11.28.03 Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY

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Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2003 20:01:18 -0800 (PST) From: Keenan Subject: Phish show review - 11/28/03 Nassau Coliseum I must say before writing this review that I was pretty much displeased with this show. It had its moments but the song selection seemed akward and misplaced and the band sounded a bit off. Here's why. To begin Bouncin' opened, this isn't really a kick ass opener and I think it threw a lot of people off hearing it as the first song. But at the same time we didn't have to worry about it killing a set, right? Runaway Jim was solid and got the energy going, typical version. Ghost felt really short and I guess in actuality it was a short version but not as short as I felt it was. It segued into What's the Use?, which is a song I couldn't recall the same of. Went well with the jam for Ghost. Then came AC/DC bag. This was one of the highlights of the show in my opinion. The version was very fast paced and got a little insane at the end before seguing into First Tube which was absolutely rockin'. I didn't feel the place really move until these two songs. Frankie Says brought the vibe down a notch (this is personally one of my least favorite songs) before going into the beginning of Bathtub Gin. As usually, Page was going crazy during the intro and for this one his playing was exception. I felt Page was really on for this show despite Trey's constant overwhelming guitar solos. The Free was good too, nice jam but after seeing it as part of a segue marathon (Cincy 2/21/03) I wasn't too impressed. Set two opened with Waves. Again, I think this is a terrible set opener. I do like this song a lot and this version sounded nice but didn't get the energy flowing like an opener should. Like I said, this show was making me somewhat uneasy. I wasn't too impressed so far and going from Waves into Sample in a Jar really cemented that for. The version was typical and just not what we needed to hear at this point in the show. The Down with Disease was THICK. Lots of different styles of jamming and they all were cool. However, the band just wasn't nailing it like they usually do and even with the variety of this jam it didn't measure up to other versions I've heard. Although DWD was probably the best part of this set I was happy to hear Walls of the Cave. I hadn't seen this song before so I can't compare it but it is definetly one of my favorite post-hiatus songs. I like the different composed parts and Fish's drum solo to transition within the song is extremely phishy...I like it. Two Version of Me was next to bring it down a notch. This song makes me want to gag. As my friend kept saying, "this isn't the stuff I want to hear but Two Versions of Me is probably the best new slow song". I have to agree with him but at the same time this song stuck a nail in the coffin as far as this show goes. The new song was kinda cool but poppy. Made me think about how Phish feels about their music/fanbase nowadays. This sounds like a song Phish would put on the radio or something. A song to jam into the middle of a set to calm people down but keep em dancing at the same time. Then came the Mikes/Hydrogen/Weekapaug trio which I felt was totally unnecessary. I usually hear these songs in a killer set and they are good version. But I really wasn't in the mood for a Mike's right then and by the sound of the band I don't think they were either. It went into a mediocre I am Hydrogen and then into Weekapaug. The Groove was funky and fun but bittersweet because I knew the set was ending and really was craving something sick to make me rethink the show. Although the Dude of Life came out for the encore I still felt like I got cheated at this show. The encore was fun and it is always good to see the dude. Good way to end a subpar show I thought. Instead of giving us a good version of a calming song (like philly the next night) we got an off the wall version of an old song with a special guest. Thanks Phish. Overall I really do appreciate every time I see Phish but I did want more out of this show and therefore I was disappointed. I think myself (along with many others for or against this show) need to listen to it again and formulate some real opinions.
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 13:49:56 -0500 From: Schoenherr Subject: Phish show review - 11-28-03 11-28-03 well for this trip it was me and my bro. drivin from detroit to long island for what is my 10th and final show of the year. nassau never disapoints and friday didnt either. as for the show. this was a great first set BOUNCIN got things started a good placement for this song.after that was a PLETHERA of oldie but goodies. RUNAWAY JIM is always a good pickme up. GHOAST wow so soon my bro and i were blown away and this was a great exploritory one as well. right into WHATS THE USE this jam is so heavy and awsome, it was well placed as was most of the first set.AC/DC BAG was next( you gotta be kidding me at this point) into>FIRST TUBE all i can say is it kept getting hotter and hotter as the set went on. a little coll down with a FRANKIE SAYS played real nice. and the BAM-- BATHTUB GIN at this point of the set what else can they play, big hitter after big hitter. the gin was segwayed nice into a set closer with one of the best versions of FREE i have ever heard. this was top to bottom a GREAT set full of energy. the boys picked up right were they left of on summer tour. 2 set NO EXPECTATIONS> my first WAVES, one of my favorites off round room and a great song to hear live.this version was top notch. next was the high energy SAMPLE IN A JAR this was very solid and maid way for the always furious DOWN WITH DISEASE no matter how many times i hear it it is always awsome. this one was to. some realy heavy jams came in and out of this one.WALLS OF THE CAVE, the band was very on this evening. as you can tell by the monster set list. walls was great i really think round room has many great songs on it and walls is definatly one of the epics." were gonna play some new songs if you dont mind" trey says to the audiance. personally this was great. CHANGES i'm not sure of the name of this first time played but i thought it was rock n roll."now were gonna play an old song, and its called "his song" referring to mike." this MIKES song was off the hizel for shizel my nizel. > hydrogen was just ok> weekapaug was ok also. all in all a great show top to bottom. the encore was great CRIMES OF THE MIND with special guest "the dude of life" great rock n roll with the dude cheers to phish for 20 years and heres to 20 more. what a great way to end NASSAU. this was my first ever NY show. the energy was great. i started off the year in hamton went alpine the creek and nassau. thank fish for 10 great shows caped off with a happy 20th anniversary. HERES TO 20 MORE YEARS.......
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 15:52:58 -0500 From: Schoenherr Subject: Phish show review ---------------------------------------- 11-28-03NASSAU 1st set, BOUNCIN well placed as an opener. RUNAWAY JIM was next and it was as usual great. i was callin for this so i wasnt to surprised. i called for the next one not even thinking i would get GHOAST ! great version got really trippy at the end. right into> WHATS THE USE i speak for us all that this was awsome, so heavy so intense. then when you least expect it BAM AC/DC BAG everyone was surprised and happyas could be.the jam segwayed nice into BAM FIRST TUBE wow things were off the hook lot of energy HIGH ENERGY. FRANKIE SAYS was well timed and played very tight. IN COMING BOMB>>>> BATHTUB GIN brought things to an all time high in the first set. jam afetr jam after jam, it left everybody speechless. the gin was jamed well and led way for one of the sickest FREE ever played. WOW what a first set. NYC dosent dissapoint. 2nd set let me just say round room has alot of good sings on it that will end up being phish epics. even the new material from summer is really good. with that being said WAVES came out first and was awsome i love this song.SAMPLE IN A JAR got everyone dancin. then the big hitters came a callin DOWN W/ DISEASE was great as usual with some intense jams.WALL OF THE CAVE what an epic this is turning into. great song. what could the play next. slow it down fo 2 VERSIONS OF ME. i also like this one. trey>" were gonna play some new songs if you dont mind" CROWD CONTOL. turnd out to be the highlite of the show for me.1st time played i think phans will come to like this one a lot. trey>" now were gonna ply an old song and its called his song" MIKES>HYDROGEN>WEEKAPAUG. always a great combo the mikes was off the hizzel fo shizzel my nizzel no joke folks. encore(* CRIMES OF THE MIND w/ the dude of life great song for a high energy night. dude gave cheers to the band saying heres to 20 years of phish and most importantly HERES TO 20 MORE YEARS. wow what a great show as most are. thanks to jason for takin me on this trip to NYC a truly great time was had. i started this year out at hamptom maid my way ti cinncy> alpine>the creek>ending up at my 10th anf final show of the year at nassau. what a year. the band sure does remind me of the creative prosess the DEAD went through in the mid 70s. thankyou phish and heres to 20 more years. DAN SCHOENHERR PHAN SICE 91
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 16:46:17 -0500 From: justin m busch Subject: 11/28/03 nassau review Set I: Bouncing around the room, Runaway Jim, Ghost>What's the Use, AC/DC Bag, First Tube, Frankie Says, Bathtub Gin> Free Set II: Waves> Sample in a Jar> Down With Disease, Walls of the Cave, Two Versions of Me, Crowd Control, Mike's Song> I am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove Encore: Crimes of the Mind (W/ Dude of Life) I thought the nassau show was a pretty great way to get the 4 day anniversary run started. The nassau crowd, as usual, was extremely amped and ready to rock, and phish answered with a more than solid show, that kept us guessing and groovin'. 4 to the floor bass drum/rim knocks can only mean one thing... bouncin'. I had to laugh, and turned to my friend and said, "at least we don't have to worry about them playing it anymore". bouncin' was bouncin'. Runuway Jim started to get the crowd rockin' a little more, and with each peak the inevitable screams of joy came. Runaway was fairly standard, but there ain't nothin' wrong with Jim in my book. When they kicked into ghost next i was very pleasantly surprised. I loooove me some ghost. Was hoping to hear shades of fall 97 with this ghost, but instead got a lesson in ambiency and relaxation. As ghost poured musical layer after musical layer over the crowd, I had to laugh again. Here we were, 3 songs into the show with a FREN ZIED crowd, and Phish lays on the ambience. I liked this ghost. Wasnt the best, wasn't the worst, but it was quite different, and thats why i love this band... the element of surprise. Some ghosts turn into balls to the walls rockers, others get downright funky, and this one just got way mellow, till it eventually slid into Whats the Use. The transition felt a little forced, but whats the use gave the jam more direction, and an eventual end. After all this ambience, AC/DC bag was exactly what the frenzied island crowd needed. I thought this bag was fantastic, with a really energetic ending. As they started the jam, it was all fairly standard, and they did the usual double time switcheroo, but they just couldn't stop. Peak after peak after peak... each time i thought they were gonna end, they turned it around one more time. eventually it just disolved into noise, with everyone strumming/drummin/bangin' as fast as they could, till the noise stopped, and we were left with Fish's funky drum beat that brought us to First Tube. This was quite a surprise to most, and turned out to be a great decision by the band. First tube ended up the same way Bag did, as the music just got thicker and denser and brought us closer to the "phishgasm" as I sometimes like to call it. Again, peak after peak, and trey was jumping up and down, back and forth, total rock star fashion... and all i could think was "how are they gonna end this??" usually first tube will end when trey hits that crazy high note, and it all just kind of stops... except the entire band was at that crazy high note, so that kind of went out the door. Gradually however, fish started to slow up the beat, and they ended nicely. Frankie says was a nice breather after Bag and First Tube. I dunno, to me Frankie Says all depends on placement. when they debuted it at nassau 5 years ago, it came out of a really thick dense layered twist jam, and caught everyone off guard. I loved it. But its pl acement here was a little strange. Bathtub Gin seemed to catch everyone by surprise, but we certainly weren't gonna complain. The jam segment was really nice, it wasn't quite the gin of february at nassau (which, i think was the best gin of the year), but it was very melodic and groovin'. the segue into free was nice. Short funky jam, and into set break... Second set opened with Waves, which i think is one of the better new songs. I still feel they haven't really played this to its full potential yet, and this waves left a bit to be desired. Still, it was very pretty, and led into a standard rockin' sample. Some bass feedback and traces of the flanger could only mean DwD. I think Disease has hands down been the allstar of 2003 phish. Each Disease jam i've heard has been absolutely raging, and this one was right on par. The jam was damn near ferocious. Eventually it teetered into a "oye como va" type rhythmic jam, and it seemed they were having trouble figuring out a direction, so they just ended it, kind of abruptly. WOTC was pretty nice. They executed the actual song nicely, and the jam raged as always. WOTC characterizes the "new phish songwriting" to me perfectly - ok song, GREAT jam. Two versions of me came next, and again, same kind of opinion (it varries slightly though).... ok song, but not exactly a "great" jam . It was nice, but its still a fairly new song, and i guess they're still workin' out the kinks. After some discussion trey says "we wanna play another new song for you.. brand new. thank you guys for being so patient". Crowd Control (as we all found out this song was called when we got home later that night) was alright, kinda holds true to the new phish writing. Fairly poppy, but a little more rockin'. It was a pretty short tune, with no "jam". It wasn't great, didn't suck, it just sort of... was. I'll have to hear it again to formulate a better opinion. So, after a bit more discussion trey steps up to the mic and says "now we'd like to play an ooold song. mikes gonna sing it. its called.... his song". and off we were. The Mikes Groove trio was very nice. Rockin' jam outta mikes, standard hydrogen, and a fist pumpin' weekapaug. Weekapaug didn't peak as much as it has at other times, but no one was complainin. great way to close the show. The encore completely caught me off guard. Trey announced the dude of life and i nearly lost it. I never expected to see the dude live, and there he was! Crimes of the mind, which they hadn't played in nearly 10 years was reallly rockin' hard and made for a pretty idealistic encore. I was smilin' ear to ear, watchin' the dude do his thing. He was screamin' out to the crowd "20 years!!! heres to 20 more!!" and was havin' the time of his life. BRING ON THE DUDE!!!
Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2003 01:27:48 -0500 From: [email protected] Subject: phish show review... 11/28 helllllo all, dont have much time here, as im running off to bed. but i feel compelled to write a review, as i cant seem to get my mind off the wonderful performance on friday night!!! this particular show was extra special for me for a number of reasons. first off, im from long island, and i always miss phish when they come to the coliseum cause they always seem to come when im away at school. so, needless to say, when i saw that they were planning to play over the thanksgiving holiday weekend, i was pumped. second, i've been going to nassau coliseum my whole life for islander hockey games, so it was def cool to see my favorite arena transformed in a way only phish can transform a dumpy old arena. on too the show...a quick review...not song by song... i sat directly behind the stage, about 10 rows up. to be honest, i loved these seats. it was certainly a different perspective than i'd been used to...from back there you really notice the lights and how much they rock. sooo, everything was set for a great night, despite the monsoon in the parking lot beforehand! bouncin around the room as an opener?!?! who cares, it was solid and definitely worked. ghost was perfect..definitely wasn't expecting to hear it. the rest of the set was amazing. ac/dc, bathtub, tube, free...all in the same set!!! couldnt ask for anything more. waves to open the 2nd was interesting, and sample in a jar got everyone going again..especially the seg. directly into disease, as mike was just rolling at this point. i really liked the new song, i think it hints toward a solid next album. ending with mikes groove was perfect...definitely was hoping to hear it since i missed it by one night this summer. the encore...well i wouldn't have chosen crimes of the mind, but it was certainly entertaining nonetheless, and a great finish to a great night. hope the boys continue to return to the coliseum for years to come...great show, best band! adios
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 13:26:44 -0700 From: jmacaule Subject: Nassau 11-28 Review Nassau Coliseum- November 28, 2003 This was a very good, solid opener to this little Thanksgiving tour. Weather was pretty horrible which made for not much of a lot scene, but people still made a huge mess in the lots. We used the convenient Marriott hotel bar and still were completely drenched by the time we got into the Coliseum. Our seats were in one of the cool little "Gateway Boxes" which are in front of the 300 level. Back corner, Page side. View was great but the sound was mediocre. Felt like it had been no time since IT even though it had been almost four months since I last saw the band. Nassau's crowd was definitely rowdy which fit the little hockey arena nicely. Lights down- Bouncing opener. Bouncing and Runaway Jim both were standard opening fare- nothing to notable. I couldn't believe it when they dove right into Ghost in the third song. There have certainly been better Ghosts this year, but this one was decent. It got very spacey and ambient which made it flow very nicely into What's the Use, which sounded great. The Bag>First Tube is where they really brought the heat. ACDC Bag got so rocking it was losing focus- just over the top. Then Trey started to shuffle and they dropped perfectly into First Tube - which was certainly a welcome treat and was rocked really hard. Frankie Says was a nice break and then Bathtub>Free worked really nicely. Bathtub has been better in 2003, but had the good guitar work that makes me love the song. Going into Free was interesting but a nice way to end a great opening set. Setbreak made me not like Nassau between the bathrooms and the overly crowded halls. Waves was nice but fairly standard- perhaps the spaciest thing we got all night. Sample, Disease, and Walls were all rocking. Walls is really getting much better. A lot of people didn't like Two Versions of Me but it is one of my favorite new songs and always welcome in my book. The new song, Crowd Control, has a lot of potential- I really liked it. Trey said after it that it was "a new song, and now we are going to play an old song which will be sung by our bassist Mike Gordon. Its called 'his song.'" This was a great Mike's but the Hydrogen was marred by crowd clapping and the Weekapaug was fairly standard. The "Crimes of the Mind" encore was great from Phish but I wasn't a big fan of the Dude's voice. All in all- great show to get me psyched up for the run. Jimmy Macauley [email protected]
Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 12:47:19 -0500 From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: 11/28/03 Review Alright, heres my take on the 11/28/03 Nassau show. Set I: Bouncing around the room, Runaway Jim, Ghost>What's the Use, AC/DC Bag, First Tube, Frankie Says, Bathtub Gin> Free Set II: Waves> Sample in a Jar> Down With Disease, Walls of the Cave, Two Versions of Me, Crowd Control, Mike's Song> I am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove Encore: Crimes of the Mind (W/ Dude of Life) Got to the venue about an hour and a half before show started. Lot scene was alright, shakedown street was hopping. Got great seats in the lottery, 21st row center.When the band came out at around 7:40 there was a great energy flowing around that room. Such an energy that a bouncing opener could still be acceptable, even good! After the bouncing they went into a pretty standard runaway jim if my memory serves me, but what came next was anything but standard. A ghost which turned into an extremley chill jam, and then... Whats the use. I knew it after the first riff, but most people around were pretty confused. It has some great climaxes though, so if someone wasnt into it in the beginning of the song, they sure as hell were by the end. AC/DC Bag was great to hear, and then First Tube got everyone really rocking. My section went crazy when they went into it, they really nailed the buildups. A nice frankie says allowed me to catch my breath. Now came the first song i was came expecting to hear, Bathtub Gin. I dont remember the specifics of it, but i thoroughly enjoyed it, and the segue into free was good. I saw Free this summer at camden, and this one seemed worlds better. It was almost like one of their more old school Free's, touches of funk laced this set closer. They were much more into the Jams throughout the first set, Trey was clearly loving what they were playing, mike was smiling, and everyone was enjoying themselves. As I walked to the bathrooms, I saw hugs exchanged, people felt that this night could actually live up to the hype. They open the second set with Waves, one of my favorites off of round room, and it was a very nice waves, this song is definitely a glimpse to the future of phish imo. Then they segued into sample in a jar. Now if i didnt go to this show, and i had read the setlist and seen sample squeezed in between two normally killer songs, i would have thought, well that sucks. But NO! This was (i dont believe it) a truly ROCKING sample! Good Tight Jam. They ended with Mike doing crazy things with his bass, Tower Jam -esque. Thats when i felt IT. "Come on Mike, its inevitable, DOWN WITH DISEASE" I shouted over and over again. When they went into it my section went crazy as did I. I was calling it for a good 2 minutes. On top of this, it was probably imo the best jam of the night. Everyone was really into it and they had some great great energy throughout it. The Jam section was so tight, my friends and i kept assuming that they were going into something else they sounded so composed and structured. The whole room was tuned into this DwD. After this, they go into Walls of the Cave which i was happy to hear, the last time i had heard it was New Years and I recalled it being one of the best of the night. A lot of people werent into the song untill they got to the jam section, but i dont remember it being anything special. Pretty good, but not really in the same league as the DwD they had just unloaded on us. There was a lot of discussion after WOTC, and the croud started going crazy. I myself thought they were going to play something huge, just unload something on us. I was thinking a huge Tweezer jam was going to come. They went into Two Versions of Me which I am not a huge fan of, and then more discussion! This was really whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Trey came to the mike and thanked us for our patience and told us they were going to try a new song. "Crowd Control," as its called, was pretty good. It was in line with their new stuff, except more toleratable; a little bit more upbeat and fun, but still borderline cheesy, possible jam potential. After this even more discussion, mostly between mike and trey and trey comes to the mike, thanks us again and says "now our bassist will sing you a song, its his song," and voila, mikes groove. I was a little bumed that they chose mikes groove. It was clear they felt they owed us something after three poist hiatus songs in a row, i just wished they had chose something other than Mikes. But it was good, the mikes was solid, hydrogen was beatuiful as always (although i wish they had spiced it up a bit and thrown something else in there) and the weekapaug was also good. After this was expecting something huge for an encore, which is what we got... kindof. They brought a third mike out which no one seemed to notice in my section but me. I was pretty psyched, and they finally came back out with the Dude Of Life. I was going nuts expecting to hear a Run Like an Antelope or Suzy Greenberg, but they go into a song i, and most people, had never heard before. then i heard that chorus line "drink some wine, crimes of the mind." oh. its the dude's song from his album. Now dont get me wrong, it was a pretty good song, Phish did a nice job with it and they seemed like they were having a really good time. But the Dude is just kind of corney. Seemed kind of like a sleezy lounge lizard type. He was talking over Trey's jam, saying stuff like "Heres to 20 years of Phish, and 20 more! ... Im not talking now, cause trey is playing... not talking..." And so on. Overall id Say this is a good show. First set was rocking all the way through, and the second set was Great in the beginning, and then alright through the end. The theme of this show was on point, tight jamming, with huge climaxes. Fun show, good time as usual. Jesse
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