Subject: 10/22/96 - Setlist and Review (long)
From: Zach Scheiner 

An IN-credible show! The first set was one of the best I've ever seen, 
actually, it may be THE best I've ever seen, but I'll have to think about 
that one. Here's the setlist (which I'm sure you've already seen):

I: (75 min.) The Curtain, Runaway Jim, Bouncin', It's Ice, Talk*, Split 
Open and Melt, Sparkle, Free, You Enjoy Myself

II: (70 min.) 2001->Down with Disease, Taste, The Mango Song, Lawn Boy, 
Scent of a Mule, Mike's Song, Swept Away->Steep, Weekapaug Groove**

Encore: (10 min.) All Along the Watchtower***

*Trey on acoustic guitar
**strange circus dancers on stage
***Buddy Miles on drums, Merl Saunders on keyboards, circus dancers on 
weirdness :-)


Pre-Show: Not too much to say, arrived a bit later than the night before, 
still no hassle getting in, great seats again (right floor about 20 rows 
back, thank you mail-order!). A bunch of the same people sitting around 
me as 10/21. I absolutely _love_ that mail-order does this, purposefully 
or not. If you haven't noticed, if you sit near someone else who 
mail-ordered one night, and you both mail-ordered for the next night at 
the same venue, you'll sit in the same relative position to each other! 
It's cool. Can anyone explain how the system is set up so that this 
happens? Shelly maybe?

Set I: The Curtain, great opener. I really dig this tune. I also like 
that they don't play it too much, 'cause it seems like a treat when they 
do. A sick Runaway Jim followed and I knew it was going to be a killer 
set. This one was shorter and more straight-forward than 7/2/95, (and 
imho not as good) but it rocked nonetheless. This has evolved from being 
a nice singalong to one of my favorite jam tunes. Bouncin' followed. It's 
Ice was standard, not too much spaciness. Page teased Contact as soon as 
Trey went over to his percussion stand and I was hoping they'd go into 
it, but it was not to be. Provided a little excitement though :-) Next 
song was Talk... not much to talk about, Trey on acoustic. I was a bit 
worried about the direction of this set, when they busted out Split Open 
and Melt! A great version of this tune (imo a 6 or a 7), with Mike really 
present in the mix. A little side note: on Monday night I complained to 
my friend that I couldn't hear Mike at all, and last night, I felt like 
his bass was right there next to me. He was loud and clear on every tune. 
I think it must have a lot to do with where you are in relation to 
certain speakers. Any ideas? After the raging SOAM jam, Sparkle kept the 
energy up. It's gotten a little fast for my taste though. I used to enjoy 
dancing to it, but now it's impossible unless you call standing still and 
twitching dancing ;-) Free was average, sounded just like last fall, not 
much like the album. And then, just when I thought they might end the set 
without another epic jam tune, came the highlight of the _show_... You 
Enjoy Myself. This was a majestic version, perhaps my favorite (but 
impossible to judge until I get the tapes). Charlie Dirksen, start your 
mouth a-waterin', I can't wait to read your review of this gem. Trey led 
the jam for I'd guess about five soaring, roaring minutes, and then went 
over to percussion. Incredibly, Mike took over the melody playing what 
seemed like about a two-minute bass solo! I've never heard Mike solo for 
more than 30 seconds! It was incredible! He was all over his bass and it 
sounded fantastic. I'm interested to hear other people's thoughts about 
this version because it blew me away. During setbreak I kept asking my 
friends, "Was that the best You Enjoy Myself you've ever heard? I think 
it was mine, I mean, it could be my favorite, but I'm not sure... damn 
that was siiick!" :-) Overall, I rate the first set an 8.5 on the Scott 
Jordan scale.

Set II: I called the 2001 opener (not a risky prediction) but I thought 
they'd followed it with Mike's and my friend Sam said Down with Disease. 
He was right, but I got my Mike's later on. The DwD was great, a stellar 
jam at the end. Don't remember any particulars, just that I kept on 
thinking to myself, "Hot show, sick jam, hot show!" Taste was a pleasant 
surprise, mainly because of the guitar work by Trey. He played an 
Indian-feeling solo which reminded me of something you'd hear on a sitar 
in an Indian restuarant. I can't wait to listen to this one again. At the 
time I was subliminally wishing that the MSG vendors sold Dahi Papri ;-) 
The opening notes to Mango Song got me pumped, but it was kind of ruined 
by repeated feedback in Trey's microphone. In such a delicate song 
feedback is really disruptive. Lawn Boy followed which was hilarious 
because Page walked around and hammed it up like a lounge singer. He was 
so into his act that he messed up one line (he sang, "The moist oleander 
surrounded by dawn" instead of "The moist green organic that my feet 
tread upon"), but it didn't faze him. Trey seemed to think Page's act was 
hilarious because he had huge grin on his face the whole time. Scent of a 
Mule followed and it was by far the _worst_ Mule I've ever seen live. 
Page started off the duel with a raging piano solo, but Trey's response 
was just.... I don't know how to describe it... awful. Listen to the 
tapes and decide for yourselves. I think it sounded kind of like an 
improv'ed cheesy show tune. Unfortunately, Page followed Trey's lead of 
singing along with his solo so it didn't get any better. I let out a sigh 
of relief when they returned to the Scent theme. It was great to hear 
Mike's, although I think it was pretty standard. I was hoping for a 
Hydrogen (no one would have thought I'd be saying that three years ago), 
but they played Swept Away/Steep instead. Nothing special there, no segue 
with Mike's or Weekapaug so I didn't think it was great placement. Really 
strange circus dancers came out for Weekapaug and danced/contorted their 
bodies/waved their batons and twirly thingies. Mimi Fishman was out their 
with them which was hilarious because she had pink hair and a plastic 
She-ra like (remember He-man's female counterpart) costume on over her 
clothes. I wish my mom liked Phish as much as Mimi does :-) The dancers 
basically served to distract me from the music (which is why I didn't 
like them), but I think the Weekapaug was pretty good. If you want to 
know more about the dancers, get the video ;-) I personally would rather 
get the audio tapes so I can listen to the Weekapaug without 
distractions. Overall, I rate the second set a 6.5 on the Scott Jordan 
scale.

Encore: (10 min.) Ok, a little pop quiz here for you. Trey comes out for 
the encore and tells you that special guests Buddy Miles and Merl 
Saunders are coming out to join them for the encore. You a) get really 
psyched and cheer, b) say "boy, I hope they play a sick Golgi", or c) 
leave immediately to avoid the rush and to keep the _good_ memories of 
the show in the front of your mind. If you're like me, you'll choose a, 
and then wish fervently afterward that you had chosen c. The encore was 
THAT bad. Buddy Miles took over the song and repeatedly said, "Let's hear 
it for my new friends, Phish!" in the middle of the song. He didn't seem 
to know how all the lyrics went, or if he did (I mean he did play with 
Hendrix) he changed them around on purpose. The other musicians really 
didn't get a chance to shine because Buddy Miles was too busy yelling. 
And to top it all off, at the end, he sang, "And she's buuuuuuying the 
stairway... to hea-ven." I could hear audible groans throughout MSG. The 
whole encore was just so un-Phish. No instrumental jams, talking directly 
to the crowd in the middle of the song to get them to cheer, yuck, it 
left a bad taste in my mouth. It would have been much better had it been 
just Merl Saunders (who I could barely hear, BTW).

Overall: A _great_ show with a couple downers (Mule and "Watchtower"). 
Isn't it strange that the first set was longer than the second?! I'm not 
sure I've ever seen that, but I could be wrong. ZZYZX, has this happend 
before? Overall rating on the Scott Jordan scale: 7.

Thanks for reading this far. My last review of this three-show run should 
be posted late tonight or tomorrow. See ya at Hartford...

Zach

"Phish never listens, to what I say... play Guyute tonight at Hartford!!"
-------------------------------------------
Subject: MSG 10/22/96 Setlist and Review
From: kazdeyna@aol.com (KAZDEYNA)

10/22/96 Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

set 1:
The Curtain                         (7:56pm)
Runaway Jim
Bouncin' Around the Room   (8:12pm)
It's Ice
Talk*
Split Open and Melt             (8:29pm)
Sparkle                               (8:41pm)
Free
You Enjoy Myself ->             (8:53pm)
Vocal Jam                           (9:09pm)

set 2:
ASZ ->                                 (9:55pm)
Down with Disease ->
Taste                                   (10:12pm)
The Mango Song
Lawn Boy
Scent of a Mule
Mike's Song ->                     (10:44pm)
Swept Away ->
Steep ->
Weekapaug Groove**           (11:05pm)

encore:
All Along the Watchtower*** 

*Trey on acoustic guitar
** with contortionist-like dancers ("freaky dancers")
*** with Buddy Miles on drums and vocals, Fish on Trey's percussion kit,
and Merl Saunders on keys sharing Page's set up, first piano then organ,
also with dancers. Last words of this song were the silent "and she's
buying a Stairway to Heaven" verse thrown in by Buddy. 


  My review may be a little biased since I have to admit my mind was on
the Yankee game, especially in set two after I started watching the game
during intermission. TV's at all MSG concession stands.

  Set I had not much going on, mostly standard versions of all the songs,
Trey played the acoustic guitar during Talk. Split Open and Melt was
strong much improvisation towards the end with each person playing
"different, but in sync".
  
   Just as Sparkle was ending Trey began "franticly" talking to each
member and waving his finger in the air (seemed like he was changing the
setlist) and then Mike counted off Free with three or four beats on his
bass (reminded me of the old BIODTL). The Free was short and not so good,
mostly that "broken airplane" sounding jam, and Trey on the percussion
kit. It seemed like Trey was on that percussion kit every other song, he's
got to take it easy on that thing.  You Enjoy Myself was the best of set
1, especially the big Mike solo towards the end. They are giving him back
his solo spot in that ending portion of the song. The Vocal Jam with only
all white lights flaring around the whole arena was a nice closer.

 Intermission: Yankee Baseball in the hallways, in the arena the fans were
doing the wave, intermission just getting a little too long when fans are
doing the wave.

 set 2: ASZ was very short and not much to it, Dw/D was Ok, extended
summer '96 version, but once again Trey is on percussion kit.  Taste
started to bring the set back up to speed and was well done especially
vocally.  Scent of a Mule made me go back out to the hallways to watch the
Yankee game. The Page/Trey duel featured a scat by both Trey and Page. 
Mike Song come next, Bernie at the plate, what to do, what to do....
Bernie hits a homer!!!! back to the arena for Mike's Song. Basically Phish
hit a home run to save this show with the dancers during Weekapaug. About
12 contortion dancers in neon colors and other costumes parading around
the stage in front of the band, on Page's piano, behind Fish's drums,
etc...

 Encore: Trey thanks everybody for the two night stand and says they have
some more guests. Buddy and Merl come out. Buddy asks the crowd if we like
Bob Dylan, says this one's for you NY and they play All Along the
Watchtower. Nice Trey solo (nothing like the one back in '94 with DMB),
and Buddy had a little different way of singing it. A fun closer.

Last nights show was better musically. Trey was definitely full of energy
all night, especially during the new material, he really love playing it,
as well as Mike, I have never seen him more animated then tonight, that
was great to see. However all this energy didn't seem to come across in
the music. Maybe baseball has grabed my mind for now.

Finally, tonight maybe the night to see Trey guest play in the city (lots
of Phish fans at MMW's show last night). I think Merl's band is playing at
Manny's Car Wash, not sure though. We'll have to see

Peace,
Kaz

Yankees Win, THE Yankees Win!!!!
---------------------------------------------------
Subject: MSG Cops +security
From: Brandyn Bowden 

Ok, I agree with the reviews of the show (10/22) up to this point, so
there's no need to add anything.  So I'll instead address what seemed to
overshadow the music at MSG (at least in my section).  The security was
unbleivable.  I felt like I was watching a concert in Nazi Germany. 
There were eyes everywhere watching and waiting for someone to light up
(tobacco OR doobage).  As soon as someone was SUSPECTED of wrong doing,
a group of thugs would come and pull the guy out, harrass him, humiliate
him, bully him (or HER for all these).  I've never seen anything like
it.  It really detracted from the show for me because I was constantly
looking over my shoulder.  Also it was distracting to have these big fat
MSG jerkoff goons constantly walking through rows of people to get at
the arch criminals they were seeking.  Then when the show was over I
walk out of the Garden and what do I see?  hundreds and hundreds of
cops... cops on horses, cops on foot, cops on motorcycles... they were
literally everywhere.  I would say, without exaggeration, that the cops
represented about 1 of every 20 concert goers.  No, don't get me wrong,
I have nothing against law and order... its assholes that bother me. 
And an asshole in uniform...  make that 1000 assholes in uniform....
that REALLY bothers me.  These guys were harassing every innocent
bystander that looked at them the wrong way.  I witnessed one officer
shoving some young girl down the street because he said she was
"loitering".  She protested that she was supposed to wait for her friend
to get out of the bathroom but the cop just got more belligerent and
more obnoxious and kept shoving her, repeating the phrase "I said you're
walking, you're not waiting for anyone".  This is just one example of
the many atrocities I witnessed last night.  I wish I could seperate all
this from the music, but I can't.  The whole night had a sour taste
because of all this shit going on around me.  But the show did ROCK.  I
would have enjoyed it a lot more somewhere else, however.  

just my thought.
-b
-----------------------------------------------------
Subject: MSG 10/22!!!
From: Nick Johnston 

I've school in a few hours so not much time for a grandscale review,
but...

1: Curtain>Runaway Jim, Bouncin', It's Ice, Talk, SOMelt, Sparkle, Free,
   YEM
2: Zarathustra>Down w/Disease, Taste, Mango Song, Lawn Boy, SOAMule,
   MikeS > Swept Away > Steep > Weekapaug*
e: Watchtower**
* during the jam, a parade of about 10 writhing sexy dancers (male and
  female) appeared, led by a valkyrie dominatrix (yow!), who danced and
  throbbed all over the place (including the piano) for the remainder of
  the song.  Let's just say the Mrs.'s Anastasio and McConnell probably
  weren't present ;) Fish's mom was also part of the parade and was
  sporting (I kid you not purple dyed hair and blue foam rubber breasts!
** w/Buddy Miles and Merl Saunders!  Buddy played Fish's drums and sang
  lead (Fish played Trey's kit) and Merl played piano, then traded off
  with Page for the Hammond.  There was a short tuning jam/Buddy crooning
  thang before the song actually started.

What else...
Fish stood up on his stool during Page's Ice solo, Trey played acoustic on
Talk, SOAMelt was amazing, the first first-set YEM since Icculus knows
when *smoked*... Disease was intense and melodic, Taste has almost
returned to its full summer '95 glory, Page did this hilarious lounge
routine during Lawn Boy where he took the mic and swaggered around in a
spotlight in front of the monitors while Trey cracked up :)  Mule didn't
have the run of mill duel segment - Page did his usual thing, then Trey
did his scat/guitar routine, but sang this jazzy swanky tune that got
everyone clapping along - the Page took another solo making fun of Trey,
THEN Mike held the "theeeey" for a while, singing in Hebrew-folk song
style.  Certainly a contender for best Mule ever ;)  Weekapaug was
so long and sooo amazing, that I'm tempted to say it rivals some of the
greats (not quite 12/31/95 though) -- could've just been the P-Funk-esque
stage show, though.  Watchtower was, needless to say, stunning with 15+
people all on stage at once..

sleep!!

Nick

  *---------------------------------------------------------------------*
    "These are interesting times.  We don't trust the government, we 
     don't trust the legal system, we don't trust the media, and we 
     don't trust each other.  We've undermined all authority, and with 
     it, the basis for replacing it...it's like a six-year-old's dream 
     come true!"                                        - Calvin
  *---------------------------------------------------------------------* 
----------------------------------------------------
Subject: Fishman's Mom
From: sfreitas@sonalysts.com (stephen freitas)

Hey everybody the woman with the red hair and glasses with the blue
breast-plate that danced during Weekapaug Groove at MSG Tuesday night was
Fishman's mom. I thought she danced the best but the carnival people were
more flexible.
She's been known to bust out a vacuum solo now and then, but she just
grooved last night.

see you in Hartford,
Steve
------------------------------------------------------
Subject: MSG 10-21/22
From: "Burtch, Anson" 

Please post on the r.m.p:
I don't think I could possibly review both shows in full, but there were a 
few things I wanted to highlight. One quick downer: While MSG may be great 
for seeing the Knicks, the sound gets a bit muddy when dealing with shows. 
 Many times Trey's sound was muffled or echo laden due to the less then 
desirable acoustics.  (Oh well, it could have been my seats too.)

10-22  Back the next night I was sorry to see LOTS of people getting
busted  outside for anything and everything.  I saw someone getting a
summons for  selling necklaces and two people get searched for merely
sitting on the wall.  Maybe the cops were frustrated by the Yankees world
series performance?
The opening Curtain-->Runaway was really powerful, nothing unusual, but 
super strong...a few songs later Mike cuts loose again with the opening to 
Split open and melt....I was excited to hear the opening licks of Y.E.M.
at  the end of the first set and man was it a trip!  As they approached
the scream the entire audience was howling at the top of their lungs.  It
was deafening.  Then the trampolines appeared while things got funked out,
I hadn't seen *them* on the tramps in a while (Trey's a little rusty on
the routine)  still y.e.m.mming away, the pace slowed down for a huge Mike
solo! 
 This was awesome, low down and dirty. Mike was plunking away with full 
force.  The vocal jam following was excellent as well, good harmonies
moving into the normally spooky sounds which ended it.

During the break the crowd watching the Series on TV's in the food court
was going wild.

Set II got going right away with 2001--> DWD.  The DWD jam is becoming a 
true thing of beauty.  It seems every time they play it gets crazier. (see 
Clifford Ball for a great DWD jam)  The end was terrific because they came 
full circle from out in the zone back to finish DWD. a few songs later
MANGO SONG!  Here is one I don't happen to hear live very often, a real
treat. 
 During Lawn Boy we got to hear *another* great Mike solo in between the 
Chairman's crooning.  Determined not to be outdone, Mike did some crooning 
during SoAM and then busted out with Mike's Song.  I have to admit I was 
hoping for a Mikes-->Hydrogen, but Swept Away > Steep appeared in it's
place (very trippy)  Weekapaug rounded out the set on a high happy note.

The encore brought out Buddy Miles on drums and Merl Saunders on keys. 
 These are two great musicians, but the choice of Dylan's All along the 
Watchtower was a little strange.  At times it seemed like Buddy Miles
forgot the words and the group in front of me kept saying "This doesn't
sound like Watchtower!"  Oh well, you can't please everyone.

All in all they were two excellent shows. But then again a Phish show is 
always excellent. They were together and in sync most of the time and on a 
few tunes seemed to be having a great time themselves.  I had lots of fun 
and heard some incredible music, and *that* is what it's all about.
All comments, questions, or flames welcomed.

Sharin' in the groove,
Anson
-------------------------------------------
Subject: Random thoughts on 10/22/96
From: benjaminwilliams@juno.com (Ben M Williams)

These are just some of my thoughts on the Phish show at MSG on Tuesday
night.

1.  I tried selling one of my tickets for cash, but it seemed ticket
buyers wanted to give me dope for my ticket. Anyway, I ended up not
selling it and being out the money.

2.  Security was good entering the arena. I had to show my ticket about 7
times. Security in the arena on the other hand, was more lax. Are you
sure that there is "no smoking" ?

3.  Opening tune: Curtain - short but sweet. Very fresh for the hot
Runaway Jim.

4. I forget most of the other songs in the set because I was sitting down
with mad stomach cramps and I was feeling a little light-headed.

5. What did Trey say right before BMGS WUDMTF in YEM? Did anyone hear a
Tweezer tease in YEM?

6. Did anyone hear a Simple tease somewhere during the show (I forget)?

7. Where did those transvestite dancers come from during the Weekapaug
Groove?

8. Didn't Mike rock the first set?

9. Didn't Page rock the second set?

10. Who were the two guys that played encore? Buddy Miles and ? Where are
these guys from? Buddy Miles did a wierd "Stairway to Heaven" thing at
the end of "All Along the Watchtower".

11. I thought Page did a great job with Scent of a Mule.

Um, I think that's it. Please email any comments or answers.  -
benjaminwilliams@juno.com
-------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 10/22/96 comments
From: "Garneau, Craig A." 

curtain.jim.bouncin.it's ice.talk.split.sparkle.free.yem

most songs were pretty much standard up until the It's Ice jam, i can
easily say that this was one of my favorite It's Ice jams ever. talk
was alright to hear...how can you change it? Split open and melt was
insane!! The lights on this tune were incredible. Chris was so in sync
with the band, I swear I was *hearing* the lights....awesome! sparkle
was fun, got alot of younger fans into it. Free was kinda cool, i was
used to hearing the pre-albulm versions, and liked the combo of the
studio and live versions. YEM was the highlight, mike was smokin!!
one of the better mike's solos in yem, and the vocal jam was unreal...
great way to close the set.

ASZ.dwd.taste.mango.lawnboy.scent.mikes.swept away.steep.weekapaug
E.watchtower w/ buddy miles and merl saunders.

I personally love 2001 and was happy to hear it, the dwd caught me off
guard, definately not the song i was expecting. Am I the only one that
heard a satisfaction tease from mike during his solo??...please say no.
Taste was...well....taste. Mango song was a treat, i like this song.
Lawnboy was a riot!! Could page have played the lounge singer part any
better...his swooning was hilarious! Scent of a mule in any other set
would have been the highlight. I was expeting to hear a trey vrs. page,
instead got a vocal duel with the crowd sitting in with the band on
percussion(clapping) The band totally fed off the clapping and steered
their jam around it.....amazing!! expecting a mike's and got it...very
pleased. Mike's was standard, nothing spectacular...but great nontheless
swept away and steep were stupid and, imho, have no place in a mike's
groove....but i digress. weekapaug was unreal...highlight of the show.
the circus type freak show dancers get the "what the fuck was that?!"
award of the night.

encore was awesome, I totally thought Popper was going to come out, but
was very happy to see miles and saunders. We didn't get too much out of
merl, but buddy stole the encore....played to the crowd real well.

overall....great show. My last show was the ball, i never thought it
would get topped, which it didn't. But this show let me know that the
boys still tear it up.

Craig "bent toe" Garneau

p.s. let me know what you thought of the show....respond to my personal
address as i do not recieve the digest..and doubt this will make it into
Rosemary's (what i do receive)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 10/22 review
From: Chris Lehault 

Okay.  By now there have been X amounts of reviews, and I figured why not 
give mine.  1st of all, I was not that impressed with the show.  Of 
course, there were a few negatives in there. 1) it was MSG, which is a 
shitty place for a show.  In NYC, no room in the seats to dance, stupid 
screaming fans that make it hard to hear page, etc.  also 2) it was a 
Tues.  so for most of us out there who had to be up a 6 in the morn that 
day and do whatever, I was a little tired.  Now, the review...


PRE-SET:  I think it was Michael Ray, which was nice, but I couldn't be 
sure


Set I

Curtain: real nice, although I heard it at Platts (my last show before).  
Got me excited to the show

JIM:  Real nice, but a little slow.  The jam kinda lost it in some parts, 
and trey kept shaking his arm like it was tired.  This is, of course, not 
the usual swaying motion he makes when he plays.

BOUNCING: Actually, the best I ever heard.  Other than the crowed, they 
really rocked it

IT'S ICE: Standard, the jam fell apart in the middle.  it seems a lot of 
their jams just CRASH into these spacy parts and change tempo, as did 
this.

TALK: Very nice, a joy to hear

SOAMelt: Very nice, jams kept together well

SPARKLE: Better than usually, 

Free:  Nice

YEM: REALLY NICE!!! Vocal jam was great and Mike really strutted his 
stuff, high point of 1st set

SET BREAK:  Calm, anyone know the music

SET 2:

2001: Good opener as usual. Great job, Chris

DWD:  Rather short, but the jam wasn't going anyware and saved it.  

Taste:  Standard

Mango:  They were really on here, but the crowd kept screaming at the end 
and you couldn't hear Page

LAWN BOY:  I LOVE to hear this tune live.  Was great, dispite Page 
forgetting a line

SOAMule:  Great key solo, I didn't really dig the vocal thing, though.  
Took to long, I think

MIKE's: AMAZING, the best I've heard (or maybe Platts was better?)

Swept>STEEP:  1st time live, and I loved it, poor placement though, the 
scream at the end to break into Weekapaug kinda ruins it.

Weekapaug:  NICE!   Dancers were cool and it was nice to see MIMI again

E: WATCHTOWER:  This was really good musically, but I didn't care for the 
guy singing, he was trying to impress the audience too much, and it didn't 
sound like PHISH, it sounded like some other band.  

ALL IN ALL:  I rated it a 6.  Not bad.  The scene ruined it, though  Also, 
I have noticed that Trey really doesn't jam too much anymore.  Perhaps his 
arm can't take it?  I don't know.

just my thoughs, they may come across negative, but it was a great show

chris
------------------------------------------------
Subject: (fwd) The Tour in Review So Far - MSG II THE BEST SHOW YET!!!!
From: AABRAMS@SPRINGER-NY.COM (Allan Abrams)

The second night of MSG was the best night of the tour so far. This show
was balls to the wall rock and roll for two entire sets. I feel that last
night Phish put on one of their best performances of the entire year.
This show was better than the entire summer tour and about equal to the
epic Clifford Ball weekend. I'm tempted to put this show in the top 25 of
alltime, but I won't quite yet. It was one of Phish's finest performances
in the past few years. There was no time for pissing, sitting, getting a
beer or watching the Yankees in the World Series. This was a show where
you didn't want to miss one second of the action. It was nonstop highly
energetic jamming. Several songs (Curtain, Mango Song, Lawn Boy) made
their first appearances of the tour. 

Right off the bat I had good vibes the show would be hot because of the
Curtain>Runaway Jim opener. Curtain is one of my favorite Phish tunes and
a
fantastic choice to open the show. I have noticed that Curtain has a
tendency to pop up in the really killer Phish sets. Look over your
setlists
from the last few years and see how many times Curtain appears in your
most
"jamming" sets. Quite often. Virtually EVERY SONG of this show is a
HIGHLIGHT. Really. This show was that good. Ice has continued to improve
with time along with it's partner Maze. These two songs have become so
good. I remember when everyone used sigh when they heard these two songs
all the time about two years ago. But since last summer these two have
begun to take on a life of their own. Man, the jam sections in these two
songs are so good these days. Anyway, Ice was the song actually played
last
night. The utterly beautiful Talk followed. This is my favorite of the new
ballads. It has such a serene, peaceful sound to the music and Trey's
vocals. I just love the way Trey sings this song. It's NOT your typical
ballad at all. It's a unique song that I hope
people will learn to appreciate. Do not confuse Talk with Strange Design
or
Waste. Talk is in a league of it's own.

A psychedelic and super charged Split Open and Melt followed. This is
another song who's jam section has improved tremendously in the last two
years. Split Open has always had trippy jam to it, but now it's even
better. The last few Split Opens I have seen have been phenominal. The
best
part of the jam usually occurs after the spacy portion and towards the end
of the song when they always play the main Split Open theme over and over.
They like to play around with the sound and tempo of the Split theme until
the song just builds and builds to an incredible climax. Great stuff!
While
most of you hate Sparkle, I actually enjoy it and that came next. Good
song
for my Hydrogen Glasses, which is probably why I like it so much after all
these years. And, to end the set in grand style we heard fantastic
versions
of Free and You Enjoy Myself. The band has done some first set YEMs in the
past
and it's always a treat when they do it. As I've said before you've gotta
just love when they do a second set tune in the first set. Mike has been
shining in the YEMs
recently. He has been right "on" when it comes time for him to do his fat,
muddy bass solo. I love it when just him and Fishman get down during the
end of YEM. Actually, many people have noted that Mike has been playing
much better lately. His sound is more evident in the mix these days. I
even
think I've noticed him smile a bit more than usual while up there. But
then
again maybe that's just because I've had great seats up close for every
show of this tour so far. This was a nice, fat, awesome YEM. What a way to
end the set! And what a first set it was! Glorious, glorious Phish. This
first set had a definite second set feel to it. Everything was jammed to
the max for full potential.  

The second set started up with ferocious jamming once again. 2001>DwD was
spectacular! The lights during 2001 were great as usual and the DwD was
probably the longest jam of the tour so far. I'll say it once again - DwD
is a MONSTER. The jam section in this song has definitely become one of
Phish's finest jam moments. This song is soooo killer lately. And, they
finished it yet again! For many versions of DwD over the last year and a
half the band would go off into a crazy jam but never return to finish DwD
with it's climactic ending. Well, all the DwDs played on this tour so far
have had the energetic ending. The jam in this DwD was incredible. It was
the most improvisational and exploratory jams played so far. I guess my
two
favorite exploratory jams of the tour have been the Split Open in Buffalo
and the DwD last night. Taste was wonderful and was followed by the first
appearances this tour for Mango Song and Lawn Boy. Mango Song is great
mainly for the fact that we just don't get that many of them. This night
was so spectacular that even Lawn Boy was unique! Page changed the words a
bit I think. I couldn't make out what he said though. Mike also took a
bass
solo! He played parts of Lawn Boy on his bass. Very cool. Scent of A Mule
contained some more interesting musicianship from everyone. Trey's scat
singing continues to improve. Now you may say "Scent is scent" or "Lawn
Boy
is Lawn Boy" but at a show like last night that's not the case. Last night
was a show where the band put their all into EVERY song. They tried to
make
every song special. As I said, they jammed with fierce energy for the
entire show. There was not a letdown once. 

Now we come to the rousing, powerful conclusion. The Mikes Song>Swept
Away>Steep>Weekapaug ending. Talk about fireworks. YOWSA! The Mikes song
was hot, hot, hot. Real real tight jamming was present throughout. It was
a
tight, energetic high octane Mikes Song jam. They even hit the strobes and
smoke for the first time in a LONG time. Every Mikes Song used to have a
sick strobe light jam and they used to cover the stage in smoke or fog.
Well, they finally busted out the fog machines for the first time in a
long
time. This Mikes was just like the classic, standard version of Mikes
Song.
Only it was amazing. I was in ecstasy. I was waiting for this tune all
tour
and
finally got it. It was a very strong version. I was preying they were
going
to end the Mikes with a
Hydrogen but it was not to be. Swept Away is a good song, but I didn't
like
it in the Mikes Groove. I wanted Hydrogen, dammit! Oh well, my
dissapointment in not hearing Hydrogen was quickly forgotten about after
the insane Weekapaug we got. This was one of the most powerful Weekapaugs
you will ever hear. It was just a sheer wall of power! The sound of this
Weekapaug was very similar to the Clifford Ball Tweezer and Antelope. This
had something to do with the dancers on stage I'm sure. Because the band
members were trying to choreograph certain parts of the Weekapaug with the
dancers. The dancers were very strange looking. Some of them were dressed
in drag or some type of sexually explicit costume. Mimi Fishman was out
there with the dancers and had on a little bit of a costume to match the
dancer's outfits. The was one male hunk of a dancer who had no shirt and
very skimpy shorts on. At one point he went over to dance with Mimi. He
started "grinding" with Mimi right in front of Jon! I wonder how excited
sweet old Mimi got? And Mimi is very sweet by the way. She's one of the
nicest women you could ever meet. One S&M type was walking his or her
slave
with a dog leash and collar. This could only happen in New York! You won't
find dancers or weirdos like this in too many other cities. New York is
the
cultural capital of the US, and Phish took advantage of that here by
bringing up the dancers. I'm sure that these dancers were part of some
type
of professional dance troupe. If they are, Trey did not say what the name
of the group was. Was Twyla(?)Tharp dancer part of the group? Anyway, it
was one of the most POWERFUL Weekapaugs you will EVER hear in your life.
Sheer power and energy. As you probably already know Buddy Miles and Merl
Saunders came out to join  the band for Watchtower. This version of
Watchtower was actually a completely different arrangement than what
you're
used to. It was not a blistering, guitar driven Watchtower. Instead it was
a slower, soulful, more funky version of the song. Buddy Miles had a
unique
way of singing it. Good old Buddy was quite a big boy. He was huge. He
also
enjoyed the spotlight just a bit too much. He hogged the mike. It was very
excited to be playing in front of all the people. First he kept yelling
over and over: "Phish" "Phish" "Phish". He was kissing some Phish but.
What
a brown noser!! Just kidding. Anyway, then he kept yelling stuff like "How
you feeling tonight!" He was trying to get the crowd pumped up even more.
Little did he realize we didn't need any pumping up because we were
witnessing such an amazing show. Buddy was very powerful on the drums and
his voice was great! At the very end of the tune he sang: "And She's
Buying
the Stairway to Heaven". I thought that line might bring a quick Stairway
tease from Trey, but it did not. 

Well, this was one hot show as you can tell from my review. Every song was
jammed out to the max. There was not one dull moment and everyone in the
crowd was ecstatic. I've had a good, warm feeling in my body all day
today.
It's so strange how a killer show can make you feel so awesome for the
next
few days afterwards. Well, this was one of those show. I still have a buzz
from the amazing music as I write this. 

This will be my last review of the tour for a while. Tomorrow night I
leave
to do all of the shows down to Halloween, including the two Florida shows
just after 'ween. Look for me. I'll be the one selling the psychedelic 3D
Hydrogen glasses. Say hi if you feel like it. I won't have computer access
on tour, so no more reviews for awhile. 

take care, 
       ...AJ...