7-10-03 - Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA

please review the show, not the other reviews....

Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 19:34:19 -0700
From: eric tipton 
Subject: Phish 7/10/03 review

from Phish.net

7/10/03 - Shoreline Amphitheatre - Mountain View, California

Set 1: Spices > Waves, Reba, Lawn Boy, The Moma Dance, Run Like An
Antelope*

Set 2: 46 Days, The Divided Sky **, Friday, Free, Seven Below, Wading in
the Velvet Sea, 2001, Down With Disease

Encore: Rift, Character Zer0

* keyword was "spike"; ** w/ spacey jam akin to one of Wed's Piper jams




I somehow managed to wake up early along w/ Tony so we could have the oil
changed in our cars. This would be the first of four for me. We checked
out of our hotel, got a bite at a Thai restaurant and got in line for
them to open up the lot.

Met some cool people from L.A., Michigan and Oregon. This R.V. was next
to us in line:

[31795236.jpg]

Also, a reporter for the Orange County Register briefly interviewed 
Tony,Lee and me for a spot in the Travel section. It is supposed to be 
8/24
according to Tony.

They opened the lots around 3:30. The weather was nice and sunny. I met
Nestamarley and his girlfriend Kelly (hope I spelled that right Mike). It
was really nice meeting him - I have been seeing his posts for a few
years now . I'd be seeing Mike on and off all the way through Pittsburgh!

This is what it looked like from where we were parked:

[31836232.jpg]

Anyway, the cops/security seemed much more cool today for whatever
reason. I managed to put a nice buzz on before heading off for the gates.

I went in w/ Tony - we both had lawn tonight (my first of the tour) and
got a good spot front and center. Problem is if you are that up front on
the lawn it's tough to see the stage (yeah, it sounds strange but true).

First Set:

Spices: Well, Trey did promise to play this at Shoreline so there ya go.

Waves: Tight but too short at 9:45.

Reba: Excellent version of Reba! Soaring.

Lawn Boy: Ok, Page is making fun of me. Kidding of course but it made me
laugh.

Moma: Sweet Moma. I really got a groove on during this one. It funked out
for a good 12 and a half minutes.

Antelope: I personally really liked this Antelope. Alot of people seem to
think it was "rushed." It's a good 12 and a half minute version, what do
you want? I thought it raged - excellent Antelope.

Set break: First set highlights: Reba, Moma, Antelope

For set break Tony and I wandered up on the hill Page side and met up w/
a friend of his. You've got to be careful up there. If you lose your
balance mid-dance, then you can tweak your ankle(s). Reminded me of
Alpine in regard to how steep the lawn is.

Second set:

46 Days: Cool opener, I like it alot in this slot. Jammed pretty hard but
they kind of reigned it in a little early I thought.

Divided Sky: If you can get past the minor flubs in the composed
beginning part, then you are in for a damn good Divided. This is my
favorite Phish tune and it raged hard throughout. A long Divided too
clocking in at just under 20 minutes!

Friday: Say what now? Well fellas, if you wanted to truly squash the
momentum then you did a great job.

Free: Minor flubs and short. I also thought the vocals were off, as they
often can be w/ this tune, it's hit and miss.

7 Below: I really didn't think much of this version at all.

Wading: Blargh.

2001: This was a nice 2001. But really short. At just under 7 minutes, I
think this well could be the shortest 2001 I have seen since the mid
90's. Segue into >

DWD: I'm thinking sweet! This one did in fact rock out well, but again to
dang short for my taste at 10:38.

Encore:

Rift: Minor flubs galore in this one. The one I saw in Rosemont in
February seemed much tighter.

Zero: Blargh.

Second set highlights: Divided Sky

This is one of those rare Phish shows for me where the first set is
better than the second set. Everything in the second set seemed to be
slightly rushed with some sloppy playing taboot. The band could have been
a bit tired after 4 straight nights on stage; especially after the heater
that was the night before. I know I was tired and definitely not looking
forward to the 16 hour drive to the Gorge. After the show we hit the road
for the Gorge and pulled over about an hour later and grabbed a hotey.
The next day would be a festival of driving - we would not pull into the
Gorge's onsite camping until 2am on 7/12. Please ask Lee how long it took
him to find a little friend from the John Mayer Band contingent!!!
[wink.gif]

I give this show a 6.5 on the Tipton-o-meter.
peace,


et

 

Subject: shoreline 7/10

Summer's coming, here's the review:
 
I've been listening to Phish since 1991, didn't get to see them until 1992
because I live out west - but I've seen some stellar moments and was overall
pleased with the musicianship at Shoreline. The management and ticket
"service" is questionable on this tour - but let's stick to a review of 7/10:
 
Got in late, but they were mellow until Reba - short and sweet (especially
compared to the LA Greek 10-29-98), no whistling, then Page crooned Lawn
Boy...and since I was in the lawn, experiencing various olfactory hues, I
felt he was singing it for me. Righteous.
 
Moma Dance into Antelope -  now we're talking!  some phunk followed by some
Anashredio mayhem! Lots of dancing singing along. It's been a long time since
I have seen some of these tunes performed - Antelope was unbelievably fast,
tight and well lit (of course)!
 
Set II:
Well, new tunes take a while to grow on me. I was thrilled to catch a Divided
Sky - took me back but also kept me present with a stellar jam and some
almost Philip Glass (http://www.philipglass.com/ style moments of breaking it
down and deconstructing the melody - Trey flubbed here and in Rift, but hey -
there's alot on his mind, right? Great stuff, nostalgic yet current and real.
 
Friday was okay, I don't remember it.
Free, however, I loved - and I must say that we in the lawn were hopping,
shaking and rolling around to the big naughty Gordo bassbombs and funked out
sounds during this tune! Big, arena rock sound and commitment to the vocals.
Good version into a solid Seven Below.
Wading was well played - I like Page's contribution to this tune.
2001 was a feast of Kuroda mayhem, fog machine and strobes and fun.
DWD gave me flashbacks to Vegas earlier this year - always a nice sentiment
to send us on our way, and again I love the chunky bass sound (although
Mike's sound bordered on crunchy/too percussive all night long).
 
Seemed a little short all in all - glad to see a two song encore, but I was
over it by then and heading towards the lot after Rift. The prior night was
better - but moments of phishy goodness 4 sure!

Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2003 21:09:19 -0700
From: Mike Indgin
Subject: 7/10/03 review

7/10/03 Shoreline review

I was boggled by this show after last night. The most puzzling thing was
that somehow the sound went south overnight. Where did the distortion come
from? How come Paul didn't hear it/fix it? It was so plainly apparent and
distracting, yet nothing was done to adjust it. Big ass bummer. And Spices
as an opener? Not exactly YEM...

At the set break, Mike was tooling around on a Segway and being interviewed
by a video crew. I piped in during a quiet moment and yelled "Hey Mike,
what's with the 60 minute long sets?" He got a hurt look and didn't answer
the question. But what is up with the short sets? I know we're all getting
old, but they've gone from 90 minute sets to 60 minutes a little too early
in their career. Even the Dead always gave us a 90 minute second set. Weak.

This show can basically be summed up like this: download it if only to put
the Moma Dance, Reba, Divided Sky and 2001>Down with Disease as disc three
filler on your gold-plated copy of of 7/9/03.

Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2003 20:09:16 +0000
From: Raphaael Aglietti 
Subject: Show Review for 7/10/03

It's always tough to see shows back to back especially after the first night 
was crazy. I had the feeling that Phish would be much more mellow and laid 
back for the 2nd show at Shoreline. I had to rush to make my seat and I 
heard the first notes of Spices before I reached my seat. I wasn't sure to 
expect for my twentieth show.

Spices- This was a very slow opener and the crowd was still settling while 
Phish slowly working its way through this one. A new song so I didn't 
immediately recognize it but I honestly was waiting for a change of pace

>Waves - This was quite an interesting jam and decent pick me up from the 
>dragging Spices. Still the crowd seemed pretty sedate until

Reba- A Ha! I haven't heard this song in a long time and I was thrilled to 
heard it. Always a huge crowd pleaser and this version was well played with 
an intense jam section and very crisp licks by Trey. Reba closed  without 
the whistles and moved intoi

Lawn Boy- A great song and always welcomed. It was a great break before what 
was obviously going to be

Antelope- I knew this before I even got to the show. This wasn't a very good 
version or at least it wasn't unique or interesting. It seemed to be a bit 
rushed and sped up. It almost seemed like Phish needed to get to set break.

SET 1 review- A fairly standrard first set with Reba as the highlight. I put 
it into the 5.0-5.5 range. Nothing was truly outstanding and there was quite 
a bit of distortion throughout the first set.

46 Days- I can see why many phans really like this song. It's an outstanding 
jam song and gets very dark and eerie. It was the first time I've heard it 
and has some great potential.

Divided Sky- Also knew this one was coming. With so many songs in the 
arsenal  Trey sometimes flubs some of the notes which is completely 
understandable. This sky was nice but fairly ordinary with some flubs.

Friday- Wow I didn't like this song whatsoever and neither did anyone in my 
group. Most of the people who sat around me sat down and didn't seemed 
amused at all. I really hope they junk this song or at least do some heavy 
reworking of it.

Free- One of my favorites but this version was short and fairly muddled. I 
love to hear Mike with his crazy bass licks and I can never get enough of 
the licks. This version really lacked funk.

Seven Below- Can't even remember Seven Below so on to ...

Wading in the Velvet Sea- I really don't like this song. It was a fairly 
standard version but nothing that great. Again many people sat down around 
me and this one is heading to mood killer status very rapidly. It's not as 
bad as Friday but it could get there.

2001- Always nice to hear 2001 but this version seemed rushed and lacked 
some creativity. It was a very standard and short version which went into

DWD- Great song and always welcome in any set. A very speedy version which
was fairly crisp and entertaining but again fairly standard and seemingly 
rushed.

E:

Rift- Rift seems like a great show or set opener but seems a bit odd for an 
encore. This was a decent version with some minor flubs but always nice to 
hear Rift especially since it's a rarity these days.

Character Zero- I used to really like this song. I think it has some very 
intriguing potential but this version was a bit rough and wasn't as anthemic 
as it can be. This song almost always shows up as a set closer or encore 
which often reduces its potential.

Set II 46 Days was the highlight  and most of the rest of the set was fairly 
standrard Phish which means it's really good music just nothing that was 
truly shocking or amazing. I'd put Set 2 at 4.0-4.5

SET 1 5.0-5.5
SET 2 4.0-4.5 +E

Show 4.5-5.0

Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2003 23:51:53 -0700
From: Adriane Bovone 
Subject: 7-10-03 shoreline review

Both shows I feel were phenomenal.  For years I've been hearing the band
trying to shift into the softer grooves and the crowd just not letting
them...until now.  Numerous examples from this set of shows:  Wednesday's
YEM, Bathtub Gin, Scents & Subtle Sounds; Thursday's Spices, Waves, Divided
Sky, Velvet Sea.  The pinnacle example of this new evolution in the Phish
sound I think was this night's Divided Sky:  The crowd seriously pumped up
since the first note of Reba, they get into one of the the most beautifully
composed songs ever written with Divided Sky and a third of the way into
the performance the band actually stops playing to make space for the primal
roar the audience is putting out and with a single familiar note silences the
venue and rides sublime on that attentive quiet like a bird out of a cage for
the next 15 minutes of the song AS WELL AS the next couple of numbers.  This
is a new way of playing (and listening) folks, and it is beautiful.  Their
sets have become that much more textured, excelling as usual on the driving
funk (Moma especially on Wed) and rock grooves (most interesting I think on
Free - never heard it like that before - loved it).  Things are evolving in
most interesting directions...I highly recommend download of either show for
closer listening to the subtle sounds that may have been missed in all the
excitement and expectation of a hard rockin' good time...which it was.
 
-Adriane

Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2003 11:37:38 -0700
From: "Pomeroy, Matt" 
Subject: shoreline night 2


After seeing the Weds night show, I was certain that we were going to get a
much longer show for thurs. Again we were treated with a shorter than normal
first set with a interesting "Spices" opener. This definitely didn't get the
crowed as jazzed as normal openers because of the unfamiliarity and the slow
pace. Nonetheless, it was a good song to here. Next was Waves, another new
song (but one of the best I think). This had a great jam and Trey was clearly
having fun with this. The Reba really got the crowed jazzed up for the first
time of the evening. Great Song, it has been 5 long years since I last heard
one of these. The Moma Dance was the highlight of the set for me.  It had some
great funk and a jammed out groovy ending that I have never heard them play
before at that point in the song. The antelope was a great closer. Trey
appeared a bit timid with this one, and had a bit of a struggle to get into
the mid section (thats what it looked like anyway)

Set 2 didn't work for me as much as the first. 46 days was rocking, but the
Divided Sky had a few flubs. Trey again had a few problems with some of the
changes. Who cares though really, right? Im here for the good time and i was
successful with that task. I wasn' t to fired up on the slow stuff. Friday and
my least favorite, Velvet Sea, these songs really took the crowed out if it.
Too many slow points for my taste tonight. Thank god there was a nice Free in
between. The 2001 was the shortest I've heard post 96. Too bad as this is a
great song. You could see Mike and Trey taking in the middle of it, thinking
they should do one more tune before the 11pm Shoreline Curfew, so they ended
the groove before it really took off with a fiery DWD. This is a great closer
"this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way" it had some great energy
to it.

Rift encore, a big surprise but fun to see. It was clear they were rusty with
this one too as Page had some strain on his face to finish up his jam in the
middle and showed a happy sign of relief when he made it out alive. Fun old
song. The Character Zero was another closer standard, but did a great job of
getting the crowed back into it.

Overall Fun show, But I liked the first night better. In any case, its great
to see the boys back outside again on summer tour! Thanks for reading!


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