Deer creek 8-2-98

Hey kids. First of all, I must say that everyone should go to Deer Creek at some point. The camping/lot scene was interesting. Lots of nice people hanging out, selling things. I talked with a number of people I didn't know, most of whom were quite nice. All in all, the phans were cool. This, plus a beautiful venue (maybe not as nice as Alpine, but I'm not complaining...) and a beautiful night made for quite an anticipatory vibe. Sunday, 8/2/98, DEER CREEK: "First, that Hood cut off my penis, lit it up, and made me take a hit off of it. Once I was high off my own penis, Bowie and Antelope played ping-pong with my balls, and made me keep score." - - My friend Phil, on the experience of the Deer Creek versions of Bowie, Hood, and Antelope. This evening was all about VIBE (I don't mean the drugs). I felt something great was going to happen, and it did... SET I: Roget: Not a great choice for an opener, but cool enough. Life is easy... Divided: Would of made a perfect opener, but who's complaining?! This got a great reaction from the crowd. I really can't think of a better song to have played at this point. Overall, an average Sky, but that was more than enough. I can still see the goofy look on Trey's frozen face during the pause. Great to hear this tune. Horse -> Silent: Cool. You don't hear this too often, so I was happy. Good placement. I love Trey's solo line near the end of this. Great texture. They could have stretched this out a bit more, but no need after a solid Sky. Too Much of Everything: Again, damn fine song placement. This one got everyone moving again after a mellow Silent. I hadn't heard this before. Sounds like it could get old fast, but nevertheless, lots of fun tonight. Boogie on: Yeah! It took them a long time to start this one, and I didn't recognize it right away. This was not as solid as the 12/7 Dayton version, which also segued into... Reba: Shit, Goddamn. I was very excited just to this one played. It's like Divided in that you can hear it a million times and not really tire of it, especially with the jam it yields. Tonight's was no exception. Very nice mellow jam segment. I love melodious jams like these, though there are times they are a bit dry (eg 8/1 Alpine Tweezer). The key seems to be Trey, and in this Reba his soloing was great. Overall a terrific Reba, and we even got the whistling ending! Weigh: Wow. Again, I thought this was great placement (just my personal taste, I guess). Great fills from Page. Birds: The only repeat of the three-show run. This was justified, however, as this version far surpassed Alpine's. Very cool Chalkdust-esque, high energy tune. Good set closer. Good set, imo. I thought the placement was great throughout; all of the tunes seemed to fit. Divided and Reba were definite highlights. Set II: Possum: I've never really liked this song too much, but the pure energy of this version won me (and the rest of the crowd) over. By far, one of the best I've ever heard. Great up-tempo jamming. Ghost: Is this the "new" ghost? Yeah. Wow. This funked hard, which was exactly what this set needed. Great to look around and see the thousands of fans moved by this infectious groove. -> Lifeboy: Perhaps the first mis-placed song of the night. Not bad, however. It actually grew in intensity and I felt Trey was about to bust out a phat solo when instead the closing chords swept this Lifeboy away... Bowie: It sounded like Fish had been trying to start this at the end of Ghost, before Trey began Lifeboy. By the way, Fish's hi-hat beat for this song is NOT the same as the Maze intro. I love it when I read "Fish's hi-hat beat meant we were getting Maze or Bowie..." Maze has the rim-clicks in conjunction with a closed hi-hat beat, while Bowie has only an open/closed hi-hat beat. Anyway, sorry for that digression. On to the Bowie... Wow. This Bowie blew me away. It just plain rocked. Near the end, at Trey's fast 16th-note part, they would play through a chorus of this, then each time, Trey would fill it out with a different tease. I remember Lizards, Possum, D Sky, I think. This whole portion was insane, something I've never heard in a Bowie before. The energy here was just nuts. This Bowie was incredible. I think I was too stunned to remember any more... I Get a Kick Out of You: Haha. Very entertaining. Mike was really hamming it up here. Fun for all ages... Loving Cup: Great tune for the times. Looking around during this song, seeing the waves of fans feeling the same vibe, I turned to my friend Mike and said "They're gonna play Hood tonight." I just felt it was a Hood-type night, which should sum up the evening nicely. When Loving Cup turned out to be the set closer, I was sure we were in for a Hood encore... Hood: Yes! Perfect. Very cool intro section. The glowstick war is something that must be seen to be appreciated. Cool jamming here. This was a really beautfiful Hood. Not much build here, just gorgeous, melodious jamming. Perfect close to a gorgeous evening...But wait: Bittersweet Motel: Why play this? Nice tune, the Hood would have been a perfect place to end. ___ Overall, my favorite show of the Alpine-> Deer Creek run. A mindblowing Bowie, a Sky, a Hood, a Reba and a Ghost? What more could you ask for? These were all monsters. More than that, the other tunes fit almost perfectly. In short, the sets flowed well and the vibe was exception. "Ohhhh, what a beautiful buzz..." Later, CDH
This is the second of three reviews of the shows I saw last weekend. Andy could you please post this to your reviews page, and keep up the good work. I love your page man!!! We arrived at Deer Creek when most everyone else was in Alpine Valley. We set up camp at Green Acres which is the best campsite up there. There were so many people, and everyone had a good time. It was only $20 to camp for the whole weekend, and the people who own the place use all the money they make to help care for homeless dogs. I would guess that there were about 1300 to 1500 people there. What a place. It sucks that Alpine isn't letting people camp around there. i wonder when Deer Creek will follow?? Anyway, my buddies rolled up that Sunday morning and I saw the setlist from the Alpine Valley show that I skipped and cried. What a show. I should have went home and watched it live. Oh well, after seeing a very disapointing Columbus show I was very pumped for that night. Deer Creek lots were kicking as always, and that place is a great place to see a show. SET I Roget, Divided Sky, The Horse>Silent, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Reba, Weigh, Too Much of Everything, Birds ROGET- I really dig this song, and it was the second time I've heard since I saw the Columbus show. I know it is not the raging jam with intricate melodies we all hope to hear, but this will sound nice on the album(radio?). DIVIDED SKY- My favorite thing about a Phish show is when they bust out a crowd favorite and Trey just looks over the audience and smiles. He knows he has made our days, and that self-assurance causes him to not want to disappoint. I freakin' love this song. I know it doesn't jam, but it is an epic. This version was standard as things go, but I really wish the crowd would just shut the hell up during the note section. Oh well, what can you do??? HORSE>SILENT - Standard BOOGIE ON REGGAE WOMAN- Yes!!!!!!! I also caught this song when they played it at Dayton, and this time I was ready for it. Unlike Dayton, where I wasn't ready for anything that happened that incredible night. But this BORM(remember where you heard that anacronym first) was jammed out hard. Poor Stevie Wonder never had this in mind when he wrote this song. This jam is what I look for when I see Phish. I look for the precise selection of notes to create a painting for the ears. Every single note "belonged" where it went. And this was a song they have played VERY sparingly in the career of the band(although now it appears to be making a huge come back!!) REBA- This is one of the jam songs that falls in the category of what I like to call an "emotional jam." Even though I respect Phish musically far more than the Dead, the Dead had a way of summing up all human emotions, and then releasing the to your ears. Phish songs always seem like more of an adventure, while the Dead jams seem to be more of a homecoming. This Reba did a great job of tugging on your heartstrings and it was beautiful, not mystical like a lot of Phish jams, but beautiful. WEIGH - blah blah, I've seen this a hundred times, and you've all heard it a hundred more. TOO MUCH OF EVERYTHING- After being very excited with the new stuff I have heard(Roget, MOMA dance...) this song was very depressing. There was no musical evidence of the greatness that we all know lies within the talent of Phish. Any bar-band could have written this song. I was not happy. In case you haven't heard this yet, this song is very reminiscent of the DMB's Too Much in terms of lyrics. You don't even want to know what band I can compare the musical portion of this song to.... BIRDS OF A FEATHER- Then this made me rethink my position on new Phish. I really like the Phish jams that start and end on the same basic theme. Mike's, Ghost and Tweezer are cool because they just go off into the netherregions of musical void, but I really enjoy songs like Limb By Limb, Bowie, and YEM because while the jams can be crazy, music that maintains integrity after spending time away from the central theme of a piece is very hard to create. Birds of a Feather is cool how they have a middle section and then a reprise. I'm now back to liking new Phish SUMMARY Solid first set.. Highlights were Roget, Divided, and BORM. On the horribly abused scale that I will try to maintain continuity to, I give this first set a 6.0. It was above average, but not too spectacular SetBreak- I usually don't mention the stuff that happens at setbreak because nobody really cares about my personal life, but during setbreak I found the Ben and Jerry's stand that is set up inside Deer Creek, and I realized that life doesn't get much better than chocolate ice cream and Phish. Deer Creek is really cool... SET II- Possum, Ghost>Lifeboy, Bowie, I Get a Kick Out of You, Loving Cup POSSUM- I was there in '96 when they broke out Simpson's and All Fall Down secret language. I really wish they would do this more. Oh well, it was still a cool Possum because nobody doesn't get pumped up when they here this song. GHOST- This song is so tasty. I read a post where someone else mentioned that they were worried that this might become a radio single. Hmmmm??? I don't think so. This is a song only Phish folk can appreciate. It does not seemed geared towards radio at all. In Trey's words, "It is just an excuse to jam," This Ghost was really good. I was a bit upset because they didn't divulge very deep into the funk.. They seemed to lay back and focus on working with each other rather than trying to lay the soundtrack for the next Debbie Does Dallas movie. You know you are witnessing golden Phish when you realize that if you could add any note at any place in the music, you wouldn't. It just is minimalistic and perfect. LIFEBOY- People are saying that this segued from Ghost. I don't think so, I'll have to listen to the tapes. If so, that is the only interesting thing to report on this song. BOWIE- I love the part at a show where everyone who is trying to keep a detailed setlist pulls out their pen and paper and just completely focuses all attention on Fishman to try and determine whether his drum beat is for Maze or Bowie(even though every single one of us is pulling very hard for Bowie.) Then after the space dies out, you realize it is Bowie, tuck your setlist in your pocket and go off. What a Bowie this was. Phish's music can best be summarized this tour as precise and exact. Things are just fitting in the right place, and the boys are tight on everything. From the raging opening to the midsection, this Bowie was precise. Then came the end section where Trey slides up the guitar playing the rapid 32nd notes that bring a close to this triumphant song. But in between those ascending riffs, instead of just playing a couple power chords, Trey did something really weird and it was so awesome. He would play the eight measures of the closing, and then during the part where he slows down, he played bits and pieces of the songs we had heard earlier that night. First he played the middle of Divided Sky right before the note, then they would rip back into fast part of Bowie, then he finished out the Divided solo, back into Bowie, then he did the Possum riff a couple of times, then he did Reba. It was so awesome, and completey took everyone off guard. They were having fun, and we all knew it. I GET A KICK OUT OF YOU- This was great. When Mike leaned over to Trey to tell him to play this, Trey just grew an instant grin that he held while watching Mike in amazment throughout this whole song. We were going nuts in our seat. I love how Phish is throwing in crazy new stuff for us to hear just to surprise us. They rule. LOVING CUP- Not what I wanted to see close the set even though I like this song a lot, a YEM or Antelope would have fit nicely here. Standard as far as those things go SUMMARY- A pretty fun set. Not life changing, but fun. I give this set a 6.0 also in terms of comparing it to other second sets. It was fun. ENCORE- Harry, Bittersweet HARRY HOOD- The glow stick war during Harry is very very fun, but it is also disruptive to the flow of the music. But if this show were to be characterized, it would fall into the category of fun. That's why this was neat to hear. Four people got thrown out of my section in the lower pavillion for throwing glow sticks. One guy ripped one out of a security guards hand and chucked it across the venue. It was great, but he got thrown out. When the war ended and the stagelights came on, Harry was practically over. It was a good thing that this was the kind of epic song they played. A fun epic BITTERSWEET MOTEL - I sway back and forth on new Phish, and it really makes me wonder what they are doing sometimes. It's hard to hold up a song like this to a song like Piper written in approximately the same era of Phish songwriting. In other words, this sucked, and I am just waiting for the encore from hell of Circus>Motel>Rockytop...AHHHHHH!!!! Summary The show deserved a 6.0. It was above average, but nothing too special. I knew I had one more night left, and Phish never lets you down at Deer Creek
Had many high hopes for this show... the boys didn't let me down. Here's a quick run- through -- ROGET: New song to me, hadn't heard it before, didn't even find out its title until after the show. Good song from what I can remember. DIVIDED SKY: It was almost like a dream come true. I had just talked with a person I didn't know before the show who had gone on and on about how much they were "dying to hear" The Divided Sky. I'll never forget his explosive response when the first few chords broke out. Great ecstacy -- and this was only the second number. I knew it would be a special night. THE HORSE > SILENT: Wasn't quite what I was expecting out of "Divided" -- sounded pretty standard nonetheless, although kept the mood flowing out of Sky and into... TOO MUCH OF EVERYTHING: I think "pure rock 'n roll" (as said on the Phish.NET) is a fair description of this song. Trey had the wailing guitar down and by this time I was dancing like crazy. Good song, hope they play it more. BOOGIE ON REGGAE WOMAN: At first I couldn't even think of what this was, and then finally it hit me. Sounded really good, when I thought they were to break off into some sort of extensive jam, all of a sudden they had me clamoring for... REBA: YES! Definitely the highlight of the first set for me. Totally unexpected (but aren't the boys always that way?) -- I was singing along. And then the jam-- all I can say is it's enough to start massive tape groveling. Probably already one of my favorite "Reba"'s of all time, Trey just took this one to town. Which had everyone geared up for the riffy - WEIGH: By this time it was pretty clear this first set seemed to be pretty much guitar-riff based (the guy next to me made the comment "RiffPhest?" and I couldn't agree more). It was a good song to hear, nothing too amazing, but Mike seemed to be having quite a bit of fun with the lyrics by the end of the song (was that 'drunk-vocal' intentional? ) and Page took the solo as usual to wild heights. This time the song got to the point where I was almost thinking "Lawn Boy" because it got so LOUNGE-y...but it wasn't "Lawn Boy" I was about to hear --- BIRDS OF A FEATHER: The boys must really like this song, because they had just played it at Alpine and it seems to have been played many times this tour. I know someone on RMP made a comment that it's "similar to Chalkdust", I can kind of hear that in some sort of laid-back, low-key way. It also (the music) seems quite reminiscent of the Talking Heads in places. Nonetheless, it's a good song, but they didn't carry it too far. Instead they gave us setbreak -- Set I was about 70 minutes. POSSUM: Set II started out so strongly I couldn't wait to see what was next. Some girls behind me had just made comments on how they were dying to hear this song, I couldn't figure out how everybody seemed to be getting their wishes -- guess it was just one of those nights. I had never experienced quite the energy this song had to offer until tonight, this song seems to really do so much for a person when they see it in concert as opposed to hearing it on a tape. The crescendos, the lights, and the riff-y Trey jam made it quite an exciting song and introduced the audience to a series of jammed-out pieces. GHOST: I don't know what's up with this "new arrangement" - personally, I liked the original '97 Ghost better, the one that was just so majorly "funkalicious" it made you want to boogie. This "Ghost" is still interesting, but not near as full of energy, in my opinion. I didn't even know what the song was until they began singing the words -- the music is quite a bit more laid-back than the "Ghost" they played so much in '97. But 7 minutes into the jam and I was in Heaven. They got slowly into the groove and took off with it. I'm not quite sure how long they jammed on this one, but it seemed like a major part of a very good dream.... LIFEBOY: This was a surprise. Good to hear it in concert. Wasn't quite expecting it, but was more than ready for it - the outro was beautiful, Page gave us a reason to like this song even more... DAVID BOWIE: By this time I was going crazy. It wasn't enough they gave us killer versions of "Divided", "Reba", and "Ghost". Now they went full-scale into a VERY jammed- out Bowie. I couldn't believe my ears. The night was full of amazing epics. But this Bowie had the most interesting ending I'd ever heard. In between Trey's guitar lines at the end when the band usually gets very atonal and spaced-out, this time they repeated the guitar line and atonal part over and over again, but Trey threw in guitar lines from "Divided Sky" & "Possum"! I was both in awe and in sheer laughter at the same time. When these tapes start circulating, get this one for sure -- this jam alone makes it worth it... I'D GET A KICK OUT OF YOU: When Mike first started singing, I thought he was doing "Ficus". Then I realized those weren't the words. Then I thought he was doing "Love Me". Then I realized those weren't the words either. Then he got to the chorus and I realized this was that old Mel Torme song -- and Mike sure did justice to it. It's amazing how "humorous yet well-trained vocals" describe the man perfectly. He even had Trey laughing ... LOVING CUP: Standard, yet rocking. Good choice to end the second set, which by my watch was approximately 65 minutes. HARRY HOOD: I swear the band wanted to prove to us they could blow us away. Divided. Reba. Bowie. All I can say is this choice for an encore was sensational - it was the full 16-17 minute version, and the "Hood" chants and glowstick war only added to the atmosphere and wonder of the song ... they could've encored with just this and I would've been happy. But they chose to go into - BITTERSWEET MOTEL: Nice, quiet song. Trey and Mike had this grin on their face (you could see it on the Deer Creek TV screens above the lawn) while they sang something like "Somewhere between Erie and Pittsburgh you've put me in Hell ... Bittersweet Motel ..." What a spectacular night ... In Summation: Get this show when the tapes circulate. You'll be glad you did.
Well, let me start off by addressing the debate of which was better, Alpine or Deer Creek day one? This show gets my vote no doubt, Alpine was great, but if you like to see Trey shine, this one's for you. Roget.... Wasn't what I was expecting, but a nice mellow tune, personally I like raging openers like the one we got in set two, first time though, so it was nice to hear Dsky..... Was my call for the evening, hadn't heard this one since Keil 96, and this one definately topped that version, Trey's soloing was incredible, as was the silient jam,haven't heard the Gorge version yet, which I heard was sloppy, but the creek version was anything but from what I can remember, then again could have just been excited to be hearing it Horse>Silent..... First time, in this my 12th show, standard but great as usual, of course the crowd erupted at the ...just last year line.. now they really had the energy up but it only built during the next song..... Too much of everything.....I would like to hear the original writer of this song play a better version than phish did this night! I heard them sound checking it at Riverport and knew they had to break it out sometime in the four night run.. this was perfect timing for me! Baby i want you! Great dancing tune, hope I hear it again out east. Boogie on.... My buddies had heard this at Dayton, and I had always hoped I would hear it, they didn't let me down with this stellar version. Great tempo changes by the band as a whole, this show was quickly becoming one of my favorites of the tour so far. Reba.....Wow! I was floored by this version, phans around me shared my sentiments on this one. Trey had me in another dimention for this one, all 14 minutes of it, maybe longer. Complete with whistling, how often do they finish it anymore, Phish loves Deer Creek Weigh.... After the intense Reba this was a nice number... love pages solo, they were also doing some cool things with their effects, if you were there you know what i mean. Birds....Ok this was my third birds in three shows, I skipped columbus, but for some reason I can't get enough of this song, it's just so damn good, incredibly tight this evening, great way to close the set, anyone who wouldn't rather hear this than Character zero needs to take a closer listen Setbreak.... Stood right inside the pavilion and stubbed people down, Had some fun with securtiy. Now for set II Possum.....Insanity! It was a Trey possum, that's what i say every time i talk about it. IMHO a trey possum is much better than a band possum, i heard a band possum last year at champaign, it was good, but it was no Trey possum, he ripped it, and turned it over at the end about 6 more times than i thought he would, what an opener, it was no roget! It just plain raged Ghost.... I called this one for the evening, hadn't been played in so long. I will have to STONGLY disagree with the other review saying that 97 ghost's are more pleasing. How could he say that after this funked out Ghost, all 15 plus minutes had me shaking my little ass all over the place, man i loved this ghost. I know some 15 minute jams can get boring, like halley's the next night, but this definately wasn't the case here as they rode the funk out, Mike was nice and loud too! -->Lifeboy....... Standard lifeboy, soothing, crisp Deer creek sound made this one better than any i've heard, i agree with the other review saying that it's better than a swept away, anyways we needed a little breather before.... Bowie.... My second bowie, last yr. DC was my first, and this one definately was on a different level than last yrs. bowie, the teases for all who were listening, and the building up to the climax, over and over made this short but sweet bowie one to remember, this and possum were my absolute highlights I get a kick out of you....... Very surprising and entertaining, the band was having some fun with this one.. not much else to say Loving Cup........ NICE!! good call for a closer, second cup, and best for me! They just rocked out on this one, your typical jamming cup! E: I called this one, and it was my favorite song of the night,, the glow sticks appeared to be shooting up from the middle of the seats as if some sort of giant fan was shooting them out of something, it was an incredible sight, the mellow jam to this was mythodical, i was in a trance, i wish i had a camera. Bittersweet... heard it in st. louis as a last song,,, it's nice be sent off with a mellow one like this, i think it's in the rotation for good. Hope you enjoyed my review... by the way i think the band was out of gas for day two,, that show didn't do it for me,, or maybe it was the fact i ran into a roadblock on the way home from night one...who knows,, can't wait for 10th row Virginia beach!!!
Hey all, Here’s part II of my weekend reviews, of 8.2.98 Deer Creek. First, hats off to Deer Creek On-Site Camping. It was close, clean, cheap, and I didn’t see security giving ANY hassles. Phans were being cool and not causing any big disruptions so everbody got along fine. Hopefully, things will go just as smoothly in years to come. The lot was another story because a guy smashed a beer bottle over another guy’s head and cut him pretty badly. A girl got cut on the arm from the same incident. I don’t know why this occured, but in addition to the people who got hurt, there was some major potential for big problems. Violence isn’t cool and we can’t let this kind of thing happen. Roget: I had any heard the spring versions and hardly remembered it so I don’t really have anything to compare it to. Not many people knew it, but once it got going they seemed to enjoy it. I had no complaints and was glad to hear a new song right off the bat. Divided: My friend had been calling for it as an opener, but this certainly did not dissapoint. Basically, this is a “typical” Divided. I’ve heard better and I’ve heard worse. However, when dealing with something as special as Divided, there really isn’t such a thing as “typical.” The silent jam seemed extra super long, with the guys frozen on stage with the back floor lights outlining thier bodies. Crowd response was huge during the silent jam. I was just so happy to see it (my first one) that I have no complaints. The ending built nicely although didn’t go balistic by any means. The Horse: Still recovering from Divided, but nice quitar work from Trey. Silent in the Morning: Better than I thought it would turn out to be in concert, but still kind of “bluh.” Trey played nicely towards the end. Too Much of Everything: I hadn’t heard this before but I really liked the lyrics. A fun song with not much musical merit. Boogie on the Reggea Woman: It took them a long time to start this one but well worth it. I’d seen it in Dayton 97 out of Wolfman’s, and this one was far more structured since they had actually played it a few times in the last 9 years. I like the funky reggea groove a lot. They held the groove together well and Mike came through strong. Mike was leading when I could see them talking about the next song and I figured it was going into Makisupa or Bathtub, but.... Reba: Yeah! I LOVE this song. All summer long this has been the song I’m stuck on, the one which I’ll dig out all the copies oh it that I have and listen to those shows. Needless to say, I was flying when they started into it. Fun fun fun. The floaty jam was great, and again like Divided, there’s really no going wrong with a Reba. I suppose I’ve heard better, but I haven’t heard any that don’t leave me with a huge smile on my face in the jam. In that respect, I suppose you could call it a “typical” Reba. Average length. Closed it and came back with whistling to complete the sonderful Reba. Weigh: I sure didn’t expect this one but welcomed it with open arms. Quite the rarity these days and how can you complain about that? Nothing noteworthy but lots of fun and well received by the crowd. The guys were really having fun doing this one, especially Page during his solos. I really liked the mini-solos from each of them. Birds of a Feather: 2 nights in a row? 4 in 5 shows? This is getting redundant. I would definately rather have them beat this into the ground instead of something like Bouncin, though, that’s for sure. This makes four that I’ve heard, all good and energetic but none doing anything too spectacular. I think that’s how this song will always be: good but not great. It gets moving but doesn’t really modulate enough to create a great deal of interest from me. I’m not complaining. Ok, maybe I am a little since I saw it 2 nights in a row. They definately could have come up with a better set closer, but who am I to tell them what to do? I’d rather have the spontinuity and if that’s what they feel like doing, so be it. To rehash the first set, obviously Divided was the highlight, but the majority of the rest was very solid. A nice balance between styles, and a prefect mix of classics (Divided, Reba) fun (Weigh) funk (Boogie, Birds) and ho-hum (Horse, Silent) and new (Birds again, Roget.) SET II Possum: What a killer Possum! Probably the best I’ve heard. Not as long as Champaign’s encore Possum, but man did this one rock so hard! The vigorous jam segment was frenzied energy from everybody. Fantastic. Ghost: One of my favorite Ghosts. It had the essential funk grooves, but didn’t get too dissonant and loose. It really kept the sweet funky grooves, “round” is the best term I can think of to describe the feel of the funk. It woudl start to deconstruct but would kind of come around and back into something more uniform. I have nothing against the far-out improv, but they can get a little tiring after a while, so I was happy to see it hold together more than in some versions. Lifeboy: I never expected this one either. I never thought I’d like to see this live, but it really turned out ok. Nothing great, but it had a lot of energy in a soothing way. The intro to Lifeboy inspired me to start learning guitar a while back, so this had some personal meaning for me as well. It seemed like everyone was happy to slow down a little. Plus, I was happy that they slowed it down with a bust-out like Lifeboy rather than the usual Swept Away -> Steep or Billy Breathes. David Bowie: The slow stuff didn’t last long, with a ripping Bowie as a follow up. This was a great Bowie, in my opinion, becuase even though it wasn’t very long, it was still very unique and energetic. They really cut short the spacey floaty section, and just dabbled in that a little before beginning the build to the climax. And what a climax! It seemed really drawn out right before the crazy1/16th note ascending chord picking part. Then, in between each segment of the 1/16th note part, Trey teased (actually outright played parts of) Divided three times, Possum once or twice, and someting else I didn’t quite place. That really got everbody going. I Get a Kick Out of You: This came from the nowhere of the lost world of beyond! Nobody knew what was going on, but still enjoyed the crazimess of it. Trey was really entertained during the whole song with Mike on vocals. You have to appreciate their ability to go off and do wacky stuff like this, regardless of it’s musical value. Lovin’ Cup: Nice song, crowd was very into it. I was kind of dissapointed to have this as the closer, but once the encore got going it was well worth it. Don’t get me wrong, I love this song; it’s just not my first choice as a set closer. ENCORE Harry Hood: Most people were expecting this for encore because Set II felt pretty short. A beautiful version as usual. The glowstick war was a cool effect, imo, since I hadn’t ever seen one before. And to those who deride the glowstick war supporters: if the band didn’t like it they wouldn’t turn off all the lights to increase the visibilility. Bittersweet Motel: a nice soothing song to close up the show and send everybody off in a mellow mood. I was real surprised to get a Hood AND another song for encore. I’d love to hear any comments, opinions, stories, or whatever. Peace, Elliott lesliewe@expert.cc.purdue.edu
Overall was a great show with many less frequently played songs in the first set such as Divided, Boogie On Reggae, and weigh. The first set was very standard but closed with the third Birds of a feather since St. louis. Second set rocked the whole way through. Opened with Possum which was raging. It segued into a new very funky version of ghost which i feel is much less pleasing than last years ghosts'. Lifeboy was a good treat but i would have rather of heard one like the Murat '93 version which cranked. The bowie that followed was just what i was looking for. It included teases of Divided, Possum, and Reba? The next song my dad would have really enjoyed which was I get a Kick, which Sinatra use to cover. Hilarious cover song but probably wasn't nearly as good as Sexual Healing. Lovin Cup was also a nice song to hear again but would rather of heard a Harry like the one in the encore in Lovin Cups' place. Nontheless the Harry with the glowstick war was incredible and i Know that i hit trey and Mike with a few shots at stage. Great show! Amazing Place.

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