8-9-04 - Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
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Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 17:00:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: greg saldutte
Subject: phish show review 8-9-04 hampton
i know im sending in this review late, but now it has sunken in that
phish is over, and i can tell you how i feel about this show.
i got in and i was almost right in front of page(if i only he had sung a
song)
the pre-show music was bluegrass, surf, and indian music.
the guys came out, and trey ripped right into
chalkdust torture-i was surprised that they played such a predictable
opener. it rocked though. one of the very best chalk dusts ive ever
heard. it went out there for a good 20+ minutes. i hadnt been a fan of
the recent spacey chalkdusts, but i loved this one. this is a must-hear
chalkdust. i miss the jam ending riff a little bit, but its nice hearing
them go from space back into the main riff.
bathtub gin-sweet, they keep coming with great songs. this was a great
version too. it was another 20+ minute song, and it went into a sweet
jam before going into the funky bathtub gin jam with trey playing his
high funky chords. really a good version. it went sweetly right into
runaway jim-yeah! a really high-energy, solid jim
walls of the cave-oh no. things got dirty hear. the jam got real out
there and RIPPED. i mean this thing realy just raged. it was so
chaotic. this may be the best version of this song ive ever heard. this
may be the set highlight, including the awesome chalkdust to open. you
want to hear this walls.
loving cup-i really wanted to hear this going into the show. it was my
first and last one, and it was very emotional. it was really a perfect
closer to this awesome set.
first set was an awesome 8 out 10. great set! this may even be an 8.5.
you WANT to hear this set. this is really just about must-hear. lets
see...first set 5 songs, yet still around 75 minutes...one of the best
chalkdusts ever, one youll like even if youre a fan of the early 90s
tight trey ripping chalkdusts...really good gin...possibly the best walls
of the cave ever...AND a loving cup closer? yep. awesome.
i knew this set would be hard to beat, but maybe they would pull out
something sick for the second after a great first like they did in SPAC
earlier in the summer.
they come out for the second set, and open with all of these dreams. odd
choice. i was glad to be able to cool down a little bit since i was
about to die down on the floor.
limb by limb-now were talkin'! i figured this could get the set
rolling. it was decent. not real good, but not bad. it almost went
into a fish solo, but ended kind of abruptly.
lifeboy-hmm...another slow song. odd. i enjoyed this though. you just
know they WILL pick it up now.
crowd control-well...umm....i guess not. at this point i realized the
set was lacking flow.
seven below-i knew this would be a turning point. the set depended on
how they played this one. it was alright. it was pretty cool when trey
brought out his guitar tech, then pumped his fists to get us all to cheer
for him. this version is hard to explain. its a pleasant listen, as in
it gets nice and ambient, creating some good sound, but it does this
without going anywhere really. so youve got a nice wall of sound without
any climaxes. this kind of segues into stash. its a > not a ->
stash-the composed section of this was nailed. then came the jam. id
say its in the same boat as the seven below. nice wall of sound then a
good segue->
NICU:this was one of the highlights of the second set. really good, and
page had a solo with just him playing after play it leo!
contact->huh? set couldnt be over yet. this was fairly cool. i liked
the little drummer boy ending a lot
bug-eh. i couldve sworn theyd end this set well with a piper, yem,
antelope, mikes groove or something after NICU, but i guess not. oh
well.
character zero-well, it rocked. thats what i can say.
this second set was confusing. i wish it had been the first, and the
first had been the second. it was below average, id say 4/10
then came the bowie encore. this was really enjoyable. best bowie ive
heard in a while. it was good for them to do this after the second set,
but it was just too little too late. im glad it was the last song ill
ever hear phish play(unless were lucky) though. 8/10 for the encore.
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 10:04:45 -0700
From: Paul Jasper
Subject: Hampton 8-9-04
Are you guys high or just wanting of "the old days"?
Saying there is way too much jamming at a phish show is like saying there
is way too much speeding at a race. ITS WHAT WE GO FOR!!!
I play bass in improv bands so I know what great playing is like. This
what great playing. Maybe not stellar playing, but great playing.
So to the person who stated that "I don't get it", is simply being
arrogant.
Even the slower tunes were played beautifully. And the energy in the
place was really high. The beginning of the first set was out of hand
and everyone around me was screaming and jumping around on the floor.
Same for the encore!
Want do you guys want, a pint of blood each time out??
Paul Jasper
Edgewater, MD
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 23:25:39 +0000
From: David Buczek
Subject: Phish show review
Hampton, VA. 8-9-04
My 50th and last show. To say that this show was a dissappointment
would be an understatement. I had such high expectations as did
everybody else. I thought that Trey seemed to be "in his own little
world", whatever that may be. Every song seemed to go straight into a
rambling guitar solo that left everybody else behind and showed just how
high Trey was. There didn't seem to be any connection between him and
the rest of the boys, except for when they were all able to reel him in
to finish a song. I still had a good time being with all the wonderful
people that love Phish, but for the first time in ten years of seeing
this amazing band I left the show disappointed with their performance.
Mark Ferguson aka Mothball
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2004 22:42:48 EDT
From: Lynnwood023
Subject: Hampton 8-9
This was my last Phish show ever? It was one of the worst shows I have
seen them play. I was happy to see Phish again, but for this to be my
last show I was dissapointed. Not thier best show they have ever done in
VA. The second set was so slow, nothing to dance to at first. I was very
dissapointed in Phish and it sucked to be honest for my last show ever.
or is it??? After that show I hope not. I got all excited and hyped up
for nothing much. I wish I could see another one to make up for this one.
Crystal Espinoza
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 20:56:25 +0000
From: scj22
Subject: review 8/9/04
After 185 Dead shows and 61 Phish shows (including EVERY show including
Jerry or Trey at Hampton since 1983 - for a total of 32) I can honestly
say it's time to go. Phish simply never recovered from the hiatus. This
show can only be considered good by people who simply don't get it.
Date: August 14th, 2004
From: Jason Christie
Show: Hampton Coliseum 8/9/2004
Well that was the last show huh? Sort of left unsatisfied. Very poor
setlists.
Sloppy playing at times, and way to much jamming.
Sounds like lots of us thought it sucked, but what were we really
expecting.
THey'll never play like they did 10 years ago, they simply don't have it
in them anymore.
So I believe we needn't be so critical. It was, in my opinion, a very
good time.
The last show I saw was The Virginia Beach Amphitheater, when the boys
busted out Terrapin, which blow my mind wide open, being a huge Dead
fan. So needless to say, this hampton show was medicore at best. I
think I only danced during loving cup, bathtub, zero, and I think that's
about it. It was my girlfriend's first show ever, and so she was pumped,
but then, like me, felt dissapointed, and hell, she didn't seen them
before. The crowd was awesome. Everyone in the lot before the show, and
those of us who got in, were just glad to be there, regardless of
setlists, trey's unremarkable ability to play to many notes, etc.'
I was dissapointed, but stoked all the same. I was happy to hear
Lifeboy, it felt right.
Anyways, sorry to go on and on. I'll miss seeing shows, but I realize
the ride is over.
Time for everyone to get a job I guess.
peace and love,
jason christie
Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2004 12:28:34 -0400
From: Walker Tilt
Subject: Hampton 8/9 Review
Simply put Trey needs to stop getting wasted before shows. Sure he had
plenty of energy but that wasn't coming from the music, it made for some
embarrassing and sloppy moments. The last indoor show will create
expectations of their own which the band doesnt have to meet but in
Hampton they didnt even come close to raising it above a mediocre show.
Take into account over 26hrs of driving to and from Hampton and you'll be
able realize my utter disappointment and even contempt. Its beyond obvious
that they need to pack it up, like someone said below they should of
stoped for good in '00. They could of saved themselves a whole lot of
embarrassment.
-Steve
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2004 17:28:40 -0400
From: Jim Houck
Subject: Phish show review: Hampton 8.9.04
Disclaimer for all: because Hampton Coliseum did not serve alcohol at
this show, I was pretty darn sober.
Which is why I believe this to be a great performance. The exception
being some poor song selections in the second set. Hanging on to every
note, from first to last, and locking into different members at different
points of the show proved extremely worthwhile, as I was able to fully
appreciate the level of dexterity and concentration exhibited by the
band. With an exceptional view of the each member, I was able to see that
they were very "in tune" with one another and clearly locked into Fish.
Thus, the first set was A+ material. Each song (only 5 in this set) was
jammed extensively and pensively. Stellar guitar work by Trey led to
unbelievable peaks throughout. Fish was as solid as ever.
Collectively, they didn't miss a beat (save an interesting "Chalkdust"
coda). "Loving Cup" was a fitting end to this set, the band had us in the
palms of their hands.
Which is why it was incredibly dissapointing when they decided to open
set 2 with "All of These Dreams." Of course, we thought we were getting a
"dream" set, being this the last indoor show, smallest capacity show
left, and the band's (trey's?) favorite place to play.
Alas, it was a very well played set. Zero flubs really and excellent work
on the "7 Below>Stash>NICU" sequence. After which, assumptions hung on
"big things to come." This was not to happen and instead Phish aptly
performed a slew of decent (but not great) selections. "Bug" soared in
the end, "Contact" provided us the only glimpse of funk throughout the
evening, during it's bridge, and "Character Zero" was finally played the
way it was always meant to--the ultimate set closer, full on rock 'n'
roll. Uncharacteristically, "Character" possibly saved this set.
And the "Bowie" encore picked up where "Character" ended. I've seen alot
of Bowies in my day and this one was as solid as they come (though a
touch shorter due to curfew).
Though dissapointed that we never got one last "dream" set at one of the
best places to ever see this band, the show was still performed very well
and provided glimpses of the past. Too bad there will be no future (or
will there be?).
james s. houck
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2004 17:14:55 -0400
From: charlie kaier
Subject: hampton review
Surf guitar music and bluegrass was the preshow mix. It was great. Summer
in
hicksville VA. The chalkdust jam helped center the night. It was a bit hit
and miss in some spots but you could see them reaching for where they
wanted to go.
Bathtub was what got them on track for the night. They locked into one of
Fishs grooves and zoned out a bit in the end. When they came out of it
things had started.
Runaway Jim was just that. This felt like what Phish is all about. The
smiles on Pages were so wide you could see him just trying to poke his
head out from the jam but having too much fun to break concentration. Trey
ripped this song. The jim ended and they were winded. completely shaken by the
tunes they had gone through and the place that they arrived at. The
audience was beaming. This was the deciding moment of the first set what to play
next. Walls was a great choice. Something carefully composed to zone them
into the feeling of the song, to get theyre mnds off what do i play don't
fuck this up youre playing too much you need to play more(all those
terrible
thoughts). It was kind of a touching tribute to hampton too. The amazing
cave that it is. The jam for walls came on great, put everybody right back
to where it should be. Towards the middle of the jam everything was
lifted,
they were flying. Mike and fish were running as fast as humanly possible
and
trey was ripping open the song to climax. But it looked like trey fell off
the deepend. It looked like he didn't want to stop it at what seemed like
a
natural place. And after pushing the band on he then seemed to shut off
and
force everything out. I was looking at page and saw his face go from This
is
great to ok maybe thats enough right there to shit do we really have to go
down this road. The music got ugly and things turned to bug out mode. trey
was putting everything out, contorting his body all over the place. it
looked as if he might come undone right there. I think he must have been
lashing out at what had been such a great feeling of nailing a jam and
then
mistepping or something. Anyway the bug out subsided after awhile. and
when
everything stopped and it came time to pull up another tune you could see
that they all were draned by what had just happened. Page openned loving
cup
to bring some warmth back into the place, and everyone rocked out before
the
set broke. What happened next was a pretty and endearing second set. life
boy and bug seemed to be musical reactions to the emotions that they wore
on
theyre sleeves in the first set. Stash was bad. trey avoided those
wonderful old melodies that used to rock that jam so hard. The set was up
and down.
The guy next to me said he thought it was a weird set. The first set was
weird, beautiful wonderous and strange, bu the second set was nothing but
conservative. They were reserved. I don't think anything got me really
dancing in the second set. Mostly I just sat back in my chair and watched
kuroda work his magic on the walls and the crowd of the coliseum. Hampton
is such an amazing place to see them. Its by far my favorite place, and its
sad to see that end.
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 16:36:44 -0400
From: tom paquette
Subject: hampton 8-9-04
this show was crappy. only two good tunes. way to go out with a bang
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2004 09:54:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: suzanne ajder
Subject: Phish show reviewview 8/9/04
Hampton was my last show ever, a run that began in 97 and ended at my
favorite venue to see Phish. First off, I was just really happy to be
there and to hang out with all the good people that still support the
scene. The thing that struck me was how super positive these people were.
They had the energy and dedication to this band that I used to have, and
that was really refreshing. And now onto the music.
SET 1
Opened with a cool chalkdust, with a great jamming segment at the end.
Next came a very well played bathtub gin with some more really solid
jamming. Then, Runaway Jim, also very cool. Walls of the cave, weak to
say the least. Loving cup, what a beautiful buzz, a beautiful buzz
indeed!
SET 2
I won't take the time to review the set in terms of every song played. I
will say that NICU and the composed part of Bowie were the only times
that the people playing on the stage sounded like Phish. Stash was a
complete joke, they couldn't even jam it so they had to go into NICU.
Limb by Limb was a bout 4 minutes long. The thing that struck me about
this music was how poorly the musicians communicated with each other. It
was some of the worst music I have ever heard. If they had played like
this in 97 or 98 they would have been booed. The best part of the whole
thing was how supportive the crowd was, I wish alot of these people could
have seen some shows back in the day. This show proved to me that the
time is right for retirement. It probably should have happened in 2000.
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 22:20:12 -0400
From: James Hable
Subject: Phish show review
I must concur with some of the previous reviews I just read about the
Hampton show. I flew home last minute to the Hampton roads area to catch
my final phish show of 25. I love this band more than any other, and I
hate to say it, but this show absolutely sucked. I think Trey is the
most talented guitar player around, but dam he was so so so so off it
hurt. They need to come back to Hampton and redeem this crowd. Really
not a cool after taste to end my phan phase on. Closer should have been
bittersweet motel since that was how the show ran.
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 18:39:11 -0700
From: Positive Vibration
Subject: Hampton Review - It was solid, but not stellar
I must say, I'm amazed at everyone bashing this show. I even saw someone
on phantasy tour who hadn't even seen or heard the show yet bash it.
This show did not have the setlist we expected from surprise hampton show,
especially during their farewell tour, but they played really well. They
played their hear out in every song. All this talk of trey being
disconnected and out of it is ridiculous. He was stepping back and
letting phish play like phish - they way they used to play before the
hiatus. I know many of you don't know what that sounds like, but IMO its
the way they sound best. Creation happens when a clearing is made for it
- there needs to be space. There was lots of room to move around in the
jams and each member took charge at the right moment. You could tell that
they had been practicing their jamming a lot. It wasn't just the trey
show, and it shouldn't be. Fishman was laying down some sick beats and
page and mike took control alot. The chalkdust was unreal, as were the
bathtub and the jim. Stash was another highlight, and the bowie was
raging.
Most importantly, and somebody back me up on this, Trey has his old guitar
sound back. He lost that crappy distorted/clean/metallic sound he's had
since they came back and went back to classic trey guitar. Lush,
sustained, deep distorted tones, and rubber band plucking clean notes.
This show was my 103, I've been seing them since 94, so I've seen the
good, the bad, and the ugly. This was the best played post hiatus show
I've seen (i'll admit I haven't seen some of the notables - my last were
vegas). It certainly wasn't the best on paper, but listen for yourself.
Each song was perfectly executed with only one or two brief flubs
throughout the show. The energy between them and the crowd was
unmistakeable.
I know its easy to be critical, its become second nature to a phish fan.
I've been plenty critical in my time. But I suggest we all embrace these
last few shows with both arms and soak it in. If you want to ruin your
own experience by picking out everything you think is wrong with it I feel
sorry for you. But it's pretty lame to try to bring down everyone else.
All I have left now is coventry, and after that all I have left is
memories. This is an emotional time for us all and I hope we choose the
positive emotion to focus on rather than the negative. In a week from now
there will be no more shows to bitch about......then again, there's always
trey tour. Posts will read something like this: "The Trey band show last
night was the worst ever. Trey was drooling on himelf and forgot how to
play his guitar. And what's up with that fat bass player, he's such a
tool. I heard they need a new stool for him every show.
They'll never be as good as phish.....who I also used to bitch about all
the time"
I guess I would feel differently if the show really was as bad as everyone
is letting on, but it wasn't. I urge you all to give it a listen and
judge for yourselves.
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 21:29:25 -0400
From: Amanda Lynn Harrison
Subject: Review 8-9-04
I'll just say this from the start: the show was great. I've
been to a few shows in my day so I understand that on paper
the setlist looks, well, "interesting". I can tell you,
however, that it raged. Download it and check out the
Chalkdust, the Walls of the Cave, the Stash, the Bowie, or
even the NICU or Character Zero. Not only did the guys play
well, but you could tell they were having fun -- Trey started
a "wave yo hands in the air" and jumped around like a little
kid in a candy store. The whole band did. They are excited
and loving this tour and the crowd. So, to my point, why bash
an awesome show because you're a spoiled phan expecting them
to whip out a Fluffhead? Phish played a lot of great songs,
played them well, and had a blast doing it. That's enough for
me and it should be enough for any true phan.
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 20:49:15 -0400
From: Tyler Green
Subject: Phish show review-8-9-04
With this last tour making everyone a little too hopeful, I think people
are getting a little ahead of themselves. It seems that people have
gotten used to a certain sort of set list and anything else is a
disappointment. Well let's just listen to how they play what they play.
I'd rather them play a creative Chalkdust and Gin, a nasty dark Stash, a
rocking Walls of the Cave, Loving Cup, and Character Zero that to hear a
shitty version of Fulffhead or some other coveted tune. That's exactly
what we got. This Chalkdust left me so pumped up for the rest of the
show. After dipping into ambience briefly, Trey laid some smooth slow
runs over the other guys' easy groove, and it just built and built from
there. Even though the second set opened slow, it was beautiful. All of
These Dreams and Lifeboy are great songs, and I was glad to hear them. It
was an interesting departure from Rock and Roll or DWD or some other
overplayed openers. And honestly it was good to hear some slow tunes to
get a break from the rockfest that was set one. From here, we got a
totally decent Seven Below and a very creative Stash. The Contact really
threw the show a good vibe, a lighter note, especially when Page took his
lead and complemented the guys in some serious funk on the Clavinet. Dont
be fooled by the setlist; this show was played from the heart, even if it
doesnt look it on paper.
Tyler
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 18:44:55 EDT
From: Cvk666@aol.com
Subject: Phish show review
i could not be more disappointed. having been shut out of the entire
tour, i felt that the hand of fate delivered me a ticket to one last
ride...wrong. trey's playing sounded like cats mating, and the set list
(especially II) was uninspired at best. hadn't seen a show since 3-01-03,
and i truly wish that my last show had felt as good as greensboro did. if
this show is any indication of whats to come, i would advise coventry
ticket-holders to unload those things to any frat-boy who wants to get
wasted. they're the only ones who'll enjoy it anyway.
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 14:27:15 -0700
From: "Olive, Joel"
Subject: Phish show review 8/9/04
quick review, not too in depth...
set 1
chalkdust...got the place rockin' but slowly went a little spacey,
reminiscent of chalkdust hampton '03...which i love. but here they were
completely unable to bring it back to the rockin' chalkdust jam, so in the
middle of the space, trey just ripped right into the main chalkdust riff
bathtub...wtf? is this hampton '03? decent...but never got THERE, if you
know what i mean...don't know what trey was trying to do for a lot of it
jim...good rockin' version. not usually what i want to hear at a show, but
was the best song so far
walls...STOKED! hadn't seen this one live yet and really wanted to get it.
imo was the best jam of the night. lots of energy
loving cup...my wife's song on the wedding cd we made as the gift to the
guests at our wedding. first time i'd seen it since being married. kinda
made it special cause we were both there. standard loving cup though.
good set.
set 2
all of these dreams....ROCKED! psyche. was this a joke? kinda set the mood
for the whole set though.
lxl...good version, nothing spectacular
lifeboy...was glad to hear it as it was my first time, but was starting to
get a little nervous about song selection thus far. was still ok with it
though...figured w/what they'd played so far, the rest of the set would be
THE HEAT
crowd control....getting really nervous about song selection at this
point. thought this would have some good energy to it, as the boys are
dancing around all pumped up about it on the dvd, but didn't do a whole
lot for me
7 below....THIS is what i had been waiting for. couldn't go wrong. they've
been KILLING it with this song. mvp post hiatus. and they somehow managed
to take this song where it's never been before.....nowhere. quickly went
to space (coulda sworn it'd segue into 2001), and right where i thought it
was gonna get good, trey grabs his guitar tech and introduces him. ruined
the whole thing. wtf?
stash....decent. was working my way down front for this as it'd be the
last time i'd ever be able to (hell if i'm getting there 6 hrs. early at
coventry for front row)
NICU...was ok. was nicu. PLAAAAY IIIIT LEOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
bug...i enjoyed this song. always have. good version. nothing to write
home about.
contact...was contact. not hampton '03 contact. was fitting though, as our
car was towed after the show. got home until LATE
zero....i've heard this more than any other song. seems to show up at
every show i go to. standard zero, but was cool to see from up close.
bowie....was ok...got kinda out there, then trey brought it back
unexpectedly (imo) into the ending. kinda of disappointed with that, but
kinda enjoyed the meat of the song.
bad set.
all in all....i've never left a show with bad things to say, until
tonight. ever. trey was off and song selection sucked, imo. would left a
little happier had the sets been reversed, but still not by much. first
set was good, second set was bad. i really tried to convince myself that
it was just the hype and expectations of hampton... and that's why i was
disappointed. but nope...i can honestly say that was the worst show i've
seen, hampton or not. was actually happy i wasn't making the trek to mass.
can't say i'm as stoked about coventry, but that'll pass in the next day
or two as i get ready to go.
joel olive
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 14:33:24 -0700
From: david gersenson
Subject: Phish show review
i went to meet up with my friend at 630 monday morning. he was an hour
late. i got made at him for wasting an hour of my time. well, phish
than proceeded to do him one better. they wasted 4 hours of my time in
hampton colusium and another 24 hours getting/going there. i'm done with
this band, i'm not going to coventry. very dissappointing.
and yes, it was sad to see trey drooling on himself during the second
set.
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 14:08:01 -0400
From: Sebastian Petsu
Subject: Hampton 8-9-04 Phish show review
well my buddy Jarrod was supposed to pick me up from work at 10AM, but he
was late and we didn't get on the road until noon. Still, the directions
said it was a 5 1/2 hour drive from Philly to Hampton. And Jarrod planned
to do about 75-80 all the way down so we figured we'd be able to make it
there by 5PM (we needed to be there 1 hour before showtime to get in for
free to work the Phellowship table.) Well, traffic because of construction
and an accident majorly slowed us down. At one point we only made it about
10 miles in an hour. Well, our hopes of getting in for free to work the
table were soon dashed....the Waterwheel people who are the connection for
the Phellowship insist the table person is there by 5 or they'll be shut
out. Jarrod didn't have a ticket. I did but was planning to sell it in the
lot. Well, making some phone calls Jarrod was able to get another
Phellowship person to go in and set the table up as well as have his
ticket left at willcall so Jarrod could get in. On the road we half
jokingly said to one another "do you think we'll make it there by show
time?" But we actually pulled into the lot at 7:50. We missed the
Chalkdust opener and ran inside just before Bathtub started. While I have
seen them do Chalkdust a bunch it would've been fitting for me to sing
along to it tonight after the youthful adventure/absurdity of driving 8
hours to see a 3 hour show only to drive back straight through the night
("can't I live while I'm young!") Anyway, the 1st set was very energetic.
Nothing was really a definitive version but I danced hard. I was glad to
catch my first liuve Gin and sure loved singing along to the Stones'
"Loving Cup" to end the set (the song made me think of how high I get on
music as well as think of ex girlfriends and crushes) The set seemed
really short though. 5 songs, 50 minutes perhaps. No bustouts, Dead covers
or Rick James tribute. I really liked the venue. It was sold out but it
was easy to move about in. I had no problem walking in and out of all
different parts of the floor and the seats. Security was totally cool
about people dancing in the aisles and people smoking whatever they
wanted. General Admission shows seems to calm the crowd as people can
naturally gravitate to the space that fits them best (best place for clear
sightlines, best sound, best dancing room, or as close up as possible)and
there didn't seem to be any shoving or tension. You could see the band
pretty clearly even from the back. The sound was a bit echo-y but the
spaceship layout of the place made up for any acoustic deficencies. Now
people are complaining up and down about the low energy and poor
construction of the 2nd set. I was a bit surprised by what they played but
I still had a great time. My motto for this tour is "dance hard and don't
think too much." Sure I had expectations and hopes for what they'd play
and besides the surprise Bowie encore I got none of those expectations
fulfilled. But I let go of the expectations pretty easily. The only
outright disappointment for me was the "All these Dreams" set opener. I'm
not too familiar with the song and it's really slow and mellow. I couldn't
get into it. The rest of the set was very enjoyable though, including the
other really slow dreamy tune (Lifeeboy). The only thing that really stood
out and impressed me and made think "wow I've never heard that before" was
in NICU when the band unexpectedly cut out and left Page to lay down some
funky organ licks all by himself for a few measures. the -7 didn't compare
to the Gorge 03 or SPAC 04 versions, but it still got out there. and I
don't want to make it a competition of shows and versions. I just want to
have fun. I was glad to finally hear Contact live. When Mike started the
bassline, I thought he'd bust into the DarkStar riff because I'd heard a
2nd hand rumor that the band had soundchecked Dark Star. But there were no
GD tunes or teases or any references to it being Garcia's "death day". The
2nd set seemed long with a lot of songs. They nailed the Character Zero
closer though it's not really an exploratory jam tune. I was very excited
and caught off-guard by the Bowie encore. It wasn't the bext version I've
heard. I couldn't quite tell if Trey was lost or just making things
purposely ugly and dense towards the end of the tune. But Bowie definitely
had some hot moments and I danced as hard as I could. Then we hopped in
the car and drove back to Philly. It took up about 5 1/2 hours back up and
a lot of coffee and we got into Philly around 6AM just in time for
sunrise. All in all a very fun time, even if the show wasn't
"mind-blowing"
S. Sebastian Petsu,
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 11:58:45 -0400
From: uncle frank
Subject: Phish show review 8/9/2004
For this show, I'd have to go to the eternal wisdom of the comic store
guy: WORST SHOW EVER!! Not quite, but definitely the worst this summer.
I will admit, I'm a bit jaded as I've seen 107 shows between 1994 and now,
so keep that in mind when reading this please. The only Goosebumps I got
the entire show were during Chalkdust, and BOY, was it down hill from
there! The first set sounded like we were all sitting in the middle of a
rehearsal session of a Phish cover band. No emotion, tightness, energy,
or rocking which are all qualities I look for in a Phish show. From the
band anyway. CK was rocking the lights! Trey was a different story
though! Trey's guitar was off a half a beat all night, and he had the
hillbilly heroin look in his eyes. The Bowie encore was the ONLY song
from the second set, spare Lifeboy and Stash (both butchered by Trey's
crusty nose), that I was REALLY excited to hear. Then Trey played it like
he was already back in the bus in his brain, so his body was rushing to
catch up with it. It was SO BAD it hurt! His misses really threw the
rest of the band off, but Fishman still saved him from complete
embarrassment a couple of times. I know I sound like a hater here, but I
swear to god I'm not. I thought the earlier summer shows ALL had moments
of brilliance. Not so of this show in supposedly the band's favorite
venue. If Trey keeps this up, we're all going to be wallowing in comic
store guy wisdom. We know you can do it Trey. Just go back and listen to
the Piper from Spac. You'll be "Brain Dead and Made of Money" soon, so
don^Òt go "running for cover" quite yet!
`Marion Barry
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 06:30:15 -0700 (PDT)
From: john rutan
Subject: Hampton 2004
This "bonus" concert turns out to be my last Phish show, part 2. Great
to have the phellas back in VA.
Chalkdust - Good opener, loud and kinda trippy through the middle/end
section.
Bathtub - "We love to take...", flashback to 1-2-03 biggtime. Nice
extended mellow jammy.
Jim - Cool, fast and loud.
WOTC - Nice, really cool light during this one kinda like a spotlight
from a helicopter on Trey. Again, the lights accented each song in it's
own special way. This song is a show stopper at times. I look forward
to listening to this FLAC format compared to my last show prior to this
one, 6-24-04.
Cup - OK for a set closer. Never heard the Stones do this but Phish sure
enjoys playing it!
Overall this set was nice and to the point. The guitar tech seemed shy
when Trey was trying to introduce, that was funny! Kinda a cross between
1-2-03 and 6-24-04.
All of these Dreams - This was a very mellow set opener!?! Nice
mellow...
LxL - Good song, more loud jamming.
Lifeboy - Luv this song, really enjoyed it. Slow, mellow, but heartfelt.
Crowd Control - Pretty good song. Again on the mellow side, but that is
the theme at this point and it was damn hot in the arena last night!!
Where the AC?? (and I mean air cond)
7 Below - I was really happy to see this performed live. I really like
the versions I've heard prior and was tickled to get one. Trey was
enjoying himself during this. I didn't catch the "mary had a
little lamb" teases, but it' funny; I mentioned in my review of 6-24-04
that they could play "mary" the entire set and I'd be happy since it was
my last show!!! This seems to be where the show goes into overdrive.
Stash - And overdrive is kicked in! The beginning seemed a bit strange
but the jam until the second verse was great. I can't remember how many
times I've just thought about those riffs/progressions during this
section in my mind! It often keeps me awake at night.
NICU - This was weird how they went into this...but it was cool. Always
fun, "play it Leo"
Bug - I love bug (lovebug?). I do belive Charlotte was the last time I
caught this, and it was good there, too. There is some serious power in
this song and Trey the rock star of all rock stars, baby!
Contact - Cool, this had a very cool trippy jam in it, too.
Character 0 - Well, here comes my final set closer to hear live! Might
as well go out with a bang! Trey wailing on the guitar, loud, serious
indoor rock spectacle. If some hard rock/metal fans could see this they
would have to throw their favorite band away. WHHOOAAA!!!
David Bowie - Great encore choice! You go Trey, he had some incredible
sounds going on during the end of this. It was so intense I had to look
at other people and see if they just heard what I heard!!! Flat out full
force jam your ass off. Is there anything that can be done with a guitar
that Trey can't do??? Blew my face off...
Thanks again Trey, Mike, Jon, Page for putting on a memorable show.
Thanks to everyone, we had a "there for the music" crowd last night and
it was enjoyed bunches by me and my friend, my friend (the sign did not
help). I hope everyone has fun the rest of the tour. See you on the
Jamcruise and hopefully a reunion tour in less than five years!
MrTan
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