:roll: Here we go...

Sloth - First time used as an opener since 11-24-1991. They got through it with no real trainwreck.

DST - My second least favorite original! Trey and Page have trouble syncing up on the vocals.

Piper - Trey's busting some moves during the intro! Your standard Piper jam ensues with a pretty OK transition (albeit somewhat forced) into >>>

Weekapaug - First time without Mike's.

Dirt - Trey's a little forgetful on some of the leads. This one does not benefit from his PH tone.

Scent - Ughhh....My third least favorite original! Nice page solo for his part of the duel. Trey relies on stage antics for his, however.  :| WTF was that? Trey then has no idea how to play the fast leads after his duel section. Bad...

Walls - I like how Page takes charge for most of the jam. This jam is pretty good with a few peaks throughout.

Mist - I like Mist. This version was OK.

Sample - Trey misses his chord on the intro drop. Yikes.

Tube - Trey struggles with the chords throughout the composed section. Really? Trey's got the delayed vocal delivery thing going on. Hmmm....The 12 bar blues section is all kinds of f00b'd.

Gin - Is it me, or does Mike just seem unhappy for the entire show? As long as Trey catches glowsticks, it's OK to not play the song properly... :roll: The jam suffers from having too many ideas. The outro jam, however, is pretty dope.

Friday - My least favorite original! REally just a painful version.

Bowie - Trippy intro by Page. Composed section is decent. The jam is actually the highlight for me (if I HAD to pick one.) Trey actually seems in control of his playing and has some cohesive ideas. Nice dynamics throughout the jam, too.

Bug - MIght just be the most well played tune of the night.

Suzy - Trey throws in a "Fat Guy In a Little Coat" lick during his first section. Was that a Long, Cool Woman tease during his second? Some cool start/stop jamming with Page being the focal point. He pretty much doesn't quit. A good way to go out, at least.

Thanks for the Ds, M.
I'm sorry I had to hate all over your show, tho.  :wink:
I give this one a generous C-.
@

Sloth: Sweet opener.  A couple minor gaffes in there, but nothing too bad.  Of course, the first thing I noticed was Trey's tone (heavy digital distortion).  Sounds like he's using my cheap $300 effects processor pedal.  Let's hope he doesn't sound like this a month from now in Hampton.

Dogs Stole Things: Never really been a fan of this one, or any slow blues tune, unless it's Stevie Ray.

Piper: Gains speed pretty quickly.  ~8:00 it sounds like a 70s fusion jam (a ha, now I know what you were referring to, pnch).  I was thinking Return to Forever, but certainly Bitches Brew, as well.  Great jam and totally unexpected segue into:

Weekapaug: Standalone!  Good jam.  Apparently Mike's was the prior night.  I'm sure anyone not familiar with the night before's setlist was all  :-o

Dirt: bathroom break and grab a couple $8 beers.

Scent: Interesting duel section.  Trey has some troubles coming out of the jam.  (edit: after reviewing this set via audio only, I just watched the video and it's a COMPLETELY different experience.  Makes you wonder how much else you've missed of other shows by only being able to hear it.)

Walls of a Cave: I haven't heard this one too many times, as I rarely listen to post-hiatus stuff.  The vocal harmonies are kinda harsh on this one.  The jam's cool, though.  Pretty long, too.  Reminds me a lot of Rock and Roll, mainly due to the rhythm.

Mountains in the Mist: Another bathroom break.

Sample: Set closer.

Set break.

Tube: How can you not love this to open the 2nd set.  Not so much a funky Tube, but certainly an enjoyable one.  Nice little peak ~7:00.  Not the smoothest transition back into the final section, but not the worst either.

Gin: Trey catches glowsticks.  I'm sure the rest of the band isn't thinking, "Great, now they're just gonna throw more of them at us."  The jam doesn't take long to catch air with Mike leading the way.  Starts out almost soaring but they bring it down quickly and go into a somewhat familiar descending progression.  The speeding up ~14:00 catches me off guard.  Gets real hot.  Nice jam.  Doesn't stay too long.  Only about 2 minutes and they bring it back down again.  It gets a bit spacy and then goes into a weird, imp-ish, variation on the Gin theme.  Makes me think of a bunch of gnomes dancing around.  Although, it's not really danceable in any way, it's the highlight of the jam for me.  Crazy shit, for sure. 

Friday: I don't think I've ever heard this song before.  I wouldn't be upset if I never hear it again.  I guess the jam section could have potential if Trey were "on", but he isn't here.

Bowie: Some more minor gaffes in the composed section.  All by Trey.  The jam is pretty awesome, tho.  Great playing all around.  Lots of cool parts, like the descending runs ~10:00.  The jam as it starts up ~13:00.  Some sweet licks ~14:00.  The rust comes back for the finale, though.  The show highlight.

Bug: Not what I'd want as a set closer, although it's played well.

Suzy: Trey's vocals sound kinda rough.  Like he has the flu or something.  Some cool jammin in the middle there, mostly due to Page.

I must admit, I wasn't expecting much from a PH show and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  I started reviewing this one a week ago, and kept getting sidetracked, so I ended up listening to the show a couple tracks at a time.  The second set is definitely where it's at.  I'll give it a C+, with the highlights being the Gin and the Bowie, which are both certainly worth revisiting.  Thanks again for the vids, Mandi!  As a side note, this is definitely the most Fishman-friendly audience video I've seen.  A lot of that has to do with the fact that it was 2003, the video cameras were much clearer than they were 5 years prior.  But Fishman's in just about every shot and you can clearly tell what he's doing as he's shot straight on and the videotaper is elevated so you can see over his toms.  It's a tiny bit out of sync, but not enough to take away from the experience.  It's great to be able to watch what he does.  Thanks again!

hatin' is allowed...
i took the jump and went PH...it's almost expected.

not EVERY show is perfect

i'm just glad everyone got their mail alright...
i'll catch up soon!  :roll:

finally getting around to Set II...


Tube - I got excited when this one started.  but Trey is so incredibly off with his vocals and guitar.  If you just listen to the other three guys it sounds great  :roll:  they take this one out for a while and the jam does get good.  of course the re-entry is rough

Gin - the same dude who went apeshit for Weekapaug caught his first Gin in something like 15 shows.  I remember thinking this jam was incredible at the time, but it's never lived up to my memory listening back.  I wonder how long it took Trey to realize what a mistake catching that first glowstick was.  what follows is a barrage of the things.  I hope they remain in retirement

Friday - I've hated this song since the first time I listened to Round Room.

David Bowie - alright something to get hyped about.  same theme here: Trey's guitar is awful over the main section but the jam is decent and there have been worse outros than this one.

Bug - eh to close.  I'm never thrilled to hear Bug, but it's an alright song I guess and I often wind up enjoying it.  They do this version justice actually and it may indeed be the best thing played all night  :-P

E:

Suzy - Suzy makes her return to the rotation.  cool throwback and a fun version close out the run.


having to sit down and analyze this show makes it's flaws abundantly clear.  like I said I had a good time that day so it's no fun having to say it was a shitty show but musically speaking it was (almost exclusively Trey's fault).  I have to give it a C- but Mandi wins the round for going Next level on her pick.  thanks m. !!

is there a way for a link to the video to be posted again?  i'd loooove to see it. 

Quote from: Gumbo72203 on February 17, 2009, 11:59:52 PM
is there a way for a link to the video to be posted again?  i'd loooove to see it. 

Quote from: G. Augusto on December 10, 2008, 06:04:27 AM
You're not in the club!
SCRAM!

:evil:

Quote from: Mr Minor on February 18, 2009, 08:59:55 AM

Quote from: Gumbo72203 on February 17, 2009, 11:59:52 PM
is there a way for a link to the video to be posted again?  i'd loooove to see it. 

Quote from: G. Augusto on December 10, 2008, 06:04:27 AM
You're not in the club!
SCRAM!

:evil:

heh.
Gumbo it wasn't a D/L.  the shows were mailed out to the club by aacb.

oh... word.  ok.

wait.. i didnt receive mine?

wtf M?

Quote from: GBL on February 18, 2009, 10:14:26 PM
wait.. i didnt receive mine?

wtf M?

right.

what he said.  :roll:

i can give you a copy next week, hand to hand, ifn's you'd like

sloth - fun opener, trey sounds xtra scruffy tonite, which works well with this song, maybe coulda used some more energy
dst - one of my least liked songs, although it missed my list of bottom 10  :-D , page seems to be teaching trey the lyrics, ok jam
piper - opening vocals are rough, the jam gets good when trey takes a backseat...even better when he creeps back in toward the end, seemingly finding his place
paug - wow, loved this version!  real quiet yet frantic playing all around, show highlight for me
dirt - i might as well try and pee
soam - ima fan of this song live, love the mule duel, some botched lyrics, but this was fun
wotc - loved it since the aron ralston piece on abc which used it throughout his story, however, this jam just keeps on going...nowhere...
mist - kinda gotta p00p
sample - their hearts' weren't in it, coulda rocked harder

tube - nice set 2 opener, there is hope!
gin - now we're talkin, long, dark epic gin....just keeps going, nicely
friday - wtf does a rockstar care what day of the week it is?
bowie - real goosebumby, trippy beginning....another long jam which was really good, my second fav of the show
bug - one of my favs of phish's slower songs, the first verse is great lyricism...real nice version to end the show

suzy - always a good encore, played well and long.  good start/stop going on. nice way to end the show

set II makes up for a lot, not all, of set I. i dont listen to much 03 on so i dont know how to compare it.  as with any phish show though, it was worth my time.  thanks mandi
giving it a c+/b-