was it all just a dream?
Plain and simple...These four boys and this community changed my life
forever. I thought I had a picture of the realm of possibilities.
Here's the little box that my reality fits in. And they just exploded
it through the years and saved their greatest mind-f*ck for their
final night.
This show wasn't a good show. It wasn't a bad show. It was just
beyond anything I've ever experienced. And I am so unbelievable
grateful and appreciative for everything I saw and experienced.
On top of all this there was...the stunning Vermont Northern Kingdom
landscape, all the kind local people waving and helping
(thanks for the rides in the pickup trucks!) and all of the
special, beautiful Phish-head friends that I met along the way.
When Jerry Garcia died, Mickey Hart said something at the memorial
like...Ok...now we've all experienced this beautiful thing together.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT? You need to continue this groove...
So I hope and pray (and know) that Phish will continue to inspire
and resonate. And I hope that each of you that has been touched
by them will take it up a notch (or ten) in your own lives.
Now...What are YOU going to do with it?
Thanks for listening,
-todd amodeo
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 12:52:28 -0700
From: Jed Sharpe
Subject: Phish show review
I always wait to add my two cents simply to see what everyone else saw.
The great thing about these shows are the personal experience they
provoke. I don't like telling someone I didn't like any certain part of a
show because to that particular person it may have been a mind bending
freeing experience, a combination of factors at the right moment that
takes them to the place they were hoping to go. You don't want to rain on
anyone's parade. However, I feel compelled to write. Why? Let me tell
you. I remember seeing the Grateful Dead's last tour, and in particular
their last show and feeling like I had enetered some cult. I would watch
Jerry (God Love Him) totally flop and fall apart on stage reapeatedly.
It was sad to see. The worst part were the throngs of people who would go
nuts for it. After ward the same people would tell you how much Jerry
rocked. BUllSHIT people. Jerry was sick and doing heroin and he didn't
want to be there anymore. He died not long afterward. Phish is not a
cult. We're a family yes, but not a cult. That is to say, convincing
yourself that Phish played the kind of show they like to play is narrow
minded and really, kind of scary. I keep seeing these reviews where
people are telling me how great certain songs were that last set. I've
even heard a few "best evers". Are you mad? Have you lived in a box
devoid of music? I'm glad I was there. I would do it again, but the boys
(one in particular) really played poorly. You can love Phish but you don't
have to lie to yourself to prove it. Phish has changed our lives, no
Phish has made us better people. Phish rocked like no band has ever
rocked and changed the music, and yes, Phish really sucked eggs their last
show.
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 11:54:04 -0400
From: Matthew_J_Cardullo
Subject: PHish review-Coventry plus.
Coventry was one of the greatest concert *experiences* of my life. � �My
perspective is a lot different from most of the reviews of read so far.
�This is a rather lengthy story, so if you want you could simply skip to
the last paragraph for the Coventry review. � I saw the majority of my
shows in 94/95, thought that that was the golden age of Phish and the
standard to which Phish should be held to. �I went to each of the
festival shows through the years, with the exception of Big Cypress. I
enjoyed most of 97, some of 98, less of 99, etc. �In fact, when Trey
started touring with TAB, and Phish moved to the *ambient* style of
jamming, I pretty much just stopped listening. �The shows that I saw in
99 and 2000 didn't have that many highlights, although there were a few
here and there. �When they announced the hiatus, I thought it would be
good for them, maybe revitalize them. I saw TAB, and didn't really enjoy
it. �I saw Vida Blue and loved it. �After they came back, �I went down to
Hampton to catch the Jan 03 shows, and had a great time. I think it was
more about the emotion that they were back than the actual quality of
their playing. �Trey had a few flubs. �I didn't care. �They had to
restart YEM. �I didn't care. �I thought it was great that they were not
satisfied with playing it wrong, and started it again. I thought they
were back. �I didn't enjoy Worcester 03 at all.and started to wonder �if
maybe it wasn't the band's direction in the music but my own direction in
the appreciation of it, especially when I read the reviews of that show,
and people swore it was the best show of the run. �So, when Phish
announced IT, I decided that IT would be my last Phish concert ever. �I
sat in 24 hours of traffic (but I had an RV so it wasn't too bad), walked
thru deep mud (which I hated and ended up losing my shoes in), �saw a lot
scene that was truly disturbing with the types of drugs being slung
around (I never expected to hear people selling Oxycontins and Heroin at
a Phish show), and during the band's rendition of Spread it Round, I
finally felt the sensation of Trey pissing in my ears. �(I did catch the
entire Tower Set which was completely cool. �Pretty sad when the musical
highlight of your weekend, is when the boys aren't actually playing any
Phish songs). When I left that concert, I was secure in my decision to
stop seeing them. �In fact, I stopped listening to Phish entirely. �Of
course, my friends Jer and Jim continued to follow Phish around, and
would tell me how great they sounded. �Jim swore by the Miami shows as
the greatest run ever. � I still had no interest after the sour
experience at IT and just didn't care.
When Summer Tour 04 got announced, Jim and Jer �informed me that they
were doing the entire run (of course), and that I'd be a fool to miss the
GW shows. �When the shows went on sale, I didn't even bother getting
tickets. �I had noticed that the lawn hadn't even sold out, and I thought
that if I had the need, I could always pick one up later. �Coventry
sounded interesting, but after IT, I wasn't sure I was up for another
Phish festival, and didn't think the cost would be worth it. �May 28th,
2004. �Trey announces the band is done. � Coventry will be the last show.
� I go to get GW tickets, and all of a sudden they are sold out. �I call
up Jeremy. �He tells me that he has tickets for me for both nights of
Mansfield, but wants to know if I'll still go to Coventry. � I had some
bills to pay and couldn't swing the ticket at the time, but promised that
I would pick one up as soon as I got some cash in. �I get the call from
Brooklyn, about the Curtain With that I had missed again. � The Curtain
has long been my favorite song as they used to play it as an opener quite
often in 93/94/95, and I hadn't seen one since GW 99. �Once I heard that,
I knew that I had to make sure I got to Coventry. � The next day I went
to buy my Coventry ticket and I got an email saying that it had sold out.
�I was crushed. �I looked and looked for a ticket, but all the agencies
wanted $900 a ticket. �Ebay prices were out of control. �I thought the
Phish *auction* made sense from a charity perspective, but paying $1200
for two tickets just wasn't doing it for me. �Then Hampton got announced.
� The Friday ticket sale was so easy that I was able to get thru and get
Jeremy tickets without a problem. After thinking about it, I decided that
maybe the easiest way to Coventry was to get some Hampton tickets, go
down to VA and see if I could get a Coventry with 3 of them. (A lot of
people seemed to have this idea but many didn't seem to plan on going to
the shows which I thought kind of sucked). �I ended up getting tickets on
Saturday for myself but only was able to get 2. �At this point, I decided
to just bite the bullet and bought a Coventry ticket at a ridiculous
price. I told myself that I would rather pay more than face, then be one
of the people showing up to Coventry without a ticket. I still feel solid
in that decision because the experience was worth double to me. �I then
contacted J&J and told them that I was in for the last run.
I went on the tour having not listened to any Phish since August of 03.
�I decided before it started that as it was the last 6 shows ever, that I
would make sure that I enjoyed each song as it very well could be the
last rendition of it. Hampton. � Left Sunday at midnight, arrived in VA
Beach at 7 a.m. �swam with the dolphins. �rolled to the venue. �hung out
with Jer, Jim, and Mitch. �enjoyed the scene. �great weather. �went into
the show. �thought the energy was palpable in the first set. Gin, Jim,
Loving Cup, great. �Second set. �Loved lifeboy, zero, contact, bowie.
�all in all, thought it was a great show. left venue at 12:00, drove back
arrived in CT at 7 a.m. Monday. Read people's reviews and laughed. �I was
so glad that I had no expectations and thought the show was great as
compared to the rest of the people that seemed to be there and were
disappointed by it. �Went to GW on Tuesday, had a great time, felt it was
THE show. �Got to hang with all of my friends, Phair, TD, Johnny Mac,
plus the "entire tour" crew. �Ac/dc bag started it off right, I really
enjoyed Heavy Things for the first time ever, and the rest of the set was
just awesome. �I was so happy at setbreak that the smile would not leave
my face. The second set was also fantastic. �Mike's opener, ASIHTOS is a
fantastic new tune, and the Dog Faced boy was perfect placement from my
view. �With a Hood closer, and a Possum encore, I knew that catching the
last shows was the right thing to do. �Drove back to CT, didn't wait in
any traffic, as we put up the cash to park in a lot by the exit, �and
then came back the next day. �
After 2nd night GW, I was convinced that it was THE show. � Divided
opener, Suzy, my favorite Caspian ever (as I knew it was finally the last
one I'd catch), and Scent of a mule, which I was pumped to see. �Again, a
great opening set only to be outdone by the 2nd. �Antelope>2001. �Wow. �
Golgi, Waves, Tweezer, it was all good. �Old school hold your head up,
nice, slow and drawn out. �Fishman comes out to play the vacuum.
�Terrapin. Funny stuff. �I love the Fishman tune, although Terrapin is
probably my 2nd least favorite after Minute by Minute (9-13-90, ugh). I
also love the Fishman bowing. � I thought the Trey and Fish drum jam to
open up Timber was great. � I think the thing that I enjoyed most about
the GW shows was the fact that Trey was opening up. � He was telling us
about how they came up with these songs (with an explanation about
Weekapaug the first night and how they came up with ASIHTOS the second) ,
and was really being chatty overall. �You never get to hear that, so I
felt privileged to be there. �I thought it was fitting that they had a
Bouncing encore, as by my perspective, the Fishman tune made the show,
and everything else was gravy. �Drove back to CT, picked up the Coventry
RV on the way home, and made preparations for the Coventry trip. �Ended
up leaving late for Camden, got stuck in traffic, and didn't make it to
the show until the 3rd song of the first set. �I was unable to get a
ticket, so I spent the show outside the venue, listening to it. � I was a
little surprised that there were repeats, but the Rock and Roll seemed to
make the show from where I was listening. �I wished I was inside, but I
knew I still had Coventry coming up. �I got on the phone with Johnny Mac,
and heard about the Coventry conditions, and the fact that the organizers
suggested waiting until Friday night/Saturday a.m, which was then echoed
by Trey at the end of the show. � After being on tour all week, there was
no way I was going to wait to go up to Coventry. �We got back home,
populated the RV, and left for Coventry at 3:30 a.m. on Friday. � Here's
where my experience starts to veer from the others that I have read
about.
Now, I know that Phish said there's only one way into Coventry and that's
91N to the 5. � Well, I live in NH. � I know VT. �There's a million ways
to get anywhere. �We got some directions from a friend of Jim's (Thanks,
Art!), and ended up taking 89N to 2 West to 100 N. � It was all back
roads thru towns that only had a post office. �Beautiful, rural country.
�Perfect for an 8:00 a.m. drive. � I took that up, and connected to the 5
about 4 miles outside the venue. � I did not sit in traffic at all up to
that point. � We arrived in line on the 5 at 11:30 in the morning. �Once
we pulled into line, we got out and asked the car in front of us how long
they had been in traffic. �28 hours was the answer. � I couldn't believe
it. �Stories from the Bunny were out of control. �I-91 had 20 miles of
traffic. �people were not moving. �I couldn't understand why someone
would not just turn around, look at a map, and try to figure something
else out. �I guess that's what happens when you're overtired. �Anyway, it
started to rain, again. � I got back into the RV, and decided to rest for
a bit. �I felt so bad for those who were driving up in cars, or walking
into the concert. �The rain, and mud, was not a recipe for a pleasant
camping trip. �Add in the hours of traffic, and I was expecting a
complete nightmare for most people. �However, we were in an RV. � Weather
is not a factor when you have an RV. if it rains, go inside. �if its too
sunny, go inside. �tired?go to sleep on the bed. �hungry?, cook something
up on the stove. �The RV experience changes everything. �I really believe
that this is one of the main reasons why I loved Coventry, and many other
people did not. �Sitting in traffic for a day, or walking in the rain can
bring you down. �We spent about 7 hours in traffic moving those last 4
miles into the venue. �Once inside, & nbsp;a couple of mounted police
escorted us down and �parked us right on Shakedown. �We got the camp
somewhat setup by about 8 o'clock Friday night. �We all hung out for a
while, put the mast up on our RV, and put up the IT sail. �I'm not sure
if you've seen the RV we were using, but we had a full sail off of the
top of it and we ended up talking like Pirates all weekend. �Aarrrgghh,
land ahoy, watch the sail matey, that kind of silly stuff. �
On to Saturday. �The sun was shining in the morning. �I walked down to
get a cup of coffee and take a look around. �That's when I heard the
news. �The band had decided to close the venue and not allow anymore cars
in . I was pissed. �If people had followed Trey's message (or as he said
the production company's) and not left until Friday night or Saturday
a.m. and had taken 91N as instructed, they were screwed. �I couldn't even
imagine being told to turn around. �I remember thinking "hell, i'd pull
my car over and walk". �Little did I know that many of our phriends did
just that. � We had brought a new sail for the Coventry show, and our
resident artist, Darren spent the day decorating the new sail, and asking
those who walked by to contribute to it. �By the end of the day, the blue
and yellow Coventry sail was flying. We left for the show at about 4:30
that day. � I was well rested, but I believe that our crew was in the
minority in that aspect. � people just looked exhausted. � obviously, it
was a rough experience getting in. �I moved down to about 15 feet from
Trey. � I watched part of the 1st set from there, but although I was
close, I didnt' like the lack of space down front, so I decided to go
check out the back forty while I still could. �I love the little side
"cities" that Phish puts in the concert field. � After walking around
that for a while, I watched the raging Antelope from afar, and caught one
of the greatest versions of Fire that I could remember. �I walked back to
the RV, changed up, and got ready for set number 2. �We had some people
show up, and set up their tent between our RVs during the first set,
which I at first was annoyed with, but when they told me that they had
just sat in 38 hours of traffic, how could I say no? �In the end, it was
all good as we all got along perfectly. � �Since it was the first set
break, and I mistimed it, I ended up missing the AC/DC Bag, and came in
during 46 days. �I thought Halley's was fantastic, loved the YaMar, and
thought that the band nailed Bowie. Again, Trey went into a story about
the Bowie, and even though he's a little incoherent at times, I imagine
I'd probably be as well, if I was talking to 70000 fans on the eve of my
last Phish shows ever. When Zero closed the set, I thought that the set
was just too short, and I needed more. �I had a great time during the 3rd
set as well. � Twist was really jammed out, the wedge was a nice
surprise, stash had another jam that was just out there, and Mike was
dropping bombs during Free. �I greatly enjoyed the Trey-Mike interplay
during Free. �Guyute was decent, but the Drowned was where it was at. �
The version was just fantastic. �I believe that Drowned was the only
cover they performed during Coventry. � If they were only going to play
one, they picked the right one to play. � Drowned brought me to some new
heights during that jam. �Friday was a chance to take a break, and when
the band started up Hood as an encore, I thought it was perfect.
�Although I'm not sure of the effect that Trey and Mike had on the jam by
playing on top of the rocks, I thought it was good to see Trey getting
out there and really enjoying himself. � Back at the RV after the show,
some friends stopped by to tell me how much Trey had flubbed up his
parts, how he was all f'd up on something, and how he was letting down
his fans. � I couldn't believe it. �I wondered how these people had the
audicity to bash Phish on their last shows. �The shows weren't for us.
�They were for them. �I've heard this statement a thousand times, and I
echo it completely. �Maybe Trey was f'd up. �I didn't care. If that's
what he wants to do, then let him do it. �Don't bitch, just try to enjoy
the fact that you're in, whereas other people got turned around and
lastly keep a positive attitude about what you're hearing and seeing
because 5 years from now, you'll be pissed that you weren't able to enjoy
the shows because it wasn't the "perfect" version. � I tried to stress
that it was more about enjoying the moment, then looking for perfection
in the composed parts. Perhaps, they weren't the best musical versions,
but I'd take those versions over anything I'd hear on the radio these
days. � I spent Saturday night watching people walk up and down
Shakedown. �The scene was exactly as I had remembered it from IT. � Drugs
everywhere, but I tried not to pay attention. � I sat at the RV, drank
some beers, and watched people get all f'd up on drugs that I was never
interested in. Instead, we spent time with each other discussing the
coming show and the one we had just attended.
Sunday, the last Phish show ever. � �I had met people from all over who
had walked in. � I was proud to be associated with such dedicated fans. �
I met a couple of guys from Indiana that had walked 25 miles to get in. �
All they had were the packs on their backs. � We invited them over to the
RV to eat and drink. � We met up with another few friends that had an RV
that was originally supposed to caravan with us. � Problem was they took
91N, ended up parking it in some farmer's barn, and walked in as well.
�The worst part? � They had left 3 hours before us, and didn't arrive
until Saturday. � �After getting everything ready for the last show, we
headed in right about 5 o'clock. � Got our spot up on the lawn, with the
crew. �The Mike's > Hydro>Weekapaug was a great way to kick off the
phinal show. �I was pumped that they went into Reba after Anything but
me. � I remember looking at my friend Lisa before the jam in Reba and
telling her that the chill jam was probably one of my favorite parts of a
Phish show. �During that jam, she turned to me and said "you can not only
hear the sadness in these notes, you can feel them". � I agreed. �The
rest of the first set was fantastic for me. � I couldn't believe how long
it was, I thought it might never end. � After that set, we went back to
the RV to get some blankets, tarps and some warmer clothes for the final
2 sets ever. �I truly enjoyed the DWD that kicked off the second set. � I
don't know if it was the jam or the 10,000 piece glow stick war that
stuck out most. � I had never seen a glow stick war that rivaled that
one. � I'm not even sure if the Simulcast people got to see the war. �It
was simply amazing. � After that, the band went into Wading. � I've never
been a big fan of this song, but this one hit home. �At first I thought
that Page had simply forgotten the words, but w hen I saw him start to
tear up, the gravity of the show hit me. �It was truly an emotional
moment and not the last one either. Trey seemed to pick up off that, and
moved the band into �Glide. � Glide was tough. � Trey sounded really,
really off. � It was the one song of the weekend where I wished they
would just stop and move on. �However, the vocals at the end of the song
were right on. � Once I heard Trey speak, and start to breakdown, I knew
why the band was off. �They were just emotionally overwhelmed. � When
Trey said that they were just going to "blow off some steam" and went
into Melt, I was ready. �That Melt ended up being the greatest one I have
ever seen. �I thought the jam just raged. � When they kicked right into
Ghost, and ripped that to shreds, I was really starting to forget that
this was the second to last set left, and was just one of the best I had
ever caught. �On an emotional level. �because that's what I cared about.
�I had seen technical sets in the past. �this was pure emotion. �
Setbreak. � Sat down on our tarp/blanket and got ready for the last set
of Phish that I would ever see. � � I thought the FEFY opener was great.
�it wasn't really fast enough for me, but I still needed to catch my wind
after the Melt>Ghost. �I enjoyed seven below, and although they butchered
the lyrics in Simple, I still had a great time dancing to it. �Piper was
a rager, and when Trey started doing the crew intros, I knew it was
really getting close to the end. �Our crew loved the Bruno, and I thought
that tune and the next were just vintage Phish. �One of the things I love
about the band, is that they never took themselves too seriously. It was
nice to see Trey laughing and we laughed along with him. After Dickie
Scotland, Trey told us that he was going to start up Wilson. Wilson
rocked as always with 70k people screaming "wilson", but the Slave was
where it was at. �I hadn't heard Slave in a while. � It was nice to close
my eyes, and just hear the song without any other distractions. � I loved
it. �I remembered all the times that Slave had made the show for me. �NYE
94. � �When they stepped off stage, I thought back about the shows I had
caught over the years and how thankful I was for getting into this band.
� I remembering turning to my friend Jer, and saying, "well, I didn't get
my Curtain, but overall the experience was incredible". � Imagine my
complete joy when the boys came back out and started up the "Curtain
with". � I completely lost it. �After going to so many shows and missing
my favorite song, to have the boys end their career with it, was just so
much to handle. � I stood there and took it all in. � I didn't care if
the band was off at parts. � In my head, I knew how it went. �I was just
happy to be there. � Now I know that Trey had to restart the "with"
section. �You know what, it was just like the Hampton YEM. �I was psyched
that they decided to start it over, to make sure that it was right. �
When it ended, I felt complete. � Just standing there, watching the boys
walk off stage, and seeing the tour buses drive away up Airport road,
just seemed right. � I thought it was the perfect ending to an
unbelievable week. � I will always remember Coventry as just that. � The
perfect ending to a great career. �Thank you Phish for all of the great
times, and great people that I've met over the last eleven years. �
Without you, my life would not be the same. � Jim, Jerry, Johnny Mac,
Mitch, Darren, little Matt, and Lisa, you're the best and thank you for
being part of one of the greatest weeks I've ever had.
Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 22:15:19 -0400
From: Ray Miller
Subject: Phish show review
�
Definitely mixed emotions as I left the theatre Sunday night.� Devastated
that I couldn't be there live to experience it in person, disappointed
that I'll never get to cruise the parking lot making new friends and
getting ready for a jamming show, debating the previous night's set lists
trying to guess what would be coming next.� I'll miss the weeklong
camping trips, cross country drives, all night sessions in the AOL
Phishbowl making new friends in faraway places.�I saw my first Phish show
10 years ago, just as I was getting ready to go to college,�it's
been�like the soundtrack to life since then.� I amassed a tape collection
of nearly 500, just in time for everyone to switch to CDs.� Couldn't tell
you how many classes I skipped doing B&Ps for newbies trying to get into
the taping scene.
�
When I saw my first shows after the hiatus I was blown away at how much
better the band sounded.� You could tell that the time they spent
fronting their own bands had really had an effect on the boys (especially
Page), and to me it was almost like seeing a "supergroup".� Four of the
very best individuals at their respective instruments, with the added
bonus that they had been playing together for 20 years so they could read
each other's mind.� Just awesome.
�
So that is what I was thinking about headed to the theatre this weekend.�
I was looking at the weekend's shows as more of an event than a true
concert, and I pretty much expected the breakdowns that we saw
emotionally on Sunday.� And I really wasn't expecting them to put on the
greatest show of all-time or anything like that.� Phish's best shows have
always been the ones that you don't expect, and I really don't think they
can just decide, "Alright, let's go put on a legendary show".� The stars
have to be aligned right or something, I don't know.� It's just Phish.�
�
I was at the theatre Sunday night, and was really pumped after the first
set.� I thought they sounded great, they played tight and were having a
good time.� I'm not going to bother with individual songs because I think
that's a matter of personal preference as to what you like and what you
don't.� But the Mikes Groove was f'kn great, Wolfman's was cool and it
was a nice touch bringing the moms out.
�
Then the wheels fell off.� Look, I can appreciate their playing being off
due to emotions, but for those of you that are denying that they sounded
like sh*t you just could not have been listening.� Or you're trying so
hard to be a "phan" that you forget what made Phish different in the
first place.� They literally butchered Glide...and to be honest I don't
know why they tried it in the first place because it's a really difficult
song to pull off even on their best night.� I thought Melt was cool, and
what they needed to do to get through...just "blow off some fucking
steam" and jam for awhile.�
�
They took the jams in SOAM and Ghost way�out there and I thought they had
gotten it together after strong FEFY and 7 Below's, but wtf happened with
Simple?� People, if you can't recognize that Trey blowing a song that
he's probably played 100 times than they literally could "piss in your
ear" and you'd call it the greatest thing ever.� The rest of the band
even tried to reign him back in, but it just wasn't happening.� It's not
my place to speculate what the problem was, but I do have a right to say
that I was disappointed and a little embarrased for them.� The Slave was
great and I was glad they closed with that, but�again, Trey was so far
off on The Curtain that I couldn't believe what I was hearing.� I loved
it as a closing song, but�just couldn't believe how off key he was.
�
Seriously people, if you thought that the weekend's shows were Phish (or
anybody for that matter) at their best then you�really need to expand
your musical horizons.� I AM NOT COMPLAINING, and would gladly jump in a
time machine, plunk down $200 and sit in traffic for 50 hours�to watch
the weekend's shows, but I'm not going to blindly praise the music when
it honestly wasn't up to par.� Like I said, the weekend was more about an
event than a concert, so the fact that they weren't the best shows is
besides the point.
Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 03:12:03 -0400
From: Jared Ezyske
Subject: Phish show review - Both Days of Coventry
I was not at Coventry, except for 6 hours in traffic before turning
around and heading home tired and disappointed - but I paid for my
ticket, and I want to put my 2 cents in too.� Turning around, I was
bitter at the time, but I'm really not anymore.� At first glace, the
setlist was glaringly devoid of early classics.� I just can't believe
there is no Tela, no Lizards, no Foam, or no Fluffhead.� It's not that I
don't LIKE some of these newer songs, I think they reminded us that Phish
were always great songwriters.� It looked like it was missing something.�
Give us stuff we MISSED!� Uncle Pen, The Horse > Silent in the Morning,
Harpua maybe?!� I'm getting myself worked up thinking about this.
�
That said, I've been a fan of the band for about 7 years, faithfully
attending as many shows as I could within reason (unfortunately not
attending my first until 99 when my friends could drive) and scrambling
to get anything I could.� And as we all have, I've listened to a great
many hours of Phish music.� Setlist complaints are never a good argument
alone, which brings me to the music.� Again, I wasn't there but I'm good
enough at combing through reviews to get the general feeling of the
show.� What I gathered was that Trey was wasted, inanimate, inaccurate,
and otherwise out of it.� I get the general feeling that - with some
notable exceptions - his guitar playing was either heavily distored and
erratic or aimless and ambient.� For being so obviously intoxicated and
lifeless... I think the fans deserved better on the last time.� And it's
not just the mistakes.� In the past, a mistake meant a one-note blunder
in a complicated but otherwise perfect composed (but slightly improvised)
section of a tough song.� People were saying he was off key for measures
at a time - even requesting the other band members to change keys on The
Curtain With?� The sad thing was, I had no problem believing the
reports.� I also got the impression that Page, Mike, and Fish were
excellent and occasionally tried to lead Trey back on track.
�
All of this considered, I am no longer upset I didn't see Coventry.� I am
not angry with Trey, or the rest of the band.� I have not a doubt in my
mind that they did everything they could to make this festival happen.� I
REFUSE to believe anything but that the crew worked without sleep trying
to fix the situation.� Remarkably, the entire episode has left me with a
renewed appreciation.� I can't possibly be mad at anyone in the band.
�Everyone knows that every member of Phish gave us nothing short of their
heart and soul through music over an incredible span of music history.�
The odds are none of us has ever conversed with a member of the band, but
we all felt like we knew them.� There is a very good reason for that.� I
feel like them like I feel about The Beatles.� I cherish the laughter
most.
�
The last thing I want to say to the band is thank you.� Obviously for the
shows - the music and the feeling we got dancing at your shows.� The
memories of how I felt about this band and their music in my younger
years will always be my most prized posession of Phish.� The second thing
I would thank them for is the vast digital archive of themselves.� I am
so thankful that I will be able to listen to these shows literally for
the rest of my life - in crystal clear quality (thank you for FLAC!) and
the mastered CDs.� I'll be able to show my kids Phish (they certainly
have enough silly songs) and hopefully they will appreciate their place
in music history, and through them become a well-rounded music lover.
�
We all know they lost a step.� Sure, we know they still give us "scents
and subtle sounds" of their old magic, but you can't listen to Vol 10, or
12, or 20, or 2, or 7 and tell me they are even close these past few
years. �Believe me, they know it too.� But a warm heartfelt thank you for
the memories, and the archive - I will cherish them both, and keep all my
Phish CDs on the same shelf as The Beatles anthology.� We should always
be thankful we were there, because we will never see a band like this
again.
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 11:58:13 -0400
From: "West, Scott"
Subject: Phish show review
this is my review...mostly for coventry but for much more.
everyone seems so surprised that coventry was a 'wash'
where have you all been since big cypress.
ive seen my share of shows (around 100)
and ive been disappointed with 95% of the music since new years '00.
while i enjoyed the times with my friends and families at the shows, they
just have not been 'on'
so why did everyone expect the 'last show' to be something it wasnt.
gamehenge?- yea right!
�
sorry to be blunt, as i love those guys, but sometimes the truth hurts.
so quit crying and get a good '95 (i suggest dayton/louisville/KC....)
show and remember what its all about!
�
sw
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 23:39:47 -0400
From: Deborah
Subject: Phish show review - Coventry 8/14-15
After all the shit that everyone went through to get in, Phish set the
mood for the entire festival with a sloppy Walls of a Cave.� I'm not
going to go on and on about the songs I wish that they played, because
that really is not the point.� The point is the songs that they did play
were among the worst versions ever, due mainly to Trey not remembering
the guitar part and melodies to his own songs.� It used to be that an off
version of a Phish song was the band not connecting in a jam.� Since the
hiatus, songs that the band would breeze through (by PRACTICING them)�now
sounded like they were being played by a bad Phish cover band.�� Between
my wife and I, we've seen over 75 Phish shows and the 8/14 3rd set during
Stash was�the first time either of us ever walked out.� It was just too
painful and embarrassing to watch them butcher their own songs.� I got
back to my tent and listened to the rest of the show on the Bunny and
witnessed a dreary Friday and the worst version of Hood ever.� Now I
realize they were on rocks but come on.� I so want to make excuses.�
Nerves and emotions are very real, we were all feeling them.� But the
fact is that since the NYC comeback show the band just hasn't been the
same (mainly Trey).� When I first heard Trey fuck up the beginning of YEM
at Hampton 1/3/03 and start over I though�it was just nerves but now I
know�it wasn't.� He fucked it up again on 8/14 and many in between.� The
second night was without a doubt full of emotion. �Fast Enough For You
(one of my favorites) and Page during Velvet Sea had me weeping.��Disease
and Piper had me jumping up and down.� But all and all they�were probably
the worst shows I have ever seen.� What bothers me most is that I feel�I
am supposed to pretend like everything�was (to use an overused
expression) "all good".� I have talked to other people who think the show
ruled and that I am some kind of jerk to entertain any idea other than
that.� It�was undeniable that Trey was fucking up all weekend and I'm not
talking about a few bad notes.� ENTIRE guitar melodies were missing!
Solos erased (The Wedge 8/14)!�� Lyrics completely fumbled (Simple
8/15)!� Playing�songs in the wrong key (The Curtain With 8/15)!� To hold
a farewell concert for 70 thousand people plus and not practice for it
and flub up songs that mean the world to many people is very very sad.�
Although I am severely broken up at the thought of not seeing Phish again
I am so glad that they are not going to continue playing these songs half
ass over the next number of years.
�
I really felt the need to write this, not�out of hate but as someone who
deeply loves this band and will miss them tremendously.� I�feel�you need
to be honest with�people�you love and respect.��Phish�has been the
soundtrack of my life for a decade, I have seen 48 shows since 94.� They
inspired me to�be in band�and play music for 7 years touring the
Northeast in a school bus.� They have always been there when I needed
that release and the memories and friends made�are unparalleled.�Although
the last few years have been questionable (the scene and the band) I will
never forget the feeling of floating on air and goosebumps at those
moments when the band could do no wrong.�� Thank you.
�
And silence contagious in moments like these.
�
Jay Fuller
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 17:40:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: John Paglio
Subject: Phish show reviewview
You know what I was impressed with a few songs and excited for a few. But
seriously, Trey has problems beyond the fact of 21 years coming to an
end. Don't come out on stage coked up beyond control and try and play the
music you've been playing for 21 years. It won't sound good and it
didn't. For the other guys they played very well, Trey wanted to end it
and he made a pretty visible point on why. He also proved to 95,000 fans
and more that he just didn't have it in him any longer. Some of the worst
renditions of Wilson, Glide, Ghost, and Possum and then to end it with
The Curtain With and not come back at all. It left me in awe that he
could do that to us all, nobody walked away pumped up or excited, we all
walked away in disbelief and in a very somber mood and some of us very
disappointed.
Thanks for leaving us on a high note Trey!
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 23:01:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: Eric Geffner
Subject: Phish show review
Hello there, What a weekend, it is so hard to say goodbye, I was touched
by the emotional level on stage, anyways, this is my first time ever on
your site, I was trying to look up infomation on my first show, it was
4.13.91 in Chicago at Biddy Mulligan's.� Biddy muligan's a small
bar/music room, there is a long stage and the dancing area has an equally
long bar in the center that transverse the dance space.� Unfortunately, I
do not know much at all about what they played, as it was my first
exposure to Phish, and I did not know any of the song titles, But I do
recall a long song that reminded me of Frank Zappa and I am sort of
certain it was announced that it was a Zappa song, so if they were
playing any zappa that tour it was certainly played that night.�
�
On a less certain level I think it highly likely that there was a
�Mike's Song-> I Am Hydrogen-> Weekapaug Groove�because was able to
recogize this as familure late on, but this is less certain than the
zappa like tune, which, could have been possum, well, I know that this is
worthless dribble so I will touch bases with my pal that dragged me
there, now there is a good friend, in the next month and see if I can get
any more info...
Eric Geffner, AKA drgeff
�I will check with my friend to see if he can recall any of the other
tunes.
Date: Fri, 3 Sep 2004 16:42:56 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jason Lewis
Subject: Coventry Review
9/3/04
�
I have never reviewed a Phish show to be placed online or anywhere else
for that matter but after 12 years of listening to Phish I wanted to have
a say.� First off I want to thank the band for being one of the greatest
rock bands in history.� It's not just the live shows which were a source
of joy, inspiration and excitement but the composing of the music.� Phish
is a seminal rock band, I just hope history will recognize that.�
�
My first full Phish show was in '93 at Red Rocks and to this day still
ranks up there as one of my favorite shows.� For the fans who never had
the chance to see these guys pre '97 the band's decision to stop may make
less sense.� If you were fortunate to see them when they were on the
rise, with something to prove,�it �was a revelation and a powerful
expression of musical beauty, humor, love and balls out fun.� The band
changed in '97 with the focus on funk and seemingly an approach to lay
more of a foundation to jam off of.�It felt less spontaneous.��I liked
the music still, �however there was a definite sense that they were no
longer exploring their music in the same way and to me, that was the
beginning of the end.� Despite that feeling, I saw some great shows post
'97.
�
Coventry will be remembered for me, as a way to say goodbye.� That's
all.� Trey was making so many mistakes (touching his nose so much I
thought the drugs would fall out) and there was so much emotion that I
can't rate it like I would their previous performances.� Objectively it
sucked.� The worst Phish show I ever saw but once I got past the idea
that I'd get into the music like I normally do,�I watched it as simply a
way for them to play their swan song.� � I really wish all the guys the
best on their futures.� I respect this decision and understand the honor
of ending it the way they have.� Thank you Phish for all the great
moments and times.� You have made my life better for having been a part
of it.
�
-Jason
San Diego, CA
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 02:05:54 -0400
From: Barbara Fokos
Subject: Coventry 8.14-8.15 review
This review is intended to be for both days of Coventry.
So the rain was wet and long-term, so the mud was soupy, sticky and ankle
deep on it's best day. So the mud turned into a human trap everywhere we
walked. So the wooden palletts were wet, dirty, slimy, and a general
health hazard to human mobility skills. So there were people sardined
into every available open space because 50% of the parking was lost due to
the above mentioned rain and mud. So the traffic jam was 30 miles long,
and double parked. So there were troops in fatigues with semiautomatic
rifles at the car check-point. So there was horse-poo every 10 feet all
along both runways. So the porto-johns were funky before the end of the
first day. So there were so flubs here and there....
But you know what, most of you loved the hell out of it all while you were
there. I got out and about, I saw the people, everywhere....people were
super happy, super energetic, super cool, friendly people. I haven't seen
a scene this cool in a long long time. Seriously people, tell me you
weren't all uber-psyched when you were there and the sun was shining, and
it was warm and your feet were dry and you were just chillin everywhere
you went. You know you were, it's okay to admit it.
There are so so many critics writing reviews about all the flubs. Yes, we
were there for the music, and yes, we went to see a band do it's utmost to
perform at the highest, most flawless level. Sorry, but Big Cypress only
happens once. However, to submit my own 2 cents.....I gotta say, this
weekend was out of hand. All music flubs aside, when I look at the big
picture, when I look at it all as a whole, greater than the sum of its
parts....this weekend got knocked way the hell out of the ballpark in my
opinion. A popular bumper sticker reads "I might be crazy, but I'm not
the only one." Well, that saying applies here, so I'm gonna represent
those people out there (you know who you are) who had mental orgasms all
weekend because of the music. Going back over the mp3 downloads.....what
I am talking about can be best summed up with a good, intensely focused
listen to the Split Open and Melt>Ghost......
You just can't beat that sh*t with a stick.....hands down pure genious,
comletely out of hand, so good it makes me feel violated in very naughty
ways. That alone paid for the cost of the ticket, all costs to travel to
Coventry, the 2 pairs of shoes that were lost to the boggy quagmire, the
2-3 days of rain, the stuck cars, the waiting in cars, the waiting in
cars, the waiting in cars, and I can't forget all of the waiting in cars.
Every single little thing that might have pissed you all off........blew
my freakin mind with its absolute sense of ironic perfectness....
Of COURSE it would rain,.....we all wanted sun. Of course it would be
muddy as hell....we all wanted yellow brick roads and grassy knolls. Of
course there was a traffic jam.....we all wanted to be there as soon as
possible and stay as long as we possibly could. Of course there would be
flubs....we expected technical perfection from a band that chose to
disband due to a general lack of technical perfection in recent times.
We set the bar higher on a band that raised the bar higher on "the quality
of music" that is available in this world. We got the exact, polar,
perfectly ironic opposite.......and it was great. I truly truly loved
every minute of it, it was just too perfect in its own imperfect ways.
Maybe I'm getting old, maybe I'm jaded or something....but I'm just coming
around to truly appreciating and embracing imperfection by changing my
perception......"is this truly bad, or was I the one with too many
expectations?"
I will admit that there were periods of "ok, this is noise, and that was a
total flub right there...." but my sole mission for attending a Phish show
is this:
I seek to attain a level of transcendence, not through substance abuse,
but through intense focus that opens me to being so tuned into the music
that I cannot control my motions and emotions, the music tells me what to
do, sometimes I follow the bass groove, sometimes I'm riding the
cymbal....sometimes I need a little more cowbell ;) Sometimes I'm
wiggling in the mud to some multi-faceted organ induced alien space
wiggle, and sometimes I'm running and jumping off the top of Mt. Everest
after the peak of a soaring, searing Trey solo. Sometimes, just
sometimes.....and these are the times I seek.....sometimes I am tuned into
every instrument all at once....being aggressively, intensely passive to
every sound that enters my ears and decodes in my brain into some form of
motion, be it a toe, and arm, my head, my neck, sometimes an eyeball or a
finger twitch. No joke...it is at these times that I am so focused on
every note and every space in between every note that I lose all sense of
perception of people around me, and often of my own body, it is a
ridiculously surreal moment. Some may call it an "out of body"
experience, but I don't wan't to call it quite that, it's not a view of
myself from above or aside, so much as it is more like a sense of being
without borders, as though I am a point of vision in space, invisible, but
there...it is almost like feeling like light, or pure energy, just a beam,
a particle, a wave....it is the only feeling that I can truly describe as
being miraculous. And, there are only two ways that I have ever been able
to achieve this feeling...
At a Phish show, or having some really good sex with my fiance while being
really really drunk or high .....seriously...it is a certain
sense of "becoming one-ness" between multiple entities. It sounds crazy,
but some of you out there might have felt this before. Well, that's what
I seek...."that sense of being one-ness, without borders, a point in
space, a particle, a beam, a wave...transcendent to an elevated sense of
perception and being that is only attainable through intense focus, while
remaining open to suggestion and whim."
And at Coventry, despite mud, rain, traffic delays, and music flubs...I
got to that place, it happened during Split Open and Melt >
Ghost.......and for that alone....I would go through all of this again,
every day, for the rest of my life...to reach that point, to receive that
miracle.....nothing can replace that or top it, and nothing can take it
away from me. I had a great weekend, I enjoyed the friends I went with, I
enjoyed the friends I made, even if they were only a friend for a brief
moment in time. The atmosphere was great, there was a true sense of
camraderie, of community, of unity, of "phamily". And, during my moment
of trancendence, that momentary burst of blissful perfection.......
I honestly could have sworm I was right back in Big Cypress during that
midnight set........and there is no better feeling in the whole world.
Thank you for everything everyone did, said, and stood for at Coventry.
Band, Staff, and "Phans" alike....you all helped shape this
weekend....don't trash it too much by focusing only on flubs and
technicalities....in the "Grand Scheme" of things....
-"...it doesn't matter....."-Bug
I wish you all wonderful lives in wherever the wind takes you....as for
me, I'm on to the next phase in my life.
-Chris Fauteux
Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 14:36:38 -0700
From: Michael Blum
Subject: Phish show review: Coventry Both Nights
At Coventry, Phish played nine of the songs they played when they first
blew my mind at the Michigan Theater in December 1992. On that night so
long ago, I HAD to know: how were they ripping holes in the middle of
songs, playing round the lips, touching the depth of the crevice, and then
sewing it back up?! It was that combination of complexity and risk-taking
that grabbed me then and that has held me ever since. And if adulthood
starts around 18, the sixty-some shows I�^�^�ve seen since 1992 span 75%
of my adult life. A life filled with such gorgeous art!!
And Coventry did not disappoint. On day one, the band did what they do
best, that is: they jammed. Walls was a great opener because it�^�^�s an
epic tune that doesn�^�^�t carry too much baggage for the band or fans.
In Jim and Jibboo, Trey showed up bursting at the seams with ideas. The
YEM and Antelope hit me hard with the sense that I would MISS these songs.
I�^�^�ll MISS hearing them live and being surprised and tickled with
twists and turns not just new in themselves, but meaningful in comparison
to the twists and turns the band took me through each of those other
times.
Set two was the highlight of the first day. Final AC/DC Bag and final
Bowie lived up to expectations because Phish took risks. The same risks
that have kept you coming back for more and more over years and miles.
Risks laid out in the mud for you to savor one last time. And how the
crowd loved Halley�^�^�s Comet!! How I loved it!!! I�^�^�m smiling so
big right now as I write. And the highlight of the night was that WOW
that f*ing character zero that ripped through us like a ferocious flame.
The first half of set three (Twist->Wedge, Stash-> Free) was again
gorgeous and again fresh. More risk taking, this band would play each of
those songs for the last time unlike any time any of those songs had been
played before (except the traditional version of Wedge, which I�^�^�ll
take any day in any form anyway). A delicate Stash highlighted by Page.
Missed hearing the usual last few chords of Free. Listened to Hood from
the Ferris Wheel.
Day two. A lot of us cried at Coventry. Round Room came out around the
time of the birth of my daughter and I dubbed Anything But Me onto a five
minute home video of her called simply, �^�^�Four Months Old.�^�^�
I�^�^�ve held her so tight and danced to that song (though I think she
prefers the climactic bridge of Jibboo, which was one of her first
words/requests). Anything But Me seemed to bring out all those feelings I
have for her, for Phish, for the autumn of this phase of my life.
OK, now let me say one thing about Chalkdust: Fishman LED that jam.
Check it out.
Day two, set two was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard from
Phish, from any artist. A channeled expression of pain, beauty, sadness,
accomplishment, conclusion, and love. Phish again took risks, and on this
last night they took musical risk-taking to a level I have never seen.
This band has made a career, and a style, of risk taking. But over the
years they�^�^�ve learned means of recovering from the risks that
didn�^�^�t work or that played themselves out. The result is that their
language of risk is punctuated with clichés of recovery. That�^�^�s the
way they�^�^�ve surprised us over and over without (often) falling flat on
their faces. Well, during this second set on Phish�^�^�s last night, that
band REFUSED to rely on any of those clichés. I�^�^�ve read reviews that
suggested they were somehow �^�^�off.�^�^� I beg to differ. I heard music
during that set unlike anything I�^�^�ve ever heard. I heard a delicate
connection with heaven. I heard four musicians finally, after all of
these years, get OUT OF THE WAY, and let the music just happen. And how
it did happen. Phish wrung and tore music with such emotion, power, and
truth, I could almost not bear it. I wanted the second set never to end.
So if you spent that set longing for the clichés of safety we and they
have used as crutches for so long, listen to the tapes and let go: you
will hear boundaries dissolve.
Glimpses of the same during the third, more light-hearted, set.
Highlighted by an exciting and emotional Seven Below, some fun on-the-spot
song writing, and a touching Curtain With encore.
I have never experienced art more gripping or personal than this. Thank
you Phish, again, with love.
Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 16:02:23 -0400
From: "Lavazza, Craig"
Subject: Coventry Both Nights
Who would have thought that northern Vermont would get swamped by record
breaking rain the week of the festival! Me and my buddies left CT
Thursday night in our rented camper and headed north. Everything went
great till around 2 p.m. when traffic on 91 came to a halt a little north
of Exit 24. At first I wasn't concerned I figured the traffic would be
slow going the rest of the way and we would be setting up camp sometime
Friday afternoon. I dozed off...I woke� up around 5am to find out we were
still in the same place although it seemed traffic was moving a little.
Come to find out people sleeping in their cars were blocking traffic from
moving for a few miles. So we started weaving in and out of the lanes to
get around sleepers. We advanced about 4 or 5 miles only to come to
another dead stop about 4 miles south of exit 25. Throughout Friday
morning we inched up to a little pass exit 25. At this point I was
getting a little concerned because of rumors that most of the site was
flooded and they were only parking 150 cars at a clip but the "Bunny"
kept saying everything was slow but ok! By the way, the Bunny was totally
worthless and added nothing to this festival....Then the big halt
came.... About a half a mile north of exit 25 around 2.p.m. we came to a
complete stop. We stayed in this place until the announcement sat morning
at which time I was pretty pissed but determined to get into the show.
Looking back I kinda wished I stayed in the left lane and or took route 5
north at exit 25 but I didn't want to disobey the highway patrol and or
Phish as I felt they had everything under control!! Anyways, after the
announcement people started to turn around and head home..we figured we
would try to get north of exit 26 and then take back roads as close as
possible to the site. We hoped in the left lane and started towards exit
26 passing hundreds of fans who bailed their cars on both sides of 91. It
was surreal and re-ignited my energy! A few hundred feet south of exit 26
the police made everyone turn around so we did and pulled off to the side
of the highway to re-group. I was leery of leaving a rented camper on the
side of the highway so we headed back for Exit 25 and headed north on 5.
Pulling into a snack stand overwhelmed by fans someone came up to me and
told me that a local landowner was allowing people to park for free on
his land and then shuttling them down as close as possible to the site.
We followed a bunch of cars to a beautiful piece of land on a hill
overlooking Orleans valley. We sent up camp loaded as much beer as
possible into our limited number of packs and hitched a ride down to the
���������� River road security checkpoint at which time he joined
hundreds of others in hiking about 3 miles to the site. Upon arriving on
we passed the George Stephanpoulis lot and immediately understand the
scope of the flooding/mud. We headed over to the special needs parking
area where my buddy was able to get a dry parking spot a stone throw away
from the center commerce area or shall we call it mudpit. I thought Sat.
night was a good solid show nothing to spectacular but given the
circumstances all including the band had faced over the last 48 hours it
was fine by me!! Getting into the concert venue area was a little
tricky.. a few more truckloads of wood chips would have been greatly
appreciated but what can do!! After the show we walked down airport road
to route 5. It seemed like a long walk and I guess it was. Luckily, we
were able to pay a local $10 a head to drive us back to our campsite in
Orleans about 8 miles away. I would have paid $50 a that point as my feet
were killing me. Arriving back at our private site away from the mud we
dosed off rather quickly.
On Sunday we hitched another ride from some local kids who were working
at the site pulling cars out of the mud. They brought us all the way into
the site. We were all grateful as nobody was looking forward to hauling a
bunch of beers 3 miles by foot. Sunday just seemed to reflect what a
Phish show is all about! The sun was shining the ground was drying and
energy was abound. We walked in a little late missing Mike's and
Weekapaug but I have heard these tunes so many times that I didn't really
care. The rest of the first set I positioned myself on Mike's side about
300 feet south of the beer tent. The first set was pretty solid. The sun
was setting and I realized that this was it! I enjoyed the second set..
Glide is an old favorite of mine and Split was nice to hear. For the
third set I abandoned my friends who were content with staying the the
area we were occupying, again Mike's side south of the beer tent, and
headed down as far as I could. I got pretty close to dead center about 80
yards from the stage and settled in. Fast Enough was great I think it is
a beautiful song that rivals IF I Could on an emotional level. Simple and
Piper were solid although I am not sure they belonged in the last Phish
set ever. Wilson was emotional as it was one of the fist Phish songs I
ever listened to make 1993..it also meant that we would not be treated to
a final Gamehendge. Emotions, excitement, and appreciation built in Slave
which I feel is one of Phish's best tunes and I was and will always be
grateful they played it to end the set and their career. After the
fireworks, I looked around and saw so many faces that seemed to be
overcome by emotion and appreciation. It was truly one of the moments
when you just close your eyes and be one with everything around you. I
came to Coventry wanted to hear a Colonial Forbin's into Mockingbird one
last time and I hoped the encore would grant me this wish. I kinda felt
Harpua would be the lost song the boys would play so I was a little
surprised by Curtain which I hadn't heard live for years. It was
beautiful and a great way to end such an epic journey. After trey gently
placed his guitar onto the stage and walked away as the final chord was
fading, I for the first time felt really emotional. After growing up and
following these guys for 12+ years I knew that I would never again be in
such a warm and inviting environment where music, fun, and friendship all
melting into a giant sea of happiness. I was disappointed the boys didn't
come back out for a second encore but you can't dwell on it. Walking back
towards the camping area, periodically stopping to glance back at the
stage which provided me with countless hours of joy over so many years, I
realized that it is true when people say you don't appreciate something
enough until it is gone forever!
� I would be remiss not to state the following.. I agree with those who
say that Trey is not the same as he was a few years ago. I don't know if
his heart is in another place or whether other personal problems were
interfering with his commitment to the band but his playing has been
going down hill for the past few years. I have always felt that Phish's
best days were behind them, but never-the-less, I can only hope he pulls
himself together and reconsiders his decision as even with all the recent
flaws, this band, this community, is something too special to let vanish
into the misty hills of northern Vermont.....................
Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 14:19:16 +0000
From: David Elin
Subject: Coventry Review..thoughs
Coventry VT. Here's a few thoughts. My friends and I got in at sunrise
Friday morning after a rockin' show by a friend who played really well.
It was just a few minutes away so we left afterwards. Being that we are
local we knew a short cut to avoid the cars and got right in....26 cars of
our own.....it was an assault on the Newport area to say the least. This
is an experienced crew I should say....between those people at our camp
we've seen lots of shows...in the hundreds (thousands combined)....some
into two hundreds and some.......wow!!! Anyway, looking back now I want
to say something I have never said after a show....It wasn't about the
music being good or bad. It was about the experience. See we don't go to
Phish for the party....we go for the music, but this time was different.
We needed to be there to see OUR band in their last moments, good or bad.
I wouldn't trade these shows for the best I ever saw because these were
the way they needed to be.....Trey played tired sad licks; some were flat
and some were right on. We needed to see him screw up over and over. We
needed to see that this ending meant as much to them as it does to us. I
want to say thank you to Phish. Thank for showing us how human you can
be...like we didn't already know....thanks for not being able to sing
Velvet Sea and crying as much as we did......thank you for the BEST Piper
I've ever heard and kick ass rip roaring Slave and for starting Curtin
With over again......thank you for my family whom I would not know if it
were not for you....and after all these years of being with these people
they are my brothers and sisters. Peace and love Phish.....boyMANGOdshit
Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 00:27:32 EDT
From: SUGARMAG56
Subject: Phish show review
First of all, I would like to thank�Page, Mike, Fish, and Trey�for the
many, many great years that they gave us.
�
I have not been to too many Phish shows, maybe around 9 or 10, but I have
been to a whole lot of concerts and numerous festivals.� This�"festival"
�was one of the worst-ran things that I have ever attended.� I understand
that nobody can change the weather, but come�on people, PREPARE.� And,
why do people�think that they have to get out of their�cars when traffic
actually starts to move.� If people would stay in their cars traffic
would at least move a little bit more smoothly.� The whole
"road-washing-out" ordeal was total bullshit.� Whoever was in charge of
planning this event could have and should have put a little bit more
thought into providing alternative access to the venue.� I want to thank
the many kind locals, who graciously accepted the weirdness of this whole
event.� I had the privilege of spending 7 hours of hellbound traffic
comfortably on the side of the road, under a nice canopy, with a slightly
older couple who were kindly providing our crazy�crowd with food and
drinks.� Thank you to them again.�
�
*****Hats off to the environmental-friendly poser hippies for trashing
the streets of this beautiful town.� I am not stating this to
everybody,�but you know who you are.� Way to go!!� That is absolutely the
worst�impression to leave, to worsen�the already bad stereotype of this
crowd.� And even more to the stupid people who enjoyed
pissing�everywhere, knowing that�everyone was walking around barefoot.� I
hope noone got hepatitis.*****�
�
As for the shows, I�had my ups and my downs....and�so did the�band.� I
thought that it was a perfect way to kick off the weekend with Walls of
the Cave.� The rest of the first set was pretty solid, with an intimate
YEM.� Lucky to�whoever came out with the trampolines.� I thought that the
second set kicked ass.� The Bag opener was awesome, along with a good
Halley's Comet into the best Ya Mar�I've ever seen, and probably ever
heard.� Thanks�to the guys again for sharing�stories with us such as�the
story behind David Bowie.� Character�0 needs no explanation, NICE!� Third
set, Trey?� Was that Stash??� On the other hand, hats off to Free and
Drowned - Most ripping jam all night.� Harry Hood on the rocks was
delicious.
�
Sunday brought me many first timers.� Mike's Groove was great.� Reba is
probably my favorite�tune - Thank you Phish for pleasuring me with that -
It was beautiful, perfect!��Props to the moms for dancing a jig.� DWD was
sick -�nice glowsticks Trey.� Velvet Sea - We love you�Page!� Glide�was
another first timer for me and it was great along with Ghost!!!!�
The�rest of the show was awesome.� I need to send out props to my buddy
Biff aka A-smooth for calling the�phinale song, The Curtain With.
�
A note on�Performance:� The band did not play together as well as even I
have seen them, but come on everyone, give them the credit they deserve.�
Yeah, they have been doing this for 21+ years now, but I am sure that any
of us, in their shoes, would be nervous as hell playing in front of
80,000+?� I don't want to criticize the�band in any way because I know of
only a few people who can do the things that they do musically.� Yeah,
Trey could have remembered a few more songs, but he had more of a right
to be celebrating the Phinale than any of us.�
�
As for trying to leave the swamp, thank you to the guys from GA for
helping me push my car out and to the guy on the tractor for pulling us
out of another sinkpit.� The traffic leaving was even worse than coming
in, which is absolutely ridiculous.� They might as well have been
checking tickets to leave.� I know for a fact that there were more
accessible roads.� On top of that, people need to realize when things are
over.� I am not your mother, but slamming whiskey while walking around�in
front of�traffic at 8:00�on a Monday morning is absurd.� Get in your car,
get out of�the way,�and go home.
�
As for the unlucky ones who got turned away, including two of my friends
who drove up from AL, I am terribly sorry.� From what I understand,
tickets were being sold at the gates for $200.� If that is true, that
really pisses me off.� My friends, who have had tickets before Phish
announced their dreadful announcement, got turned away so $50 more per
head could be made.� If room is questionable, don't sell sooo many
tickets - It is that simple.�
�
Props to the deadicated phans who trekked it through the woods for miles
to get in.� And also thank you to the troopers who helped people find
their way and were kind enough to just deal with what was going on.�
�
After leaving and looking back on the whole weekend, it was well worth
the mud, the rain, the traffic, and the journey.
�
Thank you again Page, Trey, Fish, and Mike for years of inspiration and I
think that I am speaking for everybody when I say that you guys deserve
it!!�
�
We love you and you will be missed!
�
JGB
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 22:52:00 -0700
From: Josh Silverman
Subject: Phish show review
Ahhh Coventry........
� Well, I want to say how sorry I am about the whole traffic thing but,
if you've been to any of the other big Phish festivals then you should
have expected it.� As far as turning people away, yeah it was a shitty
situation but it was not the band's fault, there was simply no where to
park everyone because the whole place was turning into a huge mud pit!�
Cars were getting stuck all over and that was just making everything move
extra slowly.� I was among the "lucky ones".� I got to the area Thursday
afternoon and waited about seven hours to get in but we came from the
north so we skipped all the interstate traffic all together.� Thank you
so much to Phish and The Bunny for broadcasting the Jersey show on
Thursday night as that made the wait sooooo much more bearable.� Now on
to the show; on Saturday night I was down pretty close in front so I
could really see the bands reactions to everything, plus they had the big
screen monitors which made it all that much easier to see facial
expressions, ect.� The first set was standard.� Some really sick jams but
not that great of a song selection in my opinion.� Trey seemed a little
subdued and maybe doped up. Second set was better for song selection and
the playing was allright but nothing spectacular. It was basically the
Trey Anistasio Show all night and Trey seemed to be giving extra
attention to Mike.�What I read into this is that, because Mike is the one
who is not ok with the breakup, Trey was trying to make him feel better,
or something (one of my favorite stickers at the fest was "Mike says
NO!").� By the third set, things got ugly.� I mean real ugly.� Trey was
obviously fucked up, more so than I have ever seen him and Page looked
dissgusted (or maybe just annoyed).� Several times he shook his head and
laughed at Trey.� Trey could not play three chords on his guitar without
wiping his nose and blowing coke snot all over the stage.� He was
stopping songs to blabber about nonsense, making passes at a particular
girl in the front row (which is even more disgusting when you consider
that his wife and parents we're sitting right off to the side of the
stage), and he almost fell off of the big boulders down in front of the
stage when him and Mike took thier instruments down to play on the
rocks.� He completely butchered Stash and Guyute in particular, as well
as pretty much all of the composed sections to all the songs.� Now, dont
get me wrong, I have a great appreciation for how complicated these
sections are and to the fact that the band doesnt practice anymore but
listen to the SBD's when they come out.� Trey didint even try to play his
parts in Stash.� And after reading a quote by him in the Burlington Free
Press the day before the fest saying how when he worked on the song
Guyute with the Vermont Youth orchestra it was the hardest he had ever
worked on anything, it was pretty sad to see him butcher it like that.�
Basically at the end of the night it was obvious to me why the band is
breaking up and I am thankful for their decision.� I did think, however
that the second night was alot better.� I thought Reba was played
flawlessly, Glide was pretty sloppy but fun none the less, SOAM was sick,
as well as Ghost.� DWD was nice and I thought they did a pretty good job
with Curtain, which was quite the surprise closer.� Trey seemed less
intoxicated and they were having a genuenly good time.� I didnt really
dig all the fooling around with the made up songs for the crew and what
not.� It was amusing but, come on.� Last set ever?� I want to hear them
fucking rock, not mess around.� But all in all, I'd say Phish did what
they always do- the exact oppisite of what everyone expects them to do
and thats what I love about them.� They didnt bust out anything too
unusual; no Gamehendge, no GCH, not even a Harpua (or our beloved
Fluffhead, although I dont think they could have pulled off Fluffs
Travels wi thout some serious practice).� It was pretty much a typical
2004 Phish show and we should accept that.� One more thing I want to say,
I really think the breakup has a lot to do with Trey's drug problems and
I comend him/them for making that decision.� I wish Jerry had done the
same thing and said, "y'know guys, we're starting to suck. Lets call it
quits while we are still somewhat respected."� If he had done that and
gone and lived in the woods for a few years and cleaned himself up, we'd
still be seeing JerryBand shows.� So if it means that I'll never see
another Phish show but in 10 years I can go see a TreyBand show, I'm
stoked.� And remember what Trey himself said in Bittersweet Motel, that
if they ever do a "reunion tour" we should all show up and throw
tomatoes.� I know I'll be front row with my tomato in hand.�R.I.P
PHISH.����������������������� Sincerely,
����������������������������������������������������������
[email protected]
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 01:05:22 EDT
From: GordonFunkSquad
Subject: Phish show review 8-14/15
���������� shame on any of you who say that it sucked and all that bull
shit the fact of the matter is it was their last show(maybe) and they
were filled with emotion but anyway pretty much everything was sick trey
did make mistakes but if you want to run your mouth then go out there and
play glide while you are crying in front of 60000 people.� Pipes Gordon
is all anyone needs to hear anyway.� Pipes is definetly an alien or an
android.�
���������� thank you phish i had an awesome time and i speak for
countless people when i say that we love you and well miss you.� oh yeah
and mike g if you want to jam email me
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 23:30:14 -0500
From: Evan James
Subject: Phish show review
Never done a show review before, but here it goes.� This was around my
50th show or so.� I need to recount.� Started when I was 13 years old
back in 1994 and have seen them go through a lot of change.�There are a
very different band than they were then.� I've read a lot of rabid
critiques so far and everyone is entitled to their opinion.� I wouldn't
say this was necessarily a good show but I thought it was a great
experience.� Yeah, the traffic sucked but walking down the interstate,
hopping on a flat-bed trailer truck, more walking, hopping on the front
of an ATV, more walking, made this an adventure.� It will make the show
much more memorable for me.� The mere spectacle on the interstate,
watching people park and abandon their cars on the interstate, the
medians, rest area, then seeing people walking down the interstate as far
as the eye could see made me emotional already.� It is a true testament
to how incredible this band was, and how much they meant to all of us.�
Say what you want about this show, but for me it evoked 10 years of
memories, and you know what, they are all good.� Phish has always played
bad shows.� Phish at their worst is still more fun to me than a lot of
other bands at their best.� Expectations, including mine,�for this show
were high, and I was pretty disappointed with Trey after the first
night.� I finally told myself to accept the mistakes, the mud, the
walking, and it made it that much better.� I relaxed and had fun.
�
Now more technical.� I thought the first set was smoking and maybe the
best. Walls of the Cave was pretty standard and Runaway Jim was its usual
meandering self, which it has been for years. Nothing too special.�
Jibboo was up there with one of the best I've seen.� As for YEM, yeah,
Trey screwed up the intro, but who doesn't expect that possibility.� I
thought the jam was one of my favorite YEM jams ever.� It was to the
point from its inception and just rocked.� I don't know if many of you
saw this, but in the part where they bring out the trampolines and they
are just playing chords, when it hits the second half and the drums pick
up, Trey pumped his fists twice instead of playing the chords, but picked
it back up perfectly, which was awesome.� Cool to see them handing out
the tramps.� Sample-standard.� Trey f'd up the intro though.�
Axilla-slight Trey mistakes but usual rockin' self.� Poor Heart�was good,
they gave all the soloing to Page which is always welcome.� I thought
Antelope absolutely ruled.� It was very different.� Towards the end of
the jam, Trey was just playing those wailing bends and holding them out.�
I thought it was cool.� Fire-got weird when they started playing space
but is always welcome.
�
Second set- Bag jammed out long and kind of went nowhere.� The rest of
these songs in this set were abruptly cut short with no jams.� Bowie, yes
Trey messed up again but the jam was good but standard.� Character Zero
was THE BEST one I've ever seen.� Despite Trey starting to talk a lot and
annoy me, he absolutely tore this one up like I've never seen him before.
�
Third set-catastrophic.� I think part of this was the fact I had one hour
of sleep and was getting tired but most of it was Trey was so f*#$ed this
set like I have NEVER seen him before.� His ego was flying.� He kept
talking.� I was disgusted.� Trey had been pretty sloppy since some point
of the second set and it was getting worse.� The composed section of
Stash was ruined.� Somehow the jam was alright-different.� The band waves
and Trey talking more got on my nerves.� What the f*$k was he doing with
that Dr. Evile 'million dollars' thing he was doing?� At this point, I
knew Trey was absolutley out of his mind.� When he said, "here is the
song about the ugly pig," I knew it was disaster from the start.� This
might be the worst version I've ever seen of any song.� So sloppy.�
Drowned- always pretty fun but at some point in the jam Trey did this
completely off-rhythm power chord progression, which was absolutley
horrible. Being a guitarist, I thought this one of the worst brief
moments I've ever heard.� Being tired, fed up with Trey, and thinking
that was the set closer, I started walking back.� As I was doing so this
jam picked up and really started to rock.� I was tired, heard Friday and
Hood from a distance and didn't really care.� another note- Trey seemed
so loud this last set.� I don't know why Languedoc never turned him down,
especially when he is so off.� Too late for that I guess.
�
OK.� It was at this point, my friend pointed out to me how I was so
critical of Trey.� I'm a guitarist and can play pretty much every Phish
song and know every note.� Plus, I devoted ten years of my life to Phish
and know every note anyway.� My two friends I was with are Phish fans but
not die-hard know it alls.� They know pretty much every song but not note
for note like I do.� To them, everything sounded pretty good.� It was at
this point, I decided that I would just relax the next night and not be
so critical, and you know what I had a blast.� Looking back on the bad
songs, I still had fun.
�
Next night was just good fun.� Nothing mind blowing realy but nothing
terrible.� Everything was pretty emotional for me.� Some�definite Trey
mistakes, during Glide, SOAM, and The Curtain With�in particular but
I�just let them go.��The composed section of Reba was almost�nailed, so I
was pretty happy.� Great Reba jam, too.�
�
I didn't think Trey was messed up at all this show, he was just emotional
and nervous.� Once again, I'm a musician and these songs aren't easy to
play sober, even for virtuosos like Trey.� Age may have something to
play.� I'm a better musician now at 24 than I was at 20, but because I
know more and have expanded my knowledge of music.� But, I'll tell you
what, i definitely get lost a lot easier in a song than I used to...and
I'm only 24!!!� Just my thoughts.
�
I thought The Curtain With was a perfect last song.� Trey put everything
together and made it sound perfect.� I wasn't expecting it since they've
never really played at near the end of a show, but the song title and
lyrics all made sense.� It's funny that Trey said that because I remember
when I was 16 I was wasted at a party and went in to my car with a friend
to jam out some Phish for a while.� I specifically played him "The
Curtain" and told him it was my favorite Phish song and the definitive
Phish song.� Guess I wasn't the only one who thought so.�
�
I'm glad I went.� I'm sad.� But Phish had runs its course.� Overall, a
great experience.�
�
EJ
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 20:05:48 -0400
From: D. Schroeder
Subject: Phish show review
I came from Knoxville to see the last Phish show.� After first hearing
them in '92 and growing up with their music, this was something I felt I
had to do.� To sum the show up in one word, it was sad.�
�
We came from the north and camped just outside of Newport, VT, because I
knew, after my Bonnaroo experience, that I didn't want to camp at the
festival.� It was no problem to park in town and hike in; it only took a
couple hours.� I felt terrible for the folks caught on the highway,
forced to turn back.� Not to make them feel any worse, but Newport had
lots of room - campsites, open hotels, etc - it would've been no problem
to walk in from there.� The commons in the festival was actually better
kept up than this year's Bonnaroo.� Wood chips saved the day.�
�
The show...well, let me start by saying that I was taken aback by the
hiatus announcement in 2000.� After a bit of pondering, it made sense to
me - they weren't playing like they were in years past.� I was glad to
see them get back together in '02, and managed to make it to Atlanta in
2k3.� That was an absolutely killer show - great playing, great jams,
great sets.� I had that kind of performance in mind as I approached the
stage for their first set at Coventry.� I couldn't have predicted what
happened then.
�
Saturday's performance basically sucked.� While I shed a few tears during
"Walls of the Cave," the first set was stiff, the second was extremely
mediocre, and the third, well, Trey was so wasted he basically forgot how
to play guitar.� I couldn't believe it.� I alternated between laughter -
"OMG, how many notes can you miss - how many beats can you drop!?" - and
annoyance - "um, I spent alot of money to get here, dealt with the less
than stellar conditions, and now I'm watching Trey self destruct."�
�
Sunday was much better, but the reasons for the breakup were evident.�
Page, Mike and Fish played really well both nights, but it's obvious Trey
is just done with the Phish repertoire.� He's forgotten parts of songs,
and seems to not care about brushing up on them - even for the last
performance!� I realize that his self-stated nervousness may have played
a role there, and can I sympathize with that.� In Sunday's second set,
when Page was too broken up to sing "Wading in the Velvet Sea," it really
hit home.� Tears were streaming down my face.� I remembered how much
Phish has meant to me throughout the years - strengthening friendships,
educating me about music, stimulating my imagination.� My respect for
those four guys knows no bounds - their geekiness and enthusiasm in the
early years (look at the picture of them in Junta!), their musicianship
and eclectic tastes, their absolutely transcendant performances - all of
these factors made them so immensely great in my mind.� I'm a music major
- currently getting a graduate degree.� My top benchmark for music is
when it makes me jealous.� When I hear music and feel jealousy, I
consider it extremely significant.��Phish's music does this to me.� As I
stood there on Sunday, tears in my eyes, watching those four guys
struggle with the reality of the moment...it was a thing of magnitude.�
The playing was emotional.� The end of Glide was crushing - the�impact of
the�vocal ending taking even them by suprise, spasms of near weeping
sending the harmony�out of tune.� Several jams�that night were very
good.� Again in the last set,�Trey was visibly�hopped up...looked like
cocaine this time.� Maybe he needed something to carry him through.� The
last set was rather�short.� After the last long bow, Trey�leaned heavily
on Mike as they walked off the stage.� I�was�fairly close to the stage,
and had a view of the road behind it.� There was an ambulance there,
lights flashing. (?)��Shortly after the band left the stage, four tour
busses made their escape.� The stage lights shut off.� The crowd stood
stupified and bewildered, then began to�saunter solemnly�out of the
venue.�
�
My�brother and I have talked about�the whole thing alot, before, during,
and after.� It's�amazing to me that these guys, with�likely the most
adoring audience in the history of rock music, able to sell out any
venue�anywhere, having developed their group improvisatory skills to such
a high level (I can't think of any band that compares), and with
friendship alive and well are calling the whole thing quits.� It seems
like an extreme move to me.� I mean, is saying, "no, we'll never perform
again together, ever" really necessary?� Take another hiatus maybe?� Only
do a very short tour every year - a couple weeks?� Trey even admitted
this weekend, 'there is confusion.'�� At the same time, I think I
understand.� They've been doing this for quite awhile.� They (especially
Trey) want to do new things, and they don't want to be a nostalgia act.�
It would be selfish of me to say, "hey, please stay together so once or
twice a year when I want to come and stare at you for a few hours you'll
be there."� It was painful to watch this show, and I know it was painful
for them to play it.� It's like deciding to get a divorce from someone
you have children with and still love.� 'Was it for this my life I
sought?� Maybe so, and maybe not.'� As�Trey said in Bittersweet Motel -
"All of this - the bigness - can really�get in the way of�what you set
out to do."�
�
I'm sad that the phenomenon came to an end...but maybe it was ended
because it became exactly that.� I look forward to seeing what other
musical endeavors the guys pursue.� After seeing this show, I hope Trey
doesn't end up like Lane Staley.� I have to struggle a bit to set aside
my dissappointment in order to�convey a heartfelt 'thank you' to the
band, but they deserve it.� I feel confident that they are the most
important rock band of the last 20 years, and their music will always be
dear to me.�
�
As we drove home, we popped in a show from '93 with several Gamehendge
tunes on it, and celebrated the greatness of Phish.
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 17:48:57 -0700
From: Jon Claffey
Subject: Phish show review
OK. I was there. I spent 42 hours in traffic and made it in without
walking. I was one of the "Car People" surrounded by the "pilgrims", whom
we helped out as much as we could with "car people" amenities. It was a
classic scene, as were the days waking up to the sunrise with a line full
of cars in front of you, passing the "sleepers" that looked like a
graveyard of cars on the way in and the eerie fog that we drove through
for 2 straight nights. Yes, my crew and I got into bitch fights. Yes we
were bewildered, frustrated and helpless. But in the end, it was all about
the experience. I thought Gamhendge. I thought Fluffhead. I thought
Harpua. I thought it was going to the best, mist ripping shows ever. I was
wrong. But...I was there with my friends having a good time for the last
time. It wasn't about the weird way Trey was singing 1st night, or the
missed riffs throughout. It was about the experience. One more bang with
the band, the people who follow the band and happen to be some of the
coolest people on the face of the earth, and my friends. It truly was an
experience I wont forget. There WERE musical highlights, (Reba, Carini,
Chalkdust, Wolfman's, DWD, Fast Enough, YEM, Axilla, Antleope, Fire,) it
just wasn't the best thing ever. It was a fine goodbye. An experience I
wouldn't pass up if it came my way again. I just hope Trey can come back
and play again. I agree with one of these posts that it seems like
something maybe wrong with his fingers. But we all know why. Yah-Orin. I
don't know what he's on, but he needs help. The Jerry syndrome finally
caught up to his guitar playing. Or maybe its that he is now consumed with
other music. I don't know. It was a pleasure to meet all the fans for the
last time, groove to my band one last time and pass a stage in my life. I
must say the organizers did a good job with what they faced. The traffic
was a joke and they could have done some things much better, but the
amount of work they did to actually make it happen was amazing. Jusr like
my crew, we had ups and downs, the event had ups and downs and the band
had ups and downs. It was a roller coaster ride that was worth all of the
money, time and energy. That's it. I'm out.
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 17:04:27 EDT
From: Crypton420
Subject: Phish show review Coventry
Phish's final shows...so much in such a short period of time.
It all started Monday 7 hour drive to sit in traffic for 18.� We started
off�on the North bound side of 91.� After�we realized we weren't getting
anywhere we�U-turn up an exit and hit the South bound side where we hit
the end of the line a mile from the exit.�After 18 hours of�partying with
my new nabors we made�about a half a mile of progress. It was about 9 or
so in the morning�I remember mike coming on the radio.� If you were there
you heard his message if not you can imagine.� Sorry.,..turning people
away....go home. pretty much sums it up.� Go home, yeah right more like
start walking.� 10 mile up to the grounds and I would do it again. The
rain held off for the entire weekend including my walk.� The people were
awesome like at all shows. No one complained about the mud the music or
the walking.
The first night was good. I give a�B. the fans and band alike were beat.
it was a long day and I may not have made it through the night if the
show was too good. We all needed our sleep and I think that night we all
got it. And by the way when they gave away the trapolines. My god it hit
that this was the end.
The next day was beautiful. We hiked down through the mud to the show and
got down while "Mike's" was starting. I've heard plenty of "grooves" but
this one was nessacary I think.� I thought the first set rocked and we
were all ready for one final rager.� Second set, the first thing I
remember was Page trying to sing Velvet Sea and he could not stop
crying.� I guess it hit them all around then and they were thrown off
from there. They couldn't sing the songs. Couldn't play properly, and
just didn't seem all there at the show.� I give it an A+ and ill tell you
why...
After 10 years I've heard every song I could want to here. I've heard
them absolutely tare up songs I've loved and songs I didn't think were
too special. I've seen rare songs broken out ("Unbound"- Nassau Feb. 03 I
think)�Some of my favorites played�so long I thought they'd never end
("Ghost" @�IT and "Gin"- same Nassau show) This last show was an ending
to so many years�for so many people and no one more then the band.� The
ending was emotional and you felt a connection with these guys. I wasn't
only sad cause it was my last show but I felt for these guys. It was a
perfect ending to an amazing 10 years of music.
It must be said I would have loved those heard one last "Fluffed" and
don't believe it didn't happen. You Phans know what I mean.� And there
were plenty of songs I wish I could have heard but that's how it works. I
would like to think they may have thought the last night would last
longer like we all did but could play anymore. And that joke about an
orchestra doing "Gamehendge" not funny thousands of Phans waiting for
something big to happen that would�have been IT. I don't even want to
think about it. It would have been crazy and called for and�we would�have
never forgotten something like that.�
So nothing crazy happen no Sheryl Crow, no Kid rock, Dave, Willie, or
Eminem (thank god) and yeah i actual all those and more.�and I didn't
think anyone would be there this was a�Phish show and no one else should
be there.
To all the people who walked like i did god bless i think we made it
happen
And to my boys in the band thanks, not for the weekend but for 10 years
ill talk about for ever they made music mean what it means to me today.
Phish will live in my heart forever���
--TheFling�
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 17:46:59 -0400
From: Chris Phair
Subject: Phish show review- Coventry
First off I need to agree with the person that stated the trash situation
was ridiculous.� I knew this was true while walking through the venue and
seeing hundred of beer cans and bottles sitting in the mud waiting for
someone to cut their foot open on it.� Then latter on the�ride home
seeing sh*t everywhere on the highway was a disgrace.� After that I will
not agree with any of you!!!
�
We all need to remember that Phish is Trey, Page, Mike, and
Fishman's�life that they have shared with us over these past 20 or so
years.� Sure we've given them lots of our money and attention, but that
has been our choice and I don't think that many of us would regret it.�
This was their weekend, not ours.� This was their occupation and
brainchild coming to an end.� They had every single right to get hammered
and play the way they did in the 3rd set night one.� Trey was obviously
drunk from point one, it happens and I'll be honest it bummed me out.�But
it was his night and Set I was raging (and before I go any further I have
seen about 60 shows starting with the Greatwoods Gamehenge in 94.� I was
very much into the band until 96 when "The Phans" started 4 nights of
fighting with the police in Red Rocks.� You're all lucky they didn't stop
after that, followed by an immature Trey storming off the stage at the
Clifford Ball because a hanglider took off too early keeping them from
finishing Harpua.). "I'm leaving you a message, I'm leaving you a trace"
Is there anymore fitting way to start the goodbye? Honestly, to anyone
who didn't get the chance to go, Set I was raging and full of emotion.�
Seeing Trey give the fans the trampolines was like a knife to the
heart!!! Knowing that it was the last Antelope hit me again.�If you
weren't holding back tears in set I then you aren't a true fan. And for
all of those who were pissed about the traffic situation and how the band
treated you, did you not hear Trey's statement before "Fire", he didn't
want people turned away.� Now on that note, for all of you complaining
about the traffic situation, buy a map next time you go on a road trip.�
I left Boston at 9 am on Sat and by 3 pm my tent was up, I was cooking
food,� I drank a few beers, and oh yeah I had�found a ticket as well.� I
was in the show at 4.� The shows in Limestone were more of a hassle then
this because many back roads existed in all different directions
surrounding 91. Set II not great but not bad, I loved hearing Trey think
back to when he was writting songs before they were big.� You could hear
the excitement back in his voice thinking back to when he showed those
guys Bowie for the first time.� I read someone comment on Trey's lack of
soul.� Many people who don't like phish often comment on the lack of soul
and depth to their music, I could always see what they were talking
about.� It was never enough to push me away, but I understood.� At these
two shows, Trey had soul!! Listen to the tapes and listen for the
enthusiasm in his voice, listen for page crying.� Soul is all about
emotion and not sounding the way you sounded last week, or last year, or
on an album.� Soul is not perfection. Trey had the most soul I've ever
heard him have.� Why, because it was the last few days of his baby!!!
�
Day II, rocked!!� It's that simple, the glowstick wars?!!� Come on, I've
never been a fan of the wars, but the mass of sticks was beyond compare.�
FEFY, Glide, Piper, Wolfmans? Gotta love it!! Sure not the greatest Reba
or Slave or any of the other epics, but the best ones haven't been played
since 93. The made up on the fly songs, again their night, their way to
salute the guys that have kept their sound crisp and their tours
rolling.� I've heard people complain about these 2 songs and chalk it up
to their lack of skill or "addictions", but I bet all of you complainers
were screaming "Bruno, Bruno, Bruno, Bruno...." over and over for several
minutes. The Curtain With!!!!� Sure Trey had to stop and make an
ajustment, but I didn't care.� I knew this was their last song and I
wanted to savor it.�� I didn't want them to play stupid covers that I
loved, I didn't want them to suprise me with guests that would have
pumped all of us up, I wanted them to be Phish.� And what I've learned
from going to the big Phish shows, they haven't always pulled out the big
stops at them.� They didn't do that up there, and it was more fitting.�
�
Right around 96-97 I swore up and down that I was done with phish.� I
would stop going to check them out I would say, but I would still go a
couple times a year.� Every once in awhile I would have a good time, but
most of the time I was very disappointed.� I was very happy that Phish
made the desicion to go on the hiatus because at that time they sucked. I
did not think that they took enough time off.� When they came back, they
sounded worse than before.� I saw them twice in 2003 and they were easily
the worst 2 phish shows I have ever seen (the Dec fleet center 20th anni
show, and one at the worcester centrum in feb).� I was hardly a phish fan
anymore and had no ambition to go again.� Something deep down inside
forced me to go to Coventry.� And I am very glad that I went.� I can
honestly say that they played a great show and pulled me back in as a
phish fan!!!� I'm sorry that many of you didn't enjoy yourselves.� Maybe
your expectations were too high or something.� I didn't even have
expectations to go.� Once saturday reached my only ambition was to go to
the show and see the band that helped me grow up one last time.� They
were f'n tremendous!! The best shows I've seen in years. Phish if you for
some reason read this, only pay attention to all of us that you
inspired.� We Love you and everything you've done for us!!!!
�
�
Chris
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 17:55:56 -0400
From: Alejandro Tamargo
Subject: Coventry Review (Combo both nights)
Wow! How can I possibly sum up this past weekend in one review? I
noticed that other people^�s reviews were very short. Mine will not be.
Just a warning, this will be very, very, very long. If you don^�t have
the patience for it, scroll down now. I^�m talking about both nights of
music plus the journey getting in. I^�ll try to shorten it a little by
forgoing the song by song reviewing and only pointing out the songs that
really stand out. But I simply can^�t write a review without telling the
tale of getting to the show, and I hope that others also include that part
of the experience in their reviews as well. There was so much more to
this experience than the music itself. Everyone who was there has a story
to tell and I for one am interested in reading them. So here^�s mine.
My girlfriend and I have the good fortune of living directly off of I-91
in Massachusetts, just south of the Vermont border, a mere 3 hours from
Coventry on any normal day. We had the luxury of staying at home and
keeping an eye on weather updates. We, and the two friends of ours who
drove up from Virginia to go to the show with us, scrapped our plans to
drive up early Friday morning and waited for the weather and traffic to
clear. Or so we thought. Based on our experience at IT last year (which
also had a little problem with rain and mud) we figured, the later you
leave, the less traffic you will have. Following that logic we decided to
get up at 5:00 on Saturday morning and drive to the show. Little did we
know how much worse the situation was this year than it was last year at
IT.
On Saturday morning, we called the police hotline and they told us
that there was still a 25-mile backup on 91, but only a � mile backup on
58. So we bailed out of 91 early, taking I-89 to rt. 100 to rt. 58.
After driving just a few miles on 58, we were excited to get to what we
thought was the beginning of show traffic. But it was weird. People
weren^�t really sitting in traffic. They seemed to be all pulling over to
the side of the road. And a few people were turning around. It was then
that we tuned into the Bunny and heard the news.
^�WHAT??!!!!!^� my girlfriend and I both screamed. ^�IS THIS FOR FUCKING
REAL??!!!^� We were absolutely devastated. We didn^�t know what the hell
to do. We and our friends behind us pulled off to the side of the road to
try and figure things out. We happened to be parked in front of the yard
of a local woman who seemed to be letting people park their cars and camp
there. It was a mere 3 miles to the venue, people told us. We could set
up our tents there and walk back after the show. That^�s what a lot of
people were doing. But we soon found out that this woman was asking $100
per car!! No fucking way in hell were we paying that. There were also a
bunch of people who were just abandoning their cars on the side of the
road. That was free. I was all for that, but a couple people in our group
were concerned about our cars being towed. There was also the fact that
they kept telling us on the Bunny ^�Do not abandon your car. Do not walk
in.^� We actually considered leaving, possibly looking into a simulcast in
Burlington (we weren^�t even sure if there was such a thing) or possibly
camping somewhere within broadcast range of the Bunny, so that we could
listen to the show. After all, with the majority of the people being
forced to turn around, there was no way this could be the last show.
Surely they would play one more for all those who were turned around.
Before we did that though, I thought we should at least take a little walk
and ask the state trooper down the road if they were going to stop people
from walking in and if they were going to tow cars parked on the side of
the road. He told us that no they weren^�t stopping anyone from walking
in, but he recommended parking in someone^�s yard, because anyone on the
side of the road would be towed. But that still left the dilemma of not
wanting to pay $100. Then, our guardian angel, a kid on a bike, rolled up
and told us that there were these nice people just a � mile down the road
charging $5 a car to park, and an additional $5 a head to shuttle us in.
Hell yeah!
So we did that, and soon discovered that we were not 3 miles from the
venue, but 12. Those poor schlums who paid that woman $100 and set their
tents up thinking they were coming back there at night were in for a huge
surprise. I^�m not sure if she^�s the one who told them that it was a 3
mile walk, but she certainly didn^�t say anything to diffuse that rumor.
That is just so wrong in so many ways.
So anyway, the nice woman who was only charging us $5 told us that we were
going to be shuttled in 9 miles to the farthest point that they were
allowed to drive and then would have to walk the last 3 miles. That
estimate turned out to be wrong as well. We actually ended up walking 6
miles. We had to abandon most of our stuff: all of our beer, most of our
water, our camp stove, cooking utensils, and all the food we were going to
cook so as to avoid having to buy food. Rumors were abound that water
trucks couldn^�t get in and food vendors couldn^�t be re-supplied. This
was a very worrisome thought. But I chose to believe that Phish would
cancel their festival before they allowed their phans to starve or go
without water. So we took our chances with very little water and only a
few snack foods to eat. And of course the rumor turned out to be false.
It was too bad because we own great backpacks and a nice small backpacking
stove that would have been perfect for this situation, but we had left
them at home because we had not the slightest clue that we would need
them. So we had to make due with one small backpack and two canvas
grocery bags, plus our tent and sleeping bags. And it was really freaking
hot. It was really hard and really painful to walk 6 miles like this, but
I knew it would be worth it. We couldn^�t miss Phish, especially if it
really was going to be the last show. I knew also, that we didn^�t have
the worst of it. I^�m sure that right now some people reading this are
playing the world^�s smallest violins for us, because at least we didn^�t
drive from all the way across the country, sit in traffic for 40 hours,
and THEN walk 6 miles or twice that much with all this heavy stuff. We
were really really lucky to live so close and to not have to sit in any
traffic at all. And for that I am grateful. As bad as it was it really
could have been much much worse. But that still doesn^�t mean that it was
fun walking in.
When we finally reached the venue after a long, arduous walk, we heard a
guy say ^�Not a single person here arrived the way they planned.^� We
laughed. It was the truest statement I^�d heard all day.
So finally, the show. By the time we had picked a spot, set everything
up, and walked to the concert area, they were halfway through Jiboo. I
was bummed to have missed Walls, a beautiful song and very appropriate for
the phinal tour. Oh well, I can^�t complain having seen one in SPAC and
another in Hampton. Runaway Jim I had also seen in both SPAC and Hampton
and I^�m not all that into it, so I wasn^�t disappointed to miss it. The
portion of the Jibboo jam that we heard was really funky/ groovy boogie
down music. I wish we could have caught the whole thing. Then came YEM,
which contained the saddest moment of Saturday^�s show. Trey gave away
the trampolines. This was it. There would be no makeup show for those
who got turned away. This was the end. They were never going to use the
trampolines again. So sad. So devastating.
I was really surprised to see YEM and Antelope show up so early in the
weekend, when so many people had just arrived and many more had yet to
arrive. Sample, Axilla, and Poorheart were all the type of songs I would
have expected in the first set of the weekend. But I would have thought
they^�d hold out on all the big guns until at least the second set. The
Antelope seemed really low key. It didn^�t have the usual energy of an
Antelope. However, I was grateful to see a finished Antelope. Because
even though the one at Great Woods was mind blowing, they never finished
it. So I was happy to see it^�s conclusion one more time, and I was
happy, although not at all surprised, to see Tom Marshall being the one to
finish it.
At some point in this set, I don^�t remember then, Trey thanked all of
those who walked in and expressed his ^�deep deep love^� for us. That
made us feel better that at least we were appreciated. I really wish he
had said something about those people who actually listened to what the
cop on the Bunny was saying and turned around. Those people got the worst
of it, especially if they drove long distances and sat in 40 hours of
traffic only to turn around. I hope the band hasn^�t completely forgotten
them just because they are in the minority.
Back to the music: second set started with an AC/DC Bag that I was so
happy for because we were late to first night Tweeter (after busting our
asses to get up there from Hampton) and we missed it. We sorely hoped
that they would play one more Bag for us. And this one was truly amazing.
Best jam of the night by far. They did not want to stop, they jammed hard
for what seemed like at least 30 minutes. Another song I was psyched to
see was Haley^�s, a song I^�d only seen 3 times ever and none since 98.
Very happy to get my Haley^�s. The Bowie wasn^�t a very unique Bowie, but
the story Trey told about the writing it and one other song in a log cabin
not far from Coventry caught my interest. According to Trey, it was in
this song writing session that he had a real breakthrough in songwriting.
It was after that, that Phish became a real band. What was that other
song? I had a few ideas: Divided Sky, Slave, Hood, or Fluffhead. Of
course, I would turn out to be dead wrong on all of those. But anyway,
back to the music, I^�d say that overall it was the best set of the night.
Bag, 46 Days, Haley^�s, Yamar, and believe it or not Character Zero were
all personal highlights.
The Twist that opened set III was no match for SPAC^�s version, but who
could expect it to be? It was still a pretty damn good jam in it^�s own
right. It contained some similar kinds of funky dance grooves that made
the SPAC Twist so great. The Wedge was great to hear because the last
time I heard it I was too busy being harassed by Masshole security to
enjoy it (see my 12/2/03 review). They really nailed it too. Really
psyched. The only other real highlight in this set for me was the
incredible jam out of Drowned. Incredible if you ignore the annoying part
when Trey stopped in the middle of the jam to ask Kuroda to turn down the
lights so he can see the crowd. We later heard from the guy camped next
to us, who was up front for this set, that Trey was really fucked up, and
all the people up front, as well as the other band members were really
annoyed with him. That was a disappointing thing to hear, especially
after the ^�tall cool glass of soymilk^� line in the Great Woods Makisupa.
I thought he had supposedly cleaned up. Apparently not. Too bad. I
truly hope that now that Phish is gone he can get his shit together. I
believe he can, because I believe that it is a large part of the reason he
called that meeting to end Phish. He wants to clean up, but it^�s
impossible as long as Phish is a part of his life. Or at least, that^�s
my theory.
One thing for sure, Trey^�s excessive drug use didn^�t keep him from
jamming his ass off, not just in the Drowned but in the Hood encore. A
perfect last Hood! Very well jammed, beautiful climax!
Overall the first night of Coventry was a solid although not spectacular
show, and one that I probably would have enjoyed a lot more if not for the
fact that every bone in my body was sore, aching, or stiff in every way
imaginable. I think a lot of people felt the same, because the energy was
very low.
So now onto the last Phish show ever. What can I say. It was a powerful,
emotional, experience. I was really disheartened when I came home and
read all these horrible things being said about this show in reviews and
on message boards. ^�Worst show I^�ve ever seen^� ^�Flubbentry^� and so
on. If you feel that this final show had too many flubs or that they
didn^�t play the songs you wanted to hear and that ruined your experience,
I feel sorry for you. I feel sorry that you let a few flubs or lack of
bustouts ruin your last precious moments with the band you love (or
supposedly love). I for one, savored every second of it, no matter what
they played or how many mistakes they made. (Also, I might add, many
people are severely exaggerating how bad the flubs were. They weren^�t
THAT bad.) Besides you really got to cut them some slack for the
structural mistakes. You got to put things in perspective. Remember what
Trey said on Charlie Rose, ^�No one loves Phish more than me. No one.^�
You might think you are the most upset to see Phish go because you^�ve
seen 100 or 200 Phish shows in the last 10 or 15 years. Well guess what,
these four guys have been to EVERY Phish show in 21 years!! No one is
sadder to see Phish go than they are. NO ONE!! I know, I know, it was
their choice to call it quits, but think of it this way: It^�s like when
you break up with your boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, or husband, after many
years of being together. You know it^�s the right thing for both of you
to call it quits and move on to a new phase of your lives, but that
doesn^�t mean you don^�t spend several days in a puddle of tears! No
matter how sad you think you are, these guys are a thousand times sadder.
Of course they are going to be emotional on stage. Of course they are not
going to be able to play flawless sets. There is guaranteed to be
structural mistakes abound. I expected it. Hell, I give them credit just
for standing out there on stage and going through with it. As you all
heard Trey said, this is the first time in all these years that he^�s been
nervous for a Phish show. And if you weren^�t too busy sulking over all
the meaningless flubs in the structured parts of the songs, you may have
noticed that all their powerful emotions were released in absolutely
astounding, extremely powerful, emotionally driven, mind-bending jams. I
can^�t remember the last time I^�ve seen this much powerful jamming in one
show.
Okay, I^�m going to step off of my soapbox and continue with this review.
Onto the sets:
Set I began with a Mike^�s Groove, and then Anything But Me. Up to this
point, it seemed like just any other Phish show. A nice rocking Mike^�s
Groove to open the show, and a nice little ballad so that we can all catch
our breath. I almost tricked myself into believing that this was any
other show, that there would be more Phish after Coventry. But then, Trey
makes that announcement I mentioned before about being nervous at a Phish
show for the first time ever. A slap in the face. This is it folks.
Three more sets and they^�re done. Trey^�s nerves showed in the composed
part of Reba, not well executed. But as I said, who cares? The ending
part of Reba was soul moving. The Carini was nice surprise. No nerves
here. A downright evil version perfectly jammed into my least favorite
Phish song of them all- Chalkdust. But I was just so grateful to be
spending one last show with the band that has had such a profound impact
on my life, that even the Chalkdust was enjoyable. It was Phish, and it
didn^�t matter anymore what they played.
And besides, this jam became very un-Chalkdust like. It was very groove
oriented jamming. This went into a rocking Possum, and then the
Wolfman^�s.
I heard one of those classic lines from a Phish Phan soon after Page
started wailing on the funky clav. This guy next to us spontaneously
yells at the top of his lungs to no one in particular ^�See I told you
Page wasn^�t gay!^� This guy was so funny. He was tripping his balls off.
Set II opened predictably with Disease. This version went out there,
although maybe not as much as the one in Tweeter. But this one at least,
was able to triumphantly return to the dramatic Disease theme before
heading into more sick jamming. Now the part of the show that had
thousands in Vermont, and thousands more in movie theaters across the
country, standing in a puddle of tears. Page just couldn^�t sing Wading.
He tried once, was too broken up, got his self together, tried again, and
burst into tears. I looked at my girlfriend and she was bawling. Next
thing I know, so was I.
The Glide was a nice tribute to all of the phans who went through so much
to get there. ^�We^�re glad glad glad that you^�ve arrived.^� I was happy
to hear that. Not just for that reason, but also because I^�ve only seen
them play that song once before, and that was in 97.
It was after the Glide that things just got to be too much. First it was
Fishman thanking all of us for walking in; saying it was the biggest
compliment we could give. Then it was Trey, who got so emotional he burst
into tears, and so did tens of thousands of other people. This was
getting to be too much. I think we all needed to get it all out and have
a good cry. But I was hoping that the whole show wasn^�t going to be like
this. Then after the pool of tears, Trey apparently said something about
blowing off some steam, although I didn^�t actually hear that.
That was when the Split came. Not surprisingly, Trey had a hard time
singing it. I felt as if they were trying to get through the structured
part of the song so that they could ^�blow of their steam.^� It was all
about the jamming. That was their comfort zone. That was how they were
able to release all those overwhelming emotions that had been building up.
This jam was so powerful, so driven with emotion, it was almost too much.
I can^�t even put this jam into words. Unbelievable. Then the same with
Ghost. Trey completely flubbed the whole song. But again, I felt as if
they were just trying to get through the obligatory structured part of the
song so they could hurry up and get into their safety zone: the jamming.
Another powerful jam. They drew it out as long as they could, until
finally they realized they had to take a set break. Amazing. I^�m willing
to be that there was a lot of emotions, and a lot of tears backstage.
The final set of Phish music ever. I couldn^�t believe it. I only had
one more set and it was all over. It turned out to be the best of the
weekend. It opened strangely with Fast Enough. But that was it for the
slow songs. Next came 7 Below, with the very poignant lyric: ^�Splinter
and grow^� It^�s time for us all to splinter from the main tree, Phish,
and grow on our own, without Phish. It^�s like parents letting their
children go to be on their own. I guess this isn^�t the case for all
phans. But for my girlfriend and I at least, we both feel like we grew so
much as people during our years with Phish, and in many ways the music was
like a guide, a mentor. But now it^�s time for us to grow on our own.
Anyway, this 7 Below was not flubbed. Beautifully played, and beautifully
jammed. The jam was full of energy and full of life, giving me hope that
maybe they had moved on from the tearful part of the show, and moved onto
more energetic, more joy filled jamming. The trend continued with Simple,
and then Piper. A very well played, very well jammed version that got
into this really rocking grooving kind of jam that Trey turned into a
tribute to ^�Bruno^�, the band^�s monitor technician. This part of the
show was great for two reasons. One, after the tearfest in set II, it was
so good to see the band able to be their old silly selves, and to laugh
again. And it was good for me to laugh again too. It was a very nice
release. One more laugh with Phish. It was soooooo funny to hear Trey
sing ^�Every one do the Bruno. The latest Dance Craze. Turn the knob to
the left, turn the knob to the right,^� as he imitated the motions of
turning the monitor up and down. I laughed so hard and had so much fun.
The second reason that this was great was that this was a much better way
to pay tribute to the crew than the way I thought he was going to. I
thought that before the encore Trey was going to give this long sappy
speech thanking everyone and their mother like a bad Oscar acceptance
speech that goes on way too long. Meanwhile, the rest of the band starts
playing Oscar-like cutoff music to try to get him to shut up and
simulcasts across the country suddenly cut to commercial. The Bruno song,
and then the Dickie Scotland song that followed were much better ways to
pay tribute to the crew.
Trey seemed to feel a lot better too, after this release of laughter and
silliness. He had regained confidence as he said. ^�We have another old
friend we want to sing about. And we want you to help us- one last
time.^� The opening chords of Wilson. Then the chants of 65,000 people in
Coventry, and I imagined, thousands more in theaters. It was beautiful.
Then the most beautiful part of the entire weekend. My favorite Phish
song, and the one I^�ve been dying to hear again since I last saw it in
Big Cypress. Slave to the Traffic Light. No flubs. Just beautiful.
While it is impossible for any version of this song to top 7/4/99 in my
mind, this one came damned close. The climatic end jam moved through my
soul and moved my aching body like only a beautifully played Phish jam
can. I didn^�t want it to ever end. And I believe the band felt the
exact same way. On several occasions they had reached enough of a climax
where they could have easily ended the song. But they kept going, they
kept taking it higher and higher.
It was as if they didn^�t ever want to stop. They wanted to milk it for
every last possible note that they could. There may have been a tear in
my eye, but this time it was a tear of joy.
Now the last song. That mysterious second song that Trey had written
along with Bowie while locked away in a cabin near Coventry with only
Marley and his guitar to accompany him. Trey refreshed us on what he had
said the day before, and told us that they chose this to be the last Phish
song because they had come full circle. And now, he told us, here it is.
By this time I was 100% convinced that we were about to hear the opening
notes of Fluffhead. But I was stunned instead to hear the opening notes
of the Curtain! Out of all the possible last songs I had thought of this
one never even crossed my mind. And I don^�t know of anyone else who
predicted it either. I guess no one was really aware of how significant
this song was in the evolution of the band.
And guess what folks, by the end of the song, no one was happier than me
that they played this instead of Fluffhead. And that^�s the truth. Many
people in fact were quite unhappy that they didn^�t play Fluffhead. But
you know what, this was a much much better last song than Fluffhead.
We^�re talking about a silly song about some crazy guy on drugs. Is that
what you want the last song to be? Besides, they were clearly having
trouble with complicated songs that night, so you know they would have
flubbed it, and everyone would still have bitched. Compare that to The
Curtain With, a song which features the lines ^�Please we have no
regrets.^� It was very very surreal. I really felt strongly that the band
was speaking directly to us in song. ^�Please we have no regrets. And
you shouldn^�t either. It^�s okay. We^�re moving on. And you can too.
So now follow the lines going South and go out into the world and grow.
You don^�t need us any more.^� My friends jokingly pointed out the one
flaw in that interpretation is that it excludes the people who came down
from Canada. But how many of them were there really? 99% of us I think
were heading south after the show (and following the lines of traffic I
might add.)
It wasn^�t just the lyrics of this song, but the music of the ^�With^�
part also felt very right to me. It felt like the perfect goodbye music.
Trey felt the need to restart the slow Rift part to get it just right, but
I didn^�t think that was necessary. It was just perfect as is. After the
^�With^� part, the band drifted off into a brief ambient jam, as if trying
to get in every last note they could, because they knew when they stopped
playing, that was it. They were done. It was exactly how I wanted it to
end. I heard someone say that he thought it would be cool if they ended
it with a song like Reba where they just stopped on a dime and walked off
stage. The thought of that was horrifying to me. I wanted them to drag
it out for every last note they could, and gradually ease us into a life
without Phish. I could not have asked for a better ending.
An amazing weekend. Although, I admit, if you are judging it just based
on musicality, it was not as they say ^�a top ten show.^� But nor was it
bad as some people make it out to be. Musicly, I^�d say it was average- a
show without a lot of ups and downs, some great jams and not so great
playing. However, there was so much more to this show than just the
music. It is rivaled only by Big Cypress as one of the most profound,
most memorable Phish show experiences of my life. I am so grateful to
have had that one last experience with the band I love. Thank you so much
Phish for 61 of the greatest nights of my life. Onward with love.
Alex
[email protected]
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