From cdhoard@umich.edu Sat Dec 12 16:21:17 1998
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 1998 20:33:09 -0500
From: Christian David Hoard 
Cc: Dan Hantman 
Subject: 11-7-98 UIC review

11-7-98 UIC Pavillion - My 11th show, and also I've heard close to 400
hours, so, i guess take this for what it's worth:

MY SOUL: What can I say, I don't really like this song, especially to
open up a big 3-nighter.  Was hoping for an older-school, more kick-ass
opener (a la The Curtain, Worcester 11-28-97).  The crowd seemed to love
this one which I really can't understand.  What was I hoping for? PYITE
maybe, although even that may not be "unusual" enough, or even a Divided
Sky (like Deer Creek's 2nd song).  As they went on I thought Oh Kee Pah
but no luck there either.  So as My Soul is playing, I did figure song
#2 would be an epic, and it was.
MIKE'S: certainly made up for the My Soul.  The jam was pretty short,
and they went into this softer jam, which ended rather abruptly as Trey
grabbed his acoustic.  Obviously I was hoping for H2, which I thought
could have come out of that softer jam, but alas...my wait continues.
DRIVER: Didn't care at all for this one.  Really lame.
B + R: A better acoustic choice, not bad, I figured they'd play some of
the album.
WEDGE: Ahh, much better.  Very nice to hear this one.  Certainly the
high point of all the songs between Mike's and Weekapaug.
LIMB: OK, not as kick-ass as Worcester 11-28-97 among others, but a
pretty good take nonetheless.
FIKUS: A sorry excuse for a Phish song.  Sorry but that's how I feel.
really a throwaway.
BILLY BREATHES: Again, a mellow song, one I don't really look forward
too at shows.  At this point the set was really taking a bit of a turn
for the worse--the only redeeming aspect of it was the anticipation for
Weekapaug.
BEAUTY: Not a bad song, I don't mind it.  But after the general lameness
of the past few numbers it really didn't do much to salvage the set.  At
one point Trey yells "Cactus" and Gordon has to play a bass solo which
was really impressive since Mike often doesn't get to strut his stuff on
bass (as does ROB DERHAK of moe., for example).  That kind of got Mike
rewady to rock for his intro bass solo on....
WEEKAPAUG: Did salvage the set, luckily.  So, Fish begins the drums,
Mike jumps in, and then Fish stops drumming abruptly and leaves Mike
with another solo, which was nice of course.  As the song went on, the
jam was pretty good.  Trey then gives the "15 minutes", and instead of
going back into the refrain, the band keeps escalating the pace of the
jam to a frantic level, faster and faster, to the point where I couldn't
even keep time (nor could they?), and then they just ended it, sans
ending vocals.  Overall set I was weak, saved only by Mike's Wedge and
Weekapaug.

Set II:
ACDC: OK, a very good way to start.  I think I called Stash, being a
little too hopeful.  But at the same time, as the ACDC went into the
jam, I realized they wouldn't end it like older Bags, but that they
would take it sideways, not up, into something funky or spacey.  They
did, and as the jam fizzeld out to nothing, Ghost picked up.  Not a " >
" in my opinion, but oh well.
GHOST: I miss the old Ghost.  Nothing will ever compare to the rage of
7-23-97 Atlanta 25min Ghost, or the funk of 11-28-97 ghost.  Oh well.
This one did get going really nice.  I liked it.  Then the jam fizzled
out.
REBA:  YES!!  good going.  Very good.  The jam was great, but aren't
they all?  And then--whistling.  Thank god, I am a huge fan of
whistling, and NOT a huge fan of Reba's without it.
FARMHOUSE: OK, a shorter, newer song, hopefully getting us ready for a
really strong closing sequence--I THOUGHT FOR SURE WE'D GET 20-30
MINUTES MORE!!!  But instead, Trey thanks us as Farmhouse ends and the
band leaves...I was in disbeleif, as were many others around me (front
and center, ~ 25' from the front).  One guy said that the 4 songs were
not even close to 1 hour.  !?!?!?!?  Someone, please explain!!!  this
reminded me of Deer Creek this summer, 8-3-98, when the band ended II
with "The Wedge"...just when I thought they would get things really
rolling, they leave.  WTF???

E:
GUYUTE: my first, very exciting, but this song has really lost its
attraction, thanks to being immortalized on Ghost.  Please never record
epic songs ever again, Phish.  It was nice to hear / see, but now that
it's not so rare or exciting anymore, I'm not so easily bowled over, as
others seemed to be.
GUITAR: cool too, I guess, I don't like the beatles but this is a
big-time encore, so it salvaged a bit of the 2nd set which was
ridiculously short.


----------


Date:    Tue, 10 Nov 1998 19:39:55 GMT
From:    kaufmak@MY-DEJANEWS.COM
Subject: Review of 11/7 UIC

  Night and Day.  That is the best way to describe this show.  The first set
was one of the worst sets I've ever seen.  This is my twenty-first show BTW,
if that is important to anyone.  The second set was on the other hand, quite
fantastic.  Now for the details.  Since everyone loves to comment about there
trip to the show, I'd be glad to share my travelling experience as well.  I
took two trains, the Red and Blue, to get to the show and it took a little
less that an hour to get to the venue. That's right I live right here in the
city, not in some burb and say that I live in Chicago.  Nope, the real deal,
urban dweller.  I can not begin to tell you fantastic it is to not have to
fight traffic to get to a  show.  It is absolutely the best way to get to any
event.  So, since I didn't even go into the parking lot, I can't tell you
about the lot scene.  the "L" seen was quite mellow though.  Only a few
homeless looking for spare change and a couple of crazies hanging out at the
downtown stop.  It makes the kids begging for a ticket outside the venue even
more pathetic.  If I had an extra, I would have given it to a homeless person
in hopes that they could have sold it.  So after marching in line to get
inside, I finally noodled my way to fairly close to the stage, Page side.
The age range was quite wide.  I saw quite a few people well into their
thirties and even forties and a lot of high schoolers as well.  Nothing like
a Saturday night show to bring out the wee ones.  As far as the mood of the
crowd, eh.  Not much of a vibe really.  Also right in front of me were two
guys who could have played the leads in that Roxbury movie.  Oh God were they
annoying!!!!  And they were wearing enough cologne to pickle themselves.
ACK!!!  C'mon who wears cologne to a concert!!?!!  And they had that whole
head bobbing thing going on while they danced.  Gads it was frightening.  So
the band appears and opens with their blues standard, My Soul.  Not a bad
beginning.  Kind of rocking.  A bluesy song for a blues town.  Of course if
you want the real thing and your in the city, head to Buddy Guy's Legends of
Kingston Mines.  They probably pull in the best acts of anywhere in the city.
So My Soul closes and Mike's kicks in.  OH YEAH!!!  or so I thought.  It was
a decent Mike's.  A fun Mike's.  A short Mike's.  There was definitely a good
groove going on, and then, blam!  Well, no not blam, more like a poop...  And
Driver was played.  A lovely little ditty, followed by Brian and Robert.
YAWN. Pardon me, even writing those back to back inspires sleep.  The Wedge
added a little pep, but not much.  Limb by Limb was ok, but more of a Trey
guitar god session than anything else and then it was back to sleepy time
with Fikus, Billy Breathes and Beauty of My Dreams.  By this time I was so
bored I started to walk out into the concession area as Weekapaug kicked in.
A little too little and a lot too late.  Now, you may be thinking I'm being a
little harsh, but man, it was dull. One slow tempo song, two isn't bad, but
look at this set list.  It wasn't even mellow.  It didn't have a mellow
groove to it.  It was just a bunch of slow songs that were incredibly
disjointed and didn't go together at all.  The band definitely mailed this
set in.  I can't see how the tapes would help this out. I honestly think if
all you got from this show was set two, you would have the only part of this
show worth recording.  Set Two, however was a completely different story.
Like I said night and day.  It opened with an amazing AC/DC Bag, that worked
it's way through about thirty minutes.  Just a fantastic mellow jam.  If
mellow, easy, relaxing was what they were after this night, this finally did
it.  It semi-segued into ghost.  Again a mellow groove ensued that took us to
Reba, which was quite good. Nothing out of the ordinary, not a member of the
Reba Hall of Fame, but a good tune in keeping with the passive mind set of
the evening.  Farmhouse was much more rousing than I remember.  It put a
semi-exclaimation point on the evening. Anything more rocking, ie.  a
Chalkdust, simply would not have fit.  The encores were quite ho-hum in my
opinion.  Guyute is no longer the breakout it once was and it holds no
special place for me.  While My Guitar... was nice, like your cousin.  Always
good to hear from, but not your choice of partying companions.  Overall, not
a great show.  A definite sense of "Well, here we are." pravaded(sp) the
first set and really most of the show.  The second set was pretty good, and
if mellow is your thing, check it out.  The "L" ride home was without
incident, unlike the fol

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------------------


Date:    Mon, 9 Nov 1998 16:29:56 -0600
From:    "Brian M. Gordon" 
Subject: Phish at UIC - 11/07/98 review of sorts

Hey!

After surviving the past two night's Phish performances in Chicago, I
thought I'd pass along my account of the shows so far. BTW 11/7 was the
5th show I've seen to put things into perspective.

11/07/98 - UIC Pavillion - Chicago, IL
--------------------------------------
Set I
-----
My Soul, Mike's Song, Driver, Brian and Robert, The Wedge, Limb by Limb,
Fikus, Billy Breathes, Beauty of my Dreams, Weekapaug Groove

Set II
------
AC/DC Bag -> Jam, Ghost, Reba, Farmhouse

Encore
------
Guyute, While My Guitar Gently Weeps

~~~~~~~~

The scene: I got there with time to hang out in the lot before-hand. It
was kinda cold out. Really mellow scene. Not too much to complain about.
Security was relaxed. LOTS of ticket grovelers. Way too many people
wandering around searching for tickets. On the way in, I got seperated
from my wife and friends but later found them on the floor. The aisles
and hallways in UIC Pavilion are way too small. Crowding was a bummer. I
made my way to the floor and camped about 30' from the stage in front of
Trey.

8:09 - My Soul: Unusual opener I thought but I guess it's not so
unusual. It got the crowd grooving. 8:16 - Mike's Song: Lovely. A nice
15 minute Mike's to get the show grooving even more. They finally broke
down to a stop and Trey grabbed his acoustic. 8:31 - Driver: I hadn't
heard this before. It was really nice. This mellow tune set the mood
for... 8:35 - Brian and Robert: Also with acoustic guitar.
Great-sounding version of this tune. It's fabulous with the acoustic.
8:39 - The Wedge: I love this song! Killer version with a jammed-out
ending. I saw Mike look at Trey, pause, and flick his nose with his
finger. Very odd communication methods. This Wedge was jammin' though,
really good! 8:47 - Limb By Limb: Wild! This was spectacular. It went
into some really wild jamming and lasted 10 minutes. 8:57 - Fikus: The
strange and mysterious Fikus sent us into a mellow trance. 9:01 - Billy
Breathes: Continuing in our mellow haze, they kicked out a really,
really nice version of Billy. Awesome harmonies in the vocals. 8
minutes. 9:09 - Beauty of my Dreams: I wasn't too familiar with this
tune but it was stomping. The call for "Cactus" sent Mike into a great
bass solo near the end. Very cool. By this time, since Mike's was played
earlier, you knew Weekapaug couldn't be far off... 9:12 Weekapaug
Groove: Killer! This grew and grew into the most huge and monstrous
ending. Absolutely stunning, raging ending to the first set. I was blown
away. Before the end Trey said they'd be taking a break and "It's great
to play here," and muttered something about it being special. At 9:24,
after playing 1 hour and 15 minutes, they were off stage.

After collecting myself, I headed off in search of water. There was no
beer sold at the show. Due to the poor hallways in the pavilion and the
volume of people there, it was a long and arduous task to make my way
through the line in order to pay $1 for a cup full of tap water. I
thought I was going to die from cotton-mouth. :) Refreshed after a
drink, I headed up to the top of the balcony on Page's side to join a
friend for the 2nd set opener.

10:00 - AC/DC Bag: This one started out innocently enough, but after the
normal course of the song, it developed into a jam. This jam, like
nothing I've heard from them before, continued to a breaking point at
about 10:15, at which point I noted the time for the segue into the next
song. This didn't happen though as they slipped into a strange
delay-loop jam and then another wild jam for another 6 minutes. I just
wrote "WOW!" on my setlist. At around 10:21 they finally stopped the
endless spacey jamming. A 21 minute AC/DC Jam. Wow! 10:21 - Ghost: I've
always liked this song although I think I like the '97 versions better.
This one was nice though and followed the recorded version but jammed on
the parts quite a lot longer. Halfway through Ghost I headed back down
to the floor and got back to where I was during the 1st set. 10:35 -
Reba: Beautiful! Flawless! Reba lovers will definitely want a copy of
this. They pulled it off really well hitting every damn note. I didn't
notice anything off anywhere through the whole thing. Complete with
whistling at the end. Reba lasted 15 minutes. 10:51 - Farmhouse: A
really nice Farmhouse to bring us back down after the stellar Reba. This
ended the set at 10:56. After they went off-stage, a glowstick war
ensued. The crowd got louder and crazier minute by minute calling the
guys back out. 11:00 - Guyute: Great! This was a really cool tune for
the moment. I just listened and danced and enjoyed. 11:09 - While My
Guitar Gently Weeps: They weren't done yet though. WMGGW was a
surprising ending to the show. Trey did a really good guitar solo during
it which built to a climax. He then realised he was supposed to come in
singing there and flubbed for a moment as he tried to switch back to his
rhythm tone and remember the lyrics at the same time. He broke a smile
and laughed it off. You couldn't complain after the solo he had just
played. The show came to an end at 11:16.

We took our time heading out of the place as if we had a choice. Had a
beverage or two in the lot and headed home as it started to snow. All in
all it was a great time with little hassles. I had to clean up a bunch
of trash in the lot near my car but nothing too unusual. It's just
rediculous looking at trash on the ground when there's a dumpster and
two trash cans within 15 feet. As I said before, there were a lot of
ticketless people wandering around. Even, after the show there were more
looking for tix for the next two nights. What are you going to do?

Well, it was a great night to be a Phish fan.

I've got to go as it's now 4:20 and I've got yet another Phish show to
catch tonight. I'll follow this with more talk about last night and
tonight's show.

Later,

        Brian Gordon

------------------

Date:    Mon, 9 Nov 1998 22:23:31 GMT
From:    Chuck Sitkoff 
Subject: **My Thoughts : 11/7 **

11/7 was my first show, so if you see any aggregious errors below, try
to hold back the flames --
        The scene outside UIC was kinda what I expected, and then
again ... totally different from anything I could have imagined. A few
too many drunk guys with dreadlocks and no tickets bumping into me
than I would have wished for, but oh well.  The venue seemed very
small, I loved it!!  I had great seats, Section 102, kinda parallel to
the stage on Fishman's side, couldn't have asked for anything better.
        Much thanks to the drummer from Minnesota whom I was sitting
next to for letting me use your pen and filling me in when they
started up Ghost and I had no idea what the song was (new intro??)

MY SOUL: - This was a strange opener, I thought - but blues was
fitting for Chicago, it got me groovin'
MIKE'S: I was SO pumped when Mike's started up, as far as I can
remember, the jamming was cool, not overly funky but nothing too
dissonant, just some cool grooves, it kinda drifted off and then just
ended ... no H2 or Paug ... but oh well
DRIVER: I hadn't heard this before but I recognized it by the lyrics,
it was kinda slow, funny lyrics though - I like'd the accoustic guitar
BRIAN+ROBERT:  Nothing too positive to say about this one, but others
semed to like it.
WEDGE: Hell Yeah!! I didn't recognize the new opening to this song at
first, but when I caught the groove I was ecstatic - I can't say how
much I love this song - I think they jammed the end out a little bit
LIMB X LIMB: Another song I was totally pumped to hear, I don't have
SOTG yet, so the new arrangement was unfamiliar to me, I think I like
the old version better, but you really can't do anything to make this
song bad, it was TIGHT!
FICUS: Very errie sounding, kinda had a science-fiction feel to it,
cool.
BILLY BREATHES: I had just been listening to this song (2/14/97) on
the plane from Atlanta, I was totally in the mood for it, this song is
_very_ emotional to me, especially as the jam picks up towards the
end, I loved it.
BEAUTY OF MY DREAMS: I was really itching for an Uncle Pen when I
heard Bluegrass starting up, but this is a nice song.  "Cactus" took a
nice little solo in here, I don't think I've ever heard a Mike solo in
a Beauty before.
WEEKAPAUG: There we go!! Mike's solo was HUGE ... a lot longer than
I've heard it before, the whole 'Paug was SMOKIN! Gave me a huge boost
of energy for setbreak

II:
AC/DC BAG -> : Very cool, I love this song as a set opener, another
bluesy tune which I think the crowd really appreciated it. The jam had
a ton of energy at the beginning, but kinda lost steam and got spacey
towards the end, it was really bass  - heavy (but this might have been
the seats) - I was ready for this jam to end, which it did beautifully
by morphing into
GHOST:  As opposed to AC/DC, Ghost seemed to be lacking heavy bass in
the lyrics section, but this is  a GREAT song with a big funky jam. I
don't remember details about the Jam, but it took off towards the end,
very satisfying.
REBA: Holy shit!!! I flipped out when Reba started up, I was dancing
all over the place.  Lyrics were tight per usual, and the Jam was
beautiful (except for this really annoying girl who kept screaming"
JERRY GARCIA" and took her clothes off - this was obnoxious!!)
It still amazes me how they can just stop this jam on a dime.  The
whistling started back up which was awesome and again they stopped
perfectly.
FARMHOUSE: Right as Farmhouse started up, I "got it" - this moment was
by far the highlight of my show, for some reason ... Farmhouse just
sounded so great after the Reba jam, you couldn't wipe the grin off my
face.  This is a great tune, no matter how cheezy it is .. I love it.

There was a cool glowstick war before the encore;

GUYUTE: Nothing could have been better, the lights on this were
_amazing_ - these colorful pinwheel looking things behind Page totally
made it, I didn't hear any flubs, but even if there were some .. WHO
CARES?? It's Guyute!
WMGGW: Hmmm, to me, this kinda took away some of Guyute's energy, but
none the less I totally loved it , Trey just ripped up the solos,
great way to end my first show!!

11/8 thoughts later ... maybe

so it goes






--
Chuck Sitkoff
sitkoff@mindspring.com
--

------------------

Date:    Wed, 11 Nov 1998 06:39:00 GMT
From:    Jdp677 
Subject: *UIC Review/Highlights*

Hey folks

Wow!  I cannot express how blissfully awesome it was to have Phish playing a
three night stand in Chicago!  The train ride from Evanston was a comfortable
one hour trip, and the Racine el stop is right across the street from the
venue.  It was such a great feeling to sit down in my seat on Saturday night
and know that I would be right back in the same building with the same band for
two more nights after that first show was finished.  Here are my thoughts on
this massive treat of a local three night Phish stand that has come and gone
all too quickly . . . . .

Saturday 11/7 ROUND ONE: Given Chicago's association with the blues, it seemed
appropriate enough to open the run with My Soul.  This song is hardly one of my
favorites, but it did work just fine in this position.  However, it would have
been much more exciting if they had opened a three night stand with something a
bit more epic or shocking i.e. Timber Ho, Curtain.  Mike's Song never fails to
kick the energy level into high gear, and this is especially cool when it
happens very early in the show.  They've been doing the first set Mike's Groove
a lot in the last year, and I actually think it is getting a little bit
predictable.  The jam was typically fun and funky, but definitely nothing
groundbreaking or terribly out of the ordinary to my ears.  After they ripped
that final "big" note which may yield either Simple or Hydrogen, the jam
switched gears and headed in a very beautiful, melodic direction.  I think they
were pretty much doing a Simple jam ala 12/28/96 Philly.  This jam also had
something of a Mind Left Body Jam feel, although I do NOT think that MLBJ was
played or teased in any way.  It just exuded that same kind of vibe.  OK, first
set Mike's jam - where are we headed now?  Two acoustic tunes as a follow up to
Mike's Song was pretty crappy placement.  My first time hearing Driver, and I
think it is a nice little ditty.  The lyrics, if I heard them correctly, seemed
to have a kind of playful, nursery rhyme quality to them.  Brian and Robert
actually grew on me a bit after hearing it a few times this summer, and the
acoustic guitar was a nice change of pace.  And by the way, aren't the opening
chords to Brian and Robert EXACTLY the same as Neil Young's After The Gold
Rush?  I really thought they were busting out an After The Gold Rush - that
would have been too much!  Anyway, I'm not bashing these songs because they
were played with an acoustic guitar - I LOVE acoustic music - I'm bashing them
because I thought their placement really sucked the energy down the toilet at
an early point in the first set.  We were back on track with Wedge, which I
don't think that I could ever get tired of hearing.  The jam seemed more
extended than usual, which was great!  Limb was smoking, I dug it just like I
dug all the versions I saw this summer.  Nice to hear this one in the first
set.  Fikus doesn't do much for me.  Billy Breathes is almost always better
than I am expecting, but again this was poor placement.  Beauty was fun as per
usual, nice solo from Mike.  Weekapaug did rage, which was some salvation from
the extremely disjointed first set.  The jam was very fiery and Trey-driven;
not too much funk.  No typical Weekapaug ending though, it got faster and
faster and faster and faster and they just ended it.  I don't think there was
ever a refrain of the lyrics.  No typical ending, no CYHMK ending, just an
ENDING.  This was definitely the weakest set of the three shows.  It was
disjointed, it didn't flow very well, and it didn't seem to have much energy.


Although it was relatively short, the second set was oh so sweet!  I feel like
anything is possible when they step out on stage for set two and open with
AC/DC Bag.  This jam really moved me - it had some kick-ass sonic peaks and
valleys that absolutely ripped me a new one, so to speak.  I can't describe or
remember many details of this jam, but I think it is must-hear for anyone who
digs exploratory yet cohesive jamming.  Ghost raged in the all-rock and no funk
manner that I love.  The jam out of Ghost ended on a note or chord which
sounded very similar to something from the main WMGGW riff.  I figured we were
definitely due for some kind of breather after the Bag/Ghost combo, but instead
the energy level was raised even higher with Reba.  This was typically
glorious, and pretty goddamn obscene (in a good way) to hear at this point in
the set.  Something about Farmhouse really gets to me - I was laughing, crying,
and smiling when they pulled this one out after Reba.  On paper, it might seem
like a strange second set closer, but it was perfect.  I'm told that this set
was under one hour, but it felt much longer to me since I was so captivated by
every moment.  Short but sweet indeed.  Guyute was executed perfectly.  The
crowd was very juiced to hear this as an encore, lots and lots of energy was
radiating inside the "small" venue.  I was ecstatic to see that they did not
leave the stage after Guyute, and even more ecstatic that they followed it with
WMGGW.  Trey majorly screwed the lyrics, but what do you expect when they've
only played the song 3 times in the last three years?  Beginning of the second
set all the way through the end of the encore was perfect - I was loving every
minute.



----------


------------------------------

Date:    Thu, 12 Nov 1998 22:02:44 GMT
From:    Marcus Pearson 
Subject: UIC 11-7, 11-8 and 11-9 rundown/review

I'm sure everyone is tired of reading about these shows, but oh well.

Standard Disclaimer:  these were my 48th, 49th and 50th shows.  I was expecting
a lot from my 50th show since my 25th was 12-31-95!  I have over 1000 hours
on tape and have heard much more than that, yadda yadda yadda.

I'll try to keep this brief and just touch on the highlights.

11/7/98 UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL
I:  My Soul, Mike's Song, Driver, Brian And Robert, The Wedge, Limb By Limb,
    Fikus, Billy Breathes, Beauty of my Dreams, Weekapaug Groove
II: AC/DC Bag -> Ghost, Reba, Farmhouse
E:  Guyute, While my Guitar Gently Weaps

Mike's had a long, loud tramps segment (like a lot of the Mike's lately)
although there were no tramps :)  Then the switch came (you know the part
where they used to go into Simple a LOT) and they basically went into a post
Simple jam.  It was really very pretty and gently faded out, just like Simple.
The Wedge actually had more of a jam than usual.  Limb By Limb had a really
cool jam, probably the best Limb I've heard.  Weekapaug raged so fast you
could barely hear the notes being played.  Best first set of the run.

AC/DC had some great space jamming out of which arose a soaring crescendo
like a fall 94 tweezer.  The seque to ghost was beautiful and the crowd
actually seemed to know that they had started it up.  Ghost had next to
no fucking around, they just went right into a theme and jammed it very nicely.
It slowed down towards the end and they started to go into WMGGW, but they
just faded out instead.  Reba was like a 94 version as well, great stuff.
Farmhouse had a raging end to it.  Guyute was very nicely played and they
really did us right by adding WMGGW since they teased us before.  It wailed,
too.  Maybe my favorite second set of the run, but the third night could
even be better.

Overall my favorite show of the run, but they were "on" every night.


-------


11/7/98 - UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL 



UIC pavillion is a pretty nice place to see a concert. There didn't
appear to be any really bad seats, parking was easy, security was mostly
considerate, and it was really easy to get a good spot on the floor.
Sound was pretty good, too.

I was really excited for these shows, as was my younger brother (these
being his first shows). I was even more excited when we walked into the
venue (after waiting outside for about 45 minutes) and easily grabbed a
floor spot about 15 feet from the stage.

The MY SOUL opener was alright. I really don't like this song, but I
suppose it was a pretty good version with some nice solos.

I was expecting a MIKE'S somewhere in this three show run, and I was
more than happy to get it right away. I thought the dark, mellow jam was
fantastic, though others I talked to didn't. It evolved into a really
peaceful jam for a bit after the closing chords.

DRIVER and BRIAN AND ROBERT featured Trey on acoustic. Nice versions.

THE WEDGE was really cool, with a nice little jam in the middle. Lots of
energy. LIMB was alright too, although the jam sorta fizzled. 

FIKUS, BILLY BREATHES, BEAUTY OF MY DREAMS all sucked the air out of
this set. Why they would play these songs together is beyond me, though
I guess that it has something to do with the committee system they've
set up between Trey and Mike to decide onstage what they want to play
next.

The WEEKAPAUG intro was fantastic. Mike was tearing it up under a
spotlight with Fishman when Fish stopped playing, stood up, and pointed
to Mike with a drumstick. Truly hilarious. This Weekapaug was pretty
solid until the end, when Trey just went off like a retard, way over the
top. He looked over at Fishman to push the beat, and things just got
faster and faster until Fishman tried to rescue the beat by pounding on
his china cymbal, but to no avail. Just a bunch of noise, really, though
it looked like Trey enjoyed himself.

II:

The first AC/DC BAG of the tour was really cool. The jam got immediately
spacey. The middle section of the jam following that was boring, but it
sort of evolved into a nice, well-chanelled space jam which I really
liked.

Not really a segue into GHOST, unless you count the space-noise. This
was one of the cooler jams of the night, not so funky, but it definitely
grooved well. Solid Ghost. 

I loved watching Fishman up close during REBA. Whatever we say about
individual versions of songs or jams, we shouldn't forget how incredibly
*tight* these guys are as a band. The composed section was a lot of fun
to witness up close. Flawless. The jam was sort of a typical Reba jam,
with Trey soloing (he definitely took charge here) in a mellow and
harmonious fashion. 

I was surprised to see FARMHOUSE close the set. I really like this song,
and I think everyone really enjoyed this version of it. 

I was expecting a nice, long encore, and we got it. GUYUTE was terrific,
great lights, everything. I was really excited to hear WHILE MY GUITAR
GENTLY WEEPS. Despite Trey forgetting some of the lyrics, it was a
terrific closer nonetheless. 

All in all, this show was pretty solid. I heard about someone saying it
was so bad that she decided to sell her tix for Sunday. It was,
honestly, much better than that. The first set was too song-oriented and
disjointed (is this a trend?), and maybe they realized this and
compensated for it with a four-song second set. The second set featured
some terrific jamming in parts (end of Bag, Ghost), but also had a lot
of crap thrown in. The encore just plain rocked.
_______

11/8/98

TASTE was sort of an odd choice for an opener, but I suppose it makes
for a short-but-sweet jam. The jam itself was pretty standard, with Trey
doing that little Norwegian Wood trill as a climax of sorts. 

CARINI rocked liked something off of the "Family Values" tour. This was
really fun to watch. Trey was really rocking out, having a good time. I
really had high hoped for this set at this point. Also, Trey made a
reference to the streaker at the Madison show in the beginning, with "I
saw you with Carini and that naked guy" (as he smiled in Fish's
direction), or something.

LOVE ME was a nice little joke tune. Actually, Mike signs this one
surprisingly well.

RIDE CAPTAIN RIDE was sort of an odd choice. I was expecting something
meaty after a fairly-short CARINI and the very short LOVE ME. This was
really fun, too, with a nice little jam. 

FEE. Alright. Nice to hear. I mentioned to my friend that I was
expecting something *really* meaty, like a Divided or YEM to follow
this.

Instead we got PAUL & SILAS. Then ROGGAE. Then WATER IN THE SKY, just in
case anyone doubted from P&S that Phish could play a bluegrass tune.

STASH was well-due. This version was pretty hot. The jam was *nice* and
chaotic in places. Trey was far too over-the-top on this version. It
seemed that he wanted to go for "the note" (a la the ALO and other
Stashes), but it didn't quite work out, and several would-be climaxes
came and went. Great lights during this one, however.

CAVERN closed the set nicely, though Trey could really use a thorough
read-through of the lyrics.
__

II:

CHALKDUST rocked pretty hard. Again, Trey was really going nuts. 

I love MEAT. This was a really cool, laid-back jam. They reprised it
about 5 times or so. Terrific.

ROCK N ROLL was excellent. Page sings this one really well, and the
jamming here was tight and groove really well.

DOWN WITH DISEASE was one of the better jams I've seen in a while. A bit
too Trey-centered, again, but it really did get "out there" without
getting boring. Pretty smooth reprise of the chorus too, very cool.

There wasn't a segue into PIPER, per se; they just created a Vibration
of Life thing out of the end of DwD. This was really neat. Then Trey
started chording Piper. Fishman was far too involved on this one - he
was doing to much crap too early and this Piper really didn't build very
well. It was nice that they jammed the ending out, but the jam was pure
crap (for Phish, at least). Fish was pounding out eighth-notes on his
bass drum and beating on his toms along with Trey's loud-ass chording.
It really was just a bunch of noise.

With VELVET SEA, they managed to play 3/4 of the new album in just two
shows. 

The ANTELOPE was very heathly. The more explosive jamming style it
seemed the band had been going for over the past two nights worked well
here. Trey sounded good. Lots of energy here, as you might have
expected. 

BEEN CAUGHT STEALIN' freaked me out when I saw it at Alpine this summer.
This song is perfect for a raucous arena crowd, too. The tramps were fun
to see. I probably would have enjoyed this more had I liked the show
better; in my estimation this was one of those short-but-sweet encore
jolts meant to cap off an epic show. The only part missing was the epic
show.

I probably shouldn't make generalizations about a tour from seeing only
two shows, but I will anyway. My first question is, where did the funk
go? One on hand, I mean the funk in terms of wah-wah, Page's clav,
bass-heavy grooves - it wasn't there. But what also wasn't there was the
funk in terms of what Phish have talked about: a less guitar-oriented
sound. Trey was *way* over the top this weekend, just going off. A lot
of the jams just evolved into loud noise or wanking (eg Weekapaug and
Piper). Rob Mitchum mentioned something about these shows being akin to
the "Machine Gun" Trey era. They were, but leaned more toward the
"Machine Gun Trey on Crack" flavor. Seriously, his playing was
distinctly un-musical at times. Having heard almost all of Fall '97,
what I've heard from Fall '98 so far doesn't even compare. It actually
reminds me of Fall '96 - un-funky, jams a bit flat, and *too much
material from the new album*. Also, when is the last time they've done a
true segue? Everything this weekend was really disjointed. Instead of
just segueing in Reba from Ghost, Trey thought he'd better stop and ask
Mike it was okay to play Reba. 

Anyway, I don't mean to rant. I do love these guys. A mediocre Phish
show is still more fun than anything else I could have spent my time
doing.

Later,
CDH




11-7-98 UIC Pavillion - My 11th show, and also I've heard close to 400
hours.  So, take this for what it's worth:

MY SOUL: What can I say, I don't really like this song, especially to open
up a big 3-nighter.  Was hoping for an older-school, more kick-ass opener
(a la The Curtain, Worcester 11-28-97).  The crowd seemed to love this one
which I really can't understand.  What was I hoping for? PYITE maybe,
although even that may not be "unusual" enough, or even a Divided Sky (like
Deer Creek's 2nd song).  As they went on I thought Oh Kee Pah but no luck
there either.  So as My Soul is playing, I did figure song #2 would be an
epic, and it was.
MIKE'S: certainly made up for the My Soul.  The jam was pretty short, and
they went into this softer jam, which ended rather abruptly as Trey grabbed
his acoustic.  Obviously I was hoping for H2, which I thought could have
come out of that softer jam, but alas...my wait continues.
DRIVER: Didn't care at all for this one.  Really lame.
B + R: A better acoustic choice, not bad, I figured they'd play some of the
album.
WEDGE: Ahh, much better.  Very nice to hear this one.  Certainly the high
point of all the songs between Mike's and Weekapaug.
LIMB: OK, not as kick-ass as Worcester 11-28-97 among others, but a pretty
good take nonetheless.  
FIKUS: A sorry excuse for a Phish song.  Sorry but that's how I feel.
really a throwaway.
BILLY BREATHES: Again, a mellow song, one I don't really look forward too
at shows.  At this point the set was really taking a bit of a turn for the
worse--the only redeeming aspect of it was the anticipation for Weekapaug.
BEAUTY: Not a bad song, I don't mind it.  But after the general lameness of
the past few numbers it really didn't do much to salvage the set.  At one
point Trey yells "Cactus" and Gordon has to play a bass solo which was
really impressive since Mike often doesn't get to strut his stuff on bass
(as does ROB DERHAK of moe., for example).  That kind of got Mike rewady to
rock for his intro bass solo on....
WEEKAPAUG: Did salvage the set, luckily.  So, Fish begins the drums, Mike
jumps in, and then Fish stops drumming abruptly and leaves Mike with
another solo, which was nice of course.  As the song went on, the jam was
pretty good.  Trey then gives the "15 minutes", and instead of going back
into the refrain, the band keeps escalating the pace of the jam to a
frantic level, faster and faster, to the point where I couldn't even keep
time (nor could they?), and then they just ended it, sans ending vocals.
Overall set I was weak, saved only by Mike's Wedge and Weekapaug.

Set II:
ACDC: OK, a very good way to start.  I think I called Stash, being a little
too hopeful.  But at the same time, as the ACDC went into the jam, I
realized they wouldn't end it like older Bags, but that they would take it
sideways, not up, into something funky or spacey.  They did, and as the jam
fizzeld out to nothing, Ghost picked up.  Not a "  " in my opinion, but oh
well.  
GHOST: I miss the old Ghost.  Nothing will ever compare to the rage of
7-23-97 Atlanta 25min Ghost, or the funk of 11-28-97 ghost.  Oh well.  This
one did get going really nice.  I liked it.  Then the jam fizzled out.
REBA:  YES!!  good going.  Very good.  The jam was great, but aren't they
all?  And then--whistling.  Thank god, I am a huge fan of whistling, and
NOT a huge fan of Reba's without it.  
FARMHOUSE: OK, a shorter, newer song, hopefully getting us ready for a
really strong closing sequence--I THOUGHT FOR SURE WE'D GET 20-30 MINUTES
MORE!!!  But instead, Trey thanks us as Farmhouse ends and the band
leaves...I was in disbeleif, as were many others around me (front and
center, ~ 25' from the front).  One guy said that the 4 songs were not even
close to 1 hour.  !?!?!?!?  Someone, please explain!!!

E:
GUYUTE: my first, very exciting, but this song has really lost its
attraction, thanks to being immortalized on Ghost.  Please never record
epic songs ever again, Phish.  It was nice to hear / see, but now that it's
not so rare or exciting anymore, I'm not so easily bowled over, as others
seemed to be.
GUITAR: cool too, I guess, I don't like the beatles but this is a big-time
encore, so it salvaged a bit of the 2nd set which was ridiculously short.  




 Since Saturday night at UIC was the only show I was going to see this
fall (barring a miracle), I was extra psyched for the trip. Took my dad
with me- it was his third show, his first two being Deer Creek this
summer, and he seemed to be enjoying the ride as well.
 We got to the Pavilion about 7:00, and immediately got in line to
enter the venue. There was a big crowd where tickets were being checked,
followed by an even bigger crowd waiting to get in the door. After
standing around for about twenty minutes listening to this obnoxious
repeating announcement about bag searches, I finally entered the venue.
 The place is very small- Iıd never seen the boys in a venue that
intimate, and even my upper bowl seats were pretty great. Sat down and
found out nobody was going to be sitting in the seat to my immediate
right, which meant more dancing room for me. It was Saturday night, I was
pumped, and ready for the show.
 My Soul opened, probably because they were in Chicago and felt they
had to pay homage to the blues scene. It was a pretty short version, with
not a very spectacular Trey solo, but it was a nice enough opener. People
were more enthusiastic about it than I would have imagined, seeing as how
summer/fall Œ97 it was pretty much consistently complained about. Up
came the opening notes to Mikeıs Song, and I knew we were in for a treat.
The song part was a little slower than most Mikeıs, but it was the same
otherwise. The jam, however, was atypical in a way I was not too pleased
about. Mike played his bass theme really loud (Mike and Page were VERY
LOUD at UIC, I was quite pleased), and I expected Trey to break out a solo,
but instead he chorded along top in a very boring way. The jam continued
like this for a while, before it ³peaked² the first time, and then it was
brought down into a gorgeous, flowing instrumental jam that lasted about two
minutes. It stopped soon enough, though, and Trey picked up his
acoustic and started playing a tune I hadnıt heard before. I figured it
was Driver, though, and by the lyrics I knew. It seems nice enough, kind
of country-ish, and sounds like a rarity weıll all come to enjoy
eventually. He started something else, which I didnıt recognize until the
³wooıs², and it was Brian and Robert. I enjoyed the one, although I had
come to the show in the mood to dance and the last two songs hadnıt given
me much opportunity to do so. Up came the drumbeat for The Wedge, which
was very nice (not only did my dad comment that he really liked it, but a
guy I met at Borders who was an old tourhead told me that that was his
first live Wedge and was the highlight of the show for him). Limb by Limb
started up, a song which seems to follow me around, although you wonıt
hear any complaints from me. It wasnıt a great Limb (Deer Creek this
summer was the best Iıve seen), but it was fine, and got me dancing a
little harder. Mike started Fikus, which I wanted to hear live and luckily
got to- I enjoy this one, although I was really hoping for a fast tune
(PYITE?) in the middle of this Mikeıs-mellow we were immersed in. Billy
Breathes kicked in, and I swayed, and Beauty of my Dreams brought
it up a notch- I promised my dad weıd hear some bluegrass, and we did,
so that was fun. Ginseng may be my favorite bluegrass tune those boys do,
but I liked it just the same. I wanted one more song before the inevitable
Groove, but we got our Weekapaug, and it was a fine one. Mikeıs bass solo
was great, rapid-fire stuff, and the jam started out kind of weak but got
a lot better. Trey did his ³weıll be back soon² thing, and decided he
didnıt want to end the jam, so they jammed for about three more minutes
after that- harder than theyıd jammed all night. Highlights of the first
set- Wedge, Fikus, Weekapaug.
 Setbreak was setbreak, there were surprisingly few heads around where
I was sitting, so no conversations were struck up. I discussed the
implications of a mellow set with my dad, and we talked about how it was
enjoyable but not exactly your typical Saturday night show. I really think
heıs getting into these guys... which is great, because I knew all along
he was a closet Phishhead.
 Lights went down, and what would start up but a personal favorite of
yours and mine, AC/DC Bag. It was a fine Bag, and transformed itself into
a very melodic spacey/ambient jam, very very atypical of the AC/DC Bagıs
Iıve head in the past. It was fun, but it seemed a little drawn out. The
stopped it, and brought out Ghost, which was a nice mellow,
not-terribly-funky-but-still-cool-jam-that-got-kinda-rockinı-at-the-end
jam. A fine Ghost, but short, and nothing to write home about. They
discussed for a while, and out came Reba, which has become in the past few
months my new favorite Phish tune. It was a very good, if not spectacular
Reba, and in discussions I had Sunday at Borders most folks thought it
made the show. Farmhouse brought up, which is kind of tepid on tape but
really enjoyable live, and it rocked us to the end of a short but sweet
set. Highlights: basically the whole thing, although AC/DC Bag and Reba
were the best.
 Came back for encore, which was a fine Guyute with a good buildup (no
buildup on the album version, which is itıs only downfall) and a nice
While My Guitar Gently Weeps, although Treyıs solos were not as
spectacular as they sometimes are in that tune. We all left with smiles on
our faces, though, and that was allright with us.
 Coupla other notes- if you got into Borders on Sunday, I hate you. I
was there from 12:15 on and didnıt get in, despite almost freezing to
death in the process. Also, I was told Sunday that the Mikeıs had a Simple
jam (which
I definitely heard), there was a While My Guitar and/or Dear Prudence
(?) tease in Ghost (which I didnıt hear). I think the general feeling
about this show was ³mellow but good², and Iıd have to whole heartedly
agree.
 Have fun on tour, folks. Iıll be thinking about ya.

-Paul
 beatnik@prairienet.org





    First off, WOW!  What an incredible show.  The crowd's energy was
totally flowing from start to finish, nonstop!  Outside the scene was
packed because the doors didn't open until 6:45 or so and it took forever
or everyone to get through.  No complaints, just a slow wait.  I'm not
even sure if there were more ticketless folk here or at the Madison show,
seemed about the same.  It was a lot warmer here at UIC than at Madison
although still cold so everyone seemed to be in a real happy mood.  I was
a little disappointed by the fact that there were a couple of people
handing out glowsticks although fortunately, they never became a problem
for the band.  I think I was more annoyed with a couple of laser pens than
the glowsticks to be quite honest.  I think laser pens are way too
distracting and not worth staring at while glowsticks are more fun since
they're being tossed around while the laser pen is just some guy pointing
it where ever he wants.  Flame away if you disagree.

        I had mail order seats in the 200's which just didn't do it for me so
I was fortunate enough to be able to stand in the aisles of 104 or so.
Great spot!
The security gave me no problem whatsoever!  I loved that!  The floor
was really packed and to be quite honest I was glad I wasn't in it,
although I'm glad I will be tomorrow! The scene was very happy and I was
too.

        Now, on to the show!  First set was very standard I thought, with the
highlights being My Soul, Mike's and Weekapaug.  My Soul and Mikes was
a great opener and let out a lot of energy.  I think these two songs put
everyone in a great mood.  Very well jammed out.  Excellent placement on
the acoustic part of the show!  Every song between Mike's and Weekapaug
seemed really mellow, except for The Wedge and Limb by Limb.  Between the
Mike's and Weekapaug, everything was nice and tight, very well played.  At
first I didn't like the come down from the Mike's, but with the second set
as heavy as it was I didn't mind at all looking back on the show.  Driver
was new to me and I couldn't really follow the words so I pretty much
missed the concept of the song, but I enjoyed trying to listen.  Brian and
Robert sounds great acoustic!  I don't really know if they've been playing
this song more electric or acoustic, but it definitely sounds better
acoustic because the words are much more easily heard.  I think a bunch of
songs off Story of the Ghost should be acoustic so the words can be heard
over the beat.  The Wedge, Limb By Limb and Ficus were all pretty standard
IMO, but hey, its only the first set.  I really don't have a problem with
hearing a song done the same way by Phish for two
reasons.
One: there are still plenty of other songs that have total variety and
are played just as often as the standards.  Two: I really think that there
are a lot of people at Phish shows that are seeing them, or hearing new
songs for the *first* time ever.  I think that if that show was the first
show I'd ever seen by Phish, I'd be glad those songs were in there.  Billy
Breathes and Beauty of My Dreams were also quite standard.  My Soul,
Mike's and Weekapaug were loose and creative, I loved it.  Weekapaug was
an obvious closer but when it was played it just kept getting faster and
faster at the end.  Great version.  When Mike was going of on the bass
during the intro, Fish stood up and pointed to him and Mike just soloed
for a while.  Weekapaug is such a great improv song and this was a
wonderful version.  I never get tired of that song.  Throughout Mikes
especially, glowsticks were flying about as often as balloons during this
show which really wasn't very much and, like balloons, didn't seem to
cause any trouble from what I saw.  This set gave a little of
everything Phish has to offer and was a great set.  Not the best set,
but a great set.

Second set blew me away as most second sets will do for me.  Of about
half of the shows I own on tape, I usually only listen to the second set.
This show is no exception.  Four songs!!!  Probably very similar to the
third set of Halloween although I haven't heard the tapes yet so I don't
really know. AC/DC was a surprising opener and went well.  This was the
first AC/DC Bag I've heard jammed out and I think I got lost in the jam
segment they did at the end.  I like AC/DC Bag better the old way.  Ghost
was fantastic!  I think the reason Ghost was left without a long jam on
the album is because Phish hasn't made a set jam for Ghost and is still
playing around with the ending. This seemed obvious with Reba following
because the jam in Reba always follows
the same parts as on the album version.  Ghost and Reba almost seemed
like opposites during this set and worked really well against each other. 
Reba was
wonderful and placed in exactly where it belongs, IMO.  I couldn't have
planned out a better setlist for Phish to have played tonight.  Reba
made me
think a little bit about the Fluffhead that was played last night at
Madison
because both songs were played with the same style they have always had
and
hopefully always will.  Farmhouse was a great closer!  Surprisingly
enough
Farmhouse has not been used as a closer until now and is definitely
better
than hearing a Chalkdust or Frankenstein!!  Every time I hear that song
something new comes to mind from the lyrics that I didn't seem to hear
the
last time.  I really wish that song was on Story of the Ghost, but I'm
glad
its getting occasional play onstage.  I know it would be played more
often if
it was on their new album.

OK, I don't know if this has ever happened before or not but I was
really
pleased with it.  There was a Glow Stick War before the Encore!!!!  A
perfect
place to be!  The lights are off and the band isn't even onstage to get
hit by
the glowsticks!!!  Everyone really got into this war and it was very
cool.  I
think there were more glowsticks here than there were in last nights
Harry
Hood.  As the band came on or the encore, all of a sudden I noticed a
lot of
the glowsticks going onstage, but none hitting the stage before they
came back
onstage.  I think that if the glowsticks are here to stay, they belong
in the
encore.

The encore was surprising.  I really didn't expect to hear a second
song after
Guyute and I think that While My Guitar Gently Weeps was a great
surprise to
an otherwise guessable encore.  Guyute was Guyute and everyone enjoyed
it.
While My Guitar Gently Weeps made tonight absolutely perfect.  This
show is
what a sold out show should sound like and I think that Phish did an
outstanding job tonight.  For me, this had been the best show since
12/6/97
(this isn't to say that these two shows are in any way similar but
rather that
12/6 was the last show I really got into), although for some reason I
have a
feeling this show is going to be underrated by most fans.

Can't wait for tomorrow!
Nick Berveiler

nickthe7@aol.com
nberve1@uic.edu
http://www.eecs.uic.edu/~nberveil





11/7/98

After being stuck in riduculus traffic on the Kennedy expy, we found UIC
Pavilion.  Instantly we saw hundreds of ticketless hopefulls.  I was
glad I got to see Pjish in such a small place, but man they packed is in
like sardines.  The bathroom scene was horible, people pissing in sinks.
The scene was mellow but strange, firehazard crowded.  I loved my seats 
sec 114 can't beat it.  My soul, wow lots of energy and a great opener.
Then came Mike's song, I was completly blown away, this was intense, 
The acoustic sement was nice as I gained a new appreciation for Brian &
Robert.  Limb by limb and the wedge were solid and intense, beuaty of my
dreams was great and concluded with a mike bass solo that remined me of 
banjo playing (remember a banjo has 5 strings and so does his bass)that
weekapaug, the opening bass solo was acknowledged by fishman who
proceeded to point at mike.  when it was all said and done, The set
completly blew my mind.  Trying to get through the narrow confines of
the pavilion was nearly impossible during setbreak, but I was able to
finally visit my girlfriend and my friend andy, who different seats
then me.  I realized that I might miss the set II opener by walking
through the crowd, and I had a strong feeling for AC/DC bag, I saw the
band come out through the aisle entrance and watched, danced, sang,
smiled, boogied to AC/DC bag.  I have never been in the aisle during a
show, but this was awesome, I could still see the band and the lights,
but the spinners were fun to navigate around as I proceeeded back to my
section.  What followed was a sick sick jam, very long and mind
blowingGHOST wow 
this was fun. Reba! yes I haven't seen this since '96.  Farmhouse was a
nice surprise.  Guyute and While my guitar gently weeps, satisfied me
beyond my wishes. After words I was speechless.





11/7/98

After being stuck in riduculus traffic on the Kennedy expy, we found UIC
Pavilion.  Instantly we saw hundreds of ticketless hopefulls.  I was
glad I got to see Pjish in such a small place, but man they packed is in
like sardines.  The bathroom scene was horible, people pissing in sinks.
The scene was mellow but strange, firehazard crowded.  I loved my seats 
sec 114 can't beat it.  My soul, wow lots of energy and a great opener.
Then came Mike's song, I was completly blown away, this was intense, 
The acoustic sement was nice as I gained a new appreciation for Brian &
Robert.  Limb by limb and the wedge were solid and intense, beuaty of my
dreams was great and concluded with a mike bass solo that remined me of 
banjo playing (remember a banjo has 5 strings and so does his bass)that
weekapaug, the opening bass solo was acknowledged by fishman who
proceeded to point at mike.  when it was all said and done, The set
completly blew my mind.  Trying to get through the narrow confines of
the pavilion was nearly impossible during setbreak, but I was able to
finally visit my girlfriend and my friend andy, who different seats
then me.  I realized that I might miss the set II opener by walking
through the crowd, and I had a strong feeling for AC/DC bag, I saw the
band come out through the aisle entrance and watched, danced, sang,
smiled, boogied to AC/DC bag.  I have never been in the aisle during a
show, but this was awesome, I could still see the band and the lights,
but the spinners were fun to navigate around as I proceeeded back to my
section.  What followed was a sick sick jam, very long and mind
blowingGHOST wow 
this was fun. Reba! yes I haven't seen this since '96.  Farmhouse was a
nice surprise.  Guyute and While my guitar gently weeps, satisfied me
beyond my wishes. After words I was speechless.