The Gin Cup: Sweet 16 to 1

[Alumni]

THE FINAL FOUR

Monday, July 24
7.29.1998  -  Riverport Amphitheatre, Maryland Heights, MO (**winner**)
vs.
12.2.1999  -  The Palace, Auburn Hills, MI

Wednesday, July 26
11.7.1996 - Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY (**winner**)
vs.
7.9.2003  -  Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA

Friday, July 28
***Championship Match***
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--------------------------------------
THE ELITE EIGHT

Friday, July 14
7.29.1998  -  Riverport Amphitheatre, Maryland Heights, MO (**winner**)
vs.
11.23.1997  -  Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC

Monday, July 17
12.2.1999  -  The Palace, Auburn Hills, MI (**winner**)
vs.
7.20.1998  -  Ventura County Fairgrounds, Ventura, CA

Wednesday, July 19
12.5.1995  -  William D. Mullins Center, Amherst, MA
vs.
11.7.1996  -  Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY (**winner**)

Friday, July 21
8.13.1993  -  Murat Theater, Indianapolis, IN
vs.
7.9.2003  -  Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA (**winner**)

-----------------------------------------------------

Gin Cup: From 16 to 1: Main Page
(1)A good mix of heavy-hitters and darkhorses advanced from the 1st round.
(2)Blame the random draw for some of the weirdness.
(3)Remaining problems are my own lapses in judgment

Round 1 winners square off as follows . .  winners to be updated on this page

GROUP A (Thursday, June 29)
7.29.98 - Marlyand Heights, MO   http://www.sendspace.com/file/7fwncv
11.19.96 - Kansas City, MO   http://www.sendspace.com/file/o49nvc
GROUP B (Friday, June 30)
11.23.97 - Winston-Salem, NC  http://www.sendspace.com/file/a9bexh
11.20.98 - Hampton, VA  http://www.sendspace.com/file/z8df63

GROUP C (Wednesday, July 5)
12.29.95 - Worcester, MA http://www.sendspace.com/file/de6l3u & http://www.sendspace.com/file/ssi5qt
12.2.99 - Auburn Hills, MI   http://www.sendspace.com/file/2c1nys
GROUP D (Thursday, July 6)
7.25.97 - Dallas   http://www.sendspace.com/file/aim98i
7.20.98 - Ventura, CA   http://www.sendspace.com/file/dpchn7


GROUP E (Friday, July 7)
12.5.95 - Amherst, MA   http://www.sendspace.com/file/a0rbl9
8.17.97 - Great Went   http://www.sendspace.com/file/1qkxbp
GROUP F (Monday, July 10)
12.7.99 - Portland, ME   http://www.sendspace.com/file/vcf62k
11.7.96 - Lexington, KY   http://www.sendspace.com/file/n1r5qi

GROUP G (Tuesday, July 11)
8.13.93 - Indianapolis   http://www.sendspace.com/file/70l0u7
2.17.97 - Amsterdam   http://www.sendspace.com/file/te9fy1
GROUP H (Wednesday, July 12)
11.9.98 - Chicago   http://www.sendspace.com/file/12df6h
7.9.03 - Mountain View, CA   http://www.sendspace.com/file/z0dq1n

1st round notes
Which year is the finest vintage so far?
1993: 1-0 (8.13.93 carryin' the torch for phish's 1st decade)
1995: 2-2
1996: 2-2
1997: 4-3 (runner-up)
1998: 4-1 (looks like a winner so far)
1999: 2-3
2000: 0-4 (ouch! I didn't do it on purpose.)
2003: 1-1

Eliminated: There's nothing wrong with these gins. Some had a tough draw, some came up just a hair short, and some may have gotten a raw deal by getting me on the wrong day. Check 'em out.
2.28.03, 10.7.00, 6.28.00(rockstar gin), 6.10.00, 5.22.00, 10.1.99, 9.22.99, 9.12.99, 11.29.98, 11.19.97, 7.21.97(ouch), 7.10.97, 12.29.96, 8.16.96, 11.30.95(who am i? why am i here?), 11.24.95.

5 that maybe shoulda made the field: Maybe some of these should have been in the field. Would any of them have had a realistic chance at winning the whole enchilada? I dunno, but they're worthy of mention.
2.22.03, 6.23.00, 12.31.99 (oops), 7.12.96 (just for the fun of it), 12.15.95

I'm goofing in my spare time, but everyone's thoughts are more than welcome. What should be a no-brainer? What did I completely screw up? etc.

1st round thread: http://week4paug.net/index.php/topic,3409.0.html

[sophist]

I'm pulling for 11/23/97

:-)

[tet]

i refuse to participate in this since 2/28/03 has been knocked off.  IMO it's one of the best Gin's ever, so on principle I am abstaining from the remainder of this contest...

[antelope19]

Go Hampton!!!!!!!     Its the only one I saw in person that is left in the contest.  Tonight, I'll be painting my face and cutting/dying my hair to look like the Coliseum in hopes of a victory!!!!!!!!!!

[Alumni]

i refuse to participate in this since 2/28/03 has been knocked off.  IMO it's one of the best Gin's ever, so on principle I am abstaining from the remainder of this contest...

That's cool - feel free to heckle, anyway :evil: I have a pretty good sense of humor  :wink:

One thing I can say, unequivocally, is that there probably is no single best version of gin - or any other song - I have different favorites for different moods. The random element of something like this is so big that I don't expect many people to agree with me. Hell, I don't know if I'll agree with myself  :-D

[susep]

I predict 12/29/95

w/ runner up:

11/09/98 :wink:

[birdman]

   Im an all out supporter for 10/29/95...hometown team baby.  Though Im secretly hoping 11/7/96 goesdeep in the tourney. Can you feel the suspense.

[jedifunk]

i'm a little upset that 9/12/99 is out... but i've got lots of my other favs still holding tough

- 7/20/98 & 7/29/98 are ultra dope super funky!
- 7/9/03 is super groovalicious
- 12/2/99 & 11/23/97 are super rockin

interesting to see that 12/7/99 made the cut... surprised by that one.

as long as the went doesnt win i'm happy....

[August]

10.7.00
6.28.00
5.22.00
7.10.97

:? ALL GONE?!
sheeesh.....

i love that PNC Gin.
at least 7-29-98 is gonna win.

oh yeah, today's DD is the 10-7-00 Gin.
check it out.
a

[Hicks]

12-31-99 was a major oversight IMO.  But whatever it's your thing, do what you gotta do!   

[Alumni]

jedi: Really? I kind of like "out-there" gins, including 12.7. I thought including it added some variety. FWIW, I let the draw be determined by this random bracket generator I found on the interweb, not by protecting seeds. (yeah, I'm a geek). 12.7.99 drew one of my last choices for the field (12.29.96), while 9.12.99 lined up next to 7.20.98. I will say that I'm not intentionally setting up a 7.20 - 7.29 showdown. It might happen, but not by design.

aug: fwiw, I'm not sure I made the right call when I eliminated that PNC gin. I'm only second guessing a couple first round picks, but that's one of 'em. The rest...well, it's a hell of a way to thank you for hooking me up with those files. They're all really good. I just think they got beat :-D

ikki: At least I owned up to it (see above). Even though I did a search on the 'paug to try and make sure I wasn't space-ing on any must-haves for the field, I had a bad feeling that I was letting a couple get by anyway. Cypress shoulda been in. I also shoulda remembered that I like 11.30.95 for the Tweezer and not the gin. D'oh Lost my mind just a couple of times . . .

Which brings me to this: There will be a 'winner', b/c that's how the process works. But it won't have any real meaning to it. What listening to all of these gins during the 1st round makes me realize is that I have several favorites, each with a different mood. Maybe at the end it would be cool to highlight a whole bunch of gins by doing a bunch of 'theme' lists: Top spacey gins; Top rockstar gins; Top funk-a-thon gins; Top smooth gins; etc. Any ideas/suggestions?

[antelope19]

Maybe at the end it would be cool to highlight a whole bunch of gins by doing a bunch of 'theme' lists: Top spacey gins; Top rockstar gins; Top funk-a-thon gins; Top smooth gins; etc. Any ideas/suggestions?

Top Rockstar Gins: Tanqueray
Top Smooth Gins: Sapphire
Top Funk-a-Thon Gins: Beefeater
Top High School Gin:  Gordons, Seagrams

From the wikipedia:  Bathtub Gin
The phrase bathtub gin refers to a concoction used during prohibition. Cheap, sometimes dangerous, spirits were placed in large containers, such as a bathtub. Enough water was added to prevent the alcohol from being poisonous and juniper oil was added to cover the awful taste of the alcohol. It is commonly believed that the complex cocktails from the 30's were developed to hide the terrible taste of bathtub gin. Gin was used because the juniper taste was the easiest to synthesize.

Sorry for the hijack.....I'm in a weird mood this morning.

[jedifunk]

interesting reading antelope....

now, for the gins, i was a bit surprised that 9/17/00 wasnt on the list either...  oh well, like i said i've still got my favorites.

[Alumni]

9-17-00, huh? Thanks for the heads-up. I'll have to track that one down.

I did the best I could in gathering some 99 and 00 gems. But my exposure/collection/knowledge of those 2 years is not what it is for 98 and earlier. Oh well. I'm not aiming for perfection. Just a good time. I have an errand to run this afternoon. Sounds like a perfect opportunity to kick off the round of 16.

[Hicks]

Great idea and a fun read, can't wait to see who the winner will be, even if it is "meaningless".   :wink: