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

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

Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2004 17:18:31 -0700
From: eric tipton 
Subject: Re: Phish 7/21/03 review


from Phish.net:

7/21/03 - Verizon Wireless Music Center - Noblesville, Indiana

Set 1: Cities, Runaway Jim, Meat, Water in the Sky, Stash, My Old Home
Place, Vultures, Birds of a Feather > Mike's Song > I am Hydrogen >
Weekapaug Groove

Set 2: Suzy Greenberg > Taste > 46 Days > Tweezer > Also Sprach
Zarathustra > Limb By Limb > Good Times Bad Times

Encore: Loving Cup> Tweezer Reprise

Huge props to JNap for trading me his pavilion ticket for my lawn!

Ahhh, back at my old stomping grounds! Being from Toledo, I caught 95, 96
and 97 and made it to '00 from Colorado. You come to expect alot out of
your favorite band when seeing them play the same venue so many times and
play it so well.

Dead Creek may as well been called Phook Creek. Great times! We made the
drive from Alpine in short order. We got to Dead Creek mid afternoon and
set up our camp in between JNap and thebigz. Z banked big time for four
days, going thru a shitload of fat tire and grilled cheese.

I ended up getting pretty damn drunk on Sunday night. This really came in
handy. I was one of the people that never woke up at all during "The
Perfect Storm." I just sort of remember waking up in the morning in my
tent, sleeping in a very large puddle of water. No worries, I pulled out
my sleeping pad and went back to sleep on the grass and dried out for the
most part. Ask JNap about this one! Is there any truth to a tornado
touching down nearby during the maelstorm?

Onto the show, First set:

Cities: Wow, sweet opener; never would have called this. The Cities I saw
at Deer Creek '97 about put me into the funny farm (in a good way). This
one was the exact opposite, very cut and dry, no real jamming - very
tight version and an excellent way to open up the Creek run.

Jim: Nice, something about this song, to me; says Deer Creek. Not sure
why but it works for me. Nice Runaway, nothing too crazy but tight all
the same.

Meat: Next please.

Water in the Sky: Nice nod to this morning's storm.

Stash: I don't know what's up w/ this tune this tour, but none of them
have really grabbed my attention. Until now. This Stash really goes out
there and gets it done. Very cool and spooky Page breakdown in the
neighborhood of 9 minutes. Best of the tour thus far by far. Kind of
allayed my fears about the future of Stash.

Old Home Place: Standard.

Vultures: For a song that has got to be very difficult to nail as a band,
they have to be very proud of themselves w/ this Deer Creek version.
Lyrics/Vocals: Nailed. Composed sections: Nailed. It just sounded great
and I've got to think this tune is one of the more underrated songs that
they play.

BOAF: Rips your face off! Not as good as say Columbus 99, but this Birds
really gets everyone moving. Wailing guitar courtesy of your favorite red
head. Sweet segue into >

Mike's: Whoa! I never saw this coming and it straight knocked me on my
keister. I love the fact that they are once again playing Mike'sGroove to
end first sets (see Utah)! It's such a great capper and unexpected at
least for me. Mike lays down such a thick foundation behind Trey. Short
Mike's w/ a shaky Trey lead segue into >

I am Hydrogen: Gotta love this classic when it's played well by you know
who. Once Trey gets thru the segue, everything else plays out quite
nicely. Segue into >

Weekapaug: Big time goosebumps for me throughout Mike's intro solo.
Dancing like a goofball with a bunch of other freaks somewhere in
Indiana, it just does not get any better! Crosseyed tease by Trey from
5:19 -> 5:25. What the hell is the vocal at 7:51? Sounds like Page...
Good 'Paug, highlight of the Groove for sure.

Setbreak, First Set highlights: STASH, Vultures, BOAF, Weekapaug.

Second set:

Suzie: Crikey! As the opener? Whatever you say Phish! "Forgot my name did
ya? That's ok, happens to me all the time!!" Every time I hear that it
just rolls me, Fishman's a funny, greasy troll for sure. Great interplay
between Mike and Page in here!

Taste: Phish has made a statement w/ this song on this tour. They want it
to be more of a jam centerpiece I think. It's taking spots in sets that
hold alot of importance I think, moreso than in the past when you would
consistently see it mid first set. Love it or hate it, if you are a fan
of Phish than you must appreciate the extreme tension the band builds
w/in this song and then explodes back into itself. Trey struggles to wrap
this one up a bit at the end and Page even hits on a rare missed note.

46 Days > Oh geez, things are definitely going to get dirty now! It's on
for sure (I was wishing I had some coal [wink.gif] ). This one actually
stays much more low key than I expected. Alot less arena rock and much
more ambient style jamming, especially the last three minutes of it. This
melts/segues into >

Tweezer: Again eh? Number four I think. The energy in the joint is sky
high at this point. Mike Gordon is a bass master, the man can flat out
play. At eight minutes, Page takes over. 3 minutes later segue into >

2001: The mothership has arrived friends, jump on board. CK5 = thou knows
no equal. The man is a flat out genius. Short 2001. I don't think it
really segued into LxL but Phish.net thought so >

Limb: Placement sucks. Flat out. Sorry but I have seen this song so much
since 97 - oddly enough I think this and Taste have very similar jams.
But late second set at the Creek you want a heavy hitter, and this is not
a heavy hitter. What followed however, was.

GTBT:

Wow! That 8/10/97 show is really showing it's face as both Good Times and
Cities were both played that night at the Creek. Again like the Cities,
that GTBT was completely different than tonight's. 97 was an exploration
in mind fucking your audience. This version was straight up arena 
rock.Blistering. I thought my head was going to explode. Good God, what an 
a
mazing way to end the set. Totally out of left field, no one could have
seen this coming!

Encore:

Loving Cup: Now this on the other hand had to have been called by 50% of
those in attendance. Very appropriate though.

Tweezerprise: See above comments.

Second set highlights: Suzie opener, the seguing (not necessarily jamming
of these songs) 46 Days > Tweezer > 2001. Great fluidity between these
songs. But nothing really stood out and grabbed me in regards to the
actual jamming.

Tipton-o-meter: 7.5.

Back to Dead/Phook Creek for late night partying (Wawawawawawawa!). Thank
God for no "The Perfect Storm" sequel on this night.





peace,


et
 

Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 01:46:20 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: Phish review 7.21.03

So I think this is the way I review a show...If not let me know the correct 
way!

So...a review of Phish at Deer Creek July 21, 2003:  

I am not a friend of the band(though I wish I could holla) but I got some 
"band tickets": via Upstaging (Kuroda) Productions so I found myself damn close 
for the first time. I was introduced to the music of Phish in 1994 or 
something.

To the music/vibe first and then a brief Phish synopsis(it'll be good I 
promise):

Arrived early...5 or so..to find a bunch of campers ready for 3 days of 
love(I was there for six hours total) Hung out(FREE PARKING) and drank a few MIke's 
Hard Lemonades...stood in line to piss(Mike's Hard Lemonade) and then headed 
in.

Walked in to the lower(and I do mean lower) pavillion just as the gents 
wanted to play...It was really cool to see them come out(goose bumps). I was VERY 
happy to be there.

Set 1

Cities:  Seemed like they were happy to be there too... and so a spur of the 
moment opener.  The sound was perfect as usual at the Creek and everybody just 
sunk right in.."some good points...some bad points(see set II closer)"

Runaway Jim: One of my favs and also called by me over a Mike's in the 
parking lot. Trey(or him, or he) was feelin' it for a minute...Some of the best 
lyrics by Phish by the way..was it Lawn Boy that this song was cut from? I can't 
remember... Record it sir's...

Meat:  After much debate..sure, why not?  Maybe they had Filet Mignon for 
dinner...

Water in the Sky:  Reminded me of El Cypresso Grande.

Stash: Underated and understated...I guess it's the crowd involvement that 
get's the energy going here..."Maybe so and maybe not"...seemed the band decided 
to cohese during this jam...

Vultures:  HELLO JOHNNY B.!!! He doesn't wake up till 8 p.m. anyway.

Birds of a Feather: Here we go! The band woke up too...Nice ass frickin' jam 
on the tail end. This is rock n' roll duuuude.  Rock star Trey(him or he) for 
a bit...This song will continue to grow...I liked the Rock/Space stuff 
though..

Mike's Groove:  Tempo was good...very good funk section of Weekapaug.  
Sharin' in the groove...we appreciate it.

Set II
Walked to the top of the lawn to get some perrrrspective...

Suzie Greenberg: Trey talked to his wife at setbreak duuude, I just know it.  
Way to bring the noise though. Totally unexpected and very good. Oh yeah, and
>

Taste: I can't see through the lines but one of the better compositions. 
Beauty of a constructed jam..Page-a-licious. Oh...>

46 Days: I like this song and think it has the rock 'n' roll elements to 
become a nice ass jam-piece. They certaintly did it here. Who is Lee Fordham 
anyway?  This got me headed back to my "choice" seats....>

Tweezer: I was starting to analyze again and this song never came to mind(I 
love it when that happens).  One of the tightest licks around... "The 
Rest"(a.k.a. Mike, Page and Fish) decided to turn up the juice around this time..or 
maybe it's 'cause I could hear them again. I was honestly ready for anything at 
this point.   Dude offered me a toke but you know I pussied out.  >

2001:  Also Spract Zharatutsa(sp?) takes to too long to type. Bass and drums 
are the foundation.  It was REALLY cool to see Mr. Kuroda at work here. Step 
up homey..this one is for you... Very tight by the band too. 
Waka-waka-waka.....  >

Limb By Limb: Holy Canoli! A very good song played from Phish's best album to 
date.  The harmonies were there as well as the energy. Rock Star Him...I 
usually space out on segue's so maybe this was awesome but I don't know. Very 
tasty work on those fret's, Parrot Head.

GTBT: See "Cities"...Did I mention this is a rock band? They ain't tryin' to 
be something there not...and it sums up a lot of people's lives. We will have 
up's and down's so just go with both of them.  

E:

Loving Cup>Tweezer Reprise:  Ain't nothin' better than "drinkin" from a 
Loving Cup! I had my face full of it about 3 a.m. that morning..know what I mean?

So...quickly...a GREAT time was had and I will remember it forever.  All you 
haters need to drink some Haterade, relax, and realize these guys have been 
around for 20 years and can do what they damn well please, and they are looking 
forward while at the same time acknowledging(but not dwelling on) the 
past...and they have a LOT of it(the past,not Haterade). There is something about this 
band that keeps me listening and enjoying.  I am the best air guitar player 
in the world.

Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 16:01:47 -0400
From: whitney ray 
Subject: 07/21/ 2003-please reply

OK, so--after being out of the country last winter and missing out on the 
triumphant return, I had made plans to see the band again for the first time 
since Riverbend in Cinci in 2000, almost 3 damn years. There's no better 
place to plug back in than deer creek in the summer, and this 4th week at 
the creek was most likely the best of all my times there-- especially the 
insanely temperate weather--fuckin great.

onto the shows, for chrissake:

monday was a long day of driving and setup for us, so whiskey and weed were 
the buzzes of choice, and perhaps at this point in my career of 
showseein--my favorite. this was my reunion with the boys, long-awaited-- 
and sentiments were at the brim, to say the least. i was fucking stoked. 
arrived in the back of the lawn in gleaming evening sun through big maxfield 
parrish clouds-- man it felt good to be home.

cities opener. i thought it was great-- an immediate sendback to a 96-97 
vibe (that for me penetrated the whole night), and for a talking heads fan 
like me a fuckin treat even if a little mellow.

jim--definitely added the energy we were looking for, and set the crowd 
a-boogiein'.

meat-- reminded me of hampton 99-- except this time i was glad to hear it. 
tightly played, well sung, and unlike hampton, not TOO damn long.

water in the sky--always a favorite for this kentucky boy-- bluegrassy, 
happy, deftly picked--and always puts that big cypress sparkle in the eye 
for those who were there. maintained the upbeat but mellow summertime 
energy.

stash: as kodos would say, "holy flurking shnit!". the whole subdued thing 
was pretty much ripped to shreds by this bad boy. every bit as good as any 
i've ever heard. the boys sounded absolutely freakin huge on this one, and 
the crowd really started to get down and dirty.

my old home place: again, for a kentucky boy-- good shit-- i was hoppin 
around and do-si-doin with the best of them, although i imagine it was a bit 
of a letdown for some after the enormity of stash. love to hear mike sing, 
however. and its a rad song, redneck or no.

Vultures-- well sheeit. good to hear-- a first for me and a treat-- trey 
sounded great. made the night feel special and brought jamming back to the 
fore.

Birds.-- this for me even eclipsed the stash in hugeness and power-- as a 
page fan this was nice to hear the organ wail-- since he seemed to stick to 
the ivories for most of the week-- he is definitely playing differently and 
with different gear, but this is such a favorite , that the energy of the 
night was at a fever pitch, even after the rollercoaster variations of the 
previous 7 songs-- i was totally prepared for this to close the set, but 
something about the momentum told me i was wrong--

MIKES!!!-- dude, are you kidding me-- we had all called this for different 
points in the week, but i totally didn't think it would be this early. 
absolutely sick, raging, etc---maybe not the tightest of all time but top of
the list for exuberance and style--gordon made his presence 
known--continuing into
Hydrogen: i thought spacy, interesting, exploratory, although still plenty 
tight. thought maybe some weird teases in there but couldn't decipher 
anything other than a couple subdued Simple riffs in the undercurrent-- was 
hoping for a simple, after all what is a band without skyscraper, but all of 
a sudden they motored right into
WEEKAPAUG-- again, a 97 or even 99 kind of vibe again here-- audacious, like 
they were saying-- "yeah this is the first set of 6, eat yr damn hearts 
out."ended triumphant with everyone just kind of flabbergasted by the insane 
juggernaut of a first set. i remember looking at my notebook and saying "11 
songs, holy shit."

set dos:to continue the old-school favorites--
Suzy: to open. nice-- had been a very long time for me--always fun-- reminds 
me of all the tripped out girls i've known who loved this song--great 
energy, made everybody nice and loud.

Taste-- this was such a showcase of sound and light-- the mix was pristine-- 
fish sounded so perfect and brilliant, and it seemed like kuroda was 
inviting us all in. i would imagine the dosers were pretty gassed by this 
one. trey got nice and gigantic again-- i was amazed as always-- i had 
gotten pretty anti-trey during the hiatus since i didn't really enjoy the 
solo shows i saw, but man if he didn't redeem himself completely this week. 
building and building--

46 days-- a preview of the hard-core rock and roll vibe of night 2-- i was 
impressed and enthused by this one, although not so familiar. but then 
familiarity itself was embodied in

Tweezer: how many times have i smoked pot in kitchen walk-in freezers? not 
nearly enough to do justice-- knew just from how they were playing that the 
second set would be even huger in intensity than the first, even if there 
was no way to compete with the volume of songlist-- this one (for me) did 
not fade-- and man if i didn't get my wish for a little of bit of funk to 
follow with

2001: this was pure 1999 for me-- perfect, brief, amazingly energetic-- 
hands down the best dance song of the night, and while page's new setup is 
surprisingly Moog-deficient, he ruled this one on the fender rhodes and made 
me give his new gear a chance. god damn he is bad. at this point, seamless 
segues were the nature of the beast, and after a final chat with zarathustra 
we were sneakily immersed in the beginnings of

Limb x Limb: the tightest  and most powerful i have yet heard-- just reading 
this setlist without being there i would have been maybe a little skeptical 
of the ability of this song to maintain the rock-solid energy of set II thus 
far, but hell naw, it was bad-ass. my friend amy had been wishing for this 
one and i was stoked for her. the raging continued-- and again, the 
hard-core rock and roll vibe of night 2 was foreshadowed by the classic

GTBT--good. a little standard, but phish definitely knows how to work this 
tune. after eleven songs in set one, i was a little surprised this was the 
closer, but there wasn't a soul out there who wasn't expecting a gigantic 
encore-- and the sea of lighters was not denied.

Encore
Loving cup--a Page piano anthem, and one of the best songs off of exile, my 
favorite stones album-- i know this is a chestnut, but anybody there who had 
been to more than a couple shows was sure more was yet to come--nice to hear
page clear and clean after all trey's majesty, but then he came right back 
to the front, with what i was rooting for:
TWEEPRISE: they build up and peak few songs better than this, and this show 
was no exception. a triumphant and traditional end to a great night-- trey's 
little break during the cup freshened him up during this and he was 
trademark-electric.

All in all, genius, i must say-- kept us guessing through one of the biggest 
set ones i have ever seen, covered my favorite bands (even if a little more 
than necessary), gave my kentucky ass plenty of bluegrass, played a dynamite 
set 2 with unstoppable energy, and above all, played like they had never 
even put down their instruments. my sincere thanks to the band that i still 
love to see live more than any other-- i know its late, but welcome back.


"Therefore, what other men teach,
I will also consider and then teach to others.
Thus, 'the strong and violent do not come to a natural end.'
I will take this as the father of my studies."
                                                                -Lao Tzu

Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2003 14:09:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: D. Lucas 
Subject: 7-21-03 Deer Creek review

O what a beautiful buzz...

Ok, so I'm a huge Phish fan, I know the shows, I know the songs, I hear
the changes, I enjoy all the trivial things that the uninitiated fan does
not care about.  But I'm not the fan who has been to a thousand shows, or
even fifty.  7/21 was my fifth show.  You see, I actually have a
philosophy about this thing that says if you go see every show that you
might become desensitized to the magic of the music.  Phish concerts, to
me, are a combination of an anticipation, wonderment, and realization in
that you spend the days before the show(s) wondering what it will be like,
how much fun you'll have or what you'll see hear and hear when you
actually get there.  I knew that I would only see one show on this tour,
so in my mind, the experience could no doubt be a great one, whether they
broke out a song not often played, or raged all night long, or the
night-ending grilled cheese was a little burnt...the experience for me was
dependent on all these factors, but really it was also independent of all
the things, because after all I was seeing Phish!

My brother and I got to the lot about 5-5:30, little traffic thanks to a
little directional help from a local friend.  We sat around, listening to
some tunes from MMW to SKB, all the while downing a healthy dose of Dos
Equis and pretzels.  Shakedown Street was crowded at 6 when we checked it
out, regular mix of hippies, wookies, and grilled cheese vendors, so we
headed back to the car for a few more beers. 

Seven beers later, we headed towards the gate, and we were actually
walking in, when, at ~7:35 the bars to Cities kicks in.  We had pavilion
seats in the second tier to the left, which in the end, were great seats. 
When I attended my first Phish on 8/10/97 Cities was the second set
opener, a huge 20 minute version that could hardly be matched.  This first
set Cities really got the show moving at a good pace, and by the time we
got to the seats the Creek was getting their groove on.

Runaway Jim was next, and typical of most solid Jims, the middle jam was
rocking.  While Jims are usually placed as the opener, it was nice to see
the crowd already into the show by the time Jim came along.  

Meat was cool, I was happy to get to see this one live, because it is
somewhat of a rarity.  There's not much to say about the playing of it
though, as it was a standard version.  Nonetheless a fun tune, and they
extended the start and stop jam a little more than what is one the album. 


Water in the Sky is a song I've always dug because it's Phish's own
bluegrassy tune.  Towards the end, I excused myself for a trip to the
bathroom, and the band wasted little time in cranking the energy level up
about ten notches with Stash.  I missed the opening because of my pit
stop, but it was great to hear the opening rift walking back to the stage.
 You know things are great when you can't help but dance-walk back to your
seat!

I don't have any live Stashes to compare this one to but I know it was a
real cleanly played, collaborative effort from the boys.  I don't really
know who the "all-star" performer was this night, everyone played really
well.  Stash was worth admission alone. (I know that's cliched, but an apt
description here)


I really like bluegrass, so My Old Home Place was a welcome, cool down
after Phish had basically destroyed and built anew the crowd at Deer Creek
with the Stash.  Here's another clich� for ya: get the tapes.

Vultures was great, but not altogether memorable to me.  It wasn't because
it wasn't into the song; in fact it was the exact opposite.  You see,
sometime during Stash, I slipped into a alter-conscious Phish reality
whereby my whole being was consumed by the music and all I could do was
receive the auditory deliciousness that was Phish was serving.  Whether my
feet were moving to the beat, or my arms were jamming with Trey on air
guitar, I was totally into the moment and the music.  

The rest of the set was a dream, a sequence you could only wish for in
your greatest Phish fantasy.  BOAF contained a momentous, melodious jam
that I thought would carry the crowd to set break happiness, but indeed
Phish had more in store for us.  Mike's->H2O->Weekapaug was something I
had personally hoped for.  For one, I'd never seen one, in my four
previous shows.  Secondly I believed that Mike's would be held back for
the third night, as I believe Mike's is Phish penultimate jam.  I was very
happy, and I think about 20,000 people were too.  There was a repeat jam
in Weekapaug that was glorious, one that lingers in my mind still today. 
I actually thought at one point during the show, "this will be awesome to
hear on tape.

Short set break, during which I spoke with some folks the first set.  

OK. So the second set, what a monster!  For one thing, the segues not only
were all fluid, but Phish let the energy drop even a notch.  No Fridays,
no Velvet Seas, no Caspians to let you catch a breath (or the freakin'
bathroom for that matter).  If you look at that set on paper, it pretty
damn exciting.  Well seeing it fold live was something to behold.  Suzy is
a huge crowd pleaser, an old school tune that is compositionally
interesting, albeit a lyrically silly.  What a fun start to the set!  

So from here on out, Trey was genius, cranking out magnificent leads, that
weren't overbearing or vainly produced, but rather with a "I'm hear to
blow your mind"-type attitude that you could just feel coming from the
stage.  Taste raged, 46 Days was like something Phish had been cooking up,
just waiting for the perfect time to bring out and feed to all the hungry
fans, and all the nay sayers about the new material.  The segue to Tweezer
I missed because of a bathroom stop, but this Tweezer was a tight,
straight on, no bull shit song.

It's hard to give much detail about how awesome the segue from Tweezer to
Also Sprach was, but this version didn't have the long build up that I've
heard before, but a rather a swift, no frills, all thrills version.

The segues were truly fluid, I can't recall any moment sitting thinking,
OK what's next, Phish never gave me the chance.  LimbxLimb was also great,
and GTBT showed that Phish can take a cover and make it their own.  Trey,
I think, really was trying to lift the roof off the building during this
one, if Deer Creek has to many more energetic explosions like that it
might need maintenance.  

The encore was perfect for the time, as I thought of all the people here
that really were enjoying a beautiful buzz.  I know Loving Cup is played
as an encore often, but it really didn't diminish the greatness of the
show.

One final thing: There are a lot of great shows that Phish has played over
the years, but in a lot of the shows you can point one song or moment when
they brought energy down with a slow song or cooled things down with a
less than raging jam.  That^�s what made 7/21 so great and original.  In
that second set you'd be hard pressed to find anything weak about the song
selection, segues, or jams.  They all worked, and they were all a joy to
experience.  For that I thank Phish.

I'm interested to hear some of the other shows of the tour, because if
they contain the energy and greatness (or even some of the same stuff)
then this tour has been and will be a great one.

Hopefully I won't amend my review after I get the flacs (thanks livephish)
of the show this evening.


Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 12:41:39 -0400
From: Brandon Kraemer 
Subject: July 21st, 2003: Deer Creek Show #1

A really impressive show by many counts. �I am a sound guru and the mix was
just about perfect from the beginning of the show. �I called a cover opener,
Cities was �funky and slow, �a good warm up version. �Runaway Jim was great! �I
like any song that Mike sings but the long pause between Jim and Meat during
which a row of phans held up lettered signs spelling a request (vultures?) had
all ready for a big jam, then the slow Meat, had a heavy groove. �I was really
blown away by Trey’s guitar soloing Vultures. �He was really on this
night and Birds of a Feather continued in this vein. �Loved the Shock the
Monkey tease in Weekapaug!

Set 2 was even more off the hook, special nods to Taste, 2001 and my favorite
Zep song Good Times Bad Times. �They really tore the roof of the dump with this
one, and it reminded me of my 3rd phish show, also at Deer Creek when they
wailed a Whipping Post that ended all Whipping Posts! �Velvet Sea Never, Arena
Rock Forever!

ate: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 01:58:55 -0500
From: Thomas Laxson 
Subject: review of 7-21-03

I'll keep it short, since I know that no one even reads the long reviews and 
no one cares what the lot scene was like.

I: Cities, Runaway Jim, Meat, Water in the Sky, Stash, Old Home Place, 
Vultures, Birds of a Feather> Mike's Song> I am Hydrogen> Weekapaug Groove
II: Suzy Greenberg> Taste, 46 Days> Tweezer> Also Sprach Zarathustra> Limb 
By Limb> Good Times Bad Times
E: Loving Cup> Tweezer Reprise

Cities was really tame and rather boring.  It shouldn't have even been 
played.

Jim should've been the opener.  Trey really tore some shit up during the 
brief jam.  Unfortunately, his energy was wasted as we were dumped back into 
soundcheck territory for a few more songs.

Meat blows.

Water in the Sky was probably the longest one I've ever heard.  Some 
gorgeous soloing, but nothing to write home about.

Stash had a massive (or so it seemed) jam that really got the energy 
flowing, but then it never peaked; it just returned to the "maybe so, maybe 
not" theme and then ended like a standard Stash.  There were a couple 
minutes in there where it sounded a lot like Back on the Train, which I was 
thinking would have been one hell of a segue.

Old Home Place is the same Old Home Place.

Vultures, though one of my favorite songs and one of the two that I was 
hoping to see tonight (the other being Ghost), just never hit it.  The intro 
was different, perhaps flubbed by Page.  The jam wasn't really jammy, and it 
ended just when it started to pick up.

I think the boys realized that the show wasn't going very well, because from 
here on out they tore my asshole open!

Birds was probably the best ever.  It was probably only around the twelve 
minute mark, but it was so fast and loud and just hard core.  It returned to 
the main theme, and everyone figured they were just going to end it like 
they usually do, but Trey didn't want to stop.  He tagged on a couple of 
minutes of spacy jam that segued very well into ...

Mike's.  Not the best, but definitely the most rocking version I've ever 
heard.  This got me wondering if Trey had been listening to a lot of Jimmy 
Page lately, because he was a fucking rock star.  It was so on and so raging 
that, for a couple of minutes, I forgot about all the heartache and guilt 
that falling in love with my best friend's wife has caused me lately.

After a few minor flubs in the transition, they were into Hydrogen.  
Beautiful as always, but you know what to expect from Hydrogen.

Weekapaug had a really nice old school bass intro.  The jam sounded a lot 
like '97, with a gradual build-up, some tempo changes, and a very organized 
peak and return to theme.

For once, the setbreak wasn't long enough -- at least not with those
bathroom lines.

Suzy was too short and mild for my taste, but it's fucking Suzy, so I can't 
complain.

I totally called the Taste, which was probably the best version I've heard.  
I noticed a trend by now: they kept fucking up, but then making up for it in 
the next tune.  This Taste went on and on but never got boring.  Trey's new 
style really works for me, just the way he tears into every solo like it's 
HIS band.  I mean, he writes 90% of the material, so it pretty much is his, 
and he proved it on this tune.  Once again, Trey is a ROCK STAR.

46 Days is my least favorite song on Round Room, but tonight changed that.  
It was jammed, like the 'Paug, in a really '97 style of coordinated thematic 
jamming.  It too had a bit of spaciness at the end, leaving everyone 
wondering what could segue out of this.

Tweezer was a complete surprise.  After hearing Jim, Stash, and a Mike's 
Groove, I don't think anyone was expecting another classic epic song, but we 
sure as hell got it.  Relatively short (for Tweezer), it too ended with a 
couple minutes of space.  It was nothing special as far a Tweezers are 
concerned, but this was Deer Creek, this was Phish, and this was Tweezer; I 
don't think anyone could ask for much more in life.

2001 was extremely short, but I liked it that way.  It tends to drag, but 
not tonight.  Quicker than you can say "Bob's your uncle," Trey was playing 
the now classic ascending chords of ...

Limb by Limb.  Again, Trey took the opportunity to make this the best Limb 
to date.  This time he combined the two successful jamming strategies of the 
night: at first he ripped it open; then he let the other three guys inside 
for a really nice, tempo-shifting, coordinated jam.

GxBx had the rockingest and loudest jam that it's ever had.  It may have 
been Phish's longest version of this song as well.  This was stadium rock at 
its best.

Loving Cup was a disappointment because they play it all the time -- and 
always as an encore.  Also, I wasn't thrilled about cover songs opening the 
show, closing the second set, and being the encore.  I must have forgotten 
about the Tweezer just half an hour before, because ...

Tweeprise shocked me.  It was really tight and had an extended ending.  
Other than that, it was just Tweeprise.


Though I didn't mention it, Fish was really on tonight.  Page had his 
moments, but they were so brief and so few.  Mike seems to have loosened up 
a lot since the hiatus, but he's still not taking center stage as much as he 
could.  Trey was on fire, but it took him a while to get stoked.

This was more of a rock n' roll style Phish than we've ever heard.  This was 
my first show since the hiatus, so I don't know if that's the way it has 
been, but it was definitely nice.  There wasn't as much funk as '97, not as 
much space as '00, not as much exploration as '94-'95, not as much crap as 
'96 or '98.  This really is a new band.  Most of the fans have always seemed 
to get into the harder, faster, louder stuff more than anything else, so 
it's a great direction for everyone; and, despite the first set's flaws, 
this show epitomized what Phish has become.  Then again, by definition, 
doesn't every show do that?

Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 1:07:05 -0400
From: [email protected]
Subject: Wow, Deer Creek Night 1 a keeper!!!


1st night back at "The Creek" in 3 years and the boys were on top of their
game!!  Cities got the groove going right away,and a sweet Jim followed
smoothly., but the real action for me and everyone else was a 40 minute segment
from Set 2.  46 Days>Tweezer>2001 was as tight jamming as you'll ever see. Lots
of energy, very upbeat, its gonna be tough to top over the next 2 nights.


gREG

Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 10:18:56 -0500
From: [email protected]
Subject: Phish - Back at Deer Creek 7/21 - Review


Got to Deer Creek about 5:30.  The lot was good and well. Everybody was pumped 
for the show and having a great time. No problems at all from security, etc^� 
and none of this $1000 vending ticket bs I^�ve been hearing about at Alpine. The 
staff at Deer Creek proved once again that they respect the Phish fans and 
their love for music and having a good time. Anyway, on to the show.  On the 
way in to the show, got a glimpse of the limited edition Pollock prints for the 
Deer Creek show.  $40 bucks a pop but they sold out as the show started. Sweet 
print though. People were surprised as the band came out early at 7:35 with 
Cities.  The place went nuts and the energy was extremely high right off the 
bat. This was my first show since the ^�break^� and Phish proved that they 
haven^�t lost a beat as they rocked through the first set.  Stash was a 
highlight ^� really nice jam.  I thought BOAF was going to end the set ^� then 
^� 
holy shit ^� you started hearing the 1st notes of Mike^�s and the crowd was re-
energized for about a 30 minute mike^�s groove.  The first set came in at a hour 
and a half! Everybody was excited at the set break and damn did I have to take 
a piss.  One of the most high energy 1st sets I have seen.  People expected the 
same and more in the 2nd set and boy did we get it.  The band let Trey shine in 
this second set.  Once again, started off high energy with Suzy Greenberg into 
Taste. They jammed 46 days very nicely and got into a really slow Pink Floyd-
like jam that chilled everyone out and them bam . . Tweezer baby! Re-energized 
the crowd again and the energy never stopped from there.  Kick ass 2001, then 
Limb by Limb, and a ridiculous Good Times Bad Times.  Trey really rocked the 
fucking house on this GTBT. Encore was a very happy, energetic Loving Cup that 
just made everyone feel good and the highest energy Tweezer Reprise I^�ve seen 
(a lot of the time, people know its coming and leave or don^�t care, not this 
one though) At the end of the Reprise, the show ended with Trey doing some 
crazy feedback shit with his guitar pointing it at the crowd and then ended 
with him playing and holding his guitar above his head with one hand ^� crowd 
really loved it. Got a grilled cheese and a bomb ass veggie burrito in the lot 
and chilled with some friends on a beautiful night in the farm fields of 
Indiana. See you^�all the next 2 nights.

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