7-29-03 - Post Gazette Pavilion, Burgettstown, PA

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

Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2004 17:26:43 -0700
From: eric tipton 
Subject: Re: Phish 7/29/03 review


From Phish.net:

07/29/03 - Post Gazette Pavilion at Star Lake - Burgettstown,
Pennsylvania

Set 1: Daniel (Saw the Stone), Camel Walk, Gotta Jibboo, Cool it Down,
Scent of a Mule, Fee > Timber (Jerry) > When the Circus Comes, McGrupp
and the Watchful Hosemasters, Golgi Apparatus

Set 2: Crosseyed and Painless > Thunderhead, Brother, Harpua >
Bittersweet Motel, Harpua, I Fooled Around and Fell in Love* > Hold Your
Head Up > Harpua, David Bowie

Encore: Farmhouse

* First time played, w/ Fishman on vocals and vacuum. None of the first
nine songs had been played this tour. Daniel had not been performed in
the previous 280 shows, Harpua in 167.

We got to lot and waited in line for it to open, we were probably within
the first 40 cars in. It was really hot out all day, enough to
necessitate my always handy Kelty sun shelter! Hung out w/ Mike
(nestamarley) and his girlfriend Kelly for awhile. I managed to tie on
one hell of a buzz before this show, I am so glad I did seeing as how
crazy this show would be!

I ordered the whole tour on mail order. I only got three pavilions
although I upgraded many as I went along. But Burgettstown was the one
show that PTBM hooked me up with: 15th row DFC. Absolutely amazing seats
? I will never bitch again (did I just say that!!). I have to think
someone was looking out for me on this night ? and lo and behold that
surely came true. I was by myself in that seat. But it did not matter one
bit, so many cool people were around me ? I?ll never forget some of the
conversations I had w/ those around me at setbreak and after the show!
Just one more reason why I love Phish and the people that follow the
band!

Daniel: Holy Shit you have got to be joking! This was the first Daniel
for me. I honestly never thought I would hear it. It was very tight and
true to form that I have heard on disc. What an opener! Tour bust out.

Camel Walk: Well I will be damned. Apparently the band is really feeling
it tonight. I think we might just be in for it! Only my second time
seeing this (10/1/00 in Phoenix). Funky as hell as you would expect.
Again very tight and true to form. People around me are going nutso as am
I! Tour bust out.

Gotta Jibboo: I laughed to myself a bit here. After the two songs that
came before, it is almost a justification to play Jibboo! Actually that
is not really true considering the song has been put on the shelf for the
most part. It was only played once in Chicago and then once this tour. I
personally do not think this Jibboo was as good as Chicago. But that only
means this version is the second best ever (yes, both are better than
your precious Camden 2000 or any Trey solo 1999 version). This one just
rips! Wonderful interplay between Page and Trey to begin the jam segment.
It is so cool watching these two from so close locking up with each other
and leading the band to new heights. Not a dull moment at all in this
Jibboo, just straight ripping throughout. Nice! Tour bust out.

Cool it Down: This one caught me so off guard (you may see that statement
quite a bit in this review!). I did not know what it was until someone
close to me figured it out about 20 seconds in. What has gotten into the
band tonight I am thinking? Very frisky! Another first for me and a very
good one at that. Very bluesy feel to this song. Page just banging away
on that baby grand ? awesome! Tour bust out.

SOAMULE: Yeeha! I love the fact that this tune has become a once a tour
treat. I used to see it all too often in 95 and 96 and it became old hat.
Mike is all over his foot bell during the duel, always a sign of a hot
show to come. Trey ends up on top when the dust clears from the duel.
Tour bust out.

FEE: Woo hoo! The hits just keep on coming! Excellent (read: non ?
flubbed version) FEE, doesn?t get any better than that. Tour bust out.
Trails off into the ambient space that has followed FEE around quite a
bit since summer 99. Absolutely filthy (read: awesome!) segue in to >

Timber Ho!: This cements the fact that the band means business to me on
this evening in Pennsylvania. This Timber is pure shredding material.
Sinister, scary and dark ? it totally blew me away! Wailing guitar rifts
by Trey that really put me on another planet! This is another song that I
just cannot get enough of, having only seen it 7 times! Awesome, searing
Timber Jerry. Tour bust out.

Circus: Everyone needed a breather after all that! I have had kind of a
love/hate affair w/ this tune. Tonight it was all about the love baby!
Totally right on version and sweet placement too.

McGrupp: Holy shit! I believe the last time I saw this was 4-5-98! Was it
played perfectly? No? But it certainly was not botched either like some
would have you believe. I thought it was played admirably well
considering the frequency of which it is played. Mike owns this version,
he shines above the rest. Tour bust out.

Golgi: What an appropriate way to close out an amazing first set! I saw
you with a ticket stub in your hand indeed! Trey?s quiet little solo in
this choked me up a bit: just thinking of everything I had seen on this
tour and the great people I had met! It was all coming together so nicely
here in Pennsylvania! Nice rendition of Golgi.

Setbreak ? First set highlights: Geez, where to begin? Daniel, Camel
Walk, Cool it Down, Timber Ho! Best first set I have seen since 12/7/97.
Yep.

Second Set:

Crosseyed and Painless: Holy fucking shit. This cannot be. My brain is
melting. I had chased this song big time until I finally got it at
7/12/00. I was shut out by PTBM for 10/31/96 and felt cheated since then
when it came to Crosseyed. God did they ever deliver the goods with this
version. Fish has a little trouble w/ some of the lyrics but who the hell
cares! My section was a mass of people hugging, high fiving and smoking
everything they could get their hands on, it really was a sight to
behold! At around 2 minutes this breaks into the jam segment with Mike
really throwing dow n some downright funky licks. Very uplifting jamming
at 8 minutes ? Trey and Page lock up and take it up and up. Back to Trey
led jamming at 10 minutes. Page is so good throughout the middle part of
this. I know I say it too much but Page and Trey play so well off of each
other ? it is like they know what one another is thinking. I can?t
explain this section other than pure bliss. Beautiful music! At 18
minutes Trey goes for a harder edge and by 19 minutes everyone seems to
be regrouping abit. (Tour bustout) Two minutes of some serene ambience
later, segue into >

Thunderhead: Man, I will tell each and every one of you: hearing the
opening licks was like waking out of a dream; but not in a bad way at
all. I rather enjoyed the placement of Thunderhead. C&P was extremely
intense for me. Flame on, but I loved hearing Thunderhead here, loved it.

Brother: Holy shit! The boys at this point just keep reaching into that
bag of tricks. On the board you can hear Fish ask if he should start it
?so it?s comfortable.? Funny stuff. ?Here he goes now, JUMP!!? Even
listening to this right now on disc, I am still blown away. Phish at
their collective best. Trey just goes totally machine gun from the 4 to 5
minute mark. Jesus Christ people, my mouth was hanging open at this
point. Sick, sick, sick. (Tour bustout) At 7 minutes after Brother is
over and the band is discussing the next tune someone nails some gear on
stage w/ a glowstick and Trey says, ?That?s it, we are out of here!? kind
of jokingly.

Harpua: Oom Pa Pa Oom Pa Pa?. Oh my sweet Jesus. Harpua. People losing
their shit all around me, myself being one of them. Jimmy =
?directionless and listless?. ?He?s searching for IT.? Segue into >

Bittersweet Motel: NICE! An obvious huge, huge cheer for the ?halfway
between Erie and Pittsburgh? line!

Harpua: Jimmy gets into a rock band and finds that everything is leading
to IT (?despite the fact that he wears a silly little dress!!!!? LMFAO).
Segue into >

I Fooled Around and F ell in Love: Fishman: ?This is what happened to
Jimmy?. Hilarious! A song that parodies Fishman?s womanizing and his
current situation w/ his new baby. Complete with vacuum solo. Segue into
>

HYHU: Segue into >

Harpua: ?And then just when Jimmy found love, life came up and bit him in
the ass again? ? Trey. Not sure what that was all about! Great
harmonizing at the end, just like the Harpua?s of old. Was it perfect?
No. But I loved every damn second of it, reveled in it. It is Harpua
people, and if you want to pick it apart so be it. I thought it was
amazing. A DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOG!

Bowie: Overplayed or not, are they trying to break my feeble brain? If
so, they are doing an A-1 job of it! The intro is spooky as all hell
thanks to some Trey loops w/ a little heavy Page synth taboot. The
composed intro is close to perfect. This is Bowie is dark and nasty.
Personally to this point on tour I think it really pushes Alpine as the
best of the tour, just slightly behind it though. I still need to give
the IT Bowie my first listen. This one never lets up one bit. Plain
rocking throughout. Left me weak at the knees, I was glad to have a seat
between this and the encore! Great, great Bowie.

Encore:

Farmhouse: Haters ? you were not at this show if you are ripping on this
as the encore. It was perfect as the encore for me. For me, it felt like
a Farmhouse in the face of what we had just seen on stage, a bunch of
like minded people in one space celebrating our favorite band and an
amazing show. I thought this was a poignant way to close out the evening.
Great encore and a perfect way to send us on our way to NJ.

Second set highlights: C&P and the segue into Thunderhead, Brother,
Harpua, Bowie.

We must have hung out in the lot until 2am, whenever the cops kicked us
out. We hung out w/ Mike/nestamarley ? dude I must have told you 10 times
how cool it was for you to go home on such an incredible high point. You
deserved that show Mike, big tim e bro. This is why people follow tour;
to find that one show that will keep them talking for years and years.
Well, we got it tonight in Burgettstown, PA. I felt like I had been
baptized after seeing this show, born again in The Phish. Everyone I saw
after this show seemed to be smiling from ear to ear, this was a show for
the ages; of that I am convinced.

Attention stat geeks: I will give out a 6 disc freebie (EASY, I am
unemployed and poor!) to the first person that can tell me the last show
that had this many tour bustouts. IE A show that is at or more that 17
shows into a tour.

Tipton-o-meter: 9.8. I have not seen a show that was this good, this
pure; since 12-7-97. Sick people, sick.





peace,


et


Date: Fri, 01 Aug 2003 12:17:58 -0400
From: Chris Waltz 
Subject: 7/29/03 Burgettstown review

I read the other reviews and thought I'd throw in my $.02. (short and sweet)
 
This show absolutely ROCKED!!!!!!! Been checking the boys out since 1994 and
this absolutely ranks in the top 2-3.  It might be #1 after I listen to it
again and again and again!!!!  Really no words can describe it.  I was with my
buddy Mike and surrounded by heads that have been on tour since AZ and just
guys coming to this show and everybody and I do mean EVERYBODY was losing it -
total sickness!!!!!!!!  Best Gotta Jiboo I've heard - so many highlights in
both sets!!!!!  Only thing that could have made this better was a better
encore, but c'est la vie and I really don't care!!!!! Amazing!!! Thank you
boys, THANK YOU!!!!!!!
I can't help but think, since Jimmy looks alot like Fishman, that Fishman
singing "Fooled around and feel in Love" was his own story about finding his
own girl and having a baby - his own little way of sharing that with all of
us!!!!!! Thank you!!!!  Get this show!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
"Why did I stop seeing these guys???" - my buddy Mike (quote of the night)
 
Thanks, Chris

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 09:07:21 -0700
From: bertolet@earthlink.net
Subject: p'burgh review

A few months ago I decided to dovetail a business trip to Pittsburgh
with a Phish show. Honest Injun, it was a legit piece of business;
I'd needed to get there for a while, and July 28-30 seemed as good a
time as any. I had managed to see only one other show on summer
tour -- an excellent Chula Vista gig that petered out in the
homestretch -- and was itching to get just a little bit more. I
don't give any credence to rumors of another hiatus on the horizon
(gosh, Phishheads sure are a jittery bunch after enduring those years
in the dark) but it never hurts to see what you can, especially when
the band is at the top of its game.

My colleague Donald and I worked a hard day in the metaphorical salt
mines on Tuesday trying to convince piece-rate workers that they were
empowered to affect change (don't ask). When we were done, we doffed
our corporate vestments and headed out to the venue to scope out the
scene. There was a Shakedown Street in swing (several, in fact) but
the whole circus was a little subdued, seemingly the result of
constant harassment by venue security. I heard many of these
bumblebee ass-clowns pestering the citizenry and being verbally
abusive throughout the lot, enforcing non-existent statutes (e.g.,
you can sell beer and sell bootleg videos, yiz hippies, but you can't
hold a ticket in the air), and just generally being insufferable
pricks. I wondered if the Post-Gazette would see fit to publish a
story about the Stalinists who are minding the store at the venue
that bears its name. I pegged the chances at slim to none, with slim
having recently departed.

Anyway, the Post-Gazette (once the Star Lake Amphitheater) is
structurally and sonically a nice venue, and it has lots of
interesting vending choices, including a piercing booth. Personally,
I have a hard time imagining asking some Swiss cheese tweeker to hook
me up with a Prince Albert at a Phish show, but far be it from me to
slag others who decide to go that route. The biggest criticism I
have of the physical surroundings is that the parking lot is "paved"
with huge rocks, many the size of a fist, that make plain old walking
a unique hazard. I turned my ankle over twice and was fortunate not
to sprain it. What brain surgeon made this call?

I put the day behind me, settled into my thirteenth row seat (thanks,
Herschel), and quickly watched this innocent little business trip of
mine turn into a headlong tumble through the Looking Glass.

As I sit here in the airport typing, I'm fairly convinced that this
is the finest two-set Phish show I've ever witnessed, and that it
will compare favorably with shows like 5/7/94, 12/30/93, and 12/29/94
to name a few from the canon. The only thing that soured the
experience in any way was not being able to share it with the loved
one(s) and friends who have shared so many others with me. I spilled
some seven dollar beer in the dirt for my homies in tribute.

My first Daniel was a killer surprise (among many to follow) and the
scatting in the middle was dead-on. But if Daniel came from left
field, Camel Walk (also my first) came from Phish's collective
heinie. This was a filthy, skanky, seething version that built to a
fine growl and held together from start to finish. My neighbor and I
decided that the band seemed to mean business, but we had little idea
how truthful that statement was. Jibboo appeared next, and quickly
bloomed into a muscular, chromatic rock declaration. Most decidedly
not your Aunt Sally's Jibboo. There was nothing "textural" or
patient about it -- they just blew the doors off. This will go down
as many people's favorite Jibboo.

Cool It Down followed, but did nothing of the sort. CID contained a
wonderful, Tweezer-esque jam in which Fishman and Trey (who was
wearing a white t-shirt that featured an image of the face of
Fishman, circa 1992 or so) paved the way for some terrific group
jamming. Palpably, the band locked all the pieces together at once,
and began to deconstruct and reconstruct rhythm and key and tempo,
careening around from one theme to another and surfing a wave of
rippling magma. If Phish has played this tune since the 10/31/98
show, I'm not aware of it, and I've been pining recently for a Velvet
Underground tune that isn't called Rock and Roll. What a great
fucking pull this was. By this time my show was made. Everything
else, I thought, would just be the sauce.

I used Scent of a Mule to go buy much needed water and a beer but
from my vantage in the concourse it sounded like there was some good
business there in the jam. I'm sure the gentleman who ranted the
whole way into the venue about how it was time for his Mule was very
pleased. I'm also fairly certain that the Fee that followed was
incomplete in some way (did Trey not sing the middle verses?) but a
neat little ambient outro gave way to a perfect segue into Timber.
I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but you should probably
get used to it: this was a stupendous version of Timber. As in
Jibboo, there was no noodling around and no grab-ass whatsoever
before Phish collectively decided to bring the mojito and crush
skulls. There may be a few 1995, straight-to-the-jugular Timbers
that can hold a candle to this one, but I can't name one off-hand.
We were exhausted by the time the band dropped into a well-placed and
well-played Circus.

The set was over an hour deep before they finished and I was sure
that they would have to break soon, since I had assumed the curfew
was 11:00. It wasn't and they didn't. My first McGrupp since L.A.
in 1998 was immensely enjoyable, and tight as a drum. Page gilded
the lily with some remarkable piano work at the end of a very unusual
jam. My neighbor, an attorney from Columbus named Chris, turned to
me and joked, "Gee, what's next, Crosseyed?" The crowd was so
appreciative of what was clearly a special first set that the
obligatory Golgi was met with great approval from all. I love it
when even the jaded fan-boys get in the act and head bang to the
standards.

I'll skip setbreak, as it mostly consisted of sitting around on
asphalt (the Post-Gazette folks rope off huge swaths of grass around
the concourse so you can't sit on it; thanks, fellas). As we took
our seats, one of the crew members came out and placed sheets of
paper at every band member's station on stage, which led me to
believe that some kind of wacky cover was planned for set two. Heh.

Crosseyed, as I'm sure many folks have alluded to on Phish.net, was a
voyage of Vasco de Gama proportions, a nine-course meal of moods and
movements. This was Trey's version from the start, and the first
fifteen minutes or so were quite dark and pointed. In fact, Trey
almost seem to be angrily snarling the vocals; I got the feeling that
this song was a statement of disgust at the family of rodents who
have infested the Oval Office and the general morass into which they
seem hell-bent to lead us. We are innocent and we hang our hopes on
statesmen and speechmakers. And for the things they promise us?
Still waiting...

The angry jam led into a more melodic and delicate section where
Kuroda literally took over the band, and then it all spiraled back
downward into the form of the song. The entire trip lasted about
thirty-five minutes if I had to guess, before it segued neatly into
Thunderhead. I am not the hugest proponent of Thunderhead, but it
served as case in point that placement is everything. This worked
out wonderfully for me, and proved to be exactly the breather I' need
to make it through the rest of the set.

I went bananas at the start of Brother and could not stop for the
next ten or twelve minutes. Before launching into the jam proper,
Trey yelled something into his mic that I could not quite identify,
and then everything came wonderfully unhinged. This was the
fourth "first" for me in this show, and by this time I was fairly
certain I was dreaming. Brother reached a searing, soaring peak, and
as it ended I prepared myself for the inevitable Discern (or the
like) to follow. Instead, Trey made his rounds and started giving
some quite specific direction to his bandmates. The crowd near the
pit started cheering wildly, having picked up on the chatter, and the
place went absolutely nuts as everyone stepped to their mics to
harmonize the opening lines of Harpua. All I could do was shake my
head -- and attempt to use my cell phone to call multiple friends,
none of whom would answer. What the hell was happening here?

The composed section of Harpua was laid out really, really well, and
Trey began to weave a tale, which I will reconstruct to the best of
my memory. What we didn't know about Jimmy, he said, was that he was
sort of lost and adrift in his teen years and felt like he didn't
really have purpose, or direction. He needed that thing that was
missing in his life. He needed IT. So Jimmy is lamenting his
waywardness with Poster Nutbag as they sit together around the fire,
which is when they take out their guitars and begin to sing a sad
song. A beautiful Bittersweet Motel follows, with the crowd showing
gracious appreciation at the Erie and Pittsburgh lines. In the wake
of the Crosseyed, the "everything looks like a nail" lines came off
more like social protest than the romantic lament I've always taken
them for. Very nice.

Trey continues on to say that Jimmy figures out what he needs to do
to find IT -- so he joins a rock band. For a while it's great for
Jimmy -- lots of one night stands, lots of adoration, lots of
everything else -- but then the chicks lose their allure, so Jimmy
decides that maybe it's time to settle down. In fact, Trey says,
Jimmy "looks a lot like this guy" -- pointing to Fishman's face on
his shirt -- and "there's a t-shirt out there on tour that
says 'Jimmy Hit On Me.'" Hilarious. So Trey invites Fish to the
stage, who says some strange things, and they launch into Fooled
Around and Fell in Love -- which it somehow becomes apparent is
dedicated to Fish's daughter. This proves to be what Cryin' was
supposed to be -- a great Fishman cover in the vein of Purple Rain,
delivered with great panache and quite a virtuosic Electrolux solo as
well.

Harpua finished sloppily despite some tasty B-3 work from Page
through the "dog in the station" section, and then I swear to God I
thought that was all she wrote. The hi-hat intro to Bowie came as
the night's final surprise, not just because there was another hard-
hitting jam vehicle left in these freaking androids, but because for
most of the lead-in it sounded more like Maze (which was also far
more pregnant). This was a smoking, to-the-point Bowie that I'm
guessing lasted 12 minutes or so, but they were a blistering 12
minutes. Dear Lord.

I was so sated and giddy after this that I dug in my heels and
accepted the Friday or Wading encore that I was certain they were
going to play. This approach may have something to do with how
blissed-out I felt during the Farmhouse. Again, here was an
illustration of the importance of placement. It's okay to play a
mellow tune as an encore now and then if it appears once or twice a
tour, and especially if you've just capped your hands down show of
the tour with rock solid versions of Brother, Harpua and Bowie. I
thought it was a fitting way to end the show.

As good as this gig looks on paper, I'm sure that there will be some
skeptics who assume that the playing must have been sub-par or
lacking or inconsistent. It wasn't. My theory is that Brad Sands or
someone read the band the riot act for the prevalence of repeats on
this tour, or said something to the effect of "you haven't played
this or this or that or this..." Finally the band got sick of it and
said, "Fine, we'll play all of that old school shit if it'll shut you
up." It just so happened to coincide with a night of red hot chops.

[This could be nowhere near the truth, of course.]

So I'm now over the Great Plains somewhere, thinking how incredibly
lucky I was to catch this performance, and about how much fun is in
store for those of you bound for Camden and Maine. You may not get
the preposterous setlist full of rare gems (though you may, of
course, since Destiny and Icculus and Sanity and Peaches and
Fluffhead (etc.) are still ripe for the picking), but you will
certainly share an evening with a band that can do literally anything
when the intention is right and the stars line up... as they
decidedly did in Pittsburgh.



Chris Bertolet



Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 19:29:34 -0700 (PDT)
From: redmond haskins 
Subject: Phish show 7-29-03 review

Ok lets start here, rolled up from rochester New York at around 3 o clock. This
would be my 3rd time seeing these guys, first time after the little hiatus.
VERY HOT OUT. The lot was pretty sweet and packed alot of fun times i had in
the lot. Okay to the show...
 
Set 1:
 
Daniel (Saw the stone)- Nice tune. What a way to set the groove for the first
set. Everyone clicked in this tune and it really cooked.
 
Camel Walk- WHATTTT!!! Rediculus, funky and just right on tune the hole song.
It was awsome seeing Page and Trey battle it out that song with some sweet
licks.
 
Gotta Jibboo- This was a great version, the band had multiple orgasims
throughout this song. Great to here some of this I haven't heard it live and it
was a please too.
 
Cool it Down- Velvet Underground cover, sick cover. My friend dan was going
nuts when he heard the opening chords to this and had to do a double take.
 
Scent Of A Mule- Fantastic, Great set placement, trey went off a little bit at
the end of the song, but who cares great to hear.
 
Fee- YES FEE i wanted to here something from Junta and i got it. A great
version which the crowd was really lovin' and everyone was singing alone too.
 
Timber- TIMBER OHHH. My friend Den could not stop talking about this song
after. This was one of my favorite tunes the whole night and the band was def
on in this one.
 
When the circus comes to town- Nice set placement way to through it in there
for a little breather.
 
McGrupp- It felt good to here some Gamehendge always a plus. I thought this
might close the set but.....
 
Golgi Apparatus- My buddy Dan wanted to here this song and When the cirbus
comes to town and he got what he wanted. This is the best live version i have
heard from tapes and in concert wow. Sick version get the tape
 
Set 2
 
Crosseyed and Painless- My pal dennis said that he new they were going to open
with Talking heads and when i heard that first sweet rift on the Clavinet i new
i was in for a treat that clocked in at about 20 minute long jam.
 
Thunderhead- Im not that ken on this song, i think its off round room but it
was really pretty guitar work by Trey.
 
Brother- I haven't heard this one but it was nice to here
 
Harpua- WOW the story was really funny and it was nice hearing it the crowd was
loving and i heard about this alot in the lot after the show
 
Bittersweet Motel- Appropriate for the occasion "Somewhere between Erie and
Pittsburgh" everyone was loving it.
 
I fooled around and fell in love - A nice ballad that Fishman was singing haha
i nice slow one.
 
HYHU-Fun to see Fishman fly around the stage and bang Cymbals together while
trey was rocking it on Drums
 
David Bowie- YESSSSSSSSSS i was waiting for this one all nice the band was all
really into, so happy i got to listen to this one.
 
Encore
 
Farmhouse- Alot of songs would have been better, it was well played but i still
wanted to here something upbeat but oh well I had a great night, thanks phish u
made my summer hopefully i will see u guys this fall and winter. This was a
great show, get it on tape
 
merry phishin'
red

Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 21:59:32 -0400
From: garyshow@juno.com
Subject: Star Lake

Let me add my thoughts to those of the many singing the rightfully deserved
praises of this show.
 
"Are you kidding me!!!??"  I kept finding myself saying that over and over
again, starting with McGrupp in the 1st set.  That was already the 4th bust-out
tune of the night.
 
The day of the show, I prepared a list of songs that I'd like to hear and
scratched out the ones that had been played the previous three notes.  I wrote
in mostly songs that they play of often enough to think I'd get a realistic
chance to hear them.
 
Instead, they played song after fucking song that I'd never heard before, or
wanted to hear but dismissed the possibility that I'd ever hear them, because,
my thinking went, they don't play them at shows I go to.  And they fucking
RIPPED!
 
Like Brother, for instance, I had a hard time believing it even as that triplet
rhythm and Mike's opening riff began the song.  I was only familiar with one
version of this song:  10/31/96.  This one rocked far harder and longer than
that Halloween performance.  Afterwords, when I saw Trey in intense
conversation with Mike, I knew something big was up.  Bigger than what had
happened already?  That could mean only one thing, but no way, they wouldn't
play THAT here, they're saving THAT for IT, right?
 
OOM PA PA OOM PA PA OOM PA PAAAAAAAHHHHHH1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Thank you Phish for fulfilling a dream!  I've wanted to hear Harpua since I
knew it existed.  This version didn't disappoint in originaliy or zaniness. 
Sure, there were no Elvis impersonators, but that's been done.  The ending,
especially is mesmerizing, breathtaking; the harmonies, the light show,
awesome!
 
But the best jam of the night was definitely Crosseyed.  That's one I did have
a sense might get played.  Others have described this jam very nicely.  And
that's where my one complaint of the show became frustrating - turn up Mike for
Chrissake!  I could hardly hear any bass at times, let alone feel it like I
love to.  That was a problem during Brother as well, but by then I was blown
away almost beyond caring.
 
That's a relatively minor point on a night that was stellar beyond my wildest
dreams of what this very phine band is capable of.
 
By the way, did anyone else catch the My Fair Lady tease in Scent of a Mule?
 
The Star Lake scene was much more mellow than I'd expected, and much mellower
than what I've heard in other places.  I didn't see anyone getting busted for
ganja, or beer in the lots, or selling T-shirts.  That's always a good thing,
since my fear level around that is high enough already. 
 
Gary

Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 16:28:02 -0400
From: Bob Wright 
Subject: Pittsburgh....7-29

This show will no doubt go down in history as "That fucking weird 
Pittsburgh Show. !!"
I mean, they played a set list that you will find nothing like in any 
recent history.
I have been to at least 40 shows...my buddy at least 30...and we spent half 
the night asking each other..."have you ever heard this live before 
??.....Bob Wright

Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 17:36:06 EDT
From: J.C. AKA Braman 420
Subject: phish at star lake

       What can I say about the Phish concert in Burgettstown? It was definitly
one of the best I've been to in my 7 years of seeing this band. First off the
lot scene was great, an improvement over previous years here. This was my first
show since the hiatus, and I' was definitely pumped, after seeing the setlists
from day-to-day leading up to the show. I thought they would play well with the
day off, and they had never played a bad show here. They exceeded my
expectations on both accounts. Got a decent view, about 20-25 feet back in the
lawn, dead center. My stepbrother was with me, it was his first show, but even
I couldn't expect what happened that night:
       Set I: Daniel Saw The Stone- I could not believe my ears!! what a great
rare treat
well-played too, alot of people don't know how rare this was, I can't think of
them playing this anymore than twice in the last decade. then...
       Camel Walk- another bust out. At this point, I knew it wouldn't be a
normal show. Nice funky,dirty version.
       Gotta Jibboo- My first Jibboo, and an epic one at that. I would urge
someone to find a more intense version.
       Cool it Down- Velvet cover, but not RocknRoll, The boys are really going
for it tonight. Jammed-out great version.
       Scent- Always nice to hear mike tunes. A semi-rarity.
       Fee>Timber>Circus- This was a great segue, a good fee into a sick
Timber, one the best I've heard, into a gorgeous Circus. Breathtaking.
       McGrupp- Another rare one. Gamehenge is Gamehenge. Beautiful as always
in this was no different. Great work by page in the solo section.
       Golgi- good set closer, knowing that there was a whole set left.

       Set II: Crosseyed and Painless- They weren't taking any prisoners, and
they threw the fuck down. They chugged good for 20 minutes, and kind
lethargically for another 5, but it couldn't ruin what at all, an epic lilting
vesrsion into...
       Thunderhead- A nice version, I have a feeling this song could get better
and better
       Brother- Holy Shit! This is one of my favorites, and this was sick,
dense version.the was really moving along for this one, and some inspired vocal
work by trey on this one. Mike was good all night, but particularly here.
       Harpua- Om-paah-paah!! When I heard these words that's when I knew this
shoe was a classic. Tight but loose vesrion(just the way it's supposed to be).
Trey told the story of Jimmy, but this time Jimmy played a song for his dog...
       Bittersweet Motel- Would you guys stop with the bust-outs? Do you wanna
make star lake the show of the tour or what? First time for me hearing this
live, great tune.
       Harpua- Trey explains that Jimmy looks alot like the man on his
shirt(Fishman's on his shirt), in moment which reminds me of was this band is
so fun. Into another moment, Fishman center stage with vacuum cleaner in
tow(yes!)...
       I Fooled Around and Fell In Love- First Fish sarcastically says " I tell
you about Jimmy" Then goes into this one. What great cover downright hilarious,
and great at the same time. At the end Fish tells us that Jimmy fell in love,
and know he's loving girls,guys, it doesn't, and then says "yup, that's where
jimmy's at these days" PRICELESS into...
       HYHU- Alright, the signature pick-on Fish tune. Cruel and hilarious.
       Bowie- What way to close out, epic as always.

       Encore: Farmhouse- nice building version to close out the show, wouldn't
have been my choice to close, but do I really have anyrthing to bitch about?

       Overview- Great show one of the three best I've seen. Phish played thier
balls off in this show. Your talking 6-7 good bust outs, and some overall great
playing. This show was a 9.25 out 10 on the Sick scale. Wow. Great the tapes,
cds, mp3's whatever, just get it.

Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 11:52:37 -0400
From: glen crippen 
Subject: 7/29 review

Luckily, I had a "PIT" third row Page sided seat for this show.  I knew that 
when Trey walked out baring an old "Fishman" shirt that this show was gonna 
rage.  Instead of explaining each song, Im gonna try to convey the feelings 
this show brought on.  The opener was energetic> really nice playing and 
Trey and Mike were staring at each other laughing, it just made your heart 
feeel good to see these guys doing IT for what IT is worth.  Right from the 
very beginning of this show, it was on.  After Camelwalk, everyone knew, and 
there was this certain aura in the air that this show was going to get 
better and better.  Treys new guitar playing is so wonderful as displayed 
with Jiboo, very melodic, and flowing nicely.  Everyone could feel, up front 
by the stage, that the Phish wasnt going to slow down at all this night.  
Perhaps one of the highlights of the first set was the Fee>Timber with CK5's 
purple splendor bringing it all home.  Purely SIK.  Its a given that this 
show should be highly circulated.  I hope everyone gets the recordings.  
Well, set 2 surely isnt a haze but if anyone trys to explain it, good luck.  
It is some of the purest Phish I have ever witnessed.  Not only there 
playing but the way they decided what and when to play certain material.  
Being very close to the stage should be something everyone gets to 
experience.  THE CrossEyed>Thunderhead>Brother was over the top, left me 
awe-gazed.  At this point, I wondered, is this real, am I real, or is this a 
dream.  Half the fun was watching the band have so much fun. >> After a good 
30 second conversation between Trey and Mike, there it was.  HARPUA.  They 
blew the top off that place man.  You have to hear it to believe it.  This 
show was truely a snowflake in the sand.  THANKS PHISH.

GlenC

Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 11:56:22 -0400
From: Jay Sell 
Subject: I already posted this on PhantasyTour...but I thought I'd send it to 
you
    as well

Let me just preface this by stating that this band has provided me with many
great moments and nights in my life and that I want to give a big shout out
to the boys for stepping up and 'opening up the book' last night. Words will
not do this show justice...

This was the darkhorse show of the tour without a doubt. Nobody said much
about it beforehand...while people were calling Harpua 2nd night Camden
because people were gonna skip the show to get to IT, this show loomed out
there on its own. Sorry Utah...but this show takes the cake.

Daniel- LTP 2/23/97 281 shows
A great start with a rare traditional bluegrass tune that hasn't been played
in a long long time. Nice little jam, very unexpected and welcomed start.

Camelwalk- LTP 10/1/00  37 shows
Here we fucking go. Camelwalk 2nd song?!?!? I am starting to officially
freak out. Jammed very nicely, think and funky as all hell.

Jibboo- First of the tour
The Chicago one from the Winter was very good, so it was nice to here. Well
played and to the point.

Cool it Down- LTP 9/24/00  42 shows
Another bust-out?!?!? The theme of the night is developing quickly as you
can see. This was awesome...one of the jams of the night. Trey really got
into this and it shined.

Scent- First of the tour
I love this song...goofey Mike with a wierd Page/Trey duel...Mike hitting
his foot bell?!?!? I thought they might sandwich it with something
else...but it ended.

Fee- First of the tour
Great selection for a slow song. We needed a breather. One request: Bring
back the megaphone please ;-0 Well played and definitely --> fiercly into...

Timber Ho!- LTP 9/30/00  38 shows
This jam was hot, Trey felt the energy from the kids up front and just kept
vibing off of it...keeping with the bust-out theme of course. Permagrin in
full effect by this point. Soft > into...

Circus- LTP 10/1/00 37 shows
Fitting song, it worked very well.

McGrupp- LTP 9/18/00  46 shows
YES! This is one of my personal favorites and put the unnescesary icing on
top of the best first set I have ever seen. I shit you not. The Page jam was
very nice.

Golgi-
More icing...great view looking back at the crowd from the 11th row dead
center. Trey was LOVING IT!

SET II

Crosseyed- LTP 9/14/00  49 shows
This kid Andrew next to me actually called this right before they came out
onstage. This was the jam of the night clocking in at about 25 minutes. Up,
down, and all around this jam went. Get the discs. soft > into...

Thunderhead-
I don't know what others thought, but I was about to fall over and needed a
break BAD. Thank you Phish. Well played...the Trey solo from this song is
really cool and this song is growing on me personally.

Brother- LTP  9/27/00 40 shows
You gotta be fucking kidding me. My 4th song that I am seeing for the first
time @ my 67th show?!?!? WHOA!!! Very good Brother. Thinking that they've
GOT TO slow it down...

Harpua- LTP 11/2/98  168 shows
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I'll let someone else describe the story,
it would take to long. I'm sure you can all here it when they release it on
LP. The Story went into...

Bittersweet Motel- LTP 9/15/00  48 shows
Very short and sweet...had personal significance of recently losing a friend
that passed away after the Raliegh show. Back into...

Harpua-
See above

I Fooled Around and Fell in Love- FTP
Very Very Funny. Classic Fish. You gotta here this for yourself. Trey was
cracking up bigtime when Fishman started talking R&B breakdown style about
how he likes a short girl...a tall girl...and about ten other girls. What a
pimp.

HYHU- Fishman with the Cracklin Rosie Cymbals...only did one trip to the
front of the stage. Back into...

Harpua-
Yep. Great finish.

Bowie-
They got to the point QUICK in this Bowie as the curfew was closing in. This
Bowie raged hard and left a lot of people including myself shaking their
heads. Holy shit! I didn't care what they played for an encore one bit.

E: Farmhouse- First of the tour
Solid Farmhouse with Trey loving the jam and really playing it as well as he
possibly can. Houselights on.

This was the best 2 set show I have ever seen...maybe better than anything
from Big Cypress. All of the bust-outs *AND* the playing was steller. Sure
you can find a few notes here and there that were missed, but overall the
playing was very very strong. The crowd was kinda weak, but for the ones
that were there that knew what was going on, this was the ultimate...as good
as it gets. I was sober fyi because I had to drive back to C-bus and get
into work this morning. I have never felt so naturally spun from a show
before.
This show was for you Mike. RIP.


Jay Sell

Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 13:13:21 -0400 (EDT)
From: JOHN 
Subject: 7-29-03 Review


Where to start.  I have been seeing Phish sence 98 and have over 80 shows on
tape/cd.  NOTHING.. I repeat NOTHING compares to last night.  First of all you
couldn't have picked a nicer day to see a show.  It was absloutly perfect
outside.  And the lot scene was alright.  The guys in the staff shirts were a
bit pushy but a pretty good vibe all around.

Set 1

Daniel (Saw the Stone)- Great way to start off the show.  I wasn't really
familiar with this one but man it really cooked.

Camel Walk-  Who with the what now?  This was a first for me.  I had heard it on
tapes but never thought I would catch a live one.  This version was defiantly 
solid.

Gotta Jibboo- My friend and I were kidding around about hearing this one before
the show.  We were not looking forward to hearing it cause we saw it so much in
2000.  With that being said wow what a great version!  Great jam all around.

Cool it Down- Your kidding right. This is one of my favorite Velvet Underground
songs and they nailed this version.  Everyone around me seemed to be loving this
song as much as I was and I was on top of the world then...

Scent of a Mule- Fantastic.  Great placement here and a fantastic version to
boot. It got a little strange near the end before they went back into the song
but who cares at this point.

Fee - When I heard the drums I knew it.  Another first for me and I was
absolutely blown away.  Honestly my brain was on overload.  I was starting to
thing that nothing could really top this.  Then comes...

Timber(Jerry) - Amazing.  I was basically flipping out.  I hadn't seen this one
in quite some time and it did not disappoint.  And then it goes into..

When the Circus Comes- Beautiful.  I needed a breather after all of that and
Circus was perfect for that.  I love this song everything was very euphoric.

McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters- HE LOOKS TO MUCH LIKE DAVE!  Of all the
things that are holy stop it already.  You got me.  I am hooked.  Wow.  I
thought that this might close the set and if it had I would have been just as
happy.

Golgi Apparatus- Just as fun as always.  Pretty standard in a set that had
nothing standard about it.  But a great way to close it out.

Set break- Bathroom, water, and talking to people about what they just saw. 

Set 2

Crosseyed and Painless- OH MY GOD!  This version floored me.  Get these tapes
now.  Better yet build your self a time machine and travel back to this show.  
Unreal jam section.

Thunderhead- I am not crazy about some of the slower stuff off the new album but
tonight I could care less.  It was well played and a nice break.

Brother- Words can't describe this.  People were seriously loosing their shit
around me.  Great song.  First time for me that for sure and probably the first
one for a lot of people.  When brother finished I thought man they can not
possibly beat that.  Then....

Harpua>- AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Are you serious!!! An energy filled the place like I
have never seen before.  I don't know what else to say.  The story was about
Jimmy later on in life looking for IT (insert applause here).  Then it talks
about how he on the side of the road and he plays a sad song on his guitar.

Bittersweet Motel- Great sing along.  I haven't seen it sence 99 and what better
place to see it than near Pittsburgh.  Then Trey starts talking about what Jimmy
looks like and points to his shirt with a picture of Fishman and sure enough out
comes Fishman.

I Fooled Around and Fell in Love>- This was fun.  You could tell the guys were
just eating this up.  Whats more I think that Fishman is getting better at his
vacuum solos.  Of course that leads into..

HYHU>- Fun to see Fishman run around like an idiot banging on cymbals and Trey
doing a drum solo.  Fantastic.

Harpua- Unreal.  Thats all I can say about this.

David Bowie- Short but sweet.  Well placed.  It looked like Mike went off stage
durring the intro of the song so there was a extra long intro (when nature
calls..).  Great composed section and the jam was well done.  Overall a pretty
nice bowie not great but who the hell cares.

Encore

Farmhouse- Hmmm.  A lot of things would have been better here but I really can
complain.  The boys were probably worn out from that monster show and who could
blame them.

Walking back to my car you could not have seen a happier group of people.  
Highfives all around.

Scene- 9.5 (Great weather crappy "staff" guys)
Set One 10 (Unbeatable)
Set Two 10 (Unbeatable)
Encore 7 (Could have been better but who really cares)

Overall 9.9 (LADIES AND GENTLEMEN YOUR UNDISPUTED HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE
WORLD.... PHISH!)

For all of those who thought that Phish might never return to the level they
were at before.  Shut up and get this show.

John Hogsett


Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 14:16:54 -0400
From: David Stone 
Subject: 7-29-03 Star Lake review

I've never written a review before, but for those who weren't there, I think
they need to know what's up....
  I had a pleasent drive down from Cleveland, excited for my final show of the
tour (did Alpine and Deer Creek).  I got in around 5 and and headed in around
six.  The band walked on around 8:10.

Daniel- Mike rolls pants up. Was expecting a Bag, but I was pumped to hear this
one.  "A bust out!", I thought.  Little did I know.  The PA sound was pretty bad
for this song, but they got it straightened out in time for...

Camel Walk- Sweet.  Played flawlessly.  Funky grooves all around.

Gotta Jibboo-  Im cool with this song,  pleasent jam,  probably around 10 
minutes.

Cool It Down- Only two or three people around me seemed to know what this was, I
went crazy when they started.  Lou Reed rocks. A very nice jam in this one.  
Get the tapes.

Mule-  At this point we were in awe.  All I could do was dance, dance, dance.

Fee- Fishman starts the Fee beat, we cheer, Fee ensues. Nice little jam and Trey
plays duh duh-duh, duh duh-duh...

Timber Ho- Awesome.  Very scary jamming going down.  The band is truely locked
in at this point.

Circus-  Cool us down a little bit with a fine Circus.

McGrupp- I was priveledged to be present at the last McGrupp played (9-18-00).  
This was played beautifully. Page nailed the solo and Trey only flubbed one
small part at the end.

Golgi-  End the set with some rock and roll.

Like the other guy said, this set was enough,  but we were in for a second set 
treat.

C+P- Just marvelous.  Page was grooving , Trey was grooving, I was grooving.  
The jam kept shifting, dark, happy, mean, happy, s l o w...

Thunderhead- Chillin out after 20 minutes of pure heaven.  They kept this one
short and sweet.

Brother- Good God, this was a chaotic Brother. Everyone was jumping around.  A
nice heavy solo from Trey got me all pumped up.  What next?

Harpua- The other reviewer described this one pretty well, lets just say I
almost shit my pants after oom pa pa.  Erie and Pittsburgh (crowd cheers)

Bowie-Very nice Bowie, nothing special Send us off with a bang

Farmhouse-  Farmhouse.

Do yourself a favor and buy the sb for this one.  I would pay 10 bucks just for
the C+P.  Have a good time at IT, Props to the Phellowship!
        Dave

Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 23:58:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: sigmund bloom 
Subject: 7-29-03 burgettstown PA

Youll have to excuse me, its 230 and my mind is shot,
but i just had to post a review of this absolute
atomic bomb of a show. in the words of the great
penguins announcer mike lange, if you missed this one,
shame on you for 6 weeks. great energy in the crowd
and band from beginning to end, and the results show
it. ive seen over 100 shows, my bud darren and jane
have seen over 100 and 50. we were unanimous that this
one of the best shows of all time. no need to compare
between the best shows - just know that this one was
an instant classic, on the level with 2/28/03, 4/3/98,
you name it, this show compares. just a magic night
all the way through.

I: DANIEL- my bud darren and i were talking about how
you have a good shot at a rare cover opener at star
lake - this one did not disappoint. what a way to get
the show started... WHOOOOOOAAAAA  DANIEL SAW THE
STONE. great upbeat gospel vibe to open. first one in
6 years.
CAMEL WALK- at this point we were so giddy. i cant
remember another show with back to back bustouts to
open. first since hiatus
JIBBOO - very welcome jammed out fantastically and
euphorically.
COOL IT DOWN - ok, beside ourselves. jammed out well
and a very tasty treat. first since hiatus. 3rd ever.
SCENT OF A MULE. fun fun fun page did the standard if
i were a rich man solo. trey did a version of the
Digital delay loop jam - almost sounded like he was
playing a tune over it
FEE-> welcome, great nostaglia song.
TIMBER HO! ok are you kidding me!??! intense jam. the
band was so locked at this point. we were all agape at
what we were witnessing. first since hiatus.
WHEN THE CIRCUS COMES - beautifully played. a great
needed breather.
MCGRUPP - almost perfectly played.
GOLGI - A Rocker to close the set.

At this point the show could have been over, and we
would have had no complaints. we talked at set break
about how they could finish this show - we were
thinking mikes groove, maybe antelope, maybe fluffhead
if they were really feelin frisky, but after that set
we expected a nice standard second set with some new
songs and a nice jam or two... whoa were we wrong.

CROSSEYED. At this point we were agape. this is one of
my absolute favorite covers phish plays, and i know im
not alone. you could just feel that it was going to be
a launching pad. first since hiatus
JAM - 20 minutes long including some extremely
uplifting euphoric trey-led jams - at least 4 or 5
specific sections of the jam. definitely rivals Mr.
completely utah and tweezer nassau as best post hiatus
jam.
THUNDERHEAD another needed breather. beautiful
delicate playing by trey - sometimes jerry-esque
BROTHER  - ok phish. really stop. youve got us. what
adjectives were left? we were smiling ear to ear. this
one included a HOT antelope-ish energy overload jam.
first since hiatus.

then a pause. trey talks to mike. trey talks to fish.
trey talks to page. trey goes back to mike. something
like 2 minutes passes. the tension and anticipation
for the next song was huge.

then the OOOOOM PAH PAH. The total jubiliation in the
place was probably only surpassed by the nassau
destiny (i wasnt there, but i have to assume it was
similar) we were just cracking up maniacally during
the opening verses - just priceless, out of a dream.

Harpua narration about jimmys life. he's getting
bored, listless, so he goes looking for the meaning of
life. looking for IT. lots of IT talk. then jimmy gets
into an adventure. he stops and gets out his acoustic
guitar and plays BITTERSWEET MOTEL. this would have
been sufficient in a normal harpua, but no, tonight
jimmy had to have some romance. trey was wearing the
fishman t-shirt and commented on how jimmy was really
fishman, and he FOOLED AROUND AND FELL IN LOVE. with
all the feeling you expect from fish in such a ballad.
then a proper HOLD YOUR HEAD UP sendoff for fish with
the cymbals and a few laps. then the end of HARPUA.
first harpua since 98. i believe first proper fishman
song since hiatus.

BOWIE was just gratuitous at this point. a tight hot
solid bowie that was everything you could ask of a set
ending bowie. explosive.

encore FARMHOUSE. playing lovingly and mellifluously.
yea a chill encore but we've come to expect it.

an all time great phish show. playing impeccably. at
least 7 songs (daniel, camel walk, cool it down,
timber, crossyed, brother, harpua) that you're happy
to hear once in a year, if not every few years.
passionate jams. get the tapes, sure, but this was a
show with THAT feeling. a show that brought you right
back to how this band made you feel the first time you
"GOT IT". im sure a lot did tonight. just trust me.
this was one for the ages.

Sigmund Bloom

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