eats cereal out of Page’s haircut
Glad to hear they made it… Was starting to wonder.
Any dud CDs yet? 
I don’t care what anyone says I was at the Burgettstown, PA show in 03’ and it was great. It actually sounded more like pre-hiatus Phish. I don’t know if Trey was just less f-ed that night or what but it was a great show. As far as most the other shows expect some sloppy guitar and a band greatly effected by it. You can tell the other band members have a hard time playing along with Treys sloppy, heavely distorted guitar. I got Hampton tickets and i’m hoping for a major change.
I think Post-Hiatus is definately hit or miss, but I really enjoy the shows where they hit.
From the Spring 03’ tour my favorites are 2/15, and 2/28 (2/20, 2/26 and 3/01 I also like, but a little bit less than the other two).
- 2/15 is a show that doesn’t have any weak spots in my opinion, a rare PH show with no songs that are quite forgettable or real sloppy.
- 2/28 I think is one of the strongest PH shows from any tour. The whole show is raging and tight, has a great setlist with everything (mad breakout, HUGE Tweezer and Gin…)
For the summer tour my favorites are 7/13, 7/15, and 7/29
Don’t feel like getting into details for each one but they all are shows I frequently listen to and really enjoy.
I Dont know the end of 03’ and 04’ shows as well but I like the SPAC shows (6/19 & 6/20) and the second set from the last night at Alpine is fantastic (6/26)…all worth checking out in my opinion.
As much as I get sucked into phases of nothing but Cow-Funk from summer/fall 97’ (All-time favorite Phish era), and the Heydeys of December 95’, I really enjoy the good Hiatus shows and don’t think completely overlooking PH would be a good idea.
By the Way, see everyone at the Mothership, and The Valley in 09’!!! Hell Yea!!
Just listened to the 2/28/03 Gin, and man it is definately at the top of best PH jams, great interplay between all four (they are def. firing on all four pistons for this show, a PH rarity)
Other individual jams that I would say are PH’s Best
-2/28/03 Tweezer - maybe the best of them all, complex improvisation throughout, sounds like a choreographed epic, so many unique segments that flow between one another flawlessly.
-7/13/03 Seven Below - Epic
-7/15/03 Mr. Completely -> Low Rider Jam -> BBFCFM -> Buried Alive -> BBFCFM -> Ha Ha Ha -> BBFCFM -> Mr. Completely -> Spread it 'Round
- Okay maybe I shouldn’t have included Spread it ‘Round, but this jam is a monsterously rocking monster. The main Mr. Completely jam is fantastic and reinvents itself so many times, only to lead into a good ole’ seguefest reminiscent of the olde days…
6/19/04 Piper - This is one hell of a jam, enough said.
Honorable Mention::
2/26/03 & 7/30/03 YEMs - I haven’t heard every PH YEM, but out of the group I have heard these are tops and can trade blows with any of PH’s best jams.
8/2/03 Ya Mar and Reba - this is IT
7/29/03 Crosseyed and Painless - really rocking
2/15/03 Ghost, Reba, Wolfman’s Brother, and Harry Hood - REALLY great show, lots of REALLY great jams fill it up.
2/28/03 Destiny Unbound and Harry Hood - Unbound not just because it’s breakout was made such a big deal out of, but because I really like it ALOT. The Hood is pure bliss.
2/20/03 Gotta Jibboo and Seven Below - Both sprawling rock epics
7/30/03 Scents and Subtle Sounds - Not a real rocker, but great jam development and interplay between the boys.
8/3/03 Chalk Dust Torture - This is like 15 unique mini rock Jams linked together in this beast of a Chalkdust.
2/26/03 Ghost -> Low Rider Jam ->Makisupa Policeman -> Ya Mar - Good Stuff
6/26/04 Boogie on Roggae Woman -> Ghost - More good stuff from a great 04’ set.
The jam out of “Crosseyed and Painless” on 7/29/03 is my favorite - and gets my vote for best - jam of PH Phish.
The 7-12 & 7-13 2003 Gorge shows are awesome! Great jamming and song selections. I also like 7-30 - 8-2. Yummy stuff!
^^^That 7Below at the Gorge WAS Epic. My buddy had a mild seizure to to the epicness of that song, I had to play EMT for a little while. A little scary really.
pulls out tape recorder
Note to self: never party with jeffmcfarland or accompanying parties.
^LOL. I was in a different place back then. And to my credit, he was an undiagnosed epileptic…sometimes it just takes a CK light show to find out.
That’s kewl…pre-existing conditions are allowed!
Star Lake, SPAC, Deer Creek - Huge jams in bold
07/29/03 Post Gazette Pavilion, Burgettstown, PA
Set I: Daniel1, Camel Walk, Gotta Jibboo, Cool it Down, Scent of a Mule, Fee> Timber> When the Circus Comes to Town, McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters, Golgi Apparatus
Set II: Crosseyed and Painless> Thunderhead, Brother, Harpua2> Bittersweet Motel, Harpua2, I Fooled Around and Fell in Love3 4 5> HYHU> Harpua2, David Bowie
Encore: Farmhouse
1 Not played since 2/23/97 or 281 shows
2 Not played since 11/2/98 or 167 shows
3 First time played
4 Fishman on vocals
5 with vacuum solo
06/19/04 Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
Set I: Reba, Runaway Jim, NICU> Scents and Subtle Sounds1, Wolfman’s Brother, Walls of the Cave> David Bowie
Set II: Song I Heard The Ocean Sing, Piper2> Gotta Jibboo> Limb By Limb, Cavern
Encore: Wading in the Velvet Sea
1 did not include the introduction found on the album
2 with Tweezer Reprise tease
[b]
06/20/04 Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY[/b]
Set I: Rift, Julius, Won’t You Come Home Bill Bailey1, Waves, Gumbo, Water in the Sky, Horn, Poor Heart, Drowned
Set II: Seven Below> Ghost> Twist, You Enjoy Myself
Encore: Good Times Bad Times
1 with Dr. Jack McConnell, on vocals & tap dancing (last played 7/3/99)
[b]
07/22/03 Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, IN[/b]
Set I: Punch You in the Eye, Beauty of my Dreams, Gumbo, The Divided Sky, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Carini> Magilla, Possum
Set II: Split Open and Melt> Free> Friday, The Lizards, Walls of the Cave
Encore: Bouncing Around the Room, Frankenstein
^ Forgot about the Split Open and Melt from Deer Creek, definately deserves mention among the best jams
See, I disagree on that one. I think it’s one of the more overrated - if not THE most overrated - jam of PH.
Ironically enough, I was there, and just didn’t get into it.
I dig some stuff from 03’-04’
a bunch of stuff mentioned above is great, i liked some stuff from the alpine shows in 03’
Melt jam from night two = Disease jam from night three.
Coasting through it… not a huge fan, but it was good.
My first show ever - 3/1/03 Greensboro Coliseum. Surprised it hasn’t been mentioned yet.
Set I: Chalk Dust Torture, The Moma Dance, Foam, Lawn Boy, Character Zero > The Divided Sky, Mountains in the Mist, Waves, Sample in a Jar
Set II: Rock and Roll, Wilson > Piper, Also Sprach Zarathustra > Wolfman’s Brother -> Boogie on Reggae Woman, Wading in the Velvet Sea, Run Like an Antelope, Carolina
Encore: First Tube > You Enjoy Myself -> Proud Mary
with another one bites the dust and oye como va teases during piper. also trey flubs the lyrics to YEM - boy, man, shit, shit.
sick,sick show.
^wish i could see it again, given i’d probably only heard about 5/6 of those songs at the time. that was 9th grade. i was am a n00b.
I dont have much but the IT festival from 03’ either.
but I got the entire 03’ cincy run as my first gifted Phish shows
02/15/03
02/26/03 (EPIC)
02/28/03 (EPIC)
IT
06/19/2004
Are where I would begin. 02/26/03 in particular has been blowing my mind lately, The MOMA and YEM are worth the 10 bucks alone. Ghost is interesting. Really that whole winter tour is pretty awesome… 02/21 is also very good, as are pretty much all of them. 02/24 is my least favorite because BB King unfortunately interrupts the PHISH show that I am always listening for.