9-21-99 -- Pima County Fairgrounds, Tucson, Arizona
review submisions dws@www.phish.net
or dws@gadiel.com
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 1999 01:56:56 -0700
From: Amanda Snider abs4@dana.ucc.nau.edu
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: tucson review
i've seen a lot of interesting reviews for this one so i thought i'd
throw in yet another two cents...got there early and everyone i was
around was feeling super positive about the show cause of the
unbelievable lack of security and small show feel, plus all the hype
about how good the new stuff (trey tour tunes) was sounding, i was
really excited to hear a little jiboo, back on the train, free thought,
or maybe circles. as soon as the sun went down with a amazing sunset the
temperature dropped quite a bit and it was game time...
interesting and unexpected poorheart, sample combo to start...as ended
up being the case all night this was damn tight, sample seemed to have a
little extra umph!! in there. the split open was phenomenal...opening
was standard but the jam was unlike any soam i've heard, not saying best
ever or anything but amazing none the less. got pretty spacey at times
(lots of delays...i love 'em!) but mike was maintaining a funky chunky
line throughout...plus only the third song of the set, oh yeah! by the
way-> mike is so phucking ON right now it is disgusting, this entire
night and in las cruces mike was droppin' bombs and killer thumpin'
lines for trey and page to play on, and it kept gettin better and
better!!!!
drowned was equally rockin and unexpected...the jam went went on for
quite awhile, this one had tons of energy, more so than 11.2.98 version
gotta hear this one to appreciate. i didn't know was a great break after
the previous two monsters, catch a breath. get back on the train...now
this is what i'm talkin' about! this song chugs along with mike and trey
on a mission, this has been stuck in my mind ever since, i love this
tune...smokin! nice tight bof...kept everybody groovin. theme erupts
during the jam, killer clouds and bright moon mixed with a nice breeze
during this powerful jam...i'm gettin goosebumps!! golgi was a perfect
set closer...got me stoked for set two...
if pima county fairgrounds had a roof the carini->bug would have blown
it right off!! carini wasn't a long one but it was on fire...mike was
shakin the earth and trey was throwin the power chords out there, i love
pages fills on this one. the bug was new for me and i really dug it.
super solid team jam and some great lyrics.."it doesn't matter"! i don't
quite get the strange design placement here, page sounded great but why
not go straight for the big vultures...wow! vultures rears it ugly
head...this is what this song was always capable of and it finally
erupted. i don't know what this sounded like in shoreline but it was
huge in tucson...the jam was just strong and mesmerizing with everyone
doing some interesting stuff, (odd times, bass lines and the like)
especially mike and trey. fish really goes to work here too. into the
limb by limb...i felt this was great placement...also extremely tight
until fish's ending (lyrically) which was a pretty comical flub. this
new shit is great...circles gets the party groovin hard again, i can't
wait to hear this again cause its got tons of possibility for the jam to
get bigger and bigger, mike tears this up...everyone i was with was
lovin it! oh the dirt...maybe the most well placed song of the night,
absolutely beautiful...oooooh gettin the chills again. and then the
monster antelope...all the hype is true this one was giant. the entire
middle section was phenomenal with guess who...yep, mike just droppin
bombs everywhere and trey leadin' the charge with page and fish right
there with him, i'm telling you this was the real deal!! what a way to
end the set, i couldn't have asked for anything better.
you gotta be kidding me with the reba...hell yeah! some seem to think
this was out of place, but when the hell does it fit in. this is true
weird phish, kind-of an epitome of the band type deal... has anyone else
written a song anything like this besides zappa!?!? to me this was a
killer encore with a super spacey sending-me-to-jupiter jam that must be
heard...then the axis let page shine again and gave trey a chance to
wail a little more, huge bonus!
all in all great show. two or three songs away from top 20, actually
maybe it will sneak in there after it gets circulated a bit. the jams in
soam, drowned, and theme were all huge in set 1 with get back on the
train just smokin' (i can still hear it chuggin' along!). ixnay the
strange design energy disrupter and you've got an A+ second set.
carini->bug...hell yeah!, vultures->limb and THE antelope...entering
where no man was gone before jamland!...and possibly the most well
placed and beautiful dirt ever...you could just feel people crackling
with energy coming off vultures->limb, circles then shifting gears to
dirt. the new stuff its great, i love where they are going...kind of a
mix of fall 97 phunk and fall 98 power/space jams. clouds, moon, breeze,
great vibes, fall tour, best tunes on the planet!
just why we all keep coming back, buck abs4@dana.ucc.nau.edu
ps-> as for post show nonsense...please go home ignorant kids getting
into fights and shit (of course non of you will read this anyway...),
you have no place at phish shows, you only hurt the bands rep. why the
hell are they there anyway? the place probably heald 30,000+ and there
were only like 6000-7000 people inside...they don't even go in half the
time!!AAAAAAAHHHHHHH! oh well, see all you mellow phunk loving pholks at
the next one...
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 1999 01:04:48 EDT
From: IceLndPopi@aol.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: Tucson Review
Pima County Fairgrounds, Tucson, Az 9/21/99
I arrived at the Fairgrounds around 6:15, almost no traffic, no
parking fee! The Lot seemed chill, lots of dogs. No security, at all,
which was nice. Went in around 7:15, found a spot Trey side, pretty close
up. Crowd seemed really chill pre-show. It was really relaxed cause of
the absence of security. The weather was really nice, a slight breeze,
really cool moon.
They went on around 8(estimate).....
POOR HEART: Fun opener, wasn't expecting it. Got the crowd dancing!
Mike seemed solid, very strong. Great little starter
SAMPLE: I think a lot of people at the show were newbies, cause a lot
people in Tucson haven't heard much, or any Phish. Sample seemed a bit
slower than usually, maybe an extra couple measures in the jam too. The
band seemd to be pretty tight. Coudn't really hear Page that much though.
SOAMELT: Nice, wasn't expecting this, especially in the 1st set!
The only other melt I've seen is 12/29/98 I, and it was really spacey, w/
those Trey loops taking over the jam. This one was as well spacey, but
much more interesting. After some space loops and noodling by Trey, the
Jam became pretty rockin' w/ Trey rippin' back into the song. Really nice
lights by Chris, some really phat color schemes.
DROWNED: I totally forgot about this song and it caught me off guard.
This one was a lot different than the phunky 97 versions. Mike's singing
was solid, and he was dropping ocasional bombs. This jam was going in all
different directions, spacey,rocking, and a couple cool little groove
measures. Trey was really tight, lots of licks that reminded me of his
solo tour stuff. This drowned was huge, lasted forever, very
pleased.....chris was amazing.
I DIDN'T KNOW: After the Melt and Drowned combo, I was expecting
something like this. Fun song, cool vacum solo. Fishman, jokingly, took
his time gettin back to his set, struggling to get through a tight spot
between the monitors and Pages piano.
GBOTT: I had only heard an Mp3 of this song before they played it.
I was really hoping to hear it. It was pretty groovy and funky. A short
little jam and the song was over, but not unsatifying. Cool to hear some
new stuff.
BOAF: Another song to satify the newbie crowd. I didn't mind it too
much, it was kept short, and tight. Trey was rippin it, still couldn't
hear
Page.
THEME: Another song I didn't expect to hear. I really dig this song,
and have only heard it once live. lyrical part was standard, but the jam
was really tight. Trey was doing some cool, solo tour-like licks, and
mike was filling up the space with some heavy bombs. When it went back to
the vocal part, there was a little flub, but nothing really at all. A
very cool solid version.
GOLGI: I was seeing maybe a Bowie as a set closer, but Golgi did the
job. Golgi's are all pretty much the same. Trey added in an extra couple
notes at one point before the Jam, nothing too different. Definalty led
me
into setbreak happy and itchin for more.
Setbreak seemed pretty short. I walked all the way to the back of the
field and got a cool view of the place. I didn't realize how large it
was.
It holds about 60,000. The weather continued to be amazing. On my way
back to the stage, the band came on and ripped into....
CARINI: I heard this as a Set II opener at MSG 98 holiday run. This
version was similar, but not half as long. Trey came in immediatly with
machine gun licks with crazy effects. The jam was really loud and
rocking, with trey and Mike throwing down licks and bombs all over the
place. It came to an end, and went nicely into little jam that went
into....
BUG: I didn't know what this song was till I got home and checked the
list. I don't remeber much from this song except that it was a real
pop-like. Phish jammed it to pieces, Trey was going off again, and mike
was
hittin away. Finally, after a long jam, they came back to the main verse,
"It dosen't matter", or something like that.
STRANGE DESIGN: Whoa, not as the 3rd song of the second set, IMO. I
felt the crowd needed something a lot more lively after the new Bug.
Page's
voice sounded nice though.
VULTURES: I really disliked this song in 97 and 98, but it sounded
totally different at show, definalty re-worked by the band. After the
lyric part, they slithered into a cool spooky, mesmerizing jam that was
really cool with perfect lights. I was really enjoying the jam, but still
waiting for something to "really" happen....but, then came....
LIMB BY LIMB: ....I couldn't believe it went into Limb. Not what I
wanted, nor what the crowd wanted(so it seemed). The energy was low. No
one was really dancing and the end was a little messy. Fishman of course
ended with his drum solo, where he blabbed the "limb by limb." lyrcis.
CIRCLES: I had only heard this song once form the Trey solo tour, but
was happy to hear it live. Very cool song, got the crowd dancin'. It was
really upbeat and they did a good job of taking it through a sick jam.
The
band seemed to be feeling it and playing together very nicely. I would
have
rather have heard this earlier in the set or even in the first set, but I
still enjoyed it.
DIRT: yeah, dirt indeed. It was nice, and the jam was re-worked, but
god, please not the second to last song of the set. Energy was building
after Circles, but then demolished by dirt.
ANTELOPE: I saw it coming. Predicted it at the begining of Dirt.
The
intro part was pretty short, which I really didn't mind. The jam seemed
to
start off really slow, with trey noodles and some loops, but gradually, it
got faster and began to get louder. A lot of reviews claim it to be a
"tremendous" version, but I don't remember it being anything too special.
I
guess I'll have to hear the tapes....
ENCORE: REBA, AXIS: The Reba came out of nowhere. I don't think I
have ever heard of them playing areba encore, at least not in a long
while. It didn't really seem to fit at all, but I guess it was a surprise
and I was happy to hear it. The jam started off really slow with some
floaty playing by Trey. The jam lasted for a long while, and finally when
it came to a stop, I was gettin ready for the
Whistling.....wait.....no......Axis. Standard version, show closer, with
some extra ripping by Trey at the end. The encore clocked in at a whole 24
minutes, at around 11:29.
All in all, the show was great for the most part. It was good to hear
what they sounded like(first 99 show). They definalty have thier shit
together. My only complaint is the song selection for the second set.
And as far as what happened in the lot afterwards, I'm glad I wasn't
there, seems like it was an ugly scene. Looks like Phish won't be coming
back to Tucson now..... .....Keep it real folks....... Drew
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 1999 17:16:09 EDT
From: TKubacz@aol.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: Pima County Fairgrounds
First off the Fairgrounds is a great place to see a show. The last
outdoor, open field show I saw was Waterloo, NJ in '96. There
was a nice vibe in the lot and at the show because the crowd
was mostly "the faithful." There was a great lack of fratboys and
teenie-boppers.
Poor Heart was a nice openner (my girlfriend loves bluegrass) and Sample
was pretty standard, but then they brought the place down with Split Open
and Melt. We ate a little fungus before the show and SOAM kicked the trip
into high gear. They ended it with high energy and blew me away by going
into Drowned. They rocked it out into a long jam and kept it going with I
Didn't Know. We only ate a little fungus but by now things were getting
crazy, so it was a fitting song. Fish's vaccuum solo was great and for
part of it Mike leaned over his shoulder and took a few pulls on the
vaccuum himself to do a little duet. It was very nice. Get Back On The
Train was a chance to get my head together after the mid-set maddness.
It's a good feeling song. They kicked it back up with Birds of a Feather.
I thought this was gonna end the set because the last Birds I saw
(Columbus, Ohio) they jammed the shit out of for about 25 minutes. But it
was short and tight and next was Theme From the Bottom, which excemplifies
Phish's ability to create mood. They closed with Golgi Apparatus and left
the crowd screaming to end the set.
During setbreak we wondered the grounds and noticed how fucked up everyone
was. Most seemed to be dealing well, but there were some morons who were
taunting cops. Come on people, really.
Carini rocked to open the Second Set. Trey's effects during the short
breaks were wicked and the band was really into the vocals. Mike sounded
crazy. Bug was new for me and I dug it. Strange Design is an emotional
favorite for me. The band sat back and watched Page during the opening
and they jammed it out slightly longer than usual, great moment.
Vultures was nice and it went into a spacey jam were we wondered out into
the field and watched the moon, clouds and stars. Limb by Limb was
excellent and I found my new favorite song, Will It Go Round In Circles,
great beat and great lyrics. Dirt continued the wave-like feel to the
set, up and down and back up. Then Antelope blew the place away. Funky
breakdowns in the openning and then they ripped it up through the end.
Reba was a shocker as the encore and unfortunately for me the fungus
kicked my ass for the first time all night (5 hours later!) and I had to
sit down during the jam. THey hit the break in the song and then rocked
out Bold as Love. I jumped up and made it through the intro but had to
sit for most of the song. Fantastic encore, I wish I didn't have to spend
it on the ground trying to keep my head together.
Overall it was a great, long song where they hit all ends of the energy
spectrum. Also, did anyone else see all the X-Files stuff happening in the
sky during the show?
--- tom ----
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 13:23:56 +0430
From: CFP Front Desk cfpdesk@cfpbreck.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: review Tuscon
Caught the Tuscon and Las Cruces shows. Since I'm use to seeing shows in
the Northeast I was really stoked on how
small these venues were.
Set 1: started off rather tame but the Split Open and Drowned were smoking.
It was good to see the vaccuum make an appearance
cause I really Didn't Know I was that far gone. Birds ripped as usual and
the Theme was great, real thick.
Set Break: I was lucky enough to make the acquaintance of some local frat
girl who was just as rolled as I was, so we had fun groping each other.
What else are you going to do during intermission??? All in all the
audience was real chill.
Set 2: From the first note of Carini this set was supercharged energy--look
at the setlist-- even the Strange Design was cool because they absolutley
did it perfect and you could tell the band was pleased. Antelope closer was
great, they squeezed all that
they could out of it.
Encore: Rare Reba encore didn't disappoint and Bold As Love was bonus fun.
Out- Jared
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 20:00:55 -0700
From: jakew jakew@gateway.net
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: Tuscon Show
Crowd--6000-7000 Very intimate
Parking Lot- I am very scared for the shows in the future. Drunk stink
heads picking fights, just very very intoxicated, breaking into cars ( I
know some one that had it happened too), looking for trouble. Im scared.
I'd hate to see it happen to such a good thing like PHISH. Mike made his
rounds. He was pulling like 10 people on his wagon. Pretty funny.
Security- What security? I guy had a dog he snuck in-a large dog....More
pot smoking than any other concert I've been too, People just doin their
thing--nobody fuckin with them
Set 1-Very vocal. Split Open and Melt was one of the best versions I've
heard in a long time. Golgi was great. Drowned was very well played.
Set 2- Lacked the usual 2nd set "electricity" at most shows. Carini was
very well played and I really liked Page's singing on Strange Design. And
Bug as well.
Antelope--I envisioned the fucking place BLOWING UP. Sometimes this song
is so intense that you think that there will be an explosion somewhere.
This was one of those times.
Encore- Reba was a great version but it just didn't "fit" as an encore.
But it was really well played. Bold as Love was great but it just didn't
fit.
jakew@gateway.net
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 18:03:59 +0000
From: Morgan Ringwald ringwald@fender.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: Tucson Show
I don't think that I'll get into a review of the show, although it was
the best I've seen in a long time! As you'll read further down, the
Antelope was worth the price of admission. IMHO, much better than Chula
Vista (although a nice one), and way better than Irvine. So, why am I
writing? I saw one of the funniest things I'd ever seen at the show.
I've been going to Phish shows for many, many moons now, and have seen
everything from the silly, to the down right ridiculous. And know
what? That's the part of Phish that I love the most. You might say
that the music is good (and it really is!), but I really dig the stage
antics. Unfortunately, in my limited shows over the past two years
(only 6 or 7), I've noticed that the antics have waned, or at least at
the shows I've been to. I always seem to miss the phun by one or two
nights. So I'm sitting there with some friends at the beginning of I
Didn't Know, and thinking, "Yes, Henrietta Jazz Vac!" It's been a while
since a vacuum song for me, so I was psyched. As usual, the solo was
very silly and had me laughing my ass off (ah, the wonderful humor found
in farting noises). So anyway, the song is over and Fish is going back
to the drum kit. Maybe he's not quite used to his new set up behind the
band, I don't know. But when he squeezed between a speaker cabinet from
Mike's bass rig and the front of Page's baby grand, he pretended to get
stuck and started waving his hands and kicking his feet. You know when
you stand at the edge of a sliding, full length mirror, and you wave
your right arm and leg to make it look like you're doing the same with
your left side in the mirror? Well, that's what Fish looked like and it
was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Not because it was
comical genius, but because it was spontaneous and silly, and it was
meant for Page, not for the audience. It only lasted maybe three
seconds, but it was really so damned funny, and I'll always remember it
(even if I was sitting all the way back behind the tapers).
MR
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 18:49:13 -0700
From: P7A77 Mail Recipient mail@p7a77.net
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: 1999-09-21 review
Phish - 1999-09-21
Pima County Fairgrounds - Tucson, Arizona
I've only been to eight shows, most of them from '94-'95, and the
most recent was two years ago in Phoenix. Most of the tapes I have
are from '90-'95, and so I was really excited to see what all has
changed in the past several years. So what follows are the
impressions from a big fan, but one who just doesn't get to as many
shows as he'd like.
I live in Tucson, so it was great to (finally) be able to go to a
local show. I've lived many places, but I've never had the security
of a definite nice place to go afterwards. I got to the fairgrounds
around 6pm. Good crowd, tho' a bit more on the deadhead side than
what I remember (for obvious reasons). There seemed to be a pretty
good mood all around. When I got to the stage area, I was
immediately struck by how (relatively) intimate it seemed, at least
near the stage. I was hoping the band would feel the same, and that
it would reflect in their performance.
They got started about half an hour late (I don't know if that's
typical), and they were playing a lot of freaky horn music and
frantically setting stuff up beforehand, so I hoped that maybe, just
maybe, it would be a GCH show. I knew the chances were slim, but you
never know.
First set.
The opening couple of songs (Poor Heart & Sample) weren't what I
expected. I had been reading how they've been a bit more casual and
experimental lately, so to hear these two straight album songs was
odd. Sample seemed a little slower than usual, and both felt rather
"stiff". Good and tight, but not too much energy. Then when they
started in on SOAM, I was /really/ hoping the horns would come on,
especially when they were rather mellow during the first part of the
jam. Alas, no horns, but it was pretty good. Started out calm and a
bit hesitant, but it really moved around a bit and closed very
strongly. By this time I knew there would be no horns, but it also
felt like a turning point. The energy was there.
Next up (Drowned) was a new one on me, and it sounded good. Along
with Poor Heart, it was a bit of a bluegrass bent on the show, which
might have to do with the locale and the fact that the road to the
fairgrounds is on an open cattle ranch. Good tune, though. When
they started I Didn't Know, I couldn't believe my ears. I don't know
the last time they played this, but I imagine it's been a while.
Good vocals, and a great vacuum solo. A (recently converted)
coworker was there with me, and I was glad that she got to see this
aspect of the band. I've been to a show with this song once before,
and at that show it really put the group in a more light-hearted
"fun" mood, so I was excited that they seemed to feel this way
tonight. I like the long drawn-out experimental stuff, but when I
can't go to many shows, I tend to like a more up-beat experience.
Train is another new one for me, and it kept the feeling from the
previous two songs. I like it.
Anyway, moving on, Birds is not my favorite on the album, and while
better live, it's still not a favorite. It was good, and I was
expecting it to be the set closer, but then they came out with a
decent Theme, which I was /sure/ would be the closer, but then Golgi,
which I (this time rightly) was absolutely positive would be the
last. A weird trio to end the set, since they're all "closing"
songs, but still good. At the end of Golgi, Trey said that "a lot"
more music was to come. Yay! Overall the band seemed to be enjoying
themselves, as was I.
Second set.
Carini is another new one for me, and probably my least favorite of
the night, tho' Bug was pretty interesting. I've only heard a few
Strange Designs (most on tape), so that was a real treat. Plus, I
love Page, so that's always a thrill. On to Vultures (another new
one). I was particularly struck by how the music really seemed to
fit the topic. I hope this shows up on an album.
Limb is one of my favorites from Ghost, and it was pretty good.
Nothing spectacular, but the whole set in general (so far) seemed
strong to me.. no highs, but also no lows. Good and solid. Circles
was lots of fun, and was one that my coworker actually recognized
from her younger days. She got a kick out of it. Dirt was nice, but
where the set really blew everyone away was, of course, Antelope.
Antelope is one of my favorites, and I've seen a few of them. At
first I was a bit unsettled by their toying with the opening, since
the last time I saw one, the jam was really disjointed and all over
the place. But after a while I got into it. It really seemed like
they were having fun. But once they got going... it just kept on
going! The strongest Antelope jam I've seen. And just when I
thought there was no possible way they could keep going, they pulled
out another 32 bars. Incredible, and a definite crowd-pleaser.
The Reba encore was really strange. It didn't seem to fit with the
energy of the sets, but I really have to be in the mood for Reba.
Even still, it was nothing spectacular. Axis was a surprise. I
remember that one from years ago. It was fun to hear, and the "Axis
Reprise" was a nice closer.
Overall thoughts.
As stated, I haven't been to a show in two years, and haven't gone
regularly in four. The feeling I went away with was "tight and
strong". They have /really/ improved as musicians, and as a group.
If this is typical of this tour, what a great one it is. As I said,
I do appreciate the longer more experimental stuff when I'm going to
many shows (or listening to tapes), but I was really in the mood for
something rocking, and they delivered. They seemed to be having a
good time. I know I was. They just took the music, tied it up in
knots, crumpled it up, stomped on it a bit, and then lovingly
untangled it, hitting a few enjoyable snags along the way, until,
with a knowing wink, they let us know that it would all be okay.
And the lights! I know their light guy has been with them for a
while, and what a great job he does. It's a good setup they have
right now. The new stage arrangement is tighter, and the lights are
just right. Not too much, but absolutely not too little.
I noticed a lack of microphones. I don't know their taping policy
these days, but I suspect the general admission had something to do
with it. If this is, indeed, going to be a show where tapes are hard
to come by, I sure am glad I was a part of it.
Now if only I could go to more shows, and maybe some day finally see a
Suzie...
-----
J. Alan Vanderford-Pfaff * http://www.p7a77.net
Project:Denny's at P7A77, Inc * http://www.p7a77.net/dennys/
-----
"When life gives you poop, make poop-juice."
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 20:48:29 EDT
From: SWALVET@cs.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: phish in tucson 9-21-99
i just wanted to vent some anger about the phish show this last tuesday.
don't get me wrong, i had an excellent time, but some of the "kids" really
bugged me. i noticed a lot of hostility. In my first 2 hours on the lot,
i noticed 4 physical fights. during the actual show, i witnessed at least
3 fights. after the show i noticed another 3 fights on top of hearing
about another 2. what is up with that. what ever happened to the love and
respect we, the "kids", have been bragging about ever since the early
days. oh well,
at least there are still a few good kids out there. i know there are
still thousands of good ones out there, but the crowd this past tuesday
sure did not show that. anyways....thanks for letting me vent....i feel
much better now...........take care..keep the vibe alive...JAH LOVE.
RASTAFARI
THANKS AND PRAISES.
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 15:28:50 -0700 (MST)
From: Mike Hanley mjhanley@asu.edu
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: 9/21 pima review
Hey now,
Let me begin by saying 3 really cool things happened to me before and during
the show:
1)Mike Gordon drove by me for the 3rd show in a row, and I said hello 2)I
showed Chris Kuroda my new Kuroda/Kodak t-shirt and asked if he'd seen it
before, and he said that he did. 3)I *held* a backstage pass, but didn't
actually have one (this girl next to me had one delivered to her by some
lady who said "the band would like to see you after the show." Needless to
say, she was psyched! So this venue is totally cooler that I thought it
would be. For my 20th show, I flew solo on this flight, I didn't know or
couldn't find anyone to come with me. So I thought I'd have to bust out the
8 bucks parking....well, parking was free!!
And this venue is even outside of the town of tuscon, so it's really in the
middle of the desert. I got there at around 6:30, too late for anything
good in the lot since it was all GA and people actually wanted to get in
there early. But I found my garlic grilled cheese eventually. :)
Here's the cool thing about the venue -- it's just a field and a stage, no
hills. And they had a large canopy tent set up only about 1/3 of the way
back where the light board was set up....I found a spot with some other cool
cats right next to this tube that held all of the precious wires piped from
the stage. Being where I was, I couldn't see anyone behind the light booth,
and they didn't have the crowd extend outward in the typical v-shape like
the sheds, so it felt like I was there with only 6,000 other people!!!
With that intimacy also came a great view and, surprisingly, lots of room to
dance!! The crowd was pretty diverse, but better than the Irvine crowd, no
doubt. No stage diving here. On to the 1st set --
I (1:09): Poor Heart, Sample in a Jar, Split Open and Melt, Drowned, I
Didn't Know, Get Back on the Train, Birds, Theme, Golgi Apparatus
As you can see, this was really a strange lineup!! It's like they had a band
meeting, maybe after Trey's "solo-mini-tour" first set in Irvine, and said,
"hey, we're going to sing some too, you know"....b/c we get 3 Gordons, 1
Fishman, and 2 Pages in this show!! I was really happy to see the
Drowned and the I Didn't Know was great, every local was scratching their
heads at the vaccuum!
The Birds wasn't so hot -- nothing like the raging 7/23 Columbus -- and I
would have been dissapointed if they had ended it like that. Luckily we get
a theme and a golgi which ended this above-average set nicely.
II (1:16): Carini -> Bug, Strange Design, Vultures* -> Limb by Limb,
Will It Go Round In Circles, Dirt, Run Like an Antelope
Carini was a first for me, but i've heard it on tape...I like it for the
most part, but Bug was really cool! Another first and that song has a
really catchy refrain. Page was up next with Strange Design, very nice, and
I noticed the crowd was being quieter than usual...Vultures was great, nice
outro jam, and Limb was well played. Circles was another new one for me,
nice upbeat rock tune. Dirt I had called, since we were all surrounded by
dirt on this field.
And then -- worth the price of admission alone -- the Antelope. Perhaps
inspired by the great crowd or the gorgeous weather, the boys turned it up
full notch and blew me away with this one! Trey changed a little bit of the
orchestrated parts, not screwed up, just changed (nothing really
significant) and up till the jam it was per usual antelope. But this jam
was amazing -- Trey mixed slow, sustained notes with blazing fretboard
fingering and it worked perfectly. For me, a good antelope is how far they
take it before hiting the last note....recently, my antelopes have been
great but not "holy-shit trey is going even higher, even faster!"
antelopes...well cats, this is the one to hear. He does it, and Kuroda's
light show, full of strobes shining right in your pupils, took it into the
stratosphere. You know how most of the time, when you're sure a song is a
closer, you want another one anyway? Well, I didn't. This was it -- and
all there needed to be.
E (0:24): Reba*, Bold as Love
I don't think anyone called the Reba encore -- I was totally surprised and
really psyched -- and after the antelope, I didn't think they'd have this in
them. But they pulled if off very nicely, it was a little slower in tempo
but jammed out well. Trey slowed it all down, very quiet and slow, then
eventually built it back up....but at the break, instead of going into the
whistling, Trey "drinks" some water on his stand, and Page takes a "drink"
as well, (they had been "drinking" all night, it was really amusing) and out
of nowhere Page busts open Axis, Bold as Love....another first for me from
them and it was incredible, a pefect ending to my 20th show and my last one
until NYE 2000.
.02,
Mike
www.public.asu.edu/~mjhanley
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 07:56:26 -0700
From: Kinirk dba@azstarnet.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: phish in tucson
My first show in nearly 3 years. I started seeing them in 1989, and I
hadn't been enjoying their shows as much lately. However, Tuesday's show
was excellent. Many of the songs were new to me, but I still found them to
be excellent. It was great to hear some classics like Golgi, I Didn't know
and Antelope. The Antelope really rocked. I thought the scene seemed
pretty good too. I saw no security hassles, they sold beer inside, people
seemed to have plenty of room, and the sound was good- although a little
quiet towards the back of the field. I have always thought the fairgrounds
needs to have a second set of speakers set back fromthe stage. Two friends
who joined me had not seen the band before, and were pretty much blown away.
Its easy to forget how talented these guys are. They simply played, and
didn't spend as much time in any hyper-technical, overdone jams, which I had
felt was something they had become prone to. Excellent show.
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 18:21:55 EDT
From: CDANK20@aol.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: Too-stoned, AZ
what is up? last night was incredible. i didn't get to make it to any of
the shows before last night but i still got ahold of the vibe that was goin
around. the parking situation was definitely tight. i have never seen
security so relaxed and out-of-sight and mind. the songs didn't delay and
got right to the point which kept me going and dancing during the whole
show.
during SOAM i thought i was really going to crack open and see all my
insides pour before me. peace
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