9-29-00 -- Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada

..please review the show, not the other reviews...not everyone has the same
opinion as you...

Date: Sat, 30 Sep 2000 02:49:12 -0400
From: Levine [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Vegas night 1
 
2:48 am
fuck. fuck . fuck.
kill me. kill me. kill me.
picture someone screaming in agony as their flesh is stripped from their
bone.
i wasn't at this show. I am a loser.
And i call myself a Phish fan?
I am a loser.
I suck.
Fuck.
 
Thank you very much for your attention in these matters,
 
              David A "Green" Levine

Date: Mon, 09 Oct 2000 15:16:22 PDT
From: Marc Carver [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 9/29/00 Vegas review
 
first night of Vegas is in my top 5 shows ever..  i couldn't believe what
was happening about half the time.  Carini was a great high-energy opener to
start with.  got the crowd right into it.  rift was good - not as sloppy as
some of the other recent versions.  Frankenstien was solid.  Mellow Mood was
a good way to slow the set down - i like this placement much better than as
a set opener.  Wilson then Spock's Brain - holy shit!  recognized Spock's
Brain right away, and our whole group started freaking out (we were in the
lower section on Page's side - about the 50 yardline.)  i thought Spock's
Brain was pretty good considering they haven't played it forever..  it was a
little rough - but, the end was done very well.. and,that is my favorite
part anyhow.  the bathtub gin was probably the highlight of the show.  it
stayed pretty close to the bathtub theme, but it got really intense - a nice
long jam.  the character zero was surprising good.  both nights of vegas,
they were extending the jams and taking their time w/ the songs.  character
had a Walk This Way tease in it.  Trey was on fire - the best character i've
heard since 12/31/98.
 
set 2 is one of my favorite sets that i've seen.  Dinner and a Movie as an
opener!!!  i've never heard Dinner and a Movie, and i have always thought it
was the most energetic opener.  i nearly had a heart attack when i heard the
opening notes.  it was only right that i heard it at this show - since, it
was my 100th show and Dinner and a Movie was the ONE original that i had not
heard ever.  it's crazy when things like that happen (similar occurance on
my bday show last year at alpine - had been waiting on Alumni forever.)
Dinner and a Movie was alot tightet than i could have ever hoped.. flawless!
  the Moma that followed was incredible!  definately the best Moma i've
heard live or on tape - Trey really pushed the ending.. really climatic jam.
   like i said before, they really took there time w/ just about every song.
  the 2001 was great - very well done w/ Walk This Way teases.  i wasn't
expecting Fluff at all - but was very pleasantly surprised!  by far my
favorite Fluff that i've seen (over 7/10/99 and 7/24/99.)  every
compositional section was done effortlessly.  then came Meatstick and the
Kid Rock songs.. i really liked the Kid Rock songs - the place was going
nuts..  i was hoping for a non-Kid song for the encore, but wasn't going to
complain after that show.. what a night!!
 
i had to help my friend carry all of his taping equipment from the Mack to
Mandalay Bay where the House of Blues is.  but, we got there in time for him
to set up for the Les show..  so, it was all worth it!  i made my way up to
the balcony w/ my other friends, and sat down during the end of the 1st set
and the Animals set.  nothing better than kicking back in some comfortable
chairs and listening to Animals while watching the crazy projections on the
huge screens afer a phish show.  i'm not sure who was filming - but, they
had some really trippy effects and images they were using on the screens.
we saw Trey backstage during the Animals set, so we were keeping our fingers
crossed for the encore.  when Stuart Copeland walked out, we knew what was
coming!  i love Stuart - and from our position in the balcony, we had a
birds-eye view of him.  he is such an animated drummer - throwing sticks and
everything.  owner of the world > smoke on the water > owner of the world
was great - although trey seemed a bit out of it.. vocals were kinda rough.
the Tomorrow Never Knows was awesome!!  really long w/ plenty of
improvising.  it was great seeing Trey play w/ Enor (?) and Skerik.  Enor
broke a string on his citar b/c he was jamming so hard.  Trey was pretty low
in the mix, and he didn't really stand out all that much.  he took a few
good solos - but, Stuart and Les were definately leading the jam..  Les is
such an amazing bassist.  you can't even see his fingers half the time b/c
they are moving so fast.  and, Stuart has become one of my favorite
drummers.  he has such a unique style - strange jazz grips..  he is such an
intense drummer - and he plays w/ alot of authority.  seeing him was the
highlight of the Les show for me.


Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 21:02:13 GMT
From: Brian Getz [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: The hoe-down in Sin City--night one
 
It is tough to begin such a review, as the end of an era has approached and
the way it all went down is almost beyond explanation. the more i try to
access the thoughts, sounds and sights of the weekend, the harder it is to
come to terms that this is my last excursion of these sorts for a good while
to come. I could fly out to Shoreline, but I prefer to leave it at this, the
Vegas Explosion. For a very long time, we dreaded this "hiatus" though we
knew it was inevitable. My extended family and I have been trapesing around
the country (and others the world) living and loving, with the band setting
the itinerary for us and here it comes to an indefinite pause. A
well-deserved one for both phans and phish. So all of these emotions and
excitement came to a head with the birthday weekend showdown. I was not sure
if I was in a Scorcese flick or the Madonna "music" video but I sure know
that all that we and the band have created reared it beautiful and ugly
heads as we descended on the desert paradise of Las Vegas.
As i noticed Kid rock and Mike gordon rambling about the Mandalay Bay casino
late Thurs/early Fri it became apparent to me that, contrary to popular
beliefs. the band (not just mr. trey) likes the Kid. And as more and more
friends began to arrive, I began to understand that the weekend was to
become legend. Not only musically, but in ways that everyone involved will
tell stories and glories for years to come.
The scene in Vegas is guady and cheesy, with the bright lights and slots and
hookers and what not, but also it is like a fairy tale world of what you
have been told not to do. However, even you heady-righteous types out there
found your share of debauchery, whether you choose to believe it or not is
on your conscience. So enough with the slagging and the anti-rock-star
bullshit, people, we were in Vegas!
So after a day at the sandy beach at MBay and roaming around the streets
being offered smut and dial-a-hooker brochures (I always responded with "No
thanks, I'm celibate" or "I am born again!") we (being a 50+ contigent of
showgoers that has assembled throughout the journey of my 99 shows) made our
way into night one.
I Could not have expected what happened, even though i saw Kid Rock yet
again in the lot, I was so pumped, and talk about energy, the place was
brimming with an excitement I had not felt in a while, and a sort of
excitement i had never felt, ever.  Despite the problems with the guitar
rig, Carini was a rocking opener, setting the "heavy" tone for the evening.
I love the song, and I love the fact that it is about a roadie, so that was
all I needed to get into the zone. There will be a million song by song
accounts of the shows so I will refrain from long analysis of the
performances and concentrate on the vibes and  focus on the weekend event
aspect of the Phish shows in Vegas. I was definitly not psyched to hear
Mellow Mood again, because i think it has lost its luster. Opening Albany
was a great moment, but I sometimes feel that once does the trick
(trenchtown, terrapin) and that doing some covers again and again loses its
appeal (Sabotage, good times,bad times), especially when you have seen the
original bustouts. Nevertheless, the first set was quality, including a
truly mesmerizing Gin jam that had the place swirling and swaying, those
moments are where I need to be. Just soaring jamming, transcendent,
uplifting, and truly moving. I was also psyched to hear Spock's Brain, my
first, and obviously practiced (that's a song you just cannot wing). The
Zero to close set the tone for the rock-star antics that would ensue.
Setbreak was incredible! (that sounds weird) but I could not move five feet
without seeing somebody I loved. It was that tyoe of weekend, but first
night setbreak was some emotional shit.  I waded through the masses to Page
waterwheel and checked in with my peeps, who were so pumped that my level of
energy just exploded. We all knew we were in for some shit, as we were
coming on and so were the band, the liftoff into worlds of granduer had
begun!
Dinner was a suprise, i had not heard it in quite a while and it was
exemplary of how the band was here to treat the fans, but at the sa,e time I
don't know if it was the energetic set opener that could have happened. Moma
is one of my faves, I have loved the groove since it was Black Eyed Katy and
to this day I wish I had written the tune. I was tweaking out with my danvce
steps, really losing it, and then came Sprach, which is always fun, but with
the lights right in sync and the barreling levels of energy amongst the
crowd, this was a full freak out. Not too long, which is a plus, leave the
monotonous type loops jams to the house-grooves of Sand or Tube. Another
classic in Fluff arrived, to the delight of the fans, and you could see
(from my vantage point) how much fun that the band was having. they often
smile, but these were shit-eating grins. I am tired of Meatstick in whatever
language so I ran to the bathroom and got back in time for the Kid.
Let me say that I am a proponet of pop-culture, I do watch MTV sometimes and
I certainly love may other types of music other than Phish, some even more
than Phish. So when I heard that Kid was hanging with Trey at the grammy's,
the photo immediately became my screensaver and I told everyone I knew, to
mixed emotions. I am psyched that Phish is no longer a hippie-secret, that
they are all over the media and that they are being recognized for the
movement they are as well as the sheer success. I don't slag them for
inviting more commercial aspects to our scene. Fuck it, it is a good thang.
So we get more simple songs and less classics. That makes them even more
classic. Back to the kid.
I grew up on metal. I love hip hop. Kid Rock is neither. He's a poor
imitation of both from a purists perspective. He rhymes weak and his metal
is generic and over produced. However, in the day in age where NSYNC and
BAckstreet and Matchbox and Blink rule the radio and tube and are considered
(cool) a white rappin, skynard lovin, winston puffin, coke snortin, hooker
bangin, harley ridin, American badass is good for pop culture. Wipe that
abercrombie off your back and don a wifebeater, dog, it is time to party.
And that is what happened. Kid came out to the badass jam Walk this Way and
eat your heart out RUNDMC, this was the titties!!! Yes, he is a mysoginist
at times and glorifies things some of us don't agree with, but he is the Axl
of the millenium, like him or hate him he's bad as hell! And we need a
little of that in our pretentious little Phish world. Rapper's Delight was
funny, but not well put together and Fish embarrased himself more that the
Kid but you could tell it was in good fun. As for the rest of the band not
being into it, obviously you did not notice Page leap from his rig to
embrace the Kid even before he was through singing. And You shook me was the
ultimate steakhead jam for all the rockers out there. the roof was almost
off the T+M center for those choruses. Wheew!
I could have done without Kid for the encore, but obviously they were having
just too much fun. We are comin too you're town, we'll pull your panties
down, we are an American Band. I just a well would have liked a Slave or
Divided, but so be it. I was far from disappointed. Me and my boys were just
pummeling each other throughout the Kid segment. Rock and Roll, yes it was.
Most of us knew about the Oysterhead thing that was gonna go down, so
arriving at the House of Blues it was pandemonium, to say the least
the first set of Les was pretty good. I knew much of the material being a
metal fan and owning the Sausage album. I was really impressed with his
guitarist with the ill dreads and very Dave Navarro-esque stage presence. He
chops were on point, he played this sick ling wooden string instrument that
got the crowd romping. I absolutly love the Floyd album Animals, aside from
the Phishheads disrespect by talking over most of the music, it was an
awe-inspiring set. On point, full of gusto, and a great prelude to
Oysterhead. I was lucky enough to be in the saenger Theatre in Nawlinz for
the original show, so I was amped to see what the had to offer. In a
whirlwhind, I had seen Trey and the Kid storm through the bar into the
backstage area during animals, but then I saw Copeland walk up to the drums
and Used to Be the Owner of the World (about Fish's nighlife routine)
blared. the excitement was uncontrollable, as the romped, obviously Trey was
high rollin', and took the previously mentioned Les guitar player's axe and
ripped it up. complete with Satriani/Dimebag Darrel whammy bar pulls and
frenetic scales. Slighly sloppy, but it was after 4 am. Not to metnion the
earlier antics, it was quite the scene. After a lengthy jam,  Les half
kiddingly segued into Smoke on the Water, adn Trey answered by matching him,
Stu caught on and Trey turbed to the mic and belted it out, banging his face
on the mic more than a few times. Nosewipes galore, foot stomping and raging
jamming, not entirely serious but certainly serious business, if you
knowhatImsayin'. After that they worked back into the Owner groove and then
all fucking hell broke loose. All of Les's band came out with Oysterhead,
and they broke into something called Tommorow Never Knows. I don't know but
that 10 minutes or so could have been some of the most intense of our lives.
Thumping, house-like beats with thundering bass and a wicked melody on that
weird wooden guitar that Dreadie was playing, I lost myself, (similar to the
all-nite allstar Logic show to close Jazzfest 2000, just this was about only
10 minutes, Logic's excursion was about 2 1/2 hours). Just looking at Trey
next to this tall, dreaded raging young kid, it was worth the whole trip.
this guy is on his way somewhere, amrk my words.After that monsterous jam, I
saw Jay Lane(drummer of Les's band and Ratdog) clutching Mr. Copeland as if
to say I have waited my whole life to meet you, and look what we have done.
I thanked G-d, who is probably pissed i spent Rosh Hashana in such an unholy
surrounding, for allowing me to experience this moment and evening. Beside
myself to say the least.
Anyway, we meandered out of the HOB with more sin and debauchery on deck for
the young morning, and then we had to do it all again on 0Saturday night.
Check out my review of the next day and feel free to email me comments and
if anybody has the tapes of Animals and Oysterhead, get in touch!!!!!!!!!!!
 
BGETZ
 
VT 4 now
NJ 4 Life
 
I left my soul in Las Vegas, gotta get it, got to got to get it.......

Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 04:54:51 -0400
From: MBROWN [email protected]
Subject: Mojo Hamilton 9/29/00 Las Vegas review
 
    The smoke pouring from the left engine gave me cause for concern as we
lined up for takeoff in Cincinnati. Consequently, we pulled back into the
terminal and onto another plane. The delay was just long enough for us (my
cohort and myself) to miss our connection in Salt Lake City by 5 min. So
instead of being in Vegas by noon, we got to spend all day in the lovely Salt
Lake airport. I thoroughly explained to the nice Delta representative that if
we were JUST going to Vegas, this delay would be no problem. We would simply
save money by being away from the casinos longer and get to see the strip all
lit up when we landed. But no, we were going for a reason godammit and there
was no way we could take an 8:20pm flight, the flight we were confirmed on.
The kind man understood, and confirmed us on an overbooked 5:45 flight. With
the time change we would touch down in Vegas at 6pm. Saints be praised!!
    But still, we had issues to deal with. We were to meet my brother at the
Golden Nugget no later than 2pm. He had my ticket as well as all the necessary
info for meeting our friends who live in Vegas. The ostensible plan was for me
to get my ticket at will call. My cohort and I walked half mile or so from the
airport to Thomas and Mack, leaving our luggage in an airport storage locker.
The sun had set by the time we were half way there, and the glorious strip of
Sin City began to glow with all her multicolered, hedonistic radiance. This
being the case, by the time we made it to the lot, we felt very victorious, we
had conquered time and space to be at the show on time. I was so excited, that
when the dreadlocked gentleman offered me some of Lucy's Scarlet Diaper, I
gladly accepted. Perhaps this was not the wisest move seeing as how we had not
met our contacts and I was still without my ticket. They only let 10 people at
a time go to will call. There was no ticket for me there. Great. I would spend
this awesome ass show spun out of my mind in the parking lot with the blazing
strip as my only stimuli. The idea of finding my brother was hopeless, there
were a million people everywhere. I just started randomly shouting our last
name as loud as I could. In less than a minute, I saw him standing on a rock
scoping out the crowd!! I had never been more happy to see my little brother
in my entire life.
    "Let's go! It's all been arranged! (a la Hunter S.)" Everything was good
now. I was finally really at the show. We entered and found our other phriends
and I could finally start getting impatient for the show. The crowd was
absolutely amazing, sequins and velvet were everywhere. Tinsel and
glitter,disco pimps and mamas in cowboy hats. It was like NYE on crack (or on
Vegas). Plus, the fact that everyone was 21+ weeded out most of the young 'uns
and the newly initiated. It seemed a very seasoned crowd. And general
admission! We made it down on the floor before the show, but were smashed into
the corner. We talked to some locals who were super cool. The lights finally
went down. What would it be?!
        Carini:  Oh yeah! Had missed it earlier this fall and was glad to get
it. This song was a total extension of the mood of the crowd and a perfect
opener. At this moment it finally hit me. I was here! I had made it! I'm at a
Phish show. I'm in Vegas. I'm at a Phish show in Vegas!!! It was hippie
headbanging at its finest.
        Rift:  Ok cool, a more "normal" song, I don't know about that. Trey
was absolutely tearing it up and the whole song was quite fast. It was at this
point that I realized it did not feel like a Phish show. Not quite, that is.
There was just sooooo much energy. It was at this point that I determined that
Phish had harnessed all the excitement of the fans, all of Vegas's heat
energy, the whole town's sexual energy (and by God there's plenty of that), as
well as all the electricity pumped out by the Hoover dam and decided to
unleash it all right here, right on stage and blast us away with it. It was
ironic that before the ..silence contagious in moments like these.. the part
that is supposed to be silent, the noise of the crowd was deafening. Page
waited, but it was like he had to interrupt our cheers and say the line in
order to get on with the song. Ok, they'll probably slow it down a bit now.
        Frankenstein:  I was wrong. Pure rock 'n roll and Kuroda's lights were
fan-fucking-tastic. It was at this point that I really wondered what they were
on. It had to have been very good whatever it was. It was so incredibly loud
and the whole floor pulsated bouncing up and down, up and down. Also, Trey
lately has looked fairly stoic on stage. Occasionally, he'll do that head bob
thing along with the music. But tonight he took a stance much like Les
Claypool does with Primus. Holding his guitar like a machine gun, his whole
body bounced in time with the music, moving his knees more than anything else.
        Mellow Mood:  I about lost it when I heard they opened the tour with
this and I felt I wouldn't have a chance in hell of seeing it. I've always
wanted to see Have Mercy, but this tune was awesome as far as rasta classics
go. Still, it wasn't even chilled out that much at all. Still, it gave us a
little bit of time to catch our breathes. It seemed very fitting for the
situation: ...I'll sing your favorite song, we can rock it all night long, cuz
I got love, love sweet love...This was as mellow as it got all night.
        Wilson:  This was like, "OK we're gonna start the show now for
real."Really, these first 5 songs are all legitimate openers. And it was like
bam! Bam!! The crowd chanted very loudly and the jam was straight heavy metal.
No, this song, as well as every song was not perfect. But I'd sacrifce
perfection in the name of the moment any day. But really, critiques like these
are only valid after "further review" as football lingo goes. That being a
heavy listening to the tapes. All I remember is raw power chords. No one from
this planet would have believed this to be a "hippie concert" at this point.
Thrash metal maybe. By brother called for a "Gin" next as respite to regain
our bearings. But no, it was a strange song that I didn't recognize.
        Spock's Brain:  I had actually heard this song once on a tape. Still,
the fellas next to us had to let me know what it was and it rocked. Slower
tempo, but still totally in your face. As far as I can tell, the words are
"get ready for the plane on time!" This line truly rang home to my cohort and
myself (as you know if you've read this far). This song is very complex and
the fact that they just busted it out gave me nothing to fear about rumors of
waning musical ability. Also, the rarity of this song made me finally
appreciate the musical severity that this weekend would entail. It still felt
like more than a Phish show.
        Bathtub Gin:  So my brother was one song off, pretty good. Still, Gin
was not a respite at all. After the "here comes the Joker, we all must laugh"
line, Kuroda flashed green and purple lights, the same colors that Jack
Nicholson dawned when he was th Joker in Batman. Once the formality of the
lyrics were done (and the crowd concurred that they all loved to take a bath)
the jam launched into oitherwordly realms. At least othersongly realms. In
fact, the jam reminded me of the 2nd set of the Great Went in '97 when they
did Down with Disease. That soaring thematic jam that betrays the chilled out,
groovy beginning of Bathtub Gin. This version of this song could have stood
alone as THE phat jam of any show. It was probably the highlight of the set
for me.
        Character Zero:  At least now we knew the set was going to be over.
This was somewhat relief for me because I could not move at all on the floor.
I don't care what anyone says, this song is awesome. Everyone whose
experienced Phish at all has had the feeling: "now I'm convinced, the whole
day long. That all I've learned is always wrong." This version was extended
very nicely as Trey wailed for a while before the ending
(WoahhhhOh!Oh!Oh!Whoahhhh!) finally signaled setbreak.
 
In all, this first set was balistic, and that is an understatement. At the
risk of sounding offensive, it waslike they couldn't keep their dicks in their
pants. Carnal energy really was the hallmark for this night (and it would be
more so later) and everyone was loving it. If pure American rock 'n roll is
the devil, and Las Vegas is the devil's playground, then I guess the show thus
far makes perfect sense. The setbreak was long and the place was hot,
literally, one could not breathe at all in the bathrooms. At this point, we
ascended to the upper level, center stage. This was awesome because the venue
was more or less round. Not like a hockey arena where our same spots would
have been very far from the stage. We felt like we were hovering over the
stage and the floor. A perfect vantage point for the lights and a sanctuary
for many beautiful women. We puffed down in preparation, but we had no idea
what was in store. I'm sure everyone reading this knows what happened (Kid
Rock,etc.) and to all the haters out there, I am sorry for you. If I was a
purist, I would have been mad. But really, what's so pure about a band who
blends elements of rock 'n roll, funk, jazz, bluegrass, barbershop singing,
blues, vacuum cleaners, etc....? We call it innovation. And furthermore, there
is nothing pure AT ALL about Las Vegas. I was glad to see Kid Rock, it was the
closest I'll get to seeing Phish and the Beastie Boys, who are one of my
favorite bands. Both parties took risks by doing this and I applaud them both.
 
        Dinner and a Movie:  Didn't think I'd see this one in a million years.
This kept up the carnal flow in that the only words to this song are romantic
at best but sexual at least. Also, I never really thought of it, but the
smooth part in the middle of this song resembles orgasmic release (let's go
out to dinner and see a movie. Ohhhhhh...Ahhhhhh) Perhaps it was the gorgeous
girl in front of me who I succesfully got to "match my move" as the song goes.
Still, I felt like it was finally time for a little funk.
        Moma Dance:  Excellent. Pure groove. It still was total energy and at
this point, Kuroda's lights were really fucking with me. The crescendo at the
end was raw and soaring. Great placement. But I still needed one more classic
before the night was over.
        Fluffhead:  Personal fav. I remembered the Alpine '99 Fluffhead which
was spectacular as this one was. It had its slow parts to let us rest and the
composed jam part was played perfectly. The aforementioned girl grabbed my
hand and slithered against my body as the "sure got some powerful pills!" line
was applauded by the rest of the crowd. It was a kind gesture, but I don't
think her fella was too amused by her action or my presence for that matter.
The jam that followed was stellar and it gave way to a song that we knew was
coming eventually.
        Meatstick:  Kick ass. I saw the 1st meatstick in Atlanta last year and
have loved it ever since. Also, I have a tape from the '97 Europe tour where
they experimented with these lyrics when it was only a rythmic chant. It was
cool to see how it has evolved into an international craze (apparently) and
the Japanese lyrics made it quite amuzing to the point where everyone was at
least grinning, if not laughing. Mike and Trey did the dance to a T and for a
second it seemed that East could meet West peacefully through the bond of the
meatstick. Also, the couple making out in the aisle in front of me added to
the sexual nature of the song, reminding me that a song like this must be
popular in Japan, a country that is so covert toward its sexuality.
 
At this point, I though I had seen it all, but no. Kid fuckin' Rock, you must
be joking. At most shows, his presence would be out of place, but not tonight.
He fit right in there, doing songs that I had only had dreams of Phish doing.I
am a huge "classic rock" fan as well as a fan of old school hip-hop. As far as
his apparent mysogyny, I will say that the ladies loved it. No one seemed
offended at all. In fact, after the show I was standing there in a daze and
the girl next to me was like, "why aren't you going nuts, godammit! Do you
have any idea what we just saw!" So once again to all the haters: get over it!
 
        Walk this Way:  Done in true Run DMC fashion. I was no longer at a
Phish show, not really anyways. The crowd bopped up and down as I have only
seen at Beastie Boys or 311 concerts. At this point, people were just
realizing what was going on and EVERYONE was caught off gaurd.
        Rapper's Delight:  When Gordon layed down this line, I had to wait for
the first line before I could believe that they were actually doing this song.
It is an old school classic. It felt like Phish was really giving some props
to a huge group of hard core Phish fans who honestly love hip-hop. This was
one of the first rap songs EVER. Kid flowed and freestyled. Fishman played
guitar and rapped, almost pleading to Trey: "I say Trey/We gonna play/some
rock 'n roll today?!" He also danced around Kid Rock, on his knees and looked
to be feigning felatio, thrusting his pelvis on Kid Rock's legs like a horny
puppy. Although this whole segment of the show was not particularily tight, it
was out of this world nonetheless.
        Shook Me All Night Long:  No fucking way!!! That was the sentiment of
most people I think. Everyone knows this song, it's a standard on radio
stations, jukeboxes, and high school dances everywhere. Kid Rock didn't even
sing the chorus, he let the crowd do it for him, pointing the mike out into
the audience. Words cannot really describe the energy. The closest thing to it
was memories of a grade school dance in a small, sweaty, cafeteria. Everyone
raises their fists and shouts the words in one common voice. Plus, how apropos
is that? All night long. Las Vegas. And although the 24 hr. nature of the city
was something we would be feeling the next day, but now was the time to let it
all hang out. A great closer to a show that you could not ask a lot more from.
It totally brought down the house and Trey and Kid left the stage arm in arm
after Kid had thanked the crowd for welcoming him.
 
        American Band:  I could have done alright with an all Phish encore
here. But I guess they were thinking why switch vehicles while your already
cruising in 5th gear? The classic rock barrage continued with this anthem. My
buddy Eric had heard this song on the way from the airport and he had thought
how cool it would be if Phish did it (this happens quite a bit, I know, but
how often does a far-fetched fantasy like that come to fruition?) I've always
loved this song and Kid Rock's additional lyrics just stressed the
once-in-a-lifetime nature of this event. The message is simple, "We're commin'
to your town, we'll help you party down, we're an American band." That pretty
much says it all for these guys, does it not?
 
In all, this show was phenomenal. I have never experienced such energy at a
show. I give Kid Rock props for not doing any of his own songs, that was
clutch. And his presence would have been a bad move probably anywhere but
Vegas. On this particular night, the energy was just right. There was not a
single chill song really (and I thought they'd do Mountains in the Mist in the
1st set. Ha!) Still, the Kid Rock segment was sloppy at times, but it was OK.
The first set alone could have counted for a whole show. I still believed that
everyone left eager for the next night, Trey's B-Day. That was a show with
equal and opposite energy, but that is another story.

Date: Sun, 1 Oct 2000 03:22:44 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: review
 
Show was incredible, so many songs we needed to hear
 
 
But what about the encore- Yuck! Mike please don't pretend to be Mick
Jagger... Emotional Rescue does not suit the band..... I wish they ended it
on a high note
 
 
Other than the encore the show was great, super vibes, sound, band was in
full force!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just wish Les and Mike had a bass duel instead of
Kid Rock but hey, ROCK ON!

Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 15:38:05 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 1st night VEGAS 9/29
 
C'mon, the show was Phucking rockin'.  All of you folks above who are ripping
on the boys and Kid Rock, maybe you were at a different show than I was.  At
the show I was at, the arena was about to explode and the moments that KR was
on stage were the loudest crowd moments of the entire weekend.  Get off of
your Phishy high horses and just enjoy yourselves.  MOMA>2001, fluffhead with
amazingly ripping solo by Tre (the idiot who invited Kid Rock) GIVE ME A
PHUCKING BREAK!! THE SHOW WAS ON FIRE!   cool it down hardcores.....
                                                             Jonah
PS- I had a great time in Vegas and thought Kid Rock was tons of fun.

Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 20:43:22 GMT
From: Faht Albert [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 9.29 Review
 
This is pertaining to Kid Rock's appearance with Phish the first night of
Vegas.  It may not have been musically groundbreaking, but it sure caused
some ripples in the online community....
 
Gee, too bad they didn't bring out Eminem!  That would have been cause for a
lot more entertaining reviews!  A lot of people don't seem to get Kid Rock.
He is a walking satire, a cartoonish bad guy, a "heel" as they say in old
huckster traveling reviews.  He is the guy who you are supposed to think is
disgusting and incorrigible.  Do you really think Trey and him would be
great buddies if he was actually a mean-spirited, woman-hating jerk?
Besides, why do you care who Trey hangs out with?  Kid Rock is schtick (and
VERY appropriate Vegas shtick, I might add).  It is in the same vein as Fish
dueling the Elvii in days of Vegas past.
 
Kid definitely isn't in the same musical league as Phish, but I think both
of them share a self-effacing humorous quality.  Phish's happens to be
geekiness, and Kid Rock's is white trash/sleaziness.  The surprising thing
to me is that Phish usually attracts a pretty cerebral crowd, but not many
of them seem to understand why people find some entertainment value in a Kid
Rock.  These are the people who make it possible for a Kid Rock to exist!
They are a little too righteous to lighten up, and it plays right into his
act!
 
You are at a rock and roll concert in Las Vegas.  Phish are not your hippie
vegan next door neighbor who you've known for years and consider a close
friend on an intimate level.  Sure, they treat their fans better than most
bands out there, but they are MULTI-MILLIONAIRE ROCK STARS!!!  People seem
to forget that.  I've been to over 35 Phish shows since 1992, and I will
continue to go.  I never claim to know the band as people (although they've
provided me with the backdrop for many great adventures and given me many
great memories).  Outside of their differing musical styles, Kid Rock and
Phish do have some similarities beyond self-effacing humor.  They enjoy
messing with people and provoking people into a response (sometimes good,
sometimes bad).  If you can't see that Kid Rock doesn't take himself
seriously, you should be thankful you never got to see Andy Kaufman.  Not to
compare the two, but you probably would have hated his act!  Here is an
interesting thing to think about:
 
Think of all the bands Phish has chosen to cover over the years.  For some
reason, many of these bands (no matter how rude, crude or nasty they were or
were not) are now "accepted" by the Phish community, simply because at some
point Phish deemed their songs worthwhile to play!!
 
Jane's Addiction, Beastie Boys, AC/DC, Edgar Winter Band, Frank
Zappa, Velvet Underground, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Violent Femmes, Pavement,
Boston, Smashing Pumpkins, and the list goes on interminably.
 
It continues to amaze me that in such a cool atmosphere as the Phish
community, so many people are so close-minded and so pretentious about "what
Phish should and shouldn't do."  Maybe it is more the online review-posters
than the general community.  Phish is a rock band.  Lighten up, we'll all
have more fun!
 
*Disclaimer*:  this review was a standard type II review.  It was not as
good as my monumental 7/14/94 review, but you should get the transcripts
anyways.  If this review upset you, feel free to email me or we can meet in
my chatroom:  the White Rapper Woman Haters Club (I also have a chatroom
where we gossip/speculate about what substances Trey was on at certain
shows).  In all seriousness, I'm sorry so many people were upset by the
Vegas show.  We all go to Phish shows to have fun and enjoy great music, and
apparently a lot of you didn't have fun at first night Vegas.  I don't think
the boys were expecting such a harsh reception to bringing out Kid Rock.
Then again, maybe they were!  Try to take it light, have some fun over the
hiatus, and I'll see you in 2002!
 
p.s.  If Fishman can rap about "big cock", I think KR is allowed to mention
a stripper hitting on Trey.  What, did you think Trey was hiding out from
the Vegas people in his hotel room all weekend?  I don't think there's
anything immoral about being hit on by a stripper.  Unless, of course, you
reciprocate.  But this is more of a discussion for my "Trey was on Ecstacy"
chatroom...
 
Have a great winter and try to stay positive!!

Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 14:07:18 -0500
From: William A. Baker [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review of 'Kid Rock' show 09-29-00
 
I thought the show was excellent up until the end of the second set.  A
song or to by the 'Kid' would have been tolerable, but to allow a punk
like that (he calls himself Kid Rock need I say more) to completely
change and manipulate the groove they had been building all night was a
the very least disappointing. Grabing his penis and talking like a hood
is just not the way to get me off.
 
However, the crowd did seem to groove, on the antics of 'The Kid', so
maybe I am just an old man.
 
Peace Biddy

Date: Sun, 1 Oct 2000 19:35:02 -0500
From: Kory and Lang [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Kid Rock?
 
Honestly, do you really think that Kid Rock "tore it up"? I was sitting down
pretty much after Walk this Way...the beginning of a major let down. One song
was funny, but four!  Kid Rock obviously took advantage of the large crowd and
emerged himself in the scene - pretending phans were his. Furthermore, he
didn't have the musicianship to know when to say goodbye & bow gracefully!  
(Wife beater, black leather pants, and white tennis shoes - please EXIT!)  
Kid basically rode on the coattails of successful hits from the past and was
too afraid to play his own urban hit, I Wanna Be a Cowboy Baby!
 
And, with Rappers Delight, Fishman was merely demonstrating how anything sung
to a rappy-beat can sound good.  Example:  "Kid Rock, Cock Rock." (...making
fun of it, but still having a fun with it.)  As Kid droned on I kept waiting
for a show-cane to come out and take him away by the neck... or possibly a
large gong would appear. Please tell me you saw Saturday's show!  I will NOT
say that Friday was the worst show ever (word on the street), because I always
enjoy experiencing a PHISH performance.  I will say that it is a notable show.
Notable for the oddity of it all.
 
PS... and Fishman's dropout in Rift seemed more of a splash of style and funk
rather than a mess. Overall, first set was crunchy and rockin'. Second set had
potential but Kid literally tore it to shreds. Eddie Money would have been
better.?!


Date: Thu, 05 Oct 2000 22:50:09 -0400
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: phish 9/29 las vegas
 
this review is written for the show in las vegas on september 29th. it seems as
though this show has become somewhat infamous. opinions are as varied as possible.
i personally had an absolutely fantastic time during the entire performance. the
carini opener let everyone know that phish wanted to show us some real rock and
fucking roll. sex, drugs, and rock and roll pretty much sums up the entire event. i
have an immense amount of respect for the boys more composed pieces. the 30th show
was a perfect example of their technical ablilities, but tonight, my friends, was
all about debauchery. the rift that followed started out super hot. they were
playing it like it was 94 again. the mellow mood was such a gift. what a great way
to pay homage to the living incarnation of jah. spock's brain had me movin. 5 years
since we got that one. the bathtub gin was COMPLETELY INSANE. i got so lost during
the frankenstein, mood, brain, wilson, gin jams. they had become one unit. feeding
the cro!
!
wd an energy that is unspeakable. the character zero set closer sounds standard,
but it was anything but. nice build ups. trey was his usual guitar god self. set
break went pretty quick. i ran into a friend from back home in hotlanta. we eased
our racing minds with a treat and anticipated what we knew would happen, a 2nd set
that would always be remembered. when i heard the opening chords to dinner and a
movie i flipped out. of my 50 some shows i have never seen it. i boogied down hard.
the moma that followed was so completeley thick. it started out so mike. his bass
grooves were funkalicious. bootsy would have been dancing his ass off. during one
of the start stops in moma i thought it might turn into a black-eyed katie, but the
lyrics took over and trey really began to assert his abilities on guitar. man we
are so lucky to be able to have seen this band play. also sprach was all about
kuroda. the build up was really intense, maybe two times through, the main reason
for the s!
!
ong was the light show. props to chris kuroda. simply amazing.the fluffhead had me
in pure bliss. no flubs. executed perfectly. the travels had everybody going. now
is where the fun really began. yes, kid rock came out and performed. yes, it is
something that was and is very controversial. my opinion; it kicked fucking ass
super hard core. i am a jazz musician. i am not someone who enjoys especially
heavy,dark music, but i love to see something that makes people's eyebrows rise.
compared to kid's normal stage antics he was very reserved. he didn't shoot anybody
a bird. he thanked the audience, and obviously let phish have a really good time.
so what if he said something about trey and hookers. it's las vegas people. that's
like getting mad at someone for being drunk in new orleans. that show was a gift.
if we open our eyes we see it. if we blink it is gone. get the show. listen to the
gin. paige is the man. peace, love, nuggets, and kid rock. -joe

Date: Sat, 07 Oct 2000 11:45:07 -0400
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: funny memories
 
 for any of the naysayers of kid rock, do the old-schoolers and the new kids
remember about huey lewis and the grateful dead?

Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2000 22:07:20 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: review of first night vegas
 
this is kind of cool because i can make this review from my mother-in-law's
aol account and remain anonymous because i may say some semi-unpopular things
about the first night at the vegas thomas & mack center.
 
re: the phish portion of the show. simply outstanding. from carini through to
the meatstick i just thought it was an outstanding show. the rift was very
hot, the difficult vocal transitions during the key change as good as i've
seen following a raging carini. then a raging frankenstein. placed early in
the set and i liked it a lot. i really thought the band was playing great.
the energy was good and during the early section of wilson i even discovered
the gordon-biersch beer stand (i felt i was condemned to domestic watery beer
for the night). mellow mood was great. a super bathtub gin, my first (i
think) spock's brain and although played often i still haven't lost the taste
for character zero.
 
on to the second set. continued greatness and a noticable, palpable increase
of energy in the crowd. i don't think i've felt such a large percentage of
the crowd so 'high' (drugs or otherwise) in a long time. in fact during the
moma dance i began to feel a crowd/band simpatico which reminded me of the
new years show at mathews arena many years ago. that's a feeling i don't get
very often. maybe a handful of times between then and now. i had waited a
long time to start to feel that "ooh, something really really really amazing
could possibly happen here at any minute feeling" everyting was soooooo in
tune. such a rarity and to me such a precious thing. the 2001 did nothing to
break the spell and the fluffhead was real cool too. lots of great interplay.
the band was listening to each other so well. a true 25% input from each band
member with no one forcing and the flow just flowing. meatstick was great fun
with the japanese lyrics and the cool showmanship and then i was ready.
absolutely at the end of my seat for something really really great to happen
and then: KID ROCK. KID FUCKIN' ROCK. i mean, i'm sorry, but c'mon. is it for
this my life i sought? god it was awful, he was crass, uncouth, almost
disgustingly cocky and badly off-key or forgetting words a good percentage of
the time. i had to catch a red-eye to prepare for my wedding this saturday so
my last memories of phish for nine months will be this fantastic band,
playing at the peak of their prowess, completely interrupted by a braying
jackass. the sad part its that the fans just ate it up. am i that out of tune
with what the rest of phishdom considers entertaining music. trey talked
about energy being the most important thing to him in 'bittersweet motel' and
yeah there was plenty of that and i'm glad so many people seemed to enjoy
him. that's great. but i was sitting right behind the stage and from what i
could see, neither page nor mike seemed too psyched to have 'kid' out there
doing 'his' thing. it would be interesting to be a confidant/trusted friend
to mike or page (or fishman, for that matter) to know what they truly felt
about the 'contributions' made by mister rock. it may be about energy but
i've always thought it was about the 'right' king of energy and any energy
that was 'right' (in mu humble -and yes, outspoken) was sucked clear out of
that building as soon as 'kid' hit the stage. i was really hoping he wouldn't
be back for the encore but he was. my hats off to the band for doing a great
job accompanying him when i have a feeling that 3/4 of the boys hearts
weren't really in it. these guys would do almost anything for trey and that's
admirable, even heart-warming but i really have seen enough of kid rock to
last me a lifetime. talk about fluffheads. egads. sorry to pour on the
negativity but quite frankly to take such a moment of 'highness' and
'psychedelic intrigue' and answer it with that debacle severely damaged my
'trust' in phish. sounds like the next night was kind of fun though. sorry i
missed it.
 
with a belated happy birthday to trey,
dgr3465
 
ps. i hope trey enjoyed the references to the hookers that were coming on to
him at mandalay bay the other night. somehow, i don't see branford marsalis
laying the same kind of rap on a bunch of deadheads about jerry. but then the
phish aren't the dead. i was almost getting sold on the idea that phish had
begun to show a little more appreciation and reverence and acknowledgement
for the 'big' moments. i guess i was wrong. kid rock. ugh. play all the shows
you want to with him during your well deserved time off, play one tune in a
phish show now and again even if you must but please don't ever trash the
last 30 minutes of a show with that joker again. ok. please. i'm saying
please.

Date: Sun, 01 Oct 2000 18:29:53 -0700
From: Charles Dirksen [email protected]
Subject: 9/29/00 Phish in Vegas review
 
"Gamehendge is a state of mind."
   -- Trey Anastasio, 09/30/00
 
DISCLAIMER:  I once urged folks to put their reviews in context by briefly
giving their Phish experience in the opening of their reviews.  I think a
context is important if a reviewer makes comments like "one of the best
versions of Antelope ever" or even rates the show in some other way.  At the
same time, of course, people who have heard almost no Phish and seen very few
if any shows can still write brilliant criticism of Phish's music.  Also, if
someone has a lot of Phish experience and says as much at the beginning of
their review, some people will undoubtedly interpret such comments as arrogant
(even if the comments are only intended to provide a context).  Hopefully,
though, everyone knows that anyone -- even the person who has heard no Phish
on tape and only seen her first show -- can write a thoughtful, challenging,
and enjoyable review.  All this said, I've heard most of the Helping Friendly
Book, but have only seen around 65 shows since 1989.  If you are an "It's all
good" fan, this review may disappoint you.  **I LOVE PHISH!!** But I haven't
lost the ability to criticize when my ears hear sloppy playing.
 
Phish is an incredible band.  We all know that already!  My two cents are
primarily for PHISH FANS who like to distinguish the truly awe-inspiring from
the merely great or weak... on PHISH terms.  We all know that the weakest
Phish jam is often a hell of a lot more musically impressive than a lot of the
improvisational rock out there.
 
 
09/29/2000 Thomas & Mack Center - Las Vegas, Nevada
 
SIN CITY, BABY!
 
"The Strip" in Vegas is littered with pornographic advertisements for hookers
and the smell of fecal filth often permeates the hot polluted air.  But
there's nevertheless plenty to be amused by in what is arguably the most
ridiculous place on earth, at least if you have a dark, cynical sense of humor
and appreciate the absurd (especially the absurdly LAME).  And Phish put on a
show this evening that was undoubtedly as amusing and controversial as -- and
probably not that much longer than -- any "tasteful topless revue." (an actual
quote from an ad)
 
The first set was, despite the interesting setlist, musically only OK.  Rumor
had it that Trey, Fish and Mike had been partying with Kid Rock and many other
folks at the Mandalay Bay all night and early morning, and many wondered
whether such heavy partying would take a toll on the music.  Trey appeared
very early on in the set -- primarily before Carini -- to be having issues
with his equipment, which wasn't a good omen.
 
"Carini" was fun and powerful under the circumstances, but not memorable.  I
enjoyed it as an opener to the weekend's gigs.  "Rift" and "Frankenstein" were
not as tight as they could have been, but seemed to please most in attendance
nevertheless.  "Mellow Mood" was loosely performed, as if it was Phish's first
shot at reggae (despite songs like Yamar, Buffalo Bill, Makisupa, etc.), but
it's a popular Marley tune and fans enjoyed it.  "Wilson" was unusual in its
ending.  There was a huge gap of silent downtime -- after a strong jam --
before Trey screamed the BLAP BOOM BADITTY BOOM DITTY BOOM lyric.  It was
easily the most remarkable version of the first set for this reason.
 
I hadn't seen "Spock's Brain" since 1995 in Phili, and was excited to hear
this one get pulled from the shelf.  Unfortunately, most in the audience
seemed unamused and the energy in the room noticeably dropped.  It wasn't
performed all that well, either, as one might expect given the lack of
rehearsal, but it was still fun to hear again.  "Bathtub Gin" was beautiful
and fun, but not an unusually strong version in light of the (mostly amazing)
versions of the last few years.  It was more laid back and repetitious than
any version I'd heard of late.  I enjoyed it nevertheless.  "Character Zero"
was played well (lots of excellent Rock Star Trey), but was not a "version for
the ages" or anything like that.
 
Setbreak was probably the longest one I've ever experienced.  Maybe around 55
minutes or so.  Presumably it was long because the band was arranging what to
do with Kid Rock, but the hell if I know. Languedoc and Kuroda sure spent a
long time behind their respective boards waiting for the second set to begin
with the rest of us, though.  (as an aside, the lights and sound all weekend
were great; there were sound problems at times, to be sure, but for the most
part, I thought the sound was fantastic... even though, sure, Page could have
been more audible at times)
 
The very unusually short second set did not contain any exceptional versions
of Phish songs, but was still memorably fun.  "Dinner and a Movie" was a great
opener and exciting to hear.  I hadn't seen it since Red Rocks in 1996.  
"Moma Dance" was a very strong, rockin' effort, much like the 7/6/00 Toronto
version (but not nearly as awesome as that one!).  "Also Sprach Zarathustra"
was cool and groovy (and featured some "Walk This Way" teasing, and maybe a
bit of "Who Knows" as well), but the only thing truly exceptional about it was
the amount of FOG that POURED from the stage during it.  I'd never seen that
much fog at an indoor Phish show before.  People around me (Page side near the
stage) were pratically choking on it. "Fluffhead" was fun, but certainly not
the tightest performance.  A mystical jam segued out of it, in the key of
Fuckerpants, and I thought for sure that we'd get Fuckerpants.  I enjoyed this
jam, even though it was short and spacey.  Meatstick was the call, though..
and it was amusing, not only because of the Japanese lyrics, but especially
because Trey and Mike (not Tom Marshall) did the Meatstick dance at the front
of the stage for a time.  It did not contain any noteworthy jamming.
 
As you may have heard by now, Kid Rock came out for the rest of the show.  
All I had heard from Kid Rock before his appearance this evening was what I
saw/heard on the tube a couple months ago when he was on Saturday Night Live.  
I didn't know that Trey would be sitting in with Kid Rock on SNL later that
night, and turned it off before I could see Trey sit in (I heard I didn't miss
much). Anyway, from what I saw and heard on SNL that evening -- Kid Rock
"rapping" along with some midget named "Joe C." or something... and there were
bikini clad dancers on each side of the stage -- I wasn't impressed, and was
even disappointed that such shit was being sold on SNL. I don't recall ever
having seen bikini-clad dancers accompanying any SNL "musical" performance in
the past.
 
Kid Rock came out yelling as you might expect, and eventually the yelling
turned into some cursing, as you also might expect.  "Walk This Way" was
nevertheless very amusing to hear Phish play;  I've always liked this song.  
Unfortunately, the only thing musically notable about this performance was Kid
Rock's decision to yell the "Just Gimmee Some HEAD!" lyric (from the original,
uncut Aerosmith version) after the FIRST chorus instead of the second or
third.  I suppose he did this in order to make the women in the audience feel
safe and at home, lest they be undecided about whether the deameaning attitude
towards women that Kid Rock's "music" apparently celebrates (and even
promotes) belonged anywhere near a Phish stage.
 
(of course, on the other hand, isn't it important to separate the music from
the musician?  Miles Davis was a legendary mysogynistic asshole by most
accounts, but I think many of us would have been thrilled to see him perform
with Phish, were he still with us! but then again, Miles was a trumpet
player.. his music didn't incorporate and promote his mysogyny)
 
"Rapper's Delight" was hysterical, thanks to Jon Fishman, who came out and
mocked rap music and "Joe C." by making up (stupid, meaningless, nonsensical)
"lyrics" and getting down on his knees and dancing around Kid Rock (like Kid
Rock's midget sidekick, Joe C. or whatever).  Soon Jon went and picked up
Trey's guitar and started playing a note here and there.  Musically, of
course, this cover of "Rapper's Delight" was easily one of the worst covers
Phish has ever performed, but, of course, so what.  It was never the point to
cover this one seriously.  It's ending was especially amusing:  Kid Rock
basically turned around and told Mike, Page, Fish and Trey (Trey was on drums
while Fish was on guitar at this point) to just drop it or knock it off (I
can't remember exactly what he said, but it was very amusing because I'd never
seen such a thing take place at a professional concert before.. the guest
ordering the band to quit playing).  Anyway, this was a hysterically lame
performance of this legendary rap tune.
 
I was a hardcore Bon Scott AC/DC fan, but kinda gave up on them after Brian
Johnson replaced the (dead) Bon Scott for "Back in Black."  Nevertheless, I
was psyched to hear them cover "Shook Me All Night Long" for real (there was
half-assed cover of it in the 7/6/97 soundcheck, and a "jam" on it in the
4/20/89 Zoo show).  Trey was back on guitar and Fish back on drums,
fortunately (despite what you may have read in the setlist that was sent out
on Phish.net). This was a strong version of the song and well-sung by Kid
Rock. But don't get the tapes expecting to hear a "jam" or anything.
 
The encore was bizarre because I'd heard it (the original Grand Funk Railroad
version) when riding from Las Vegas Airport to my hotel earlier in the day.
(!)  This well-played encore was also interesting in that Kid Rock, as if to
make it clear to everyone how insensitive he can be (even to his "friends"),
improvised lyrics about the previous night's partying at the Mandalay Bay --
and hookers wanting to fuck Trey. I am not kidding. You should have seen the
expression on Trey's face (it looked to me as if Trey, despite his grin,
realized at that point that inviting Kid Rock to sit in may not have been a
good idea).  I cannot remember all of the lyrics that Kid Rock improvised, but
if someone out there has the tapes, I hope you transcribe them pronto.  Maybe
they aren't as bad as I recall, or are worse.  What little I recall hearing
certainly didn't reflect well on Kid Rock's judgment, considering that Trey is
married with two young daughters, and considering that thousands of Phish fans
really had no business knowing that hookers were coming on to him at the
Mandalay Bay.
 
Kid Rock thanked the crowd for making him feel welcome, which I wasn't sure
whether to be proud about.  And, despite the fact that I was amused at many
points by Kid Rock's contributions, I still don't know whether to be
incredibly ashamed that Trey gave him -- a person who appears to arrogantly
celebrate and promote demeaning attitudes toward women -- a spot in Phish's
limelight (in the second set of all places).  Part of me is disappointed to be
sure, but another part of me is like, "Look, who am I to say who Trey should
or should not invite on stage, and besides, maybe Kid Rock isn't really a
mysogynistic asshole but a cool guy, and hell, that 'Shook Me All Night Long'
was in the spirit of AC/DC and great."
 
Of course, on the other hand, if Trey had invited a cocky white supremacist
rapper on stage at a Phish show, would I then be only "disappointed"?
 
Since "Gamehendge is a state of mind" after all, shouldn't I just "go with it"
and look at the bright side and not dwell on Kid Rock's unsavory public
persona?  Besides, Phish did a benefit for a pro-choice cause on 5/16/95 with
Gloria Steinem.  Surely they shouldn't be punished for simply associating with
Kid Rock in a musical (not political) context?
 
What do you think?
 
two cents,
charlie

Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2000 10:55:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: Seamus Carney [email protected]
Subject: Phish 09.29.00 (LasVegas, NV)
 
I'm from Chicago, have only been a phan(atic) since NY2000 @ Big Cypress, and
have seen only a handful of shows, but I feel confident about what I'm about
to say.  We started in Englewood, CO and moved onto Vegas before driving down
to Phoenix.  If you've ever been to Vegas, you know that it's safe to expect
the madness of the lights, the throbbing rage of energy, anticipation, and
overconsumption, as well as the absence of time.  T'was the night before
Trey's birthday, and THEY WERE ON.  I'm not going to give a set list, as
amazing as it was, because you can get that from any review.  I just want to
try to explain that it's all about their ability to produce an amazing energy.  
Phish presented a show so much deeper than a good set list;  they produced a
magic vibe that filled the UNLV stadium almost to the point of combustion!  
I'm not kidding, if you were there, you felt the magic, the closeness.  Yeah,
they delivered a bunch of fantastic songs that people have been wanting to
hear like fluffhead, mellow mood, 2001, meatstick...they were all treats.  
The crowd was there for the music, but they were completely engulfed and
inspired by this powerful event.  I almost would have been satisfied by the
first set alone!  I know, that's a bold statement, but that's how good it was.
 
Then things got wierd.  Yeah, you already heard about
it...Kid Rock a.k.a. "Cock Rock" according to Fishman!
 Well said!  There was an immediate burst of energy as he was introduced and
began with "Walk this Way," but then, I feel like people didn't know how to
react.  I certainly didn't.  By no means am I fan of KR (IMO, he simply
sucks!) but I admire Phish's openmindedness and willingness to allow things to
reach a new and often strange level.  Like most, I was hoping they'd do an
additional encore, without the chaos of KR on stage...but that was too much to
ask.  I assume that was simply due to the fact that most people there on the
29th would be back on the 30th for the real encore!  That's acceptable.
 
Overall, I felt a vibe very similar to that of the NY2000 at Big Cypress trip.  
They were tight and played whole-heartedly and did achieve that energy they
strive to create.  "Gamehenge is a state of mind" and I recommend getting the
CD-Rs...the last half hour was bizaar, but the show as a whole, is worth
adding to your collection.
 
Thanks again, guys!


Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 15:27:55 -0400
From: "Killion, Jeff" [email protected]
Subject: 9/29/00 Vegas Review
 
        Well, I wasn't going to write reviews for the shows this weekend,
but I couldn't take any more of the negativity without saying something.
These were my 32nd and 33rd shows and I would have to say it's the best 2
day run I've ever seen.  Hamptons, Phillys, MSGs, Camdens, Deer Creeks,
Polarises (sp?), etc. are all great and have had some great shows, but I
think that these 2 days at Vegas were above all others.
        I don't have to say much about the scene, because hey, it's VEGAS!
My first left "coast" show too.  And I have to say it was really nice.  I
didn't miss the drunk and loud 16 year olds at all.  And the distance from
any other civilization helped clean out the crowd some.  All in all - GREAT
VIBES this weekend.
 
        I'll get on to the music.....
 
Set I  - We hung out by the reserved seats  on Page's side around 7:30 and
kind of crept in slowly - Great Seats!  Hope some of you enjoyed my gold and
silver balloons that seemed to disappear as fast as they were blown up.....
 
Carini - My first!!!  Tons of energy.  This place is a great place to see a
show, especially if you can get on the metal bleachers.  Our section was
just bouncing, and you could tell early that it was going to be a crazy set.
 
Rift - Hey, it's Rift.  Always good, and this was well played.
 
Frankenstein - My first in a while.  12/15/99?  Again, always a good tune.
Page was having a ton of fun with this one and so was I.
 
Mellow Mood - I was so glad they played this, and hope they keep it up.
This was the "slow" song of the set, and really wasn't a letdown at all.
Energy was still high and was about to get crazier.
 
Wilson>Spock's Brain>Gin>Character Zero - !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  What?  Are you
kidding?  Wilson rocked the house and then one of the 2 huge treats of the
night... Spock's!  I had only heard it on the internet, and didn't really
know what it was.  A comeback, or just a gem?  I think it'll go back into
hibernation, but who knows?  Then one of the best Gins of all time!  This
rivals PNC and the funk got deep and then rocked the place down!  Trey was
just getting off and then the standard but always fun Zero to close the set.
Not what I would have prefered, but I'm not complaining.
 
All smiles at setbreak and then I heard the news..... Someone in our area
had gone backstage during the break and found out Kid Rock was going to make
his appearance.  Here we go....
 
Set II
 
Dinner and a Movie - !!! Here's treat #2.  My first, and the crowd went
nuts.  The Oooohs and Aaaaahs were great.  I'd get the discs just for this
song... then.....
 
Moma>2001 - Incredible funkdown!  One of the best Moma's I've heard and 2001
didn't let up on the funk as usual.  CK5 put on a show that would embarrass
the Vegas strip.
 
Fluffhead>short jam>Meatstick - Fluffhead was pretty standard, but kept the
energy going.  Then they went into an ambient jam for a minute.  I thought I
heard Piper coming out of it, but we got a Meatstick!  And a Japanese one at
that!  The setlist says Mike and Tom did the dance.... I may have been
trippin', but I'm pretty damn sure it was Mike and Trey (not Tom).  In fact,
I'm positive...... (99.9%)....
 
Walk This Way - Here comes Kid!  Now here's where the arguing begins.  Can
anyone say that the place wasn't rockin' for this?  No, it wasn't musically
up to par with the normal Phish we're used to, but it was fun.  I was
actually hoping for a Welcome to the Jungle (which might have been a little
too much...) but I had a good time with this one.
 
Rapper's Delight - !!  Never ever thought I'd see this song live!  Fun and
funny listening to KR's shit.  He's a dirty bastard!  And then Fish gave a
poor attempt at freestyling, did his little "Kid Rock Cock" thing, and then
pretended to be Kid's little midget sidekick (most people didn't get this,
but it was fuckin' hilarious).
 
You Shook Me ANL - And how can you complain about this one?  Great 80's
rock, and everyone was having fun. My buddy (a huge AC/DC fan) is going to
go nuts when I get him the disc of this one!
 
Encore - I was hoping for the boys by themselves for the encore, but it was
a fun one.
 
We're an American Band - Fun song, but I would've like almost anything else
without KR instead.  I was glad to hear something I hadn't seen before
though.
 
 
---- All in all... what a night!!  If you weren't there, and were reading
all the negativity, DON'T BELIEVE IT.  This show was a classic.  A little
too much Kid, but c'mon.... it was fun.  And you'll never catch me
complaining about having fun :)
 
9/30 review (with my sentimental pre-hiatus thoughts :( ) comes later.....
and will probably be a long one.
 
Peace,
Jeff
 
- if anyone gets the discs anytime soon, I'd love to hook something up... I
should have Hershey and Merriweather on their way sometime in the next few
weeks.  Drop me a line.

Date: Fri, 6 Oct 2000 14:25:23 -0400
From: "Marcell, Alyson" [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" 
Subject: Vegas baby Vegas!!!
 
                What an awesome scene!!!  Everyone was really chill, no
cops, just lots of people and a pretty small, contained lot.  There was
everything you could imagine in abundance, apparently the zero tolerance
thing didn't scare anyone away, great glass from CA, and anything else you
could want. We had a birthday in our group of travelers this day, so it was
that much more of an exciting time.  To put in simply this venue simply
ROCKED, the one complaint I had was that it was general admission, so
despite the fact that the show wasn't even SCHEDULED TO start until 7:30
(they went on at about 8:20) we had to go in at about 6:15 if we hoped to
get even remotely good seats.  We ended up on Trey's side, on the lower
desk, maybe 5th row from the back, which was totally fine by us, the view
was great and security was non-existent!!!!  The floor looked terrible, so
many people packed in there, ugh, way too crowded!  So we got pretty high
before the show even started, it was rough just sitting there but the crowd
was great, the energy was so strong, people started a wave, and it was going
SO FAST around the place, even the people on the floor were doing it!  You
could feel the breathless anticipation, and when the band came out and the
lights went down, the whole place ROARED!!!!  I think they were a little
startled, but whatever, everyone had built it up so much, I thought that
they may crack under the pressure, but when the ripped into Carrini we all
knew that there was just no way that was happening. They tore that song up,
even though there were some technical difficulties at the beginning, nothing
was stopping them this night! The funk was so heavy and evil, it was
fantastic, and to open with a song like that only means good things to come.
I must also add here that the light show was the most retarded thing I have
ever seen.  Granted, my senses were sharpened a little by some liquid from
the lot, but honestly, their rig must be designed for that type of venue, it
was the most intense thing I have ever seen, and the lights reached every
nook and cranny of the place, SO PHAT!!  they went into Rift, which sounded
really good, But I think they decided to get right back to the evil funk
they started with b/c out came one of my favorites, Frankenstein, which was
absolutely insane, we were just looking at each other with huge smiles on
our faces, it was everything we had hoped for.  and then of course Mellow
Mood, which was awesome, I can see why that is your song, so nice, The whole
crowd was singing "Love sweet love, Darlin" it gave me chills!  and then
right back into the sickness WILSON, they play it a lot, but this was one of
the best!!  I guess I always say that, but is was especially true this time,
and the crowd was right there, not a single extra "Wilson!" which sometimes
happens when the spunions aren't paying attention, nope, the band and the
crowd were completely in synch (not the lameass boyband) then the weirdness,
"SPock's Brain"??????  I haven't ever even heard of that song, nobody knew
what was going on but we were all into it!  I think they realized that the
kids were a little lost, so they busted out Bathtub gin, and I had this
weird epiphany that the song was about a show, the rink was shaped like a
giant bathtub, and the lights were like bubbles, and the music was the water
"and we love to take a bath!!!" all the kids in the bathtub, Hee Hee!  Yeah
I know, I'm a spunion too, but it was cool.  They closed the set w/
character Zero, and it was totally phat, I love that song, and although they
do play it a lot I've only heard it maybe 2x before so it was great!!!
        Set break was long, even for them, we thought that maybe it was
'cause kid rock was going to come out, rumors were flying around, mostly
that Kid Rock was gonna come out, but also that they were going to play
Gamehenge, which made no sense 'cause they already had played Wilson.  We
speculated on the kid Rock thing, but our source seemed pretty reliable, so
we were pretty sure it was going to happen.  There was a game of Frisbee
going on in the venue, people were throwing it around, and the whole crowd
would cheer when someone caught it, pretty neat.  After such a huge bust out
of Spock's Brain, we were all anxious to see what the second set would
contain, and as the second set began, we weren't let down at all, Dinner and
A Movie, which the last one I saw I think was Great Woods in 1994!  What can
be said but awesome awesome awesome????  Such an old tune, it was so
special, and then Moma Dance, one of their phattest new tunes, it took like
15 minutes of that low throbbing base line to begin the song, it was like
the music was dripping off the walls, oh it was almost more then my spun
little head could take!!!   THEN they went into 2001, again, the most crazy
lights, that thing they do with the whites where they go around and
around????  well, they did it, but it was white and purple and they went
vertical and horizontal, spinning sweetness, my mind was not my own!!!  then
they played Fluffhead, which I know they have been playing more recently,
and that is great, it sure is a fun song, also a blast from the past, I
haven't heard that one in years!  Then the Meat Stick, which is so fun, it
sounded kind of like Roses are Free but a little more bubbly.  AND they were
singing in Japanese!!!  It was really funny, we were all laughing, they did
the dance, and that was hilarious!!!  THEN Kid Rock came out!  I'm not sure
how to feel about this, it was funny, definitely, but he was just like Axel
Rose except he was rapping.  Walk this way he massacred, I mean, spend more
time learning the words and less time grabbing you crotch!!  Fishman came
out and rapped with him and then proceeded to pretend to suck his dick,
which was funny if not a little strange, AC/DC you "shook me all night long"
was probably the best tune they did with him, he sounded just like that
AC/DC guy.  The crowd was into it, everyone was cheering including me,
because it was fun, but honestly it was kind of an interruption to some of
the sickest Phish I have ever seen.  When they came back out with him to do
the encore, I was pretty disappointed, having been hoping for Phish to just
rage it out on their own, but it was fun noneless, and it was obvious that
everyone on stage was having fun, so just because Kid Rock is lame doesn't
mean anyone should be down on Phish for that, they were having a blast, and
even though I thought Kid Rock was sh*tty, I was having a blast too!

Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2000 19:32:28 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: first night vegas
 
My first time in Vegas, first time seeing the band on the west side, I didn't
know what to expect.  I had high expectations coming out from Philadelphia,
this was it, the last two shows for a long time.......birthday jam, special
guests?  Les Claypool?  Of course when ever there seems to be rumors floating
around they play a night of phish songs and I don't need to remind myself why
I came out.  Vegas baby, with good friends, and orange stripy pants.  The OP
possie as one girl called us, maybe it'll stick ...naaa.  They opened up with
1.Carini, sounds like a theme song to a cop show, I don't know.  We were up
on the second level, and the sound seemed washy.  Turns out trey was having
some trouble, as he switched his guitar in the middle.  Still a good opener
to what would be "heavy metal night."  2.Rift.  Have seen better.  Once again
they didn't seem to have the sound adjusted to the normal arena quality
(wonder if because this is the first arena-ampitheater tour) Fish dropped a
stick, but got back in it.  I have to say Fish  was really on in this first
set after this rift, 3Frankenstein, always a crowd pleaser, hate when people
bitch about this bitchin 70's anthem.  4 Wilson, Kuroda was really on. the
yellow's  dipping up the floor.  The hard cutting part before, You've got me
bad thinkin that you're"... was again metal. Sound was working better also.
5. Mellow Mood,  in the last year or so I've really gotten into the the great
vocal arrangements by the Wailers Mr. Marely.  Trey seemed very relaxed and
content with his own voice, repeating Darlin!  Good cover.  6. Spocks Brain.
Not one of their brightest songs, but glad to see they haven't forgotten
anything.  (5-16-95 is still one of my favorite tapes to date)  "Put spocks
brain back together." They worked their way through it, probably a very
difficult song to play.  Mike and Page can still sing, I was loving just the
fact that this was Vegas and they were making an effort. THis was just one of
the first referents to my trip, "the plane on time"  I hate fuckin planes
now.  7. Bathtub, good pisser song.  But I can't miss the jam which was in
this case was very nice.  Fishman kept on this high hat theme for a while
before going into the usual bathtub upbeat rock jam.  Maybe the highlight of
the show for me.  Never get sick of this song.  8 Character NULL SET as my
one friend mike tells me, He's a fellow stripy!  Average, nothing will ever
match the lemonwheel version in my mind.  Jimmi H.
    Set TWO         Dinner and  a MOvie.  Saw this in 94, used to not really
like it that much, but it's on JUNTA, and when they play anthing obscure off
of that album, Ya gotta love it.  Love how this song goes from Pleasant, to
Evil...with Page I think making those ungoddley noises.  ONce again I was
happy about the effort.  2. MoMA,  funk.  My neck hurts.   3. 2001   Shortest
version I can ever recall,  This is a lights dominated song.  I think this
gives them a break from remembering crazy chords and words, good mix, always
a crowd favorite, and you'll never hear me complain.  All five of them have
gotten so good at this, I would reccommend seeing this live to my
grandmother.   4.  Fluffhead,  crowd was getting into it, singing along, nice
inside changes in the Travels section, leading to the climax.  Felt good to
hear my friend Mark enjoying this Crowd reaction. 5.meatstick,  ehhhhh?
song is ok, but I don't like it when they play it for more than 10 minutes.
Like the japanese lines though, they should do this everytime now.  Trey
could play slide guitar if he wanted to.  Licks he pulls off in this solo is
what makes him a bad mother fucker in my mind.  Pull.  6.  Kid Rock Walk this
way. Interesting, I can remember Trey talking at the end of deer Creek in 99,
about the whole Woodstock thing and how Greed and money can destroy a concert
and the whole vibe, when this guy was basically the Headliner of the spaztic
event.  Well a lot can happen in a couple of years.  It was entertaining, why
else would you come to Vegas from Philly.  > Rappers delight.  seeing Fish
next to KId Rock on his knees in the dress, I instantly thought of Jo C or
Mini me.  Hiliraious, then Fish was grinding on kid rock, saying something
like, "they call him kid rock, he's got a big cock, he's got a hard cock,
he's the kid rock."  You shook me, good version, Kid sounded pretty good, for
AC DC.  Encore, was hopin for a phish song, but I guess they were having too
much fun.  Thought it was cool how the Kid thanked the audience for making
him feel at home.  Wonder if he respects the scene, with how some of music
flys.  Good show, one i'll remember later.  First set was very solid, Trey
loose, would he follow up on his birthday?  We'll find out.Bern

Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 09:33:58 -0400
From: Dave Wolcott [email protected]
Subject: 9.29 Review
 
OK -- this is short (i hope) and sweet with a few points on the entire
experience:
 
1. las vegas... the town is excellent and loads of fun even if its only
reason for existence is to take your money!
 
2. superb parking lot scene... remarkably tame in terms of police presence
and entry searches compared to many of the east coast venues.
 
3. seating location... we sat directly opposite the stage on the backside of
the arena (first level) looking slightly down on the stage.  this is
possibly one of the best vantage points i have ever experienced.  you get
the full effect of the light show, the sound hits you perfectly and you get
a great view of the band and the crowd.  i highly recommend this spot to
anyone.
 
4. seating compadres... my buddies and i sat next to zack and myron (can't
remember where you all are from).  between the 5 of us, i don't think we
wiped the s**t eating grins off our faces once the entire show.  thanks guys
for having as much fun as we were.  the smiles on all of our faces was one
of the highlights of the shows.  and to those of you behind us, thank you as
well.  i can only remember audrey but there was a crew of you who were very
generous with your food, party favors and beverages.  thanks.  if any of you
remember me (dave), drop a line to the e-mail above... would love to hear
from you.
 
5. the music... i'll list the highlights of my friday night -- 1. Carini  2.
Moma Dance>2001, Fluffhead (these three in a row were really too much to
handle) 3. the Japanese lyrics to Meatstick (I lived in Japan for a year so
I've anxiously been waiting for this)  4. the covers with kid rock despite
all the controversy.
 
6. kid rock... i'm not giving a thumbs up or down to kr.  i definately don't
think he is the classiest guy but hell neither are some of my freinds... and
besides, i really dug the songs phish and kr performed together -- a great
blast from the past.  in terms of all this hoopla that is going around about
the kr appearance --  whether people like it or not... trey seems to get
along with him and enjoys his company so if people like trey, they should be
willing to accept kr.  whatever happened to "any friend of... is a friend of
mine".  sure, i probably don't want to spend much time with the guy him but
i'm not going to ask phish never to invite him again.  this is their gig,
not mine... i'm just along for the ride.  and, given that las vegas was my
last two shows of the tour (from the east coast), i cannot complain about
the shows that i was left with.  and besides, fishman needs somebody to rap
with.
 
anyway, take it easy to all.  hope to see folks during the hiatus.  and, if
anyone ever gets bored in the northern virginia-dc area, drop a line.
 
Dave


Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2000 15:55:51 -0700
From: John Erganian [email protected]
Reply-To: John Erganian [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: the kid
 
context for review:  44th show since '93; first show in '00 (not
counting 1-1-00); every show is fun--no such thing as a letdown--it's just a
question of how high they'll take us.  in vegas to see shows and to help
a groom-to-be have one last good time.  seats; very bottom of the upper ring,
slightly on trey's side.  bird's eye view for the kuroda magic.  ufos were
spotted in the vicinity.
 
high energy, great show, most certainly was not the worst ever.  was on its
way to being one of my favorites ever, but, well,  . . .
 
THOUGHTS ON THE KID
 
i enjoy kid rock's antics.  i am not the only one.  he has fun being a star,
and revels in the genre's cliches (hence his huge popularity).  he also
appears, from various interviews, to be a down to earth dude who likes to
party.  sounds like a good match to me.  now, does phish have some duty
to the far-left, it's-our-band- and-nobody-else's wing of its phanbase not to
expose them to the kid and his at times misogynist lyrics and posturing?  no,
they don't.  remember, the phan-band relationship has its limits, and those
limits can be found when people project their wants and needs and likes and
dislikes and politics onto the band.  this was vegas, sin city, and any sort
of correctness was not in store, for good or ill (actually, it was some of
both).
 
so, building on the tremendous energy of the show so far, kid rock and the
boys absolutely tore the s#!% out of walk this way.  people were losing their
minds.  hardened hippies were rocking out in ways never before seen by these
eyes. i thought the building would explode.  it certainly tops the kid
rock-aerosmith--run-dmc version at the 9.9.99 mtv vma, which i watched with
my friend jordan before walking from our hotel to the vancouver show
 
of course, things got extremely dicey after this.  rappers delight went from
fun novelty to absolute confusion, disarray, and borderline embarassment.
yes, jon poked fun at rap conventions, but only because he was not prepared
to do anything else.  if you didn't know who joe c. was, as many of my
friends did not, you might have had visions of oral sex dancing in your
head.  i suppose i would fault the boys for what appeared to be lack of
planning.  i guess that set break was not one long musical huddle. oh well.
this ended with kid rock telling the band to stop as they were beginning a
funk groove. ouch.  kid rock was clearly uncomfortable when not singing and
not knowing when he was supposed to sing next.  this was their own fault, as
they seemed to have no control over him
 
you shook me was tons of fun.  trey played guitar, not jon (i though the set
list people were responsible types, heh heh), and ripped it up.  again, the
crowd certainly appeared to be loving it, and losing their s#$! yet again.
it was amsuing again to see hardened hippies rocking to pure, unadultered
frat rock, with no irony in sight.  it was a sight to see.  i only wished
that they could have kicked into one more higher gear and blown kid rock off
the stage, finally showing him who was boss.  it was not be, and the set
ended in a tie, which, as they say, is like kissing your sister.  it's a
kiss, but it's your sister.  the songs with kid rock kicked ass, but they
were songs with kid rock to end the set.
 
encore:  here's where the sourness really came from.  a phish encore could
have wrestled control back from kid rock and appeased the angry militant
factions.  Instead, we got more misogynist freestyle lyrics from the kid.
they played ok, it was fun, and it was short.
 
this one went from noteworthy to notorious.  glad i was there, glad there
were two shows, glad i'll be at shoreline.

Date: Sun, 01 Oct 2000 14:22:30 -0700
From: Daniel Pennington [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 9/29/00 review
 
    I figured I'd write about the madness of this weekend before it got
too distant in my memory, this is Sunday morning and I just woke up
after driving back all last night. Friday we got there at 6:00 or so and
 
there was still a big line, I don't think the gates actually opened
until then. We ended up getting decent upper level seats Page side one
row back from the rail. The view was decent, but it turns out that the
sound was not so good and had a lot of echo up there, so this may have
influenced my view of the show. All approximate show timings are in
parenthesis. Carini (9) was a good opener, the crowd had a ton of energy
 
and this song played well off of it. Rift (6) was really standard except
 
for how sloppy everyone was playing, Fish actually had to completely
drop out for a second or two before picking back up on the drum part. I
think this was the start of some really sloppy playing that lasted the
whole first set. It was definitely a rocking set, and I think a lot of
people were really excited about it, but it was so sloppy (the tapes
will back me up on this) that it was really distracting, I think they
were trying to compensate. Frankenstein (5) was, once again, really high
 
energy. Mellow Mood (4) was pretty good and kept up a lot of crowd
energy for Wilson (7), which they did a short reprise for at the end.
Spock's Brain (6) was really good, nobody knew what it was for a while.
The playing tightened up a bit for this. Bathtub Gin (16) was by the
best jam of the set, and the first time they really stepped out to
explore so far in the show. Character Zero (8) was standard. The show
this far this was definitely hard-rockin', and most people seemed to be
loving it.
    The second set opened with Dinner and a Movie (!)(5) which was a
first for me, it was really appropriate because Vegas is covered in
billboards for cheesy acts where you can eat dinner and see a show (see
Danny Gans, Entertainer of the Year!). Moma Dance (9) was good, I think
they had realized how loose the first set was and tightened up a whole
lot for the second. The 2001 (9) was sick, Kuroda was letting loose with
 
some really nice lighting effects. The Fluffhead (15) proved once again
that the show had tightened up considerably. After a short
"what-do-we-play-next" intro jam (3), they launched into a solid
Meatstick (7) with a nice little jam and then Trey and Mike doing the
dance to the Japanese translation of the lyrics. Trey then said that he
wanted to bring out one of his friends, and Kid Rock came out,
rapping/screaming at the very front of the stage, hamming it up
immensely (I was laughing hysterically the entire time he was on). They
tore up Aerosmith's Walk This Way (3), followed by Rapper's Delight (4),
 
where Fish came out and tried to freestyle with Kid Rock, I think Fish
was thrown off by not being the dominant stage presence for once, he
ended up just scatting a long for a while before picking up Trey's
guitar (Trey was on drums) and playing a bit on it. AC/DC's You Shook Me
 
(4) closed the set, Kid Rock was perfect for the vocals on this one. The
 
encore, We're An American Band (4), included a little freestyle from Kid
 
Rock (the strippers at the Mandalay Bay were looking for Kid Rock, but
they went home with Trey instead) and that ended the show. Overall, it
was a really high energy show, and the part with Kid Rock was hilarious.
 
It might also have been one of the shortest shows I've ever seen, if not
 
the shortest, it gave Merriweather '98 some competition for the honor.
Total time was only about 125 minutes.

Date: Sat, 30 Sep 2000 12:49:59 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 9-29-00 Thomas and Mack Review
 
Since I have had the pleasure of reading the reviews for this years tour up
until now, I felt I should give a little back at give a review for the first
night at Vegas.
 
Last nights show was my 16th and my fourth in Vegas, while my friends were
attending there first.  Outside the venue was really cool with a lot of good
vibes between phans.  Shakedown was pretty well set up with no real hassles
from the police.  Since it was a GA show, people got in line early and the
doors opened a half an hour late.  To contrary belief there was not much
stampeding to get in, however there was some pushing and shoving but it was
quickly stopped by other phans.  The big suprise was KID ROCK standing at the
entrance and saying hello to everyone who walked through the main gate.
 
I hate reading those reviews that talk bad about what the band did, because
we should just feel lucky enough to be able to see the band.I will instead
say the the first set started off with a rockin Corini that made the whole
place get up and shake their bones.  The only problem is Trey had so many
problems with his guitar, I believed I counted five visits from the techs to
assess the situation.  Rift was pretty standard but a good version.  Mellow
Mood was amazing, anytime who can hear the words of Marley coming out of
Phish, there is nothing better.  This followed with a unfinished Wilson but
it was still tight.  Then the first set hit a high with an amazing Spocks
Brain, my first ever, into one of the best fucking Bathtub's I have ever
seen.  The jam was amazing with some major rocking themes with an indication
of what was to come and the definite highlight of the first set.  I was
hoping for a Lizards or a Slave to follow, but instead it was Character 0.
Set I overall was a short set but it was well highlighted by Mellow Mood,
Spocks Brain, and Bathtub Gin.
 
Second Set:  PHISH ARE ROCK STARS.
    Dinner and a movie seemed not to be well recieved by the crowd, but after
a few minutes everyone got into it.  Moma dance was standard but it got me
going for the set.  2001, my first, this song is amazing live.  The band
seemed to know exactly where they were and where they were going with it.
This led into a unbelievable Fluffhead which featured many little solos and
then the meatstick followed with the Japanese lyrics.  This song is really
fun to sing and dance to, however there was a slight problem with crowd
participation.  This is only the second time it has been performed on the
west coast, so no one knew how to dance until Mike and Tom Marshall
demonstrated it to us all.  This was cut short and then Trey introduced Kid
Rock, which was the first time all night the band addressed the crowd.  This
is where Phish showed of there rock star skills.  Walk this Way, Rappers
delight, Shook me all night, and American band were all sung by Kid Rock with
the band backing up.  The greatest was when Trey got on drums and Fishman
came out to rap a verse with Kid Rock and then jumped back on guitar.  I have
never seen a Phish show that had so much energy and was so loud.  The band
seemed to be in great spirits at the end of this set and it only makes me
wonder about tonight. This was not one of the greatest shows musically I have
ever seen, but this show had some of the most energy I have witnessed.  What
an amazing show to be at, and how are they going to follow up the energy in
tonights show.
     Thanks for reading and watch us on the webcast, don't forget we have a
birthday party tonight!!!!
 
TK

...below here are reviews of other reviews...

Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2000 19:17:12 GMT
From: The Wolfman [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: Vegas 9/30 review of review
 
An open letter to Charlie Dirksen:
 
Charlie my man, what's going on?  You seemed to be a fair and credible
reviewer when you responded to my Radio City review.  I have no problem with
anybody criticizing a show, we know that all shows are not created equal.
What I am writing to ask you is how you can stoop to the level of all the
people who accuse Trey of being a druggie and whatnot when they've never
even met him.  I'm not saying he doesn't party, I'm saying that I have no
idea and neither do you.  Did you actually see him drink one drink or smoke
one bowl all weekend?  And even if he did, is he not entitled to enjoy these
things just as you and I are?  Also, any mistakes he makes might be
accountable to the fact that he is a mere human.  In 1000+ shows you're
gonna mess up, it's part of the gig.  It's ridiculous to accuse anybody of
drug abuse and sleep deprivation for not playing perfectly every guitar lick
that Trey must play in a night.  I might as well sit here and accuse you of
drug abuse for misspelling a word in your review.  Integrity is key; focus
on the music and don't make baseless assumptions!
 
peace and vibes,
Wolfman

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