R3/W01: 09-12-1999 Portland Meadows, Portland, OR

[pnchundi]

gently pulling it now.  thank you-  i still need to catch on last week's show

[khalpin]

Set Two

Ghost: I don't know if it being the first song of the second set has anything to do with it, but the band seems to relax and take their time to let this jam develop.  For some reason, I'm having trouble describing this jam.  I just can't put my finger on it.  I definitely like it, though.  Sounds like they're about to bust into Timber around 15:00.  Eventually gets pretty spacey.  "I've got a fever....and the only prescription is more cowbell!"  Page is sounding like "The Waiting Room" from the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.  I would love to see the light show for this one, I imagine Kuroda was having a lot of fun here.  Can't imagine being on a hallucinogen for this segment.  I wonder if it was videotaped.  Wow.  That was a monster.

Runaway Jim: Pretty standard.  Typical solid playing.

Roggae: Second set bathroom break.  Grab another beer while I'm out in the vending area.

2001: The intro is certainly long enough, taking up almost a third of the whole tune.  Otherwise pretty standard, quality funk.  Pretty short and to the point, although it gets a little crazy at the end and almost veered off into the land of disonnance, but was quickly brought back.  Segues right into:

YEM: Good composed section.  Some weird noises during the ascending run before the big scream.  Was that Fishman just hitting random cymbals?  The jam gets pretty hot, but doesn't stray from the basic YEM format, although it goes right to the dreaded vocal jam and skips the B&D.  Good playing by all.

Theme: Seems a little slower than usual.  What is that melody from 4:55 - 5:01???  Trey played the exact same riff in the first set somewhere and I couldn't remember what it was.  That's definitely from something.  Or maybe he just does it all the time and it's just overly familiar.  But it reminds me of something else I can't put my finger on.  I feel like Kevin Bacon in Stir of Echoes.  In any event, I love this as an encore.  Great way to end a show.

All in all, a great second set.  I'd give it an A- with the highlight being the Ghost opener.  MVP: Mike.  Good pick.

[blatboom]

I've avoided reading the reviews posted thus far so I can go in cold, but I have seen/heard people rave about this show.  I love this era so I'm sure I'll be in the same camp soon...august seeded a different source than what I got (Flaschner FOB schoeps) so I'm not sure how they compare..


First Tube - great way to kick off a show.  must have been a treat for any phans who happened to be hearing it for the first time.  standard but rockin.

Poor Heart - bit of a rough start here..not one of my favorite bluegrass numbers, but this one's just fine

Mozambique - nice to hear this, a tune I heard Trey's band play so many times I got sick of it.  did Phish ever play this w/the lyrics?  anyways I prefer the instrumental...love this!

Bathtub Gin - first big jam of the night..great crowd react when this one kicks off..real slooow pace for the main section.  Trey & Page lock in when the jam starts.  great stuff from ~8-10min then Trey starts wailing and shit like this is why I love these guys.  Euphoria at the 15:50 mark.  they tie it up perfectly.

Back on the Train - funky feel here.  I love this one in any style.  short/sweet as it fades out..

MMGAMOIO - I like this one, Mike sounds good.

Frankie Sez - I'm usually not trying to catch this but it is a chill tune.  Fish is all over the wood blocks which I'm always happy to hear.  everybody's laying it on thick, this is great!  one of the best Frankie's I've heard.


At this point I grabbed a couple tracks from Aug's source to do a quick comparison because this source I got here sounds kindy weird to me (listening w/Senn. 280s)..
I grabbed Back on the Train cause it's short & Lawn Boy (I'll explain that one)..............
and I like the non-FOB better.  the music's much clearer, although at the same (rather loud) volume the vocals are a little more harsh but I can live w/that.  I'm gonna grab this source and I want to  listen to set II off this one so I'll probably have to wait till tommorrow to review...


Birds - always has potential despite it's over-playedness.  I've always loved the bass line and the break-down sections.  Trey shredding as he likes to do.  solid version.

Lawn Boy - so uhh, I can't seem to find this track on my discs--it's probably on another one so I could fit the most on one CD, highlighting the pathetic state of my filing "system"..I got to fix this  :-P  But I grabbed the one off Aug's seed as stated above.

Lawn Boy - I'm just not a fan, but Mike never lets us down.  is that Fish or Page with the "yeah"s and the "unh"s?  :lol:

Possum - great closer! (or opener or wherever), Possum rarely dissapoints.  pure Tightness.  they make it sound so easy.


Definition of a solid set I.  nice to hear Mozambique, the Gin jam was Huge and I really dug Frankie Says of all things.

[Caravan2001]

Sweet pick.....I was too busy hitting "rock" bottom back east to make the first part of this tour.....It's a miracle I even made it to Cypress...Thanks for the seed so I can hear what I missed.  I don't really remember too much between the Japan shows and Cypress, even though I saw a bunch of the east coast shows :|.

Back with a review......

[Caravan2001]

gently pulling it now. 

TMI bro, TMI.....

[khalpin]

gently pulling it now. 

TMI bro, TMI.....

:lol:

[tet]

wow, i LOVE this Gin!!  only grabbed the lossy initially but i'm absolutely adding this lossless to my collection, some quality shit here!!  thanks!!!

[G. Augusto]

wow, i LOVE this Gin!!  only grabbed the lossy initially but i'm absolutely adding this lossless to my collection, some quality shit here!!  thanks!!!

First time?
a

[jedifunk]

like i've said previously... top 5 gin for me... just a soaring rendition... this tour was full of great gins... see also 9/22, 10/1/99 for more soaring versions

[tet]

First time?
a

hearing this show?  yes!

[G. Augusto]

First time?
a

hearing this show?  yes!

Sweet!
That Gin does rule.
a

[blatboom]

Set II:

Ghost - love the loops, love the slow intro.  I prefer this style of the main section to the old school versions..Like the hot start to the jam.  12 minute mark Trey hasn't let up yet..whoa nice breakdown @ ~13:45.  funk kicks in.  Fish & Mike laying it down, Page with some nice textures..now it's getting scary. sickness @ ~22 min on, just assaulting us with walls of sound.  I live for stuff like this.  and there's constantly a beat underneath it all.  They break out of it and I thought they were bringing Ghost all the way back, but they fade into another nice little jam before

>Runaway Jim - nice 1,2 punch to start a set!  main section sounds great to me..until Trey repeats a little of the first verse :lol:  Trey mixes it up a little @5:45..his tone sounds so good at all times.  they Rock out the outro.  shorter Jim than I expected but they did just take Ghost out for a 30 minute ride...

>Roggae - one of my favorite 'breather' songs.  So much to like.  they have to nail the breaks though or it kills me...They nail the first ones.  I'm sure this little jam will be great before I even hear it.  Mike's blowin up.  Trey sounded a little off on the second breaks.  nice version.

2001 - perfect spot for this.  great buildup..tightness with cool background sounds..funky.  short hot version.  craziness to close it out.  slams into

>YEM - yep.  I bet nobody's complaining...nothing wrong with the composed section, this one's solid.  YEM may be my favorite Phish song  :-D  :roll:  tons of energy heading out (I could do without the Trey scatting)...great Page solo as usual.  Trey's sick coming off the tramps.  Rocked out YEM.  not big on vocal jams on tape but this one's nice and spooky.

E:

Theme - wow.  Theme for an encore.  what a treat.  It's actually a little rough but whatever, they'll be wide open in a minute or two.  love Trey's guitar part heading out and he does hit it...Soaring solo.  They pour it out and nail the outro into the vocals.  You can't ask for a better capper to a show like this.


Fantastic show.  10 song first set, 5 song second set with a Theme encore.  There's just nothing here to be disappointed with.  Thanks for sharing, August.  A.

[blatboom]

Theme: Seems a little slower than usual.  What is that melody from 4:55 - 5:01???

I heard it, too.  It's something he's sprinkled in at other times as well.  Specifically I can say it's in the Jibboo from his solo show on 2/28/01, which is burned into my consciousness..

[pnchundi]

lol at my own post.  i mean that ghost is damn good, but not the kind of good that requires alone time.  :-D

[sophist]

Set I

First Tube->
Poor Heart->
Free Thought
Bathtub Gin
Get Back On the Train
My Mind's Got A Mind Of It's Own
Frankie Says
Birds Of A Feather
Lawn Boy
Possum

Standard First Tube to start the set, and not a song I've ever really gotten into, but none the less, it kicks off the set well.  Nifty segue into poor heart, and Trey takes a pretty mild solo in poor heart, but still a good version.  Free Thought was an excellent treat, and then the highlight of the set for me: Gin, and like any alcohol, it brings life to the party.  This Gin fucking soars and contains a few segments that are top notch improvisation by the boys.  The first theme in the jam fucking smokes.  I listened to the show while hiking yesterday, and I was grinning so hard during this jam.  The rest of the set is pretty standard to me.  The BOAF rocks, but it is brief.  I do like the possum to close out this set.  I'd give the first set a B+   

Set II
Ghost->
Runaway Jim->
Roggae->
2001->
You Enjoy Myself

Encore: Theme From The Bottom

The monster Ghost to start the set is a favorite of mine.  The funk and psychedelia are extra thick in this mother.  I would of loved to seen the CK5's lights during this version.  I love how it slowly breaks down to the trippy noises and off-beats by fish towards the end, only to then segue back into the funk.  Some very tight improvisation by the boys.  The segue into Jim is really slick, but the Jim disappoints me.  They should of kept the jamming going on this version.  I always feel like the jim is about to really take off and then they abort it.  I don't like the placement of Roggea here, but I do like the song.  2001 is excellent, and I love its placement towards the end of the set.  YEM to end the set is always a great idea in my book.  This YEM is fucking thick, and just plain dirty, complete fucking hose down type filth.  The second highlight of the set for me.  Overall, a Ghost opener and a YEM closer is about a perfect way to start and end a set.  I have to give the second set a solid A. 

The encore also smokes, and as someone pointed out, it contains the definitive version of Theme. 

Overall, I give the show an A-

Great pick, thanks again August.