06-30-00 Meadows Music Theatre

Phish Live Shows
#1

06-30-00 Meadows Music Theatre, Hartford, CT

1: Ha Ha Ha, AC/DC Bag, Tweezer -> Runaway Jim, Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley > Ginseng Sullivan, Guyute, Golgi Apparatus > Tweezer Reprise, Possum (1:23)

2: Halley’s Comet, The Mango Song > Twist, The Inlaw Josie Wales, Back on the Train > Makisupa Policeman*, Farmhouse, Sleeping Monkey, David Bowie (1:10)

E: Cavern** (0:07)

*Key phrase was “1 bourbon, 1 scotch, 1 big fat doob.” **Trey teased “Tweezer” between verses; also with a “Moby Dick” (Led Zeppelin) tease/call-out.

#2

Great 1st set. Some great jams within the songs themselves.

Any show that starts with Ha Ha Ha is guaranteed to be a scorcher.

I continued on but then erased it because I’m wasted and it sounded like a 3-year old reviewed the show so I will continue another time.

:crazy:

#3

Oh yeah love the Ha Ha HA opener! Bag was good too, came out hot and just got better and better. Unfortunately this Tweezer did very very little for me. I’d give it 3 out of 10 stars. But this Runaway Jim I totally loved, and the Sally>Ginseng was nice contrast and I’m a sucker for the Phishgrass.

Excited for the rest of the show!

#4

Don’t think I’ve listened to this show since our ride out to Deer Creek about a week later. Another LSD show where the first set outshines the second set. Great set of openers. As mentioned above, the Tweezer isn’t anything special, but I dig the placement and it ends up in a really nice Jim. The rest of the set is great and finishes strong with 3 closer songs.

I almost always skip Haley’s but, after seeing how long this one was, decided to just skip the first 4-5 minutes and see where the jam went. I was pleasantly surprised at how good this one was. Def the highlight of the second set for me. Twist, GBOTT and Bowie were highlights as well but overall the rest of the show didn’t seem as energetic as the first set.

#5

I have only heard through Tweezer. HaHaHa is a fun, different opener. It got me rockin yesterday morning. I loved where the Tweezer jam started, with Mike sending out those deep water bass bubbles. I think there was great potential in the mellow groove they began, but the potential doesn’t play out and it ends up on the boring side. Nice about face into Jim.

#6

After a first set listen, have to agree with the general consensus above. HaHaHa is a great choice for an opener. Not exactly sure why, I guess its short and sweet and really jumps you right into the set. Excellent AC/DC Bag to follow. Seemed to have a “secondary” jam, as well as some odd guitar work before making its way into Tweezer. Love the placement, but my only written comment on this was “go nowhere jam”.

That segued nicely into Runaway Jim, which was superb. After quite a few moments, Sneaking Sally starts up, and the crowd reaction is very nice. Trey was leading this jam all the way, and it paid off well. The Ginseng to follow was a good break in style, and performed just as well as Guyute.

Golgi came and went, solid but nothing world shattering. The Reprise is set at a fun time, just like the Tweezer. Figured that was the end of the set, but a Possum gets tacked on. And it, like the Jim, may have had the jams of the set.

Overall first set impressions, good but not great. An improved or more focused Tweezer could have made this set something to listen to over and over.

#7

Set two starts off really hot. Halley’s has a jam of most excellence, seemed to include exactly what Tweezer from set one was missing. A really good segue into Mango Song, and it is such a relief to hear Trey actually able to play this song. Most of the 3.0’s are very cringeworthy. And then another segue into a huge Twist. These three songs were amazing, and it seemed like this set was going to be one for the ages.

And then it all came to a crashing halt. In possibly one of the worst set placements of all time, The Inlaw Josie Wales. I’ve got nothing against this song, but after that opening trio, the world came crashing down.

Back on the Train brought a little energy back into the place, but not quite enough for these ears. The jam was another one that didn’t quite do it. Really abrupt segue which was nice into Makisupa. But once again, the Makisupa just didn’t quite go anywhere. Then a Farmhouse… I’m half asleep at this point. And Sleeping Monkey, quite the possibly the bane of my Phish enjoyment. That segued into a Bowie that had a very short intro. But the jam was excellent, getting very spacey at times.

To finish off the show, a Cavern encore which I enjoyed 1000X more than the second half of the second set. Between the Tweezer (Reprise?) teases, and the Moby Dick jam, though sloppy, you could tell the band was having some fun.

#8

This was a great show, haven’t listened to it in a while.

We snuck down into an empty handicap box in the pav through the opening to the concession area Fish side.

Security guard was stuffing his face with a hot dog and we blew past and never looked back.

Also had a headfull for this show. UFO’s baby, the best.

This was the first time experiencing the Hartford ghetto, not a pleasant place.

Good times. Moby Dick

#9

Hey, is that supposed to be “Insects” from Siket Disc, at the end of AC/DC Bag, or is that a stretch? Maybe they meant for the setlist to read ‘AC/DC Bag > Insects > Tweezer’?

#10

Just relistened to set one … really a pretty good performance all told.

I still feel like I need to relisten. I think I’ve restarted that Tweezer like five times, and I keep losing focus. Golgi>Tweeprise was excellent, I can say that much. I like the setlist. They’re reasonably tight. I guess I was expecting more Vegas DVD-caliber performances. Not familiar w/2000 shows.

The performances are good, but there’s something stale about the year 2000. It could be my own concept of Phish in that era, since I knew that they weren’t writing new music, didn’t do a fest, didn’t do a Halloween show, and virtually broke up that Autumn. So when I listen, I kind of imagine internal problems within the band lurking somewhere. I can’t help sorta rubbernecking a little bit at the weird years.

#11

2000 holds a place in my heart. It is when I first saw these fellas in person. But listening I realize it is far from the best they ever were. But even in sub par Phish, it is still Phish. So it is probably as good or better than most other options.

While there may be fewer classic shows in 2000, there are still classic moments.

#12

I don’t mean to put it down, I’m sure you understand. I skipped that year, so it’s easy for me to be detached.

This seems like a nice show though, considering where they were allegedly at. The second set does look like a snoozer on paper; kind of nice to expect that before I start listening. Might go with the dark roast.

#13

Just wanted to throw something different out there.

After listening, I kinda remember being there for portions of it. There are flashes of brilliance and then there are sections of nothing much.

I agree with everyone’s sentiment on the Tweezer. It’s starts and you’re like “yeah, Tweezer!!!” and then 5 minutes later it’s like “what are they playing?”

The standout performance in this show is the 3-song 2nd set opener. Halley’s>Mango>Twist was just awesome. I’m not a huge fan of Halley’s but this was great. And then as Will says, it comes to a screeching halt.

Even though it was “the end” I had lots of good times on this summer tour.

#14

^Cool man. Hope to really dig into this set again this weekend. I really like Halley’s and The Mango Song in general, so yeah.

It’s just, there’s something about Trey’s approach some years that seems really like, he’s toning it all down on purpose. In the late nineties, the lead guitar department became much less radical, more conventional. The songwriting too, parallels that trend. Phish got a little more ordinary, which, you know… that’s my hangup, we all like different things about Phish. There’s a lot to like. I just can’t help that I prefer Phish when they’re pushing those envelopes, because they do that so well. And they really shifted gears around Hoist and never really returned. I’ve had a bee in my bonnet about this shit for decades. :laughing: I keep trying hard to appreciate those other years for what they are. It works a lot of the time, too, I’m happy to say. I’ve enjoyed all of it, despite my inevitable tendency to compare. I even enjoyed listening to a Coventry set once.
:mrgreen:

So I need to crank this set two up later and just soak it in for what it is. I do like the songs, I’m a Sleeping Monkey fan too.