R13/W01: 07-27-2003 Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek, Raleigh, NC

[mbw]

now thats how you HATE a show.   

[DoW]

I'm not bailing.  my review probably won't come until sunday.

[WhatstheUse?]

now thats how you HATE a show.   

Wouldn't have expected any less.  Grade A hatin'

[McGrupp]

Honestly, I had only heard tales of this show and never actually listened to it. Good god. This is terrible. I'm not even going to do a song-by-song review. It pretty much all sucks except for the Ghost which is just OK. Mike is REALLY struggling during Jim. I've never heard him play like this. I agree with Aug - definitely a dick move to play ya mar next and put mike on the spot. DWD is pretty much just straight up lame - just fumbling around and aimless jamming. It's messy. Sky is pretty horrendous. Sample is kind of hard to fuck up, yet it still sounds like garbage. The band is just not locked in at all. Discern - Don't like it. Anything - ugh. Trey tries to bring it back for llama but the band is already drowning at this point.

Ghost is really the only good piece of music in this whole show, but it still sounds pretty standard for that time period. Halley's - slop. 7 below is OK, but at this point I'm really just kind of feeling sorry for the band. I feel like they just want to leave the stage and call it a night. I've been there, and it's a shitty feeling. I wasn't really listening to Tube, caspian or 2001 but nothing (good) jumped out at me. Fire - yikes. Coil - show ends on the same note it started on ... failure.

I'm with everyone else. This is the worst phish show I've ever heard. "Good" pick, Aug...  :hereitisyousentimentalbastard

F

[Lifeboy]

damn.

I've never heard this show before. I'm kinda intrigued to hear how bad it is.

might give it a spin later.

[barnesy305]

Unfortunately I was there...it sucked back then too.

[birdman]

I listened to this early in the week and have been trying to gather my thoughts since.
Is it really even worthy of a review?

Absolute. Garbage.

I give it a C.

[DoW]

my ipod was dead when I was going to give this a straight through listen and it isn;t a good enough show to have to pull over and get my charger out so I listened to sports radio instead.  what notes I had are somewhere not with me right now.

Jim-should have been a great opener but it sems like it was the first time they ever played together.  mike's vocals sounded worse than a dying dog.
ya mar-you guys can hate on this all you want but it actually made me laugh at how bad it was.
dwd-rough start.  got to be about average as it progressed in.  nothing really "good" about it though.
sky-just plain rough
sample-at least it is a safe song to play
discern-makes it feel like this set is their soundcheck as this shouldn't be played in a show.  I think trey just wanted to punish mike by making him hear this.
anythign but me-I forgot how much I love 2.0 shows.
llama-I forgot my notes on this one.

ghost-through most of the jam, fish was just playing and trey would fill in a few notes but it kept going nowhere.  155 minutes in, the loop jam was nice.
halleys-don't remember my notes on this either
seven below-the transition wasn't by any means good but it was alright.  trey was on in parts and off in others.
tube-was ok but not good
caspian-nice dark sections.  nothing special though
2001-don't remember my notes on this either
fire-i just never liked phish with this cover so I didn;t bother listening to it.
coil-at least the show had a good ending.  page ended a bad show with an acceptable ending

d-

edit: 155 jam going nowhere would ahve deserved much more hate.  changed to the almost acceptable 15 minutes of going nowhere.

[MiamiPhish]

155 minutes in, the loop jam was nice.

This has basically been my thoughts on the last couple Phish shows I've caught.

[Lifeboy]

Just finished set I. Jesus fucking christ.

Absolutely. Fucking. AWFUL.


Worst part about it is I will never be able to get that hour and 20 minutes of my life back.

It might be a few days before I listen to set II, but I'm gonna do it. I want to hear this Ghost, but I have to end my music-listening session on a good note tonight, so set II isn't in the cards. I feel like it might give me nightmares if I fall asleep listening to it.


Set I - F


I don't think I can bring myself to sitting through sophists pick, though. I have a hard time listening to an entire "good" 3.0 show, so a bad one is out of the question.

[whatapiper]

Set 1:

Jim - Whoa right at the start Mike floundering.   Oh my this is bad, Trey is all alone yet does his best on the solo with Page smacking the Grand.   Mike's head must be pounding about now if the story is true.

Yamar - Like August said, definitely a dick move putting Mike on the spot!  His vocals are just shot.   This is Mike pissing in our ears here.   Love that you can hear all the Trey / Fish banter before ->

DWD - This is where things need to turn around, but with Trey's tone off and Mike playing left handed it's a rough start.   Things do pick up and sound for the better, with page riding the grand and Fish desperately trying to fill all the missing holes in the rhythm.   Mike seems content laying way back while things quickly build and Trey brings the rawk.   Short, thankfully, but had it's moments despite.   "Starting to get somewhere"

Divided Sky - At this point no one is playing together, Trey is so amped up that now his playing is getting worse.  After the pause Mike randomly hits the envelope filter and somehow it still gets uglier from there.   Like a roller coaster, this DSky delivers in more way than one.

Sample - Breather and looking ahead for something to turn around this set.   

Discern - Not quite what I was looking for here, is this Mike's funeral?  No idea who's idea this was, oh my.

Anything but Me - snooze

Llama - Like a shot of adrenaline, Page lays down the fire.   Can't hear Mike but aside from that fast and furious with only a few (handfuls of) cringe worthy sections near the end.   Nails on a chalkboard to close this Llama in style.   

Set II:

Ghost - Will things turn around?  Another miscue to open but Mike comes out sounding slightly better and everyone more in sync.   I'm familiar with this version and it is easily a precursor to the IT Ghost.   Mike sounds MUCH better here as Trey leads from one theme to the next.    Easy highlight of the show

Haley's - Running out of hate

Seven Below - This song must get horse forced the most and this is no exception.   Trey's determined to have everyone link up and seems to open up a bit as a result.   Not  a standout version but definitely helps this show tremendously .   Predictable theme emerging to finish before...

Tube - Should have been nailed but this could fit into the first set easily.  Awful intro.   Mike needs to try and redeem himself here but to no avail.    Jam is messy then settles to a wide orbiting loop jam benefiting from Trey's cleaner tone.   And terrible drop back into the closing section.

Caspian - descent enough

2001 - Lacking creativity on the tapes but I'm sure peeps was diggin it

Fire - Never been a fan of this song, played by anyone.

E: Coil - Cringe worthy throughout holy shit this is a painful finish by Trey.   Page sweeps the floor but it's just too late.

Overall that 1st set must be the worst I've heard, with Jim and Yamar unbearable and the rest of the set straight  garbage, easy F
2nd set while not as bad as the first was disjointed, had sloppy play and ended terribly.   The Ghost was memorable and easily my highlight.   Set Two gets a D+ / C-

[susep]

27July2003  Walnut Creek   Raleigh  NC


I

Jim - harkens back to the '97 'creek opener, Mike clearly missing notes, dropping out completely early on, Mike struggling w/ his little variation near 2:30, Trey sounds fired up, leads in at 4:14, Trey sounds good here unlike other times this tour when his tone is muddy, Trey hits overdrive near 4:50, solid version, approaching 6:00+, Trey lets out a flourish of notes, Page comping and filling like a mad man, Trey ripping it up, Fish adding his classic July '03 drum style(as heard in jams out of Scents and Subtle Sounds) for a few bars,  solid opener.

Ya Mar - Mike way the fuck off, Mike's thematic song from his adventures the previous night, "you're no good pa", Leo!, Mike continuing to struggle, Mike no solo bass solo, again Trey very much sounding on,

long pause, mini drum roll by Fish, crowd loving it, "ironing out some details..." "DwD" says Trey...

DwD - liquid Mike, more dissonant then usual, dig the 8July03 version from this tour, Trey drops in near 4:03, Trey's tone reverberating the high end wave spectrum, killer Page, nice groove, Mike sounding more in tune although still lagging a bit, straight ahead jamming, Trey looking for improvisational passage near 7:00, nice Fish, nice jam here, this is Phish's Playing In The Band, IT like themes, Page and Trey feeling it, Trey ripchords near 9:42, slight wash from Mike and Fish as they attempt to re-sync, muddy outro vocals,
"starting to get somewhere, starting to get somewhere" says Trey after.

Sky - sloppy Mike, weak Mike, easily the worst vocal intro ever, even the non-composed part is shakey, they sound a 1/2 beat slow at times, Mike pounding it out, Trey quick to jump into the aquatic section, overall this version is sideawys for the most part, liquid note by Mike as Trey leads back in, ?, Mike way too out of it to handle his lines in this tune, he's ending on the wrong notes and continues to blow every ending and transition, even Page sounds lagged a bit, Trey continuing to light up his 'doc, the band coming together near 9:00, Trey charging ahead, timbre, again Trey feeling IT, Big Red w/ sustain, its almost comedic to hear Mike's playing, charging Page in outro, into

Sample - Trey sounds annoyed, vocally flat, check out the 19July03 show for a better version, Trey leads in near 3:18, nice touches, this tune is Hoist's FEFY,

Discern - love this tune and version, slight chuckle by Trey, Fish rides in near 1:32, his drumming alone is sick in this song, this tune in line w/ Pebbles and Scents and Sublte Sounds insofar as style and theme, "the meaninig of expressions, I barely can discern", love the toll like time, jam begins to open near 4:10, Trey whales in near 4:27, this is when I loved his whale, he used it sparringly like w/ this tune a few others, listen to Fishman, Trey getting muddier, Page comping nicely, howling scapes, set highlight, love Fishman's hypnotic drum style, well deserved applaud.

Anything But Me - another favorite:P Trey leads in near 2:35, one of his better solos in this version,

Llama - hot out of the gate, Trey wastes no time jumping in near 1:54, Trey trying to implement his Discern lead style, train wreck Trey, easily his worst solo in Llama ever, painful to hear, yikes!, Trey wisely chords out,

set train wrecks:  Ya Mar, Sky and Llama



II


Ghost - messy begininng, Fish saying something to or about Mike, they drop into the jam near 4:18, mellow noodling, Mike sounding improved, nice interplay near 5:54, Page playing intently, mixing it up underneath Trey, shades of the IT masterwork, pre IT trill, Page adding watery lines near 9:00, Mike bopping along, jam morphs near 9:30, nice effects by Page, mettalic tone shift by Trey, this is Trey's Summer '03 Vader tone, change up near 11:00, Fish accentuating, this jam lacks momentum, chugging along, tempo shit near 12:00, they find IT near 12:30+, Mike adding simple lines, jam opens up into quick ambient space, whale/feeback loops near 15:00, Trey staccato feedback, interesting jam near 16:00+, pre IT Waves space, Mike darting in near 17:00, fun last 7 minutes, into

Halley's - revived Mike? nope.  Trey leads in nicely near 5:03, liquid, into

Seven Below - Trey catching a few by surprise, slightly blown vocals, jam begins at 2:42, pink icycle hues, nice Trey near 4:10, Trey and Page playing off each other, Trey diggin in deeper, the band responds, slightly, mostly straight ahead but solid interplay, Trey in particular sounds less contrived then 3.0, chording by Trey near 8:00, nice groove, Trey's rythym playing similar to his playing in the Piper the previous night, Trey looking elsewhere near 10:30, instead reinforces previous groove, Page more active, '03 Piper esque chunk groove, dissonance angular medolicism by Trey into Seven, sudden stop at 13:30, nice.

Fish off mic "we'd like to welcome back our, we'd like to welcome back our bass player...",
crowd booing?, Trey, "we'd like to wecome back our bass player Mike Gordan, he's back!" 
charge by Page, "Mike!"

Tube - hell of a setlist on paper so far, I remember drooling back in '03 after reading the setlist online, decent opening, subtle loopage by Trey, Page mixing it up on the keys, solid Fish, Mike back to his former self, solid playing by Trey, no changes near 4:00, Halloweeny effects by Trey's loops, Trey ascending up his 'doc to the outro riff, perhaps a bit too extended, finally hits the riff at 5:30, nice Page mellowness into

Caspian - I really dig the 19July03 version, this one not so much, cool jam spawns near 9:50 into

2001 - ok set so far minus Halley's and Caspian, solid intro/build-up, nothing too crazy in terms of effects or improv, jam repeats at 4:15, Page quoting Super James, back into theme quickly, Page/Trey/3.0 wash into

Fire - end of set

E

Coil - love it. 



Obviously the show got off to a rough start w/ Mike however I've heard much worse from this band.  The Jim, DwD, Discern and Anything But Me rock from set 1.  Granted it took the Ghost almost 8 minutes to lift off but once they did it was fine.  Seven too had a few minutes of decent funk and improv.  Tube > rest of the show reminded of 3.0.  Overall I would score this show a C/C+