7-9-03 - Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA

please review the show, not the other reviews....

Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2004 17:13:47 -0700
From: eric tipton 
To: [email protected]
Subject: Phish 7/9/03 review


Dan, the review for 7/9 on Phish.net from me is actually from 7/8.� Here
is the correct review for 7/8...

7/09/03 - Shoreline Amphitheatre - Mountain View, California

Set 1: You Enjoy Myself* -> Simple > Mist, Chalkdust Torture**, Bathtub
Gin

Set 2: Boogie On Reggae Woman > AC/DC Bag, Piper^, Twist, Scents & Subtle
Sounds, Mike's Song^^ > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove^^^

Encore: Loving Cup

* unfinished; ** followed by several vamp endings (inc. the final bit of
Big Ball Jam); ^ segued into 2 or 3 distinct jams before ending; ^^ w/
heavy fog; ^^^ w/ Mike on foot bell




After the Chula Vista show we drove to some point north of L.A. and holed
up in a motel. We made the long drive to Shoreline the following day. Got
to love driving by Gilroy, CA - garlic capital of the world. We checked
into our hotel in Mountain View, hit a liquor store and rolled into the
lot around 5:30.

Cops were being complete pricks making people pour out coolers of beer.
That's how it was on 10/6/00 but they got more mellow for the next day
and the same held true for this two day Shoreline run. So we are sitting
there drinking beer when a ticket broker tells us he has 3rd row tickets.
Malcolm and I talk him down to $90 for the pair. So I take off to sell my
sec 201 or 202 (whatever it was it was in the 200's: not a bad seat). The
extra situation was unreal, so many people had them and lawns were being
miracled left and right. After 45 minutes I found some dude that gave me
$25 bucks for it. I lost $20 bucks on the whole thing but as this night
turned out, I could care less.

I ambled in and found my seat. Saw a friend of mine Brent from Boulder
that I had met at Trey in Berkeley in '01 and that I see at every damn
West Coast Phish/Trey show I go to (gotta love that!). OK so the Ticket
Broker guy was incorrect in saying we were 3rd row; we in fact were 7th
row, just a couple of rows in front of junkbondking. Great fucking seats,
better than the 8th row seats I had for Phoenix and Chula; the Shoreline
seats were much more centered.

Malcolm walks in and sits down next to me and a few minutes later out
walks the band. Shit eating grins all around us not too mention on stage.

First set:

YEM: Jesus, you've got to be kidding?! Is this a dream? You have to love
a band that does this kind of stuff: 10/7/00 last show before hiatus at
Shoreline and they encore w/ YEM. First time back at Shoreline and what
do they open w/? That's right folks, freakin' YEM! Damn I love this band!
This was a smoking YEM, Cactus dropping bombs all over the damn place -
woo hoo, 17 minutes of bliss for this guy! There were a couple of Simple
teases in there somewhere, no vocal jam and segue into >

Simple: We indeed have it Simple! Pretty good version - not too long
clocking in at 10+ minutes.

Mist: After the blistering start to this show, I was pleased w/ this
selection. Trey's vocals sound great.

Chalkdust: I kid you not when I say this Chalkdust is the fire. Shotgun
Trey at his finest here. Awesome.

Gin: The band really means business tonight as was made apparent here.
Holy cow, this Gin is just insane. This was my 63rd show and I love the
fact that twice in this almost 27 minute song that I had to look at my
setlist notes to realize "Oh yeah, this is still Gin!" No other band has
ever been able to take me on such a roller coaster ride w/ songs of this
nature; and alas they are still doing it to me! Love it! The whole band
was such an intense groove machine throughout this monster, always
listening to one another while maintaining their own distinct playing.

Setbreak: First set highlights: All of it - yes; including the Mist.
Phish is back mofo's and boy do they mean business. Malcolm went to get a
beer, I chilled out where I was and talked to Chris for awhile.

Second set:

Boogie On: At this point I am thinking; yep this show will be one for the
ages - no doubt in my mind. This stayed short and sweet w/ a segue into >

AC/DC Bag: Oh hell yes it is so on now. Hold on to your hats kids 'cause
it's going to get nuts in here under the tent! This Bag features Mike
laying the funk down and Trey shredding my poor brain. Damn this was hot!

Piper: It became clear to me during the intro to Piper that there would
be no breathers; no let-up's to this second set: just pedal to the damn
medal all the way. Bring it boys and man did they during this Piper. It
goes into all kinds of directions, I loved every minute of it and I can't
say that w/ most Pipers I see. 19 minutes of bliss (yeah you may see me
use that word a couple of times in this review and for good reason!)

Twist: I am not a fan of this tune in the least bit anymore. With that
being said this was a very good Twist. They didn't extend it to 20
minutes of boring, getting lost jamming. They capped it at 11 minutes and
there was some really good jamming in there. Hell, I kept boogeying
throughout it! Cool segue into >

Scents and Subtle Sounds: I was excited to hear this after seeing the
Phoenix debut a couple of nights ago. After reading a review on Phishnet
I have realized what that middle jam in this song sounds like to me:
Sparks. It is very similar. I know very little when it comes to the
technical side of music. All I know is that the middle jam does have a
similar sound to Sparks and the end jam is similar to a Hood or a Slave.
It matters little to me. What mattered to me this night was the way this
song MOVED ME. The lyrics are beautiful number one. But during the jam I
found myself getting very verklempt. I was so touched during this tune
and couldn't help but feel that this song says alot about the upside of
Phish's future. [smile.gif] Definitely a classic in the making.

A long pause after Scents is over, band conferring...

Mike's: Shit Malcolm you called it buddy! I didn't think the night could
possib ly get any better and then they drop this atomic bomb on us! The
place just erupts as the opening notes ring out. YEEEEEEEESSS! This
Mike's would be relatively standard but very well played at the same
time. Just the fact that they were playing Mike's this deep in the set,
shit I am at a loss for words. 10 minute Mike's w/ a segue into >

Hydrogen: Thank you, thank you, thank you Phish. So classic, so old
school. Pretty well played and a segue into >

Weekapaug: Mike just brings the house down as usual. Again pretty
standard Mike's Groove as a whole but very solid too. A ten minute
Weekapaug ends the set. The band says nothing after first set and after
second set, they didn't need to. They looked pretty pleased, we sure
were!

What a night! At this point after dancing HARD all night I was still
feeling pretty damn good. I think Malcolm called the encore too:

Encore: Loving Cup. A more appropriate song could not have been played in
this spot. Yeah, it's played alot maybe overplayed. Didn't matter tonigt
one bit. "What a beautiful buzz" indeed. After my dissapoint w/ the
Phoenix and Chula shows, I felt like this show completely validated just
why I was on tour -> you never know when the band is going to sneak up
and grab you. Well they did tonight and this guy was back on the train
(yes I am a dork).

Second set highlights: Boogie>Bag, Piper, Scents, MikesGroove. Malcolm, I
am real glad I was able to share this show w/ you bro - I will never
forget it. People, haggle w/ ticketbrokers - trust me on this one, it
just might be worth your time like it was for us tonight. The energy of
the band just rolling off the stage was incredible. It was like a
heatwave coming off the band and enveloping the whole ampitheater, the
boys were FEELING it tonight!

Back to our sweet hotey (good work on that one Malcolm) for some late
night partying. Ah, the best of times this night folks; the best!

I give this show a big, fat 9 on the Tipton-o-meter. You heard me: a 9!!!
peace,


et


Date: 
Mon, 14 Jul 2003 16:43:59 -0700 From: Brian O'Malley 
Subject: Shoreline 7/9/03

After seeing quite a rockin show the previous night in Chula Vista, I was
very excited for the first night at Shoreline.  I had never been to this
venue and it certainly didn't disappoint.  Got to the lot at a reasonable
hour and enjoyed the northern cali scene quite a bit.  Walking up to the
show, I needed to go to will call to get my ticket, but some very kind
person just gave me a ticket and saved me the hassle, so in we went.

We were very pleased with our seats as they were right behind the light
board and right in the thick of things.  So as I walk away from the beer
line at 7:43, I hear the opening notes to YEM.  Now this is cool for
everyone in the venue, but extra special for me as it was my first YEM after
17 shows.  So I ran to my seats and settled in for the night.

YEM was its usual wonderful self and to my listening pleasure, no vocal jam,
but straight into Simple which I picked up early.  What an amazing combo to
start the show.  I was happy to hear Mountains in the Mist because it was on
my friends wish list and it was a nice downer before the madness of
Chalkdust ensued.  I don't remember much about Chalkdust accept that it was
raging and tight.  As soon as I heard the first notes to Bathtub, I knew it
would be legendary.  I was reading someone's review earlier and they said
that at one point they had to ask what song was playing.  I myself got lost
in the song as well.  So many ups and downs, can't wait to hear it on CD.

Overall, first set was great.  Great balance of composition and varied
jamming.  The crowd was into it from the first notes of YEM and as I looked
around the entire set, everyone was enthralled and ready for more.  Little
did we know the second set would be one of the best from front to back I've
ever seen.

When they opened up with Boogie On, I was stoked.  I was really excited for
it to get dark out and see what the lights looked like under the tent.  The
Boogie On was standard and got everyone goin and then into AC/DC.  All
night, there were great combinations and song choices that left you
wondering what they could put together next.  AC/DC was ragin, great guitar
from Trey and enough can't be said about Mike.  He was thumping away in San
Diego and kept it up through Shoreline.  Piper was a song that I used to not
get into, but since the one I just saw in Vegas and now this one, it has
climbed to the top of my charts.  Such beautiful jamming and they have been
throwing in a lot of reggaeish, decadent rock that just gets me entranced.
Can't wait to see how this song continues to evolve.  Probably one of
highlights of the night, amongst many would be the Twist>Scents and Subtle
Sounds.  I have heard about 3 Twists before this and by far this was my
favorite.  They kept it very bluesy and laid back.  The ones I saw in the
past have been Trey dominated with so many notes.  This was a free for all
that everyone contributed to.  Mike was thumping, Trey was laying down some
bluesy/funk and being very patient.  Overall it was just perfectly placed in
the set and rolled into Scents.

In Chula Vista, I remember thinking to myself that they haven't come up with
any new composed classics recently.  When they started playing Scents, I
loved the opening reggae groove, the lyrics and then into a beautiful
ambient jam.  As I was taking it all in, I was thinking that I could hear
this song a ton and not get sick of it.  Can't wait to hear it on CD.  After
a long pause by the boys, I along with everyone in the venue was shocked to
hear the opening notes to Mikes.  What a great version, straight forward but
fun with the fog machine and lights that were entrancing.  Right into
Hydrogen, which was  a first for me, and then of course Mr. Michael Gordon
and Weekapaug.  No disappointments in the second set.  Every single song
they played was played to the best of their ability and it is one of those
shows that you walk out of and can't believe you just witnessed one of the
greats.

Loving Cup was the icing on the cake.  What more can you ask for than being
sent home for the night with such a rager.  Nothing better than a song that
ends a perfect night with Trey singing "and I know I play a bad guitar".
Perfect.

This show is one for the ages and let everyone know that the boys are here
to stay.  After the long drive from San Diego, this was quite a treat and
definately solidified itself into my top five shows.  All the nay Sayers
that have bagged on second night in Shoreline should realize that after
seeing this show, anything would be a disappointment.  Keep it up boys.
Thanks.

O'Malley

Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2003 20:49:22 -0700
From: Mike Indgin

7/9/03-Shoreline

So happy to report that Phish is back at full strength. The best news is
that the harmonies are back! Trey's voice is strong and back in tune and
their voices are melding nicely. Maybe the singing lessons they took before
the New Jersey Star Spangled Banner paid off. They are also a tight and
cohesive unit once again, making my soul so happy.

Regarding this show, yes, the setlist is unbelievable, but even more
outrageous is the fact that the show was actually better than the setlist!

Things started out a bit sadly for those of us with extra tickets as beggars
could be choosers and name their price for a ticket. I had trouble GIVING
away my extra lawn seats.

The weather was perfect and the boys came on at 7:40. I couldn't believe my
ears when they broke into YEM. Two YEMs in a row at the same venue. Has that
ever happened before? The fighter jet pass-by added a nice touch to the
middle of the jam. Interesting descent into Simple...the whole night was
filled with exploratory jams and segueways (not to be confused with the
Segway Mike was driving thru the crowd during the setbreak of 7/10). My
buddy Frank actually was hoping for a Mist, probably the only person in the
venue with that as his top request. Chalkdust was blistering and the Gin was
out of this world. Didn't even feel cheated at a 5 song first set, although
it was quite a contrast to the long, epic 9 song first Shoreline set on
7/31/97. 


Boogie On>ACDC BAG paired two of my favorite songs. Then came Piper with the
highlight of the night--the jam that followed. And then I finally got my
Twist (my first since Trey's birthday in 2000). Bring back Bug, Jiboo, First
Tube and Sand please! Love those farmhouse songs.

Scents and Subtle Sounds is an interesting new song, although the middle jam
is too much like Sparks and the end jam is exactly like the one in Harry
Hood. Of course, any time you hear the opening notes of a Mike's Song this
deep in a set, it comes as a delightful shock. At least this time I still
had some energy to enjoy it, unlike what happened to me in Red Rocks 96. The
climax to Mike's had Trey doing some weird funk licks instead of the typical
heavy metal meltdown. I knew Hydrogen was coming because of the soundcheck
video on their website. They pretty much nailed it. And Weeks was typical
shake yur ass perfection. Loving Cup as an encore proved they were out to
get an A+ in song selection. Overall the best show IMO since the return and
one of my top five since my first show in 93. All this and I got my Divided
Sky the next night. Thank you for not giving it to the Gorge this year.
Yippee!!

Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 16:21:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dave Shumate 
Subject: Shoreline 7/9/03 Review


07/09/03 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
Set I: You Enjoy Myself > Simple, Mist, Chalkdust Torture, Bathtub Gin
Set II: Boogie On Reggae Woman> AC/DC Bag, Piper, Twist, Scents and Subtle 
Sounds,Mike's Song> I am Hydrogen> Weekapaug Groove
Encore: Loving Cup

Set I

It seems like only a short time ago that I was sitting on the lawn at
Shoreline watching Phish close out 17+ years of touring before going on
hiatus.  Based off last night's performance, I think it is safe to say that
the boys were glad to be back and they wasted no time by busting right into
YEM to open the first set.  This was definitely an appropriate choice
considering they closed out the 2000 before the hiatus tour with YEM at
Shoreline.  This version was on point from the very beginning and featured
some nice work by the Cactus on bass.  No question about it, Mike is much
louder these days and the funk is permeating from his bass.

As they approached the end of the jam, I turned to my friend and said, NO
VOCAL JAM PLEASE!!! Ask and you shall receive! It wasn't long before the
opening chords of SIMPLE started and the place was ready to Bee Bop.  I doubt
many people would have predicted a YEM > SIMPLE opening combo, but this let
everyone know from the very beginning that it was going to be a classic night.  
Some nice solo work by Trey at the end of SIMPLE which seemed to be a nice
transition to MOUNTAIN IN THE MIST.

This song is not normally one of my favorites, but I did think this version
was much better than the one I saw in Vegas earlier this year.  Not only were
Trey's vocals better, but the song also just seemed to work well after the
Simple jam and who can complain that things slowed down for only a second,
because the boys turned the intensity right back up with a smoking CHALKDUST
TORTURE.

All I have to say about this version of Chalkdust is that it was simply
powerful.  Trey locked into the jam and didn't let go.  I'm looking forward to
hearing this version again once the show becomes available on LivePhish.  
After letting the crowd catch their breath for a brief moment, it was
definitely time to take a bath.

Nice and long, jammed out BATHTUB GIN to close the first set.  I know I must
have been only 1 of many people who turned to their friends during the jam
sections of Bathtub and asked, "what song is this again"?.  Great work by all
the band members thoughout this song, especially Leo and Mike.  I couldn't
believe it when they ended the set with this song, but that only goes to show
you how jammed out the first set was.  After 80+ shows, I can't remember the
last time I saw a 5 song first set, if ever.  And I'm not complaining, this
first set was the Phish I have grown to love over the last 10 years.

Set II

As night fell over Shoreline Ampitheater on a beautiful Northern California
evening, the opening chords to BOOGIE ON REGGAE WOMAN started the second set
off perfectly.  This version was pretty standard and nothing like the Chula
Vista monster from a few years back, but well received as we all danced "Under
The Stars Above".  As the jam slowed down, the boys once again delivered a
knockout song combo by morphing right into AC/DC BAG.

This BAG was a nice, tight version that featured some great work by Trey.  
When Trey starts pushing his glasses up on his nose and staring into the sky,
you know he is locked in and laying it down.  I always forget to mention
Fishman because he just controls the show night after night in a behind the
scenes sort of way, but he was definitely as smooth as ever last night.  
After the opening 2 song combo, I thought they would break out something from
Round Room and maybe slow it down a bit, but alas that wasn't happening last
night. It was all about keeping the energy going, and that is exactly what
happened as the first soft chords of PIPER began.

PIPER over the years has turned into a monster jam song, and the boys got evil
with it last night.  Trey and Leo were doing some real nice stuff throughout
this version.  I think this Piper was the perfect length as it finished up and
the boys started into TWIST.

I turned to my friend when TWIST started and said "I hope they keep this
version kind of short".  I'm not the biggest fan of Twist, although I wouldn't
say that I don't like it.  I thought this TWIST was simple and to the point,
and didn't turn into one of those versions where the band seems to kind of get
lost.  Once again, I though the length of this version was perfect. As the
beginning of SCENTS AND SUBTLE SOUNDS began, the audience started looking at
one another to figure out what they were starting.  Little did they know, they
would be properly introduced to one of the best new songs Phish has written
since coming back on tour.

I though SCENTS AND SUBTLE SOUNDS was one of the highlights of the evening
with its many changes and various genre influences.  From the reggae-esque
skank of the first section, to the soaring solos by Trey, to the great vocal
works by the whole band, this song was fantastic in my opinion.  Anytime I get
to see Fishman signing with a grin on his face can be cosidered a good night
and all the guys seemed to be excited about how this song sounded.  I haven't
heard the Phoenix version yet, but this song is going to be a crowd favorite
for years to come!!  So what's next?????

MIKE'S > HYDROGEN . WEEKAPAUGH -- Are you kidding me?  This late in the show
and no slow songs???  I FUCKING LOVE THIS BAND!! Just keep the pedal to the
medal all night long boys.  Mike was once again off the charts throughout this
combo and his bass probably had the Bay Area residents thinking an aftershock
was shaking the city.  Nothing super about these versions, but tight and to
the point.

As the boys walked off stage to prepare for the encore, my friend annouced
that without question, they were going to encore with LOVING CUP.  Once again,
ask and you shall receive.

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL BUZZ!!  That pretty much sums up the night.  See you all for
round 2 tonight!!

Jah Gude,
RAS DUB!


Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 15:51:17 -0700
From: Guichard, Alex R
Subject: 7-9-03 Shoreline Review

Here is my review.


So maybe it has been a long time since I have seen the band, and this night
was like a phan's first amazing phish show experince all over again, but that
was the best show I have ever seen.  Maybe I was a little overly-excited to
see the band again.  Maybe it was my body chemistry at the time, but whatever
it was, I had a blast in every aspect of this show.

I arrived to the lot early, and the various people I met seemed in a really 
upbeat and happy mood.  I really never saw that at other band's shows that I 
went on during the hiatus and since (ie SCI, moe).  We got in to the venue 
rather early aswell.  When the boys got on stage and ripped into YEM, I was in the beer line.
Needless to say, I left it to go to my seats.

I
YEM>Simple: YEM was great.  I like that song sans vocal jam and transitioning 
intoanother.  They YEM>Simple transition was nailed tonight.

Mist: Round Room is not my fav album, but I still didn't really mind Mist 
here.  Itdefinitely let everyone catch their breath after a sick opening pair of songs.

Chalkdust: damn.  They have truly perfected the jam on that song.  I got the
shivers a couple of times on that song.  

Bathtub: sure.  the jam was really good, and extremely tight.  The band really
looked like they were enjoying themselves.  Five songs and ~70 minutes long!  
SICK
FIRST SET!   

II
Boogie on Reggae Woman: My personal first time seeing the song.  I have been
waiting to hear it, and I thought a solid and thankfully short version.  
Ridiculoustransition into . . .

AC/DC Bag: Amazing jam on this one.  I loved the break into Piper here.  All I 
cansay.

Piper: This song worked here.  I've seen it a number of times, and it is not
always my fave, but I can definitely not fault its placement.

Twist: Once again, good placement of a song I have seen so many times, so I
wasn't mad.  The jam was pretty awesome, it got kind of dark.

Scents and Subtle Sounds: I think this could be a new classic Phish song.  
The opening was almost prog rock/Genesis sounding, but the end was beautiful.  
Ending reminded me of Hood/Slave style ending.

Mike's>H2>Weekapaug: Another set of songs I have heard a few times before, but
once again, I didn't mind so much cause they were so well done.

E: Loving Cup: PERFECT ENCORE!  Emotional release to an intense night! 

I think I have figured out the band, and the key is when Fishman is on, the
entire band is on.  Fish was on tonight.  Trey can have a great night, but the
rest of the band will sometimes be playing catch-up if they are not roght
there with him.  This entire show sounded almost composed, it was so
well-played.  Flawless execution, Flawless night!  Good setlist (although I
have seen some tunes TOO MANY TIMES), the performance of the setlist made this
show great.  I had a BLAST!  I am stoked for Thursday, although I don't know
how they can top this one just one night after.  Definitely get a copy of this
show.  I have a feeling people will be talking about it for a while.

Thanks,
Alex

Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2003 11:21:46 -0700
From: "Pomeroy, Matt" 
Subject: Shoreline 7/9

I will post a short review:

This was my 21st phish show and I came into shoreline thinking the boys would
be a bit rusty but, still perform a good setlist. To my amazement the setlist
was stellar IMO (even with the short 1st sets) and they appeared loose and
fluid in all of the jams. The YEM was a great start (song they ended their
tour with at Shoreline 3 long years ago) and the segue into Simple was a great
unusual choice.  the Chalkdust and Gin were great extended jams as well. No
real highs and lows, just a great groove the whole time. The new Trey sound is
interesting to hear. Opposed to his previous years, he is using a cleaner
sound in 2003 (less pedals, distortion, and no more loops). What you get is a
nice crisp tone that equals the volume of the other 3 pieces. Sounds great I
think.

The second set was the highlight for me. The Boogie on had the whole crowed
dancing like crazy and the AcDc>Piper was fun. What impressed me was the new
tune "Scents and Subtle Sounds" This is a great sound and will be a welcome
addition to their repertoire. The twist was sick as well. What was great is
the Mikes. Sitting in the 10th row I noticed Trey laid down the riff for this
song, and Mike turned to Trey in complete shock, clearly not expecting this
song. Trey was kinda laughing him like "ok this is for you, go for it!"

Great Rocking "Loving Cup" closer. A great way to end the gig. Overall a good
solid show. For those of you that will be attending the rest of the tour, you
should be excited and are making me jealous! Have fun!


Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 08:42:30 +0000
From: Raphaael Aglietti [email protected]
Subject: Review of 7/9/03 Shoreline show

I was a bit skeptical about attending the Wednesday night show. I hadn't 
seen Phish since their final show at Shoreline before their hiatus. I hadn't 
been too enamored with the reviews about the Round Room. Granted I haven't 
purchased a studio album past Billy Breathes. After having had read the 7-7 
review about the Arizona I was somewhat concerned about shelling out lots of 
cash for Phish. People were desperately trying to unload tickets at less 
than face value which led me to believe that there would be a small crowd. 
All of these factors made me serious question my purchase of a ticket not 
only for this eveing but also for Thursday. I'm happy to say that the rumors 
of Phish's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

I arrived extremely early to the venue and walked up to the box office and 
picked up a reserved seat. This shocked me because I had been under the 
impression that there were no seats available for tonight's show. I arrived 
at my seat at around 6:00pm and just chilled watching people and thinking 
about potential set openers.

Eventually the venue fileld up nicely and Phish walked out at around 7:45pm. 
I was figuring that I'd get a fairly standard opener but boy was I wrong 
....


YEM- Wow this opener shocked the hell out of me. I was expecting something 
more along the lines of Ya Mar,  My Friend, My Friend, or First Tube. Trey 
flubbed some of the notes and was a bit tentaive at the beginning but this 
Yem began to take off in the free form section. The intensity was extremely 
high and Trey's licks were fast and furious. The Yem jam was moving at a 
frantic pace and suddenly broke down into chaos from where ....


>Simple emerged. There had been Simple teases in the YEM so it wasn't coming 
>from nowhere. Again Trey seemed tentative in the composed sections but the 
>jam again moved back to a frantic guitar jam.

Mountains of the Mist followed Simple which gave Phish some time to rest and 
plot their next attack. Mist was quite pleasant and despite utter disdain 
for most of Phish's ballads I felt that Mountains was a great fit in the 
set. From a ballard to ....

Chalkdust- By this point I think the crowd sensed that the band wanted to 
jam and jam hard. More frantic guitar play by Trey and extremely explosive 
"wind-ups" to the finish of Chalkdust. Not the most precise version of 
ChalkDust, but moreso an alternative Chalkdust in that it was much more 
chord based jamming rather than individual notes. I have a feeling this 
Chalkdust will come off very well on the tapes as being extremely high 
energy. What could possibly be next...?

Bathtub Gin- Ridiculous. Intense jamming. Trey was on fire. This one was up 
in that 30-30+ minute range.  I have to hear the tapes but I'm prety damn 
sure that this is the best Gin I've ever heard live or on tape. I was 
actually stunned after the end of this Gin and I think Phish was as well. 
Phish didn't really end the jam but rather just decided to end the set.

5 Songs in a set. Unbelievable first set. It's in that 8.5-9.0 range and the 
tapes should bear it out.


Set II

I was stunned and I wonder what could Phish pull out of it's bag of tricks 
in the second set. I was thinking along the lines of ASZ as a set opener 
becuase it had been teased in the Gin but instead got

Boogie on Regae Woman- The crowd was stoked and it was certainly a big 
change of pace from an absolutely devastating Gin. Funky fun tune that ets 
people moving. I was having fun and that was cranked up a notch when Phish 
jumped into ....

>AC/DC Bag- Always one of my favorites and damnit I wish they would play it 
>more often. Bag was played in the same jammed out manner of the big hitters 
>in Set 1. Extremely fast and furious with Trey buring up the guitar. I 
>figured the band would need a break after this blazing Bag but they went 
>into

Piper- Great placement of this song and it certainly put the crowd into a 
frenzy. More crazy jamming but this time with some "spacy jamming" and a few 
"breakdowns". Phish needed a breather so they moved into

Twist Around- Some Breather. Granted this song isn't insane like some of th 
eothers in this set. However, it didn't really give Phish much of a break 
and it was a great thing. I've begun to really like this song and find that 
it's almost always welcome just about anywhere in a set. Towards the end of 
Twist the jam got really spacey and very weird

Scents and Subtle Sounds- This was a very strange song. I did like it but 
there was a section that sounds very much like part of a Who song. I was 
intrigued by this part of the show because I was curous what direction the 
show would continue in and then the band began to talk amongst themselves

Mike's ->Hydrogen> Weekapaug- Fairly Standard and played well. Strangely 
enough I think I've seen too much of Mike's that I've been spoiled by it. I 
think I prefer seeing Mike's if there is something interesting sandwiched in 
between it and Weekapug. I'm not complaining mind you but I would have loved 
to have seen Mike's go into something crazy.

E: Loving Cup- Nice way to finish a very good show. Crowd was quite pleased 
by this choice and I think it was a good way to get them psyched up for 
Thursday's show.


Second Set + E =7.0
First Set =9.0
Overall 8.0

Get a tape of the first Set

Thanks,

Raphael Aglietti

Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2003 10:16:56 -0400 (EDT)
From: Phish Review Page 
To: Mrs. God 
Subject: Re: 1st night of shoreline review by KB

SHORELINE JULY 9TH 
  2ne set review 

We had good seats; 103 level; Page side.
    The boys opened up with a succint Boogie On wherein Trey sprang up five 
minutes into the tune and went up to every member of the band and said 
something with great exuberance which made each of them give him a look of, 
"Fuck yeah, let's crank it up, you red-headed fuck face!"
   They immediately shut off Boogie On and segued into an upbeat and raging 
AC/DC Bag replete with maniacal strobe lighting by The Master of the Dark 
Skies, Mr. Chris Kuroda. The ship hovered nicely into Piper wherein we all 
awoke last night to the sound of the storm. They jammed out the signature 
chord progression and into an ambient free form jam featuring teases of 7 
below (which was played the next evening 2nd set). But where, oh where did 
this take us? Just why in the Larry Hell or Sam Hell are we here? Why do I 
want to dip my nards in grape Fun Dip and lick my balls until they scab 
over????? 
    TWIST!!! No fucking way, no fucking way!!!! 'Whoooo! Wouldn't twist 
around'......oh fuck yea, it would twist around like a titty twisting Conway 
Twitty tangled up in a game of Twister with the Olsen Twins. Oh, God, I want 
to bang the Olsen twins, long and hard...... 
   After the chorus and the jam began, it was wholly agreed we were seeing 
unparalleled musicianship. They were up there smiling and whacking it, long 
and hard.....
   Then Gordo took over with the sweet thumps of Mike's Song which took it to 
the otha level. I say this for two reasons: (1) get the show and tell me 
otherwise and (2) the stage crew whipped out the smoke machines and left them 
on, thusly blowing mad smoke for at least five minutes. They never fucking 
whip out the smoke!! Special O-MotherFucking-Ccasions only, you silly 
bitches!!!! (Although, I do believe there was a brief smoke the next night in 
the 2nd set which leads me to believe they may be whipping it out more often 
this tour. But fuck, THE SMOKE, MAN, THE FUCKING SMOKE! I kept telling my 
buddy Mikey that, THE SMOKE, MAN, THE FUCKING SMOKE�.ahhhhh, yes, the good old 
days.)
    OK, the boys steered the ship sweetly into Hydrogen. If you were there and 
didn't cry during I am Hydrogen, you needs to check yo' self before you wreck 
yo' self 'cause big deez in yo' mouth is bad for yo' health. Serriously. 
   And rightfully so, they stuck the pig with a clean segue into a monumental 
Weekapaugh. Why monumental? Only those people who were there will know that 
there were four distinct cow bellish type dings in this tune that did not come 
from Fishman. Where did they come from, you ask? Michael Jordan Gordon has a 
foot bell that he only uses when they are firing on all cylinders. I read an 
interview with him in Bass Player magazine and he talks about how he has foot 
percussion devices he only whips out when he feels that they are dropping 
dirty bombs. Nasty, stanky, dirty bombs on that ass. 
   So there you go. 
   Oh yeah, during the Loving Cup encore this crazy mother behind me was 
breastfeeding her baby but with both tits out. I had my buddy get a picture of 
me with my tongue out as I turned around so it looked like I was licking her 
floppy jalopy. Her crazier, acid-head hippy husband saw it and smacked me on 
the back of my freakin' noggin, open hand. It felt awesome cause I was totally 
spun off molly. But I ain't no sucka so I snatched his glow wand off his 
grubby neck, chewed it until the glow juices dribbled down my face, and told 
him, "Your baby looks like a retard, you smelly smelly pumpkin belly!!"  
   All in all, it was the best set I've seen in quite some time and I've been 
to every Phish show that has ever occurred. 

          ---- Kurt Buddelmeyer
 
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