Phish at Star Lake Amphitheater, early to mid 2000's
We arrived to the usual Star-Lake-Amphitheater-Pre-Phish-Show Parking lot
melee at about 4pm on a beautiful Tuesday afternoon. It was the first Phish
show I'd been to since seeing them at Blossom in Cleveland three years
earlier. Since then, my limited exposure to the jam band scene had grown
immensely with two trips to Bonnaroo and introductions to several other
jambands in existence today. However, there would always be a place in my
heart for the band that, for me, started it all.
We met these guys parked next to us in the lot. They were from Chapel Hill,
and had seen Phish in North Carolina two days before. The guy was telling me
that his friends were partying with Mike Gordon in Atlanta after the show
there a few days earlier. The story seemed funny and sad at the same time.
According to this guy, there was a lot of hard alcohol and valium (among
other things) going on, and Mike was "partying like a rock star."
Unfortunately, everyone could tell the next night at Raleigh, as Mike
flubbed up some verses and the band almost completely lost it on one of the
songs in the middle of the first set. The guy gave me one of the "Call Me"
cards with Mike's sillouete that was floating around. It was a pretty nifty
promo tool for what I assume is Mike's new album coming out on Rope-A-Dope
records.
Anyway, I was hoping that the day off in between shows gave the band an
opportunity to rest up as they began the final stretch toward this year's
summer festival, "It."
After the usual 40 minute late start, the first set began with a couple of
songs from the archives. It was kind of cool to see that they brushed off a
few old gems to get everyone tuned-in. After this they dove right into the
starkly contrasting "hit," Gotta Jibboo, which got the crowd fired up. By
this point, I noticed the new configuration of the band since I'd last seen
them, with Fishman playing more centered between the rest of the band behind
the guitars instead of off to the side. It seemed like a much more
traditional band configuration.
The next few songs got really mellow, almost too mellow for me. I took some
time to sit down and listen, but it sounded to me like nothing fantastic.
Phish was playing their usual well-oiled machine, churning out the jams.
However, it didn't seem too inspired. There was a break somewhere in there
between songs where they couldn't decide what to play next. Eventually, I
decided to get up and hit the bathroom and grab a beer before the big
"between-set rush" was upon us. Our seats were in the way-back of the
pavilion, so I wasn't too concerned about missing anything. I could hear
just as well as I walked around the venue, even though I couldn't see.
At that point, they started to pick things up again. I remember a really
thick 5/4 jam during McGrupp that sounded pretty cool as I waited in line
for my Yuengling Black & Tan (ya gotta love those Pennsylvania beers!).
Then, they got into Golgi Apparatus and really smoked to close out the first
set.
In between sets, I was very pleasantly surprised that they played Stanton
Moore's "Flyin the Koop" as the setbreak music. I am a big fan. Also, I was
a big fan of the nachos that they had at that place. Jalapenos, Salsa, AND
cheese!
The second set started out with the Phish magic I had seen so many times
before when they smashed into the Talking Heads classic, "Crosseyed and
Painless." It was really driving with a hard funky edge. After the first few
versus and choruses, the feel of the song (I know I will get flamed for
this) degenerated into the standard Phish jam. If you played this for just
about anyone that had heard Phish, you would know it was them. It is as if
they just have this "Phish Song" that many of their songs end up turning
into. This was one of the things I personally didn't like about the latest
album. It almost starts to sound like elevator music after a while.
Anyway, after they PLAYED OUT a couple of different riffs and each jam
slowly died out, they got into yet another jam. However, this time the
momentum started to shift like in the 3rd quarter of a football game when
your team gets a big interception. This time, the spark was definitely the
"5th member" of the band, the light man. Phish was methodically mucking
about with some jam when the light guy started fooling around and flickering
the lights with a strobe effect. Immediately, the band fed off of it and got
REALLY whacked out there!! Then, the lights would fade to blue and the band
would chill. Then, madness! The momentum was back.
Then, they blew it again by taking about 2 minutes before deciding which
song to play next. However, the down time didn't last long, as Trey began by
continuing the story of Jimmy, a character in his lifelong epic saga. It was
a little freeform poetry with the rest of the band providing the emphasis.
Pretty cool stuff. As Trey discussed Jimmy's quest for the meaning of life,
it was clear where he was going. Evidently, they didn't sell out IT yet,
because it was obvious Trey was pimping the upcoming festival. On the other
hand, he was also pretty serious. It is as if the band has been questioning
their role in the world over the last few years. However, Trey seemed to
state that they have finally resigned themselves to their place in the world
to play music for their hoards of adoring fans.
After discussing Jimmy for a while, they played "Bittersweet Motel," a
standard for the venue (halfway between Erie and Pittsburgh). Of course, the
crowd loved it. After that song, Trey continued with the discussion of
Jimmy. Trey compared Jimmy to the man behind the drumset who appeared on his
T-Shirt that night-Fishman. On the front of the shirt was a picture of
Fishman. On the back was something along the lines of "The Dork," something
Fishman got to stare at the entire night in the new configuration.
Then, the band continued to amaze as Fishman came up to play the vacuum
cleaner and Trey went behind the drum set. It was the first time I was
treated to Fishman on vacuum, which was classic. Also, Trey is pretty damn
good on the drum set! Evidently, it was the first time the band played
"Fooled Around and Fell in Love," and a damn fine job they did. During the
first set, I thought Trey's guitar was way too loud. I thought about when I
go see Medeski Martin & Wood shows. Those guys never say to "turn up" and
instrument, they are always pointing at something to "turn down." With Trey
on drums, Paige had a moment of glory, as they cranked up the keys and Paige
was free to lead the band without getting overshadowed by Trey's wailing
guitar.
After a while, Fishman was back behind the set and what I at first thought
was going to be "Maze" (another Star Lake standard) turned out to be David
Bowie. Then, it was suddenly 11:15 and the band left the stage. They came
out for an encore of "No Woman No Cry," I mean, "Farmhouse." It was another
soothing pop song that the crowd was into.
After getting stuck in the cluster-fuck to get out of the venue to the lot,
I was very pleasantly suprised at how easy it was to get out. Usually, we
have to light up the barbecue for another round before getting out of the
maze. However, this time, people seemed eager to leave. However, like
lemmings, people were only driving in 2 lanes of traffic to get out (even
though there was PLENTY of room for a 3rd lane, and in fact as you get to
the end of the parking lot, you can see that there were MEANT to be 3, if
not 4, lanes to leave). Therefore, we had a lane to ourselves and got out
expediciously.
My overall impression is that Phish is still Phish. The songs are still like
a psychedelic trip without the drugs. There is no question that the band has
evolved as well. However, my personal tastes are not completely with their
evolution. It is just a bit to mellow and "the same" throughout. However, at
last night's show, there was no shortage of magical musical moments, and a
good time was had by all. It is a bonus that they play two long sets. This
gives them plenty of time to play through the mediocre stuff and into the
good.
russ
melee at about 4pm on a beautiful Tuesday afternoon. It was the first Phish
show I'd been to since seeing them at Blossom in Cleveland three years
earlier. Since then, my limited exposure to the jam band scene had grown
immensely with two trips to Bonnaroo and introductions to several other
jambands in existence today. However, there would always be a place in my
heart for the band that, for me, started it all.
We met these guys parked next to us in the lot. They were from Chapel Hill,
and had seen Phish in North Carolina two days before. The guy was telling me
that his friends were partying with Mike Gordon in Atlanta after the show
there a few days earlier. The story seemed funny and sad at the same time.
According to this guy, there was a lot of hard alcohol and valium (among
other things) going on, and Mike was "partying like a rock star."
Unfortunately, everyone could tell the next night at Raleigh, as Mike
flubbed up some verses and the band almost completely lost it on one of the
songs in the middle of the first set. The guy gave me one of the "Call Me"
cards with Mike's sillouete that was floating around. It was a pretty nifty
promo tool for what I assume is Mike's new album coming out on Rope-A-Dope
records.
Anyway, I was hoping that the day off in between shows gave the band an
opportunity to rest up as they began the final stretch toward this year's
summer festival, "It."
After the usual 40 minute late start, the first set began with a couple of
songs from the archives. It was kind of cool to see that they brushed off a
few old gems to get everyone tuned-in. After this they dove right into the
starkly contrasting "hit," Gotta Jibboo, which got the crowd fired up. By
this point, I noticed the new configuration of the band since I'd last seen
them, with Fishman playing more centered between the rest of the band behind
the guitars instead of off to the side. It seemed like a much more
traditional band configuration.
The next few songs got really mellow, almost too mellow for me. I took some
time to sit down and listen, but it sounded to me like nothing fantastic.
Phish was playing their usual well-oiled machine, churning out the jams.
However, it didn't seem too inspired. There was a break somewhere in there
between songs where they couldn't decide what to play next. Eventually, I
decided to get up and hit the bathroom and grab a beer before the big
"between-set rush" was upon us. Our seats were in the way-back of the
pavilion, so I wasn't too concerned about missing anything. I could hear
just as well as I walked around the venue, even though I couldn't see.
At that point, they started to pick things up again. I remember a really
thick 5/4 jam during McGrupp that sounded pretty cool as I waited in line
for my Yuengling Black & Tan (ya gotta love those Pennsylvania beers!).
Then, they got into Golgi Apparatus and really smoked to close out the first
set.
In between sets, I was very pleasantly surprised that they played Stanton
Moore's "Flyin the Koop" as the setbreak music. I am a big fan. Also, I was
a big fan of the nachos that they had at that place. Jalapenos, Salsa, AND
cheese!
The second set started out with the Phish magic I had seen so many times
before when they smashed into the Talking Heads classic, "Crosseyed and
Painless." It was really driving with a hard funky edge. After the first few
versus and choruses, the feel of the song (I know I will get flamed for
this) degenerated into the standard Phish jam. If you played this for just
about anyone that had heard Phish, you would know it was them. It is as if
they just have this "Phish Song" that many of their songs end up turning
into. This was one of the things I personally didn't like about the latest
album. It almost starts to sound like elevator music after a while.
Anyway, after they PLAYED OUT a couple of different riffs and each jam
slowly died out, they got into yet another jam. However, this time the
momentum started to shift like in the 3rd quarter of a football game when
your team gets a big interception. This time, the spark was definitely the
"5th member" of the band, the light man. Phish was methodically mucking
about with some jam when the light guy started fooling around and flickering
the lights with a strobe effect. Immediately, the band fed off of it and got
REALLY whacked out there!! Then, the lights would fade to blue and the band
would chill. Then, madness! The momentum was back.
Then, they blew it again by taking about 2 minutes before deciding which
song to play next. However, the down time didn't last long, as Trey began by
continuing the story of Jimmy, a character in his lifelong epic saga. It was
a little freeform poetry with the rest of the band providing the emphasis.
Pretty cool stuff. As Trey discussed Jimmy's quest for the meaning of life,
it was clear where he was going. Evidently, they didn't sell out IT yet,
because it was obvious Trey was pimping the upcoming festival. On the other
hand, he was also pretty serious. It is as if the band has been questioning
their role in the world over the last few years. However, Trey seemed to
state that they have finally resigned themselves to their place in the world
to play music for their hoards of adoring fans.
After discussing Jimmy for a while, they played "Bittersweet Motel," a
standard for the venue (halfway between Erie and Pittsburgh). Of course, the
crowd loved it. After that song, Trey continued with the discussion of
Jimmy. Trey compared Jimmy to the man behind the drumset who appeared on his
T-Shirt that night-Fishman. On the front of the shirt was a picture of
Fishman. On the back was something along the lines of "The Dork," something
Fishman got to stare at the entire night in the new configuration.
Then, the band continued to amaze as Fishman came up to play the vacuum
cleaner and Trey went behind the drum set. It was the first time I was
treated to Fishman on vacuum, which was classic. Also, Trey is pretty damn
good on the drum set! Evidently, it was the first time the band played
"Fooled Around and Fell in Love," and a damn fine job they did. During the
first set, I thought Trey's guitar was way too loud. I thought about when I
go see Medeski Martin & Wood shows. Those guys never say to "turn up" and
instrument, they are always pointing at something to "turn down." With Trey
on drums, Paige had a moment of glory, as they cranked up the keys and Paige
was free to lead the band without getting overshadowed by Trey's wailing
guitar.
After a while, Fishman was back behind the set and what I at first thought
was going to be "Maze" (another Star Lake standard) turned out to be David
Bowie. Then, it was suddenly 11:15 and the band left the stage. They came
out for an encore of "No Woman No Cry," I mean, "Farmhouse." It was another
soothing pop song that the crowd was into.
After getting stuck in the cluster-fuck to get out of the venue to the lot,
I was very pleasantly suprised at how easy it was to get out. Usually, we
have to light up the barbecue for another round before getting out of the
maze. However, this time, people seemed eager to leave. However, like
lemmings, people were only driving in 2 lanes of traffic to get out (even
though there was PLENTY of room for a 3rd lane, and in fact as you get to
the end of the parking lot, you can see that there were MEANT to be 3, if
not 4, lanes to leave). Therefore, we had a lane to ourselves and got out
expediciously.
My overall impression is that Phish is still Phish. The songs are still like
a psychedelic trip without the drugs. There is no question that the band has
evolved as well. However, my personal tastes are not completely with their
evolution. It is just a bit to mellow and "the same" throughout. However, at
last night's show, there was no shortage of magical musical moments, and a
good time was had by all. It is a bonus that they play two long sets. This
gives them plenty of time to play through the mediocre stuff and into the
good.
russ
