7-27-03 - ALLTEL Pavilion at Walnut Creek, Raleigh, NC

review submisions to me at dws@netspace.org, dws@gadiel.com, reviews@walfredo.com

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

Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2004 17:25:36 -0700 From: eric tipton Subject: Re: Phish 7/27/03 review From Phish.net: 07/27/03 - Alltel Pavilion @ Walnut Creek - Raleigh, North Carolina Set 1: Runaway Jim, Ya Mar, Down With Disease, The Divided Sky, Sample in a Jar, Discern, Anything But Me, Llama Set 2: Ghost, Halley's Comet > Seven Below * #, Tube > Prince Caspian > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Fire Encore: Squirming Coil * with 'Mozambique' tease. # - after the song, Trey said: "Please welcome back Mike Gordon!" & preceded to play 'Charge!' substituting "Mike!" for the word "Charge!" Getting into Raleigh was as bad if not worse than getting into Charlotte. Massive lines off of the interstate that held us up for upwards of two hours. When we finally got to lot it was already 7pm. I chugged a couple of beers and headed for my pavilion seat. We were in the 200 section on Page side. I did have the pleasure of meeting phishmarisol18/John pre-show in my seat (very nice to meet you bro). He was with his Dad, I sure hope to take my Dad to a show someday but I kind of doubt I?ll be able to talk him into it. This was my first time to this venue and besides the ugly traffic scene getting in, I really liked it. Phish has really thrown down here over the years (95, 97, 98 ? w/ the exception of that ?00 show) so I was gearing up for a great show. We had tons and tons of room to dance in our aisle so I was pleased w/ that! First Set: Runaway Jim: Nice opener, relatively standard. Sounded good to my ears. Yamar: This is where some strange on-stage vibes makes their way to me. No scatting Yamar lyrics by Mike at all in this one. Matter of fact, most of Mike?s lyrics are so soft and quiet, very unusual. Something just seemed off to me after this and now listening to the soundboards I can see what was going on. In between more than one song during first set you can clearly hear the band expressing concerns in Mike?s direction. Trey says something like, ?I don?t want to play if you can?t play.? This song should be totally owned by Mike but it sure wasn?t tonight. Trey takes over and lays down some blazing guitar licks to compensate towards the end but I could feel something was off. DWD: In between Yamar and DWD there is a Very long pause. Get the soundboards so you can hear some disturbing banter between the band. Very strange. Obviously we couldn?t hear this from the 200 section but again there was clearly an odd vibe permeating the air. Trey to the crowd ? ?Sorry guys, just ironing out a couple of details before we (makes flying motion) Take Off.? I love me some first set DWD, you cannot go wrong w/ it and if you get one in the first set than it?s probably going to be short and ripping. Which this Disease definitely was. Trey rips this one a new one, more than making up for Mike?s problems/lack of presence. Very choppy at the 2 minute mark (Mike?). Trey really shines during the jam segment. Divided Sky: Sweet! I just love the fact that this is securely back in the rotation. A beautiful version to go along w/ the impending sunset. This is the perfect spot for Sky, middle first set. The pause is only about 30 seconds or so which is nice. Very nice Divided! Sample: It?s Sample. Discern: Decent jam segment (very ambient laced), but for many it was there first time seeing it and seemed to detract from the energy that was brought forth by the DWD and Div Sky. Oh well, good Discern and this tune has all kinds of jamming potential I think. Keep your eye on this one. Anything But Me: God, please play Anything but This Song in this spot. Awful placement and the energy just gets sucked right out of the joint. Llama: Flat out raging! Very good way to end the set, especially after two new tunes that managed to put many people into their seats. Setbreak ? First set highlights: DWD, Divided Sky. Very uneven first set. Again let me reiterate the strange vibes floating off the stage. ?Sup Cactus? Second set: Ghost: Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees! Thank you! You k now it?s on now baby. I love this song opening up the second set. The non-looped intro really sneaks up on people and it?s fun looking around and seeing the growing realization on people?s mugs, like: ?Oh hell yeah, it?s Ghost!? Hehehe! The band is quite patient in building this Ghost, very solid, progressive groove building. Mike sounds quite good as the backbone, viva Cactus! At 15 minutes the jam grows quite ambient w/ some Trey loops being thrown into the mix, nothing overbearing though. This one peters out 3 minutes later and ends. Halley?s: Woo hoo!!! I don?t think they would have played this if Mike wasn?t semi back to normal. This is such a typical song of Phish ? totally goofy off the wall lyrics ? so much fun. ?Knock on my windows, link up the chains, It's gotta be easy, no splinters no pain. It's Cadillac rainbows and lots of spaghetti And I love meatballs so you better be ready? ? you?ve just got to love that! People that hate on Phish lyrics make me laugh ? it?s about having fun people, get over it! Very short version: Just as this Halley?s is getting down to business an absolutely fluid segue into > 7 Below: God that segue bowled me right over. So dang fluid. Loved it. Ever since I first heard this on Round Room, I knew it would be a favorite of mine for Trey?s licks in between lyrical segments. Soaring! As the jam segment comes to life, there is some cool interplay between Page and Trey. At 8 minutes the band departs from the original theme of the song and takes it for a ride. At 10:35 I for thought I was hearing a bit of a Sneakin Sally tease by Trey but it was not to be. Speaking of teases, can anyone pin down exactly where the Mozambique tease came into play? At 11:50 Trey is hitting on some really repetitive chords firing the crowd up quite a bit. One minute later they return to the theme and shortly thereafter it?s over before you know it. Excellent version! Tube: I called this one big time after 7 Below was finished up. All tour I?d been salivating over the prospe ct of just when we would get a Tube. Finally, the long wait was over. On the audience copy you can hear some fellows bellowing for Tube. ?An asteroid crashed and nothing burned?. Yeah, I fucking flipped my lid at the onset of the lyrics. If you cannot bust a groove to this song, then I honestly don?t know what to tell you. Page lays the funk down early while Trey backs him up with some downright sinister loops. All the while Mike is dropping bombs and Fishman laying the brickwork behind it all. White boy cow funk at it?s finest! The band just gels together so well. Trey leaves the funk behind at 4:45 and starts burning it up. The return to the theme is a little sloppy but not as bad as some people would lead you to believe! Nice Tube, nothing really groundbreaking. But I will take a mellow Tube over a lot of the rest of the catalogue that much is for sure! Sorta segue into > Caspian: Noooooooooo! Time to hit the little boy?s room. I was back in time to hear a bit of the wank fest, trailing into a very mellow, ambient space. Sorta segue into > 2001: Yes (insert pic of Ed McMahon here please!). Climb aboard the mothership y?all because it?s time to take a journey into outer space! Nice long build ? they begin to blow minds at 2:45. I will never, ever be able to get enough 2001, seriously folks. I don?t care how long or short it is, it is ALWAYS a treat; at least to this Phishhead. Loops galore at the end, Page leaning hard on the organ; Segue into > Fire: Holy shit, what a sweet surprise! Can?t recall the last time I had heard this played (possibly on 11/30/95)! It?s been awhile for me. Twas a tad rusty but what can you expect? Great, great set closer! Phish is always full of suprises ? this one flat out shocked me! Gotta love that people. Encore: Squirming Coil: Cool contrast to the smoking end to that second set. However, the playing in this Coil was nothing short of sad. Many a flub by the red headed one unfortunately. Not a good way to end this show at all. Coil typ ically is a really nice encore for me, especially after having been pretty blown away by that second set. But it has to be technically proficient for me to enjoy. Tonight the flubs were much to apparent and auditory to get past. It left a bad taste in my mouth. Oh, and to the dirtbag that hucked the glowstick that landed on Page?s piano: karma will find you one of these days ? IDIOT! Seriously, I hope whomever was close to this person gave them a piece of their mind. I?ve never heard a louder bang come from one of these retarded glowsticks hitting a piece of equipment. Disgusting to be sure. Second set highlights: Ghost, the Halley?s > 7 Below segue, the 7 Below itself, Tube and 2001 > Fire. Looking back at this show w/ a critical eye, I believe it?s my least favorite of the SE run. Atlanta being top dog and Charlotte over Raleigh by just a hair. I think Raleigh?s second set was just a bit better than the second set in Charlotte. But the Gin in the first set of Charlotte takes the first set in Raleigh, and the encore in Charlotte puts a serious beat down on Raleigh's ? so that is my reasoning. Tipton-o-meter: 7.3 There was absolutely no lot scene on the way out thanks to the overly aggressive Raleigh oinkers. Which was really to bad because I was really starving coming out of this show. Oh well. Onto Pennsylvania! peace, et
Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2003 12:01:37 -0400 From: LumpBlock@aol.com Subject: Raleigh review first review comes two weeks later? may say something about the quality of this show... getting into the lot was as bad as Charolette, got right in line and heard the last bit of a late soundcheck, doors open and check all merch sites for a poster to no avail... First Set: Jim and Ya Mar got me loosened up a bit and after a long pause for technical difficulties DWD kicked in, but like the whole set, never went too far... there seemed to be some odd energy onstage most of the first set (if not all night)... trey shooting glares at fish, crew member (couldn't see who) kept walking out to talk to mike, LOTS of back and forth among the band but not in a good way... I LOVE Anything but Me and Llama was nice, but the whole set just kind of sat there IMO, not even DSky (while well played) really did it for me... Set Two: this was a bit more like it... Ghost was funky, but the Halley's while a treat didn't head for the weeds at all... -7 was *very* nice, but Tube while a treat didn't head for the weeds... (detect a pattern?)... Caspian is amazing on Billy Breathes, not so much live... 2001 was WAY funky but WAY too short... and Fire, frankly, disgusted me for some reason... this set tried so hard and to close with Fire really bummed me out... listened to Coil as I walked to my car and headed back to Chapel Hill... not an AWFUL show... nothing to change how much I love those guys... I'd have rather been there than most places... but if you weren't, you didn't miss much...
Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2003 18:02:01 -0700 (PDT) From: Peter Bell Subject: Raleigh 7-27-03 Take your parents to see Phish!!! I did it and you should too. Yes yes the lot full o Raleigh P.D. was a drag. Especially when the situation escalates and horses get pissed and your parents get scared. Finally inside and buzzin with Dad. We all loved the show.Ma Bell liked Divided Sky and Seven Below. Dad turned to me at one point and screamed..."This is the real thing Man!!!" Its all about the music. Have fun at IT. -Pete
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 10:36:04 -0600 From: Richard Gebert Subject: Raleigh 7/27/03 review 07/27/03 - Alltel Pavilion - Raleigh, North Carolina Set 1: Runaway Jim, Ya Mar, Down With Disease, The Divided Sky, Sample in a Jar, Discern, Anything But Me, Llama Set 2: Ghost, Halley's Comet > Seven Below * #, Tube > Prince Caspian > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Fire Encore: Squirming Coil * with 'Mozambique' tease. # - after the song, Trey said: "Please welcome back Mike Gordon!" & preceded to play 'Charge!' substituting "Mike!" for the word "Charge!" I feel somewhat compelled to touch on whats been written already in some of the other reviews of the Raleigh show. FYI, I've seen 15 shows and listened to enough hours of Phish on disc to make me a qualified Phish dork. For what its worth, the lot at Walnut Crek was chill but almost nonexistent. There was hardly a "lot scene" and no lot food to be found whatsoever. Thanks to the dude wo hooked me up with the free sausage! Also, the cops were a much stronger presence than in years past at the Creek. However, I can't blame anyone who gets busted by the undercovers in the lot here. IF you look around and see four guys in plaid shirts off in the distance talking to each other like they don't belong there and overseeing everything that goes on, chances are these are cops. Just an FYI for everyone out there. Anywho, on to the show: Whoever said Raleigh was on par with MSG '95 or Big Cypress, that b.s. I'm glad you had a fantastic time, I did too. But this was no where near those shows. If you saw the last show at Walnut Creek(6/25/00) and were basing your opinion on that show, then I might be able to see where you were coming from. So, with the disclaimers out of the way...we got in just as Runaway Jim was starting up. Great opener but was pretty short and unremarkable for Jim from what I can remember. Ya Mar is always a nice Summer Tour treat when you're on the lawn...it fits the mood perfectly I think. I didn't notice the Ya Mar flubs cause I was distracted at the time but evidently Mike was having mad problems. I did notice the long pause before DWD and wondered what was up. On the LivePhish recordings people say you can hear Trey tell Mike "If you can't play, then I don't want to play" or something to that effect. Damn, Mike must have had a serious hangover if he was still hurting from the night before from Col. Bruce. Thats very un-Mike-like to be like that. He also seemed to have trouble with the DWD intro...not as pronouned and forceful as it usually is. A good, rocking jam came out of Disease but I'm guessing it wound up after about 10 min. Then they bust out Divided Sky right before sunset...at this point I'm loving this setlist and thinking this could be a really strong show. Whoever said Divided Sky is always the same...I beg to differ. It always sounds pretty much the same but some versions certainly jam more than others. I noticed some definite Trey flubs in here...I think he even skipped one section after the silent part...but after the jam got underway they recovered and finished it out nicely. I think they jammed out the end a little more than usual. Maybe not as good as the 3/1/03 % Sky but still better than others. Sample is however, pretty much always the same and always a crowd pleaser. Then came Discern. Beer break for me. I could not get into this song whatsoever. Luckily I was still in line during Anything But Me and didn't hear it. I can imagine the two of those together sucked out any energy that had been built up before that point. However, Trey started up Llama and was rocking from the get-go. Probably more so than usual. This is definitely one of the strongest LLamas I've heard. Set 2: Ghost. I've seen this more than any other song...it follows me wherever I go. But I can't really complain cause many a sick jam have come out of Ghost. This was no different...the jam was long and exploratory...visited many different themes...rock, space, funk...before winding down at about 15 min. and we get...Halleys!! Hell yes! Everyone was going crazy. Kuroda was on fire at this point...unfortunately there was no jam at the end of Halley's. When they would normally turn from Halley's and start jamming, it was a straight > into the Seven Below theme. My first time seeing this and it is sure to be a huge new jam vehicle. This was THE jam of the night! Long and explored several different places. I'm guessing 7 Below was about 20 min. or so. When Trey busted into Tube, you could tell this set was going to be on fire. Unfortunately, the funk jam in the middle of Tube got cut short when Trey started playing the bluesy notes that go back into Tube at an odd point. This seemed very forced and caught the other band members by surprise. Too bad he cut it short for Caspian. I don't mind this song on disc but its a total momentum killer live for me. Caspian meant a bathroom break for me so I have nothing to say about it. Then the boys start up 2001 and Kuroda does his usual unreal eye-candy light show. This too was fairly short once they starting hitting the multi-climax part of 2001. Solid 2001 but probably no more than 10 min. Then came one last bustout...Fire!!! I wouldn't normally get to excited about this song but Trey tore it the fuck up. They stretched this out there and wouldn't let it end. Very nice way to end a hot second set. Encore: Coil. Eh, not my favorite but whatever. Page's solo was nice at the end. A nice, mellow, pretty way to close out a great show, when out of nowhere...BAAAAAMMMM!... a glowstick lands right on top of his baby grand and crashes into the mic. Everyone gasps and some boo. I wish I had been next to the dude who threw this so I could have punched him. What the hell are you thinking throwing it AT the band?!? Page ended his solo qickly after that and said some words which were unintelligble to me. Overall, I'd give the show and 8 or 8.5 out of 10. Good/great show but probably not as good as the 3/1 Greensboro show. Thanks again to the asshole who threw the glowstick. That was really cool.
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 15:11:51 EDT From: MESSAE@aol.com Subject: raliegh 7-28- 03 great show with an exciting and entertaining 2nd set..... This review is being typed for one reason, to deliever a message to the COWARDLY, IGNORANT, INAPROPRIATE, and MARKED DEAD Son of a Bitch who threw a glowstick at page during the coil encore... I FUCKIN DARE you to stand next to me next time, or any real PHAN for that matter. Im suprised 20 people didnt beat your stupid little ass to death that night. SERIOUSLY, send me an e mail, get in touch with me fucker. u dont deserve to hear the boys farting in the tour bus, much less play for your enjoyment. Anyone who knows him\her\it or was near him\her\it,   really... why isint he\she\it dead.  Just get in touch with me, u gutless piece of shit. I talked to at least a 1000 people who feel just like me. WE DARE U to speak up. ~mike~
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 13:16:30 -0400 From: Brandon.Morris@bbandt.com Subject: Raleigh Review First of all I am going to try to keep this short and sweet.  I won't go through each song, you can look at the setlist, I'll just tell you the highlights for me.  This show seems to be getting a bad wrap around the internet, and nothing could be further from the truth. I was at Charlotte a couple of nights before which was good, but this show blew it away.  I thought after the Greensboro show on 3-1-03 it couldn't get any better...well it did.  Runaway Jim was a great way to start off the show, it got the energy going and everyone was dancing...which is what you should be doing at a Phish show for those of you who don't know, and you know who you are.  The Divided Sky playing as the sunset was the most amazing thing I have experienced on the lawn.  As good as that was, I would have to say DWD was the highlight of the first set for me.  It was thick and bassy, and I just genuinely love that song.  It was also fun to see all of the kids on the lawn go crazy when Trey says "A thousand barefoot children outside dancin on my lawn".  A little side note about the first set.  Anything But Me is a great song, and as for the people just standing there and bashing the song while it is playing, that's f**cking rude man.  I love Trey band, and it reminds me of Ether Sunday, and Drifting.  I've said this before, people's minds that aren't open to new things are in for severe disappointments, not only with Phish, but with life in general.  Anyway, back to the review... Me and my buddy talked about it all the way to Charlotte, and back up to Raleigh how we wanted to hear a Ghost ( I called it as the  second set opener while my buddy was talking smack about 3 Rock n Roll second set openers in a row earlier this year.  You know I'm right)...well we got it.  It started a little loose, but took off like a rocket.  It doesn't seem like they stopped playing for the whole second set.  Comet was good, and the first one I have heard live.  As good as Ghost was, the Seven Below jam was probably the best jam I have ever heard the boys play.  I can only describe it as thick and spacey.  It reminded me of the mind bending jam during Mango 9-17-00.  Tube was a nice song to hear, it kind of brought us back to earth for a minute.  2001 was great as always, my only complaint is I wish they could play it for about 30 minutes...I love the way it builds.  Fire was a good set closer because they were on Fire all night, and anyone who doesn't think so was definitely not at the same show I was.  Lastly, I saw people bitching about everything in the Charlotte reviews, and signing things "almost ex-phish phan".  I only have one thing to say...just become an ex-phish fan!  You are taking up valuable air, bandwidth, and most importantly tickets to shows.  If you have to bitch about it everytime, why do you drive so far to see them????  We don't need to negative energy here, just go away quietly.  The traffic has always been bad, and the cops have always been asses, but the music has always been good, and that's what we are there to see a band for right?  Last time I checked Phish did play concerts, and hey they do pick the setlist.  So stop flapping your gums, and you might hear some good music.  The End Brandon Morris  PS so much for the short and sweet huh?
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 02:00:54 -0400 From: Hunter Rogers Subject: Raleigh Show This Raleigh show was dank, everything worked out well and we got to the lot early because of a shortcut we used. The Lot was pretty lame though, I still haven't found any super funky nugs on Phish tour. Oh well. Definitely at IT. Now this show was incredible. I enjoyed it thoroughly. The First set could have been stronger but it had its high points, but alot of low points. The Second set was Killer. The encore was good enough. Set 1: Runaway Jim, Ya Mar, Down With Disease, The Divided Sky, Sample in a Jar, Discern, Anything But Me, Llama Set 2: Ghost, Halley's Comet > Seven Below * #, Tube > Prince Caspian > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Fire Encore: Squirming Coil Runaway Jim: This Runaway was nice, I liked it even though it would have been nice if it would have hit the 10 min. mark at least. Ya Mar: This was a good version. The crowd was really enjoying this one. DWD: This song is not a favorite at all of mine and this version didn't persuade me to like it anymore than I already do. Divided Sky: Great song, great placement. I love Divided Sky, it was at a good point in the show too, the sun was just starting to set. The version was standard because all Divided Skys are similar. Sample in a Jar: Good song, but short and not powerful enough. Discern: A New song, that everyone has been complaining about. I would have to agree with there bitchings. This song was slow and had very little rhythm or beat to it. Anything but me: These short songs are beginning to get on my nerve, where are all the bad ass jams? Llama: Another one of the songs I wanted to hear, but I hoped they had jammed a little more on it, esp. since it will be the set closer. Set 2: Ghost: Ooooh yeah. lets get funky. Great opener for the second set. I love this song. One of my Favorites. This had a crazy jam on it, you gotta hear it to believe it. Halley's Comet: Sweet. I liked this song, i have always wanted to hear this. But Wheres the Jam? The Jam is what makes the song. They cut this song way short for Seven Below: This song was good. It seemed to go on forever but I enjoyed it. I would have rather had a shorter Seven Below and a funky jammed out Halleys though. Tube: The song I was hoping to hear the most out of everything. It was sweet. I love this song so much. This was the first Phish song I actually loved. Dankness. It should and could have been longer though. But hey, At least they played tube. Prince Caspian: Nice solid song, great version. 2001: Nice 2001, A little longer than some of the other ones but still could have been longer. Fire: This Fire was on fire. I definitely didn't expect to hear this song. Good set closer. KILLER SET, not a bad note played. Wonderful setlist. This had a lot of wonderful jamming and nice surprises. Might be my favorite 2nd set. Encore: Squirming Coil: Nice song, sweet Page, as always. Overall this was a solid show. With the exeptions of a couple songs this was a classic show. I loved it, Not the best show of the southern shows but very dank indeed. Atlanta was just too good overall, while this show had some faults. I give this show an 8.3. Great second set and pretty nice 1st set.
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 05:35:47 -0700 (PDT) From: Denver Shakes Subject: Phish Review, Raliegh I have been to good amount of Phish shows since '94.  I've seen good shows and bad shows.  Since I am no longer in College and cannot travel many places to see them, I am forced to read the reviews on this site.  This is not a hasty comment, I have been reading reviews on this site for about 5 years.  And I finally had to ask this question to all of you.... How is it that virtually EVERY show that ever happens...EVERY show that is ever reviewed is the "Best Phish Show Ever?"  It's true, about 90% of these reviews are about how mind blowing each show was.  The sad thing is, I have been to many of these shows that have been called the "best show ever" or the "best version of this song ever" and I totally disagree.  I'm not trying to stir the pot, it's just a real question that has been bugging me for sometime.    Dennis
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 14:23:24 -0400 From: "Blair, Paul" Subject: 7-27-03 review i could not disagree more with these reviews. are you guys sure you were at the show? as good as cypress??!?!!? the first set had no energy. jim was ok and ya mar was about the same (minus the lyric flubbing). the dwd had more mistakes from mike and stayed afloat thanks to trey. divided was nice but nothing to write home about (i called this one) and i always dig sample but discern and anything but me sucked the life out of the crowd. i could tell discern was going nowhere from the start and anything but this is what it is. llama was cool but it was apparent the band was ready to throw in the towel and i don't blame them. it was ready to prepare for redemption. too bad it never really came. ghost just fell flat and as great as halley's is to hear, it went nowhere and the segue into 7 below seemed off or rushed or something. i can't comment on the seven below. everyone i know seems to think this was the highlight of the show and though i don't remember it being all that great, i don't remember it being awful either. tube is a favorite and the jam was ok, but the transition back into the bluesy portion of the song was really sloppy. caspian seemed half hearted at the start (like noone really knew what song trey was playing or just were ready to play it) and the jam was uninspired to say the least. 2001 held a nice groove and fire absolutely rocked. i had a feeling coil would encore after watching trey's frustration all night, really felt bad for the guy after flubbing the climax. i don't recall ever being at a show or hearing a show on tape that had as many long pauses between songs as this one and i can only imagine what trey was talking about when he welcomed mike back. i don't really know if i can say it was one member of the band that was off. it seemed like none of the guys were clicking. really really bad show. i can't complain too much after charlotte and a stellar night in atlanta (unbelievable). for those singing the praises of this show, i recomend listening to it again. i don't think i'm being overly critical but i'll deffinately want to get a copy (an aud, not paying to hear this one more than once) and check it out. by the way, the lot sucked. enough with the nitrus! paul blair paulitical3@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 19:25:13 -0400 (EDT) From: Bobby Subject: 7-27-03 Grass lot is nice The first set had some nice solid big songs up to Discern. Pretty page piano solo at the beginning, I'm happy, but the jam was too saturated with trey's effects and wails, too much noise and not enough direction for me. Still though, I'd wish people would have paid the song more respect. Most everyone just sat down or stood around talking through Discern. For a group that's supposed to praise the fresh and improvised, I was sad to see stubborness towards a new song. At least Llama got them up and dancing again. Second set, Halley's Comet! I would have never expected it, perfect surprise, so happy! Got everyone dancing. Even better however was Seven Below, this was my first time hearing the round room song live, it was beautiful! Nice long jam that eventually fell back to the seven below theme befo re a Funky Tube, Prince Caspian, an amazing light show with 2001 and an energetic Fire to close a stupendous set. Squirming Coil was wonderful as well, with another beautiful solo from page, sadly set back by some jerkass throwing a glowstick and hitting Page's piano, making a loud noise over the speaker and while Page seemed to never miss a note, the event hurt the mood. At least I got to hear a collective "boo" at the jerkass from the other 18 thousand phans, shows the rest of us care :) Great show!! Amazing second set! I was hoping for the fourth Water in the Sky in a row at Raleigh, but who could be that greedy after Halley's Comet>Seven Below, tube? -a happy phan
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 18:00:44 -0400 (EDT) From: Matthew B Sacks Subject: 7-27-03 Review Just a quick note about what Trey said before Down w/ Disease: Trey and Mike got together and were chatting and laughing, then going back and forth to talk with Page and Jon; basically they were trying to decide where to go. After two minutes or so, Trey stepped up to the mic and said something to the effect of "Sorry, we're just trying to get everything together before we shoot off" and as he said shoot off, he made a little clucking sound and motioned with his hand sort of like a rocket taking off. Too long and detailed an explanation of a meaningless interaction, but I found it to be pretty damn funny at the time. And Trey seemed to think so too.
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 17:18:26 -0700 (PDT) From: HvnPhun420 Subject: Raleigh show The Raleigh Show..... ...look at the set list and take it all in your mind and times it by 50 and that is a taste....just a little taste of what happened... my god i must say...and i've given a lot of thought about this...this is one of the if not the BEST show phish has ever played!!!!! i'm talking about up there with 98 Hampton, 95 NYE and even Cypress.... really the setlist describes the action that took places but i'll share a few hints of this monumental show... Jim through Sample was flawless...not a beat missed and damn the band was soooo fucking hot and on fire Trey even talked before DwD..said something along the lines that they were "out there" and had to take a break and come back...i believe it..first 5 songs were close, tight and so far gone it was amazing... Discern- another Page intro song, it was light and kinda nice...trey sings and then they go into a jam..Trey takes his guitar off and picks up his old one to do these dive bomb licks...sorta like a ghost, bowie thing...then picks his other one up and finishes the song Anything But Me- another breather, but i like this song Llama- what the hell..a raging llama closer...this was too much...the boys were so on i'm really not lying...crazy you say....thats nothing... Set II Ghost-...ahhhhhhhh..what a ghost energy and everything going its way..not even letting up..this was a crazy opener...this is a crazy show!!.. Halley's- oh shit!!..thats says it all 7 Below- wow what a take off and jam...awesome awesome awesome...then Trey talks again and welcomes back Mike Gordon...pretty funny i guess...whats next Tube-...too fucking much!!!!...a sick sick sick ass tube...page was ripping the hell out of this jam..everything is going perfect..nobody has messed up a lick and so on fire!!! Caspian- a sorta kinda breather..but the jam was excellent...i dont like this song that much but damn that jam was too much again...and then Fishman brought the house down with his beat of... 2001- shit shit shit...crazy trey and booming mike brought everything they had..its wasnt jammed out long long but it def got the job done!!! and into... Fire- yes Phish was on FIRE the WHOLE NIGHT!!! i am not lying...fucking amazing Fire too...going and going and gone!!!!! closed the show....now what is the encore for a show like this....everything was so perfect and just killer!!!! Coil- hahaha...yes that was the perfect closer...Trey flubs the last part right before "it got away" and i was so glad...he is human...and during this show i was wondering if anybody was human...Page makes up for the flub with a wonderful stroking solo and even thanks the crowd saying what a great time they had tonite and come see us again... overall: i'm so glad to hear the members talk to us first off...everything was set so perfect from the Jim opener to the cool breeze during the pause in Divided Sky to Ghost->Halley's->7 Below and Tube...Fire and Coil... dont wanta turn any heads by saying that this IS the best show but i do feel like it is def a top 5 if not a top 3 show...but i hope it only gets better from here on out....after this show i hope that IT destorys this show because that would be IT and there could be nothing more to top.....
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 09:42:37 -0400 From: Ryan Powell Subject: Raleigh review Sunday night in Raleigh was a great show. Sure the lot scene was disrupted by some undercover cops who had nothing else better to do than bust people for drinking and drugs but once the concert got started you could tell that that didn’t have any effect on the band. Set I Runaway Jim: always a good opener tight but short but got the crowd going Ya Mar: always fun to hear with a little solo for Mike DWD: great song and it got the crowd going. Solid version but nothing epic Divided Sky: in my opinion it was beautifully played. There wasn’t the long pause that you sometimes get but it was solid with few mistakes by trey if any Sample in a Jar: fun but nothing spectacular and it kept the crowd rockin Discern: This song doesn’t do anything for me and it really sucks the energy out of the crowd. This might be my least favorite of the new songs. Anything But Me: Another slow song but this one is beautiful and has some emotion behind it Llama: this llama was raging. It was really up beat and got the crowd dancing after a couple of slow songs. Excellent set closer. I give this set a B- rating with the highlights being DWD, Divided Sky, and Llama Set II This is where the show started. Ghost: called this one and couldn’t have been more excited. Excellent set opener. Funky and upbeat. Not terribly long but it was in my opinion one of the highlights of the night. They took this song right into Halley’s Comet: always fun and good to dance to.  Love to hear Mike with his vocal bass during this song. Solid little jam that they took right into Seven Below: WOW!! This was by far the best version of this song I have ever heard. Not sure how long they jammed this song out but it had to be pushing 30 minutes. The whole band was really in sink. Trey was ripping it to shreads. This song alone was worth the price of admissions.  After the song Trey was all smiles and said “ Welcome back our bass player Mike Gordon” and then he did the Charge chant.  Tube: another one I called. Great song with a great jam you could really tell they were enjoying themselves and so was the crowd. And the end of the jam they slowed it down and for a second I thought they were going to play piper but instead they started playing Prince Caspian: usually I would say I was a big fan of this song but tonight they rocked it out with Trey wailing away then they dropped it right into 2001: love this song and it was perfect placement. The lights were amazing.  Solid version. They didn’t want to stop playing so they took into Fire: excellent Jimi Hendrix cover song. The crowd was singing and dancing along. Trey did his best Jimi impression and ripped it up This set was everything I could ask for and more. This was the kind of set that keeps me going to the shows. Highlights: THE WHOLE SET, excellent seven below My rating A+!! In my opinion one of the better sets played that I have heard. Get the tapes. Encore: After maybe a 45 second break they come right back out and play Squiring Coil: I personally love this song especially when Page tickles the ivory. Trey botches this song the 3 or 4 flubs during the composed part and as song as they finish they all walk off the stage leave Page for his solo. This is where I thought the crowd was disrespectful.  Too many people were talking while Page was playing and then maybe 2 or 3 minutes into the solo some idiot threw a glow stick that hit the top of the piano and the microphone. Which caused the crowd to boo at that idiot and that distraction caused Page to rap it up pretty quick.
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 10:49:33 -0400 From: John Chescavage Subject: Raleigh Review Phish 07/27/03, Raleigh, NC Set 1: Runaway Jim, Ya Mar, Down With Disease, The Divided Sky, Sample in a Jar, Discern, Anything But Me, Llama Set 2: Ghost, Halley's Comet > Seven Below * #, Tube > Prince Caspian > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Fire Encore: Squirming Coil * with 'Mozambique' tease. # - after the song, Trey said: "Please welcome back Mike Gordon!" & preceded to play 'Charge!' substituting "Mike!" for the word "Charge!" For those that are interested, this was show number 60-something with the first being in the fall of 1995. 5th show post-hiatus, second this summer with Atlanta being the first... Like Atlanta, this first set started up with a lot of potential and great song selection, only to fade into obscurity by the end of the set. Then to be blown away by a far superior second set. Runaway Jim - I was surprised to see this as the opener because I could have sworn it had just been played. Not the Bag we wanted, but a good start. Good opener for the summer outdoor venues. Nothing spectacular in this version. YaMar - Another good summer first-set show. Happy groovy song, although Mike fumbled with this one a bit. Seems he got lost in some lyrics and I believe he repeated the second verse twice, much to the pleasure of the rest of the band as they got a little kick out of someone other than Trey fucking up the lyrics. After this there was a stage conference with Trey and Mike speaking and laughing, and jumping around. The crowd got a little restless and I do believe Trey got to the mic and apologized for the delay. Disease came next and was such a surprise in this spot. It is at this point when you think to yourself, "this could be the show of the tour if they are throwing down with Disease here!" Solid Disease that kicked into high gear and rocked for about a 6-8 minute jam. Comparable to 94-95 versions that just had a great type I jam that reminded you why you see rock and roll shows instead of hip-hop shows. Divided Sky - Wow, this is four heavy-hitters right in a row to open the show. The first three could have been, and have in the past been, second set openers. Sky is just an all-time classic. This was the first song that seemed a little loose to me. The beginning was a little iffy, but the tune as a whole was very well played. Sample - or as I like to call it, the decline.... Sample has its place and the middle of the first set isn't it. Set closer maybe, even set opener works. This kept the energy flowing, but seemed to pale in comparison to the first four. Discern - The lowlight of this show. This song begins with a Page piano solo and some accompaniment by Trey. When the music kicks in it has a P&M feeling to it. This was obviously written with the same inspiration as the rest of Round Room because it has the same sounds and formula as many of those songs. The song itself isn't bad, and could be enjoyable. The problem was the jam. It was garbage. It was what everyone hated about 2000 Phish. It was noodling Trey over crashing symbols and splashy piano. It was sloppy "ambience" for about 6 minutes. It reminded me why I hardly ever listen to anything Phish played in 2000. It killed momentum. Anything But Me - After the energy-kill that was Discern, this song wasn't necessary, but it was very good. I liked it, and it gave me some time to get over what they had just played. Llama - At this point you knew they were just coming in for a soft landing. This Llama was particularly good. Lots of pulsing strobes from Kuroda created a frenzy and the band played on. This was better than most Llama's you hear with Trey playing really dark, nasty guitar. Good set closer. First set had four of Phish's better songs followed by four of Phish's mediocre to lame songs. The four great songs were good to hear, but they were not notable for anything more than that they were played. The other four were okay, but just a soft landing to a potentially hot set. Set II Ghost - This Ghost started off atypically with Mike not really kicking the bassline like he normally would. There was not delay-loop build and it was tough to figure out what they were starting for the first 10-20 seconds. Then they hit the groove a little and you know it's gonna be story-time. This beginning was really loose and groovy, the sort of start that gets you in the mood to get down and groove. The composed section was much better than my last Ghost (Vegas) and the jam was easily comparable if not superior. Trey hit on some solid themes throughout this Ghost. He was lockstep with Fishman this night and they created some solid grooves. This Ghost did not rage, and it did not funk. It was simply a gorgeous Phish-stlye jam with complimentary work all around. The jam slows to a halt and... Halley's Comet - Awesome. Great to hear this song as always and I wondered if it was gonna be a jam vehicle or not. Either would do for me. From the beginning of the jam it could have gone either way. Trey had his typical guitar jam going, but there was a point where it sound like they might launch. Then Trey walked over to Mike about a minute into the jam segment and you could tell they wanted to shift gears. The segue into... Seven Below - was a true segue. It wasn't as smooth as you could get, but the Seven Below didn't simply rise from ambience at the end of the Comet. They raged right into what has easily become my favorite tune from Round Room. The guitar is anthemic at parts and the Fish/Mike groove is like an intravenous shot of "get down." The jam sounded pretty standard to begin with but Trey started to hint at expansion. Crosseyed and Painless teases surfaced in for a brief second at the beginning of the jam and faded quickly. I didn't recognize the Mozambique tease that is noted in the setlist but it sounds about right from what I remember of the jam. This was the highlight of the night. It built, it grooved, it rocked, and Fish was the MVP. Dropped back into the Seven theme and on to... Another conference began on stage. Mike was hopping around with is pants rolled up to his knees and his sleeves rolled up over his arms so it looked like a tank top. Don't know what was meant by Trey's comments about Mike "being back" but it was funny. Tube - This is the point of the set where you can make or break it, and the band made it. If you don't love this song you are crazy. The jam segment was good and funky as you can expect. A solid 4-5 minute groove proceeded with Trey getting a little whacky toward the end. Out of the funk he started to pick up the pace until they awkwardly fell back into the song. Loved it. There was no > into Caspian as the setlist says. Caspian began slowly and built like it always does. Because I haven't seen it in several years this Caspian didn't bother me until it started to drag toward the end. It was not unbearably long, but I could have done without it. All things considered, it was probably the most tolerable Caspian I have seen in many, many years. And it faded down into.... 2001 - BAM! Phish kicks in with his drum and there was a sense of shock around the place. People were startled. Some were confused. The rest of us just threw down. From reading previous reviews that 2001 has been on the short side I think this probably compares nicely with other 2003 versions. The beginning was drawn out a bit but in general this was a short version. It was not short on intensity and I happen to like a good short 2001. Fire - Didn't see that coming at all, but I didn't complain. I thought a lot about what I would have rather seen at this point to end a terrific set and I concluded that this was just fine. A ripping cover to shut the door on a really balanced and fantastic set of music. Encore - Coil. I hit the road. Sorry, that's just not what I am looking for as an encore. This was a pretty good show with a great second set. First set probably gets a 6 out of 10 from me. The four standard versions of great songs kept it afloat while the Discern hurt badly. Second set is gonna pull in an 8.5 out of 10. Fabulous Ghost, extremely fun Seven Below and a funktastick Tube. Caspian was my usual blacksheep, otherwise it was another reason why I drive hundreds of miles for this fix. While I think Vegas 03 had better all-around show appeal, this second set sits right next to the second set for each of those nights as well.
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 23:20:13 +0000 From: lhferree@comcast.net Subject: 7-27-03 Raleigh was great; everything from the grass parking lot to the beautiful Page solo at the end of the concert was wonderful. The show started off very well, picking up steam with Down With Disease. I noticed that a lot of people who had just been standing around actually started to dance when DWD started. But the best was yet to come. Divided Sky was good, it's always good. But I was really pleased that they played Discern because I had yet to hear the song. Overall I think it's a great song, but I got really angry at how people started to just sit down and talk during it because they didn't know it or didn't like it. Have some respect for Phish and the rest of the phans, please. Discern went into Anything But Me and the two were a good combination for easy listening. And the last song of the first set, Llama, started to wake people up to prepare them for the second set to come. The second set opened with one of my favorites, Ghost, and Phish did a great job of jamming but keeping it under control. But the happy moment was when Phish went into Halley's Comet, a very good surprise. Lots of happy people dancing. Seven Below was a good choice and that really brought out the balloons from the audience. Prince Caspian was also great, like Halley's Comet it had a lot of people singing along. It's always good when everyone joins in. 2001 was a great light show although I think Greensboro was better, but that might have to be because of the whole indoor versus outdoor dealie. Close with a cover, which I don't think I totally went with, but it was good. Fire. Finally, the encore. And a slight rant. Page is my favorite member of the band, his piano solos are always welcome for me. Squirming Coil was a great end to the night and was the close of what I think was a concert in which Page was allowed to shine. Discern had him show his stuff in a way I hadn't heard before while several other songs emphasized his great keyboarding abilities. And so what better way than Squirming Coil to close it? It was time to listen and enjoy the fact that Phish can perform in so many ways. That's why I was so angry when someone started throwing glowsticks at Page during the solo and one even hit the keyboard. Not cool at all! I've noticed that there seem to be some people that are just rude to Phish. People who sit and talk during soft and slow songs, for example. People who obviously are there not to enjoy Phish and who stand with their arms crossed and just create a bad atmosphere. People that aim for the members of Phish when they throw beachballs. And then people that throw glowsticks with the purpose of trying to hit one of the members. That's not right at all. The juxtaposition of Page pouring his heart out onto the keyboards for the phans and one ugly and rude person responding by trying to hit page was just something that made you think. It was one of two bad moments of the night, the other being how rude people were during Discern. But overall, a great night. -- Logan Ferree President of People for the Ethical Treatment Of Phish (PETOP)
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