Tweezer review - 8/1/99 Fuji Rock Festival, Naeba, Niigata, JAPAN

8/1/99 Fuji Rock Festival, Naeba, Niigata, JAPAN

In Japan, the hand can be used as a knife...

The second set of this show features one of the finest setlists Phish has ever
played, in my opinion.  Jamming tunes galore, plus Llama, WEDGE (!), and
Lizards.  The quality of the DAUDs that circulate are also quite nice (I hear
that a SBD circulates of this show, but am told it is flat and doesn't have
the body or fullness or depth of the DAUD).  Thanks to Jeremy Birchman for the
tapes!

Even though this setlist is remarkable, don't expect the playing in this set
to blow you away.  The set is remarkable given the song choices, but doesn't
necssarily involve especially "above-average-great" playing, in my opinion.  
I still really like it, of course.  It's just "typically awesome" playing by
the band and not "spectacular." That's all.

Possum opens the set really well, but it isn't what I'd call an "above average
great" version or anything.  Trey starts playing Tweezer out of the very end
of Possum (it's a > not a ->, really), and he plays it a bit slower than
usual.  Opening segment of Tweezer is straightforward.  Jam segment starts up
at 5:01

Jam starts out low and spooky at first, but within 40 seconds Trey begins
melodically soloing in the lower octaves.  It sounds purposeful and charmed
from the start, though.  Doesn't sound like he's just searching/noodling.  
He's very melodic. Mike is very patient and mellow on the bass, playing only
one note for most of the jam segment so far (7:04).  Page is similarly mellow.  
Fish just coasts on a solid tweezeresque groove.

Trey's soloing is still very patient and melodic (7:40). They aren't rushing
through this one!  It's not especially complex to this point (8:11), but it is
still very cool.  Around 8:22 Trey starts riffing in a mellifluous manner that
sounds remarkably familiar (for the next few measures).  Sounds like a theme
I've heard him solo around in jams elsewhere (never in Tweezer, though).  
It's very beautiful, in my opinion. Not the typically dark, evil, funky shit
one would typically hear in a Tweezer from the last few years at all, in other
words. Trey's soloing in this version really sounds purposeful, even soulful
and romantic.

When Trey is done soloing strongly around 10:40, the jam cools (Mike is still
basically only playing one note in this version) and becomes a bit (just a
bit) spacey/softer.  Mike and Fish coast along, and Trey employs a very high
pitched effect and starts toying with the theme he had played on earlier.  
Page is playing really sweet chords on the piano.  Around 12 minutes, though,
Trey starts softly chording very, very fast, in a Llama-esque manner, and Fish
starts picking up the rhythm with him.  By 12:25 Trey is clearly trying to
start Llama (with Fish).  Page keeps playing some chords on the piano that
don't complement Trey's Llama chords very well, IMO.  It doesn't sound like
Page thinks Llama is coming (?).  At 12:47 Trey strongly breaks into Llama
chords, and Fish keeps up with him, but Mike and Page don't.  At 13:08, Trey
stops playing, and Fish drums Llama for a few measures before Llama *really*
starts.

The segue -> into Llama could have been sweeter.  But this Tweezer as a whole
is very beautiful in light of versions of the last few years, and also isn't
too long. Doesn't get dull.  7.5 rating.

two cents,
charlie


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