Shows #11 & #12: 7/15 & 7/16 1999 PNC Bank Arts Center Holmdel, NJ

PHISH AMBIENT JAM GRADE 7/15:  9 out of 10 

PHISH AMBIENT JAM GRADE 7/16: 4 out of 10
Highlights: 7/15 PYITE>GHOST, YEM, MEATSTICK>SOAM>KUNG>JAM

7/16 2001>MIKES SONG>IAMHYDROGEN>WEEKAPAUG GROOVE
Listen Here: http://www.phishtracks.com/shows/1999-07-15

http://www.phishtracks.com/shows/1999-07-16
Phish.net Phan Reviews: http://phish.net/setlists/?d=1999-07-15

http://phish.net/setlists/?d=1999-07-16 

 

REVISIONIST HISTORY

While so many shows we attend leave us feeling a variety of emotions, we often return to the shows that we enjoyed the most. I admit that I listen to (and defend) the shows that I attended much more than shows that have only heard through tapes and LivePhish.com recordings. At 100+ shows, I feel like I have a pretty large sample size from which I can draw these emotional attachments for the use of reviews. There are amazing facts about memories and re-living moments that your whole body experienced that goes way beyond hearing music on playback. Reliving those experiences is part of what makes listening to Phish so incredibly powerful. When it comes to listening and reviewing shows for a blog, you get a chance to immerse yourself into shows you never attended or re-live shows you did attend. Shows that you loved, shows that were uninspiring, shows that were "perfect," and shows that carried the emotional baggage of your own personal journey.

This brings me to the next phenomenon: the PAPER TIGER. We are all guilty of judging a show by its setlist. The age of the internet allows communication to flow so rapidly that we get setlists in real time and judge a show as it is taking place. This was not necessarily the case for normal people in 1999. Setlists would pop up the next day or a few days later online (if you had internet outside of your college campus), but with limited information. Tapes/CDs would circulate weeks or months later. CD burning trees would allow you to send blank CDs off to be burned by phans in other states and then you would wait for the return burned copy in the mail. Shows were judged quickly by a setlist or word of mouth - or both. A show with a huge bustout or new cover or crazy theatrics was initially valued higher than a show with an amazing jam. Plus, jams were longer back then so it seemed like every show had a 20+ jam after a song. Paper Tigers are shows like 7/16 with the Born to Run encore. Huge bustout cover in NJ with a special guest - initially thought to be Bruce himself! That was the initial word on the street - by regular phans (not hypercritical uber fans) - that 7/16 was a crazy show.

I didn't attend these shows, so I had no clue, because I had done a whole bunch of the Southern and Midwest Runs of this Summer Tour. I got burned CD's in the mail a few weeks later and I listened to the 7/16 show and thought it was great. I ignored the 7/15 CDs because there was so much music to listen to, that I didn't make time to listen to 7/15.

When I finally heard 7/15 I was blown away. This was "the show" from that Holmdel run. Rivaling only Oswego in the East Coast run that summer as "the show." Obviously it's all up to interpretation, as everyone is looking for a different vibe and a different energy and a different experience. 

 

The highlights from 7/15 are era defining highlights, and the highlights from 7/16 are just that show's highlights. That is the difference.

7/15 

Set 1: Punch You In the Eye > Ghost is just a killer 1-2 combo to start any show in any era. This Ghost is a bit faster and more energized than your usual Ghost and it gets the crowd going early. The spacey ambient textures that Trey was putting into the mix seemed to drive the jam in the more aggressive ambient jam style that had been seen in various other jams that tour.  Instead of a slower, mesmerizing "What's the Use?" style ambient jam the band was looking to tap into the variety of ambient jams available in their growing arsenal. As the band slowed down the jam at the end - as if an animal running in slow motion - you could tell they were locked and loaded as one propulsive unit. The remainder of the set was fun and high energy - no letdown - and it was capped off by an explosive YEM that allowed the tension and release of the whole first set to burst through everyone's synapses.

Set 2: Meatstick > Split Open and Melt -> Kung -> Jam

This is the only Meatstick that I put on regularly. This ambient Meatstick jam picks up right at the end of the shenanigans around the 11min mark and just drops into an ambient groove with hovering spaceship sounds by Page, staccato slaps by Gordon, and Fishman working to stay with the crowd claps as a time signature. Trey just sort of floats above with ethereal runs and harmonics from the Whammy. A really nice drone that builds on the Page keyboard weirdness and is the combination of ambient and funk that phans really love. Why have one without the other? Phish says you can have both... The jam simmers down and feedback builds and Fishman drops into 2001. Then Mike says, "No!" and drops the Split Open and Melt baseline within a few measures of Fishman's 2001 beat. Fish doesn't care, he's just going to make the 2001 beat work for SOAM. Trey thinks it's hilarious and cannot stop laughing, can't keep up with the lyrics, and is clearly distracted by Fishman refusing to change the beat. Eventually they get to the chorus and Fishman yields. They race through the composed section and just all want to get to the jammy weirdness as fast as possible. But even as the jam starts it feels rushed, then it stalls, they seem undecided and locked into a mediocre-at-best groove. Then about 7 mins into SOAM they flip a switch. Fuck this. They are not going to plod along in some non-directional jam. They are going for it. GOING FOR IT! Trey gets nasty and weird and the band follows. They rage for a couple minutes and find a deep ambient blanket to pull over everyone's eyes. Get inside. Everyone come closer. KUNG! FROM THE HILLS! FROM. THE. HILLS!!!! It gets super weird inside the blanket and the band finally releases the tension into a screaming jam over an ambient base of fuzz and feedback and uber weirdness. The JAM that comes out is an incredible example of the ambient jams of that era. Trey gets on the keyboard for some Peruvian pan flute for a brief interlude, but quickly recognizes that he needs to be on the guitar. The rage builds for a bit, but drops into a dark and creepy place akin to the 12/30/12 Carini. Although, not like the super low tones of the NYE12 Carini, but more of a horror movie creepy. Trey creates a "rusty swingset" loop over Fishman and Gordon's reprise of the SOAM coda. Then Page goes Thelonious Monk on the piano... it just breathes.... it is ambient, yet directional and defined. Trey adds some Wes Montgomery to Page's Monk. The ambient textures swirl. Gordon and Fishman keep it in the SOAM space. It's as weird and beautiful as it looks on paper.... the opposite of a Paper Tiger. Epic in the actual sense of the word.

7/16

Set 1: I cannot review this substandard boring first set of music. Not worth anyone's time.

 

Set 2:  Also Sprach Zarathustra > Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove

The 2001 everyone was waiting for comes out to play. Great run of songs. They don't make Mike's Grooves like this anymore. Ambient and flowing right through the I Am Hydrogen into an excellent Weekapaug. It is great. Listen to these 4 songs from this set and enjoy. Maybe check out Tom Marshall pretending to be Bruce Springsteen for a laugh, but remember why you are here and it's not for Springsteen Karaoke.

Thursday, 07/15/1999
PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ

Soundcheck: Lady Madonna, Have Mercy, Mountains in the Mist -> Dirt -> Mountains in the Mist, Guyute (part), You Better Believe It Baby
Set 1: Punch You In the Eye > Ghost > Farmhouse, Horn > Poor Heart > Axilla > Theme From the Bottom, I Didn't Know, The Sloth, You Enjoy Myself
Set 2: Meatstick > Split Open and Melt^[1] -> Kung -> Jam^[2] > Bouncing Around the Room, Chalk Dust Torture
Encore: Brian and Robert, Frankenstein

[1] Began as 2001 and was unfinished.
[2] Shine (Collective Soul) and Split Open and Melt teases from Mike.

Friday, 07/16/1999
PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ

Set 1: Sample in a Jar, Beauty of My Dreams, Dogs Stole Things, Limb By Limb, Billy Breathes, Vultures, Back on the Train, Maze, Cavern
Set 2: Also Sprach Zarathustra > Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove^[1], Simple > Guyute, Loving Cup > Golgi Apparatus
Encore: Born to Run^[2]

LivePhish.com's Live Bait 9 features two GREAT 1999 Jams

1999 IS FINALLY GETTING THE RESPECT IT DESERVES


The cat is out of the bag. 1999, a year long ignored by LivePhish.com, is getting it's moment in the sun on this new Live Bait 9 release. Long time phans have been clamoring for professionally remastered soundboard releases of these '99 shows for over a decade.

"Why? Don't the tapes suffice?"

The short answer:  "No."

The 1999 shows featured such a rich abundance of sounds, textures, depth, delicacy, rage, delicate rage, and sonic scapes not yet tested on stage by Phish. As the Summer 2000 tour came around, the band and sound techs had mastered the setup and monitors and PA levels for a better mix and thus tapers got better recordings. However, that meant that a full year of Phish was semi-sort-of missing in action. Some of the '99 recordings were fine, but many were washed out by the mid-level sounds and noises. Even the live shows were very hit or miss from a phan sitting in the pavs or lawn. It sounded like loud "droning" on specific notes. These were huge jams - 20+ minutes!

It was just raw. It was pure. It was uncut. It was amazing.

Some of the soundboard patches revealed hidden gems and textures not captured by tapers. The full extent of what Phish was doing on stage has been slowly leaking as archivist Kevin Shapiro features these songs and shows in his releases, and Live Bait 9 is a startling realization of what we have been missing.

Still not getting it?  Check out these Live Bait 9 cuts:
Split Open and Melt > Kung > Jam – 7/15/1999 @ PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel NJ
Mike’s Song > Twist > Weekapaug – 7/9/1999 @ Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia MD

Download Live Bait 9 for FREE right here: http://www.livephish.com/music/0,788/Free-MP3-Download-Live-Bait-Vol-9.html

Show #10: 7/13/99 Tweeter Center, Mansfield, MA

PHISH AMBIENT JAM GRADE:  8 out of 10 
Highlights: The Curtain > Halley's Comet -> Roses Are Free -> NO2, Wolfman's Brother
Listen Here: http://www.phishtracks.com/shows/1999-07-13
Phish.net Phan Reviews: http://phish.net/setlists/?d=1999-07-13

FIRST SET SMOKE SHOW WITH A SECOND SET MIND ERASER

Hard to top the opener energy from the previous evening (Foreplay/Longtime), so the band opted to go in a different direction: jams... glorious, amazing jams. There is nothing better than Phish outdoing itself through pure creativity. Who needs a straight out of left field cover song, when you can play your own music in such an artistic and captivating manner? Set two is anchored with a mind erasing 21 minute Wolfman's Brother. It is the ambient take on the 97 versions of the jam. Stop what you are listening to and throw on this Wolfman's Brother. I am 99% sure it's better than whatever is currently embracing your ear drums. Hell, it gets so deep that Mike needs the FIGHT BELL to call the match. 
Prepare thyself, the aliens are coming.

SET 1: NICU opener is funky, calypso-groove fun for the masses, but it is but merely a placeholder in this set. The monster segue of THE CURTAIN > HALLEY'S COMET > ROSES ARE FREE > N02 is the "raison d'etre." THE CURTAIN brings with it a feeling of past greatness and has many of the parts of Phish that we all love - singalong choruses, intricate composed sections, slashing guitar riffs and the feeling of being transported to another world during those opening notes. Where were we going? Wherever it was, HALLEY'S COMET was

taking us. We go through Cadillac rainbows, get tangled in spaghetti, get served our thick strawberry goo, all along the way to the central part of town. Trey wastes no time peeling off squealing riffs and fast-fretted runs, instead he goes straight for the ambient groove. The central part of this town is ambient funk-ville. This groove is the anti-Halley's Comet solo and jam of the past and veers towards the core of Phish as one. The 2012 Summer Tour "all are one" jams should thank this grandfather of greatness. This Halley's Comet jam is a lesson in sum is greater than parts. The monumental jam leaks into what seems like Ghost.... but then a last second right turn takes us to ROSES ARE FREE. Roses was so under-played at this point in Phish's career it was a huge treat to get this tune. The song gets the crowd going and pours into a very loopy, soupy ambient jam that seems to be spiraling out of control (because it is) as it drops into N02. This N02 is unique because it contains the actual "composed" section atop the swirling loops and sirens. A first time play. Ever. A very beautiful and almost Crosby, Stills and Nash style composed jam of delicate chord changes and patient loving playing by the band. All that over some weird ambient siren loops. Quite a sonic buffet. An excellent Reba > Carini adds another set highlight.

SET 2: WOLFMAN'S BROTHER goes ambient early and often in this stellar dark and dirty version of the classic Hoist cut. Just so deep and layered and funky before it gets sucked into the galaxy. Mike's finds a very unique riff early and steers Trey towards the dark side. Soon enough the drone loops and feedback starts. Mike drops into slap groove mode. The crowd erupts for the glow-stick war. The funk gets deeper. You can feel the energy on playback. It's what you want... hell, it's what everyone wants. Darker, funkier, deeper into the groove. Page is so in the pocket he's invisible on the low clavs - like Bernie Worrell under water. It sounds like the entire amphitheater is slowly sinking into the ground and everyone loves it. Mike incorporates the Fight Bell just to let everyone know that this thing ain't over yet. The band melts into a subsonic spacey wormhole and the jam gets sucked into the vacuum. The rest of this set is nothing compared to that Wolfman's Brother, so I will pretend like it doesn't exist.

Tuesday, 07/13/1999
Tweeter Center, Mansfield, MA

Set 1: NICU, The Curtain > Halley's Comet -> Roses Are Free -> NO2^[1], Lawn Boy, Reba^[2] > Carini > Funky Bitch
Set 2: Wolfman's Brother > Piper, Bug > Mountains in the Mist, Run Like an Antelope^[3] > Possum^[4]
Encore: Tuesday's Gone^[5]

[1] For the first known time, NO2 included the instrumental ending originally included on The White Tape.
[2] No whistling.
[3] Meatstick teases.
[4] Scott Murawski on guitar.
[5] Phish debut; Scott Murawski on guitar.

Show #9: 7/12/99 Tweeter Center, Mansfield, MA

PHISH AMBIENT JAM GRADE:  5 out of 10 
Highlights: Foreplay/Longtime
Listen Here: http://www.phishtracks.com/shows/1999-07-12
Phish.net Phan Reviews: http://phish.net/setlists/?d=1999-07-12

BOOM & BUST(OUT)

 This show will forever be known for its "electric" Foreplay/Longtime bustout, but features some nice ambient moments. Please note that their really is no "big" ambient jam in this show. Many of the ambient moments and jams are conducted with creativity and pensive precision, as Phish is clearly "locked in," only the delicate building ambient tinged jam in DAVID BOWIE is noteworthy.

 SET 1: Starting with a BANG! the band loads up and fires off a FOREPLAY/LONGTIME bustout for the Boston faithful and has the crowd amped early and often. Obviously they didn't take the jam of F/L to crazy ambient dissonance, but neither did they with the follow up 18 minute DOWN WITH DISEASE. Instead, Trey and the boys opted for a "meat and potatoes" guitar lead DWD with a pretty mild "ambient style" lower-tempered jam for the last 4 minutes before bringing back the central guitar riff and closing out the uneventful tune. A standard BACK ON THE TRAIN came and went with little fanfare. A bit of a pause before... WHAT'S THE USE slides into a great first set slot. Bringing a beautiful texture, the ambient tune dipped and swayed it's way through a very lowfi but awesome jam section that chose Radiohead sparsity over swirling "wall of sound" effects laden landscapes. Great minimalism ambient style. The gorgeous underwhelming continued with a rhythmic lowfi ambient tech jam in SPLIT OPEN AND MELT. A very understated but sonically strong version for Phish, probably overlooked by most. Trey channels his inner Hendrix on a scathing Character Zero set closer.
 
SET 2: TWIST opener is always a good idea. The band decided to go minimalist again, but opted for a bluesier take and really only hinted at the ambient jam that could have been. Playing it safe. I get it. It's a two night run and maybe they are saving the "weird" for the next night. MAKISUPA features some spacey weirdness started by Page and Mike, and finished off by Trey throwing down some reverse loops. Real reggae fans may shudder to think of Bob Marley approaching a reggae jam with alien sounds and reverse guitar loops, but this is Phish and this is what we want to hear! The rest of this set and encore are standard summer fare, aside from the DAVID BOWIE. The BOWIE has a really gorgeous and intricate building jam that starts off with almost complete silence and slowly builds through some clouds of ambient fluff and mini whale calls from Trey. Gordon plays some of his most thoughtful bass runs during this jam as clearly the band is seeking more from this BOWIE than any other song not called FOREPLAY/LONGTIME. 

Monday, 07/12/1999
Tweeter Center, Mansfield, MA

Soundcheck: My Best Friend's Girlfriend, Centerfold, Dream On, Rift
Set 1: Foreplay/Long Time^[1] > Down with Disease, Back on the Train, What's the Use?, Split Open and Melt, Water in the Sky > Character Zero
Set 2: Twist > The Moma Dance > Makisupa Policeman > David Bowie, The Lizards, Guyute
Encore: Rock and Roll

[1] First Phish electric version.

Notes: Foreplay/Long Time was played for the first time since December 9, 1994 (310 shows) and was the first time Phish had ever performed it electric. Guyute was followed by band introductions, including Mike Gordon as “Michael ‘Soft G’ Jordan.”

Show #8: 7/10/99 E Center Camden, NJ

PHISH AMBIENT JAM GRADE:  8 out of 10 
Highlights: Wilson>Chalkdust>Roggae, Bathtub Gin, Tweezer, Fluffhead
Listen Here: http://www.phishtracks.com/shows/1999-07-10
Phish.net Phan Reviews: http://phish.net/setlists/?d=1999-07-10

 ENJOY THE RIDE...

There are so many great shows from the past 30 years. Shows with incredible jams, incredible energy, hi-jinx, theatricality, and that spirit of oneness that pulls the entire audience together for that one night. Some of the best shows are a combination of many of those attributes. We as a community are lucky to have an opportunity to see Phish in 2013, and are lucky enough to have that chance to see a truly great show... on any given night. You pick and choose the shows you are going to attend with the hopes that on that steamy night in Maryland in July, or that crisp evening in Denver on September 1st, your mind will be blown. You will be hugging strangers. You will be screaming until your lungs bleed. You will be one.

This particular show from Camden, NJ in 1999 is one of those shows. It may not have the huge ambient jams that propel the ambient jam grade to a 10/10, but it has everything a show needs to be a "great" show for the ages. Phish knows this show was THAT good, because they released it in the original run of "LivePhish" remasters.

SET 1: Wilson opener gets down and dirty real fast featuring a very heavy metal drone with distortion from Trey in the jam that leads to a solo with his reverse reverb effect sucking the solo notes back into the vortex. The distortion and feedback swells, Trey piles notes upon notes with the reverse effect creating a dizzying effect within the jam. Quick and powerful. Trey decides that having one first set opener is not enough. He opts to steer the band toward another first set opener in Chalkdust Torture. These are often the two summer rock openers that band uses to get a show started with high energy, and to stack them one on top of another is a sign of things to come for this show. The Chalkdust cools off a bit during the sing-song part of the tune, but Fishman keeps it up-tempo and drives the speed with his unrelenting snare hits. Trey finally gets to the solo and unleashes in his fiery late 90's Chalkdust style ...but only for a couple minutes. Then he just stops. Hangs on a two or three note combo and starts to stray towards a melodic jam unusual for a Chalkdust. He brings back some of his usual guitar runs for a few measures to see if the band wants to go back to rage mode, but quickly realizes that the Type II approach was much more fun. The journey finds soaring solo notes and whale calls (not fully used until years later). Trey uses the Whale Calls to surf the ambient backdrop painted by Gordon and Page like Bob Ross on Valium. Fishman keeps hammering the beat. Keeping the ship straight. Trey appears to be searching. Looking for something in the jam. Never satisfied. Then he finds the robot and turns him on. The robot responds with laser eyes and a chugging deep and symmetrical bass groove found in between the lines of an Isaac Asimov novel. Almost like a robot march to salvation. Page sets the alien landscape. Full invasion. The only escape can be found in the solace of Roggae which appears like a mirage in the alien desert. The Roggae takes over and steers the band into a slower, lower groove that floats perfectly as the third song in a hot set in need of a funky cool-off. Trey's use of the Leslie with distortion, as is typical with this song, sounds so perfect after the crazy Type II Chalkdust. Almost like a glimpse in the rear-view mirror at the robot behind, as the band journey's toward the delicate melodies ahead in the form of Page's fluid piano fills. The Roggae jam features more melodic playing by Trey over a droning ambient groove from Mike. Building the soft, floating jam into the harsh return of the heavy distortion power chords is such a perfect use of dynamics both in the song and in the set. While this Roggae doesn't stray too far from the conventional versions, it is the beauty of the playing and the placement in the set that really make it stand out. Set filler follows until we arrive at Bathtub Gin. This seems to be a very ordinary Bathtub Gin with your "meat and potatoes" Gin jam until the 11min 30sec mark. At that point Trey decides to go in a completely different direction, Page follows, and eventually so do Fishman and Gordon into a full on Spencer Davis Group "I'm a Man" jam. It is absolutely perfect. Funky. Upbeat. Driving. Like James Brown on his worst day. Standard Golgi Apparatus closer seems to say, "Keep your ticket; you are lucky you picked this show."

Set 2: Tweezer. One of the best feelings in the world for phans is a second set Tweezer opener. The band knows it, the audience knows it, something is coming... something huge. The song builds and opens up to the jam. Ambient loops. Clav with wah. Funked out Gordon bass grooves. Fishman on a slow burning funk beat. Trey starts the build with ascending high fret funk chords. 7th and 9ths in a slower, funked out Tweeprise climb. Then Page drops the alien synth clavs on top and you have liftoff. Then around the 14 minute mark the rug gets pulled out from under the band. Trey is back to minimal riffs and picking. Page waits and comes over the top with over-arching chords similar to the No Quarter intro but in a different key and chord structure. Fishman provides an ambient soundscape with cymbal crashes and tom hits. Gordon searches for a way to bring a groove to the jam as the ambient space bleeds through everything. It's wavy. The music is blurry. The sounds unclear. The jam drifts away into the ether. Feedback echoes and slowly dissipates into Mountains in the Mist. Solid takes on Birds of a Feather (with a notable break down jam at the end) and When the Circus Comes takes us to a tremendous Fluffhead with an excellent and always appreciated Fluff jam along with its epic peak ending. Not much in the way of ambient jams on the back half of this set, but great energetic playing none-the-less. An appropriate While My Guitar Gently Weeps>Tweezer Reprise to cap the encore and send the good vibes into the dark New Jersey night.

Saturday, 07/10/1999
E Centre, Camden, NJ

Soundcheck: Foam, Funky Bitch, Back at the Chicken Shack, Jam, Blue Bayou
Set 1: Wilson > Chalk Dust Torture^[1] -> Roggae, Water in the Sky > Back at the Chicken Shack, Sparkle > Bathtub Gin^[2], Golgi Apparatus
Set 2: Tweezer^[3] > Mountains in the Mist, Birds of a Feather > When the Circus Comes, Fluffhead
Encore: While My Guitar Gently Weeps > Tweezer Reprise
[1] In Memory of Elizabeth Reed tease from Trey. Unfinished.
[2] I'm a Man (Spencer Davis Group) jam.
[3] What's the Use? tease.
Show Note: Trey was wearing a Mia Hamm #9 USA Soccer Jersey

Show #7: Merriweather Post Pavilion - Columbia, MD

PHISH AMBIENT JAM GRADE:  5 out of 10 
Highlights: PYITE > Free > What's The Use?, Mike's Song > Twist > Weekapaug Groove
Listen Here: http://www.phishtracks.com/shows/1999-07-09
Phish.net Phan Reviews: http://phish.net/setlists/?d=1999-07-09

 STANDARD SET 1, STAND OUT SET 2

This show is just a glass half full. The first set is nothing to write home about... absolutely nothing to separate itself from average. Standard late 90's first set. Minimal jamming, no bustouts, same song rotation as half of 1998 - 2000, and an abundance of standing around waiting for something the happen. This was often the case for Phish at the end of 1.0, and I have a hard time understanding why they so often played it safe during those first sets. It was almost like they were playing Blackjack and got 15 almost every night and refused to hit. Ever. Phish just wanted to take a chance on the dealer busting, rather than take a chance of their own. No risk, no reward. And so it was for this Merriweather first set on a sweaty night in July.

The band came out dealing in the second set. Complete role reversal. They wasted no time and jumped into a set full of great jams - both ambient and otherwise - and dropped in a couple of old school fan favorite teases in Sweet Emotion and Spooky. They were dealing everyone aces and face cards.

Set 1: I do not advise you to waste time listening to this set. You have far too many other options, especially with PhishTracks.com

Set 2: Punch You in the Eye > Free > What's the Use? BLACKJACK! This is the good stuff. Front-loading the PYITE with a nice ambient tinged intro jam and then a solid version of Punch bled into an ambient & funk-filled Free. A slower than usual Free with swirling Leslie Speaker effects and light distortion created a nice ambient build around the song's signature structure.  Then a really slow bass bomb jam out of the structured section leads to a reverse delay solo from Trey with gorgeous texture and long note holds. A gorgeous, patient ambient Free groove that feels almost like wading through a big steamy bowl of Maryland Crab soup. Trey builds and builds until the return to the song is almost a huge release from the ambient funk prison. Jailbreak. The song fades as the feedback is sustained and looped quietly into What's The Use? A delicious trip to the supersonic ether leaves the audience meditative and ready for enlightenment. That enlightenment comes in the form of a lesson on the Meatstick from Trey and the boys, and a chance to lighten the heavy mood. But waste not, want not, and Phish dives into the shallow waters of the closing stanza of the second set head first with a MONSTER Mike's Groove. The Mike's Song comes out flush with spades at it wastes no time in getting to the jam, laying down the erratic loops and grooving over top. Trey picks, and comps, and flutters over top of a tight groove from Fishman, Mike and Page until almost the 8 min mark when the band drops the jam off the edge of a cliff. Slowly, slowly, slowly climbing back up. Quiet at first, then growing, the band pulls its jam back up from the bottom of the quiet ambient bliss. A few setbacks and almost stops before the audience takes over from the ambient unstructured collapse. The crowd claps in unison and cheers the band on. They are asking for it. The band delivers with the royal flush of teases: Sweet Emotion. The groove builds. Mike lays down the bass in an ambient almost Catapult manner as the band lays down the vocals all together. Trey takes a stab at the solo for about 2 measures, but reverts back to the Catapult-esque groove. Page drops some high end staccato keys on top. It gets funky and weird and finally devolves into Twist. Twist Around brings it's own baggage. Fan favorite. Known for great jams. The crowd gets to yell "Wooooo!" It's like the Rick Flair of the Phish catalogue. This one doesn't disappoint. It gets down and dirty. It gets Spooky (teases). Drops into an equally fun Weekapaug Groove. Bass to the face. Macarena teases. Show closing goodness. Oh, and a Harry Hood encore? Not too shabby.

Friday, 07/09/1999
Merriweather Post Pavillion, Columbia, MD

Soundcheck: Bug, What's the Use?, Sleep, Back at the Chicken Shack, Vocal Check, Funky Bitch
Set 1: Limb By Limb, Farmhouse, Back on the Train, Divided Sky, Train Song, Llama, Driver, Runaway Jim
Set 2: Punch You In the Eye > Free > What's the Use? > Meatstick, Mike's Song^[1] -> Twist^[2] > Weekapaug Groove^[3]
Encore: Harry Hood^[4]
[1] Sweet Emotion quotes.
[2] Spooky teases.
[3] Macarena teases and quotes.
[4] Closed with a Meatstick tease.

Show #6: 7/8/99 Virginia Beach, VA

PHISH AMBIENT JAM GRADE:  6 out of 10 
Highlights: Fee > Jam, Stash, Birds of a Feather, Jesus Left Chicago, Simple
Listen Here: http://www.phishtracks.com/shows/1999-07-08
Phish.net Phan Reviews: http://phish.net/reviews/add.php?d=1999-07-08

SLOW BURN

This show is certainly above average in terms of its level of ambient jamming and artistic abstraction from the standard, but doesn't necessarily hit the peaks of Charlotte or Bonner Springs. It features a tremendous Fee > Jam that certainly ranks as one of the best extended coda Fee's in history. The Stash has a dark and ominous ambient jam with fuzz loops and demonic swirling undertones. The elongated Birds of a Feather provides a very rich take on a late 90's set standard - with a very ambient, layered "If I Only Had a Brain" jam. Simple flourishes with a delicate and emotional (and quiet) jam that features strong solo piano work by Page overtop reverse ambient loops from Trey. This Simple eventually goes full Squirming Coil walk off jam - which is quite a treat.

SET 1: Standard Julius opener to get the crowd on their feet, but again the two spot steals the show. Fee is played with finesse and only minor lyric flubs and the band chooses to really spotlight Page early. The Fee jam that follows is everything you could want - repeated coda, slow build up, ambient spaciness, artistic levels of incredibly understated band interaction, and really wonderful drum and cymbal work from Fishman. The jam just keeps rising from its own ashes. Building, Strengthening, and Carrying the audience. It's actually Fishman who really keeps this 23+ minute must-hear Fee Jam going. The jam slows back down and Phish ever so gently fades the song out. After all is said and done Page lets the dust settle and seems choked up when he offers a simple, "Ok. Thank you." to the breathless crowd. The set flows along with standard fare until a very dark and delicious Stash breaks the monotony. This Stash has a really ambient, uptempo, minor dark and evil jam that pulls the set back up to the surface. A stomping Cavern closes an unbalanced set, with a Fee for the ages.

SET 2: A really strangely fun Birds of a Feather opens the second set with a solid ambient jam that takes a turn to the truly bizarre as the band starts to jam to "If I only Had a Brain" from the Wizard of Oz. The band offer weird alternate lyrics to the song that seem to fit with the more ambient take on the theme than the music would seem to lend itself. A smoldering Jesus Left Chicago and a sublime Simple close out the set highlights. The pseudo triple encore provides the audience with both levity and double-fisted arena rock.

Thursday, 07/08/1999
Virginia Beach Amphitheater, Virginia Beach, VA

Soundcheck: Bug, You Enjoy Myself (partial), Magilla, Driver, Sleep, Dirt, Back at the Chicken Shack
Set 1: Julius, Fee -> Jam, Guyute, Dirt, Nellie Kane, Stash, Cavern
Set 2: Birds of a Feather^[1] > Prince Caspian^[2] > Jesus Just Left Chicago, Saw It Again, Sleep, Meatstick, Tube > Simple^[3]
Encore: Terrapin > Hold Your Head Up, Character Zero
[1] Days Between jam from Page and Mike, several If I Only Had a Brain teases from Trey and subsequent strange lyrics from Mike and Trey, including an Uno reference.
[2] Unfinished.
[3] Ended akin to Coil, with each member of the band leaving the stage until only Page was left.