9-15-00 -- Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 21:31:20 -0400
From: Chris Merriam [email protected]
Subject: Hershey
Parts/Attachments:
 
    Let me just say how happy I was that I was even going to this show in the first
place.  About two weeks before the show, I'm sitting in my friend Kim's dorm room, 
neither
of us expecting to see Phish this fall.  I go to Phish.com and, what do you know?  
Hershey
isn't sold out! 
    We get a late start, wait for-fucking-ever to park (will someone at Hershey please
make parking easier?!) and wind up missing half of First Tube, which pissed me off, but
Jibboo was amazing, as was tube, Birds..those are my faves at least, but everything was
incredible.  Possum is an excellent encore; everyone in the seats was feelin that shit,
singing all the words.  All in all, an excellent show.  Except the cops are strange and
there is nobody directing traffic, but Phish has nothing to do with that part.  I hope
Phish have a wonderful break, and come back firing on all cylinders; maybe then I'll have
the $$$ to see more than one show each tour!  Take care!
Chris

Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 17:59:14 -0500
From: michael j. leiden [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: hershey review
 
hey this review is a little delayed because i wrote it on a friends
computer long ago and saved it on a disc and then lost it. but i finally
found it and this is it as follows (its short)
 
Hershey 9/15/00
To start off id like to say that traffic to hershey blows. that long ass
road that is 1 lane is horrible.  This caused me to miss half of first
tube :( oh well heres my review of the show)
 
First tube-pretty strong version, a first for me, i got in to the
stadium just as they began to start the jamming part
Gotta Jiboo-eh, heard it before, cant compare to the monster jiboo in
camden
Corrina-nice tune, had some of a clue what it was from my cypress tapes
but my girl friend was the one to point it out what it was, It is
definitely one of my favorite cover songs
Birds of a feather-downer of the show for me. this one seems to follow
me and my friend around alot-4 out of 6 shows. but oh well i didnt want
to get too hung up on it
Windora Bug-best song of the show IMHO, i love this song and actually
just found out about it a month beforehand so i was glad to hear it
Antelope-cool version with a little help of tom marshall on the lyrical
side-intense jam
Golgi-hadnt heard it since m my first show in camden 99, always a good
song to rock to
Bittersweet Motel-to me this is just an extra song to hear, nothing
special
beak-long ha
Piper-crazy jam, one of the highlights of the show definitely 20 min
long
Lizards-YES! this song is amazing and i was glad to hear it 2 shows in a
row without a doubt. its also my friends favorite song who was with me
Tube-this was a rockin part of the show with all the start stop jammin
involved, good song to hear live definitely- this really got the crowed
goin
Circus-sucks
Character 0-I dont mind this song at all, i actually enjoy it despite
other peoples discontent with it. it had a cool ring war too-please
people no glowsticks thrown onstage.
Encore:
Possum-I love this song, its so fun, especially the build up drums and
the post lyric jam
good choice by the band
To sum up id have to give the show a 7 rating out of ten, i was hopin to
hear an nicu or caspian but its alright. hershey venue is cool too
"i was taught a month ago, to play this song at every show"
id like to say hi to nooch, ripples, devil, magic, and falcon who were
at teh show with me


Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2000 23:58:58 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 9/15/00 Hershey Review
 
My first birthday show, so I might have been expecting or hoping for more
than usual.  maybe a forbin's or harpua.  From our motel, it was a good 3
mile walk to the stadium.   The expected rain began to fall right as we hit
the lots.  Luckily, it didn't last long.  Lots were full of cops pouring out
beers and trying to clear out the vendors.  Not much more for them to do in
such a small town I figured.  Made our way into the show a little after 7.
Surprised to see no security keeping non general admission ticket holders off
the field, we found a spot a few hundred feet back on trey side.  The stage
had trailers beside it where the band hung out before the show.  Pretty cool
seeing Mike walking around and seeing Trey and Tom Marshall chatting.  At
7:40, First Tube got the night kicked off.  I come to shows this year
expecting this one and Jibboo, so it was no surprise.  Nice but not near the
one from alpine summer(or the one from roseland).  Jibboo was fun as always
but I can't honestly say I was excited to hear it again.  Corrina was not
expected.  I enjoyed every minute of it.  Brought a Big Cypress feel to the
show.  Funny to think that I heard phish's only 90's performance of this one
in Florida, and now their only '00 version on my birthday.  Good stuff.
Birds seemed appropriate with all of the ticket grovels in the weeks leading
up to this one.  How many ticketless were outside?  Windora Bug.  This is one
I really wanted to hear.  Great song.  I love the vocals and the groove.
Next comes Antelope.  Do they play bad versions of this song anymore?  Not
that I've seen anyway.  Not as good as 12/30/99 or 6/24/00, but, like I said
before, this one never let's me down.  Kuroda's light work deserves two
thumbs up.  It was also nice to see Tom and one of Trey's kids come on stage.
 This could have been a predictable set closer, but they ended it with golgi,
bittersweet motel.  First bittersweet for me.  Smooth vocals.  Nice set.  I
like the 3 songs at the end building up to a closer instead of a cavern or
character 0 that we all know means the end.
 Second set, at least the majority of it, was the bomb.  This had to be the
best Piper I have ever heard.  They took it into a spacey jam that lasted
15-20 minutes.  Fish's drums during this were mind bending.  Page was going
off.  They were on fire.  Each member trying to keep up with the others.
Great version of one of my favorites.  Probably should be labeled piper-->jam
because, while it seemed like they were going to come back to it after the
space trip, lizards began instead.  Having heard this at 7/14/columbus, this
made it two lizards in a row for me.  Couldn't have been happier.  This one
blew the one from 7-14 away.  Page's solos were some of the most beautiful I
have heard.  Still on fire, then Tube.  Funk filled jamming all around.  This
one will be talked about for quite a while I think.  Circus slowed it all
down, which I'm sure some people needed after the insanity of the set.  I
thought we were in for another 2 or 3 songs and then character 0 kicks in.
Damn.  Not a big fan of this song, but I have to admit that this one raged
pretty hard.  I just hate knowing a set is over, especially when it is a
short one.  Possum encore had me wishing they had chosen something else, but
I'm not complaining.  Conclusion:  Great show but I wish the 2nd set could
have been longer.  Piper-->jam-->lizards, tube was some of the strongest
jamming I have heard from phish.  Check it out when this show circulates.
Thanks phish for a great birthday party.  See you next time.
 Jon

Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 09:16:38 -0400
From: nick terranova [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: hershey
 
well it is a little late for a review but im sitting here at the computer
with nothing to do. so what the hell.  i was mad pumped up for the show. i
drove from norfolk where i attend school to virginia tech to pick up my
fiend and all thw way to hershey.  about 10 hours right there.  then was the
trek to merriwether.  but anyway we rolled up to the lot around 11:30 which
was cool because they let us in.  i thought we were gonna be denied our early
arrival.  there were only like 7 more cars in the lot.  i felt kinda cool
being one of the first ones there.
 
i met up witth this nice fellow who had some very fine tablature and i
quickly  popped a few of those and now we are set for the show.  we heard it
was general admission so we ran up to line around like 530 but there was a
line already.  we kept moving lines and when they let us in everybody went
crazy screaming and ran to the front of the stage.  we ended up only 20 ft in
front of trey. pretty decent.
 
first tube kicked so much ass.  there were possum and limbxlimb teases in
there but i was much happer when i started to hear jon's stick's being banged
together.
 
jibboo was decent.  ithink ive heard it too much though.
 
corrina!! i thought id never hear this song cuz i wasnt at big cypress.  but
i went nuts.  some people didn't even know what it was.
 
birds was off the hook!!! great jam throughout and my friends favorite song
of the night.
 
Is it a wind, or a bug? great song.  im glad they decided to make this one a
regular.  one of favorites since trey tour.
 
Antelope!!!!!!!  what was up when kuroda turned on the spinning strobe
lights?!  coolest looking thing ever.  with tom marshall taboot.
 
golgi was good as usual. a crowd pleaser.
 
bittersweet when you are near pittsburgh is never bad.  like star lake 99.
 
piper sent me through the roof.  i was dancing so hard.  great jam.
 
lizards started and my friend was like"it's lizards" and i said "no way" but
it was.  fabulous.
 
an asteriod crashed and nothing burned!!!!!! amazing tube.  best since last
hampton 12-18-99.
 
circus was a way to slow it down.  good choice.
 
character zero with a glowstick war was awesome.  i was hopng for a tweezer
throughout the show but no dice
 
amazing jams.  get the tapes!!!

Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2000 23:24:48 -0700
From: doug ryan [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: hershey park review
 
greeting and salutes,
 
i've probably let more mind-blowing shows (12.29.94) and many
'pinball-brain' shows (i had the complete dmt experience minus the dmt in
deer creek during limb by limb) but i'm gonna just have to comment on what i
feel was some AWESOME ensemble playing by the band during the early second
set at hershey. i missed the entire first set (leaning out car window
doesn't count) because i was working for espn at the drag racing event held
in nearby reading.
we were supposed to work til 10 but around 6pm i just had to split (with
grudging permission from boss "you better not come in all goofy tomorrow!")
and head towards hershey. the traffic was brutal but serves me right leaving
so late. that said, i breezed in deer creek about the same time one night.
i'm sure a local would have gotten me there sooner but what the hey. i
managed in at the set break. (That does not mean i busted down a fence -
hello? - want to ruin your great scene - keep it up.), found some phriendly
pholk phor a phatty and got set for a 'bonus' set. i didn't really wake up
expecting to see phish that night so it was all a bonus.  I digress.
 
piper was great, never really grooved into it before but definitely lifted
me up. it was my opener. lizards just dropped my jaw. i'd always loved the
lyrics and the comparisons between '60s sf rockers and '90s vermont mall
rockers (mars vs bittersweet) but page mc connell, (despite your support of
the new jersey devils hockey team. go flyers) you are my new unsung hero.
i've been a big pat metheny group fan for years and love lyle mays,
particularly the interplay between mays and metheny on some of the their
up-tempo acoustic guitar rhythm/piano solo pieces.  during the lizards solo,
phish sounded every bit as good as anyting i've seen pmg pull off live and
that is really saying 'as good as it gets'. thanks, page for all those hours
you undoubtedly spent with tape recorders and sheet music and metronomes
going click click until the wee hours. i was really really impressed. just
floored. oh yeah, trey you're pretty good too. smile. i'll end with 2 final
thoughts here:
 
1. how awesome is it that a band can sound like a grammy award winning
modern jazz band at their very very best and then rock to close with c. zero
and the like. i think we should all consider ourselves pretty lucky to be
 with such a quartet that shares our penchant for freedom of thought
and let's us eat the FOOD we want to eat without getting preachy or
holier-than-thou. enjoy your upcoming break. you've earned it.
 
2. it seems the glowstick thing is really starting to bother folks and from
some reports the band as well. i'd say go the source. who's selling these
things? and can't you convince them to sell glowrings instead. if not,
calmly, politely, gently explain to your glow stick (selling or tossing)
neighbor that it's not a great idea and then take the time to explain why
you think so. lastly, you could just ignore it. the dead did stop playing
'dayjob' after awhile. smile.
 
one last thought, many thanks to andy gadiel for the great website.
 
jigsaw puzzlin, dougie r. ([email protected])

Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 00:47:41 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: hershey review
 
Remembered 96, the simpsons shirt with the fat comic guy carrying his taping
gear wearing the "worst show ever" comes to my mind when thinking back to
96'.  That was my least favorite phish show.  So off to Hershey for my third
time (I didn't get in the arena show DEC 95')  Got there late because of the
traffic, but what can I say I expected to miss the first three or four songs.
 Luckily we were walking into the show during first tube-    one of favorites
on the new album, anthem like, it says a lot about phish in the last two
years.
        jibboo- good warm up.
        corrinna-  second time I've seen this last time was that first set at
B.C. and I have to say with the T.V. screens they had set up this time in
hershey, I almost felt like I was back at the swamp.  So much better than 96'
WSE  (worst show ever).
        birds- was really funky, and the sound was actually good, I remember
mentioning to my friend rudeboy how you could hear fish's kick drum so
clearly.
        antelope -  pretty good, intro with the picking, have seen better or
more evil antelopes, but this one seemed to get lost in the jam not peaking
but rather spazzing its way to the halt.  Lights took over the jam.  but
always a crowd pleaser.
        -piper- not a big fan of this song, but as my one buddy put it, "I
like piper when its not piper"   here they funked a nice groove, and Trey was
mixing a lot of different loops and other FX  that blended nicely.
        -tube-  very nice, Trey's voice was on tonight.  I like a little
raspiness in his voice, ya know how you're voice sounds cool sometimes when
you're sick?  well Trey sounded almost sick, but was really kicking some nice
vocals.  Free way in L.A.
        -circus, was glad to hear this one because my brother was here
tonight, his second show.  Love the guitar solo, even though its generally
the same, it really says a lot,  the solo sings through the verse they way ol
Jerry used to do so soulfully.
        -bittersweet,  like this tune,  spent some time in Slippery Rock PA,
what can i say  1/2 way between Erie and PItt,  look at a map.
        -Character 0-  Glowsticks everywhere, I was close to the stage and it
was nuts.  Got distracted from the music a little but, I've always liked this
song.  Trey's Hendrix jam.  Love how the wah starts off that powerful solo.
        -possum- encore  was hoping for a little more, but I worked my way to
the back during possum, wanted to beat the traffic.  Plus I saw a kid in the
back with all the freaks who was the most rulin kid there.  He was dancing
like he lost his puppy, pacing back and forth, holding something pretend in
his hand.  I love when I see people all niced up.  This kid got the MVP award
in my mind.  from 1-10 I'd give hershey 2000 a  six.  Much better than the
dreaded WSE 96.  next up for me #55-56 vegas, looks like the end of an era.

Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 17:00:02 EDT
From: Rich D [email protected]
Subject: hershey review
 
Set I: First Tube, Gotta Jibboo, Corrine Corrina, Birds of a Feather,
Windora Bug, Run Like an Antelope*, Golgi Apparatus, Bittersweet Motel
 
 
Set II: Piper > The Lizards, Tube, Jam^ > When the Circus Comes, Character
Zero#
 
Encore: Possum
 
 
  Ok, to give an intro to this, the drive seemed never ending from NY,
Traffic sucked once in Hershey. Lots were full of cops busting people for
different reasons. And then the show started
 
First set.. it was weird because there was no security guards at the stairs
from the bleachers to the floor so me and my friends went down to the floor
and got a pretty nice spot.
 
Jibboo: Not a song i wanted to hear since it seems like every show i go to i
hear it, not too jammed out though so i had no complaints.. it always seems
to make me boogie though
 
Corrina Corrina: So funny they played this cuz in the car my friend said
yeah man corrina corrina tonight and we all laughed because who knew they
were going to bring this back..well besides nye.  i love this song and when
it came on i was like holy shit man how did u call that... well anyway i
loved and still love this song so it was great to hear.
 
Birds: Hell yeah, once the first chords came in i was ready to dance.. I
love the way they jam this.. so its not poppy and stuff.. it was so hard i
thought i was going to pass out from dancing so hard..
 
Windora Bug: knew this song from trey tour.. great song.. mike singing is
amazing and its just such a cool song.. definetly have to listen to this
song if you haven't heard it
 
Antelope: Awesome version.. just kept getting more and more intense until
the marco esquandolas part where Tom Marshall and some little girl came
out.. the little girl was holding Tom's hand and was hiding behind him.. Tom
did the Marco,spliff part.. Kuroda was rockin the lights man I saw so many
people pass out when the black and white lights just went nuts swinging in a
circle... Nuts!
 
Golgi: Golgi is Golgi.. just kept the rocking going.
 
Bittersweet: You have no idea how bad i wanted to hear this song.. Amazing
placement as a 1st set closer
 
Setbreak: bathroom line was nuts.. went up to the bleachers it was freezing
up there and Piper began
 
Piper: ok piper, it sounds a lot diff to me since farmhouse came out and i
dont like the fact that everyone knows the words.. oh well  the jam was nice
this piper was really streched out
 
Lizards: wow the place went nuts.. the only complaint i had with this
lizards were the drunk bunch of college guys that were talking during the
verses really loud.. and then sang the chorus so loud in my ear that i
wanted to knock them out.. i mean im 16 but i know respect and u dont do
that type of stuff.. if im gonna sing i sing to myself unless its like a
rock song that you should chant to.. but during the ending guitar part these
kids were talking about what they wanted to hear next... I was about to
scream "this is the best part of this song u assholes" but i kept it calm
and just got ready for...
 
Tube: ASTEROID CRASHED AND NOTHING BURNED....amazing tube.. most jammed out
tube i ever heard... definetly should of been labeled   Tube>jam...  and not
just tube.. and not tube>tube jam.. cuz this jam had a tube relevance in the
beginning but then took off into some funk funk funk.. amazing tube..
definetly gotta hear this one!
 
Circus: hellz yeah i love this song.. great placement i was getting all
tired from the funkyness of tube.. this song is great.
 
Character Zero: No please dont be the end of this set.. why are u jippin
us..haha.. i really really really wanted a slave or a hood but Character
Zero had a cool glowstick war.. watch your heads!  but char zero is char
zero.. cool song i guess
 
Possum: fucking possum, love the song but ive seen it a lot and this song
was definetly not a good choice for an encore IMO.. i wanted something crazy
and nuts.. but Possum... oh well still was rocking
 
This show was great but short.. i dunno it seemed real short to me..
I really could of used my meatstick, slave, harry hood, but oh well maybe
next time..
 
Phish please take a year off.. cuz the scene is really turning shitty.. and
it sucks for all the heroin addict heads that are gonna fuck up some other
scene.. i just hope it isn't the moe. scene.. and young kidslike me, who are
trippin at shows and just come to shows to do drugs please save us space and
tickets for sold out shows and go clubbin already
 
peace...furthur
Rich D

Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 22:06:48 -0700
From: jason24 [email protected]
Subject: 9/15/00 hershey review
 
I was psyched up for a while about this show, the last show I saw was
the 4th of july in camden, and this was unfortunatly my only show for
the fall. If the band takes that long awaited break, which they honestly
deserve, It will be a long wait to see them again. But all
I was concerned about was what was happening on this night. First off,
the lot was cool, other than all the cops running around. I was'nt in
the lot for long- I had plans on getting a descent spot close to the
front. So I went to stand in line. The doors were supposed to open at
5:00 btu they didn't open until like 5:45. So once I was in I ran to the
front, anf got a spot about 15 rows back, not bad, about center stage. I
thought this would be really nice for the lights and everything, since
It was already dark for the 1st set.
As the crew put up the big screens on the sides of the stage, and it was
around 7:30 and I knew that the guys would be out within minutes. As the
end of the pre-show music faded out, it was about 7:45 and the guys came
out. What would it be, I heard some of the soundcheck, and it sounded
pretty funky, so I knew that the show would be a treat.
1st set:
first tube- I was kinda hoping to hear this one, I really like the whole
build up and everything, and it worked well to get the show started. I
thought this one rocked as it always does
gotta jibboo- after seeing 3 of these this summer, I was kinda hoping
they would give it a rest. but- I really do like this song, and although
it was'nt a 30+ minute version as on the 4th of july, it was equally
effective. always a real fun song.
corrina corrina- trey and mike conversed for a second or two, and then
mike nodded his head. having never heard this live before, I was'nt
quite sure what it was. I remembered hearing it on the big cypress tape,
and then knew what it was. This song came
out of nowhere, and was a nice treat. It was last played at big cypress,
a 35 show gap, and the last time before that was sometime in the 80's!
birds- Haven't heard this too amny times, and I really did'nt expect it.
I love the beginning of this song, the guitar straight in to the heavy
bass riff. nice jammed out version.
windora bug- I did'nt know what this song was until I came home and
checked out phish.net. some people around me seemed to think it was a
cover song, but I had no idea.
a real cool reggae beat, and it's only the second time they've played
it. look for this one to pop hear and there on the rest of the tour.
antelope- had a feeling this one was coming up on this particular night,
and I was happy to hear it. It was a really nice version, with an
absolutely crazy build up, and some amazing light work by kuroda. tom
marshall came out to do "marco" and replaced "spike" with "splif". I
thought masybe this would end the set, but not so...
golgi- standard version, always fun
bittersweet motel- I think that I have seen this song nearly half the
times it has been played, and although we were close to pittsburgh and
all, I did'nt really expect this one. maybe some promotion for the movie
or something- although they haven't played it to many times, I would
like to see it played even less often. I really do like this song, but
just not as much as I use to. that ended the 1st set, which was very
good. I could'nt wait for the second set.
2nd set:
piper- I was expecting a runaway jim or tweezer, but this piper was
really cool. It was standard version until then went into this spacey
jam, in which they never really finished the song. this piper was the
best I've ever seen!!! the whole improv jam that pursued was amazing,
reminding me of some of the stuff that goes on in a long sand jam. It
got really rave-like at one point, in and out of some crazy loops, and
then into....
lizards!!!- I love this song, and I love them for playing it. This was
only my second lizards, and it was just beautiful, I found myself
singing along the whole time. Thanks guys! and after the end of the
song...
tube- I had been hoping all week that they would play this one! nice jam
in the middle section, and then after the end "living in this tube..."
they paused for like 5-10 seconds, and went back into a tube like jam
for long while. this was really awkward, I'm just considering it an
"ambient jam".
circus- standard version
character zero- not the a big fan of this song, but this version really
rocked! nice and jammed out at the end, trey was smiling away, there was
a glowstick war ensued, and then a man ran across the stage, was tackled
by carini, and then moments later- the same guy was back on the stage.
the band seemed amused by the situation. I expected something to follow
zero, but it ended the second set. overall the second set was kinda
weak, it started out really nice, but I felt they could have played one
more. but there was still the encore...
encore.......possum!- nice. the last time I saw possum as an encore was
at the spectrum in philly in '99. this version was tight, and wrapped
the show up nicely. overall, the show was really good. played well, with
a few rarities thrown in as well. Get the tape, it's worth getting!
check out my list at phishhook.com. list name- nicuphishin. Hope to see
you all on the next tour.


Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 15:36:10 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: hershey review
 
Alright, to sum this show in a brief review...the traffic stunk, the cops
stunk, the town stunk like chocolate...it was really crowded...and the first
set was alot like the albany run...but the second set is where it was
at....killer piper jam...unique rhythms with Mike just pounding out hip
grinding phat ass beats...but, the Tube is what made my show...it was
funktified....had all the essence of funk...as like the classic Dayton 12/7/97
Tube...and other tubes that follwed....but the jam afterwards was way too much
in a very good way...pure bliss...the Zero was nice and the Possum encore was
a sweet way to end the show considering I missed the Albany Possum.......and
Merriweather was just somethin else..but more on that later...Brendan


Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 20:42:50 -0400
From: Brett Morgen [email protected]
Subject: Review
 
I have no idea what every bad review is all about.  Just being at a Phish
concert is absolutely incredible, maybe all you ungrateful people should go
to a Dave Matthews concert at Veterans stadium or a Blink 182 concert and see
what a bad concert really is. This venue is amazing, easily the biggest Phish
concert I've ever been to.  The 20,000+ people with general admission had a
chance to get right up near the stage which was great, if you got to the
stadium early enough.  I've been finding it harder and harder to get good
shit in the lot, especially at this one, and don't even get me started on
Maryland, jesus.  Anyway, onto the show..
 
09/15/2000 Hersheypark Stadium - Hershey, Pennsylvania - reviews
 
Set I: First Tube, Gotta Jibboo, Corrine Corrina, Birds of a Feather, Windora
Bug, Run Like an Antelope*, Golgi Apparatus, Bittersweet Motel
 
Set II: Piper > The Lizards, Tube, Jam^ > When the Circus Comes, Character
Zero#
 
Encore: Possum
 
First Tube - Oh my God!  We were like 30-40 feet from the stage and everyone
was going nuts.  As soon as I heard this opener I knew it was gonna be a
bomb show  Trey was jumping around and the band just tore this song up!
Jibboo - Standard version, cool song
Corrnie Corrina - I don't remember much of this except that I liked it
Birds - Best version I've ever seen live.  Get the tapes, this one kicked
ass.
Windora Bug - Me and my friend were like the only ones around us who knew
what this was, everyone else thought it was makisupa, but this songs chill as
hell, we got the rules down now!
Antelope - incredible, get the tapes
Golgi - this is always good, lot of fun
Bittersweet Motel - Good, the set had to end some time
Piper - awesome version with a long ass jam, perfect opener (besides maybe
yem?)
Lizards - best lizards ive ever heard, everyone was jumping around, Page was
playing good as hell
Tube, Jam - good as hell, don't remember much of the jam though
Circus - pretty song nice breather until..
Character Zero - some people are starting to get tired of it, but this
version rocked, everyone was going nuts and the glowstick war was HUGE   Some
guy ran out on stage, and as security dragged him off, he kept pointing with
two arms to Trey as to say "you're the man!" the band got a kick out of him
Possum - where's my hood or yem?
 
Overall the show rocked that stadium.  I wasn't the slightest bit
dissapointed, even thought we didn't get yem or hood (ha!) and anyone who
thinks it sucked should give their tickets to someone who would appreciate
how awesome phish is  buy tickets cause you wanna see the concert, not so you
can pick apart every little thing the band does!  either that or get so
wasted on some drug that it really won't matter what they play ha!

Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 15:48:14 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: chocolatetown
 
I have to agree with a lot of the reviewers that this show was not one of the
best. After what I saw they could do on Sun, this is one of my least favorite
shows I've seen. Don't get me wrong, Antelope, Lizard and Possum, my favorite
animal tunes (hmm maybe that was the point? An animal show?), but other than
Possum, the energy just wasn't there, like it definately was at Merriweather.
Also, the Gestapo in the lot really freaked me and a lot of other people out,
huge vans, with jumpout cops! Ahhh! Also, some little fucking raver (i have
nothing against ravers, just this one) a la jester hat was all about the bunk
shit and ripping people off. Now, that is so uncalled for. So much for the
kindness and trust. But... I will not let the Gestapo and stupid caper raver
kids ruin my beloved Phish experiences. Shakedown may be really becoming a
shakedown, but the music is still amazing! Hershey (a la phootball stadium)
was not a great place to see a show (no grass, bright ass lights at
intermission that just killed the mood and a lagging show) But, like I said,
they definately made up for it on Sunday at Merriweather.... yep, faith is
still alive!

Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 11:24:17 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: Hershey Park Review
 
     First off, there were undercovers everywhere. Some random dude ran up to
our friends car, jumped in the back seat and tried hiding from cops who were
swarming all around us. They then pulled a gun on him and arrested him. The
funniest thing was that my brothers' satchel was in plain sight in the open
trunk and 20 cops didn't see it. We saw it from 20 feet away. Anyways, this
is the first review I have ever written, but I feel like I had to say
something.
     First Tube was pretty damn good, and the first time I've seen it as a
show opener.  Jiboo was pretty grooving, and better than some ones over the
summer.  BOAF was pretty phat, and Windora was one of the highlights.  I had
a problem with Antelope. It's always been one of my favorite songs, but this
one, for some reason, seemed out of sync. Not bad though.  Standard Golgi and
a good Bittersweet with a fucking awesome Trey solo at the end to close out
the set. Not a bad first set.
     Second set was pretty damn good.  Awesome Piper jam, a nice Lizards, and
incredible Tube. Great Circus, and I thought Character Zero was better than
normal.  It's always good to hear Possum anywhere in a set.  Overall, a
pretty damn good show. It was freezing in the lot afterwards.
Eric
[email protected]

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 09:41:04 -0600
From: "Wagner, Reid D." [email protected]
Subject: Hershey 9/15/00
 
After reading the first 6 or 7 reviews of this show, I am amazed of the
negative thoughts brought about by phellow phans.  You all must realize
that cops will not hassle you if you don't give them a reason to do so.
 In other words, don't have body parts hanging out of your car.  Smoke
pot more privately while in the lot.  If you're 16 years old, don't be
drinking a beer out in the open with cops walking by.
 
After driving on the PA Turnpike from Pittsburgh through torrential rain,
it sure was nice to see the clouds thinning out as we arrived in Hershey
at around 5:15.  I don't know where you all sat in traffic but we pretty
much pulled right into the place with maybe 10 or 15 minutes of traffic.
 I thought the layout of the venue was great.  When you see a show at an
old football stadium, you can't compare it to the new, cookie cutter
amphitheatres.  Also, we saw very little security presence outside of the
usual yellow shirts stationed by the entrances.  Remember, security is
there because of a few bad apples and incidents which seem to occur with
more frequency these days.
 
The show itself was solid.  I felt a real good vibe once we got to our
seats.  Here we go...
 
First Tube - Of all the new songs, this is the best one to open a show
with.  Great way to get the heart rate going and to keep warm during the
beautiful cool evening.  Trey seemed a bit flustered in the beginning but
after a few minutes he looked up as if to say, ok, let's do it.
 
Gotta Jiboo - I really like this one as well.  However, I think it's time
to open up the jam.  My girlfriend, who had never seen Phish before,
declared this to be her favorite so that made me happy.
 
Corrine Corrina - I don't really know what to say.  The song did offer
some good flashbacks to Big Cypress.
 
BOAF - This version was really nice.  I think it was more like the ones
from '98 where they didn't lose themselves in the middle of the jam.  I
also thought this one was shorter than usual but that's ok.
 
Windora Bug - I had no idea what this was but I sure enjoyed it.  Such a
nice mellow reggae beat.  I really enjoy Phish's recent injection of
reggae sounds.  I heard hints of reggae riffs throughout the show.  By
this time I was ready to take off as I was yearning for some good ol'
Phishin.
 
Antelope - This was exactly what I needed.  The jam was super tight and
it seemed as if Trey did not want it to end.  Lost in the craziness of
the jam itself, I noticed from our seats in section 25 that Fishman had
dropped a stick and there was no one there to give him another.  He was
playing the drums with 1 stick and using his hand as well.  This lasted
for about 30 seconds until Tom Marshall gave him a pile of sticks.
 
Golgi - Always a crowd favorite and this one was no exception.
 
Bittersweet Motel - Very nice way to wrap up the set.  As a Pittsburgher,
it's nice to hear the props.  I also think they played this because they
did not at Star Lake this year for the first time since the song came
out.
 
All in all, I thought the first set was good but not great.  A good mix
of old and new.  This kind of set usually leads me to believe we're in
for a killer 2nd set, which is what we got.
 
Piper - This version was very good.  Each time I see this song (which
seems to follow me) I like it more.  What I really liked about this one
is that after the usual insanity of the first 5 minutes or so, they
explored into different sounds and speeds, whereas in other Pipers I've
seen they've all been rather standard and fast throughout.  I'm glad to
have seen something different with this tune.
 
Lizards - YES, my all time favorite!!  This version was amazing.  I've
never seen Page play with so much energy, emotion, and passion.  He was
on fire!  Trey was observing in awe!  Even Gordo and Fishman were
checking him out.  Page's brilliance did not overshadow Trey's backup
work which is key to a great Lizards.
 
Tube - WOW, another favorite!  I'm speechless.  This version absolutely
kicked ass (no flubs)!  Page really kept the phunk and Fishman had a grin
on his face as if he had just eaten a Hershey Kiss Lampshade.
 
Jam - Some people are labeling this as Tube > Tube Jam.  I would not do
so for 2 reasons.  First, they stopped after Tube.  Second, the jam had
no resemblance of Tube.  The jam was great though and it sounded very
much like old school Phish.  I thought I may have heard some Dave's
Energy Guide riffs but that can be debated in many of Phish's jams.
 
Circus - I really like this tune not because of the music itself, but
because they always seem to place it perfectly.  Right in time for a 5
minute break before wrapping up the set.  Also, good timing for
re-baking.
 
Character Zero - I was hoping for Mike's or something else.  This tune is
rapidly descending to the bottom of my list of favorites.  I don't
understand why they have to end the set with such a basic song.  For me,
it's becoming like Julius (least favorite).  Good glowstick war though
and Trey was rather impressive in catching the stick.  I think this song
is much better as a 1st set closer than 2nd.
 
Enc. - Possum - Thank you Phish.  One of my pet peeves is when they play
a cheesy cover tune as the encore.  There is nothing like ending the
evening with one of the most classic of all Phish tunes.  I especially
enjoyed the old school feel of the jam as they rocked pretty much the
entire way.
 
The 2nd set was great with the exception of Zero.  Time to 86 this one.
 Anyway, it only took about 20 minutes to get out of the lot which was very
gratifying.  It's very hard for me to rate a show these days.  I've seen 83
shows over the last 10 years and they have all been so different in their own
ways.  I'd say this one was between good and great.
 
I also think Phish really does need their impending time off.  In the last few
years, the shows seem to be getting a bit stale and predictable.
 I throughoughly enjoy the newer music but there is so much more they can do
even if they continue to heavily play the new stuff.  Also, there are 2
suggestions I would make to the band.  First, how about a tour with The Giant
Country Horns (let's mix it up a bit).  Second, how about a tour that lasts
more than 5 weeks?  It would be nice to be able to see multi night shows in
places beyond the normal multi night spectrum.


Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 20:49:19 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: 9/15/00 Hershey - Review
 
Phish - Friday, 9/15/00
Hershey Stadium, Hershey, PA
 
Prelude:
 
  Hershey is a special place for me mainly for two reasons.  First, I just
enjoy the setting. Even though the stadium may not be the best looking of
venues, the openness of it all just makes it enjoyable.  Plus the drive
through Penn's Lebanon Valley country side with its mountains and farmland is
very pretty, plus when you arrive into town on Rt. 422 you first hit the
Hershey kisses lampposts which are a little surreal and then the chocolate
aroma hits you are you see yourself driving right by the Hershey factory.
It's almost out of Willy Wonka.  Plus the theme park in the distance gives it
a good feel as well.  The second reason is the 8/14/96 show, which began my
Clifford Ball road trip.  That show was the last before the Clifford Ball and
it was a great, wonderful day and a fantastic show! The weather wasn't as
nice this time around with Fall arriving to the East Coast this weekend.  The
drive from NYC had nice blue skies with bright sun with huge white clouds on
but upon arrival to the venue the clouds darkened but at least the rain held
off throughout the night and the chill breeze was also held off by some warm
clothing.  The show started at 7:40pm and by then it was pretty much
completely dark with some setting sun still visible from the top of the
stands, to the far left off the stage in the distance.  Also from section 25
in the stands you had a full view of the backstage area and about one hour
before showtime you could see the band members milling around as well all of
the other family members.
 
The Show:
 
    What seemed like a Possum tuning tease lead into First Tube. Trey looked
a little perturbed in the beginning, playing a lot with his pedals and hardly
looking up into the crowd.  He finally looked over the crowd during the final
solo and cracked a smile easing himself into the show.  This was my third
First Tube (Radio City and PNC others) and was the 'least best' of all three
versions, lets face it nothing will compare to the Radio City opener,
probably the best version and the encore at PNC also had more energy and
purpose. But Fish in his wool cap and full clothes under the Muumuu kept a
good beat and the song ended with a good quick soaring solo from Trey.
 
  Next was the harmless groove that is Gotta Jibboo.  Someday this song will
become something but now it was just another harmless rendition which kept
the crowd's head bobbing.
 
  Corrina was a highlight, it was played extremely slow!  Slower than I have
ever heard Phish play a soft song.  I mentioned this to somebody at the show
and they thought I was knocking it by saying slow, but I just meant the tempo
was very slow and played with care and definitely a lot of soul.  Page
provided a beautiful organ solo and Trey was really trying to sound bluesy in
his final soulful singing of the repeating "Corrina" "Coooorina" lyric.
 
 BOAF was good and hard.
 
  Windora Bug, was the second time played by Phish.  Mike sings the beginning
and the song is STRONGLY played as a reggae song.  Trey follows with the
"rules down now.....top of the cliff" chorus with Page repeating it one half
step behind him.  The song ended with a soft, bouncy reggae wah-wah jam.
 
  Antelope was the second highlight of the set.  The Big Dipper emerged in
the night sky over the right of the stage.  Huge Nellie Kane tease by Trey in
the beginning and several other classic rock 'influences' which I couldn't
pin point throughout the song.  Just a rocking solid good version, with
Marshall and little girl (Trey's daughter I'm guessing) to sing his lyrical
part.  The girl was shy and hid behind him.
 
  Bittersweet Motel was another one played sooooo slow. Nice solo.
 
  After the First Tube/Jibbo opening a very solid excellent set.
 
  Set 2!!!!  Here we go! Stand Back, after the Tube Jam I was saying to
myself and anyone else who wanted to listen around me, that this band DOES
NOT need a hiatus.  They put it all out in this set which was filled with
energy and creativity.
 
  Piper begins and as it recently seems to be the case you can hear somebody
once they recognize what is being played, yell out "Oh My God! This is my
favorite song."  This one wasn't your standard "Farmhouse" Piper.  The jam
that came out of it was a monster and this just started the jamming off in
the set.  It must've lasted about 15-20 minutes and once they got through the
logistical Piper jam out of the improvisation opened way up with Mike leading
the way and Trey finally filling in with a good hard rock solo, this quickly
mellowed to a very upbeat steady soft groove with Chris K. illuminating the
stage with every color imaginable....blue, orange, green, yellow, red, white,
it looked like the flying glowstick effect we would see later in the night
but it was provided by the light show.   Beautiful!  This continued into
something like a "Stellar, Out of this World Storm."  A jam, like a hurricane
in space.  Mike began to play an intricate bass line, many different chords
moving his fingers around the neck a lot.  With Trey filling in on the
keyboard with some high pitched "wee" sounds and also some hard wind blowing
effects.  But Fish stole the show, he played a fast quick beat and just kept
CRASHING the inverted cymbal he has in front of him on his right side.  He
crashed it like 20 times, awesome!!!!! Trey I think followed with some
crashing effects also.  The song then eased and calmed down, as if a storm
was ending down to a loop.
 
   Lizards came next and was beautiful!  Some of the best piano work by Page.
 Page was in top form.  Concentrating real hard on his work, Trey just kept
looking over to see when he was done, but Page was just hunched over
hammering at the keys with his long fully extended fingers.  What a SOLO!
Trey's solo was nice and melodic but quick since he couldn't touch Page's so
he kept it within the composed ending framework, and that ending was also
done extremely well!
 
   The fun doesn't end, here comes Tube.  This maybe one of the best funk
versions of this song I have heard.  It wasn't some strong porn funk, but
just some good, solid, tight rock n roll funk.  This is what Jibboo should be
or become.  Page use to have a piano solo in this song when it was more of a
rock song, but now he played the top keyboard which sits on top of the piano
and it was good!  The song itself ends and on the very next beat the band
starts up a reprised jam of it and it is fantastic.  Another Monster Jam!
"what else do people want from this band" I say to myself.  This one had
everything in it and is very difficult to describe in detail.  At one point,
Page is hunched over the keyboard like the keys-meister that he usually
becomes and Trey with his legs spread wide is hunched over his keyboard
mixing some strange keys/string concoction of his own.  Mike is head bobbing
fiercely playing and Fish with his eyes closed and head rotating is keeping
an incredible beat.  All four are producing this one fabulous single body of
sound!  Phish coming together into a single entity, tapping into that
wavelength and pulling out this music and hosing us down!
 
   Circus is a slow song that doesn't match the slow tempo of the earlier
two.  How could it after that last jam?  This version is best described as a
full-bodied version, with Mike and Fish still strongly carrying over the
previous jams energetic support.  Nothing like this year's Holmdel version
which almost was a solo Trey effort, like some versions of Circus are.
 
   Character Zero featured many many glowsticks, with the stage littered with
them and Page continuously looking up for his life.  Trey catches one and
throws it back.  The version is a standard version because of all this extra
circular activity with nothing really out of the ordinary emerging from it.
 
   Possum had a nice minor improv over the Fish/Mike tapping intro.  With a
good picking solo in the middle.
 
  Set II was the hose, they really pulled it out of the air and gave it to
us!!!!
 
Thanks for the time,
Peace,
Kaz
 
[email protected]

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 01:14:16 -0700
From: Kareem Abou-Gharbia [email protected]
Subject: hershey show
 
The show cannot be called bad.  It may have been slightly short, but let's
not be ridiculous.  Me and my gang showed up halfway through the first set
and in the middle of an impressive Run Like an Antelope jam.  Which was
followed by freakin' Golgi Apparatus, and i love this song with a passion,
i think it should be a requirement at every show. haha.  the last song
before the end of the set was a cute little medley for the people and it
ended the set on a good note.  the second set was drawn out and intense.  i
thought lizards and character zero were the highlights.  i was impressed
with possum as an encore yet my boys tell me this is the third time it has
been used as a closer.  regardless, it was well-played.  the show was great
and the crowd was feeling the vibe so it was worth the 3 hour drive and
worth my friday night.
 
sincerely,
kareem
university of the sciences in philadelphia

Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 02:33:19 -0400
From: "[email protected]" [email protected]
Subject: Hershey Park Review
 
This is a review from Dr. Nick.  Hi Everybody!
 
    Ok it's been a few days since I've seen the show.  Yet I still can't
stop thinking about Hershey.  This was my second show (my first was the 2nd
day in Albany). I have to say that 2nd day Albany being my first show
spoiled me.  It was amazing.  I couldn't stop wondering what a follow up in
Hershey would be like.
 
    I drove in from New York.  It took 4 hours.  Not so bad.  I arrived
about an hour before the show.  It was a little bit chilly.  Security at the
gate pretty chill.  Guard asked me where I was from.  I said "New York".  He
laughed and let me through with one pat one pat on my waist.  Crowd was
pretty nice when I entered.  Me and my friends grabbed a great spot on the
field close to the front on Pages side. The wait was intense.  The crowd
cheered for the show to start numerous times during breaks in the pre-music.
Then the house light go down and the show begins.
 
1st Tube - What a set opener.  I really dug  Trey's riffs.  So did the
crowd.  Electrifying.
 
Gotta Jiboo - Really groovy.  I was surprised to hear it in the first set
and following an intense opener.  I could tell from this point that te show
would not be as intense as Albany.  I was excited to hear what was next.
 
Corrina, Corrina - I whip out my corrina, sure don't mean a natural thing.
I think I was the only one singing along on this one.  Very rare glad I
heard it.
 
Birds of a Feather - The intensity level jumped again.  Crowd really
appreciated it.  I was dancing.
 
Windora Bug - The band talked for a while before playing this one.  I
thought they would keep the the house rockin, but Windora Bug is what we
got. It was a fun Jam.  Good to see Mike take over for a little bit.  Crowd
was mixed about it.  Hey if thats what they play than it's fine with me.
 
Run Like an Antelope - Crazy, nuts, very cool.  One of the best Antelope's
I've ever heard.  Chris worked his magic with the light effects.  The stage
was exploding.  Fine Job.
 
Golgi Apparatus - STATUS!  Things are rockin and everybody was has having a
good time during this song.
 
Bittersweet Motel - I could care less what lies between here and Pittsburgh.
I'm from New York remember.  I could tell you halfway between Hershey and
New York is Lebanon, New Jersey.  But besides the fact the band was playing
to the PA crowd, I really do like this song.  Sweet way to close a pretty
amazing set.
 
Piper - OK after a sweet ending to the first set.  I could feel that the
crowd was ready to rock again.  Piper came out and everybody jumped in.  It
was groovy but I could tell some people wanted a little more rock to open.
 
Lizards - Oh man.  Never saw this one coming.  A very pleasent surprise.
Page's piano was beautiful.
 
Tube - This song was in my head for days before the concert.  They played it
and I couldn't have been more pleased.  Astroid Crashed and the crowd goes
wild.  A brief pause after the song then they finish it up with a tight jam.
 
When the Cicus Comes - It felt like the band was teasing us the whole night.
A little rock, a little groove, a little chill.  Well it was chilly at
Hershey.  This brought things down again.  Some people weren't pleased and I
understand.  Still it seemed the band enjoyed playing it.  So I liked
hearing it.  I even caught myself singing along.
 
Character Zero - WOW! I really wasn't sure which direction the show was
heading in, but man I'm gald where it ended up.  Rock on and have a
glowstick war.  I know it's now the typical song to have a war with, but
this only intensified it further.  I was in the middle of it all.  There
were glowsticks whipped around everywhere.  I heard about people running up
on stage.  But I failed to see that during the malay.  I did see Trey catch
and throw a glowstick back into the crowd.  Everybody went crazy he kept
right on playing.  I don't understand why people throw at the band.  Trey
didn't seem to mind that night.  But still it would have to piss them off
sometimes.
 
Possum - Opened for my first show.  Closed for this one.  Great song but a
personal dissapointment.  Good version too, but I had really hoped for
something new to remember.
 
    I hear they're going to take some time off.  It's too bad I've got a
taste and I want more.  It's not too late for New Year's at Madison Square
Garden.  Come on fellas what do you say.  If so I'm there.  If not I
understand.  I'll see whenever you come around
 
    Bye Everybody

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 13:37:04 -0700 (PDT)
From: mike leo [email protected]
Subject: 9-15-00 Review
 
Wow! This was my first show, due to the fact that I'm only 15 and don't have a
ride to most shows. But my sister was kind enough to let me tag along, plus as
a Phish head she loves the fact that I'm into the same shit as here. First
off, I would like to thank everyone at that show, because the whole atmosphere
of people like me just made the vibe so fucking awesome. I would also like the
band for being the best!
 
First Set:
 
First Tube - Not one of my favorites but it was a good show opener.
 
Jibboo - This song is cool. I'm not to fond of the Farmhouse album, but this
is a pretty good song. *From what I hear* they kinda over played this on
summer tour.
 
Corrine Corrina - I've never heard this tune, but it was pretty cool. What
isnt when your listening to Phish?
 
Birds of a Feather - Hell ya, good fucking song and this got my adrenalin
running and got me really hyper and energetic.
 
Windora Bug - After the Birds of a Feater, this brought a question to me, WHAT
THE HECK IS THIS? I danced and reallllllyyyy enjoyed the song. This song is
one of my favorites now, VERY good song and fucking nice to dance too
 
Antelope - Yup yup! I was wanting a Antelope pretty bad, one of my all time
favorite songs, and I'm really glad I got to hear this.
 
Golgi - I'm also very glad I heard this song, I love this song, it was nice to
hear this too!
 
Bittersweet Motel - I didnt know this song, but it was a nice way to end Set
1. Pretty nice song too..Representing Pennsylvania (Pittsburg)
 
Set 2:
 
Piper - Fuck ya! Good damn song and jam, I enjoyed dancing to this after a
set-break of smoking a few pipes and getting high. This was a nice way to
bring them back out! I danced like hell!
 
Lizards - I didnt know this song at first, but I fucking loved it. This song
is cool as shit and now one of my favorites with Windora Bug. Good song and
good fucking music!
 
Jam(Tube Tease) - At first I thought this was a First Tube but then it was
just a tease and brought to a nice jam and nice fucking one :]
 
When the Circus Comes - Good song! Plus my cuzin wanted me to hear this song,
cuz he enjoys it and I'm glad I got to hear it, cuz he couldnt be there and he
wanted to. I'm glad I heard this tune.
 
Character Zero - I love this song! Plus man my first show I got a glow stick
war, which is awesome..I like this song and it went well with the glowstick
war, I'm glad they played this :]
 
Encore:
 
Possum - Cool tune, I really like this encore, and I'm glad they closed with
something I like.. Hell ya!
 
I would like to thank Phish for coming to Hershey, because if they didnt I
wouldnt have seen them (I live 1 hr from Hershey). I would also like to thank
Nautre for not raining, forcast said it was going to but, it didnt! Also I
would like to thank my sister and her friends for helping me have a good time
by brining me and just having fun along with me! I can't wait until my next
show, and hopefully it'll be sometime soon!

-- Mike Leo (Aol instant messenger: SOX)

Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 19:49:52 -0400
From: Siraj M. Abhyankar [email protected]
Subject: Hershey Review
 
Just got back from Hershey, long ass drive from atlanta I can assure you.
A good time was had by all, but by all means lets get to this review:
 A side note real quick...lot sucked. Cops all over the place, just real
sketchy....I must say down south the shows are much more chill lot wise.
Onto the music...
First Tube: Can't get enough of it...just a great opener and the band was
on.
Jibboo: Hell yea good song, they play it alot but the jam in this one was
beautiful...trey and mike were ripping it up
Corrina: Fuck yea, what a total surprise and sounded so good...at this
point I knew that the 11.5 drive up was worth it
Birds: Goodness....what a great birds, I was dancing my ass off and they
did not slow down a bit, kept on rocking it throughout....best birds I
think I have heard since 98
Windora Bug: FUCK YEA...I have wanted to hear this by phish since I heard
it trey solo style...no hair or a rug part but still just funkdafied,
kuroda was magical on this one
Antelope: Are you kidding me? This set was just ridiculous....this
antelope was definitely the best I've heard since nye 98, I was amazed at
the bands energy...trey took this one to a new height....and tom marshall
was an added bonus....wow
Golgi: I would have been perfectly happy with the end of the set being
after antelope...but no they aren't finished....they just tore this golgi
up and the crowd was loving it.
Bittersweet: A very nice way to end the set, great song and first one for
me....all in all just an incredible set, PHISH is on my friends...
 
Piper: Very peculiar one....so spaced out, very good though. Trey played
on his keys forever but was having fun with it, and the rest of the band
were just keeping a fast paced beat that wouldn't end...long but sweet
Lizards: Good lord I wasn't ready for a lizards, and I got one. Great
segue and Trey was tearing it up, page just absolutely ripped the piano on
this one...get the tapes
Tube: I got down to this one....funky as all hell, the band was on and
they were loving it...so was the crowd. At the end we all thought it was
over, but obviously the band did not want to end the funk...trey nodded at
fish, fish back to trey and the funk raged on for a good ten minutes after
that....i was in awe...these guys are amazing
Circus: Good breather, and I love this song so it was nice to see...Trey
of course ripped up the solos
Character Zero: Why....why would they ruin this perfectly good set? My
friends and I just looked at each other and mouthed FUCK. I have heard
this way too many times to end the show and it was WAY too early to end
it....not happy at all although they did rip the hell out of it
Possum: Good possum, but i was still pretty angry at the zero ending...it
was 10:45 when possum ended. My friends and I were not happy about that,
but at the same time I have to admit they ripped the hell out of EVERY
song...not just one or two...EVERY ONE. That is pretty rare and I was glad
to be there....definitely worth it. They are on....i don't know how else
to put it. I can't wait to see them in Shoreline in a couple of
weeks....what could they possibly do? Have a good tour everyone....peace,
SHRI

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 16:59:17 -0400
From: Gross Ian [email protected]
Subject: It was no Wonka
 
[Hershey Review]
What a total disappointment the hershey show was.  Let's forget the fact
that everyone got arrested, or the cold weather, or the lack of partying in
general.  Let's remember the music.
The two words that come to mind are "very flat".  I think the only energy in
the show was the encore.  I also think that Phish was well aware of the
incredible amount of arrests going on in the parking lot, and it slowed them
down.  I don't blame them.  It's just a terrible way to end things.
I could also care less about seeing Tom Marshall's daughter.  I see it as
Tom's way of saying "look guys, I'm really normal, really I am".  Stupid.
There was no rock in this show.  The ambiant jam on Tube was aight.  It was
one of the worst BOFA I've seen.  I think if it weren't for the old skoolers
(Antelope, Golgi, Lizards, and Possum, which can't not rock) I would've just
been bored the whole time.  Let's hope they can pick it up after a good long
break.

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 12:53:00 -0400
From: Jon Manzo [email protected]
Subject: Hershey Review
 
While not the best show I've been to, Hershey provided great energy and
great music.
 
First Tube opener with a great Birds coming mid 1st.  You have to love when
the old school comes out with a hot Antelope and Golgi, also in the 1st.
And to open the second, rockin piper and lizards...
 
After Zero to end the 2nd I turn to a bud... "Maybe some possum for the E?"
And sure enough to my delight the hot closer, possum....
 
Naked guy during the break provided some good entertainment...
 
All in all a phat night to see the phattest of bands....
 
Zo

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 18:33:11 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: 9-15-00 review
 
I'll try and include all the important details that you're more likely to
care about rather than all the personal mumbo-jumbo most people love to cram
into these reviews...
 
First of all, the lot scene was scary, if anything. All in all traffic was
not too bad, but the place was crawling with cops. They also made it
abundantly clear, through a large quantity of signs and postings, that "All
Individuals Are Subject To Search." Wonderful. So what is the first thing I
see when I park my car? A dude getting the shit kicked out of him by a herd
of cops. Honestly, I saw very little resistance on the part of the kid that
would have justified such abuse (the kid was sobbing) but I'm not gonna dwell
on that. They had dogs, too. Nothing scares me more. There weren't a lot of
dogs but even one is too many. Needless to say, Shakedown wasn't exactly
cooking last night. Security seemed to thin out as the crowd thickened. By
about 6:00 it was possible to find the necessary "supplies."
 
The venue is huge (biggest for fall tour). Its set up like a football
stadium. Supposedly general admission on the floor and assigned seats in the
pavilion but the guards weren't checking tickets or anything. Security stayed
close to the borders of the crowd and they all wore loud yellow t-shirts.
That makes things easy.
 
Set I:
 
First Tube was standard. Pretty rocking. Trey didn't spend too much time
trying to damage our hearing at the end of the song (as on various other
occasions this year). No windmill action but he was definitely jumping around
rock-star style. Too me, this is good sign.
 
Jibboo came early tonight. Pretty good jam. They stayed pretty progressive
through the whole thing. Not much repetition. Mike laying it down thick.
 
Corrina! Goddamn was this nice. Totally brought back some wonderful memories
from Big Cypress. The whole thing was absolutely beautiful.
 
BoaF started out pretty tight through most of the composed section. The jam
lacked the dark, sinister qualities that I usually enjoy. They rocked out
through the whole thing. I'm a little hazy on the whole thing, though... I
was still dwelling on Corrina.
 
Windora Bug... have you heard this yet? You should, by all means. Once again
I was momentarily mislead into thinking Makisupa, but this is better. Mike
was doing his lyrics a little slower and deeper. Each bridge into the chorus
(bang, bang, bang... "we got the rules...") was totally tight, even CK on
lights was right on. Very cool. Perhaps this will be a regular in future
setlists? What do you think?
 
For reviews on Antelope, Golgi and Bittersweet.... check another review. I
wasn't all there at this point.
 
Set II:
 
After a sobering setbreak (walking through the crowds on the floor is kinda
like a gigantic game of twister)(which might be fun if everyone felt like
playing) the crowd seemed ready for a serious second set (that's what we
got). I would not be the one to ask about all the cheering and booing going
on throughout the break because I don't have the foggiest. Someone fill me
in. Anyway...
 
Piper: GET THE DAMN TAPES. Insane. Talk about progressive... they went
everywhere on this jam. The whole Piper buildup in the beginning was standard
but Sweet-Mother-of-God, this jam was out there. I was ALL about it. Here's
my equivalency for all of you who are wondering if its one of those jams that
you would have liked: Wolfman's, Halloween 98. Some hated it, some loved it.
I loved it. You know what I'm talking about. Its one of those jams that will
put you in a coma if you've taken acid in the last two weeks. But it wasn't
just noise, if that's what you think I'm saying. It was incredible.
 
Segue gently via feedback into Lizards. 3 words: big shit-eating grin. That
was me. Page is a saint. He was totally on top of his shit tonight. Every
solo is more beautiful than the last until eventually you're reduced to tears
just before they leap into the 7bps/RoL section. This part may be the most
beautiful thing they do, imho.
At this point (if you're like me) you start thinking about what they could
play next that would be absolutely perfect. For me it would have been Sand.
Phish knows better...
 
First of all, let's label this correctly: Tube>Tube jam. Never in my wildest
fantasies could I have hoped for something so incredible. This wasn't just a
Tube, this was Tube, '97 Style!! Honestly, we're talking about a repeat of
the 12/7/97 incident that has forever changed the way I view the universe.
Same concept: they were so on fire during the middle jam that they decided to
bust right back into it for another 10 minutes. Page was making use of every
damn instrument he could get his hands on. Fishman was pumping out beats like
a piece of precision machinery. Governor Gordon lays down the groove. Trey
was on the keys quite a bit. There was probably 6 loops floating around. Back
to the guitar... he was doing that thing with the wah-pedal (first introduced
at the 6/22/00 Nashville YEM? I may be wrong). Whatever it he's doing, it's
HOT. I was ready to open the gates of hell on all the preppy PA bastards who
kept tapping me on the shoulder and asking "Do you know what song this is?"
(ok... it only happened twice) Listen to me carefully: these are the only
four men on the face of the earth who are capable of such funk. Don't kid
yourself.
 
Perhaps what they did next was something they felt was necessary. After all,
20 minutes of Tube could potentially start a riot. So they remedied that by
trailing off into Circus. And then, insult to injury, they punched me in the
teeth with Zero (I'm sorry to those that have learned to love this song...
I'm still learning). All in all, it was a pretty kick-ass Zero but it didn't
quite fit the bill (understatement) after the previous fifty-five minutes of
pure bliss (understatement).
 
And then the Possum encore. Is this not the best encore to a great show? (a
la 12/11/99). It wasn't necessarily raging, persay, but it was hot
nonetheless. Unlike the 2nd night Albany Possum, Trey spent a lot of time
dwindling in the softer sections of the song. At the end they really shook
shit up, encore style.
 
People... you missed out. I'm sorry to say. My advice, get the tapes... and
then lie to all your friends and tell them that you were there.
 
-daveed

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 10:08:14 -0400
From: d-t1121 [email protected]
Subject: Hershey
 
Fans,
 
This show was but another disappointment in a long run of disappointments that
I have experienced with Phish.  Like most of us, I fell in love with the Phish
of old.  Yet every single show I have ever been to, I have seen nothing but
new tune after new tune.  Don't get me wrong, I thought the first set of
Hershey was on fire (just like the first set of July 4).  However, the second
set left so much to be desired.  It opened up the set with a Piper.  This was
my first Piper so I was looking forward to that rockin jam that I saw on the
Hard Rock live show.  What did they give us?...yet another long ambient jam
that went nowhere.  Lizards was next.  I wasn't excited to see Lizards (even
though it is one of my favorites) because I had just seen it at the E-center.  
NO question, it was smokin.  Then came Tube.  I was very excited because this
was yet another first timer for me.  The jam?...long and directionless.  
Then, I would like to ask everybody, what the heck was the next song?  My
friends and I all agreed that we should call it the "Some random long nowhere
jam"  And this long, eternity of a song goes into Circus?  Give me a break!  
Another song that is just filler (in my opinion). Finally ending with
Character Zero (certainly not a great show closer.  Now usually I skip out on
the encore as to beat the crowd.  I decided to stay since I drove 2 1/2 hours
to see the show.  Another Possum encore...Come on!!  I saw the setlists from
the previous shows.  Almost all of them were smokin and full of classic old
tunes.  What did we get?  9 of 14 songs were all less than 3 years old.  
Worse yet, the first set was about 70 mins and the second set was less than an
hour.  This is what I pay $35 for plus: gas, tolls and paranoid aggravation?  
I really hope that Phish decides to take a long hiatus.  If this is the show
that they are putting on, then they need to rest, recup and come out on-fire
just like the Dead did when they took a break from Oct '74 to June '76.  I
love Phish, but they let me down almost every time I see them live.


Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 19:09:02 EDT
From: Evan St. John [email protected]
Subject: Review of Hershey Stadium, 9-15-00
 
I have to start by saying that Hershey Stadium is a pretty crappy venue to
hold a concert.  The traffic was bumper to bumper and moving with the crowd
was body to body.  Unfortunatly, I missed the first four songs due to
traffic, as well as waiting for some friends who I had promised some tickets
to.  When Birds of a Feather started, the police began to clear out anyone
who didn't have tickets, so I quickly sold my two extras to some lucky
phans.  Finally entering the stadium, I worked my way up to the front as
they were playing:
 
Windora Bug: This was the first time I had ever heard it, and I loved every
second of it.  Mike was all over the place with his excellent singing and
thick bass groove that kept everyone bouncing away.  This is definitely a
keeper for Phish to start playing regularly.
 
Antleope: I was so glad when this started, because one of the friends I was
with had never been to a concert, and this is by far her favorite song.
Plus, I was wearing my Antleope shirt!  Trey tore up the place with his
faced paced guitar work, well accompanied by CK5s beautiful spinning white
lights.  As I had predicted, Tom Marshall came out to do his lyrics, and he
brought a little girl, his daughter I'm guessing, on stage with him.  This
highly energetic Antleope led perfectly well into:
 
Golgi Apparatus: They really rocked this one out, putting the entire crowd
in smiles.  This was a tight, faced paced Golgi.  I thanked the guys for a
classic.
 
Bittersweet Motel: What an absolutely beautiful song to come after Antelope
and Golgi.  Trey hit it his notes perfectly, suppling a mellow, quiet way to
end the first set.  The crowd went nuts when he said the Erie and Pittsburg
line, considering the majority us are from PA.
 
I was disappointed to only get the second half of a set that was even pretty
short in the first place, but I knew that some cheese fries and a second set
would cheer me up.
 
Piper: This was simply an amazing piper.  The guys all looked like they were
having fun playing it.  The screaming paced rocking was slowly and
beautifuly led down to a really trippy jam by Trey.  I remember just
watching him as he started, moving back and forth from his pedals to his
keyboard.  He became a scientist and artist all at once, laying down some
crazy chords, turning this Piper into a freaky trip fest.  It very slowly
stopped and led itself into:
 
Lizards: Amazing.  Simply amazing.  Again, I thanked the guys for pulling
out a rare one.  There isn't much I can say about it, except for that it was
just beautiful.
 
Tube: Yes! Tube was, and has always been my number one request for a long
time.  Now that I got it, I was jumping up and down with joy.  Thick, long,
and funkalicious, this Tube rejuvinated the dancing spirits of everyone in
the crowd.  I have to admit, I was all over the place.  Excellent work from
Page in this one.  Mike began to get experiemental late into it, and I
could've had some more.  They ended the Tube, did a little space, and went
right back into the Tube jam.  Like the Piper, this slowly segued into a
slow, trippy, groovy jam.
 
Circus: You can tell that this is one of Trey's favorite songs to play.
This was my third concert and my third Circus.  At first I didn't like it
too much, but It's grown on me.  Trey really pours his heart into the solo
with this one.  Nicely played.
 
Character Zer0: Amazingly rocked out, with some kick ass guitar work from
Trey.  A few minutes into it, one of the largest glowstick wars I have ever
seen ensued.  The front of the crowd was so much fun to watch.  At one
point, Trey caught one and threw it back, followed by a huge cheer from the
crowd.  No complaints with this one.  Well played, great set closer.
 
Encore:
Possum: I was hoping they'd do the all fall down language so that I could be
three out of three with it (my other two are 12-11-99 and 7-3-00), but they
went pretty quickly into a grueling jam.  I must compliment CK5 with the
beautiful, well timed lights.  This turned out to be a pefect encore,
because on the way home we saw a dead possum lying in the road, no joke!
 
Overall, this was a great concert, but a terrible venue.  Getting in and out
took a while, and the acoustics weren't that great.  My highlights were the
bouncey, thick and juicy Windora Bug, the chaotic Antleope, and ofcourse the
Funkalicious Tube.  Thanks Phish!

Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 19:46:57 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: review
 
WORST SHOW EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Courtesy of the Comic Book Guy from the
Simpsons)

Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 01:38:08 GMT
From: Douglas Forsythe [email protected]
Subject: Phish review
 
Doug Forsythe:  [email protected]
Subject: Hershey Review
 
 
This is my first phish review ever so I might have a little too much to
say. This was my third show of the tour and thank god it's not my last.
I was coming from Philadelphia and it took super long to get there. Once
we got off the highway we were in a long ass line of very slow moving
cars. I was looking at my watch hoping they would go on late because it
was 7:30 ish and we were still a few miles away in stop and go traffic.
To make a long story short I was pretty mad at the Hershey Park staff
for making a piss poor entrance for 40,000 people or so.
So as my girlfriend and I were making a mad dash for the concert grounds
we herd a little reggae beet that sounded like Makisupa from the parking
lot. Then i herd the sweet quiet guitar riff that starts out Antelope I
was psyched and suprised that they were playing it because up until then
they hadn't repeated one yet (another reason why I love phish). So we
entered then during Antelope not knowing where they were into the set. I
will start my review here.
Antelope- Was pretty standard. nothing too special that I herd (mind you
I got in during the middle of it) I was pumped to see Tom Marshall come
out with his daughter i think. She was so cute while Tom held her hand
and sang his little gibberish lines.
 
Golgi- I like this one but I couldn't belt out the " I saw you w/ a
ticket stub..." line because I was way in the back where it is kind of
quiet and people think it is a social gathering. Nothing special here
too.
 
Bittersweet Motel- I don't really appreciate this one too much, I would
rather here a Strange Design or even Waste. This should never be a set
closer also. I was disappointed when they took there bows after that
song. They could have at least played Golgi in it's place. Ohh well.
During the set break we made it all the way up to just before the front
of the stage. I love General admission! I was all set for number 2 which
I was sure that they were going to open w/ Runaway Jim but i think we
will here it in Columbia.
Set 2- They definitely came out pumped for this one.
 
Piper- WOW damn this was a sick one better than the Tweeter Center's. It
segued into a crazy jam which never let up, it was pretty fast paced. At
one point I could have sworn they were going to rip into Llama because
Page was on his organ Fish had the tempo at that fast speed and Trey was
signaling to do something but they didn't. Damn them. Trey tooled around
w/ his keys and they did what they do best. Then it slowed down as the
set up to go into
 
Lizards- I have always liked this song but last nights was so crisp that
I think it could make way to my favorites category. Page's solo was so
sweet and it leads right into Treys kick ass solo.
 
Tube- I was ecstatic when they busted out w/ this one, it made me forget
about the perfect lizards. The break down was super long and it led into
a really long drawn out jam. They busted this one out for 20 minuets or
so with a stop in it too I was defiantly happy with this one. Perhaps my
favorite one I have seen live.
 
When the Circus Comes to town- This is a good example of a good slow
song to play. I understand the band needs a break and I think this one
is a great choice for that. Not as bitterly sweet as the phirst set's.
 
Character Zer0- Kick ass in-your-face tune. It is just a fun song, every
time i here it I like it more and more. The song isn't hard to play at
all but it still get the crowd going (especially the guy that ran on
stage and got chased down by Carini.)You could tell they were having
lot's of fun even during the glow stick war. Trey caught one and threw
it back and Mike used his bass like a baseball bat and hit one like
that. The glow stick were fun but don't you think that is a little old?
It was fun in 1997 to Hood but every show has one and it has lost its
effect. And why on earth would you throw every single one at the band. I
have noticed that they have calmed down but they are still around.
 
Encore: Possum- Good tune I love this one also, maybe because Mike is my
favorite but it makes me laugh and have a good time. Trey was throwing a
little Stash tease in his solo and they were playing w/ 100% intensity.
I thought they were going to bust out w/ another tune since it was only
10:45 but oh well I will be seeing them on Sunday when we will finally
hear Fluffhead!
 
P.S. did anybody else hear a Kung tease the first night at the Tweeter
Center during the second set? I am alone on this one I need some back
up   let me know [email protected]
 
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 10:03:07 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: Hershey Review
 
It was my 31st show, but I took a buddy who I play guitars with and it was
his first.  I am so glad he got to see this one as his first show.  They were
so on.  The whole first set they played so tight.  I am not one to judge a
show by the setlist, rather by the togetherness they demonstrate when they
play the songs.  Windorabug blew my mind.  The simple reggae beat entranced
me just in time for Antelope.  Yes, Antelope (a song which, a few years ago,
I would have scoffed at having heard it too often) was last night, one of the
greatest musical spectacles I had ever heard.  I truly came to understand
what Widespread was talking about when they sing "an honest tune with a
lingering lead that has taken me this far".  I was taken in all over again.
My buddy dave was amazed too at how well they all play together.  I also
loved the prolonged tube in the second set to be followed by When the Circus
comes to town.  Circus has to be my favorite slow song they do, let alone any
slow song that any band does.  But the placement of Circus right after such a
rockin tube was pure genius.  That Tube was so rockin' that there was nothing
they could have done after it except to completely change gears - and that is
what Circus did.    It gave us all a chance to catch our breath before
Character Zero.
 
All in all, this show topped my expectations.  I am glad my friend got to
call this one his first.  We had a blast!

Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 16:24:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: [email protected]
Subject: Hershey Review
 
The first thing I want to say is that comming into this show, I was more
excited than any other show I've ever anticipated.  Spectuation before the
show got me and my friends thinking, maybe they'll do a forbin, with a great
chocolate narriation, like they did years ago.  Or perhaps something about the
Olymipcs which were starting that night - ala Mia Hamm in the summer of 99 I
beleive.  Well fairly enough we didn't get anything crazy like that but what
we did get was one of the highest siprited shows any of us had ever been to.
 
Rather than give a song by song narriation, I wanna talk about the show in
general. First of all it was an unseasonably brisk late autumn-like night.  
The air was fresh and smooth, and the weather was sooo comfortable for
groovin' and dancin'. Now out from this autumnly crisp air came what I belive
was the best sounding phish I ever heard, as far as their equiptment goes.  
Each note of the piano was articulate, the guitar was vibrant and the notes
comming from it were glowing. Mikes bass had a certain added pop, and Fishman
- his cymbals were sounding about as clean as they could get.  This all
equated to like the best I have ever heard the music come out from the stage
and into my ear.
 
I had managed to find my way down to GA for the second set, and it was there
where I felt like us few thousand people were really out in the the grandur of
nightly nature.  At one point someone around us yelled out check out the moon,
and what a sight it was, comming right in the middle of such an funky/errie
tube jam, the moon was weaving in and out of clouds, and the dark sky was
loaded with clouds that were a translucent blue color and the clouds
brightened up a night sky like a tye-dyed t-shirt.  Everyone couldn't belive
the sight of the sky, espically mixed with the cool air and the what seemed to
be a perfectly matching jam.  Another song which I want to make note of is
When the Circus comes to town.  I heard the song before at shows, and the
general vibe usualy seems to be that people calm down, light up, and just
stand there while the song plays (Unless of course you are accompanied by a
fine significant other).  But for some reason everyone, and i mean like
everyone w!
!
as into this Circus, even the band, It could have been the most beautiful
point of the evening.  Everyone was singing the song, and slowly grooving.  
It was seriosuly a point calm bliss.  Then came the Character Zero that
brought about a pretty cool glow stick war, which looked extra special in such
a neat sky.  After possum, which was great, everyone at the show was ready for
more.  No one knows why they barley played for 2 hours that night, some say it
was because they didn't want a bad rap with the oppressive hershey cops (who
seem to have nothing better to do than arrest the people that are helping
their fellow man out by sharing in a good time), others say its because phish
is anxious to take their much deserved break.  But I tend to think that the
show seemd so short because it was so great.  Its like that time you go out on
a date with the person you think you really love, and then when you drop them
off you feel all warm and happy inside, and you just don't want the fe!
!
elings to end.  None of my freinds had merriweather tickets, or were planning
on going, but after the show, we were that close to screwing all of our plans
for the weekend and driving down to Maryland, of course we didnt, but Phish,
we're all gonna miss you, and the love that you bring.


Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 10:46:59 -0400
From: Jonathan_A_Pron/Student/Student%[email protected]
Subject: Hershey 9/15/00 review
 
OK, so, with limited funds and the fact that I am still in college, this is
only my 9th show.  A rookie, I know, but I think I can contribute something
about the most recent show I saw - Hershey 9/15/00.
 
They start off with First Tube - a song I think is perfect to begin the
first set: it's funky, there are no words, just a great way to start the
show.
 
Gotta Jibboo was next.  It was kind of strange to hear this so early in the
show.  Both of the other times I saw it, it started the second set.  There
was some good jamming here, but it can't compare to July 4th 2000 - a half
hour of Jibboo bliss!
 
Corrina Corrina next.  A cool song, and a nice way to calm the mood a bit
after such a bouncy song as Jibboo.  There was some good guitar-work here
by Trey and it came together nicely.
 
Birds of a Feather.  Talking to some people at the setbreak, I found that a
few agreed with me on this one... during the solo, Trey started to take the
song in a completely new direction.  Honestly, I don't know what he was
trying to do, but it sounded cool.  Then Page definitely picked up on it
and followed Trey's lead.  I'm almost positive that they would have segue'd
into a new song, leaving BOAF unfinished, but I think it was Chris Kuroda
who actually brought Trey out of it and back into Birds of a Feather.
 
Windora Bug got us all dancing.  I think Trey was orginally the only one
who wanted to play it.  After BOAF, they talked for a minute or two, trying
to figure out what to do next.  Trey started playing the staccato,
raggae-like chords, and was laughing at Mike and Fish.  I think he was
trying to convince Mike to go to the microphone and start singing, but hey,
who knows?
 
And then the always-impressive and exciting... Run Like an Antelope.  This
one always gets me going.  At the first few notes, I felt that tightening
feeling in my chest (like right before the climax of YEM, you know?) and I
told my friend Terry (this was his first Phish show) that he was in for a
treat.  I wasn't wrong!  It was fun, too, to see Tom come out again to sing
his lyrics - he had his daughter with him, too.
 
Golgi Apparatus was high-energy and... well... fun!  The crowd on the floor
really got into it.
 
OK, now, I am never one to criticize Phish, but as far as I am concerned,
the high energy of the last few songs was stopped dead in its tracks with
the set closer, Bittersweet Motel - not a bad song, but why end on such a
calm note?
 
Second set....  The first chord or two are instantly recognizable as Piper
- very cool way to come back to the eager Hershey audience.  It was long,
with Trey on keys sometimes - very funky and experimental.  A girl near me
had a Space Funk sign, which pretty much sums it up.
 
When I say that everyone was excited to hear the opening notes of the next
song, I am doing it a HUGE injustice.  But let's just say that Lizards was
met with open arms.  Wow!  Very well done, and it was fun telling my
friends who are newer to the Phish scene the whole Gamehenge saga on the
way home.  "Why did the Lizards die?" is NOT the right question to ask me
unless you have a good hour or two to listen to me ramble!
 
Tube!  It fit well in the set and has always been a favorite of mine.  The
jam was tight and the lyrics singable.
 
I was hoping to hear When the Circus Comes tonight, so I was quite pleased
with the bands next choice.  The guy standing a few people over to my right
tapped me on the shoulder and said "Nice job!" when Trey started his solo.
I didn't realize I was singing that loudly or that he was so far gone to
realize that I can't sing in tune if my life depended on it.  The setlists
online don't reflect that it was unfinished - they didn't go to the last
verse after the solo.
 
Character Zero was a cool way to end the set.  Lots of stuff going on here
- glowstick/glowring war... two guys running on stage... much to the
amusement of Trey and Page, and crazy cheering from the floor crowd when
Trey threw some glowrings back at the audience.  The stage was filled with
them when they came back for the encore, which was...
 
Possum!  Well done and the crowd loved it.
 
Overall, there were not many segues between songs, but there was some good
jamming anyway.  Good song selection and energy levels.  All around, a very
good show.  Thanks Phish!

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 01:35:28 -0400
From: david gobel [email protected]
Subject: hershey concert
 
The only bad thing about Hersheypark concert was the lights were too
bright between the sets.
The highlight for me was "Bittersweet Motel".  There is a line in there
about driving between Eire and Pittsburgh and being in hell-tonight I
drove from Philadelphia to Hershey after work and it was hellish.  We
will not get into that.
I was extremely disappointed to learn recently that Phish will take a
hiatus after their Sept-early Oct tour.  I was expecting a Spectrum
(Phila)concert in Dec as usual. Well tonight, they played well and
didn't sound like they are tired of touring. This is my last Phish
concert for awhile and I will savor it (and try to locate tape).
The first set started with alot of energy-"First Tube".  Trey seemed to
be enjoying himself. They had general admission right in front of the
stage, so I was able to get to about 100 ft from Page's right shoulder.
I was lucky enough to locate a spot where crazy dancers were not bumping
into me.  "Windora Bug" is a new song for me- liked it alot.  Tom
Marshall was on stage v briefly (with a young girl) to sing "marco
esquandolas" at start of "Run Like an Antelope".
"Piper>Lizards" was great-we were all singing and dancing like
mad."Character Zero" featured glowstick tossing. At one point, Trey
caught one and threw it back. After that, he had to dodge a few-which
didn't seem to bother him abit. "Possum" seemed like a funny choice for
encore, but it turned out fine. The intro was more Trey and less Fishman
than usual.
I had never been to concert at Hersheypark-the sound system was
excellent-we parked by the road, before we got to the lot , and
walked-which turned out fine-the problem was the 10 mile stretch of 2
lane road (with a few red lights)between turnpike and venue.
It never ceases to amaze me how different a song can sound 2 different
times when Phish plays it- hearing them live always brings something
new-tonight's "Birds of a Feather" was so much better than version on
Ghost CD. I thought I heard "Gotta Jiboo" too many times, but tonight,
it was phunkier or something.

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 16:46:46 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: Hershey Review
 
I hit a lot of traffic on the way to the show and ended up arriving in the
parking lot during the jam in Antelope, so that's where i will pick up the
review.  Golgi was standard, as was Bittersweet Motel.  Now the Piper opener
was a different story.  The jam was so long and tripped out.  Trey moved to
keys every once in a while and was really working the guitar loop.  It was a
very interesting jam, and then Lizards started.  And the energy just kept
flowing.  There was a very beautiful guitar solo in Lizards.  Then Tube
started and there was a great 1st jam that was so extended that i completely
forgot what song they were in the middle of, and then they continued into a
composed part of Tube which caught me completely off guard.  The final jam in
Tube was also noteworthy.  The encore had a lot of promise with Possum, but
the disappointing part was that they finished Possum and just left the stage.
 I saw 5 people at once just put their hands on their heads and utter their
disappointment.  I was really hoping for a Possum -> 2001 but unfortunately
things didn't work out that way.  it was just too bad that the show had to
end so early (10:45)

 
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 16:15:17 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: hershey review
 
OK everyone, I will try to write a review that is short and somehow does
justice to last nights show.  After arriving in the lot around 4:00 - 4:15,
and finding out that security was tight (  I saw one person in cuffs and the
police were taking his socks off, and I also saw a whole police van full of
other people getting arrested), well after we saw that, we decided to just go
ahead and get in line to get in, after all we did have GEN AD, tickets!!!!
Anyone who gets up really close to the stage knows that they are in for a
really intense show.  Well, the gates opened around 5:30, and it was a mad
dash to the front of the stage, where we all arrived almost simultaneously,
cheering with excitement.  Several hours later, the show started with the
great vigor of a blazing First Tube, (7:43-7:51) Trey very active.  Then a
very nice Gotta Jibboo (7:51-8:03).  After that, Corrina, YES! (8:03-8:08),
extremely smooth, very pretty, Page shined, Mikes bass soothing and shaking
the shirt against my chest.  After that, things picked up even more, Birds
(8:08-8:18), absolutely smokin, perhaps the band got the idea tp play this
after seeing several flocks of geese flying around all day. Next, Windora
Bug, (8:18-8:27), my first!  Great song! Antelope (8:27-8:39).  This too,
absolutely unbelievable, Tom Marshall and all, they blasted this song.
Noticing that the band didnt want to end the first set yet, they pulled out a
Golgi, and Bittersweet to bring the set back down to a landing position at
8:47.
 
Well, I dont want to go on and on about set II, perhaps one of the sikest
second sets i have seen..  Starting around 9:30 and ending at 10:45, the
opening Piper was beyond comparison, dark kinda,  very good Piper.  They
played it really hard. The Tube and accompanying jam was pure funk, Page and
Trey just kickin this ones ass.  The Character Zero that took place was also,
a jaw hanger. - Two stage runners and a massive glow-stick war reflect the
energy and sometimes uncontainable madness that these four musicians bring
upon all of us at times.  Finally, the encore, Possum.  Trey is indeed a
rock-star, im surprised that he didnt break any strings on that one.  Damn
Trey, that was some show.  Keep up the great shows fellas, c-ya south of
Cleveland..   5 stars.


Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 00:02:14 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: Hershey review (9-15-2000)
 
    Hello all! Well, just caught my one show of the fall... Really wish I
could head over to Merriweather on Sunday night, but can't get off work...
Sigh... The drag of real life!  :)
    Anyway, seeing as how we all knew going into this tour that a long break
is ahead of us with no Phish for a while... :(   I made a pledge to just
accept whatever the boys dealt me with no complaints. (Not like I ever really
complain, but you know, sometimes it's hard not to think: 'Damn, I didn't
really want to hear Bouncin' again', or similar thoughts.)
    So, let's get to the show. The scene outside was festive - despite the
efforts of the Makisupa, which were relentless. Windy and cold as the day
went on, we got a brief spritz from a passing storm, but thankfully it passed
through without pelting us.
 
    Once inside, I was just psyched to hear whatever was dealt. What a
surprise that the first five songs were all first-timers for me. :)    I've
been seeing shows for eight years, but lately with work and our third child,
I usually only catch one or two a tour... So, the opening notes of First Tube
were nice to hear. Trey was clearly having a lot of fun, bouncing all around
the stage, and the energy level was great!
    The next song was the other new song that I really wanted to hear, Gotta
Jiboo. A long version with a really nice jam. There was some good interplay
between Trey and Page.
    Slowing down for the third song, I didn't know this one for sure until
they sang the chorus, Corrina, Corrina. Always cool to hear a rarity like
this.
    Birds of a Feather came next and believe it or not, this was one of those
songs that I have never heard - even when they were overplaying it two years
ago! LOL! (Moma Dance is the other "Ghost" song that I always miss!)  Anyway,
based on tons of bootleg recordings of this song, I am really happy to hear
what they are doing with it. Another long, long jam... Very nice. Mike had
some stellar moments here and of course, Trey was wailing away... :)
    Windora Bug was next and it was fun... Mike sang so low, however, that
you could hardly hear him... That was not a big deal except for the funny
line: "Is that your hair, or a rug?"  I certainly couldn't decipher it.
    No matter, next we moved into the opening licks of Antelope. Now this was
one I heard at my last show (Camden, July 3) and that was a kick-ass
version... If you were there, you know what I'm talking about. The Hershey
version was also very sweet, I must say. The jam got way out there at points,
but Fishman's awesome drumming helped lead them back to the
always-anticipated ending... And I'm starting to feel lucky, another Tom
Gordon appearance... I thought Trey was out there with a little girl
(wondering if it was his daughter, Isabella), but according to the Phish.net
it was Gordon holding her hand... anyway, it was cute. (Even with the big
screens at Hershey, I couldn't really tell!)
    Golgi came next. Always fun. Nothing cosmic. Then a nice choice for a
set-closer, Bittersweet Motel. The line: "halfway between Erie and
Pittsburgh" got a huge cheer, of course. Good stuff... They could have played
one more, but it was definitely a solid first set with some long jams...
 
    After a very long set break - I don't wear a watch, but it felt like an
hour - the boys came back and strummed the opening notes of Piper. Pretty
rare for a set-opener, I think, but it was nice... They jammed for a long
time out of Piper, at least 10 minutes, maybe 15, and it appeared as if they
were heading somewhere...
    But eventually it just kind of ran out of steam and they went into
Lizards. Well-played... Page had a really long solo in here, as always, and
he just went off. It was like the whole band just kept prodding him and
pushing him and he just took it higher and further... It was awesome!!! What
else can you say about that song? Simply sweet. :)
 
    Now, coming into this show there were three songs I really wanted to
hear: Timber Ho, Tube and Boogie On... (All funky numbers, LOL!)   So, you
can imagine my delight when Trey belted out the first line of Tube!!!  I love
this song and Hershey's version did not disappoint. Definitely the funkiest
number of the evening...
The switch to the "bluesy-rock" ending was a little rough, but I always
thought that was a very difficult transition... When they ended the song
there was a brief pause... But then they jumped right back into a funky,
Tube-like jam... sounded like they just wanted to continue the funk for a
bit... and they did, maybe for another 8-10 minutes...
    Slowly the jam started to fade into the opening notes of Circus. A Trey
favorite, and well-played... Beautiful solo at the end, as usual. :)
 
    Well, believe it or not, then I heard the opening notes of Character
Zero. I was kind of hoping for two more songs, but remembering my promise...
hee, hee... I just jumped in and rocked along with the other 25,000 folks and
had fun.  A great jam, long and rockin'... and incredible glow-stick/ring
war... I haven't seen many good ones, but this one was epic. :)  It lasted
almost the entire jam and it was intense... I was a little sad when the
glowrings started reaching the stage, but then the big video screen was
zoomed right in on Trey and damn if he wasn't soloing, and reaching out and
snagging glow rings and tossing them back at the same time!!!! LOL!!! And he
was smiling...
    Then the wackiness continued when some dude ran onstage and was chased by
Carini (I assume!)  Then he ran across again and tripped and fell right in
front of Mike!!! Again, the camera just happened to zoom in on Trey right
then and he was laughing his ass off!!!!! (All while wailing away on the solo
the whole time!) What a trip!!
    The Possum encore was fun, as usual, and that was it. The second set
looks short and maybe it was... But even though there were only five songs,
those two jams at the end of Piper and Tube made the set a lot longer than it
appeared on paper. All in all, using the quality over quantity assessment, a
very nice show and lots of fun.
    So, that's it for me until they decide to come back... Hopefully next
summer???
As for all of you, have fun and enjoy this tour. They are kicking ass. :)
    Peace and love,
Mike

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 11:31:16 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: Hershey Review
 
This is my first review, it was my 12th show. This was one of the best for me
since it was in my hometown and they played awesome. The weather was really
nice. We were worried that it would be too cold, I'd say it went down to 50
degrees but the wind wasn't bad in the venue. Outside was freezing though.
 
The crowd was very friendly. Of course the police were arresting a few people
here and there and there were a few people who took too much of something and
were just not going to make it to the show but it was a good lot scene. You
just can expect too too much lot scene on these one night engagements. If you
want a great lot scene you need to go to the 2 night deals like Lemonwheel,
Oswego or Big Cypress.
 
It was my buddy, my fianc� (we got engaged at Big Cypress at midnight) and I.
We had some groovy buds and beers before the show. Another thing we had was
some NoDoz. I recommend taking one before the show and one at First
Intermission. It really helps you get that extra burst of energy.
 
The security at the gate was very lax which shocked me. I expected to be
shaked down tuff but they barely patted me down much less strip search me
like I almost got at Atlanta this summer.
 
We got in just as First Tube started. They were right on key tonight. This
song reminds me of the background music to a video game. I felt like Sonic
the Hedgehog. Man that NoDoz was kicking in and it was time for some dancin.
 
Gotta Jiboo was next. Very funky version with a good jam out piece as usual
with this song. I was dancin hard, as was everyone else. Hershey was very
packed tonight and during this song I realized how well the sound travels in
this venue. Very well designed. My buddy had been to a lot of shows there and
he said it was the fullest he'd seen it all year.
 
Corrina was third and I love this song. Very mellow. I love the name Corrina
it reminds me of a very beautiful girl. Next, BOAF, I love this song. I
always relate this song to Story of the Ghost but I dont like SOTG. BOAF is
much faster and it is great to dance to.
 
Windora Bug was next. I barely remember this song. I remember there was one
song which I wasn't very familiar with, I guess this was it. It was OK
though. I think it was reggae-like but I don't really remember though
 
Run Like and Antelope was very rocking. We went down to the floor level for
this which was mobbed. But this song rules and then Tom Marshall came out and
said Marco Esquandolas. My My My. My friend thought this was there set
closer, I knew there was one or two more to come. I was very good with the
predictions tonight as you will see later.
 
After an intraband discussion they burst out with Golgi, all I can say is -
my staaaaatus!
 
A Bittersweet closer was nice but I knew it was gonna close and my buddy and
I had to find my fianc� because she works for a paper and had a press pass
which allowed her to get up front for the first few songs. She was right by
the security dudes in front of Row 1. It must have been so amazing. I can't
wait to see those pics.
 
They picked a perfect length for an intermission. Just enough time to have a
$5 beer and get another for set 2. They had Amber Bock which was pretty good.
I had a good buzz going and I didn't want to lose it.
 
On our way back up to our seats, I heard someone say Harry Hood opener, I
said back to him Piper opener. and told my buddy and fianc�. When they opened
with it we went nuts. I always try to predict the openers for both sets and
have never been right. This was gonna be a good set. It was a good Piper but
they never got back into the lyrics at the end. They just started fading into
Lizards and someone yelled Down with Disease, so I yelled Lizards. I was
right on because I don't think most people picked it up for like 10 more
seconds then it started. A guy in front of me turned and was like good call.
This is my favorite Phish song hands down. The first time I heard this live I
think was this summer at Camden on July 4th. I hope they bring this song back
more and more. It was a beautiful version too. I have some better ones on CDR
but this was real nice.
 
Tube was cool. I thought they were phasing this one out of their line up. I
like this song though. I thought I heard a Sloth tease at the end of Tube.
When recordings come out I will have to listen again.
 
Circus was good and mellow nothing too amazing. Character Zero got everyone
back on their feet. I still haven't decided if I should buy my time and take
it slow or rush and never waste the day. I guess it depends on the day.
 
The break before the closer was very short so I expected only one song. They
busted in with Possum and it was phat. A great close to a great show. They
were right on tonight. Much better than my last show in Pittsburgh this
summer.
 
Of course, on the way out of the venue there were people chumming on the
steps. Please kiddies, don't drink more than you can keep down. It is a real
nuisance to have vomit splashing up on your leg.
 
And then there was the scammer selling balloons in the lot for $10 a pop. I
wanted to pop them. I don't buy them anyway but I know others did and that
was just more than they are worth in my opinion. We did meet this dude Dave
from State College in the lot on the way out. We smoked a few bowls with him
and just talked while the gridlocked cars leaving the place were just sitting
and sitting and sitting. But we were cold.
 
The funniest thing was the guy Dave stopped by to get a light and was telling
us how he couldn't find his car. He packed, we pack and shot the shit for an
hour in that icy tundra. When he decided to look for his car he found that it
was like 100 feet away.
 
Great show. I hope to see more like these this fall. My fianc� and I will be
at Merriweather Post and from 2nd Las Vegas thru 2nd Shoreline.
 
Jim

Subject: hershey concert
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 01:35:28 -0400
From: david gobel [email protected]
 
The only bad thing about Hersheypark concert was the lights were too
bright between the sets.
The highlight for me was "Bittersweet Motel".  There is a line in there
about driving between Eire and Pittsburgh and being in hell-tonight I
drove from Philadelphia to Hershey after work and it was hellish.  We
will not get into that.
I was extremely disappointed to learn recently that Phish will take a
hiatus after their Sept-early Oct tour.  I was expecting a Spectrum
(Phila)concert in Dec as usual. Well tonight, they played well and
didn't sound like they are tired of touring. This is my last Phish
concert for awhile and I will savor it (and try to locate tape).
The first set started with alot of energy-"First Tube".  Trey seemed to
be enjoying himself. They had general admission right in front of the
stage, so I was able to get to about 100 ft from Page's right shoulder.
I was lucky enough to locate a spot where crazy dancers were not bumping
into me.  "Windora Bug" is a new song for me- liked it alot.  Tom
Marshall was on stage v briefly (with a young girl) to sing "marco
esquandolas" at start of "Run Like an Antelope".
"Piper>Lizards" was great-we were all singing and dancing like
mad."Character Zero" featured glowstick tossing. At one point, Trey
caught one and threw it back. After that, he had to dodge a few-which
didn't seem to bother him abit. "Possum" seemed like a funny choice for
encore, but it turned out fine. The intro was more Trey and less Fishman
than usual.
I had never been to concert at Hersheypark-the sound system was
excellent-we parked by the road, before we got to the lot , and
walked-which turned out fine-the problem was the 10 mile stretch of 2
lane road (with a few red lights)between turnpike and venue.
It never ceases to amaze me how different a song can sound 2 different
times when Phish plays it- hearing them live always brings something
new-tonight's "Birds of a Feather" was so much better than version on
Ghost CD. I thought I heard "Gotta Jiboo" too many times, but tonight,
it was phunkier or something.


Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 17:09:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: andrew cairns [email protected]
Subject: Hershey review
 
After witnessing Great Woods on Tuesday night, I really didn't think
things were going to get much better.  Spent most of early Friday on the
road, and got caught up in some heavy traffic on the way to Hershey, but
arrived around 7 afterall.  The venue was huge, thankfully floor was
general admission, and me and my friend made it up to the front very
easily. On to the music.......
 
First Tube- not too happy to hear a repeat song so early in the tour, esp
as an opener, but I got over it quickly.  This one rocked all the way
through with Trey doing some intense stuff with his pedals
Jibboo- another surprise, not one of my favs, but glad to hear it early
on.  Overall, the jam was above average for jibboo
Corrina Corrina- wow, I was really happy to hear this one, think it is the
first since NYE, nice slow number
Birds- my first birds, read a reivew that said this jam was sub par, but
hey, truthfully I though this was some of the best soloing I have heard
from Trey in a while....
Windora Bug- fun
Antelope- Allright, I knew they were going to end the set in style
now.  This antlope was as any other antelope is- amazing.
Golgi- pretty standard, but since this is one of my favs I was really
happy
Bittersweet motel- "half way between here and pittsburg..." I called this
one early.  I can't really explain how happy I was to hear this one end
the set.  If i could I would.
 
Overall the first set had some great moments.  The boys were laying down
some intense jams and Trey was playing better than I have seen him play in
a while.  On to set II.......
 
Piper- this tune got off to a rusty start, but gave way to a pretty
serious jam that probably lasted (20 mins...?)
Lizards- Page is really playing his heart out this tour, and this tune
warrants that fact.  Get the tape.
Tube- very tight, very funky.  Sounded like 97
Circus- I ve been waiting to hear this one....a very nice treat  was it
unfinished?
Character- rocked, too many glowsticks being thrown on stage, probably
pisses the band off, ended a relatively short set
 
EPossum- Very very solid.  It was Trey's night, and he ended it in
style.  All I really can say.
 
Overall this show was great.  Get the tape to hear some great jams.
 
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 15:44:36 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: hershey review
 
This was a good show if you did not catch the Albany run and are into all the
ambient jams.
My problem was I was in Albany and am not into all the ambient -- i.e. with
Trey spending a little too much time playing around with his keyboard.
 
Lots and lots of repeats already (Jibboo, Antelope, Golgi, Windora, Birds of
Feather, Character Zer0, Possum) -- all played at Pepsi. But, hey, It's
Phish. It's outside in a cool place in September and they ripped up Piper
into Lizards and then a cool Tube. How bad could it have been? Also, the
scene was tremendous from the minute we arrived to the minute we left. Nice
people. Cool security. GREAT SMELLS!
 
Lizards was virtually perfect and the unquestioned highlight of the evening.
No flubs. Everyone on the money. There was a funky jam after Tube and then
another before Circus Comes to Town, which I could have done without frankly.
 
Crazy glowstick war during a sick Character Zer0 as Mike and Page had to
gracefully dodge the sticks being fired at them from assholes in GA who
thought injuring someone in the band or crew was a cool idea. Two more idiots
rushed the stage and had to be tackled and taken off while Fishman laughed
and yelled at Carini.
 
Trey caught a few of his glowsticks and fired them back ala MSG 12/30/97
while not missing a single stroke.
 
The second set surely was a few songs light, especially considering Llama,
Tweezer, Rock and Roll and Slave, to name a few, have yet to be dusted off
this fall.
 
Oh well. Enjoy the rest of the shows y'all.

Doug Forsythe:  [email protected]
Subject: Hershey Review
 
 
This is my first phish review ever so I might have a little too much to
say. This was my third show of the tour and thank god it's not my last.
I was coming from Philadelphia and it took super long to get there. Once
we got off the highway we were in a long ass line of very slow moving
cars. I was looking at my watch hoping they would go on late because it
was 7:30 ish and we were still a few miles away in stop and go traffic.
To make a long story short I was pretty mad at the Hershey Park staff
for making a piss poor entrance for 40,000 people or so.
So as my girlfriend and I were making a mad dash for the concert grounds
we herd a little reggae beet that sounded like Makisupa from the parking
lot. Then i herd the sweet quiet guitar riff that starts out Antelope I
was psyched and suprised that they were playing it because up until then
they hadn't repeated one yet (another reason why I love phish). So we
entered then during Antelope not knowing where they were into the set. I
will start my review here.
Antelope- Was pretty standard. nothing too special that I herd (mind you
I got in during the middle of it) I was pumped to see Tom Marshall come
out with his daughter i think. She was so cute while Tom held her hand
and sang his little gibberish lines.
 
Golgi- I like this one but I couldn't belt out the " I saw you w/ a
ticket stub..." line because I was way in the back where it is kind of
quiet and people think it is a social gathering. Nothing special here
too.
 
Bittersweet Motel- I don't really appreciate this one too much, I would
rather here a Strange Design or even Waste. This should never be a set
closer also. I was disappointed when they took there bows after that
song. They could have at least played Golgi in it's place. Ohh well.
During the set break we made it all the way up to just before the front
of the stage. I love General admission! I was all set for number 2 which
I was sure that they were going to open w/ Runaway Jim but i think we
will here it in Columbia.
Set 2- They definitely came out pumped for this one.
 
Piper- WOW damn this was a sick one better than the Tweeter Center's. It
segued into a crazy jam which never let up, it was pretty fast paced. At
one point I could have sworn they were going to rip into Llama because
Page was on his organ Fish had the tempo at that fast speed and Trey was
signaling to do something but they didn't. Damn them. Trey tooled around
w/ his keys and they did what they do best. Then it slowed down as the
set up to go into
 
Lizards- I have always liked this song but last nights was so crisp that
I think it could make way to my favorites category. Page's solo was so
sweet and it leads right into Treys kick ass solo.
 
Tube- I was ecstatic when they busted out w/ this one, it made me forget
about the perfect lizards. The break down was super long and it led into
a really long drawn out jam. They busted this one out for 20 minuets or
so with a stop in it too I was defiantly happy with this one. Perhaps my
favorite one I have seen live.
 
When the Circus Comes to town- This is a good example of a good slow
song to play. I understand the band needs a break and I think this one
is a great choice for that. Not as bitterly sweet as the phirst set's.
 
Character Zer0- Kick ass in-your-face tune. It is just a fun song, every
time i here it I like it more and more. The song isn't hard to play at
all but it still get the crowd going (especially the guy that ran on
stage and got chased down by Carini.)You could tell they were having
lot's of fun even during the glow stick war. Trey caught one and threw
it back and Mike used his bass like a baseball bat and hit one like
that. The glow stick were fun but don't you think that is a little old?
It was fun in 1997 to Hood but every show has one and it has lost its
effect. And why on earth would you throw every single one at the band. I
have noticed that they have calmed down but they are still around.
 
Encore: Possum- Good tune I love this one also, maybe because Mike is my
favorite but it makes me laugh and have a good time. Trey was throwing a
little Stash tease in his solo and they were playing w/ 100% intensity.
I thought they were going to bust out w/ another tune since it was only
10:45 but oh well I will be seeing them on Sunday when we will finally
hear Fluffhead!
 
P.S. did anybody else hear a Kung tease the first night at the Tweeter
Center during the second set? I am alone on this one I need some back
up   let me know [email protected]

Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 00:33:56 -0400
From: David Smith [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review for 9/15/00 Hershey Stadium
 
Review of 9/15/00 By Barry Smith (From New York City)
 
Fall tour 2000 rolled into the generally quiet yet famous town of
Hershey Pennsylvania
on Friday September 15th. The band's second-ever gig at Hersheypark
Stadium. Back in '96
they played here, but I did not attend that show. From reviews I have
read of that show, people complained that the '96 setlist was
unexceptional and the playing was generally uninspired. Worse, the
Clifford Ball, a giant festival show was only days away, had eclipsed
the excitement of the show. Well, this time around, the Hershey show had
no major act to precede, and would be able to stand on its own. I
personally was excited for this one: an open air stadium show, festival
seating, lots of new songs to choose from. The door was wide open for
new musical possibilities.
 
In an effort to get a good front row view, I immediately waited by the
front gate, totally avoiding the parking lot scene. From what I heard
anyway, the lot scene was
very tame. Around 5PM, the band started their soundcheck, which the
people could hear
from the lot. My own soundcheck setlist goes like this: Hershey
Chocolate Jam>Golgi
Jam>Dog Gone Dog (Dog Log). A pleasant treat for us outsiders. Cheers of
delight after the brief 5-10 minute jam came to a conclusion.
 
At 6:00 PM, the gates opened and we all made a huge dash for the front
of the stage!!!
Luckily I made it to the spot that seemed to be front row center. After
so many shows in the nozebleed seats of MSG and Pepsi, etc. looks as if
this time I'd be able to see the boys merely yards away. From this spot,
the entire stadium looked tiny, smaller than
the amphitheatres I have attended such as Lakewood, PNC or Camden
E-Center. However, it had the bleachers that went pretty high. Overall a
unique place to see a Phish show.
 
At 7:45 PM, the band trooped onstage. They opened with FIRST TUBE, which
started the show with some fiery guitar riffs. Believe it or not,
repeated viewings of the VH1
HARD ROCK LIVE show nurtured my fondness of this song. It's definitely
an exciting opener, and got the crowd going. On the other hand, GOTTA
JIBBOO had been played quite often these last few tours.  Not a unique
choice, but quite welcome nevertheless. You see, I was wearing my "Gotta
Jiboo?" [got milk?] t-shirt, which was plainly visible to the band
(remember i was front row center!!). There was a distinct possibility
that Trey
or someone saw my t-shirt and decided to play the tune. I shall never
know for sure.
 
The next couple of tunes CORRINE CORRINA, BIRDS OF A FEATHER were
pleasant if unspectacular. BOAF is certainly a favorite of mine and did
contain some fine jamming. The set's newest tune was that WINDORA BUG
(?), a reggae-ish number, with some catchy chanting from Mike. Heard it
at the Albany show a week ago, but still not used to it.
Then came oldies time: RUN LIKE AN ANTELOPE and GOLGI APPARATUS, two
classics heard hundreds of times before, yet still manage to excite the
crowd. To our dismay, however,
both have been played earlier in the tour (Albany). BITTERSWEET MOTEL
was a perfect set closer. Now everybody knows it, thanks to the major
motion picture (now playing in a theatre near you!!) The line "somewhere
between Erie and Pittsburgh" earned some crowd cheers. Overall a
pleasing first set. Repeats for sure, but the playing was solid.
 
Set break was uneventful except for that skipping CD of Jazz and funk
muzak. I personally can't stand the pre-show and set break musak, it
really gets on my nerves. However, when the CD began to skip, I came to
the conclusion that it can be amusing after all!!
 
PIPER got set two on its way. As usual the jamming was hot, mid-tune and
post-tune.
This is still a perfect vehicle for Trey's hot guitar licks. Always a
great concert number. We all entered Gamehenge (though rather briefly)
with LIZARDS, my second-ever. In the year 2000, Gamehenge seems to be a
thing of the past. Yes they do play Wilson &  ACDC Bag occasionally, but
the 13 year old thesis has lost its significance (yet not its
importance) in today's Phish music. It's time to move on to other
things. Well the following TUBE is also a standard, yet the following
jam showed that Phish was moving this song to new heights.   WHEN THE
CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN was the standard set two breather tune. Short,
unexceptional, well-played. I would have used this as my bathroom tune
if I had access to one!! However, I was front row center, reluctant to
leave my
prime arrangement, and had to climb over thousand of people. I wasn't
going anywhere.
 
CHARACTER ZERO, The second set closer was a lot of fun. It certainly is
an exciting tune. I really got into it, and so did everybody else as the
light sticks began to fly.
As I looked up, I saw several people running onstage. Taking a closer
look, I saw Carrini and another stage hand chasing and tackling some fan
who managed to get on stage. I had no idea how he got up there, but I
knew where he was going once he was apprehended.....to jail!! Yes folks,
it's ok to run onstage but DON'T LET CARRINI GET YOU!! Remember this
advice, friends.
 
POSSUM was the lone encore. I do love the tune, yet it has appeared at
shows so frequently. In need of a light retirement one day I'd say.
However, the show ended and I was happy. Overall not a unique show, but
it had its moments and I was front row center.
Hershey Stadium '00 shall be remembered for a long time.

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 22:56:53 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: 9-15-00-- Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pennsylvania
 
    --review--
 
    We were at the show last night! It freakin' RULED! We walked in right as
First Tube was starting. Late because of some crazy, crazy traffic. I'm from
South Philly, and Hershey should be about two hours away. It took me over
twice that long! man! Hershey's population at least quadrupled. Any way about
the show... all right, they opened with first tube, it was money.aight!
there's this new song that used to be a trey solo song, Windora Bug. yeah,
that was awesome. highlights of the show included: Antelope with tom marshal
and who i think was his little daughter. "I bid you to have any, spliff,
mon?" yeah. no comment on the drug scene. i was stoked for piper but then
lizards kicked ass. Tube was amazing and i don't know what the fuck was going
on in that crazy reverbed jam afterwards. the best thing about Character zero
(aside from the outstanding guitar solo) was the trippy glow stick war.
Possum was good, although i was hoping for gamehenge, maybe next time. aight,
i 'm out. peace,
john & will

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 23:36:16 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: REVIEW: 9/15/00 Hershey, PA
 
This was my 15th show, first 5/2/93, most recent 7/4/00. I was spoiled by the
four incredible shows the boys played in New Jersey this summer. For the most
part this show wasn't up to that level, but it had plenty of great moments
nonetheless, especially a Tube that we'll still be talking about years from
now.
 
I arrived early and had no problem with traffic or parking, but having been
to Hershey Park before I knew the narrow roads would be a problem for
latecomers. After handing out magnets in support of the Mockingbird Project
book ("The Phish Companion: A Guide to the Band and Their Music") and tribute
album ("Sharin' in the Groove") and being encouraged by the positive
response, I went into the stadium and staked out a Page-side spot not far
from the stage.
 
FIRST TUBE - a nice way to get the crowd going. Nothing you haven't heard
before.
 
JIBBOO - another momentum-builder, energetic but not groundbreaking. I am of
course forever spoiled by the 30-minute extravaganza I witnessed on 7/4.
 
CORRINA - was not expecting this. Very well played and sung. A nice surprise,
lending a festival vibe to the proceedings.
 
BOAF - Some cool effects and interplay, but not as experimental as second
night Holmdel.
 
WINDORA BUG - Oh yeah! Page adds so much to this song. His clav and
synthesizer fills made the body of the song more interesting to listen to
than the Trey tour versions, and he led a brief freaky jam near the end that
was welcome departure from the two-chord reggae. His singing was also
outstanding, making a nice call-and-response thing with Trey. Mike's voice is
perfect for the "Is it a wind?" part, and Fish had some great drum flourishes
toward the end. Wonderful stuff. Why did this take so long to get in the
rotation?
 
ANTELOPE - Fun and energetic, but not in the same league as the two they
dropped on us in NJ this summer, much less the all-time classics. Hey, I said
I was spoiled. I've now seen 4 Tom appearances in 15 shows - anyone have a
better ratio?
 
GOLGI - Was sure this (a standard version) would be the closer. Was wrong...
 
BITTERSWEET MOTEL - because they're not coming to Pittsburgh on this tour so
this was the stand-in. They should have said "halfway between Philly and
Pittsburgh." Oh well.
 
This was, to use a Dirksenian term, an "average great" set. Lots of good
playing and energy, but nothing groundbreaking or jaw-dropping. Corrina was a
nice surprise, as was hearing how they've transformed Windora Bug.
 
Did anyone else see on the video screen during setbreak when the girl on
someone's shoulders flashed the camera? I'm married so I won't say anything
more...
 
PIPER - They did the quick buildup but did not go into the thrash-metal thing
like they did often in the summer. Instead they stretched out, darting this
way and that with doses of funk, rock and ambience. I got a similar vibe from
the 8/8/98 Piper. Page was on fire, and that would continue. This must have
been about 20 minutes, and none of it was wasted. It wound down and they
started up...
 
LIZARDS - early in the set, could it be the start of...? No, but it was very
tight and featured an outstanding solo from Page. Trey delayed the start of
his ending solo, I don't know if it was a missed cue or if he was just
playing around.
 
And then the point where we got our money's worth...
 
TUBE! - Not only was this my first in person, but it was one of the best I've
ever heard. At over 20 minutes it was certainly the longest of any of the
"best" Tubes. Does that make it the best ever? We'll see. The mid-song jam
was pure fall '97 Funk-Hose. Page was going off and everyone else was feeding
off of him. Then after the last verse, a pause, and, I'm hoping, could it
be?, YES! The Tube Reprise funk jam, previously seen on 12/7/97 and 11/2/98.
But this went way beyond that. After the funk jam, it got Santana-ish, then
bluesy (I swore they were going to segue into Jesus Just Left Chicago), then
ambient. All the while Page and Trey were ripping it up while Mike and Fish
were pounding it out. There were some particularly loud bombs from Mike
around here. As it wound down, Trey started chording something on his
guitar...
 
CIRCUS - Bad placement. Horrible placement. I usually don't mind this song,
but this was not the time to bring down the momentum. It fits best in the
more emotional shows, where Trey uses it as a commentary on the crowd, but
that did not apply here.
 
CHARACTER ZERO - As I've said before, yes I love this song, and no, nothing
you say can change my mind. This was a particularly tight and energetic
version, though why it spawned a glowstick war is baffling and why some
people chose to rush the stage is even more baffling.
 
I figured it would be the set closer, and it was, making the set pretty
short. But they still had 25 minutes to do the encore before the 11 PM
curfew. Some people were calling Tweezer, which would have been a brilliant
choice, but no...
 
POSSUM - Aside from some interesting Trey noodling in the opening, this was
pretty standard, but standard Possums are still pretty damn good.
 
Overall, a well-played, energetic show with two must-hears in Piper and Tube.
In fact, the Tube has to be considered an all-time great version which will
be remembered long after the rest of the show is forgotten. Just for that, I
am grateful. The rest is gravy.
 
See you at Merriweather,
 
Erik Swain

Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 06:44:10 GMT
From: mike d [email protected]
Subject: Hershey Review
 
this is my first time reviewing a show but i've read some before so..here
goes nothing:
 
My bud and i got to the lot aproximately 3:30-3:45 got out of our car and
walked around for a while.  buds first words : "whoah, look at all the cops"
and he wasn't exagerateing.  cops in golf carts, cops on bikes, horses, on
foot you name it.  after aimlessly roaming for a while we met up with a few
friends and went into the stadium at about 6:15,  just in time to get about
45 feet from the stage Trey side.  although i rememeber repeatedly checking
watches and such i forgot to look what time they actually came on, best
guess is about quarter til 8.
 
set 1
 
First Tube....very nice way to start.  Trey bouncing and dancing up a storm
having a good ole' time.  very solid bass and drums.
 
Gotta Jibbo....I'd seen this song at about 75% of the shows that I had
gotten to this summer and hence wasn't psyched to see it but it's always a
fun song.
 
Corrine Corrina....wow.  that's all you can really say about this selection.
  someone told me, i wasn't sure of the accuracy on it, that this song
hasn't been played in ten years.  I'd never heard it live before but I had
no idea it was that rare.  very nice.
 
Birds of a Feather....The Story of the Ghost version of this song never did
it justice in my opinion.  Well placed in the set and very together on the
chorus.
 
Windura Bug....we got the rules down now and we're tumbeling down the
street... this is a real phat song, first time i had heard it live and i
wasn't sure what it was at first.  Nice and tight considering this is the
third or forth time they've done it.
 
Run like an Antelope....oh geeze...where to start...well we called this one.
  as soon as we heard the first few licks of trey's guitar on this one we
knew we were in for a treat.  Tom came out with a small girl who was very
shy and hid behind his left leg.  tom gave the whole "rye rye rocco,  marcos
esqualdolas" thing.  good jam in this one.
 
Golgi....i like this song.  it is a good song.  they play it about every
third time i go to a show.  I thought for certain it was the set closer
because of it's regularity in that position.
But I was wrong
Bittersweet Motel.... this song will always hold a special place in my heart
because I live around Pittsburgh and heard this song at the first show I
went to.  it was nice to hear them close the set with a song so tranquil.
 
takes bows, leaves stage
 
during set break they place some alright music which at one point started
skippin to the crowds ammusment.  i met the lady from momadance.com, which
incidentally is a nice site if you haven't seen it yet.
 
set 2
 
Piper....where as i really liked a lot of the songs they played at this show
i really don't care for piper,  never have, probobly never will.  good jam
on this song though.  Gordo and Fish carried this jam with a lot of support
from Page while Trey played with his mini-keyboard, at it's peak this jam
was real nice.  the effects Trey got on his keyboard gave it the feel of a
rave and the lights helped as always.
 
Lizards....any negative feelings I was having about the last song were
erased as soon as i heard the opening choards of this.  this one really got
the crowd bouncing.  beautiful jam, just incredible.
 
Tube....this song kept appearing on bootlegs i'd get but i had never heard
it live before.  great song.  did a little more soloing in the middle than
i've heard before and it was all good.  after a brief pause they went back
into some more tubing and a nice little jam.
 
When the Circus Come to Town....oh yeah...a lovely little number by los
lobos.  standard solo by Trey on this.
 
Character Zero....when this song started i figured that it was the last of
the set, however, due to my incorrectness of the end of the first set i
wasn't sure.  this was a great version of this song.  some girl about twenty
feet in front of us had some kind of glow stick or something that when swung
spelled out "space jam" it was kinda cool.  a good sized glow stick war
started and it was nice to see the band look out at it in awwe.  Page
particuarly.  a young man ran on stage and was escorted off Trey's side via
security.  I saw a lot of action going on next to the stage where i thought
they might have taken him and my first thought was that someone was beating
this man. i was wrong. dead wrong, it was a few men dancing.  anyways about
30-45 seconds later this man runs back on stage being chased by the same two
security and then escorted off the opposite side.  someone threw a glow
stick at Trey, who instead of dodgeing it caught the glow stick and threw it
back to the crowd.  he would have been better off to let it hit him.
following the one glow stick assasination attempt everyone else in the crowd
decided to follow suit and chuck their glow stick on stage too.  as far as i
could see noone hit the band and i'm sure that was no accident considering
the level of skill it requires to aim a glow stick.  it looked like the band
was having a lot of fun between the glowsticks and the dancer.
 
Encore : Possum....we called this one as well...always love to hear the
possum.  nice work all around on this one guys.
 
overall review is that it was very fun and entertaining.
 
                                                 /Mike

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 09:10:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jeff Killion [email protected]
Subject: Hershey Review
 
Wow!  Great show tonight.  I'm going to stay away from talking about the
scene, because I really don't know what to say (some good, some bad - but I'm
sure you've heard it all many a time).
 
This was my 30th show, and I'd say it's definitely in my top 10 (probably 6 or
7).  A lot of great energy and they guys were on.
 
First set.
 
First Tube - I was up really close for the first set, and they came out with a
bang.  Maybe it's because I hadn't been this close for a First Tube before,
but I thought it was one of the craziest I've heard.  Trey was having a great
time!
 
Jibboo - I was getting tired of this over the summer, but I enjoyed it here.  
They had a nice groove going. Nice as a second song that didn't have to get
the crowd going (like all those 2nd set opener Jibboos).
 
Corrine Corrina - !!! Nice.  Got a little Cypress feel from it of coarse.  
Definitely a treat.
 
BOAF - Again, like Jibboo, I liked it in the middle of a set like this.  I
really enjoyed it here.
 
Windora Bug!!! - My first.  I was really hoping to see this, but after they
played it in Albany I didn't think I'd get it until probably Vegas (if I was
lucky).  But here it was!  Such a fun song.  I hope it stays in the regular
rotation.
 
Antelope - I heard it a few times over the summer after a drought for a couple
years, and now again at my first fall show.  It's always nice.  It kept up the
energy, and I was sure it was going to close the set. Tom came out with a
little girl (his daughter? Trey's?) for the lyrics.  Not a whole lot else to
say, but it's Antelope, and they rocked it.
 
Golgi - Trey motioned with his finger up to the guys as to say "one more".  
Again, nothing spectacular but it's Golgi.  Always fun, except the big guy
behind me bumping into me and belting out the lyrics.... But I'm not talking
about the scene, so lets move on....
 
Bittersweet - Well 1 more turned into 2.  The boys were having a great time,
and Trey looked like he just wanted to keep playing.  This song was expected
at some time because of the Erie... Pittsburgh lyrics, and was a nice way to
close a great set.
 
Setbreak - we had to move back.  I had fun up front, but it was just too
freakin' packed and I had no room to groove.  After an adventure to get up
into the stands we sat down and just took in the whole scene. It was a whole
different world up there, and was a nice change for the 2nd set.  Nice 'Happy
Birthday' by everyone too to someone over to my right too.  Those types of
things really keep a smile on your face.
 
Set II
 
Piper - I'm not sure how I feel about this to open a set, but this was a great
version.  The first 5 minutes were nothing special, but it went way out there
after that.  The boys were tight.  I was kinda out there at this point, so I
can't describe it that well, but I promise you'll enjoy it when you hear it.
 
Lizards - Great, great version.  I've seen it a lot lately, but I'm not
complaining.  Came nicely out of Piper, and was played perfectly.  And
then....
 
Tube!!! - My friend and I had been singing this all day!  And we were blessed
with one of the best ever. I love Cypress and 12/29/97, but this one was
different.  They had a great groove going, then the stop-start.  I was
expecting another minute or so of the deep funk, but they just went off!  It
morphed into an ambient like funk that was truely amazing. For me this was the
highlight of the show.  If they just played it for another 20 minutes and
didn't even play an encore I would have left a happy man (not that I didn't).
 
Circus - My buddy called this.  Appropriate for the theme park.  Nicely
played, but nothing spectacular.
 
Char 0 - As usual, fun set closer.  Great energy to close a great show.  But
why do we have jackasses running on stage???  I mean c'mon people.  It just
isn't cool.  And to all you who cheered when they did it.... why?  And please
don't throw glowrings at the band!  Just because Trey caught one and threw it
back, doesn't mean it's an invitation to open fire.  Let them play without
having to avoid getting drilled in the eye with a glowstick..... but I'm not
going to talk about the scene, so I'll stop.
 
Encore
 
Possum - I was really hoping for a YEM here, but Possum was fun.  Fun intro
and left me with a smile on my face.
 
Well, I had a great time last night and can't wait for Merriweather tomorrow!  
Look for me and my big red balloon - 11th row Page's side.
 
2 weeks to Vegas baby!!


Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 03:18:44 EDT
From: Jake Cohen [email protected]
Subject: Hershey review
 
Left Boston at 11:00 am and still managed to leave my car and head for the
venue around 6:30. Set a new record, Boston>NYC in 3.5 hours. Wow. This is
one of the coolest places to see a show. The tickets said the seats would be
reserved and only people w/ stubs would be allowed on the field, but the
entire venue was functioning general admission. Very nice, since we just
walked in and went up front, about 1/2 way between soundboard and stage,
just to the right of the stage. It's a REALLY small football stadium, like a
high school football field, with a soft white cushiony thing on the floor.
Set started at 7:45.
FIRST TUBE was the only song my friend Zack wanted to hear, and he got it to
open. The obligatory First Tube opener, and Phish now appears to be
repeating songs from earlier in the tour, unlike the past five nights where
every song was unplayed thus far. High energy and fast-paced, this First
Tube appropriately raged - and was jammed out in the major section for a
bit, lots of loud and cacophonous Trey strumming and looping.
First Tube ended and then Trey started up JIBBOO. This was a good version,
fun and playful, with some nice Trey soloing around the main scales and
riff. Then he led the jam into a darker territory, minor and with Page
adding to the sound, while Mike still kept up the Jibboo bass licks. This
led into an unknown slow song, which I then realized was CORRINA, CORRINA!!!
Wow, except for Big Cypress, this song hasn't been played since the 80s. And
it's such a great tune, beautiful lyrics, a great melody, and a nice solo.
Really, really enjoyed this, maybe just b/c it was such a surprise. The end
of Corrina led into the familiar terrotory of the BIRDS intro. This Birds
was the fastest, most high energy version I've ever heard. Trey let it all
out right from the get-go, with some old school style soloing and Page
playing octaves all over the keyboard. It jammed and finally climaxed before
coming back to the main theme. WINDORA BUG started up, which is turning into
a really fun original reggae tune, although it sounded like Mike was
inconsistent in singing his lines. The jam was ridiculous, with Page playing
tons of little, very quiet, almost "video game sounds" riffs on an 80s
synth. While he was doing this, Trey was playing his keys, making some heavy
space with Page adding textures. Finally Fish jumped the beat around, and
started playing in four instead of two, in other words doubling the drum
beat but keeping the tempo the same. It finished, and started up ANTELOPE.
Here we go, Trey plays the Nellie Cane lick during the intro, a la 7/1/00
Weekapaug. Antelope rages as usual, with some danky spinning white lights at
the end of the jam. As a general note, because it's outdoors, the wind blew
all the fog away, so you couldn't see the lights the way you usually can.
Kuroda tried to compensate, but all you could really see was just the color
flood as opposed to the individual beams of light. Which was nice, you
concentrate more on the music when there are no lights. Tom Marshall comes
out AGAIN!!! to sing his spliff lyrics. GOLGI was unnexpected, and always a
nice welcome. I thought for sure Antelope was the set closer, and now I was
sure Golgi, but then they played BITTERSWEET MOTEL. Hey why not? Play the
Penn. song in Pennsylvania. Screams on the "haflway between erie and
pittsburgh" line. A sweet little end to the set.
 
Setbreak was hilarious, the stadium lights came on which were very bright,
and the cameraman onstage was just picking out the hot girls in the audience
and putting them on the TV. Some girl started to pull her shirt up, but the
camera cut to someone else. It was funny.
 
Set 2 starts with a very short PIPER intro before hitting the lyrics. Only a
minute or two before singing. But this Piper turned out to be big. Me and my
buddies moved up, so that we were only about 30 ft. back, and dead center. I
ended up right next to the girl who flashed the camera. Right on. This Piper
raged at the usual Piper level for a little bit, and then settled to a dark,
bluesy thing very similar to Monday night's show. In fact, Trey kept on
playing strummed chords high on the neck like in Llama, teasing Llama and
chords that sound like it for a while, just like Monday. This Piper was very
similar to MOnday's Piper, so just remember that one and you'll have this
one. It got spacey, and Trey spent a lot of time playing with his keyboard,
not necessarily playing it but rather looping his strumming and configuring
and playing with it. Piper spaced out and then when Fish ended with his
beat, Trey started up the guitar to LIZARDS!!! YES! This was going to be
fun. Well-played, no fuckups from Trey, and he got all the lyrics right too.
Some really amazing Page during his solo section. Trey hit the "If I were a
dog" solo perfectly, and it sounded great, climaxing at the exact moment
when Page and Mike starts singing the "ahhh." I felt like TUBE would be
next, lo and behold, they drop a super funky Tube. Jam is strict funk, Trey
plays no lead guitar, actually he and Page (on Moog) go back and forth
trading funk soloes for a bit. Blues section is always fun, and then after
the final chorus, they started up the TUBE JAM. This was awesome, since they
had such a great groove going on, they figured they'd keep it up for a
little longer. This jam started to lead away from the pure funk it began in
and took on new directions, leading into a dark blues and finally a soft,
almost Hydrogen-esque sound. This sound led into the chords to WHEN THE
CIRCUS COMES, which was as always beautifully sung and played, great guitar
solo following the melody line, it builds, then comes down, and then
rebuilds itself at least 2 times. The CHARACTER ZERO set closer was less
than amazing, even though the song was very well played. There was a "we
haven't done a glowstick war yet, so let's do one on the last song" which
pelted me with a plethora of glowsticks. You know when a war breaks out
there's always an area where most of the tossing is more concentrated than
the rest? I was in the middle of that tonight. Zero ended with a bang, and
then the 1 song POSSUM encore was also less than great, but well played,
kinda soft and not as big as it was Saturday night.
 
So the general consensus is that they played a combination of the two Albany
shows tonight. Of the 14 songs played tonight (again, short sets), 7 were
played in Albany. There was a lot of good music, but some of it was very
weirdly/badly placed tunes (the 2nd set Tube? the Bittersweet set 1 closer).
Also this was my first show in 20 or so shows that they haven't played a
song I've never heard live. Or, every song tonight I've heard before. Oh
well, still fun. The Lizards was a key surprise/present, and the Tube and
jam were very funky. The rest of the 2nd set left a good deal to be desiered
though. We'll see if the Mass.>Penn. drive was worth it Sunday night after
Merriweather. One more show and then it's time for the now famous hiatus. I
hope they blow me away.
Where's my FLuffhead?
My $.02,
Jake

Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 07:23:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: Justin [email protected]
Subject: 9/15/00 review
 
Got to the venue at about 3:30 after getting lost in harrisburg for a little
while.  The lot scene was nice but not too many vendors or anything.  I've
seen lots more flourished than this.
 
Soundcheck:  Some techno space type jam with trey quoting golgi apparatus.  
"I saw you, with that ticket stub in your hand."  After this they soundchecked
dog log and that was it.
 
Set 1
    They took the stage at around 7:45 i think and went into First Tube.  
This rocked out by all means but i was hoping more for an AC/DC Bag or Runaway
Jim opener.
    Next was Gotta Jibboo which was very standard. Always love a Jibboo
though.
    Corrine Corrina:  never heard this song before, but from what i hear it's
a rarity.  It was nice to rest to after that Jibboo.
    Birds of a Feather:  I seem to see this at every show and i love it more
and more each time.  I am amazed at the growth of this song since its debut in
spring of 98.  This version did not dissapoint
    Windora Bug:  I seen this in Albany and found it to be a very cool tune
with the way the vocals are set up.
    Antelope:  Now we're talking!!! This one really took off.  I love this
song because just when you think it can't peak anymore they do.  It just keeps
rocking on.  Great to see Tom Marshall come out with his daughter i think and
say his first phish lyrics. I thought they would end the set early but no....
    Golgi Apparatus:  YES!  Very standard as always but definate old school
phish.  I just love when the crowd screams the line "I saw you.."  I thought
this would end the set but no...
    Bittersweet Motel:  a nice little ditty but i prefer set closers that get
you moving.  Great anway.
 
Setbreak:  Time to go find a drink and refresh myself for the second set.  
Anyone else see that naked guy on the floor?
 
Set 2
    Piper:  this piper went REALLY out there.  I'll try to describe the jam as
phish techno with plenty of keyboard loops from trey.  SOO spacey and long...i
really got into this one.  When they ended they still had a loop going i think
and i heard trey start to play..
    Lizards:  I am so happy to have finally seen this song live.  Great vibe
song, everyone got into it
    Tube:  I can't stop dancing.  My body hurt from dancing but i couldn't
stop.  PHENOMENAL jam in the middle.  They went back into the last verse then
stopped and went right back into the tube jam.  One of the highlights of the
night.
    When the circus comes:  At least i got a chance to have a breather
    Character Zero:  Kinda dissapointed when i heard this because i knew it
was the end of the set.  Was probaly the best zero i've seen though.  
Glowstick war erupted and trey got in on the fun too by throwing them back at
the audience.
 
Encore
    Possum:  great, kept building and building.  A nice way to cap off the
night.
 
Highlights for me were the Antelope, Piper>Lizards, and the Tube
 
sharin in the groove,
Justin

Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 00:02:14 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: Hershey review (9-15-2000)
 
    Hello all! Well, just caught my one show of the fall... Really wish I
could head over to Merriweather on Sunday night, but can't get off work...
Sigh... The drag of real life!  :)
    Anyway, seeing as how we all knew going into this tour that a long break
is ahead of us with no Phish for a while... :(   I made a pledge to just
accept whatever the boys dealt me with no complaints. (Not like I ever really
complain, but you know, sometimes it's hard not to think: 'Damn, I didn't
really want to hear Bouncin' again', or similar thoughts.)
    So, let's get to the show. The scene outside was festive - despite the
efforts of the Makisupa, which were relentless. Windy and cold as the day
went on, we got a brief spritz from a passing storm, but thankfully it passed
through without pelting us.
 
    Once inside, I was just psyched to hear whatever was dealt. What a
surprise that the first five songs were all first-timers for me. :)    I've
been seeing shows for eight years, but lately with work and our third child,
I usually only catch one or two a tour... So, the opening notes of First Tube
were nice to hear. Trey was clearly having a lot of fun, bouncing all around
the stage, and the energy level was great!
    The next song was the other new song that I really wanted to hear, Gotta
Jiboo. A long version with a really nice jam. There was some good interplay
between Trey and Page.
    Slowing down for the third song, I didn't know this one for sure until
they sang the chorus, Corrina, Corrina. Always cool to hear a rarity like
this.
    Birds of a Feather came next and believe it or not, this was one of those
songs that I have never heard - even when they were overplaying it two years
ago! LOL! (Moma Dance is the other "Ghost" song that I always miss!)  Anyway,
based on tons of bootleg recordings of this song, I am really happy to hear
what they are doing with it. Another long, long jam... Very nice. Mike had
some stellar moments here and of course, Trey was wailing away... :)
    Windora Bug was next and it was fun... Mike sang so low, however, that
you could hardly hear him... That was not a big deal except for the funny
line: "Is that your hair, or a rug?"  I certainly couldn't decipher it.
    No matter, next we moved into the opening licks of Antelope. Now this was
one I heard at my last show (Camden, July 3) and that was a kick-ass
version... If you were there, you know what I'm talking about. The Hershey
version was also very sweet, I must say. The jam got way out there at points,
but Fishman's awesome drumming helped lead them back to the
always-anticipated ending... And I'm starting to feel lucky, another Tom
Gordon appearance... I thought Trey was out there with a little girl
(wondering if it was his daughter, Isabella), but according to the Phish.net
it was Gordon holding her hand... anyway, it was cute. (Even with the big
screens at Hershey, I couldn't really tell!)
    Golgi came next. Always fun. Nothing cosmic. Then a nice choice for a
set-closer, Bittersweet Motel. The line: "halfway between Erie and
Pittsburgh" got a huge cheer, of course. Good stuff... They could have played
one more, but it was definitely a solid first set with some long jams...
 
    After a very long set break - I don't wear a watch, but it felt like an
hour - the boys came back and strummed the opening notes of Piper. Pretty
rare for a set-opener, I think, but it was nice... They jammed for a long
time out of Piper, at least 10 minutes, maybe 15, and it appeared as if they
were heading somewhere...
    But eventually it just kind of ran out of steam and they went into
Lizards. Well-played... Page had a really long solo in here, as always, and
he just went off. It was like the whole band just kept prodding him and
pushing him and he just took it higher and further... It was awesome!!! What
else can you say about that song? Simply sweet. :)
 
    Now, coming into this show there were three songs I really wanted to
hear: Timber Ho, Tube and Boogie On... (All funky numbers, LOL!)   So, you
can imagine my delight when Trey belted out the first line of Tube!!!  I love
this song and Hershey's version did not disappoint. Definitely the funkiest
number of the evening...
The switch to the "bluesy-rock" ending was a little rough, but I always
thought that was a very difficult transition... When they ended the song
there was a brief pause... But then they jumped right back into a funky,
Tube-like jam... sounded like they just wanted to continue the funk for a
bit... and they did, maybe for another 8-10 minutes...
    Slowly the jam started to fade into the opening notes of Circus. A Trey
favorite, and well-played... Beautiful solo at the end, as usual. :)
 
    Well, believe it or not, then I heard the opening notes of Character
Zero. I was kind of hoping for two more songs, but remembering my promise...
hee, hee... I just jumped in and rocked along with the other 25,000 folks and
had fun.  A great jam, long and rockin'... and incredible glow-stick/ring
war... I haven't seen many good ones, but this one was epic. :)  It lasted
almost the entire jam and it was intense... I was a little sad when the
glowrings started reaching the stage, but then the big video screen was
zoomed right in on Trey and damn if he wasn't soloing, and reaching out and
snagging glow rings and tossing them back at the same time!!!! LOL!!! And he
was smiling...
    Then the wackiness continued when some dude ran onstage and was chased by
Carini (I assume!)  Then he ran across again and tripped and fell right in
front of Mike!!! Again, the camera just happened to zoom in on Trey right
then and he was laughing his ass off!!!!! (All while wailing away on the solo
the whole time!) What a trip!!
    The Possum encore was fun, as usual, and that was it. The second set
looks short and maybe it was... But even though there were only five songs,
those two jams at the end of Piper and Tube made the set a lot longer than it
appeared on paper. All in all, using the quality over quantity assessment, a
very nice show and lots of fun.
    So, that's it for me until they decide to come back... Hopefully next
summer???
As for all of you, have fun and enjoy this tour. They are kicking ass. :)
    Peace and love,
Mike

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 22:00:50 -0700 (PDT)
From: David Onigman [email protected]
Subject: 9/15 Hershey Review
 
People always complain about the way parking lots set up, and Hershey was no
walk in the park let me tell you, kind of sucked how many few people they
could get in at once.  Anyways, we were there in plenty time.  I was psyched
to be there right from the start because I didn^�t think I was going to make
it to the show from Philly anyways, but a train ride later and my friend^�s
ride from the train station, and we were in the show by 6.  Was totally
psyched for my 6th Phish show, previously going to 7/12/99 (Great Woods),
12/12/99 (Hartford), 12/13/99 (Providence), 6/30/00 and 7/1/00 (Hartfords).
 
I was probably the equivalent of being about 15 rows back from the stage.  
The sound quality was great from where I was.
 
They took the stage at around 7:45 I think, and it was starting to get a
little chilly, but didn^�t look like it would rain.
 
FIRST TUBE: I was calling AC/DC, but was wrong.  First Tube was cool, Trey
really seems to enjoy this song when I see him play it, definitely a strong
way to open the show, a real rockin^� version of the song.
 
GOTTA JIBOO: One of the guys I was with said ^�First Set Jiboo, definitely^�
before the show, he was right on.  Not crazy about this song, seen it three
times, but that doesn^�t matter, it was alright, nothing that blew me away.
 
CORRINE CORRINA: Woah! That really surprised me.  I was listening to my NYE^�s
discs a week before and I heard that song and said to myself that they should
play it once and a while.  The vocals sounded great and Page had solo on that
rarely used Fender Rhodes keyboard he has behind him.  Page^�s solo sounded
great, and it was a great mellow tune.  Couldn^�t have asked for a better
quick early breather.
 
BIRDS OF A FEATHER: Nice!!!! I really wanted to see this tune.  The band had
all those hits right on. Mike had some nice bass grooves in this tune too I
thought.  Cool, cool, cool!
 
WINDORA BUG: When I heard a reggae song I didn^�t recognize, I assumed it was
this song and I was right.
 I really really like this song.  Now that they^�re playing this and tunes
like Corrina (which sounded really tight, as did this song) you can tell they
spent some serious time rehearsing since Summer Tour which means they^�ve
resurrected some of those songs that they ^�Want to play but forget how^� to
quote Trey as to why they don^�t play tunes like Mound anymore. But back to
Windora, it^�s a real fun song.  ^�We^�ve got the rules down now^�.  Also kind
of a breather after Birds.  Fishman was having lots of fun with the beat
towards the end of the song.
 
RUN LIKE AN ANTELOPE: When I heard this start I said jokingly to my friend
^�Think Tom Marshall will be here again tonight?^� And sure enough he was.  
With his daughter? I don^�t know who that little girl was but she was very
shy.  When Tom started to step up to the mic she kind of ducked behind his
legs, it was cute. Then I think Trey talked to her, it was cool.  Always cool
to see Tom Marshall on-stage, I thought maybe he would return for some cover
or Harpua or something^�.And then he left and Antelope was ripping!!!
 
GOLGI APPARATUS: Ahhh yes, Golgi^�Seen it 3 times now in 6 shows, I love the
song though.  I was hoping they wouldn^�t end the set with this, that would be
too short, so I was sending out the vibes that they didn^�t have to use this
as a closer^�And they didn^�t!
 
BITTERSWEET MOTEL: When I heard this one begin I said ^�Hey, cool they won^�t
close with this song^�, and Bittersweet is pretty song, nice harmonies.  And
then they bowed and Trey booked it off-stage (not the first time he^�d do this
that night) and the others followed.
 
A cool set with some rare tunes, just sat down and hung out with some people
and realized again that it was cold outside.  What will they open with?
Halley^�s? Bathtub?
 
PIPER: Or Piper.  The slow part at the beginning didn^�t last very long, the
words came very quickly, and it built up pretty quickly too.  And then the Jam
was way out there, Mike took it to the point where Piper was basically
unrecognizable, and Trey had lots of loops and keyboard work going on, it way
OUT there.
 And then it sorta came back to Piper but I don^�t think they ^�finished^� it
though the setlist doesn^�t say ^�Unfinished^� so maybe I^�m wrong but it
sounded unfinished.
 
LIZARDS: Now that^�s what I^�m talking about!!!!!!!!! Yeah! No lyric flubs,
beautiful guitar work a tight freakin^� Lizards! What else do you have to say,
it was Lizards.  And I heard the theme from Mario Brothers in Page^�s solo.  
It^�s sort of always part of that piano lick but it sounded even more like it
this night^�
 
TUBE: I called this one!!! Great tube, really heavy on the snare drum, it was
funky, Mike owned that solo section, laying lines all over the place.  A nice
transition into the rockin^� part of the solo and then the verse and
then^�.Back into Tube? Like they did with Suzie the night before my friend
told me, hmmm^�that^�s cool.  Made for a very long Tube but the setlist is
calling it ^�Jam^� it was basically Tube.
 
WHEN THE CIRCUS: Man, they were playing all the slow tunes that I liked, thank
you Los Lobos for this tune.
 People seem to be screaming a lot for the ^�Never thought I could make it
this far^� perhaps cause Phish is taking that break, and everyone^�s realizing
they^�ve been together for what like 16 years now?  Nice guitar solo, but did
they not finish this tune aswell? I thought Trey was supposed to sing another
part of a verse but it kind of just ended, maybe I wasn^�t paying enough
attention, but I think this was unfinished aswell^�
 
CHARACTER ZERO:  When I heard this, I was also sending out those vibes telling
them they didn^�t need to end the set with this either.  The second time
through the verse came around the glowsticks came out.  That was a lot of
glowsticks, it was cool.  One headed towards Trey and he threw it back and the
crowd really enjoyed that.  Some guy ran up on stage, maybe 2 guys? Or the
same guy was up there twice.  Whatever it was the second time it looked like
he really nailed him.  That was weird.  Good guitar solo and there was no
talking in the end of the song so I figured the set wasn^�t over.  But then
they left the stage without saying a word, once again Trey booking it off
stage? Why did he keep doing that?  It was weird.
 
They came back a couple minutes later and before Mike had even plugged in Trey
had started the lick to
 
POSSUM: which I thought Trey played when he first came on stage for the first
set while warming up.  A cool Possum!  The only song Trey wasn^�t singing lead
on all night, I figured that would be it for the encore and it was.
 
A very cool show, as all Phish shows are.  It didn^�t blow me away as much as
they did in the past, but they can^�t always do that.  But there were some
really cool songs and some good energy, but I don^�t know it kept seeing like
they wanted to get off stage, maybe I was interpreting that the wrong way
though.  All in all, a cool show, no other place I^�d rather be, and I^�m
hoping they are going to absolutely tear it up at Merriweather, I know they
will! Peace y^�all.


Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 17:09:37 -0400
From: nicholas [email protected]
Subject: review- hershey, 9/15
 
Well, kind of a sketchy scene in the lots. Saw a few too many police on
horses, with dogs, and with pholks in cuffs. but i guess hershey is a
family oriented venue- you know, with the chocolate and all that crap. i
had a good time pre-show giving out tapes of my band. if you got a free
tape and are a little hazy on where you got it from, that was me and my
buddy and his girlfriend! the show-
security was tough again getting into the stadium, and that slowed the
lines down a bit, but it also built up anticipation.
First set-
        first tube- groovin! i love the songs where gordo plays three notes
for ten minutes and never loses the funky groove! got me dancin, but pholks in
the stands were kind of stiff- move to the floor!
        jiboo- once again, groovin! jam kind of extended out there, but kind
of lost focus after a while.
        corrina- beatiful song. kind of brought the energy down, and too many
people were talking! fuckin-a man! its one thing if you gotta tell someone
sumpin, but i think its a big drag when everyone around you can hear your ten
minute conversation! i know of a lot of heads out in the lots who never got
tickets and would have gladly switched places and let all those folks talk
outside while the music was playin!
        birds- nice boost! but it seemed like the boys werent totally hooked
up. maybe they were tired or something. trey seemed to be havin some trouble
with his guitar and effects first set too.
        windora bug- nice to catch this one. kind of a 'makisupa' feel, i
thought that's what it was. great harmonies and overlapping lyrics in the
chorus.
        Antelope, golgi, bittersweet- antelope was nice! finally made it close
to the stage and found a good group of people to dance near! tom marshall came
out with a little girl, his daughter or trey's maybe? "been you to have any
spleef?" she got so embarassed during the "marco esquandolas"- pretty funny.
golgi was great to hear. bittersweet was the highlight for me! fuckin love
this song and had a feeling theyd play it here- "halfway between erie and
pittsburgh"- crowd went crazy for that! Second set-
        piper- aw' shucks! boys seemed refreshed after the break- jam got so
damn funkdafied! fishman is a maniac!
        into...LIZARDS!- first time seein this beautiful song! trey had this
weird "jelly bread" effect on his guitar for the first line of the soft guitar
riff later in the song, but he took it off. sounded kind of crazy.
        TUBE- my absolute favorite! i scared eveyone around me when i broke
out of my never ending dancing to scream "Yes!" at the start of this tune.
again real funkdafied. after the song, they jammed for a few minutes on a
little funk tune which kind of just ended and then..
        circus- i enjoy this song, but people seemed bummed that they had to
stop dancing funky style for this ditty.
        character zero- boys seemed to be enjoying themselves a lot more by
now, but this was the end! glowsticks a-flyin! trey is a jedi- he actually
caught a green glowstick with his right hand, threw it back into the crowd,
and kept soloing without missing a beat! great lights as always!

Encore
        possum- didn't expect this as an encore. always glad to hear it
though. Thought they might do a carini after he tackled a phan up on stage in
the middle of the second set. Overall, i enjoyed the music as always, but
sketchy scene and annoying chatty fifteen year olds brought me down. and i
didnt get any chocolate. what was i thinking!

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 19:56:41 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: hershey review
 
This was a good show if you did not catch the Albany run and are into all the
ambient jams.
My problem was I was in Albany and would much rather see Trey playing guitar
then with that silly keyboard for half the show.
 
The First Tube opener completely smoked, but then came lots and lots of
repeats (Jibboo, Antelope, Golgi, Windora, Birds of Feather, Character Zer0,
Possum) -- all played at Pepsi. But, hey, It's Phish. It's outside in a cool
place in September and they ripped up Piper into Lizards and then a cool
Tube. How bad could it have been? Also, the scene was tremendous from the
minute we arrived to the minute we left. Nice people. Cool security. GREAT
SCENTS!
 
Lizards was virtually perfect and the unquestioned highlight of the evening.
No flubs. Everyone on the money. There was a funky jam after Tube and then
another before Circus Comes to Town, which I could have done without quite
frankly.
 
Crazy glowstick war during a sick Character Zer0 as Mike and Page had to
gracefully dodge the sticks being fired at them from assholes in GA who
thought injuring someone in the band or crew was a cool idea. Two more idiots
rushed the stage and had to be tackled and taken off while Fishman laughed
and yelled at Carini.
 
Trey caught a few of his glowsticks and fired them back ala MSG 12/30/97
while not missing a single stroke.
 
The second set surely was a few songs light, especially considering Llama,
Fluffhead, Tweezer, Rock and Roll and Slave, to name a few, have yet to be
dusted off this fall.
 
Oh well. Enjoy the rest of the shows y'all.

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 21:26:01 -0400
From: Mike Hauptman [email protected]
Subject: hershey review
 
ok, this is my first review, of my fourteenth show. i will do my best...
 
First Tube - great song to get start a show. it rocks hard each and
every time they play it and really starts the show off on a good note.
everybody was loving this pretty standard, although good as always,
version when they began to play...
 
Gotta Jibboo -  i like this song when it is jammed out nicely. this
particular version seemed a little weak from the get-go. not terrible,
but it just seemed a little dry the entire time.
 
Corrina Corrina - good song to slow things down a little. at this point,
the show was starting to lack a bit in my opinion, when they busted out
a fantastic version of
 
Birds of a Feather - i thought this song sounded great. nice type three
jamming in this one if i remember correctly. fairly long as well. this
crowd really got into this one.
 
Windora Bug - the intro to this song had a lot of people fooled... at
least around me. i heard one guy commending the band on this sweet intro
to Limb by Limb. I did not know this song at all. Neither did most
people around me.this mellowed most people down wuite a bit.
 
Run Like an Antelope - great as always. tom marshall came out and did
his thing. very well played. everybody seemed thrilled to hear it and
the crowd was going nuts.
 
Golgi Apparatus - one guy. who was next to me said before the show that
he just had to hear this one. well, as one could imagine, this guy was
going insane when they busted this out. great jamming attached to this
one. very well done...
 
Bittersweet Motel - closed out set one. once again, kinda killed the
crowd's momentum as i could tell. a rather poor choice for a set closer
in my opinion. most people around me agreed. we were waiting for one
more song in the first set. we didn't get it.
 
overall, set one had its high points and low points. i would rate it
maybe a five.
 
Piper > ok, i just want to say that i do not care what people say about
the "new piper." i like it. it rocks real hard, gets everyones' blood
rushing, and just kicks ass. well, this was a particularly great piper.
the jamming was real intense, some funk thrown in... and lasted quite a
while. this is one of the longer pipers from recent memory. came back
beautfully into the ending and morphed into...
 
Lizards - absolutely killer. everyone that knew what this song was went
insane. everyone else, went insane as well, just because of its
greatness. i was pretty amused being as how i had just seen this one at
Camden. great great great song. beautifully played by Trey. so far, set
two is looking pretty damn good.
 
Tube - my first "tube" and i loved every second of it. the band pauses
at the end and restarts in a killer "tube jam." this one lasted quite a
while and was tremendous. the crown was very much into this as it just
kept getting better and better.but like all good things, this had to
come to an end...
 
When the Circus Comes - i would just like to say that as a i pointed out
before, this was my fourteenth show. well, this was also my 7th
Circus!!! This song is good for what it is and all, but c'mon! why is
this song following me?? i said beforehand, that i knew they were
busting this one out tonite because i was here (and they hadn't played
it yet this tour). circus is circus. always sounds the same, but as
always, trey poured his heart into it.
 
Character Zero - i am not a huge fan of this song, mostly because it
doesn't seem to vary too much from show to show, but i must admit, this
one really gets everyone going. last nite was no different. but of
course, hearing this one, you knew it was the end.
 
i was hoping for a better encore to send us home with a good song fresh
in our heads, the boys didn't disappoint when they began...
 
Possum - somewhat standard version, but always great to hear. good
encore song. better than the cavern that most people were expecting to
hear.
 
overall, the show was pretty good. the high points were insane, the low
points, not so great. i give the show a six overall, but i had a great
time as always. a nite of phish is better than a nite of just about
anything else...
 
Mike Hauptman
[email protected]

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 03:18:25 -0400
From: Tyler Ingersoll [email protected]
Subject: Review for 9/15
 
Just to say a few quick things.
 
My 2 friends and I left Newark DE at 5pm.  We got to the show at 10:30.
We *Should* have gotten there at 7:30pm.
 
We actually got to meet all of the other people around us on interstate
76 and hung out with them for 2 hours before they cleared up the mess on
that road.
 
At least after driving 5 hours (when it should have been 2.5 hours)  I
got to see Circus, Character Zero and Possum encore. That made the trip
worth it!

Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 13:21:46 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: hershey review
 
OK everyone, I will try to write a review that is short and somehow does
justice to last nights show.  After arriving in the lot around 4:00 - 4:15,
and finding out that security was tight (  I saw one person in cuffs and the
police were taking his socks off, and I also saw a whole police van full of
other people getting arrested), well after we saw that, we decided to just go
ahead and get in line to get in, after all we did have GEN AD, tickets!!!!
Anyone who gets up really close to the stage knows that they are in for a
really intense show.  Well, the gates opened around 5:30, and it was a mad
dash to the front of the stage, where we all arrived almost simultaneously,
cheering with excitement.  Several hours later, the show started with the
great vigor of a blazing First Tube, (7:43-7:51) Trey very active.  Then a
very nice Gotta Jibboo (7:51-8:03).  After that, Corrina, YES! (8:03-8:08),
extremely smooth, very pretty, Page shined, Mikes bass soothing and shaking
the shirt against my chest.  After that, things picked up even more, Birds
(8:08-8:18), absolutely smokin, perhaps the band got the idea tp play this
after seeing several flocks of geese flying around all day. Next, Windora
Bug, (8:18-8:27), my first!  Great song! Antelope (8:27-8:39).  This too,
absolutely unbelievable, Tom Marshall and all, they blasted this song.
Noticing that the band didnt want to end the first set yet, they pulled out a
Golgi, and Bittersweet to bring the set back down to a landing position at
8:47.
 
Well, I dont want to go on and on about set II, perhaps one of the sikest
second sets i have seen..  Starting around 9:30 and ending at 10:45, the
opening Piper was beyond comparison, dark kinda,  very good Piper.  They
played it really hard. The Tube and accompanying jam was pure funk, Page and
Trey just kickin this ones ass.  The Character Zero that took place was also,
a jaw hanger. - Two stage runners and a massive glow-stick war reflect the
energy and sometimes uncontainable madness that these four musicians bring
upon all of us at times.  Finally, the encore, Possum.  Trey is indeed a
rock-star, im surprised that he didnt break any strings on that one.  Damn
Trey, that was some show.  Keep up the great shows fellas, c-ya south of
Cleveland..   5 stars.
 

Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 09:22:11 -0400
From: David Smith [email protected]
Subject: Review of Hershey 9/15/00 for Phish.net & Gadiel HPB
 
Review of 9/15/00 By Barry Smith (From New York City)
 
Fall tour 2000 rolled into the generally quiet yet famous town of
Hershey Pennsylvania
on Friday September 15th. The band's second-ever gig at Hersheypark
Stadium. Back in '96
they played here, but I did not attend that show. From reviews I have
read of that show, people complained that the '96 setlist was
unexceptional and the playing was generally uninspired. Worse, the
Clifford Ball, a giant festival show was only days away, had eclipsed
the excitement of the show. Well, this time around, the Hershey show had
no major act to precede, and would be able to stand on its own. I
personally was excited for this one: an open air stadium show, festival
seating, lots of new songs to choose from. The door was wide open for
new musical possibilities.
 
In an effort to get a good front row view, I immediately waited by the
front gate, totally avoiding the parking lot scene. From what I heard
anyway, the lot scene was
very tame. Around 5PM, the band started their soundcheck, which the
people could hear
from the lot. My own soundcheck setlist goes like this: Hershey
Chocolate Jam>Golgi
Jam>Dog Gone Dog (Dog Log). A pleasant treat for us outsiders. Cheers of
delight after the brief 5-10 minute jam came to a conclusion.
 
At 6:00 PM, the gates opened and we all made a huge dash for the front
of the stage!!!
Luckily I made it to the spot that seemed to be front row center. After
so many shows in the nozebleed seats of MSG and Pepsi, etc. looks as if
this time I'd be able to see the boys merely yards away. From this spot,
the entire stadium looked tiny, smaller than
the amphitheatres I have attended such as Lakewood, PNC or Camden
E-Center. However, it had the bleachers that went pretty high. Overall a
unique place to see a Phish show.
 
At 7:45 PM, the band trooped onstage. They opened with FIRST TUBE, which
started the show with some fiery guitar riffs. Believe it or not,
repeated viewings of the VH1
HARD ROCK LIVE show nurtured my fondness of this song. It's definitely
an exciting opener, and got the crowd going. On the other hand, GOTTA
JIBBOO had been played quite often these last few tours.  Not a unique
choice, but quite welcome nevertheless. You see, I was wearing my "Gotta
Jiboo?" [got milk?] t-shirt, which was plainly visible to the band
(remember i was front row center!!). There was a distinct possibility
that Trey
or someone saw my t-shirt and decided to play the tune. I shall never
know for sure.
 
The next couple of tunes CORRINE CORRINA, BIRDS OF A FEATHER were
pleasant if unspectacular. BOAF is certainly a favorite of mine and did
contain some fine jamming. The set's newest tune was that WINDORA BUG
(?), a reggae-ish number, with some catchy chanting from Mike. Heard it
at the Albany show a week ago, but still not used to it.
Then came oldies time: RUN LIKE AN ANTELOPE and GOLGI APPARATUS, two
classics heard hundreds of times before, yet still manage to excite the
crowd. To our dismay, however,
both have been played earlier in the tour (Albany). BITTERSWEET MOTEL
was a perfect set closer. Now everybody knows it, thanks to the major
motion picture (now playing in a theatre near you!!) The line "somewhere
between Erie and Pittsburgh" earned some crowd cheers. Overall a
pleasing first set. Repeats for sure, but the playing was solid.
 
Set break was uneventful except for that skipping CD of Jazz and funk
muzak. I personally can't stand the pre-show and set break musak, it
really gets on my nerves. However, when the CD began to skip, I came to
the conclusion that it can be amusing after all!!
 
PIPER got set two on its way. As usual the jamming was hot, mid-tune and
post-tune.
This is still a perfect vehicle for Trey's hot guitar licks. Always a
great concert number. We all entered Gamehenge (though rather briefly)
with LIZARDS, my second-ever. In the year 2000, Gamehenge seems to be a
thing of the past. Yes they do play Wilson &  ACDC Bag occasionally, but
the 13 year old thesis has lost its significance (yet not its
importance) in today's Phish music. It's time to move on to other
things. Well the following TUBE is also a standard, yet the following
jam showed that Phish was moving this song to new heights.   WHEN THE
CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN was the standard set two breather tune. Short,
unexceptional, well-played. I would have used this as my bathroom tune
if I had access to one!! However, I was front row center, reluctant to
leave my
prime arrangement, and had to climb over thousand of people. I wasn't
going anywhere.
 
CHARACTER ZERO, The second set closer was a lot of fun. It certainly is
an exciting tune. I really got into it, and so did everybody else as the
light sticks began to fly.
As I looked up, I saw several people running onstage. Taking a closer
look, I saw Carrini and another stage hand chasing and tackling some fan
who managed to get on stage. I had no idea how he got up there, but I
knew where he was going once he was apprehended.....to jail!! Yes folks,
it's ok to run onstage but DON'T LET CARRINI GET YOU!! Remember this
advice, friends.
 
POSSUM was the lone encore. I do love the tune, yet it has appeared at
shows so frequently. In need of a light retirement one day I'd say.
However, the show ended and I was happy. Overall not a unique show, but
it had its moments and I was front row center.
Hershey Stadium '00 shall be remembered for a long time.

From: Adam Borg [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, September 16, 2000 8:17 PM
Subject: 9-15-00 -- Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pennsylvania
 
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
The Saga continues at Hershey.  The initial parking lot scene was a little
weak, but picked up very quickly to an awesome, basically anything-goes
event.  everyone was just chillin, and set the stage for a very energetic
night of funky and groovin jams...
 
You can call this show "The Best Of Albany", and actually, I believe the
songs they played were much tighter and the group sounded more loose than in
Albany - probably because the tour is now officially in full swing.  At
first I was kinda pissed I did not here some more oldies but at least we did
not get Heavy Things...
 
I'm not going to review the show itself, it was truly incredible and believe
words can not do justice to this foursome.  It could possibly be the most
well rounded shows in a while, but I do have these few comments...
 
PIPER = holy shit amazing jam, pretty funky and at times was like 'where is
Trey going' but then he tied it back in which made it sicko.
Corrina = very chill...
LIZARDS = YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!! -GO PAGE GO- GET THIS VERSION
ON TAPE = AMAZING!!!!!!!
 
most importantly, here are some rules for the new spillover fans thinking
they are at a DMB or another 'concert':
 
DO NOT:.....
1.      Talk on your cellphone during the show, save it for setbreaks - why
someone would bring a phone to a phish show is beyond me.  And ESPECIALLY do
not talk during soft songs like (Corrina  or Bittersweet)....If you need to
talk so badly, go to the hallway and talk.
 
2.      Do not start throwing glow sticks at the band.  During a pretty cool
glow
stick war (during Character Zer0) some guy threw a glow stick, Trey caught
it, and threw it back.  Very cool.  Then everyone else thought that they now
had permission to start pegging the stage with glow sticks. Very dumb - do
not do it.
 
3.      Do not run on stage and try to moon the audience.
 
4.      Don't walk through the audience and basically knock people over during
songs.  If you have to piss, or find a friend so badly, do it at song
breaks, its not cool when we all are feeling the groove and then some idiot
knocks you over because he did not see because he was all fucked up.  This
goes especially true for those idiots working for Hershey trying to sell
water or pretzels or whatever during the show.
 
 
Overall, a very memorable show, and get this one on tape FAST!
enjoy the rest of the tour, and always
 
"SHARE IN THE GROOVE"


Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 19:38:46 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: Hershey Review
 
This is my first review, it was my 12th show. This was one of the best for me
since it was in my hometown and they played awesome. The weather was really
nice. We were worried that it would be too cold, I'd say it went down to 50
degrees but the wind wasn't bad in the venue. Outside was freezing though.
 
The crowd was very friendly. Of course the police were arresting a few people
here and there and there were a few people who took too much of something and
were just not going to make it to the show but it was a good lot scene. You
just can expect too too much lot scene on these one night engagements. If you
want a great lot scene you need to go to the 2 night deals like Lemonwheel,
Oswego or Big Cypress.
 
It was my buddy, my fianc� (we got engaged at Big Cypress at midnight) and I.
We had some groovy buds and beers before the show. Another thing we had was
some NoDoz. I recommend taking one before the show and one at First
Intermission. It really helps you get that extra burst of energy.
 
The security at the gate was very lax which shocked me. I expected to be
shaked down tuff but they barely patted me down much less strip search me
like I almost got at Atlanta this summer.
 
We got in just as First Tube started. They were right on key tonight. This
song reminds me of the background music to a video game. I felt like Sonic
the Hedgehog. Man that NoDoz was kicking in and it was time for some dancin.
 
Gotta Jiboo was next. Very funky version with a good jam out piece as usual
with this song. I was dancin hard, as was everyone else. Hershey was very
packed tonight and during this song I realized how well the sound travels in
this venue. Very well designed. My buddy had been to a lot of shows there and
he said it was the fullest he'd seen it all year.
 
Corrina was third and I love this song. Very mellow. I love the name Corrina
it reminds me of a very beautiful girl. Next, BOAF, I love this song. I
always relate this song to Story of the Ghost but I dont like SOTG. BOAF is
much faster and it is great to dance to.
 
Windora Bug was next. I barely remember this song. I remember there was one
song which I wasn't very familiar with, I guess this was it. It was OK
though. I think it was reggae-like but I don't really remember though
 
Run Like and Antelope was very rocking. We went down to the floor level for
this which was mobbed. But this song rules and then Tom Marshall came out and
said Marco Esquandolas. My My My. My friend thought this was there set
closer, I knew there was one or two more to come. I was very good with the
predictions tonight as you will see later.
 
After an intraband discussion they burst out with Golgi, all I can say is -
my staaaaatus!
 
A Bittersweet closer was nice but I knew it was gonna close and my buddy and
I had to find my fianc� because she works for a paper and had a press pass
which allowed her to get up front for the first few songs. She was right by
the security dudes in front of Row 1. It must have been so amazing. I can't
wait to see those pics.
 
They picked a perfect length for an intermission. Just enough time to have a
$5 beer and get another for set 2. They had Amber Bock which was pretty good.
I had a good buzz going and I didn't want to lose it.
 
On our way back up to our seats, I heard someone say Harry Hood opener, I
said back to him Piper opener. and told my buddy and fianc�. When they opened
with it we went nuts. I always try to predict the openers for both sets and
have never been right. This was gonna be a good set. It was a good Piper but
they never got back into the lyrics at the end. They just started fading into
Lizards and someone yelled Down with Disease, so I yelled Lizards. I was
right on because I don't think most people picked it up for like 10 more
seconds then it started. A guy in front of me turned and was like good call.
This is my favorite Phish song hands down. The first time I heard this live I
think was this summer at Camden on July 4th. I hope they bring this song back
more and more. It was a beautiful version too. I have some better ones on CDR
but this was real nice.
 
Tube was cool. I thought they were phasing this one out of their line up. I
like this song though. I thought I heard a Sloth tease at the end of Tube.
When recordings come out I will have to listen again.
 
Circus was good and mellow nothing too amazing. Character Zero got everyone
back on their feet. I still haven't decided if I should buy my time and take
it slow or rush and never waste the day. I guess it depends on the day.
 
The break before the closer was very short so I expected only one song. They
busted in with Possum and it was phat. A great close to a great show. They
were right on tonight. Much better than my last show in Pittsburgh this
summer.
 
Of course, on the way out of the venue there were people chumming on the
steps. Please kiddies, don't drink more than you can keep down. It is a real
nuisance to have vomit splashing up on your leg.
 
And then there was the scammer selling balloons in the lot for $10 a pop. I
wanted to pop them. I don't buy them anyway but I know others did and that
was just more than they are worth in my opinion. We did meet this dude Dave
from State College in the lot on the way out. We smoked a few bowls with him
and just talked while the gridlocked cars leaving the place were just sitting
and sitting and sitting. But we were cold.
 
The funniest thing was the guy Dave stopped by to get a light and was telling
us how he couldn't find his car. He packed, we pack and shot the shit for an
hour in that icy tundra. When he decided to look for his car he found that it
was like 100 feet away.
 
Great show. I hope to see more like these this fall. My fianc� and I will be
at Merriweather Post and from 2nd Las Vegas thru 2nd Shoreline.
 
Jim

Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 14:27:24 -0400
From: lisa andriolo [email protected]
Subject: Last show in more ways than one...Hershey
 
    I have never sent a review before, but I figured why not start now?
I was at Hershey on the 15th when they came out with First Tube.  I was
at Hershey when they started beautiful Lizards.  I was also at Hershey
and saw so much more than the music.  Having the weekend start out 3
weeks ago when i bought 8 tickets to hershey via ticketmaster, I had
bought the tickets to surprise all my friends who couldnt go.  The plan
was to reunite everyone who I love so much, and who are so far away.
The plan was for the state college friends, the erie PA friends, and my
other half who is leaving for oregon forever to all catch the same wave
and experience Phish, some for the first time.  That was where the plan
went to hell.  It ended up being three of my closest friends and me
going to the show.  We had horrible expectations from the start - the
parking lot is shady, we heard, you have to dance on stadium style
seats, we heard.  The pat you down real thouroughly, we heard.  Thank
God they were all wrong.   After we FINALLY got into the parking lot,
everything went like cake.  As soon as i get out of my car, a kind
gentleman with his dog River apologizes for cutting me off in the road
(I hadnt even noticed he did that) - then asks me if ive got all my
supplies for the show.  Bam.  Two tickets and one sweet bag later, my
friends and I are fixin for a fine time.  Now, to find everyone we came
to find.  And we did.  Found a friend from Maryland who had asked for a
ticket.  Done.  Now we have one ticket left.  Who to give it to?  Lisa
(my other half) and I begin to walk.  Looking so hard for someone who we
know would truly appreciate such a ticket.  We almost about gave up when
out of the corner of our eye, we spy a girl giving a guy a beautiful
hug, and she says, dont worry, Im sure you'll find one.  Then she walks
away, leaving her dreaded friend who slowly begins to lift up his index
finger in sadness...  We found our man.  Walking away from him having
gotten a huge hug and an "I love you", Lisa and I were on our way into
the show.  We found our friends once again (as if we wouldnt!) and we
all went to brave the dreaded "pat down".  Standing in  line, after
wrong line, we finally found the correct one to get in...  and were
summarily looked at, touched lightly in the pockets, and told to have a
good show.  My pockets were bulging with toys and fun, and they didnt
even look twice.  Thank You.   Ok, now for the last and final
reservation - - - how good are these seats gonna be?  we walk into the
stadium, only to notice that, Hey, they arent MAKING us go anywhere?
they are allowing us to do whatever we want?  ok - we'll just walk out
here on the floor thats covering the grass and take our space slightly
to the left of the soundstage, right smack dab in the middle of the
coolest crowd of people.  yay.
The show was so beautiful.  The songs they played were amazing, but the
jams - oh those sweet jams where everyone around you is in their own
state of ecstacy, their own special groove,.and you are right there with
them.   Those jams where you can look at any given phish fan and know
they they are feeling the same way that you are feeling.  Euphoria at
its finest.  The high that those guys put you on is the most pure, the
most beautiful.  First tube, Birds of a feather, antelope, Golgi
apparatus - then lizards, circus, character zero?   how could it
Possibly get any better than THAT??   then it did.  The whole short tour
that i ran, the whole time, deep deep down, I secretly wanted to hear
Possum before the haitus.  mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm  thanks so much for
that guys!
The memory of the night in Hershey, frought with apprehension, will keep
me smilin for a long time to come.  I was able to experience that night
with everyone I love so much - even those I havent met yet, my friends,
the other fans, and my heart, Lisa - we'll definately meet again this
life time, By my love of Phish, I will make sure of it.
 
I know you and Brian will prosper with love in Oregon, and who knows,
maybe someday I'll be out there - dancin by your side again.
 
With love to everyone,
Kelly

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 14:20:25 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Hershey review
 
 
It was my 31st show, but I took a buddy who I play guitars with and it was
his first.  I am so glad he got to see this one as his first show.  They were
so on.  The whole first set they played so tight.  I am not one to judge a
show by the setlist, rather by the togetherness they demonstrate when they
play the songs.  Windorabug blew my mind.  The simple reggae beat entranced
me just in time for Antelope.  Yes, Antelope (a song which, a few years ago,
I would have scoffed at having heard it too often) was last night, one of the
greatest musical spectacles I had ever heard.  I truly came to understand
what Widespread was talking about when they sing "an honest tune with a
lingering lead that has taken me this far".  I was taken in all over again.
My buddy dave was amazed too at how well they all play together.  I also
loved the prolonged tube in the second set to be followed by When the Circus
comes to town.  Circus has to be my favorite slow song they do, let alone any
slow song that any band does.  But the placement of Circus right after such a
rockin tube was pure genius.  That Tube was so rockin' that there was nothing
they could have done after it except to completely change gears - and that is
what Circus did.    It gave us all a chance to catch our breath before
Character Zero.

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 20:51:47 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: hershey review
 
I hit a lot of traffic on the way to the show and ended up arriving in the
parking lot during the jam in Antelope, so that's where i will pick up the
review.  Golgi was standard, as was Bittersweet Motel.  Now the Piper opener
was a different story.  The jam was so long and tripped out.  Trey moved to
keys every once in a while and was really working the guitar loop.  It was a
very interesting jam, and then Lizards started.  And the energy just kept
flowing.  There was a very beautiful guitar solo in Lizards.  Then Tube
started and there was a great 1st jam that was so extended that i completely
forgot what song they were in the middle of, and then they continued into a
composed part of Tube which caught me completely off guard.  The final jam in
Tube was also noteworthy.  The encore had a lot of promise with Possum, but
the disappointing part was that they finished Possum and just left the stage.
 I saw 5 people at once just put their hands on their heads and utter their
disappointment.  I was really hoping for a Possum -> 2001 but unfortunately
things didn't work out that way.  it was just too bad that the show had to
end so early (10:45)


Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 22:57:55 -0400 (EDT)
From: Dave Levin [email protected]
Subject: Hershey Review
 
 
This is probably the weakest review you'll see, but it just goes to show
the respect that people have for others' favorite songs...
 
I was supposed to go to the Hershey concert, but at the very last minute,
came to find out that there was not way my car would make it.  So instead
I gave the ticket to my roommate.  Somehow, I just knew that my absence
was going to mean they'd play my favorites.. especially, Lizards.
 
Sure enough, my roommate made it to the show, and I made it to my computer
to check out the setlist.  As soon as I saw the sweet Piper, Lizards
beginning to the second set, I was bummed.  On a hunch, I checked my voice
mail.
 
My roommate called me during Lizards to let me hear just a few
seconds.  It was the beautifully melodic guitar part right before the "wo
wo wo"s.  I've never heard Lizards live before, but, just like
everything else Phish does live, it exceeded all my expectations.
 
I'm not sure if he called to really let me in on the fun, or just to rub
it in, but either way, I give it a 10!  This definitely was not a show to
miss.. (I should listen to my own advice)
 
Thanks,
Dave

Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 14:18:40 -0400 (EDT)
From: Iii  William F Luke [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re:Hershey Review
 
Well, this was my final show of this tour, and possibly a year. I had a
great time. Although they repeated 6 songs from Albany, it still sounded
great and the band was on fire.  I'm really taking a liking to Windora
Bug, the Lizzards was great(Page was on Fire), as was Golgi,Tube and the
Possum encore. The venue was great, security was chill, and three people i
went with all got extras before the show(one of them in the traffic jam on
81S). Thank you Phish for another great time, please don't take too long
of a break. LATER, BILL

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