12-5-99 -- BlueCross Arena, Rochester, New York

Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2000 13:12:01 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12-05-99 Blue Cross Arena
 
Since this was my first show of the December tour my expectations were high.
When I got to Rochester I was a little bummed out about the lots, they were
rather weak. Nonethless I was still at a Phish show. I think the band came on
around ten minutes after 8, I was predicting a PYITE opener, which still has
not made and appearance yet, but instead we got.....
 
CARINI: Great opener, this one really got me excited, the last Carini I saw
was in Great Woods this summer, so I was definitely pumped up for this one. A
little short on the jam but nice and tight. Next was....
 
GOTTA JIBOO: I can't think of a better new tune that Phish has busted out
yet, they seem to like playing Jiboo. Nice Jiboo nothing outstanding, but
right from the beggining the band seemed to be really having a good time.
 
GET BACK ON THE TRAIN: Well if Jiboo is the best new one this one is a close
second. This has become a solid first set tune that the boys like playing.
Good stuff so far and then....
 
TASTE: Haven't heard this one in a while. Sounded good to me, some nice
soloing by Trey and Page on this one. This was followed by....
 
BUG: Well, not much to say about Bug. I think its a great tune, they change
it every time I hear it though, which baffles me, lots of new stuff and
then....
 
SPARKLE: Sparkle is just one of those songs we all know it its just one of
those, had a cigarette, and waited for....
 
TUBE: Nice placement, good Tube, nothing Great. Trey went for his keyboard
for the jam which I'm not a big fan of. Followed by....
 
LAWN BOY: Always fun to see Page back and walking again. Nice tune but
strange placement.
 
GINSENG SULLIVAN: Talk about strange placement, this songs a good song for
the first set, but not this late, not to thrilled about this one....then
came...
 
TWIST AROUND: When the boys started this one up I was pumped, but about a
minute into the song Trey makes a huge flub and the song was "TWISTED"
around, I remember standing there and going "what the hell just happened?" I
guess its just beginning of the tour glitches as usual. The jam was good, but
weird set closer.
 
All in all this set started out with great promise and ended in ok fashion, I
give this set a 7.
 
My expectations for the first Mike's of the tour were running high, and the
boys delivered.... bam
 
MIKE'S SONG: Great Mike's, one of the best I've heard in a while, it reminded
me of old school Mike's, straight out rock, lots of Trey and Page on the jam
which led beautifully into....
 
MEATSTICK: Good segue, good version, great set so far and then.....
 
HYDROGEN: Always great to me, no Mike's is complete without it...or...
 
WEEKAPAUG: I was a little dissapointed in the start but it quickly picked up
and the jam saw Trey playing some screaming guitar...the set was off to a
good start and then.....
 
BRIAN AND ROBERT: Nothing too exciting here...had another cigarette...then
 
MAZE: Good solid maze, always fun to hear live.
 
JENNIFER DANCES: A good new song...a bit on the pop/catchy side but good, I
think as long as the boys don't overplay this one that it will be recieved
well, as far as I'm concerned, they killed Farmhouse by overplay, as well as
Caspian.
 
FLUFFHEAD: I was pretty sure that this was gonna end the set, and I was
alittle dissapointed. Some major league flubs in this one, wait till you hear
it on tape, some of the more complex parts were just so off, I think the boys
new it though because next came.....
 
CHALKDUST: Nice tight chalkdust, picked up the crowd a great deal after a
dissapointing Fluff, I was sure that Chalkdust was it ut then came.....
 
FRANKENSTEIN: Very nice placement, at this point the crowd was having a great
tim and so was the band, nearly perfect.
 
ENCORE~
CHARACTER ZERO: Good choice, kinda knew it was coming, and then...
HELLO MY BABY: Hopping for Freebird, but oh well.
 
Great set, I give this one a 9.
 
All in all this was a pretty good show, with some nice highlights.

Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 09:58:25 -0800
From: Matt Oram [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Rochester Comments

What happened to Phish.  Since their climactic year of 1997 the quality
of shows has been going downhill at a scary rate and 12-5 in Rochester
was just another in a string of ever-increasing poorly played shows.  The
first set had some decent highlights including the Jiboo, Tube, and
Taste, and a neat Twist Around, but nothing out-of-the ordinary.
Standard versions throughout.
I had very high expectations going into the second set however, but left
scratching my head wondering what's happened to Phish.  The Mike's that
opened had potential, it was mean for a while, full of power, and I was
happy to know that Simple had been played the night before so something
else was going to come out of Mike's.  They brought things way down and I
was really hoping for some more exploration into this Mike's when Trey
ABRUPTLY started Meatstick.  This wasn't really a segue, Trey just
decided to start Meatstick at the most in-opportune time.  Major buzz
kill.  Meatstick, however turned into a very powerful and intriguing jam
which quickly (too quickly) melted into Hydrogen.  Hydrogen is exactly
what I was hoping for to get things going again but it ended up
showcasing the demise of the bands' technical playing (especially Trey)
as they struggled from note to note to find a tune that somewhat
resembled Hydrogen. Trey was clueless and guessing the whole time.  VERY
poorly played, as are most Hydrogen's of recent times.  Mike was kicking
ass at the beginning of Weekapaug and I was hoping for big things, but
Weekapaug was completely standard.  Very average and short.  So they
completed a sub-par Mike's Groove so it was time for ...   ...   ....
...   ...   Brian and Robert??????  What!!  Terrible tune, but short.
Trey then mentioned that they loved playing in that Arena and they were
going to play a new tune.  Jennifer Dances is a basic pop tune.  Terrible
tune, it's sad to see their songwriting coming to this point but you
could see it coming for a while now.  Very dissapointing.  The Maze that
followed was the highlight of the night.  GREAT MAZE!!!  It seemed longer
than your standard Maze but I could be wrong.  Now came the point where
they could salvage the show with a well played Fluffhead, but instead, we
got a typical 99 Fluffhead.  This was an embarrassment for the band,
especially Trey, they can't play this tune any more, very sloppy, the
band wasn't tight by any means.  It was even worse than the Volney
Fluffhead, which, at the time, I thought was the worst thing I had ever
heard the band play.  And this coming from a guy who Loves the tune.
Trey basically stood picking his ass throught Fluff's Travels wondering
why he can't play their more technical tunes anymore.  This Travel's
showed very little resemblence to the actual tune.  I just can't
understand why Trey would start Fluffhead knowing that he can't play it,
they should put this tune away for a while until they can re-learn it,
along with plenty of their other technical tunes.  The Chalkdust that
followed was the shortest I had heard but well played and Frankenstien
was a welcomed treat to end the set.  Shitty encore that I could see
coming a mile away.
It's sad that most fans will love a tune like Fluffhead just because it's
Fluffhead, and pay no attention to the quality of the performance.
Rochester was a below average show with the worst Fluffhead I have ever
heard, simple as that.  Not a single open jam that lasted more than ten
minutes all night.
It was a decent rock concert, but a not-so-hot Phish show.
Thanks for reading and sorry if you disagree, but when you get your
Rochester tapes, take a listen to the Clifford Ball Fluffhead then listen
to the Rochester version and maybe you'll see what I'm saying if you
don't already.
Matt 

Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 16:32:18 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12-05-99: Blue Cross Arena; Rochester, NY

Although the concert was a full work week ago, for some reason I am NOW
inspired to say a few words about it.  Plus, doesn't everyone love hearing
what someone has to say about their first Phish show?

I think that overall I was truly amazed w/ the show, especially the job
that Kuroda does w/ the lights.  It's an aspect of the overall performance
you don't get from listening to tapes, making him in my mind the fifth
member of the band when they're live.  Maybe it was that magical grilled
cheese sandwich (I got mine w/o garlic -- the guy wasn't too upset) I ate
in the parking lot that helped me enjoy the lighting more, but regardless,
I can't wait to see what cK has in store for us at 11:59:59 p.m. down in
FL. Being my first show, I of course thought it was the greatest
experience of my life (also possibly due to the sandwich).  However, after
reading everyone else's $0.02 on this show, does this mean that it only
gets better?

The first set had a lot of positive energy I felt, and the choice of jams
was perfect for me b/c I hadn't heard most of them before that night.  
The middle section (Taste, Bug, Sparkle, Tube) was unreal.  That's where I
really got into the jam.  Towards the end of Sparkle I thought I was
losing my mind -- perhaps I was. Twist was a great way to end the set; it
had something that Lawn Boy and Ginseng were missing.

It was nothing but perfect opening the second set w/ a Mike's -> ... .  A
lot of the tapes I've heard have Mike's Song -> ... -> Weekapaug, so I
knew I was in for a treat.  But, what surprised me was the abrupt segue
into Meatstick -- it seemed like they were bored and wanted to quickly
open the next song. Sucks that I didn't know the dance prior to the show.  
Tons of energy throughout Hydrogen into Weekapaug, but everyone seemed to
lose interest at the beginning of Brian/Robert.  I sat down for the first
time all night. When Trey announced that he had a new song for the fans I
was pretty excited -- so was everyone else.  It was the first time the
entire night that I felt like I was in the same boat as everyone else.  
Jennifer Dances sounded like something I might catch on the radio sometime
this summer, but I did name my purchase from the lots "Jennifer" in honor
of the whole experience. Maze was unreal, but something was missing from
Fluffhead.  They struggled through it as though they hadn't played it
since they recorded it in the '80s. Just when I was about to sit down
'cause I thought the set was over for sure, they let us have two more.  
Chalk Dust seemed weak just like Fluffhead, but they ended the set on a
very VERY positive note w/ Frankenstein. Incredible artistry from Kuroda.

The encore seemed weak, but I loved how they ended it all w/ a little a
cappella on Hello My Baby.  The sight of everyone on the floor running up
to the foot of the stage like Trey was handing out gold bars was
interesting. I'm certain at least three people were killed or severely
injured in the stampede.  Great first show for me.  A new Phish fan is
born every day. See you all in Big Cypress

--
Ian

Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 12:26:42 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12-5-99 rochester review
 
aFter going to The last night of albany with high hopes and a weak show i was
wondering what would go down....this was gonna be fun because rochester is
only 2 hours from binghamton which wasnt to bad. i went in with no hopes just
wanting to have fun with my friends whatever they gave us i would try to be
happy with
set 1:
Carini-hell yeah! this was a great version that really got the crowd going i
was hoping for a long punch but was just as pleased to see carini
Jiboo-i was hoping to hear this. this is one of my favorite new songs and i
am glad to see they have it in rotation, its not as good as the Trey version
with the sick jam in the middle but its still great to have all of them
playin it
Get Back On the Train-Last time I heard this was in long island, nice song
but not one of my favorites
Taste-your basic taste nothin special
Bug-another new song, it's nice alot of people i heard moan and bitch about
it but i think its pretty good
sparkle-hey what can i say its sparkle nothin new here
TUBE!!!-yes i was soooooo happy to here it! It wasn't cut short and it was
nice and funky, i saw trey say it to the band which was the best idea he had
all night
Lawn Boy-nice to see page up again doing the walk good version
ginseng-strage placement but thats just how shit is now phat to here this tune
Twist-what a way to end the set nice long twist keeps u spinnin
i give the set an 8.5 a lot of fun, excellent Carini, Jiboo and Tube that
made my day
2nd set
Mike's- kinda obious but very welcome in any case never can get sick of
mike's sounded real old school rockin it out
Meatstick-good placement this was a good meatstick and the dance looks like
its dying down
hydrogen-pretty standard thumbs up
weekapaugh-i love the bass mike's the shit in this great version
brain and robert- i dont dislike this song but its always a good time to run
to the potty during this
Jennifer Dances- new song, pretty catchy. they say something about workers in
the fields and jennifer dances .alot of people didnt like it much or at least
those i spoke about it with id rather hear this over my soul or caspian any
day
Maze-new it was comin because there was a ballon up front with maze on it
they obviously saw it and said what the hell, pretty standard
Fluffhead-sweet not the best version but i luv fluff i though this would end
the set but...
chalkdust-not done yet they went into
frankenstein- nice version and they jammed it out nice fishman was goin nuts
great seti give it a 9 and i was so pumped for the encore....
and it ends up being badadadadadadada this is the worst fuckin encore they
could pick im sorry to bitch i know you guys are all sick of bitchin and i
try not to but it is a weak fuckin song that has not been over played its
overkilled. i think phish likes to piss off the fans once and a while because
the people around me were like oh what the fuck
then hello my baby-at least they salvaged the rest of the show its cool to
see all the people move right in front of them like ants swarming to food
great show it totally made up for the horrible albany show i saw i went home
happy:)


Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 02:29:47 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Rochester 12-5-99 Review

Since this was my first show of the December tour my expectations were
high. When I got to Rochester I was a little bummed out about the lots,
they were rather weak. Nonethless I was still at a Phish show. I think the
band came on around ten minutes after 8, I was predicting a PYITE opener,
which still has not made an appearance yet, but instead we got.....

CARINI: Great opener, this one really got me excited, the last Carini I
saw was in Great Woods this summer, so I was definitely pumped up for this
one. A little short on the jam but nice and tight. Next was....

GOTTA JIBOO: I can't think of a better new tune that Phish has busted out
yet, they seem to like playing Jiboo. Nice Jiboo nothing outstanding, but
right from the beggining the band seemed to be really having a good time.

GET BACK ON THE TRAIN: Well if Jiboo is the best new one this one is a
close second. This has become a solid first set tune that the boys like
playing. Good stuff so far and then....

TASTE: Haven't heard this one in a while. Sounded good to me, some nice
soloing by Trey and Page on this one. This was followed by....

BUG: Well, not much to say about Bug. I think its a great tune, they
change it every time I hear it though, which baffles me, lots of new stuff
and then....

SPARKLE: Sparkle is just one of those songs we all know it its just one of
those, had a cigarette, and waited for....

TUBE: Nice placement, good Tube, nothing Great. Trey went for his keyboard
for the jam which I'm not a big fan of. Followed by....
                                                        

LAWN BOY: Always fun to see Page back and walking again. Nice tune but
strange placement.

GINSENG SULLIVAN: Talk about strange placement, this songs a good song for
the first set, but not this late, not to thrilled about this one....then
came...

TWIST AROUND: When the boys started this one up I was pumped, but about a
minute into the song Trey makes a huge flub and the song was "TWISTED"
around, I remember standing there and going "what the hell just happened?"
I guess its just beginning of the tour glitches as usual. The jam was
good, but weird set closer.

All in all this set started out with great promise and ended in ok
fashion, I give this set a 7.

My expectations for the first Mike's of the tour were running high, and
the boys delivered.... bam

MIKE'S SONG: Great Mike's, one of the best I've heard in a while, it
reminded me of old school Mike's, straight out rock, lots of Trey and Page
on the jam which led beautifully into....

MEATSTICK: Good segue, good version, great set so far and then.....

HYDROGEN: Always great to me, no Mike's is complete without it...or...

WEEKAPAUG: I was a little dissapointed in the start but it quickly picked
up and the jam saw Trey playing some screaming guitar...the set was off to
a good start and then.....

BRIAN AND ROBERT: Nothing too exciting here...had another cigarette...then

MAZE: Good solid maze, always fun to hear live.

JENNIFER DANCES: A good new song...a bit on the pop/catchy side but good,
I think as long as the boys don't overplay this one that it will be
recieved well, as far as I'm concerned, they killed Farmhouse by overplay,
as well as Caspian.

FLUFFHEAD: I was pretty sure that this was gonna end the set, and I was
alittle dissapointed. Some major league flubs in this one, wait till you
hear it on tape, some of the more complex parts were just so off, I think
the boys new it though because next came.....

CHALKDUST: Nice tight chalkdust, picked up the crowd a great deal after a
dissapointing Fluff, I was sure that Chalkdust was it ut then came.....

FRANKENSTEIN: Very nice placement, at this point the crowd was having a
great tim and so was the band, nearly perfect.

ENCORE~
CHARACTER ZERO: Good choice, kinda knew it was coming, and then...
HELLO MY BABY: Hopping for Freebird, but oh well.

Great set, I give this one a 9.

All in all this was a pretty good show, with some nice highlights. Cant
wait for philly.

Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 19:49:56 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Amazing

    I cant believe that anyone could say that Rochester was a bad show.
Before Cinncinatti I hadn't seen a show since Toronto. I think that summer
tour was the same show over and over. I thought if I heard Guyute or Ghost
one more time I would puke. To me Rochester was a breath of fresh air.
Maybe because it was the only show around home that Ive seen but my
friends all gave the same response after the show,"WOW". I finally heard
my first Sparkle and that Maze was crazy. What is NYE going to be
like.Cant wait!


Date: Tue, 07 Dec 1999 03:09:42 -0500
From: [RT]
To: [email protected]
Subject: ROCHESTER REVIEW

Alright, while you're listening to the first set keep in mind I had to be
in Baltimore by 11:00 Monday moring. OK

Lot was pretty beat.  Was making me look foward to the spectrum.

Was hopin for a Punch or Tube opener and got CARINI:  Cool tune always
like hearin it but didn't really rock like I wanted the opener too.

JIBOO:  Definately one of the cooler new tunes.  I enjoyed it but still
wanted somethin moore jammin.

GET BACK ON. . .:  I love this song, but poor placement.

TASTE:  Before the tour I was thinking about how its been a long time
since I heard it.  Thought it was sweet. . . little loose but that seems
to be the style now a days and I though tit was phat.

BUG:  Loveed it and think its an awesome tune, bad placement.

TUBE: YEAH!  Should've been played earlier but always fun.  I was stoked
when it started and there was a phatty jam!

LAWN BOY:  Fun still lookin for somethin a little more. . .

GINSENG:  Never was a fan

TWIST AROUND:  Definately one of my favorote tunes, once again I wished I
was dancin harder before set break.

Right now I was kinda wonderin if the hassle to go to Rochester was worth
the hassle.  I kinda felt like the next set was gonna rock because the
first was so low key then we get a MIKES:  Fuckin A man this rocked.  One
of the best mikes I've heard in a while.  Mike was strong in the first set
but he was layin it down in the second.  They finally got everyone movin
and it was nice

MEATSTICK:  Thought they were gonna go into simple for a sec. . . and when
meatstick came it was nice. . . sweet jam

HYDROGEN:  Nice

WEEKAPAUGH:  Started off a little weak and ended up in the right place.
They really came together at the end and everyone was movin.  All in all
Mikes groove wasn't that tight but it was a lottta fun.

BRAIN AND ROBERT:  One of my more favorable slow tunes, and I enjoyed the
cigarrette

JENIFER DANCES:  I really like a lot of Phishes newer slow shit, and dug
this tune as well.

MAZE:  Nice. . .maze is always fun, and with mikes groove endin so early I
thought that might've been the ball game and I have to admit I wouldn't
have been all that disappointed cause the second set was cool so far

FLUFFHEAD:  Right on, this was phat. . . not as tight as it used to be but
I thought it was one of the cooler fluffheads I've heard, I had a big
smile on my face

CHALKDUST:  I've heard this song at so many shows.. . .they jammed it out
really hard with a little help from mike, probably because he called it,
nice little bonus until

FRANKENSTIEN:  AWESOME!  fishman called it and it was right on.  Everyone
was stoked for the encore Trey played his fisher price keyboard

E:  CHARACTER 0/ HELLO. . .:  Alright it was a phat show but I still can't
wait for philly

tumes

Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 21:12:30 -0800
From: jsingh [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: rochester show

this was my first show and all i have to say it was awesome .the people
who i went with said it was the best phish show they ever saw and theyve
seen many phish shows. the song that rocked the most had to have been
meat stick i wish i knew the dance or i would have joined along.and when
trey said this is one of his favorite places to play the crowd went
wild...


Date: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 13:46:56 PST
From: Josh Cohen [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: Rochester Review (short)
 
Just a few general thought about the Band:
 
Obviously a great set list, but how about the music?
 
First set was fairly tight with the notable exception of Taste.  Trey wore a
black touque for the first few songs and opened with a badass Carini.  Jiboo
was definately a higlight as in Albany.  Overall great song selection with a
surprisingly tight Ginseng.  Highlight of the set was definately Tube.
Twist was fragmented in the middle, perhaps by design, but many of us lost
interest there for a while.
 
Second set, well, pretty damn good.  Mike's started slowly but man, did it
ever get going.  Probably the highlight of the show for this hombre.  Sloppy
into Meatstick and into H2O, but the H20 turned out to be really sweet.
Despite everything else I have read, the Paug never got going and I kept
waiting for them to really take off.  Trey just couldn't nail it.  Probably
the weakest part of the 'heavyweights' in the second set.  I won't bother
with the the fillers.... Maze was also pretty tame, but it was obvious that
they were saving it up for the incredible Fluffhead-Chalkdust-Frankenstein
to close.  Has to be one of the best Franks around, Fishman's entrance for
the finale after the feedback was incredible.  Lights as usual, fantastic.
 
Overall, the band wanted to give Rochester something special on their fourth
straight night of playing and managed to pull it off.  But don't get me
wrong, this wasn't a 3rd set Oswego or 1st night Albany, just a nice sweet
one to tie some of us over until FLA.
 
-JC

Date: Thu, 09 Dec 1999 10:58:51 EST
From: Shain Shapiro [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Review 12.5.99
 
Well, This is my phirst phish show ever, and I guess even though I have like
100 shows on tape, I couldn't even dream of what I went through.  First, I
drove all the way from Toronto for this show. Got home at 4AM and was at
school the next day at 8AM. Second, I want to say that all the people were
very friendly, and the vibe was incredible.  The parking lot was sick, and I
was transformed.  Now, on to the show.  I thought it was amazing, and
parallel to Auburn Hills.  It was insane, the lighting was insane and I was
impressed.
 
Carini- Wow! What a way to open. I loved it. Very high energy.
 
Gotta Jiboo- Third time hearing it and It's now one of favourite songs. I
loved it.
 
Get Back On The Train- It was very cool, not the highlight, but nice to
hear.  It has a very bluesy feeling to it and I like that. Everyone seemed
to be into it.
 
Taste- INSANE! Must have been 25 minutes long, and it just keeping rockin'.
It was incredible and high energy. The boys were into this one.
 
Bug- It doesn't matter! it's a great tune, I loved it.
 
Sparkle- Didn't need to hear it, but it's a happy song, and fun. I enjoyed
it.
 
Tube- INSANE! Such a spacey jam in Tube. I was dancing my ass off to this
one. I loved it.
 
Lawn Boy- Nice to hear, Page shaked Mike's hand during the song, very funny.
 
Ginseng- Again, a Mike showcase tune.  It was very cool, rather of had Paul
and Silas or Poor Heart, but a nice tune none-the-less.
 
Twist- Incredible! Incredible! wow!
 
Setbreak- very cool. about 45 minutes long.  I needed the break to get ready
for the awesome second set.
 
Mike's-Weekapaug-  Unbelieveable. Meatstick dance, incredible well jammed
Mike's, long Hydrogen, upbeat Weekapaug. Great segues.
 
Brain- Nice to hear, beautiful.
 
Jenn Dances-  I liked it, if Phish has a single on the radio, this is it.
Very mainstream but very nice.
 
The rest of the show was unbelieveable, the maze, fluff, chalkdust,
farnkenstein.  It just never ended! It was spacey and funky. I loved it.
 
Encore- Very cool, would of rather heard Peaches or Walk Away, but it was
very high energy zero and cool ragtime. I loved it.
 
Well, overall the best experience of my life and I will defenitly be going
to many more in my life. peace. anyone have this show, please mial me.
http://thrill.to/phattapes

Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 21:05:09 -0500
From: bobnrobn [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Shorty Roch. Review

I know this is a little late, but its the first chance I got to express
my XXXX....I've only been to 10 shows, but I have to say that roch. was
one of the sickest I've seen so far.  Albany was my last, so I was hoping
for a ripper and I got it.Yes, its true, they didn't play any half- hour
jams, but the selection was impressive......carini....never heard
live......jiboo....great new song...hope to hear it more often. Tube was
great....that was just about the highlight of the 1st set, until the
drugs kicked in during twist and I lost my XXXX. During
intermission,I met this girl, and we ditched our freinds and went off to
have our own time. I don't think I've ever been more stoked.....drugs,
girls, and as I was going back into the stadium,I heard the beginning of
Mike's song. I knew this set would be insane. Meatstick is always a
treat. Last time I heard it was Oswego. Hydrogen, Weekapaug of course,
Maze was pretty cool.....fluff was short but always welcome, and
frankenstein......need I say more? Encore pretty much sucked, but overall
the show was great. The girl I met might join me if I get enough $ for
NYE, but if not, we're gonna catch a good run of shows this summer.
Peace....
P.G. 


Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 15:57:01 -0500 (EST)
From: Anthony Bonura [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: Review for 12-5-99 Show

O.K., this was my first Phish show, so I really didn't know what to
expect.  One thing I did notice about the show (and maybe 'cause it was my
first), is that once they got into a song (with the exception of a few
shorter ones), I completly forgot what song it was!  They just jammed
everything out beyond belief, phenominal show!

They got off to a slammin' start with Carini, really got the croud pumped
up.

Jiboo was cool, 'cause I had never heard it before.

Same thing with Get Back on the Train.

Taste was just plain DOPE!

Bug was also another new one to me, but very cool.

Sparkle was Sparkle, but definatly a surprise (I don't know why, but it
was)

Tube was DEFINATLY the highlight of the first set, very long, very funky,
and very cool.

Lawn Boy was nice, but almost put me to sleep ;-)

Ginseng Sullivan was yet another new one for me, as was Twist, both pretty
good.

Between sets, everybody was dancing the Meatstick!!!  They must have heard
us, 'cause right after they played a phatty Mike's Song, they went right
into a phatty Meatstick.

Hydrogen was cool, but I didn't even realize they played it (I don't know
where I was ;-)

Weekapaug was PHAT!!!  Mike's jam in the begining was insane.  To top it
off, the lighting effects made it look like he was the only person on
stage (or perhaps it was my own lighting effects?).

Brian and Robert was in a pretty bad spot, it just brought the mood
plummeting, and I think everybody who had a seat sat down (I did).

Then they announced that they enjoyed playing in Rochester, and they had a
new song for us!  Jennifer Dances, was plesant, upbeat, and unfortunatly
somewhat repetative.  Aside from the fact that they said "Jeffifer Dances"
about 50 times in the song, it was pretty good.

I don't remember Maze too well, I got lost (really). 

Ok, so Maze rocked the house

Out of nowhere came Fluffhead, and I said "Holy shit it's Fluffhead!"  And
this is probably the reason that I'm writing this review.  I'm sorry to
all you Phish Phans out there that thought the Fluffhead at this show was
horrible, but it was GOD DAMN DOPE!  I don't care about technical songs,
or what the songs are SUPPOSED to sound like from other concerts, or of
the albums.  Phish is all about the JAM, and they jammed the shit out of
Fluffhead.  So what if it wasn't "technical" or even if Trey couldn't play
it exactly as he played it on Junta, it's still Fluffhead, and it still
rocked!

Sorry, moving on now,

For all those people who thought Fluffhead sucked, they came right back
with Chalkdust Torture.  Everyone was back on their feet, and it was an
outstanding version.

Frankenstein was cool, but probably not the best way to bring the set to a
close, even still it was jammin'

Character Zero was nothin special, they probably could have played
something better, but I'm not complaining.

Hello My Baby was yet another unexpected song, but very well done.  And it
was interesting to see all the people on the floor flocking towards the
stage.

All-in-all I'm not the least bit disappointed with the actual performance,
my only complaint is that there were some minor (very minor) technical
problems with the show.  Every once in a while there was a minor
distortion with Trey's pedals (sounded like some kind of static), and
obviously wasn't planned.  It came to a head in the very begining of Brian 
and Robert, when there was at least a full second of static, and upon
review of recordings of the concert, you can actually hear:  "static....."
then all of the people saying "Ohhhhhh" when the static subsided.

Anyway on a final note, recognition is due to whoever performed the
lighting for the show.  The only word I can muster is WOW!

Tony

*************************
* Anthony Bonura        *
* Vice President        *
* elusiv Productions    *
* PO Box 297            *
* Henrietta, NY 14467   *
* Phone:  (716) 317-7463*
************************* 

"eP, what you should expect from your ISP!"   

Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 01:27:23 -0500
From: Scott Bender [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: phish

i went to Phish in Rochester, and it was a bomb show.  the lights were
amazing and the jams were excellent.  the second set was my favorite
because they jammed hard.  Weekapaug,mikes song,meatstick,etc.(not in
order)anyway, i am bored and i was checking out the phish.net page and i
got your link.  later on bro
                                fellow phish head (show kid) 


Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 15:23:25 -0500
From: Anthony Fappiano [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12-5-99 Rochester
 
Hey,
        Well I'm done with classes for the day and it wasn't easy to make it to
those classes cause i'm still so beat from last night.  I think that anyone
who went to the show last night would have to agree that General Admission
is the way to go.  While it wouldn't always work at some of the bigger
venues, it is perfect for the cozy confines of the Blue Cross Arena.  I'm
not sure how many it seats, but it is tiny compared to places like Albany,
MSG, and even Hartford.  Seeing as how we had no assigned seats, we decided
to catch the first set on the floor and then find some seats for the second
set.  This was my 14th show and my friend's 4th.  Needless to say he's not
die-hard yet, but he's certainly getting there in a hurry.  Anywya, the
only thing that kind of sucks about GA is the wait before the show starts.
We got in at aorund 6:15 and the show didn't go off until 8:00 sharp.  So
that meant an hour and forty-five minutes of sititng around and trying to
amuse ourselves.  Atleast the security was cool.  I'd go so far as to say
that this was some of the coolest security I've ever seen.  As a group next
to us passed a bowl around before the show started the security guard
standing only five feet away form them asked them to kindly " please put
that out until the lights go down...".  This was alot different from the SS
guards working the Pepsi Arena in Albany.  Ok, on to the show.
 
1. Carini
A welcome suprirse in the opening spot.  I thought for sure we'd be getting
a chalkdust opener tonight, but I'd always much rather hear Carini.
Sounded a little extra hard and loud tonight.  We had a perfect view of the
light show and everything sounded great form our spot right in front of the
soundboard.
2. Gotta Jiboo
Again, I was a little surprised since they already played this once on tour
and also played for the tour ender in Albany back in October.  But there is
absolutley no reason to not love this song.  It is just fucking awesome.
Played it last night with an extremely high energy level that the crowd
seemed to feed off of.
3. Get Back on the Train
First time I'd heard this since Great Woods.  It's a tight song with a
great back beat.  This one I think will beocme a regualr for years to come.
 It just seems to fit the band very nicely.
4. Taste
Started off slow, the jam just kinda lingered for awhile, but eventually
built up.  Turned out to be one of the best songs of the first set.  This
is a classic song the sums up the sound of Phish IMHO.
5. Bug
Great, great, great song.  I have no doubt that this song will eventually
become a sing-along.  The chorus is just so damn packed with energy.  Alot
of people didn't recognize it but as ties goes by I'm sure more and more
people will begin to love Bug.
6. Sparkle
This is one of those songs that when I hear it I kind of wish they weren't
playing it...But the fact is that everyone loves Sparkle.  People love to
sing along, and dance real fast during the fast part.  So as much as I
could've used something else in the place of Sparkle, I could live with it.
7. Tube
My first Tube (I mean this is the first time I've ever heard Tube, not like
my First Tube :-) ).  It was quick but tight and agian filled with energy.
8. Lawn Boy
If you don't enjoy this one then you're a sick bastard!  Watching Page
prance around like Dean Martin at the Sands is one of the funniest things I
have ever seen.  This was the first time I saw this up close and really got
a chance to look at all of their facia expressions.  Page looks like he's
taking it so seriously and the rest of the band looks as though they're on
the verge of cracking up any second.  Trey more or less cracks up thoughout
the whole song.
9. Ginseng Sullivan
The first set was a nice mix of Trey songs, Lawn Boy to showcase Page, and
Ginseng Sullivan for Mike.  I haven't heard this one in awhile so it was
fun.
10. Twist
Extremely cool song finishes off an extremely cool first set.  We were
blown away at this point and we knew the best was yet to come.
 
Set break:
We sorta walked around the venue and met up with some other friends who
hooked us up with phat seats about 15 rows up right next to Trey.  We were
real close to the Helicopter Hat guy who always tries to get people to do
the wave, but lately has been instead trying to get people to do the
Meatstick Dance.  He had only limited success.  I told my buddy to take the
money to betting window.  We were getting a Mike's Opener.  Absoultely no
doubt about it.  Sure enough...
Second Set
1. Mike's
I was so psyched that I called it I didn't even really hear the first
minute or so of the song.  But the I began to foucs and I had one of those
moments.  Closed my eyes, and just rode the groove.  No song is capapble of
producing those groove-moments better than Mike's Groove.  Needless to say
this was a fantastic Mike's.  The energy level remained at a maximum which
suprised me a bit since this was their fourth in four days.  But hey who am
I to question?
2.Meatstick
I'm sure Helicopter Hat guy was psyched.  I was too since this was my first
Meatstick.  I learned the dance from watching people during setbreak so I
had no problem joining in.  Meatstick is right up there with secret
language when it comes to Phish lore.  I hope they break the record on NYE.
3. I am Hydrogen
It's never truly a Mike's Groove without hydrogene in the middle
sompeplace.  Trey screwed up pretty badly druing this one...but it didn't
take anything away from it.
4. Weekapaug
The best part about putting hydrogen in the middle of Mike's is that when
it ends you can turn to your friends and say "are you ready?" just before
they go into Wekkapaug...This will undoubtedly take the novice fan by
suprise and it will just fire up the experienced fan.  Weekapaug was
intense with a great ending.  All and all this was one fo the beeter Mike's
Groove's I've heard.  Right up ther with NYE 98 though not quite as tight
and the Weekapaug was slower.  But stilll kick-ass none the less.
5. Brian and Robert
At this point I was beginning to get impatien.  I wanted a Fluffhead.  As I
noted to anyone who would listen before the show "I buy all the albums, I
got to all the concerts, is it too much to ask for one
Fluffhead!?!"...Interestingly enough I was right in front of the sound
board when I was saying this rather loudly so maybe Paul heard me and sent
it in....We'll never know I guess.  In any case, Brian and Robert was
boring as usual.  I really wish they would hang this one up.
6. Jenifer Dances
New song.  Pretty nice. VERY top 40.  If ever Phish wrote a song that could
crack the charts, this is it.  This is their Touch of Grey so to speak.
But who knows, maybe the next time they play it it'll be re-worked with a
Fishman vacuum solo. Just before this song Trey remarked that the Arena was
one of their favorite places to play.  That the people backstage was really
cool etc...
7. Maze
What?! First Briand and Robert and now Maze?! What're they thinking about?
To it's credit this was actually a pretty interesting version of the song,
but it's never been a favorite of mine.  The jam just never seems to take
off.  I noted that Fluffhead would have been a much better choice....
8. FLUFFHEAD!!!!!
I was kind of halfway sitting down by the end of Maze, but as soon as Trey
started with those opening chords I grabbed my buddy and screamed
"FLUFFHEAD!!!  This is fucking Fluffhead!!!"  Which looking back now, I was
merely stating the obvious.  But hey I was fired up.  I hadn't heard
Fluffhead since Lemonwheel and it had been a LONG time since then.
Obviously the highlight was the pills line with the entire arena screaming
it out with Trey and Mike.  But the jam was fantastic as well.  Leading
back to the climax.  Just outstanding.  The addition of this song put this
show over the top for me.  Before Fluffhead it was just a solid show with a
good set list and some solid jams.  But Fluffhead pushed this show into
cosmic proportions and it is now on my top 4 list.  (14 shows ain't much,
but it's decent since '97 was my first).
9. Chalkdust
I knew we'd get it eventually.  And it was welcomed with open arms.  I
though the roof was gonna come off once everyone realized what song it was.
 The floor was jumping with energy and evryone who knew the words sang
along.  A fun tune anyway you slice it.
10.  Frankenstein
I thought for sure they'd end it with Chalkdust but they hooked us up with
one more.  This was a great Frankenstein.  CK5 was alive and well in this
song.  He did some really cool stuff with the lights particulalry thhe
yellow circles.
This wrapped up the best set I've seen since the second set of 7-12-99.
 
Encore:
1. Character Zero
I figured we'd get a Cavern or a Haley's but alas, only a Character Zero.
This is a great song no doubt, but I've now heard it at 7 shows.  50%.  So
I wanted something different but it was still a fun sing-along as it always
is.
2. Hello My Baby
It was cool to watch as the crowd on the floor made a mad dash to the front
of the stage for this one.  Acapella is a great way to end a show.  And
this was a classic.
 
I'm really glad that my last show for awhile was so grand.  I won't be able
to make it to NYE and Hartford and Providence are during finals (fuck
college)  I'm still buzzing from Fluffhead and I'm pretty sore the day
after from all the dancing.  But last night was a great, great show.  Get
the tape ASAP if you weren't there.  Later.
 
-A.F.
Everything you could ever want to know about Syracuse University at:
http://www.insideguide.com/syracuse/index.html

Date: Thu, 9 Dec 1999 13:47:25 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review:12.05.99  Rochester NY Blue Cross Arena
 
Let me begin this by saying that there's nothing like going to a big show in
your back yard.  I live literally down the street from the Blue Cross Arena,
and it is a great feeling to just be able to walk down the block to see
Phish.  That might have clouded my opinion, from what I've read, my take is
different from other peoples' take.  Oh well.  Here goes:
I:  Carini, Gotta Jiboo, GBOTT, Taste, Bug, Sparkle, Tube, Lawn Boy, Ginseng
Sullivan, Twist Around
II:  Mike's Song>MEATSTICK>I Am Hydrogen>Weekapaug Groove, Brian & Robert,
Jennifer Dances, Maze, Fluffhead, Chalkdust, Frankenstein
E:  Character Zer0, Hello My Baby
Carini:  This was a surprise opener, but a welcome one.  As a rock N roll
addict, I love hard jams, and this is a good one
Gotta Jiboo:  I just about freaked out when I figured out what they were
playing.  I love the song off Trey's solo tapes, and I didn't see any fall
shows ;( so I hadn't heard the songs in Phish time.  PHAT!!  And the lights
for this one...I want whatever Kuroda was on that night.
GBOTT:  This is hands down Phish's best new song.  It's got a good pace and a
great beat.  This version was no exception, better than GW and Oswego
Taste:  For some damn reason, I can't listen to this song on a tape unless
it's at volume level 10.  Live and In Person, this song is the bomb.
Bug:  I was getting beer when they began this ditty, and the line was
something else, let me tell you.  I was grooving in the halls,
though...."BUG!  It doesn't matter..."
Sparkle:  Generally, I avoid Sparkle when listening to tapes and I haven't
heard it LIVE since Buffalo, '96.  Happy to hear it again, just not as much
as it used to be played.
Tube:  YES!!  YES!!  YES!!  SO STUPENDOUS!!  Better than the Tube on
HCA...truly.
Lawn Boy:  I love it when Page stands up.  He's just so damn TALL
Ginseng Sullivan:  This is about when I began to realize that this is as
tight as I've ever heard Phish play.  This song is sweet and anyone who
thinks differently, while entitled to their own opinion, can kiss my.....
Twist Around:  I don't know anyone who doesn't like this song.  They played
this one phat as hell.  Great Song, Great Jam
 
Mike's Song:  Regular, a little short, but nothing short of Bombastic.
MEATSTICK:  My boy Johnnie had pointed out during setbreak a group of heads
on the floor doing it up with the dance, so I had to rock it out.  Good call,
whoever that was.
I'm H2>Weekapaug:  H2 was especially fluid; the vibe of it was great.
Weekapaug rocked the house.  Noone was seated except the dreadlocks behind
and to the right of me.
Brian $ Robert:  Beer Break
Jennifer Dances:  Let me say that Trey, I was honored to host you in one of
the best rooms you've ever played in.  Honored.  Secondly, I could have sworn
that he said the song was titled "The Workers," but everyone is calling it
Jennifer Dances.  GOOD song.  You haters out there who booed BATR right out
of the rotation and are trying to do the same for Farmhouse need to lighten
up to this.  It's a GREAT song.  Melodious and beautiful...
MAZE:  YEAH!!  Phat!!  You'll never get out of this maze!
Fluffhead:  First Fluff for me since Elvis Week with the Pranksters at Darien
Lake.  Classic song.  Jammed well.
Chalkdust:  I thought they would end with Fluff.  I was wrong.  I sat down in
exhaustion for about twenty seconds of this song, but the strength of the
playing forced me back up.  I was sweating like a crackhead in
withdrawal...couldn't stop dancing...figured that this would end the set.
Again, Kuroda must have been peaking or something.
Frankenstein:  This is when I decided that they were trying to kill me.  I
felt like I could barely move, yet I somehow managed to keep dancing...SMOKIN.
E:  Character Zer0:  Good and rocked out, not my favorite, but a crowd
pleaser and it fit well with the show's feel.
Hello My Baby:  I wouldn't have wanted to be on the floor for this, as
everyone pushed up to the stage as they gathered around Mike's Mic.  Had to
quiet down the kiddies who had no idea what was going on.  Nice...as usual.
 
Overall, this show smoked!!  If you like rocking songs, as Sam Kinison would
say, "I like music that just kicks you in the #$@%ing face," then you would
loooove this show.  The vibe was good and the playing was tight.  Whatever
the naysayers say, Phish is playing as well now as they have ever been, and
it makes me look forward with baited breath not only to New Years, but to how
they're going to sound when they come off their well deserved break.  Out of
a possible 10, I give this show a 10.  AMEN.
PS-As an added sidenote...many will be thrilled to read that while there were
many Glowrings and Glowsticks in the audience, and several were thrown, there
wasn't a bona fide "Glowstick War."  At last we are making headway.


Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 02:42:50 -0500
From: mike [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: phish 12/5/99

well, for a first show, i must say it was a great time!! can't wait to
get the tapes to hear this one again, even with it's mistakes... i was on
the floor for the whole show, and i don't think i ever stopped moving-
both sets and the setbreak i was grooving in some way shape or form. i've
got hundreds of hours on tape, so i knew what i was looking for and
hoping for, but took what we got in stride, and loved every minute of it.

pre show stuff:
my friend, who was to be my "guide" for the evening, convinced me that
"man, ya can't go to a phish show and not have grilled cheese!!" so we
hit the lots seeking grilled cheese. finding no grilled cheese, and very
little goin on in the lots, we ended up inside looking for something to
munch on. no hassle at the doors, which kinda surprised me. once inside,
we found the floor to be packed, and many seats available, but we hit the
floor anyway, and made our way up front...

set I:
CARINI- this is the first song i got, and i must admit, on tape, it
sounds different. i never really liked the song, but this one was
definitely a good one, and a great opener.
JIBOO- never heard this song before, so i can't really say much about it,
but i definitely liked it.
GET BACK ON THE TRAIN- i think i have this somewhere on a tape as filler
from trey's solo. it was neat then, and pretty cool here. if i remember
correctly, i thought this was gonna be a really funky possum, but i'll
take the train.
TASTE- checked in around 10-15 mins. jam was pretty long in the middle,
kinda lost me though.
BUG- yet another new one for me, so can't say much about this one either.
SPARKLE- hmmmm. this isn't one of my faves, it just doesn't do something
for me.... everyone else seemed to like it though.
TUBE- this was nice. i had heard many calls for this as an opener, but it
was pretty nice here. got the crowd moving, myself included.
LAWN BOY- wow. this was very cool. page got up and managed to wander
around, mike was all over it, played a very nice solo, and as a result,
got a hand shake from page- nice moment.
GINSENG- not much to say about this one. pretty standard.
TWIST- like tube, this was nice. the band got many "woo!!!" 's from the
crowd. good call to close the set- left me tired (and thirsty!!), and the
energy level high in the building.

setbreak- gotta say i liked the funky jazz that was chosen. it definitely
beat the music that was playin before the show. managed to mosey on up to
about 3-4 people from the stage during this time, and met some cool kids
up there.

set II:
MIKE'S- i read the setlists from the nights before, and i knew this had
to come somewhere during the evening. on the ride down, my friend and i
had a discussion about what we thought would be played. i called for a
mike's>something>weekapaug, but he wanted nothing of it saying, "man,
every show i've been to, i've heard a mike's.... but a hydrogen, that
would be nice." i really just wanted to get a paug more than anything in
the world (i wanted to dance!!), and i knew i needed to get a mike's to
get the paug, so i really wanted this one. even for all the excitement
that i put towards this, this wasn't the best one i've heard. really
didn't like that noise that kept showing up during the song. solid, but
not the best.
MEATSTICK- mike's wandered into this one. heard it before on tapes from
this summer. not real sure what to say about this song though. i told my
friend that he'd have to teach me the dance before we went, but we never
got around to it. i didn't know the dance, so i did my own- it seemed to
work fine. the song hasn't really made that much of an impression on me
yet.
HYDROGEN- love this song, but not this one. it lacks the energy of ones
from 97. the tension and release wasn't there. but it was our (mine and
my friend's) first one, so it does have some value.
WEEKAPAUG- FINALLY!!! what i had been waiting for  the longest time. i
was definitely getting down with the groove, but i missed the middle part
of it due to some distractions up front. those who were there know what
i'm talkin about. this kinda took away from it, and i had some trouble
getting back into the groove, then it was over. hmmm. oh well. at least
there's always the tapes to get the music.
B&R- nice tune, i can see why it was played to calm down a little. i
personally didn't really want it cause i wanted to keep goin, but it has
some good lyrics.
JENNIFER DANCES- new one. i actually kinda liked it, and i think that was
the general view of those around me too.
MAZE- yeah. this was nice. checked in at around 15 mins i think. nice jam
in the middle that kinda went here, there, and everywhere. my friend
didn't like the ending though- thought it was weak. during this i checked
my watch to see what time it was, and it was gettin kinda late, so i
thought this, then one more, and that was gonna be it.
FLUFF- ah yes, despite trey's goofs during the travels section, this was
really great. going into the show i actually wanted to hear something
from junta, and we got a good one. i even caught mike doing the "check
this out" part during the travels, which i don't think i've ever heard on
a tape before, just on the album. gotta hand it to the lights for
lighting up the whole place- i got many good vibes when i looked around
and all i saw were people dancing- press boxes, aisles, stairs.... i
thought this was gonna be it for sure, then i saw mike go talk to trey,
and i thought to myself, "wait, there's gonna be more?!?"
CHALKDUST- earlier in the school year i was beginning to have my fill of
chalkdusts, with lots of shows opening with this, but this one was very
nice. not too fast (i don't really like the ones that go 90 mph), got the
crowd moving, and was full of energy. when i saw trey and mike talking to
fish for more, i couldn't believe it... this was like the set that didn't
want to end.
FRANKENSTEIN- love this song!!! when we got this one, i didn't know what
to do with myself. then we're goin through it, and it just keeps going
and going with trey on the keyboard, making noises, and getting feedback.
fish did a nice job on his parts. a great ending to an overall awesome
set even with it's few mistakes.

encore:
CHARACTER ZERO- i actually listened to this one on the way down
(11/26/97). i didn't really know what to expect for an encore. my friend
was sure it was either gonna rock, or be really mellow. fortunately we
got the rocker. this character was actually pretty good. solid through
out, and ended well. then the guys are kinda standin around trying to
figure out what to do next, so they bring out the mics, and we got a
HELLO MY BABY- now, when they got the mics, out, there was a sudden rush
to the stage. after the show we talked to a guy about the encore, and he
just said, "man, did you see that encore?? there was just a huge wave of
people moving towards the stage. yeah it was kinda a bummer." i didn't
mind the people that much. just the song selection. i actually wanted to
get a freebird, but this selection was a fine way to cap off an overall
great performance which i will remember for a long time.

ok enough of this! (i need some sleep) thanks to all who helped make this
first show of mine a great time for me!! peace to all,
mike 

Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 13:59:36 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: review for 12-5-99 -- BlueCross Arena, Rochester, New York
 
This was only the second time I got to see Phish indoors and the firt time
for my buddy Beach...  I went there with no ticket, but was able to get one
for $25... Thanks again for that ticket man...  The parking lot scene was ok.
 Cops tried to shut people down but the Phans just kept on selling their
goods.  Shakedown was kickin but it was a small lot.  Too many parking
garages!  I got to see Mike outside the show chillin with a few Phans (that
was great).  OK lets go inside..  Beach and I were with two other friends and
we met more inside.  I don't know if he was but I was amazed at the lack of
security at the doors. . No pat downs nothing.  We managed to squeeze down to
the floor and stand three rows back Page side. (closest I have ever been)
 
1st set~ Carini.. All I gotta say..  They jamed hard on this very unexpected
opener.  All the bad reviews I herad about Cinci, didn't see them yet.
Jiboo.. New song to me loved it,  Another solid Jam by the Boys.  Trey with a
sick jam and the boys matched him well
Get back on the train...Solid jam.. Love the song..no argument
Taste.. Same taste no new twist to it
Bug... All the boys were in on this one..  BUG .. everybody jamed to this one
Sparkle.. It was fun to hear.. no fuck ups
Tube.. I lost it, and I know my buddies lost it.  Another solid jam, Phans
going crazy at all points.
LAWN BOY!!!!!!!!  Page stood up walked along the stage.  Great to see his
ankle is ok.  When he introduced Mike, and Mike kicked the jam the song was
almost complete.  What finished it off is when Page sat down during the Mike
jam then stood back up to shake mikes hand... It was sick to see that happen.
Ginseng... Last time I saw this they fucked up a verse.. Not this time
Twist.. ending the set.  Another awesome Jam.. Awesome first set.
 
2nd set~Mike's What can I say about that?  just a sick Mike's
Meatstick.. I think it might have been placed in just for the fact that the
Phans were singing and dancing to it during the set break
Hydrogen.. First time I heard it Loved it Hope to here it again and its
always great to hear that go into...
Weekapaug.  Solid Mike Solo... Trey and Fish were talkin to and smiling
during the jam looks like boys are doing really good.
Brian and Robert.  needed another slow down period I love this song..
Jennifer Dances.. Great New song.  Glad Trey picked this show to play it.
Maze..  Good to hear the old jams
Fluffhead.. I thought this would be the end of the show but I was wrong.
Frankenstein... Great solid Jam  Fish was beating hard.. Way to go Fish
Chalkdust.  How long is this set??  I hope it never ends but it did.
 
Encore~ Character Zero.  Nice to hear but they could have picked another song.
Hello My Baby~  I was 5 feet away from the boys.  Awesome Show Best I have
seen
PEACE
Goose

Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 14:42:32 -0500 (EST)
From: Iii  William F Luke [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re:Critics?(Rochester Review/Thoughts)
 
 I recently attended Sunday's(12/5) show at BCA.This was definetely one of the
best shows i've seen in a while.Even though I saw mostly great reviews of the
show,there were a couple i just read that blew me away,in a bad way.I think
too many people think they're phish experts due to the amount of shows they've
seen,or how far they drive to get there.Sunday was my 29th show since SPAC
'95.I am from Albany and have traveled from Limestone to Atlanta and a lot in
between.This does not make me better than someone who has seen phish 5
times,or someone that can only make it to local shows.And it doen't make me
less of a phan then the people who have seen 100 shows or the dudes with
dreads and beards,etc,etc,.I just read a review of BCA from some guy who kept
talking about bad placement,how loose or tight the song was,like some kind of
critic from Rolling Stone.It just drives me crazy that there are people out
there criticizing songs,song placement,and song quality.If your going to shows
to be a critic,don't,give me or someone else that enjoys the music(anyway its
dealt)your ticket. The last 4 yrs. i've mail ordered for NYE tix and got shut
down every time,and i always get this bad vibe that they ship these tickets
off to people like the one i've just described.We should all be thankful for
phish,not critical.Until i can get up there on stage and do what they do,who
am i to say bad placement trey. I have never left a show and said "that
sucked",or "they could've played a better encore".Anyway, i personally thought
the BCA show was phantastic.Just look at the setlists.1st set highlights were
definetely GBOTT,Tube,Twist and the 2nd set highlight was the whole set,it
rocked,and just when you thought it would stop,here comes chalkdust and
frankenstein.Sweet. Don't have to worry about NYE this yr, its unlimited tix,
see ya there. Peace. Bill


Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 01:54:31 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: rochester review

 just wanted to post my opinion because I don't agree with any of the
reviews on this show.  I enjoyed the 1st set but not the 2nd. this was my
23rd show (1st of dec. tour) and is my 1st review. I've listened to a good
amount of shows too.  I took two hits of acid and smoked a lot of pot for
the show. I think that this show could be viewed as revolutionary later if
Phish continues the way I think they are heading and continue the style
played last night.  Now for a the review

The 1st set was pretty good. dug everything cept the sparkle and bug. I
really don't like bug. I think it's kind of a cheesy emotional song with
room for a trey solo and not much else.  To me it's just a waste of time.
At least it wasn't in the 2nd set.  What stuck out in my mind was jiboo,
the revamped Gbott, taste, and tube. The highlight of the set and for me
the night was definitly twist around. went to a mellow jam that was built
up leading to some serious wailing by Trey.

The mike's song that opened the 2nd set made me think we were in for some
mindbending jams but it was not to be. The mike's was pretty good but
short. The only thing I didn't like about the jam was some noise Trey made
a couple of times. It sounded like whitenoise and was obnoxious.  Mike's
segued into meatstick.  It was obviously Trey's decision to play this.  
At least they didn't teach us the damn dance.  Unfortuantly this was the
longest jam of the night.  It was repetitive and boring.  Meatstick segued
into hydrogen which led to weekapaug. Weekapaug was pretty good but
nothing special.  I may be wrong but I think that a lot of weekapaugs have
been sounding the same recently.  It also seemed that Mike's Groove was
pretty short.  Brian and Robert was next. I do not like this song.  It is
not exciting but I guess a breather is needed. Next up was Jennifer
Dances. This falls in the same category as Bug.  It is pretty cheesy. I
just don't think emotional songs like this are cut out for Phish.  These
songs seem to be appearing more and more often.  Maze, Fluffhead, and
Chalkdust were all decent but nothing special.  I kind of thought they
lacked energy but I need to listen to some tapes to make my final
decision.  Trey and Mike did the bouncy thing during Fluffhead and Mike
looked unsure of himself. It kind of summed up the whole night for me.
Frankenstein had Trey on keys making scratchy noises and he made that damn
ugly sound he made during Mike's.  The character encore was typical and
hello my baby was a treat.  The set was fun at times but unbearable at
others.  Setlist was great, playing was not. The jamming was unspirited,
redundant, and spacey.  I'm worried about Phish's future.  I think they
may be headed towards more emotional songwriting (i.e. bug, jennifer
dances) which is a terrible mistake.  The music in these songs just
doesn't do it for me.  What little jamming there is is spaced out and
unemotional or exciting.  I'm sure some people like this but I don't.  I
think they definitely need a break.  If Trey says he wants a break he
probably doesn't even want to be playing now.


Date: Tue, 07 Dec 1999 13:15:53 -0500
From: David Drake [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Rochester Review
 
YO YO YO, THIS SHOW WAS UNREAL!!   It was my 7th show, and i had
mail-ordered in september so i was so stoked for this show. I had gone
to the second installment of the Nassau run and they were great there
too but this was the concert that i had my plans and drugs ready for.
Got to the lot, not much going on, so we went into the BlueCross Arena
when they opened the doors. NO FRISK OR A PAT DOWN, so that was great,
my mushrooms didnt get crushed that much. Took up seats on trey's side
one row in front of Fishman's Father, who i glanced at from time to time
and who always had a huge smile on his face. When the lighrs went down,
i was prepared for a Mike's Song opener, or a PYITE- both my favorite
favorite songs. I had not heard a Mike's up to this point, and i felt it
in my blood...i was ready!!! First set- UNREAL!!! Loved the new Gotta
Jiboo- very funky and fun song to dance to. Started smoking after
tripping for about an hour and a half, and jumped and danced around.
Highlights for me were the lawnboy (Page taking Mike's hand was so cool)
and the Ginseng. Tube- SUCH A JAM!!!!!! I love Mike and seeing his just
FUNK THE SHIT OUT of that song was great!! Also one of my preferred
songs to hear!
Setbreak, cool scene, bathroom was an expereince- dirty ass toilet but
what the hell right? went back to our seats and waited for the Mike's i
knew i would hear
SURE ENOUGH!!! MIKES SONG, meatstick (eh) Hydrogen and then Weekapaug!
It raged like an inferno!!!!!!!!!! The new song, Jessica Dances, was
pretty cool, i mean yeah- very top-40 but what the hell. it will be on
their next album and ill listen to it again there. The  Maze jam was
INCREDIBLE!! so right on!! i thought they would have ended with
Chalkdust, but into FRANKENSTEIN THEY WENT!!! so raging, especially the
fishman drum solo. Fishman's dad was smiling ear to ear!
The encore was cool, i was thinking...Rocky Top? but Character Zero was
cool and the acapella was a real treat!
 
THe crowd and the boys were really into it, and after reading about the
last several shows of which several reviews were quite negative, this
show couldnt be anything less then awesome!!! THe security was
NON-EXISTANT so everything went well! see yall on tour! peace and love
 
-Jeremy @ Ithaca College

Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 20:35:27 -0500
From: Simon Wolfe [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/5/99, ONE HELL OF A SHOW
 
Allright, this is my first submission after seeing many shows.  In the
middle of exams, and this was the greatest show to take my mind off of
school.  Loved both sets, and GA was a neat way of seeing a show.
Stood about 5 feet from the stage for the first set, and Trey's face
said it all.  Second set got a seat and enjoyed it all from there.
Anyhow, wanted everyone to know that this is a show taht they must own,
and since there were many tapers at the show, get off your butts and
tape them!!!!!!  Puff Tuff, and see you in Philly!!!!!

Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 23:17:31 -0500
From: Kinne [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Phat Show!!!

my name is Dan...

        I have been to many phish shows, but seriously i thought this one
was one of the best!!!!
the show was just unbelieveable!!!  I dont listen to too many bootleg
tapes so i really am not too informed with all these concert songs, but i
listen to all their albums... i really love their music!!
   At Rochester i got what i thought was to be a really great great
performance from Phish!!!
   The key factor here was that i wasn't on any drugs, and so i got to
really feel the affects of their great talents in the music they
played!!!

       cirina...was just played so awesome.  i just seemed to jam along
with the beat of fishman...it is great to hear some songs you dont hear
alot, but especailly great ones that were played perfect!!!
  the crowd was packed...and on the floor it seemed as everyone knew that
this concert was going to be really phat!!!  plus i always love watching
everyone dance crazy..
   ok gotta jibbo was new for me....i love this one!!
      Basically i thought Tube, Twist, SParkle, maze, .....the whole 2nd
set was just sick!!!!!    i have been to clifford ball, oswego, many
other shows... Rochester's show had the best line up and it was just
packed with energy from the whole band which drove the crowd
crazy....Phish just didnt seem to want to leave the stage...they wanted
to gives it all!!!! hey man they were the best!!!
      they played so great!!  i will never forget this show!!!! 

Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 01:41:51 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12-5-99 rochester

what up kido's
just back from rochester and thought i'd throw my tidbits in

the first set i was in the upper level and the upper level sound sucked ass
none the less
carini-rippen opener, trey real on point and got me siked for the
show....plus who can deny a carini opener
jiboo- tilt my cup to this one, have loved this song since i first heard it
in nassau, simple song with alot of power
get back...- always rocks, real tight and page spotlighting it all
taste- always a good tune but lacked that trey solo power, kinda dragged at
the end none the less next.....
sparkle-:O? well nothing more to say then the kids love it
tube- is one of my favorites and rocked
very funky and on point
lawn boy- the chairmen of the boards ladies n gentlemen, cant deny a page
barroom singer display besied the obvious giddy smirks of the rest of  the
band and page shakin mikes hand at the end topped it
ginsing- no other way to say,....."YEAH MIKE"
twist- always rocks........always will great closer

setbreak i broke towards the front and was about 6 rows back i you could
actually count it in the floor/hockey rink at rochester

none the less......
MIKES>MEATSTICK>HYDRO>WEEKAPAUG- oh yeah i scream because what a way to
reserect power into a show than bustin out a mikes groove
the mikes was powerfull and very called for ..and though the site of seeing
people do the macarena,,,, i've personanly had enough of the meatstick but
otherwise funky
hydrogen rocked as always and was an early sign of trey fatigue
Weekapaug in my eyes was a nice match to the ever great weekawipeout at
worcester  mass last year, powerfull and well kept
brian and robert- great tune but in my eyes uncalled for, i hate the power kill
to mellow to follow a weekapaug.....and as trey pronounces a new song
jennifer dances- all i can say about this new tune is " ehhhhhhhhh" now
maze- evil and profound, not the most powerful maze but always a crowd
pleaser and then i got a huge smile as now
fluffhead- started off a little wierd as it seemed trey forgot to step of a
pedal and was a litle choppy..then everything got into place, the classic
line flew out and the crowd responds in memerable fashion, but being close
and watching trey's hands as always as fluff traveled trey didn't and was way
off, as i always know a guitarist doesn't always have his day but the timing
wasn't there and neither were the notes, credit mike for not losing his
always memorable beats and keeping the tune going for i thought it was lost
for sure
chalkdust- well........it was a chaldust and as i thought it was for sure the
closer
frankenstein-ohhhhhhh man
gotta love it, fishman going nuts during his little solo time, tight and made
up in my eyes for a disappointing fluffs
E: i remember my friend saying as the walked i hope they don't play.......
character zero- always satisfying but again trey was way off, needed to stop
during this one to to get back in form,
hello my baby-always pleasing and walked out with a smile

GREAT SHOW, GREAT TIME BUT TO TREY IF YOU CAN HEAR THIS, stop the keyboard
maddness, and pedal craze,  stay with the song and keep me amazed

mad love
see you all in FLORIDA

Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 13:06:46 -0500
From: Nate Hereford 
To: [email protected]
Subject: rochester review
 
ok well i decided to go to rochester on saturday night about 5 minutes
before my friends were leaving, to say i was pysched was an understatment.
the drive from burlington was a trek, it took arrund 7 hours, but worth
every inch. me and all of my friends got tickets in the lot and went into
the show.
 
carini - oh my, such a great opener! trey was ripping through the lead
lines, i could already tell he was gonna be on fire tonight.
 
jibboo- loving this song more everyime i hear it, esp. live.  it just
smokes simple as that!
 
gbot- this is another one of those new tunes i really like.  i like the
auditory imagery created in the song (the way music sounds like a train
moving) great funked out version, page was ripping these tight lines on the b3
 
taste- for a while i was really tired of this song, but for some reason not
tonight. the boys were just so 'on' tonight already it was ridiculous.
this version was jammed out really really nicely, patiecnly and as smooth
as a baby's bottom.  pages solo wasn't the tightest i have heard, but it
was still very strong.
 
ok what was next, this is all coming from my dome peice right now and its
kinda tough after little sleep.
 
oh yeah...bug... good tune... nice flowing lyrics with a really good point
to them.  i enjoyed this song b/c it was placed in this set perfectly it
gave me a great chance to sit and chill and pass the glass.
 
sparkle - always a nice little rift diddy. same old speedy thing. still fun
and always will be to rock to
 
tube - $#@% yeah!!!!!! simply funked out beyond belief.  the place was
going nutz.  page seemed really strong on his casual funk/b3 jam. simply
mind blowing.  it was trey's night all night and he proved this once again
with that killer line in them middle right before they kick it back into
the lyrics, my friend calls that section 'higher gorund' and i tihnk thats
the perfect explanation b/c it really takes you to higher gorund.  love
tube and always will.
 
lawn boy- always so f-ing feel good.  yeah page off the cructhes.  this
version seemed extermly 'loungy' with page forgetting to get back up to
sing the last lines.  oh well.
 
ginseng - this one seemed a little oddly placed, but its still a great
norman blake bluegrass classic with that phishy twinge
 
twist - are you serious?? to close the set.  this verison started off a
little weird without the first lyrics, but the jam smoked.  time for a
break, jesus they've already given us so much!
 
set II
 
mike's->meatstick->i am hydro>weekapaug - mikes raged as only a mike's
opener could rage (you all know what i mean!) i was pumped to hear this
tune i hadnt heard it live in a few years.  the jam raged! trey seemed a
litle quiet at the start but picked his game up and shredded the end of it,
page looked like a magician on the organ.  i thoguht i heard simple coming
out of mikes, i always hear simple coming out of mike's so i was hoping
they'd do something else and did they ever, they slid (litterally) into
meatstick, which is always fun!  then the moment came, they went from a
funky happy meatstick jam> hydrogen! yes. finally, my first hydro, it took
27 shows to see it and was worth everyone. that went flawlessy into a
soaring weekapaug with tons of energy.   after a nice four song mix up to
start of set 2 they slowed things down with
 
brain and robert, a nice chance to chill.  then trey mentioned that the war
memorial was one of their favorite places to play and they proved that
tonight.
 
jennier dances - a new tune.  definelty sounds top forty, i can see this
song as a radio friendly tune! straight up! that is tough to say and a
little sad.  but it wasnt a bad tune and was nice to hear
 
Maze - oh yeah.  this one got the place grooving again!  great! tight and
mazey.  page anihlated his solo ripping the whole place down.  so crazy as
always.  loving it, but wasnt sure what could be next or how much
 
fluffhead - hells yeah! this was the point where i felt this show was put
over the top and should be catergorized as simply ridiculous!  the travel's
was a little shaky, you can tell that they dont practice this one too much.
 trey was having some probs on his part, but hey he sitll played it better
then i could and he still raged it.  they amaze me so much how quickly they
work with their mistakes.
 
chalkdust - damn i thought fluff might end the set. chalkdust smoked as
always! tight. ripping.  what else can be said. i tought this definetly
would be the end, but no way
 
frankenstein - yes!!!!!!!!!!! we heard edgar winter's verison at a wendy's
before we went to the show.  it gave me that feeling of 'they'll play tihs
tonight' kick ass, they didnt want to leave hte stage.  they just kept ragin'
 
e-
character zero - getting a little tired of this one, but an ok enocre.
 
ragtime gal - acapella rocks. i wanted freebird, but cant argue not after
this show!
 
unbeleivably show tongit.  it seemed to be one of those nights were
everything worked out prefectly, gotta love nights like those.  the venue
was so packed with people.  probably b/c it was ga. the floor was a sea of
people.  there were a lot of people looking for tix b4 the show (including
me, but i found mine).  the lot seeemd sketch/chill its toughto catogorize
the lot these days.
 
phish was tight as fuck tonight.  maybe they were so tight to me b/c i
didnt think i was going to this show, but i did and it was one of the best
decision i made in a long time! if you have any doubts on these guys go see
them this tour, long sets, smoking verisons of songs.  god, isn't phish one
of the best things on this earth!  see ya in portland
peace
nate
 
'all in all is heaven's sense'


Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 11:02:09 -0500
From: Joe  Magnan [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: Rochester Review 12/5/99

Hi All,
First of all I was blown away by this show.  It was nothing short of
excellent.
I just want to tell you folks that you should appreciate what you have in
the band Phish.  How can you bash a band that is giving you sooo much??? As
a Dead Head veteran of well over 200 shows since 1983 and numerous other
shows, I must say what you have is special, even the supposedly "off
nights."  You do not realize what you have.  And what would you do if you
didn't have this wonderful band.  I have come to love Phish, and after
having gone through the whole Jerry thing, I can safely say "Love it while
you have it, it could be gone before you know it"!!!!!  Long live
PHISH!!!!
Thanks for every awesome moment in Rochester!!!
Enough said,
Space Cowboy 

Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 17:40:28 -0500
From: Ross MCGILL [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Phish in Rocha cha cha
 
Well, it was my tenth show and phish did not disappoint my first was the Ball
in 96 and since then Phish has been nothing but good to me!
 
If could characterize this show I would probably say that it was certainly one
filled with special treats for any lover of the greatest band going.  The
venure was perfect in opinion...I enjoyed the general admission because it
let's you decide were you want to sit or stand.
 
Instead of just a few songs with long, extended jams the band played a variety
of shorter versions of songs....and a lot of them were rarities that I hadn't
heard in a while or at all for that matter.  Gotta Jiboo really got the crowd
going, I am still singing that song in my head... And the Twist jam that
finished the set really blew my mind.  Lawn Boy is always a treat.
 
The second set started with an amazing MIke's->Meatstick (that got everyone
dancing)->I am Hydrogen->Weekapaug.  I had told my friend that the one song I
have always wanted to hear since Story og the Ghost came out was Brian and
Robert. The version they played just didn't sound tight at all.  I mean no
disrespect to the band, I just think that this is one of those songs that
sounds better in a studio. Jenifer's Dance was generally well received by the
crowd, especially after Trey's compliment.  I didn't think that it sounded too
Top40ish -to me nothing that phish plays (even songs that got a lot of radio
play like Sample and Free) sounds Top 40ish.  This new song did sound and feel
a lot like Framhouse though.  When Treey kept singing about the workers coming
back from the fields, that's all I could think about.  Frankenstein was the
highlight of the night, the jam and Chris's lights absolutely kicked the shit
out of my brain.
 
Character Zero is always a crowd pleaser and I got about ten feet away for
Hello My Baby.  The band seemed so surreal under those soft lights.  I dodn't
think that I have ever been that close at an indoor show.  All in all a great
time with some good friends and great music.  Hats off to the band....I hope
the next ten shows are just as memorable.
 
Ross

Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 15:16:51 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12-5-99
 
    Carini rocked, making the all general admission crowd very energetic
right from the start.  Got Jiboo was very good as well.  Get back on the
train was nice, I've never heard this song before and thought it would be
real slow, but it is pretty phat.  The jam in taste was good, nothing
phenomenal, but adequate.  Bug and Tube were phunky, Trey was having alot of
fun during tube.  Ginseng was as it always is.  Twist around was really good,
but lacked in the light department.  My least favorite song was Sparkle,
nothing special and played out.  Lawn boy was humourous, Trey was holding
himself back from laughing.  Overall set one was good, not phenomenal, but
above average.  IT seemed at times Trey was having a tough time locking into
a groove.
    Set two began with Mike's. I wasn' t very exicted because I've seen this
so many times, but the boys did a stellar job with this turning it into a
very cool meatstick.  H20 was definitely right on,  and an excelent Weekapaug
followed, very slappy on the bass tip.  The new tune was excellent.  Maze, a
favorite of mine wasn't that great.  IT was just off, not very rocking.  IT
wasn't poor, it just wasn't the balm.  The fianll three songs made the
journey to Rochester absolutely worth it.  Chalkdust was short and to the
point, but Trey was fucking geeked.  Frankenstein was probably the best
version I have ever seen.
    Encore was alright. Nothing  special but cool, especially the a cappela
with the entire floor "swimming" towards the mic.  Note that I'm not
particullarly fond of  the quartet deal.
    General comments on the show.  A small venue with very chill security.
This show was very "intense" inasmuch as the crowd being rude and
space-guarding.  I've never encountered a Phish show with this type of
atmosphere before. Very beat lot scene with tickets very hard to come by.
Sound was excellent up front, but poor in the back of the arena. I met the
band and asked Jon to play November Rain for me on New Years.  Trey wore a
tossel for the first three songs.
 
            [email protected]

Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 01:25:24 -0500
From: Stephen Sauchelli [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: ROCHESTER REVIEW
 
 
Howdy folks, just got home from an AMAZING show!!!  For those who were
disappointed in the ohio cornfields, this show made up for the first 3 of
the tour.  They brought out all their guns tonite.  The lot scene was very
chill, very little police presence.  This was my 29th show...
 
Opener: Carini!  wow, blew the roof apart and got things going very nicely,
goes into Jiboo, yeah my first time hearing this song aside from the Trey
tour.  Really got me going and was very excited to see them taking things to
the top right off the bat.  Get Back on the Train came next and this song
has a tendency to follow me, a purely great tune.  THe boys at this point
were very tight and sounded great. Taste came up which was majestically
played by Page, next up was BUG, this was very sweet, get the tapes.
SParkle came next, sparkle is sparkle.  Then more funky hoedown, TUBE,
yeah.....Lawn Boy was nice but preferred to have heard Strange Design (where
are you???).  Ginseng got things going up again then came TWIST AROUND,
yeeeeeee haw!! Enough said!! The second set is where the shit goes down as
my all time fav.
 
MIKE's - oh yeah very nice, expecting this to come out anytime soon but
when...they bring it into MEATSTICK, no dance this time pure out funky funk
thumping bass.  Hydrogen came along and was like ice cream to my
ears.......beautifully nailed to perfection.  Weekapaug lifted everyone up,
standard.  Next up came with Mike doing some ooooohhhhhh oooohhhh, I knew it
was Brian & Robert, definitely a nice breather and beautifully played.  Then
Trey speaks out saying Rochester is one of his favorite places and has a new
treat for us... First Time played Jennifer Dances, gotta get the tapes and
hear this for yourselves.  Hope they pull it out again sometime soon.  Maze
came flying thru and before we knew it the opening chords to fluffhead came
pouring thru, yee haww, the set at this point was 75 mins long.... goes
right into Chalkdust and burns the roof down.  I couldn't withstand anything
much longer and Frankenstein put on the finishing touches to an AMAZING set.
I had high hopes for a "Glide" or Slave encore but instead they come roaring
out with Character 0, BLAH,,, Hello Ma Baby made up for it...Get the
tapes....
 
-Deeben

Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 05:18:42 -0500
From: Brendon M. Troy [email protected]
To: [email protected], Me [email protected], [email protected],
     [email protected]
Subject: Fan Review Submission for 12/5/99 Blue Cross Arena Rochester, NY
 
Disclaimer:  I've seen a bit of Phish, have a pretty good tape/CD collection,
and am an rmp/phish.net fiend. This was a great show for me, and the first
time I had gotten to see Phish since Oswego, but please don't assume that
it's a "every song was great!" review...close, but not quite. Also, prepare
to read: this review stretched way out past what it was originally intended
to be, a "impressions" review.
 
Got downtown early, around 4ish, and saw a good amount of people around the
venue (seemingly a lot of dogs? that's so cruel). Unfortunately, none of the
storeowners around the arena were apparently aware of the crowds Phish draws
when they come to town, and just about everyone was on their Sunday
hours:close ridiculously early, if you were ever open. My friend and mine's
effort to find a grocery or convenience store, or a decent bar with good
food, in the area were thwarted. Once we found the shakedown in the lot, we
felt a little more at home, but even this was (relatively) small. Still, good
to see "familiar" faces, older and younger fans, clean cut and wookie alike.
 
Got in line a half hour before doors, and (per usual) literally bumped into a
friend, chatted with him and passed the time. When the doors opened, there
was a bit of a push inward, but we were in with relatively no problems (and
virtually no security!? I didn't get so much as looked at sideways, let alone
frisked. best of all, they seemed to be whisking those with tix by mail
tickets through a lot quicker than those with ticketbastard ones) My first
impression once walking through the "floor access" doors was: Tiny!!! I
couldn't believe that this room passed for an "arena". I haven't seen any
shows out west, where I guess they're pretty small, but what a contrast from,
say, Pepsi or the like. Got spots about halfway between the board and the
stage, perhaps a bit closer to the stage, were generally happy, and sat down
to wait with four other friends we happened upon (isn't GA great?).
 
The boys came out (standard dress, Page and Mike in dress shirts and pants,
Trey with a French t-shirt I've seen him wear before, and Tubbs with the
mumu), and the show opened with CARINI. Good, rocking tune, and one that was
performed more as a 1st-set closer than as an opening warm-up. Trey seemed to
be enjoying himself, and all was generally good. Next was JIBOO, the song I
had called as my "dream" opener. Needless to say, I was happy with it. This
version, however, lagged a little in the middle, with Trey unsure of just
where to take the jam. I was always a fan of the solo tour era delay loop
jams, but this song still grooved (can any Jiboo not?).  After this, Fish
laid down a bluegrassy bopping beat that signaled GET BACK ON THE TRAIN was
next.  This song is fun/boppy, and has some nice, quotable lyrics, but
overall nothing to write home about: good in person, okay on the tapes. Next
came TASTE. Hmm, what to say about this song. It's beautifully written and
composed, nice lights, but tonight, in the context of the already fairly
impressive first set, I just had no tolerance for it...the jam seemed to go
nowhere for the longest time, until Trey saved it by starting up a nice
tension/release melody that built repeatedly with the great light show (CK5
was on!!! There were many times when the crowd was cheering the lights
changes, not the changes in the jam.) The next song, I thought, should be
pretty rocking, but was instead BUG. This is not to say I didn't enjoy it. As
usual, this song lulled me into thinking it was a simple slow tune (a friend
of mine calls them "prom songs"), but the lyrics and ascending melody/tempo
really got to me. I was very happy to hear it. SPARKLE, up next, was very
standard, except for the fact that Page seemed to continue to look over his
right shoulder at someone in the crowd who (it seemed to me) he knew. This
got the crowd that didn't know what some of the earlier tunes were into it,
and the light show was pretty intense (well, more incredibly intense than the
rest of the show), so it had some redeemable qualities. TUBE really got me
going after the lukewarm Sparkle. This was Trey's choice, and it got me
dancing (as it always does). The jam was truly "stupendous", and Mike's
basslines/solos were above and beyond his regular work in Tube, imho. Page,
too, had an (extremely?) extended solo in this song, with CK5 putting a spot
on him most of the jam. In fact, for the next song, LAWN BOY, the Chairman of
the Boards got to ham it up. This was, as always, a lot of fun to see, and
Mike had a nice little slap-solo. A great moment was when Page walked over to
Cactus and shook his hand. Great to see that chemistry/on-stage
schmultziness. Mike got to sing the next one, GINSENG, which was quite good.
This is, as you may know, a straight-rocking bluegrass tune (cover of
__________?) and all had fun dancing to it, but it wasn't anything jammed-out
or improvisational (maybe it shouldn't be? probably not). Seeing as how Page
and then Mike had each sung a song, I thought perhaps we'd hear some HYHU
start, but instead Fish started up the nasty drumbeat to TWIST which I was
happy to hear: I hadn't heard it since this summer.  This was a monster of a
Twist, and while at times I was wondering where the jam was going, overall it
was great! The jam built so many times I couldn't believe there was more to
it, and they pure joy of the "Hey"s leaked throughout the arena. By the end
of the jam, it seemed that the boys had been playing for hours, although even
lacking a setlist with timings at 4:00 a.m. after the show I'm sure it
didn't. Twist closed the first set, and I sat down happy about what I had
heard thusfar.
 
The setbreak was fairly normal (tired, sweaty, thirsty, and claustrophobic
thanks to people who decided they, too should be in the front row right now
before the second set began, but content/anxious thanks to Phish), seemed
pretty long, and featured a group of guys doing the Meatstick, which was a
fun way to pass the time. I wonder now if that had anything to do with what
was to come in the next set.
 
Set II opened with, what else, MIKE'S, which started rather sedately and
remained relatively low-tempoed throughout. A lower tempo doesn't mean that
it didn't have a sick jam, though, which it did.  Mike went against his
resolution (described in the latest Schvice) and sang the "Big Dude" line
with a tremor, "...blocking my wayeyeyeyay..." I can't quite place what it
was that I loved about this Mike's, and won't until I listen to it again, but
for now I'll say that it stretched itself way out, featured a lot of build
and release jamming, and was accompanied by a better-than-great-average light
show.  I was happy to hear it jamming into something else, though (love the
anticipation that follows Mike's) and I thought I heard a few Simple teases,
but instead it jammed (slowly) into MEATSTICK, which was, of course, very
fun. A fair amount of people, on the floor at least, did the Meatstick, and
the jam was airy and fun, with Page hammering Brent Mydlan-style on his Moog.
If this was a tip of the hat to the crowd doing the dance during setbreak,
the band showed no sign. As it wound, down, this song jammed very extremely
nicely into HYDROGEN. This is the second IMH2 I've seen, and while I thought
the last (Worcester, fall '98) was smoother, a nice Mike's Groove (or pseudo
one, as with tonight, which was more of a Mike'sStick groove) is always nice.
I thought that coming out of releases a few times, Trey missed his mark, but
all was forgiven in the long run. This was, of course, followed by WEEKAPAUG
(name of a town in my home state) which was indescribable. Like Mike's, I'm
going to have to wait for the CDs to accurately recall and describe it, but
this was a great jam built on Mike's sick (and loud! he was up in the mix
tonight, PLM must have been proud!) bassline and Trey's beautifully ascending
rocking melody, with Weekapaug as its frame. There were times during this jam
when I could do nothing but stare at Trey's hands as they danced over the
fretboard and he spat out extremely fast (32nd? I don't know guitars) notes
that made real sense. No rock ballad or jammed-out composition could top
that, and Trey appeared to know as he started BRIAN AND ROBERT, accompanied
(at the beginning) by awful screeching p.a. noise that had been there in the
first set momentarily and was caused, (so it semed) by the fan blowing air on
Trey's face.This song was a beautiful "come down from Mike's" song, and it
was well executed. I love the backkup vocals "oohing" and "ahhing" on this
song. After this was over, the crowd was going fairly nuts with
joy/appreciation, and lighters were lit up and a chant was going that I
couldn't hear, though it sounded vaguely like a "Hey yo" encore cheer. It was
as if the band took a collective deep breath, and Trey mentioned that they
had played here (Rochester) a few years ago and that they were glad to be
back, and went on to call it one of the band's "favorite rooms". He then said
that they would now play a new song for us, and went on to play JENNIFER
DANCES, the first time this had been played. This song is pleasent to the
ears, but rather pop-ish. The imagery associated with the line "the workers
had come back from the fields" or whatever it was was very nice, but that was
where the song's appeal stopped for me. I swayed to it, though, and was
extremely happy to hear new material from Phish of any kind. Look for
"Jennifer Dances" on the new album in the spring, I would think. By this
point, the spaceship that was Blue Cross Arena had officially taken off, and
every single passenger was loving the ride, heaped into one huge living
breathing mass of love for live music, the four artists on stage's in
particular.  Everyone, including the band, seemed to know that tonight was
one of those nights. The band started up MAZE. The beginning changes in
tempo, along with the lights associated with them, were fun, and the jam took
off extremely quickly, building to the point where it seemed that Fish and
Mike brought it back to the Maze chorus and Trey refused, laying down a
complimentary but entirely new/improvised melody on top. This was quite a
Maze, and by the end I was fairly ecstatic, completely happy with the second
set I'd seen and completely unprepared for what was to follow: FLUFFHEAD!!!
Oh my...don't mistake the brevity of my comments for an indicator of
disappointment or any other negative emotion. I simply know that I can't do
this song, or version of it, justice, and so I'll just say that this was
unexpected, welcomed, and loved once the boyz ran through it flawlessly.  The
mood at the end of Fluff's travels and adventures was extremely high, and as
they strung out the ending, Mike and Trey had a conference. Once I heard the
choice, CHALKDUST, I was immediately reminded of Trey's comments in the Phish
Book, about how the older he gets the more he loves the lyrics in this song.
Indeed, he seemed to enjoy leaning back and listening to Mike and the crowd
shout "Can't I live while I'm young!?" at him. I'm generally not a huge fan
of Chalkdust, but I decided to let myself be swept away by the rocking (I
thought) set-closer. I was rewarded with a great jam in which Trey both
played one-handed and pumped forward on one knee, glam-rock star style.  This
was great fun, and as it closed Henrietta gestured for Trey and told him
something. I couldn't believe that the second set could continue with another
song, and so I was doubly astounded when Fish pounded out the 3 beats that
begin FRANKENSTEIN. Frank's!!!??? It seemed way too good to be true, but
indeed it was happening. Frankenstein is inherently rocking, but this version
*rocked*!!! It was great to see the band, especially Fishman, with wide grins
on their faces, making a lot of eye contact and generally loving what they
were doing out there. The arena seemed about to take off as they played it,
until they brought the intensity down during the scratching-type section that
follows Fish's solo. This lasted a while, as the repetitive "scratching" (I
can't think of anything else to call the noises coming from Page's organ, you
know what I mean don't you?) built tension and Trey noodled on his keyboard
with prerecorded sounds and a few keys. Once this had gone on for a while,
the band jumped right back into the song and closed it off glam-rock style,
bringing the house down.
 
The decibel level in the arena once Phish left the stage was deafening, and
the energy was nearly crackling through the air. The boys didn't seem to
spend an excessive amount of time backstage (Trey apparently only smoked a
small rock ;-) and came back out to thunderous applause and cheers.
 
Trey immediately began the notes to CHARACTER ZERO, and again (like with
Chalkdust) I wasn't thrilled, but decided to "surrender to the flow" and
listen in. Singing along, "I ought to see the man Mulcahey" proved to be fun,
and this version was fairly standard but exciting. As it finished, the crowd
of course went even more nuts and the band gathered in the corner, with arms
around each other and chatting, deciding the plan of attack (what song to
sing). The accapella mics were brought to the lower left stage (Page side),
and the boys sang HELLO MY BABY (a.k.a. Ragtime Girl) during which the crowd
stayed (mostly) hushed and Trey seemed to shy away from his mic, moving more
and more behind Fish.
 
Altogether, a great great show...first set was good because of song selection
and advancing jams, second set was a classic set, plain and simple...see
above if you need convincing. Thanks for reading this far, it's not 5:20 the
morning after the show, and I'm done! Thanks, see you "out there".
 
Nothing Else is a Phish Concert.

Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 13:38:23 -0500
From: Marc Bouchard [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Rochester Review
 
Let's all give a round of applause to Chris for this show. He had a great
one! During Jiboo I was absolutely stunned at they way he had EVERY light
changing at a fast rate, in different and unpredictable patterns while
giving Jiboo an almost eerie edge to it. How about that Frankenstein closer
and what he had melting down during the 'spacey' jam? Unbelievable. This
light show is getting better every tour and Chris's sensibility is cherished
from this phan. As for the music? Get the tapes. We all saw a big-bad-boy
tonight. As my friend said it during Taste "I forget what song they are
playing." There were many moments where the jams went ~out there~........Hey
Grum, "keep her between the ditches......."...Get the tapes
 
booche

Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 00:39:48 -0500
From: kipmat [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review: 12-5-99 Rochester
 
I'll try to keep it brief.  I think Carini was a surprise to everyone,
including the band; Trey was stood on the drum riser, I presume to tell
Fish that Carini would be the opener.  Twist Around was in a different
arrangement than I was used to and had me shaking my head.  If you are
critical of "Trey flubs", then beware of the Hydrogen, Maze (!?), and
Fluffhead in the second set.  And just to add balance, I think the band
is still struggling with Taste a la the Oswego performance.
 
Personally, the show was very emotional for me, and perhaps for the band
too.  The playing in Weekapaug, Jiboo, Bug and New Tune "Jennifer
Dances" was more lyrical and touching,, to balance the heavier Mike's,
Chalkdust>Frankenstein, and Zer0.  Trey also had excellent solos in
Carini and Meatstick, and had a wonderful use  of space and development
before the build/release in the aforementioned Taste.
 
But what will probably stay with me the most is The Chairman of the
Boards, taking his mic to the front of the stage for Lawnboy, and then
shaking hands with Mike after his bass solo.  I laughed, I cried, I
Jibooed.  Go see this band before it's too late.
 
Thanks to the gentleman in the Puma T-shirt from Ithica for the titles,
"Gotta Jiboo" and "Bug", and to the 4-5 gentlemen from Canada in the row
behind me for setbreak entertainment.  Half-Baked as performed by the
Kids In The Hall.  :)


Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 01:22:50 -0500
From: Mark Thering [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/5/99
 
Hey guys,
    Rochester was awesome! I think there were making up for last time they
were here! I loved every sec of it from Carini to Hello My Baby  start to
finish the guys played there harts out! There new song Jennifer Dances was
great also the band was in the zone tonight which I really have not seen
since Darrin Lake show in 97. Enjoy there back and better then ever.
peace
Mark

Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 01:51:34 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12-5-99 Review
 
First off i had to work until 5 and blue cross is only 25 minutes from work.
so i planned on getting there at 5:30.  but off course stops are always made,
and time got delayed.  but anyways, the vibe from the audience was
outstanding.  it was just a huge, awesome party.  we waited til 8 and then
they came on.
 
 
Set 1
 
Carini:very standard but a great way to start things off.
Gotta Jiboo: I love this song.  super jam.  trey noodles all around bringing
the music up and down until it finally winds back at the beginning.  one of
the better jiboo's i have heard.
Get Back On The Train: i really don't like this song that much so it pretty
much was time for a cigarette.  i must admit though, they play thish groove
very tight.
Taste: Yes!!!  great spot for taste.  it was an average taste at the least.
they jamming is good, but the vibe i was getting at this point was just
awesome.  i got right into this.
Bug: i love this song.  they played it great.  "BUG!!!!!!,It doesn't matter"
Sparkle:your know they are in a great mood when they break out this song, it
just turns everything happy, never seen it live, and it was awesome.
Tube:  holy shit,  mike lays it down deep.  tube is totally mike's jam.  he
played deep and hard.  yeah!!!
Lawnboy:  Oh Yeah!!!!!  page got up and did his little frank sinatra
impression, and then"Michael Gordon"  he finishes his solo and page walks
over to him and takes his hand and sings to him.  i wanted to cry.  great
lawn boy
Ginseng:  another first.  just good old bluegrass fun.  it was a great time
to play it.
Twist:  heard it on a tape i have and thought it was a great song, but there
is a ton of potentioal to this song, and didn't think they had keyed in on it
yet.  WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  i must say this was definatly a
highlight of the night.  outstanding jam.  perhaps they have been working on
it for there new album.  all i can say is that this jam was a riot.  get this
show.
 
Set 2
 
Mike's:i expected it.  but that means nothing.  pretty decent mike's song,
definatly reaching its hard rock climatic points along the way.  good jam.
but then i think i picked the meatsick out of the jam minutes before everyone
else around.  i started screaming it and everyone was like what??  >>
meatstick:saw it in oswego and i liked it for its fun, but i hated its pop
sound.  so i really didn't know what to expect.  they didn't even do the
dance.  they just jammed the shit out of it.  another highlight of the night.
 this changed my whole perspective on the song.>>
Hydrogen:  not much i can say.  it's beatiful, and it is hydrogen.>>
Weekapaug:  pretty decent weekapaug.  i thought it started out a little slow,
but maybe it was just me.
Brian and robert:  a perfect back to reality check after the crazy meatstick.
Jennifer Dances:trey said rochester is one of thier favorite places. and said
they were going to play a new song for us.  oh yeah.  this pumped me up right
away.  pretty good song.  Bug and Farmhouse like.  but good in its own way.
Maze:  this song always gets the adrenaline going.  the jamming was
outstanding but i have to hand it to kuroda.  amazing lights.  i stopped and
stared for a while.
fluffhead:  figured this was the end of the set because theyhad been on for a
while.trey misses a lot of stuff, but its always a fun song.  >>
Chalkdust:  outstanding.  trey is a rock star!!!!!!!  amazing guitar solo.
again thought this would end the set.  but they weren't going anywhere.
Frankenstein:  hell yaaaaaaaaaa!  awesome.  the delay loop jam was elongated
and trey was on the keys.  awesone set closer.
 
Encore:
 
Character zero, just use his wah wah pedal most of the solo but he did an
outstanding job.
Hello My Baby:  i thought Char 0 would end it but they stayed for one more
number.  oh yeah.  they crowd pushed for at least 15 feet just to get closer
tho the side of the stage.  awesome encore.  it definatly just put a smile on
myy face for the rest of the night.
 
all in all great just good vibe feeling show.  see ya in florida!!!!!!!!!

Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 02:17:45 -0800
From: ruphiz [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12/5/99

 
wow.  just wow.
having not been on tour since toronto after oswego, i was stoked to begin
with.
the light show was once again spectacular indoors and the sound was
crystaline.
lots of newer stuff for all.
kudos to RPD and monroe county sheriffs for not heing dicks.
trey called us one of their favs.
what to say?   i need a cd-r of tonite.
 
Phil Trautman
[email protected]
 
P.S.
Jill if you are out there call me.


Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 01:03:34 -0500
From: Anthony Horton [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: rochester show!!!!!
 
i just hot home i live like 5 min away from the blue cross arena so  i am
still pumped up after that
2ndset........wow....maze......fluffhead.......chalkdust.
!!!
my ears are still ringing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my 45th show!!!!!!!!!!!and i must say  tonight is now in my top 5!!!!!!!! of
phish shows.
thanks for one hell of a night boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tony horton....rochester.ny;)

Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 06:02:52 PST
From: Scott Schneider [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: show in rochester
 
The show in Rochester was phat.  Trey was gooving hard!  Jennifer Dances was
wild but short they didn't jam to long on it.  The show ROCKED!



below are reviews of the above reviews, reviewers or the opinions
expressed by the authors

Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1999 22:25:48 -0500
From: Jeremy Teplinsky [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Rochester 12-5-99

Not a review per-say, just a note about one of the other reviews.  As the
barbershop mikes came out, there was a mad dash to that part of the stage.  
Being at the front I was peacefuly carried among the bodies. Also from my
position I was able to see that no one near me was trampled or unprepared
caught by the mass. There seemed to be so much space for everyone to dance
during the show. When there was no more dancing -ie cause every one was
focused on the a-cappella the space reserved for flailing limbs was
imediatly filled, reasonably safely I might add.

Jer

Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 01:17:46 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Rochester reviews

I have no problem with people being critical of shows. There are just some
shows where you're disappointed because you didn't hear a certain tune,
obviously. You see that many shows and that's gonna happen. But that
doesn't mean you can't have a good time and enjoy the show nonetheless,
even if you don't like a particular tune. (Although I refuse to cheer for
Strange Design.) However, by no means do I want to read about people's
opinions on Trey flubs and how "ON" "the boys" were. Grow up. I suggest
people try to observe nuances of the shows and write about them rather
than trying to interpret every single note and wondering whether Trey was
really in the groove. Funny stories from the lot, close encounters with
the band and comments about the security are interesting, let's see more
of them and less of personal life connections with Phish music. I really
don't care how much you wanted to see Antelope and how psyched you were to
hear it! I'm also not very interested in hearing how great Tweezer is on
acid or how it was your 7th show since Oswego. Let's try to add a little
dignity to these reviews, people, you obviously are intelligent or you
wouldn't listen to Phish.


Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 01:34:29 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 12-4-99 Review

    After Friday I still wanted more, as did most people. Also, I am tired
of people thinking that being hyper-critical of the band makes them "super
cool" or something. Maybe to someone who hasen't seen 100 shows, this
weekend's shows were great. Anyways, I digress. The point of the matter is
that the boys pulled out Simple, Guyute, Tweezer, and Loving Cup, all
worthy 2nd set songs, in the first set. Thes second set was no less
jam-laden, opening with a strong DWD, followed by Split Open. Still, I
wanted some funkiness, which was answered by an nicely extended Moma
Dance. Then, perhaps in celebration of Hannaukah, a phat Aveenu Malkenu,
preceded by Farmhouse. For a closer, I must admit I wanted Mike's, but
Bowie was very nice, ending in a stellar crescendo. The encore, Julius, I
could have done without, but I have always felt that the band likes this
song a lot more than the phans, but hey, they call the shots, right?
Tweeprise fit perfectly to close the shows out.
    All in all, people can say what they will. But negativity gets us
nowhere. You would think that an experienced phish veteran would realize
that the band's agenda does not revolve around what they want to hear. And
that what was one person's 20th Tweezer could have been someone's 1st, and
that then it would be different. We've got to look at the big picture.


Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 17:30:54 -0500
From: Aaron Valachovic [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Rochester review
 
Phish is Phish and they ALWAYS put on a good show folks.  Comparing shows
gets old quick.  Those of you twelve show goers will soon find this out.  
Next show take a look around you and meet your neighbors. I've been seeing
'em for years now.  From the little crowds to the large ones >>>> it's all
about your neighbors and the company you're in.
        To those that were there, thanks for being part of a very
enjoyable evening.  The first sign was indeed the weather.  My friends and
I stood outside the minime (oops), I mean the minivan, with our T-shirts
on sucking down cold ones.  The Rochester skyline in the distance was a
sight that gave those traveling city to city something to talk about. In
addition to this, the police gave out repeated warnings and virtually no
hassles in our lot. This lax attitude was passed on to all security
members at the Blue Cross Arena.  I ended up bringing in cold beer, glass,
and other enjoyables without so much as a pat on my side.  Then out of
nowhere Carini!  What a opener.  Taping is fun, but sometimes it consumes
you. I was so involved I did not realize what the first song was for about
my first thirty seconds of level altering mood swinging. A nice new song
came out of the night as well as a stunning "Miketick's Groove."  Thanks,
Phish.
        To the NYE troops, have a safe journey and enjoy your
celebrations.  A couple years ago I dreampt of seeing Phish on this
upcoming, glorious day, but in 2000 the Creak is where I freak.


Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 02:13:01 EST
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: What did we learn from the pilgrims?

My review:  Everything was great!  Especially a very dirty Tweezer and
Moma dance.

Come on people, whats up with bashing such a wonderful thing?  I have alot
to say about how over-critical some of phish's most dedicated fans can be.
People fail to realize how lucky they are to even be in the arena and that
there are plenty of people, who would die for the seats that they're
taking up.  I have no doubt that those who criticized saturday's show were
screaming as loud as I was.  Especially saturday, my 6th show, I was on
Pages side standing with my tired feet on the steps the whole concert long
and this is the only band that I would do that for.  Are these people who
shit on the band completely ignoring the energy that filled that stadium?  
The band was so tight and it really seemed like they were happy to be
there and dying to please or at least make up for friday night.  I have to
say that Fish's face is so entertaining when he's holding it all together.  
I could swear that fishman was looking at me...  (Just in case, I was
under the lights on the right side of the stage wearing a green shirt and
a huge smile )  Mike was a star and Page seemed so gracious.  Trey was on
his knee at one point. Phish was so good that it took me two hours to peel
my orange.  I devoured it during Moma dance.  Saturday night ROCKED,
period, and I am thoroughly pleased with the direction that the band is
moving in.  Maybe they should do more classics (im dying to hear Esther)
but they have every right to evolve.
        I regret to say that I have only been a fan since 97 but since
that incredible night at a concert, in Denver, I have completely taken
this band into... forgive me... my heart.  I fully appreciate the short
time I get to spend with them at concerts because after that its back
home, back to work, back to listening to phish in the grips of traffic...
with a smile on my face, of course.

My review:  Everything was great!  (Especially a very dirty Tweezer and
Moma dance, Circus was gorgeous, Thank you so much for bowie, and the
second set in michigan.  2001 and YEM is the highlight of my year)

Thank you so much to the band for giving me such a good reason to miss
school and fly halfway across the country for.  I'll see you at New Years
(33 hours from home)

Zshanna

PS: Is Denver being punished for some reason.
We are deprived of Phish.

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