, attached to 1999-12-31

Review by Beenjammin

Beenjammin I don't care what period of Phish you enjoy the most. Whether its 93-94, 95-96, 97, or whatever, 12/31/99 is THE best show Phish has(and probably will) play. You can fit all of set II on 6 CD's. SOME of the highlights of this absolutely mind-blowing, jaw-dropping concert are: you can really tell how special this concert is after the Heavy Things for ABC. Twist>Caspian>35minute Rock and Roll is absolutely outstanding, particularly the R&R. Several different major themes are visited in the song, and it's when you really start hearing HOW UNBELIEVABLY IN SYNC Fish/Mike were on this night. All 4 of the guys play great throughout the show, but Fish especially is on another planet, and Mike is dialed in completely. The Sand>Quad. Toppling is one of the best jams I've ever heard Phish play, clocking in at around 40 minutes. The Bowie is WILD, and segues into My Soul. Drowned>After Midnight Reprise is another 25 minutes of pure bliss - you can hear the crowd going absolutely apeshit when Fishman switches the beat from Drowned to After Midnight. PERFECT placement of Horse>Silent, and THOU SHALT NOT OVERLOOK Piper>Free. I've never heard Trey get so wild so quick in a Piper jam - he uses his digitech whammy pedal masterfully for the first 10 minutes, and then uses delay loops the last 10 minutes of Piper while Page leads the jam. They come around for a 2nd verse of Piper lyrics, and at that point Fish's drumming is so ridiculous that Trey is laughing his ass off while trying to sing the lyrics. Free is also long and an excellent version. The Roses is 35 minutes, and absolutely wonderful. SO MUCH to say about this concert, including the excellence of the 1st set as well. I disagree with the previous reviewer who says the show is full of sounds from 99. It has sounds from 99, but the collective tightness, transitions, and funk remind me more of a show from 95 or 97. You MUST listen to this show, it will change your perspective on Phish - they left absolutely everything on the stage this night.


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