R4/W02: 09-28-1999 Oak Mountain Amphitheater, Pelham, AL

[jedifunk]

yeah, laugh now... but it wasn't funny when it was happening.

[VA $l!m]

Set1.

Wolfmansbro:  nice opener choice. Pretty mellow funk...good though, seems the jam gets a little lost. Technical problems is my guess b/c it really seems like it shouldve segued right into---
Sneakinsally: like I said it should come right outta the opener, IMO. Solid version here though. I like the jam it falls into ~6min.  -I'm not always happy with the quality of performance of this song, but this one definitely delivers, IMO. Very solid version.
Tube...again it would've been nice to see them segue right into this, but whatevs.
Obvious trifecta of funk choice. The beginning of the jam sets a quiet mood...almost sounds like Sand for a minute,,, mike hits a major key...weird tube. I dig it though,  some trance funk.end.
Ginseng nice placement. Solid version. Appropriate hillbilly song.
Roggae love it. Perfect. A+ version. Trippy arpeggios in jam. Awesome.
MAZE solidifies the excellence of this set. Page works it out. Slightly sloppy at points, but overall I really dig the energy in this version.i give it a A.
VELVETsea one of the better versions of this song I've heard. they nail this one. And it delivers all the emotion that it has the potential to convey.
HOOd good version, trey rips it up nicely. Perfect 1st set closer.


After this set I already feel like I got my money's worth.
Wolfman's which wasn't shabby by any means was the low point of the set for me...thoughtube wasn't anything spectacular either. Otherwise I really like this set. Sally, roggae and maze were all excellent versions, IMO. Overall great feel/energy to the set.
Strong A-.

[blatboom]

Set I:

Wolfman's Brother - Not one of my favorites, but the jams are great of course...this is a Cool choice to open however.  Starts out super slow & funky!  Mike's bringing it as usual.  There was a discussion here not to long ago about who was the most improved player, and I think it's pretty obvious it's him, so many shows where he's way out in front.  Wow, there's some sick shit going on @ 9 minutes, the jam takes a turn for the sinister...sick Wolfman's

Sneakin Sally - they're not done with the funk, this picks up right where Wolfman's left off.  such a great jam song, they're locked in early on..

Tube - funk times 3!  Little rough to start with Trey laughing..not extremely tight on the the first verse, but whatever..the jam is pretty laid back early on--some cool effects, then Trey rips his guitar part into the last verse.  He actually sounds a little off vocally, but that's a helluva trifecta to open a show.

Ginseng Sullivan - they finally change it up to a great bluegrass tune.  Mike sounds great.

Roggae - this is a fine spot for Roggae.  very chill mid set song..but a pretty average version.

Maze - sweet.  I like how this setlist has shaped up..wow, they're really messing with some effects.  Trey takes a different tone on his part leading into Page's solo, which he kills.  Trey's solo is real interesting too.  This Maze is actually really unique.  Definitely a keeper.

Velvet Sea - at least it can't be the encore.  Only kidding...this is a fine listen.

Harry Hood - decent choice to close :-D  First set Hoods kick ass.  Wow, they've been laying the effects on thick all set, and this Hood intro puts them all to shame.  I love it.  Such a soaring, uplifting song, it's hard for me to find one I don't like. 
and I always love the 'don't do anything we wouldn't do' admonishment from Trey...


Great set on paper and on the ears.  It's funny though, I was definitely ready for something other than funk after that sick trifecta opener and Ginseng was perfect.  The rest of the set had a nice mix to it.  I'll have II up tomorrow hopefully...

[blatboom]

II:

Farmhouse - I like Farmhouse.  Don't know about a set opener (def not a closer) but it seems appropriate here in Bama...this one sounds stellar actually.

Heavy Things - hmmm.  I'm not a Heavy Things hater at all, but I think it works better coming out of something a bit meatier, no matter how good Farmhouse was...and this one is far from tight.. Trey's solo out is always good though.

First Tube - eh.  I'll give it a chance, but this doesn't exactly hold up to the set I trifecta  :-D  The crowd's definitely loving it, which is understandable considering most of them are hearing it for the first time.  I'm just jaded with Phish's renditions atm...still a great tune and Trey does rip this one up. 

Tweezer - alright, time to stretch.  Super slow and funky brings the set I feel back...more sick effects and Mike-bombs.  and Drunk Alabamans :lol:...Fish and Mike are so solid.  Nothing too out of this world here, just typical goodness from everyone...not sure what the crowd is clapping to at the end, but it gets the next number going..

>Makisupa - give the audience an assist here.  "schwag" obviously.  I love it when Trey cracks himself up with these...sick stuff going on in this jam.

Chalk Dust - nice change of pace, obviously too early to be a set closer, so something else is coming after, which is nice to know...this one's aiight

YEM - yikes, waaaay off at the start!  nobody even noticed prolly..they recover from it for a while then get lost again before Mike's solo...not too sharp this YEM, but by the time they get to the tramps it's forgotten...I'm anticipating fire from here on out.  Yeah, this jam is sweet, some nice start/stop and general rocking out.  What a bunch of hams w/the Sweet Home Alabama vocals--you can hear Trey giggling.

E:

Halley's Comet - Cool!  Love this as an encore...minimal shred after the vocals, and it slams into Reprise

>Tweezer Reprise - close it out in style.  Mike's huge when he comes in which is something I always look for.  I'll always love Reprise.  Nice long Thank You from Trey was very heartfelt.  not that they ever made it back to 'Bama or anything...


This show definitely had a unique feel to it.  They really laid it on thick with the effects throughout, which always works for me.  Set II started out questionable, but I loved all of set I.  Hood & YEM closers?  I keep thinking about that crazy Maze, too.  B+

[jedifunk]

ok, so i gave this one another listen yesterday on my plane ride home from atlanta...

i think it actually went down from a B+ to a B-....

it really confirmed everything i remembered from being there... the show was slow and kinda boring..  most of the jams are really mellow, which is fine, but there's not much thats interesting in the mellowness.

plus i kept getting the feeling that trey was really fucked up at this show and tried to compensate with all the effects which IMO really detract from the music.. it seemed to me that when he added the effects it really screwed with the rhythm that the other 3 had going.

so all in all, an OK show, like i said B- or straight B.

[G. Augusto]

BOO!!!
HATER!!!!

For me, this is one of the few SOLID shows from the Fall.
Love the flow and aside from some flubs here and there, I find it to be adventurous.
a

[jedifunk]

wow, really?  there are SOOOO many better shows from this tour...

portland
gorge night 2
boise
tuscon
las cruces
memphis
minneapolis

just to name a few

[VA $l!m]

...nassau

[GBL]

...minneapolis

[jedifunk]

i mentioned minni

[GBL]

i know i just wanted to mention it again :PPPPPPPPP

[VA $l!m]

Set1.

Wolfmansbro:  nice opener choice. Pretty mellow funk...good though, seems the jam gets a little lost. Technical problems is my guess b/c it really seems like it shouldve segued right into---
Sneakinsally: like I said it should come right outta the opener, IMO. Solid version here though. I like the jam it falls into ~6min.  -I'm not always happy with the quality of performance of this song, but this one definitely delivers, IMO. Very solid version.
Tube...again it would've been nice to see them segue right into this, but whatevs.
Obvious trifecta of funk choice. The beginning of the jam sets a quiet mood...almost sounds like Sand for a minute,,, mike hits a major key...weird tube. I dig it though,  some trance funk.end.
Ginseng nice placement. Solid version. Appropriate hillbilly song.
Roggae love it. Perfect. A+ version. Trippy arpeggios in jam. Awesome.
MAZE solidifies the excellence of this set. Page works it out. Slightly sloppy at points, but overall I really dig the energy in this version.i give it a A.
VELVETsea one of the better versions of this song I've heard. they nail this one. And it delivers all the emotion that it has the potential to convey.
HOOd good version, trey rips it up nicely. Perfect 1st set closer.


After this set I already feel like I got my money's worth.
Wolfman's which wasn't shabby by any means was the low point of the set for me...thoughtube wasn't anything spectacular either. Otherwise I really like this set. Sally, roggae and maze were all excellent versions, IMO. Overall great feel/energy to the set.
Strong A-.

set2:

farmhouse: great version, slighty sloppified, but definitely appropriate selection with emotional play.

heavy things: lame choice...but really this seems to be the slot for this song... good version.

1st tube: this song either grabs me by the balls and rocks, or just falls flat, IMO. this is one of the later.
weird placement here.

Tweezer: starts out with some energy in the composed part. jam settles into genericness. some signs of life later on in the jam, but just goes nowhere. really weak version, IMO.

makisupa: the  mellow mood fits this show at this point. actually a fairly good version.

chalkdust: ouch. ::haterade consumed::

YEM: ok. botched to hell composed section, BUT i really dug the jam, very much so. i def. like this YEM...except the sweet home AL vocl bit seemed a little forced and cheesey, but who cares. overall funky as hell with mike and page steppin it up.

halleys:i usually love a halleys encore but this one sucked.

tweez rep: whatev.




ALright, so for me this was a great first set and a somewhat lame second set with basically just a good set opener and closer.
showrating=B/B-

-slim.

[ned_ryerson]

so while planning a wedding and looking for a new job and trying to fix my burner i fell a little behind. but here is a fairly quick review of this show.....

I did not attend many 99 shows and in generally i feel that by this point Phish was in decline however for the most part this show restored my faith in later pre big cypress phish.

Set 1....I was really digging the slowed down wolf. i think it was an interesting set opener choice, i tend to enjoy raging closers and openers but i did enjoy this. the jam was pretty interesting and kept me grooving the whole time. Sneaking Sally is always one i enjoy, not a big jammer however its just a fun one. Tube, first a Robert Palmer song then a song with a Robert Palmer reference? call me cheesey but that is enough to make me smile and enjoy this one even if it was not the greatest tube ever, it was still enjoyable. Ginseng, id rather hear Long Journey Home but this fit in here nicely.

Roggae has always been one of my favorite non jam songs from phish. Stick in a round or a vocal trade off and im good to go. plus, with the craziness in my life, i can totally relate to the lyrics. Maze was just straight up ROCKING. i really felt this  one jamming out to this one with trey. I even saw my girlfriend bobbing her head to it and i caught my 7 year old daughter playing air guitar while it was playing.

Velvet sea, you guys are right, this is one of the few live versions that actually captures the mournfulness of the studio version which i always really liked because you can feel it tearing at your heart. plus the potential reference to treys hand mailing is fantastic. Hood, just a solid version of this tune. i really enjoyed it, mellow for a long while but very good.


Set 2

Farmhouse, like everyone else said this is a great version of this tune, probably the first time ive really seen how awesome this song could be. before now i was most familiar with the hampton comes alive version which always felt empty and half assed, but this one rocked. HEavy things, never really enjoyed this one and i don't really think this version gave me anything to get excited about.

1st tube sometimes this song rocks some times it lays a big giant steaming turd in your ears...this one was somewhere in between, Like some one tried to leave a turd in your ear, but was only able to let out a loud stinky fart. it was not horrible but not  stellar either. i give it one big meh. Tweezer started off absolutly fantastic, however by the time i was winding down, it became a snooze fest. Makisupa policeman, not a very good version. definitly heard better ones that were more exciting.

I really enjoyed YEM i really felt like mike was tearing up on bass, it was really nice to have such a good recording to really hear him going off. It was a pleasure to listen to this one, the worst thing i have to say about it is that it went by way to quick. i felt like there could have been 20 more minutes of jamming. what a way to end the set even if it was too brief.

encore:  Halleys comet always makes me smile groove and sing along. but i never felt that phish did a good job of picking encores. to me this is one of the better ones but i like long ass rocking encores that make you glad you didn't try to beat traffic. halleys comet is close, but no cigar in my book. Do i even need to talk about tweprise?

so in short, first set was an A and set two was a B- so it averages out to a B. The first set really kept me interested and the second lagged at times but was not by any means the worst show of this tour. also, a great sounding show, not everyday you find that great of a aud copy from a shed.

[pnchundi]

Tweezer started off absolutly fantastic, however by the time i was winding down, it became a snooze fest.

just what were you winding down from ned?  :wink:

[Caravan2001]

"This show was sick, and as soon as the deemsters wore off, it got kinda boring....."  :-D