R1/W18: 07-30-2003 E Centre, Camden, NJ

[susep]

below is a snippet of the boo's after the encore.
a

http://www.sendspace.com/file/r633fc

Amazing really> I wasn't at this show but just the Scents and Subtle Sounds alone would have put me in a transcendent mood. 
I had a similar experience at the IT day 2>after three raging #'s they played Army of One which at the time I was thinking wtf? but right after was rewarded w/ a long, atypical Chalk Dust.
I think Fishman said it best that the band had "finally grown-up" meaning they were writing far less humour and more serious tunes.
Granted the previous show was "legendary" and peeps may have been expecting a repeat but this outing is just as solid imo.  The run from Atlanta to Limestone is one of my favorites.   

[rowjimmy]

Wouldn't you know that I'd resolve to get involved with this thing and sure, enough, a post-hiatus show comes along. Take everything I say with the fore-knowledge that I pretty much have written-off post hiatus material and this show will have to work to gain my respect. Also, I haven't read any of the reviews/comments made about the show ahead of me so as to avoid being influenced by them. I'll be looking back at what others have said in a bit and post a followup.

*Written as I listened, with breaks for life, work, etc.

--set one--
Fortunately, I didn't hear any gaffes in My Friend, My Friend so I can rate that as a standard, always-great-to-hear-it, version. Lonesome Cowboy Bill is... rare but ordinary. I'm not one to get in a bunch over this song.

Scents, however is one I must talk about. I've been listening to IT lately (pretty much the only PH show(s) I listen to) and this version, I think trumps the one on IT. for me, that says something. It is strong through the core part of the song then, meanders outward and, while the volume droops and page and Mike both back off, it doesn't completely flag out and Trey and Fish succeed in reviving it just before what would have been a slow death. Trey's solo goes out into what some would call improv but it's really just wailing over the changes as the dynamics fluctuate. It's enjoyable to listen to but not mind blowing. After Trey gets his trill on for a few, Page hits some dissonant keys and Trey distorts his tone into some heaviness, loops it, and things get dark and dirty for a bit. This part is cool improv. It shifts gear again after a couple minutes then again a couple minutes later then back to something more like the original song before ending.

next comes something a little off the wall. "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere", a Dylan song that I first learned while jamming with friends 15 years ago over a bottle of Beam and a bag of cheap weed, comes out of the blue and spreads itself out for a few minutes. It's really quite pretty and, aside from the people who obsess (most of us, I'm sure) I bet there were a fair number of people who took a potty break for this. It's just so... not Phishy. It's great though, and, when Phish is playing it's 40th Anniversary shows in 2023, this is the sort of sound I expect them to have. Points for a quality, couldn't-have-called-it, debut.

"Hey! Let's keep the newbies guessing shall we?" That's what Trey said to Fish before Spock's Brain, I'd bet. Again, points for the bustout bu, IMO, this song is only OK when I'm:
a) Sober
b) Not at a show
or
c) Wait, I said sober, didn't I?

Then, Chalkdust rocks it up as expected but then, after five minutes of standard structure, it moves toward the edge of the map for some excellent stretching out. at about eight minutes it kicks out of the zone and up a gear toward some more rockingout before beginning to reprise the theme in fits and sprawling false starts... The chorus reprises at about the ten minute mark and then we're out. A nice, slightly experimental, Chalkdust with lotsa good rockin. I liked that.

Page leans into the mic for On Your Way Down. This song actually benefits from the more rock&roll version of Phish that toured Post-Hiatus. In my opinion, this is as good a blues as Phish can play. Nicely done.

FEFY is a song that people held in disdain when I statred seeing Phish. It was far too commonly played in the wake of the release of Rift and they were sick of it. Well, let me tell you, I've always loved it. Especially as, with the ever-changingness of Phish, songs like this stopped debuting. So, the fact that this one remained in the rotation and didn't really change much (aside from some versions not being properly executed,) makes it all the more sweet. This one is well played.

Next comes Taste. I've long been a fan of this song, "so," I'm thinking as it begins, "this one had better not suck."
It does not suck. Nicely played. Standard-great version. Neither above and beyond nor a disappointment.

--set 2--

Twist starts with a little "Spooky" tease from Trey. It moves through the lyric in standard fashion then it starts winding its way around the cerebral cortex; rendering it's host (the listener) susceptible to suggestion. But unlike the last remaining "indigenous lifeform from Ceti Alpha V", this puppy won't lead to madness or even death. Instead it leads to a swamp-mud jog with Trey ramping the distortion and Fish driving the beat into your brain. Mike is not particularly audible on this segment of the recording I'm listening to but he's probably ding some sick shit. There's no way this would have stayed afloat if Mike hadn't been driving under Fish and, sure enough, after a little surge, I can hear Senor Cactus grooving away. Trey is playing a line now, at approx 16-17 minutes that reminds me of Seven Below as if he could turn this into that at any time but he doesn't. Instead, Page moves off the piano and tries to take things to a more ambient direction. Trey persists, as does Fish for a moment but then they relent and things get spacier, in spite of Fish not letting the backbeat drop altogether.

Gradually they ease into Bug. Bug, like FEFY is one that people (in my experience) generally did not like when it was new. I was one of them. I was also wrong. The song has grown on me, worn well, you might say. This version is ordinary as this song is likely to be. Unless it sucks horribly.

YEM - This is a good version. Better than the flubfest from earlier in the year at Hampton but, I can't say, without directly comparing, if this is better than the Greensboro version. It is solid but I was not grabbed by any particular brilliance beyond the way it's supposed to sound.

Walls - hrmm
This is an interesting song. To what standard does one hold a song like this? You look for deviation from the composition. This one has something that tons of songs had in 2003, and extended rock-jam. If you like Phish's rock-jams, you'll like this. I enjoyed it but i wouldn't seek it out in my collection, generally.


--Encore--
Secret Smile...
OK. I'm done.

--recap-
Bustouts are cool but, not so much on a recording. If I want to hear Phish play Lonesome Cowboy Bill, I can go directly to 1998/10/31 rather than wait for 5 years and 170 shows. The point being that, when listening to a recording, it's generally the strength of the performance, not the rarity, that is key. So this show gets little credit for rare tunes. 

All in all, on the J. Evans-Pritchard scale of Phish shows this one gets a 6.1 out of 10 primarily on the strength of the Scents and Subtle Sounds, Twist Around, Chalkdust, and both You Ain't Goin' Nowhere & On Your Way Down. It also earns credit for a notable (for PH) lack of fuck-ups on YEM, My Friend and the rest.

[rowjimmy]

The closest I ever came to booing the boys, or maybe I should say "the most disappointed" because I would NEVER boo them, would have to have been when they played Tubthumping at Hampton '98. :roll:  That seriously chapped my ass!!!!    :|

Here here.
I sat down on that one. what a stinker.

[susep]

Bustouts are cool but, not so much on a recording. If I want to hear Phish play Lonesome Cowboy Bill, I can go directly to 1998/10/31 rather than wait for 5 years and 170 shows. The point being that, when listening to a recording, it's generally the strength of the performance, not the rarity, that is key. So this show gets little credit for rare tunes. 

agreed, its all about the improv.  That 31Oct.98 Lonesome Cowboy is worthy of alpha status much like this Scents :-D

[cactusfan]

My Friend-- good stuff, love the song, well played.

Cowboy Bill-- i like this song, but yeah, it's not really that big a thrill to hear in light of how beautiful the halloween version is.

Scents-- to me this is one of the best jams of PH phish. not as epic as the 2/28 tweezer nor as out there as the IT ghost, but really beautiful. it is very low-key in ways, such that you might think it was going nowhere, but it does go somewhere. everyone sounds on in this version, the interplay is really nice, and the dark ending is a great way to close it out.

Goin Nowhere-- great out of nowhere choice, well played. i like it.

Spock's Brain-- for some reason i love this song, but not when it's barely held together and unrehearsed and just kind of crappy like it is here. i love break-outs, but PH they don't work too well, since they haven't played the songs in ages and they don't practice. so okay, they played it, that's cool, but when i want to hear this song i'll go back to '95 or shoreline '00.

Chalkdust-- they loved this song PH, and it shows here. some pretty freaky jamming in this version. good stuff.

On Your Way Down-- great song, but this version is nothing more than an 'okay, we played it' version. it's not even half as good as 10/2/99, which version was the third time they'd played it over a two week period and by far the best. it's as though practicing a song makes it better.... hmmm....

Fast Enough-- i like this song a lot, too. this version trey is a little iffy to start the jam, but once he gets into it it works nicely.

Taste-- i like it when it works. they never seem to click in this version, especially in page's half of the jam. and the ending doesn't work right, either.

Twist-- awesome version. the jam meanders a little at first, but at 7:00 they find where they're going and head into it. at 12:00 they really go down deep into the electronica-esque jamming. the next 6 minutes or so are fantastic and highly unusual. it's a sound unique to PH and done really well. the end of the jam gets a little meandering again, but it's a nice fade into:

Bug-- as with many folks, this song took a while to grow on me, but now i like it. this is a typically decent version.

YEM-- they don't fuck it up! yay! and besides that, it's a good version. maybe not more than good, but i liked it.

Walls-- they never quite figured out what to do with this song. some versions are definitely better than others. this isn't one of them. i can't see myself ever bothering to listen to this track again.

Smile-- ick. i sure as hell wouldn't boo the choice if i was there, but jesus.

in the world of PH, this is an above average show, owing primarliy to the fantastic Scents and Twist.

[Alumni]

. . . had set I on the stereo earlier today, and really enjoyed it. 

Don't have time to give it the sort of review it deserves -- have a ton of work to get done before tomorrow. Leaving first thing for Alabama in a rented Suburban, Excursion (or some other 4WD assault school bus) to pick up some furniture from the fiancee's family. It's a long trip, but the price is right and its better stuff than we can afford right now. Plus a good chance to bust out the iPod's FM transmitter an get caught up. So no complaints.

Thanks for getting my stubborn self to listen to a (gasp) PH show. Like I said, I've enjoyed this one so far. I must be mellowing in my older age.  :-D

[susep]

. . . had set I on the stereo earlier today, and really enjoyed it. 

Thanks for getting my stubborn self to listen to a (gasp) PH show. Like I said, I've enjoyed this one so far. I must be mellowing in my older age.  :-D

Sorry about not posting a lossless version>w/ the recent completion of Project Post Hiatus and the show's long availability on livephish, I figured wtf? :-D

[bacchist]

not to be a pita, but i'd really appreciate a seed  :-D

unless i'm the only one, in which case i'll try to track it down on the hub or something (my annual livephish.com expense account is running low  :cry: :cry:)

[Caravan2001]

I would appreciate  a seed as well.....I want to hear the show, but I figured I would wait for a lossless version.....tanks...

[xanadux3]

this was my wifes first show, I finally convinced her to come to this show after she bailed out on the deer creek run which was awesome. They were charging 20 bucks to park at this show! We had great seats, center of the pavilion, right behind the tables where you can order food... The breakouts were awesome, and the IT reference in "you aint goin no where" was great. This YEM was fantastic, I miss the BLUE lights when they hit BOY.... was this a boy man god IT also like at IT?..... I'll have to give it another listen. We skipped the next night to head up to IT to beat traffic (which we did) but after listening to the next night after the tour a deeply regret doing that. It seems Phish rewarded those who stayed. I think the follwing nights show (7-31) is better than this show, but dont get me wrong this show was killer too.

[susep]

It seems Phish rewarded those who stayed. I think the follwing nights show (7-31) is better than this show, but dont get me wrong this show was killer too.

Both nights were indeed on> I sometimes think they played better sets in Camden then at the IT.  Camden got their own mini-IT musically speaking :-D

[susep]

My Friend> welcome, anticipation was surely high after the Burgettstown blowout>a dual, is this where Stash got its ascending sustain(Stash came way before I know)?

LCowboyBill>great tune but as others have mentioned 31Oct.98 was never surpassed>which could have given the band greater impetus to create another landmark, stand-alone performance>

Scents and Subtle Sounds>continuing their long standing tradition of playing never before heard material at the outset of a tour, this tune was jammed extensively on stage and in soundcheck leading up to this performance.  One writer compared Scents to Summer '97 Ghosts as being the ear-mark of the tours inventive sound and main catapult of improvisation.  I agree.  Trey quietly leads out w/ solid accompaniment by all>Fish begins hinting at his classic Summer '03 drum style,>8:27 Trey takes his melody out a bit all the while improvising>legatto licks by Trey floating atop Fish's hypnotic rythym>release/modulation, ascending>great jamming here folks>nice ride by Fish, Trey riffing in, Page on his clav back in keys>Trey stating a nice rythym>Fish's hypnotic beat keeps th 
>nice work by Page, Mike solid as usual but not flashy or controlling>
jam is continuing to roll along led by Fishman and Trey>
cont. to open up, Fish's cymbal celebrating another Camden triumph>the music has a swing/jazz feel but also slightly eastern due to Trey's minor sounding passages and Fish's tripped out but super-cool beats>this is post hiatus Phish at their best>jam cont. to sprawl>Trey comes in w/ a single chord, picking up the theme/ energy before taking off in a different direction>jam still has mystical qualities but is morphing into a more rock jam>a dissonant chord while maintaining the same time, a definite 180 from the first 18 min. or so>this style of jamming reminds me of a release tension as opposed to a tension/release cycle.  The jam begins dreamy, hypnotic peaceful even before morphing into a quick speed jam.  Nice descending chords> jam pulsating ahead, more effects, Fish on one of his trippier cymbals, dissonant chords>dark, industrial fury, mechanistic groove>Page adding cool effects, sounds like Fall '94>Fishman picks up steam, everyone following towards a riff close out>more noodling by Trey into close.

UAGN>

Spock's Brain>were they already becoming caricatures w/ their ipods?

Chalk Dust> home to 'Dust legends>high energy soloing>nice tone on the 'doc>atonal deviation, back into dust groove>tune sounding more like a Stash in its tension/release experimentation>nice jamming>Trey spiraling back into/out of key>inventive jamming by Trey>dust emerges w/ 'paug fervor>Trey howling>I like the placement in this show, similar to previous show's Timber :-o
Hot ending!

Blues>inspired Jersey boy on vocals, nice Hendrix Trey.  Nice variety of music. 

FEFY> a phish blues original, sure earlier versions standout but this love song about partners waiting for loved ones to get "off the road" is perfect at this point in the tour>another fav.

Taste>'97 is my fav. year of Taste but this tour featured a couple of inspired takes: 8 and 26July specifically.  This one opens patiently and builds to a nice close.

Scents and Chalk Dust are more then set highlights but rather innovative jams that reflect the evolution of the band's highwater marks in improvisation.

[petert686]

would it be to much to ask for someone to put this up on sendspace but separate each track?

[Caravan2001]

below is a snippet of the boo's after the encore.
a

http://www.sendspace.com/file/r633fc

wow...just listened to that for the first time since the show...wow

[Caravan2001]

the first link:  http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=11F30C666D97E522 is saying file not found, the other two work fine....can anyone re-up the 1st set or better yet torrent it?  I'd like to hear the scents and the dylan song...thanks