7-31-03 - Tweeter Center at the Waterfront, Camden, NJ

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

Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2004 17:28:50 -0700
From: eric tipton 
Subject: Re: Phish 7/31/03 review


From Phish.net:

07/31/03 - Tweeter Center - Camden, New Jersey

Set 1: Llama, Moma Dance, Divided Sky, Dirt, Seven Below, The Sloth,
Water in the Sky, Wolfmans Brother, Possum

Set 2: Piper, Mikes Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove* -> Free,
Friday, Harry Hood

Encore: Frankenstein

* - with "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" tease; Thanks to Erik Swain for the calls.

Well, this was my 80th show and I was expecting a real heater for two
reasons:

1. Last night was off
2. The band knows just like everyone else on tour that lots of people
will be skipping this to make their way up to Maine.

Before heading into the lots we made our way down towards St. Joseph
University. Across the street from the gymnasium we got a philly cheese
steak. When in Rome? We hit the lots at about 4pm. We met some really
nice kids from Dallas, TX that we hung out w/ all day. They would later
follow us up to Maine. The sky was extremely overcast with some very
pregnant looking rainclouds overhead. I was none to pleased by this
considering I had lawn. Luckily I had some great raingear, it would
definitely be put to the test. We listened to the Utah show in the lots
and that got us nice and pumped up for this evenings festivities.

First Set:

Llama: Great way to open the show with a smoking Llama. I thought the one
in Raleigh a couple of days ago was a bit better than Camden?s. Still,
tight and raging all the way as you would expect from any Llama. Shows
that open w/ a Llama never seem to disappoint me and this show was no
exception to the rule.

Moma Dance: Hell yes, bring the funk boys! Long, long Moma clocking in at
about 12.5. At 9.5 the jam goes from raging to relatively funky w/ Mike
dropping bombs with his new bass tone. Very cool stuff here. Page starts
to lead at 11.5, leaning heavily on his organ. Trey follows this up with
some very dark, heavy chords. What follows is an absolutely divine segue
into >

Divi ded Sky: I think my heart stopped for a couple of seconds in hearing
this segue. Gorgeous. The intro vocals are just a tad off (Fishman?).
Awesome Divided, almost a perfect ten in my book.

Dirt: I just love this song. Holds a lot of personal meaning for me.
Great follow up to a raging start to this show. Some beautiful interplay
between Mike and Trey. A minor flub by Trey leading up to the climax,
nothing too distracting but it?s there.

7 Below: Boy they cannot go more than three shows this tour w/out playing
this. Nothing too crazy, just a nice, solid 7 Below.

The Sloth: Excellent, way to crank the energy back up after Dirt and 7
Below. Standard yet very good.

Water in the Sky: You knew this had to be on it?s way what with the rain
and all. Nice, jammy Water.

Wolfmans: This tune sure has seen a lot of attention so far in ?03. I?ve
said it before and I?ll say it again: behind Gin and Hood, Wolmans is the
song of ?03 so far. Lots of good jamming and this one is no exception.
Page really brings the funk on this one early on. The funk deviates into
Trey really ripping it up with some blistering arena rock style riffs.
You have to love watching peace loving hippies throwing down, excellent
jamming that could have been taken further but I was still content with
this version.

Possum: Yee ha! Nothing beats a Possum first set closer. Standard Possum.

Setbreak: First set highlights ? Moma > Divided Sky, Wolfmans. The boys
seemed to play this first set pretty close to the vest. They really did
not take to many chances, which is ok; it is only the first set. But
everything seemed pretty standard and vanilla to me. I will say that
segue between Moma and Sky is sick.

Second Set:

Piper: Another Piper second set opener. At 9:57 Trey hits on a consistent
theme for about 5 seconds that sounds awfully familiar but I cannot seem
to place it. At 11 minutes, this one takes an ambient turn. Not really
what I was hoping for. At this point in the night the rain w as coming
down pretty good and I would needed something to shake my bones to and
this didn?t really do it for me. Very psychedelic though. At 18 minutes
the jam wakes up a bit and starts heading for the home stretch. The last
few minutes of the jam are pretty fired up, then it quiets down a bit
again leading into a segue >

Mikes Song: Now we are talking folks! The opening notes send the whole
venue into instant ecstasy! They had not played Mike?s since 7/21 Deer
Creek so this was a welcome treat to my ears. The opening riff is rusty
but oh well. This Mikes is a little on the slower side than I am used to.
This is not a bad thing necessarily, merely an observation. Once this
Mikes gets cranked up, it takes no prisoners at all. Raging, ripping,
this indeed got my bones shaking in a way that the Piper could not. Short
but very tight Mikes. Segue into >

I am Hydrogen: This summers Mikes Grooves were all classic editions, i.e.
all with the Hydrogen centerpiece. I love that! Very old school. None of
the grooves were jammed out per say, just straight up and nice and tight.
This Hydrogen is sweet, not a flaw to be heard. Way to go Trey, you
nailed it man!

Weekapaug: Bring it Mike! Sweet intro bass solo! Thumping away like only
Cactus can. Page hops on the organ around 6 minutes and insists on
getting funky! 6:20 Trey doesn?t want to much to do with the funk and
begins shredding on some classic Weekapaug riffs. At 8:26 they bust back
into the lyrics. Alas, they are nowhere near done with this just yet.
Mike provides the backbone w/ Fish hitting on his snare. Page and Trey
funk it up big time, into an In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida tease starting at 10:40.
The funk is deep here. This may well be the longest Weekapaug of the
tour. If not it is easily the most jammed of the tour, very cool Paug,
definitely the best of the tour. Segue into >

Free: Jesus people, that segue is just sickening; it really is too good
to be true. I love this song so much. It speaks to me in a myriad number
of ways. It alwa ys reaffirms to me that no one job or person or whatever
will ever own yours truly. Love it! FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
4:05 sees Cactus dropping bombs, excellent bass run by Mike. Not as
aggressive as some Mike/Free solos (6/30/99 comes to mind) I have seen
but still very good. Good Free, nothing to out of the ordinary but the
segue out of Paug was killer.

Friday: Hmm, after the great run before this, I thought the least I could
do was keep an open mind about it. I won?t lie, I was a little
disappointed when this started up. ?I crash I cry, I burn but I; still
follow anyway.? Decent Trey solo albeit w/ a couple of minor flubs. Nice
breather.

Hood: Awesome, great way to end up a sweet second set and get us bopping
down the road to IT. After the Charlotte Hood, I was not sure what to
expect here. That one was just too over the top for me, too much spacey
weirdness. This Hood however maintains a relatively upbeat jam, one that
you can really get down too. At 20 minutes things all come together and
merge back into a traditional Hood jam. At 22 or so the jam climaxes, I
can feel GOOOOOOOOOOD! I would have liked to have seen more tension built
up into this release though as with others on the tour. If they take that
much time to jam it out, they should really have a fired up ending ya
know? Still I felt darn good.

Encore:

Frankenstein: I love this song in the encore spot. So firey, funky and
psychedelic all within the same song. Great way to end a nice Camden run
and a sweet tour. Typically mindblowing lights by CK5 at the end w/ a
wicked drum solo by Fish. Also some cool loops by Trey to back it all. As
usual, Frankestein blew my lid. Very sweet. Thanks Phish!

Second set highlights: Mikes > I am Hydrogen > Weekapaug > Free

This was a rock solid show. I have a feeling I would have enjoyed it a
bit more in the pavilion but what are you going to do right? By the way,
I have never been to a venue where they have soooo much security to keep
people from jump ing into the pavilion. I was standing against the metal
fence Page side at the front of the lawn the whole second set waiting for
my opportunity to jump in, but it never came. Security was ALL OVER IT!
Big shout out to my rain gear for keeping me dry on this night!!! 31
hours later we would finally waltz into the IT festival grounds.
Nightmarish drive to say the least!

Tipton-o-meter: 7.9





peace,


et


Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 00:37:56 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: 7/31/03, Camden review

This show was simply amazing from start to finish in quality & song selection.
Right out of the gate, the Llama was such an intense, rocking version that if
you didn't know this was the first song, you would have thought that the band
had already done a warmup set.� Other highlights- great Divided Sky,� well
jammed Piper with� Rush's YYZ ending riff thrown in for good measure,� "Inna
godda da vida"� thrown in somewhere during the show.� I really thought Trey was
going to start singing it (or hoped at least).� Trey did a beautiful solo
during Friday.� Real nice glowstick war during Harry Hood.� Left before
Frankenstein began to avoid the crazy traffic that I had the night before
getting out of the $15.00 lot.� Took a wrong turn on the way back to the NJ
tpke & was lost for a few moments in Camden.� In all of 30 seconds, a cop had
pulled us over to find out what we were doing there.� Within the next 30, he
was radioed off on more important business & he instantly disappeared.� This
city makes the worst parts of NYC look like Disneyland!� Anyway,� all in all
7/30 & 7/31 were fantastic!!!� Already downloaded the 31st.� Going for the
30'th now!
Evan

Date: Mon, 04 Aug 2003 15:29:39 -0700
From: Peter Taylor 
Subject: Tweeter 7-31 review

I took my cousin Kristina to her first show this Thursday night. She 
kept asking me, "Is this a good show?". I simply turned and nodded every 
time and said, "Yes, this is a good show!" This was her boyfriend Eric's 
first show as well. He and Kristina are going to school for Naturopathy 
in Phoenix. Anyway, Eric was telling me earlier about "Chi" as it 
pertains to Chinese medicine. I was telling him a little bit about "Chi" 
as it pertains to Phish. This of course, was accompanied by a stellar 
performance. I will see Phish again.

Petey T., New York City

Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2003 15:40:20 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: 7/31/03 Review

������ The last time I had seen Phish at the Continental Airlines Arena in
East. Rutheford on 2/24/03. BB King came out and the show was great, but it
felt like something was missing. I arrived at the Tweeter Center in Camden
incredibly excited for the show, which I knew was going to be awesome.
������ On the way in, the weather was overcast but it didn't quite look like
rain. After exploring the lots, we entered the venue and set up out in the
center on the huge lawn. As it came closer and closer to showtime, the rain
started coming down and kept changing from a slight mist to heavy rain. When
the lights went down, the rain left my mind. I was calling for a Punch You In
the Eye opener, but I was mistaken.

Set I

Llama - Oh yeah! Rocking way to start off a show. Wasn't anything special but
the band was obviously into it from the start. As I would find out later this
was the perfect opener to this show. However, I knew this show was going to be
awesome from the first bang of Fishman's drums.

Moma Dance - Bring out the funk. Quite a contrast to the rocking opener, this
song was well welcome and thoroughly enjoyed. It was very easy to get into the
groove, and it's always funny to hear Fishman sing, no matter what song it is.

Divided Sky - HELL YES! I was very sure that I wasn't going to get to see this
one. My favorite song and I'm actually seeing it! It took a while to sink in
and the response to this one by the crowd was pretty intense. They nailed all
the composed sections and Trey was messing with us during the pause. Just
beautiful.

Dirt - Perfect placement. Such a sweet song that has such incredible and
meaningful lyrics. I needed a break after the first three songs and this
provided that for it. Trey's solo was nothing special, once again, just
beautiful.

Seven Below - Honestly, this is not my favorite song, but after hearing this
version, I realize that it is one of the best off of Round Room with lots of
potential for jamming. They really took this one for a nice spin.

The Sloth - I didn't recognize it at first since I wasn't too familiar with the
song. But they rocked it out heavy metal style and it recieved a pretty good
response from the crowd. This was the first Sloth since the hiatus.

Water In the Sky - I thought this might show up due to the wet conditions we
had up on the lawn. Nothing special, but the "filter out the everglades" lines
got cheers.

Wolfman's Brother - Whoa....They took this song out there with a great jam. It
was my second Wolfman's in two shows and it was awesome. They just kept jamming
it out and everyone was into it. I thought they were going to close the set but
they had different plans.

Possum - Now when I heard Trey start this one up I knew this would close the
set. It was quite nice with Trey doing his usual noodeling. During setbreak,
there were people yelling "Possum".
������ As usual there was the usual line at the bathrooms during setbreak and
trying to get to a water fountain was tough. Setbreak is always an interesting
time since you have the buzz from the first set and you know that there's still
much more great music to come.

Set II

Piper - I was quite happy to hear this one start up. The pre-lyric build up
wasn't very long, but the post - lyric jam was a very different story. I would
go far enough to label this "Piper > Jam" since at it's end it sounded nothing
like Piper at all. The jam went through all sorts of styles from rocking out to
just spacey music. Even when it seemed to be coming to close it started back up
again. At the end, Trey was obviously wondering what to do and I was watching
his fingers on the screen hoping they would play what I wanted to hear.

Mike's Song - YES!!!!!! Exactly what I wanted to hear. I had been calling this
one for a while and this version did not disappoint. The jam rocked out of
course. They hit those wonderful ending chords and there was that split second
where you wonder " What will they go into now?"

Hydrogen - I guess they're going for the classic. Even after Mike started the
bassline, it looked like he and Trey were conversing, but Hydrogen did take
place with it's usual pleasant and peaceful self. When they start that
crescendo going up, up, up, you know what's coming next.

Weekapaug - Mike's solo was great of course, as was the rest of this song. This
was another great jam which kept the crowd moving. Near the end there was a
definite In A Gadda Da Vida tease which got a response from the crowd. This
went into....

Free - The title of this song certainly sums up how I was feeling at the time.
Free isn't one of my favorite songs, but this version was very nice.

Friday - At first I was skeptical, but I soon realized that this was a great
song and in a great place after the songs that came before it. Very sweet and
meaningful.

Harry Hood - Here we go.....Harry Hood bringing the show to a close. It seemed
that they were going a little fast through the intro, but that made no
difference. It was just fantastic. Glowsticks came out of course and it was
cool to watch from the lawn. The jam was just incredible. It started out with
the trademark Harry Hood jam chords but it soon left that theme and went
somewhere else. After a while, they calmed it down and went back into the Hood
jam and finished up the song. Mike's yelling of "I feel good" summed up this
show perfect.

Encore

Frankenstein - Absolutely perfect. Rocking out just like the Llama opener did.
Fishman did a great job with the drumming. A fantastic end to a simply
incredible show!


Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2003 14:17:11 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: 7/31/03 camden review

I would like to start this review out by saying that I am 16 years old and this
was my first phish show. I know that will make my review pointless to many
phans, but I have been listening to phish for 3 years now and maybe some of you
would be interested in what a newbie has to say.

LLAMA - a nice tune to get a wet crowd going, this would forshadow the rest of
the night which would turn out to be pure rock

MOMA DANCE - no jam really, just a fun song to get people movin

DIVIDED SKY - I wasnt there the night before and missed out on my favorite
phish song (YEM), but this is a close second and I was damn glad to hear it
although I expected a longer jam

DIRT - short, sweet and slowed everyone down

SEVEN BELOW - one of the better round room songs and was jammed out

THE SLOTH - back to the rockin, had never heard this one before, but I
definetly enjoyed it (I could see this song havin a killer jam if they wanted)

WATER IN THE SKY - fun song, fun jam, not much else to say about this one

WOLFMAN'S BROTHER - here is where this show started to get interesting, usually
this song gets real funky, which is good, but it never really goes anywhere,
not tonight, they built this up and rocked

POSSUM - called this one right before they came on stage, considering this was
my first show I was happy - this usually jams longer, but I was pleased

The setbreak was about a half an hour. I would also like to say that a lot
people tend to get pretty angry at the younger kids at these shows in their
reviews, this is well deserved, there were a lot of young drunk kids that were
making idiots of themselves, but we're not all like that, I may be young, but
I'M THERE FOR THE MUSIC, NOT JUST TO GET MESSED UP.

PIPER - this rocked and went into some neat territory

MIKES GROOVE - Oh man, this show was starting to get too good. mikes and
weekapaug were awesome, but I thought Hydrogen was too short, maybe I was
lookin for more of a breather, but soon enough they went into...

FREE - they had to be kidding this crowd, what a great, epic phish song...
everyone went nuts

FRIDAY - it was thursday, people kinda saw this comin at some point to slow us
down, although it still rocked

HARRY HOOD - how long was this? it was incredible, this jam went so far out you
could tell they were having trouble finding a way to go back into it, but they
did and blew us all away

FRANKENSTEIN - as it was foreshadowed in the beginning they topped it off. this
show was all about the ROCK and this song summed it up.

- what a great night for my first and definetly not last phish show


Date: Fri, 01 Aug 2003 20:04:49 -0400
From: [email protected]
Subject: PHISH REVIEW 7-31-03

���� This was only my second time seeing Phish, so I realize that compared to
most people I have little to no experience in reviewing this band's shows;
however, I feel it might be cool to see a perspective of somebody who isn't too
critical about Phish as of yet.

���� I saw Phish on February 25 at the Spectrum, and I really thought that was
a great show. Camden last night was my second, and I must say it blew the
Spectrum show out of the water!

��� First, I wasn't able to absorb the whole "lot" experience in Philadelphia
because it was so cold. It was incredible just to see so many people excited
for this concert, and walking in the lot was really amazing. The kiosks and
random people selling random things made my head spin.

��� The show itself was, as I said earlier, unbelievable. There were so many
songs that I heard that I just loved. In the first set, Sloth was awesome, very
loud throughout and the vocals were sung with definite feeling. Other set
highlights definitely were Divided Sky (I like how this song has two very
different sections), Wolfman's and Possum.

��� Set break was pretty long, and I'd like to say that Camden has a terrible
restroom facility. I felt on the verge of not being able to move amongst that
crowd. It wouldn't be hard to fix this problem if they made one definite line.

�� Second set was incredible all the way through. I'm sure that other people
will take care of reviewing these songs. I'd like to add one more note that I
think people should give Phish a break. They could sit on their money and not
do anything for the rest of their lives, but they love playing music and love
their fans. If you see a show, just be happy you are there. Some people can't
spend 45 or 50 dollars to see this band. Everyone needs to sit back and enjoy
the music. I hope I'll see many of you at another show! Thanks to Phish for a
great concert.

Adam

[email protected]

Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 16:36:46 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: Review of Philly 7/31/03

Since 1990 I have seen about 2 to 4 phish shows a year, but never have a gone
to a show completely alone.� When you get married, move to a new state and have
kids these kinds of things can happen

But this let me test my theory that while the Phish scene is social the music
it self, the show, the jams are purely individual.�� You can have 100 friends
at a show cavorting about feeling like the mayor of Phish world and still if
the music is off it's off.� You may also be completely alone, no one to "share"
the experience with but if the boys are on then does it really matter.

And so, because I had no one to share the experience with last night I will
tell all of you arbitrary souls out there....PHISH was ON last night.�� No,
this wasn't the "Best show I've ever seen", probably wasn't even in the top 10,
but that being said it was very satisfying and well worth the trouble (2 hours
of traffic, no pre-show frolicking and driving solo).

Some Phish jams force you into dance, some jams force you into yelps of joy,
last night had a little of that, but for me it most forced me into though.�
Thought in terms of the complexity and craftsmanship of their performance.�
There is no doubt they came to play last night.

I don't think any version of any song last night was stupendous, although the
extended jams in the seconds set were a treat and they are the reason I will go
to a Phish show solo in the rain if I have too.

FIRST SET:� Was it me or did most of the songs have a little reference to the
weather conditions.�� "Cold Steady RAIN" LLAMA, excellent choice to jump start
the crowd.�� "The moment ends though I feel WINDS"� Moma, super funky very
danceable.�� "Divide Sky (Enough said)"� Always good, even when it's average,
whatever that means.� "I like to live beneth the DIRT" Well I was standing on
it most of the show, good tune.� "Crystals of Snow"� well not really but there
was rain and that's kind of like snow,� BEST song and jam of the set IMO.�� And
that's where the weather references die, but they continued on with solid
versions of Sloth, Wolfman's Bro and Possum.��
In short: Almost everytune is winner, a jammer even if the band isn't at their
best

Intermission:� It's strange to have an intermission and know no one.� No where
to go, no one to see, no one I personally know to talk to.� So I just went on
walk about to suck up the vibe.

Set II:
This is probably the best Piper I have ever seen mainly because they got past
the build up quick and went right into just a jam, call it "philly Jam" or
something, but Piper it wasn't.� Phish was tight, really stretching out
musically and trying stuff.�� 20 plus minutes of great music.
MIKE SONG:� For me this was the most intense jam of the night, not the longest
by any stretch, but I was really in sync with the band and so was the crowd, as
I heard several mid-jam cheers (always the mark of a great show, spontaneous
mid-jam cheers)
I AM Hydrogen: Solid
Weekapaug:� Is there ever a bad weekapaug??� Let's just say Fishman is a great
drummer, a train that just keeps on moving.
Free: Not so good, it doesn't matter to me, but to a layman/non-phish fan, if
you just listen to them sing you may never want to listen to them again.�
Please let's admit they were vocally horrible on this one and move on.� (Still
a great song, but the Temptations they are not)
Friday:� I went from boredom to saying to myself "wow this is a really cool
tune with a sweet jam to finish it off"� pleasantly surprised.
Harry Hood: Captured the essence of this show.� Solid tune that rarely fails,
with an extended, somewhat spacey, somewhat introspective jam.� Good finale'.

I was pretty much out the door by the time Frankenstein started, I knew they
just wanted to ended without surprises and get on over to "IT".

All in All a good show, great set selection, nice extended jamming and Tweeter
isn't as bad as some people have written.� Honestly, it was like a ghost town
once I left and getting back onto the interstate was a breeze.

Ed (Lansdale, formerly DC)

Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 15:17:03 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: Kick Ass Show 7-31

Despite the dissapointments of the previous night, and all the rain, the boys
managed to end the tour with a rockin show. �Really rockin!! �Although I missed
Llama due to the testosterone laden, juice head security gaurds inspecting my
various orphesus, Moma ruled. �In fact, I had been singing the song the whole
ride up in the car and was one of my 3 picks for the show.......next was hands
down the best divided sky I have ever heard. �Maybe it was being on the lawn
with the rain seemingly picking up and slowing down with every change in tempo,
or just the great vibe, but never before has divided sky hit me like this
one....for me the second coolest part of the night. �The next three songs were
a bit questionable (especially seven below!?), but water in the sky blew the
roof off. �It made me realize why I go to shows in the first place, end of
story. �Wolfman and possum rounded out the set, and left me wanting more.
During set break, as I savored my eight dollar "beer of the world (Yuengling?)"
and prayed for an equally rocking second set. �Once again, I was not
dissapointed. �Piper rocked hard, and Fishman really started to get
"comfortable." �It seemed as if he stole the second set, making all kinds of
agressive time changes and leading the boys through another set of classics.
�The dude next to me looked my way after Piper and called Mike's Song right
before its opening chords. �Because of my state of mind at the time, this made
the song hit harder. �Although I wont make too many judgements until I get the
tape, this fairly standard version of Mikes was completely flawless. �The rest
of the set was great too, especially my first Free......what a night!!!
�Although the encore was a little short, Frankenstein was a fitting end to a
great show. �As I was stumbling to my car with a balloon in one hand and a beer
in the other, I was overcome with an intense feeling of animosity toward all
the people who had ruined my show the night beofre. �I will admit that 7-30 was
dissapointing, but I have had it with all the nay sayers and narrow minded
dipshits who have lost their spark for phish. �Anyone who was there thursday
knows that the boys are on top of their game. �Just like any band, there will
be great nights and some sub-par nights; just stop being so negative and
judgemental, �take the shows for what they are, and most of all have faith in
the band.
TS

Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 11:53:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: Douglas Sonneberg 
Subject: 7/31/03 review

Here ya go!
�

It was a pretty mellow lot scene. The dreary weather and the impending festival
in Maine probably had a lot to do with that. Inside the venue, people seemed
very excited for the show, and there was a lot more energy there than I
expected. That is always a pleasant suprise. This was my first time to the
Tweeter Center, and after I got over the shock of driving through the
crackden/homeless shelter that is Camden, I was happy to find such a great
venue. On a quick aside, I love the cell phone hippies now. Dreads, living on
the road, simplicity, peace, kindness, friend of the environment, and oh yeah,
a lithium-charged $300 phone in all their hands! Too funny.

I was in section 101, row K. The people around me were, for the most part, very
nice. Except for the 18 year old spank who threw his entire cup of soda all
over the crowd when he was throwing a glow stick during Hood. He didnt do it
intentionally, I think he forgot he had it in his hand.....obviously he couldnt
hold his smoke. Otherwise, plenty of dancing and talking was kept to a minumum.
Quick question....why do people come to a show to talk the entire time? Stay at
home! If you've got something to say, lean in close to your friends ear and
make it quick.

LLAMA: Nice opening pace for the show. I prefer it later in a show, but I
certainly wasnt complaining. Nice version.

MOMA: I was very pleased to hear them start playing this one, and I thought
they did a damn good job. I had tons of energy still since it was so early in
the show, so I shook my ass a lot on this one.

DIVIDED SKY: Ahhh, I really love this tune. They played it really
well.....couldnt ask for much more on this one.

DIRT: Well needed break here, and Dirt is always a good break song. I've heard
it probably 6 or 7 times and this was one of my favorites. I thought Mike was
the highlight of this song by far.

SEVEN BELOW: First time hearing this one, but it was really good. I did the
'studying' thing for the first minute or so until I had to just give in and
dance. I can pay better attention to the recordings later on.

SLOTH: This one made my night. Hadnt heard it since Red Rocks 96. I absolutely
love this song, and they did not dissapoint. At this point I was pumped that
oldies like Divided Sky and Sloth made an appearance.

WATER IN THE SKY: People seemed to enjoy this one, and it was a good break. It
was played well, it's just not one of my favorite Phish songs.....But it was
good none the less.

WOLFMAN'S: Highlight of the night right here. I've heard a ton of Wolfman's in
my life, and this was by far my favorite. Not too long, but it goes to show
that you dont have to make it 20 minutes to make it a good one. This song
segued back into the verse in the best way I've ever heard.
POSSUM: Not the best possum ever, but like a slice of pizza, even when its not
great, its still pretty good. Another oldie that I was excited to hear. All in
all, a fantastic first set.....no complaints at all

PIPER: I am not a huge Piper fan, but this one was pretty nice. The band seemed
very focused and seemed to be really into it. That will suck me in every time,
and this was no exception. Very heavy jam, as is what happens a lot in Piper.

MIKE'S->I AM H2->WEEKAPAUG: All I can say is THANK GOD they now keep playing
Hydrogen in between Mikes and Weekapaug. There is a reason it had been there
all those years....it works perfectly. I have never heard anything they've
chosen to play in between Mikes and Weekapaug segue so well as Hydrogen. Thats
not to say there arent better songs to play in between, but for pure musical
segueway you cannot beat the Hydrogen. By the end of it, there is nothing in
the world you'd want more than a Weekapaug.

FREE: I love this song, and they played it pretty well. I thought it was a
little too slow, though. I thought the band had a little trouble adjusting to
the slower tempo. But these guys are the best at what they do, and it was still
a solid performance. Great InnaGoddaDavidda tease which was a nice tribute.
Doubt most of the kids there even got that one.

FRIDAY: I havent heard this one live yet, and I rather enjoyed it. We were
really rocking out hard during the second set, so this was a fantastic change
in tempo. Well placed and well played.

HARRY: Not only is Harry probably my favorite song, I have also heard it more
than any other. The reaction seemed quite good, but I was not a huge fan. I
thought they came out of that dark jam towards the end a little too
purposefully. What I mean is, they started the final refrain almost like the
jam wasnt going anywhere and it was time to wrap it up. I could be wrong, thats
just what it sounded and looked like to me. Im certainly not complaining
though. What I will complain about is the idiots who crack the glow stix as
soon as Fish starts the intro. If you feel the need to throw glow sticks, wait
until "thank you mr. hood" and then start. You miss the whole beginning of the
song when you do it that way. I'd prefer them not be thrown at all, but timing
really is everything.

FRANKENSTEIN: What can you say, they nailed it. A nice short encore, and a
rocking tune to match the rocking show.

Not the best show I have ever seen, but I was very pleased I made the drive
down there. They really played hard all night, the band had fun, and all the
folks I could see around me had a blast. That is all that matters. Enjoy.

Date: Fri, 01 Aug 2003 14:12:32 -0400
From: justin m busch 
Subject: phish 7/30 - 7/31/03

did i ever mention i love this band? these two shows sort of crept up on me, and
i didn't really start to get truly excited till i got on the jersey tpk. on the
30th. Both of these shows were at complete opposite ends of the spectrum. the
30th was very mellow and spacey. the jamming was more what you would call "hose
jamming" with no real specific lead soloing, but the whole band working as a
unit, creating musical atmospheres and really layering the sound. sort of
'99ish, but well, newer somehow (afterall, this is '03) It was really great to
just close my eyes and drift. one particular jam, on a new song called "scents
and subtle sounds" created a stellar soundtrack as the sun set over the
philadelphia skyline. The whole show, however, just had a really weird almost
tired feel to it. awkward song placement, and well, awkward song selection too.
That "YEM" came outta NOwhere in the second set, and was easily the highlight of
the show (the other highlight being the aforementione d jam during the sunset)  
I really had a great time though, and knew there was no place i'd rather be.  
the "twist" jam is also worth noting, simply because it was really long and
really weird.  there was a point where mike found this rezzed "wah" effect (he
used it a few other times both nights and i'd imagine through out the tour) and
started thumping this beat... and fishman started laying down a four to the
floor. i almost though i was at a bisco show!  The encore, however, a new trey
ballad called "secret smile" made me want trey to just stop writing new music,
because frankly, it was embarrassing. After the encore i heard something i never
thought i'd hear at a phish concert - booing (gotta tell you, while i understood
the thought process behind the booing; ie - bad encore, it seemed a bit rude and
out of place). The encore was almost insulting, though, and left a bitter taste
in everyones mouth. but this made expectations run extremely high for the next
night. I didn't b other getting too excited though, because with the festival
coming up this weekend, i figured they'd play a similar show. one that looks
better on paper than it actually sounds (dylan, spocks brain, on my way down,
etc...) boy was i ever wrong.....

Right away they got off to a great start, opening up with a HIGH ENERGY
(something the night before never even came close to touching) "Llama". Then, my
oh my, the funk of "moma dance". already i was grooving more than i had the
entire show before.  and then "divided sky"?!?!?! blissful. my friend tamar
really wanted to hear her first divided sky, but seeing as they'd played it
recently (two or three shows before last nights?) and with "IT" looming, i told
her not to get her hopes up. again, boy was i ever wrong. The rest of the set
flowed really well, and "seven below" has so much damn potential. I hadn't heard
a live S.B. since nye, and was really curious how it had evolved. Its definitely
on its way to being a "heavy hitter" so to speak.  Truly great first set. I was
all smiles and had a really fun time. The second set was nothing to frown upon
either. Piper opener immediately had us ragin' from the start, but it didn't
really quite pick up the way it could have. mellowed out and started to get that
'99/30th feel a little sooner than i would've liked. But that was simply the
prologue to "MIKES" which was fantastic. the whole mikes suite was wonderfully
executed, balls to the wall rock n' roll (with a good amount of funk thrown into
weekapaug). it started to feel like fall 95 phish the way they would build up to
a peak, getting the crowd into a frenzy, only to build higher, and then peak
again, and again. till finally trey hits "that note" and we all know we've truly
arrived at the real peak. haven't heard this sort of energy from phish in a
really long time. "Friday" made me want to hit people (mostly trey), but i'll
admit, it had a nice emotional closing jam. i dunno, "friday" reminds me too
much of a billy joel song, or hearing "thats what friends are for" at a
highschool graduation or something. a little too cheesy for me. and well, Hood
was hood..... which is actually a complete lie. definitely the strangest hood
i'd ever heard. they started to get really experimental with the jam, and worked
their way so far away from the main theme, one could only wonder how they'd tie
it all together. the tangents were great, and really interesting. gradually page
started back in with the hood chords, and we knew soon we'd be feeling good
about this hood. i gotta tell you though, i felt like it ended way too soon, and
never really built to that emotional climax "hood" is so famous for. it was
almost as if someone saw a clock and thought to themselves "uh oh, curfew....you
can feel gooooood goooood...etc.". frankenstein encore was just fine by me. i
mean, yeah, its frankenstein, been there, done that, but after the previous
nights encore, being sent home with a HIGH ENERGY ROCKER was exactly what i
needed... and what better way to do that (in under 5 minutes) than with
frankenstein. no complaints from me.

overall, really strange two night run leading up to "IT". but, i had a better
time than expected, and decided that im not going to give up on this band just
yet.... i was really considering not seeing them live anymore, but i had way too
much fun to give it all up. Have fun in maine kids, see you on the fall tour

-justin

Date: Fri, 01 Aug 2003 14:15:50 -0400
From: [email protected]
Subject: 7.31.03 camden review

Ok, ill try to keep this short.  Camden round two was a great show.  The crowd
was really into it, each band member was really on point and synched into the
jams, and the sound was great.  Llama was a decent opener, it got me pumped for
a nice Moma Dance>Divided sky.  Seven Below was pretty good too, but the
Wolfmans was insane. Definitely the high point of the first set.
    Now then, the second set was nothing short of absolute magic. Piper was
simply insane.  Ive never liked piper untill i heard it being played last night,
and then i loved it.  Crazy crazy jaming going on right into a brilliant mikes
groove which went right into Free.  The way id describe this feat (Piper> Mikes
Song> I am Hydrogen> Weekapaug Groove> Free) is intensity, and on point jamming.  
Ive never felt more in tune with the band when theyre going off on a jam.  IT
felt as if they were taking us on this crazy adventure off into the absolute
abyss, and then pulling us back out into the structure of a new song.  Friday
was a nice breather, and a really good song in my opinion, but it was just a
footnote compared to the HOOD that came next.  I didnt even know that they had
that jam in them.  What a closer.  Frankenstein was a refreshing Encore to an
overall great show.  The thing that summed up this show for me was after one of
the amazing jams (i dont remember exactly which), Trey walked over to Mike and i
watched as they congratulated each other and smiled.  They knew, just as all who
were lucky enough to be in Camden last night, that something special had just
taken place.

-Jesse

Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 10:12:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mitch 
Subject: Phish at Camden 7-31 Review

This was my 7th Phish show (2nd after hiatus) and by far the best of all of
them!� See the rest of the review for individual song reviews.� ALL (and I mean
ALL) of the band members were very much ON and together the were just
incredible.� This show is what makes Phish what they are, the best jamband
ever!!!
�
-Mitch

Date: Fri, 01 Aug 2003 11:39:33 -0400
From: Jeff Thomas 
Subject: 7/31 Tweeter


All I can really say is wow.� After 86 shows with the boys, I was extremely
disappointed Wednesday night and I dont want that misunderstood by some.� Yes,
everything they played was extremely tight and Spock's was a special treat for
me but I never found the push I am looking for from a show

Thursday was a fun night with the usual Camden rain scene when they turn it up
a notch.� Llama to start????� wow!!!!!!� so heavy so tight, ya think they have
something good for us tonight?� I could've danced all night to that Moma Dance,
they are�already peaking...nice transient jam here that knocks me over again by
slipping into Divided Sky!!!!!!!� AWESOME!!! so spacey, so there.� My heart
feels like it's gonna explode, without the powerpills I stopped taking!!!!!� Ok
let's�relax for a little bit, we have a liquidious and flawless Dirt flowing
from the boys, man from Row 7 Below the stage it's at a perfect distance, all 5
of these guys are feeling it again!!� Chris, you will never, ever cease to
amaze me with your talents.� Sloth is a hard rocking resurgence back into the
jamming I have been waiting for for months.� Another�serene jam,�Water in the
Sky seems to be drawing�the first set to a close, or are they going to push it
to another level here?� Ok let's increase the intensity a little more here,
into Wolfman's, with more intensity than I have seen.� This will push through
for about a ten minute jam leading into more freestyle and leaving you out in a
spacey jam until they snapped us back by leading into a fat daddy Possum to
close the first set with!!!!!� Holy Shit Guys, last night was finally worth it,
and thank you for being you!!!

Second set starts and floors me all over again!!!� A tight Piper into a nasty
Mike's that they took out there into nowhere land again, then we have Hydrogen
mixed in, much better than the Nitrous still attempting to exist in the lots,
and now they throw it down into an Awesome Weekapaug for a fitting close to
this little run.� Ok get a breather in before they slam us again.� Let's slow
it down for the rest of the set here as Free will take�us to the limits,
floating into mellow Friday�greetings for all that will be on the road tonight
and tomorrow for the exodus to Maine once again.� But wait, Harry Hood won't
let us say goodbye without parying down with him in classic form, good Hood
boys.� Now the countdown to encore starts, and I'm feelin the normal air since
they opened the doors finally.� Here they come, tearing into a hard, heavy
hitting, but flawless Frankenstein.� Nice ending boys, be safe on your trip.�
Wish I could see you in Maine this year.� And to my phellow phans...please
match the boys attitude and intensity, and try to have respectable glowstick
wars...good effort to those of us that tried, but it was definitely weak.

Date: Fri, 01 Aug 2003 10:29:29 -0400
From: Andrew Hollander 
Subject: 7/31/03 Review (long)

Set I: Llama, The Moma Dance> The Divided Sky, Dirt, Seven Below, The Sloth, 
Water in the Sky, Wolfman's Brother, Possum
Set II: Piper> Mike's Song> I am Hydrogen> Weekapaug Groove> Free, Friday, 
Harry Hood
Encore: Frankenstein


It was Thursday, July 31, at 1:15pm.  I was sitting in my cubicle at work at 
the Dept. of Education in NYC, when I decided to succumb to temptation and 
join my brother that evening for a performance in Camden, NJ.  After all, 
the best shows come from spontaneous actions, right?

WRONG!!!  I had many things go wrong for me yesterday (I^�ll get to the show 
in a sec), and I^�ll never go to a show ticketless again.  Oh, I got in, but 
not after getting rejected with a fake ticket that I paid full price for.  
Sure, I could have just bought a lawn seat on the cheap- but my old, whiny, 
married ass didn^�t want to be outside in the rain.  I need the ability to 
take a seat from time to time, as I seem to have inherited Mike Piazza^�s 
knees (but luckily not his groin.)  After getting burned though, I did buy a 
lawn seat and made it in.

Still, before I get to the show, a few words on Crackden, NJ, and the 
Tweeter Center.  The only other time I was there was for the show in 1999, 
and for that I went from the lot, to the show, to the lot, to home.  But 
last night, I got to see Crackden from the bus depot, and side streets.  I^�m 
as progressive and liberal minded as they come, and that is why I say, 
please: someone invest a buck in this place.  It was so ghetto, that other 
inner city neighborhoods look at it and just simply say, ^�Damn.^�

Also, while security at the venue was mostly peaceful, I saw a couple of 
schmucks enjoy grabbing and pushing people a little too much.  Yes, a 
skinny, spun out, hippie kid who pushes his way through a crowd deserves a 
talking to.  But that^�s it.

Oh well^� onto the show.

This was my 71st show (I urge everyone to check out my 1st- 5/3/93; it still 
makes me weepy in the good and masculine way), and I^�ve decided I^�ll take an 
indoor arena to shed/lawn shows any day.  I^�ve been on lawns that were 
rocking (7/13/94), but on a huge lawn, I sometimes feel a bit detached, and 
wonder what is different about bringing a boom box outside, and listening to 
the same thing.  That being said, the first set was pretty average, with a 
couple of notable moments.

LLAMA- It was Llama.  Short, but it was intense.

MOMA DANCE- It was Moma.  Sometimes this song rubs me the right way, but 
often I find it repetitive.  Still, it^�s funky.

DIVIDED SKY- For obvious reasons, it got a huge response from the capacity 
crowd.  I would have been happier if it was played because it stopped 
raining, but beggars can^�t be choosers.  It was good, but not great.  The 
pause was not that long (thank Buddha), but the jam wasn^�t that interesting 
to me.  Still, there really is no such thing as a bad Divided Sky.

DIRT- This song raged!  Crazy jam in the middle!  Nope.  Still, a pretty 
song- one of my favorite actually of their non-jam songs.


SEVEN BELOW- This was the first song that actually had some spontaneous 
jamming, IMO.  It was good- it went a lot of places, and got pretty dark and 
heavy.  I thought it might go straight into something else, but at the end 
of a heavy jam Trey started vamping the closing section, and the song ended. 
  I think this song will be a growth vehicle for them; I^�ll be curious to 
hear what versions of this song sound like a year from now.

SLOTH- They call me the Sloth (Way down in the ghetto.)  They knew.

WOLFMAN^�S BROTHER- This was the prelude to the second set.  It raged- the 
intensity just kept building and building.  Not like Phish ^�96, where it 
seemed each song was just trying to keep peaking.  Rather, the jam just 
raged; everyone was playing ferociously.  For a second it seemed like they 
took the jam too far out to return to the Wolfman^�s theme, but Trey was able 
to bring it back.  Still, I^�ve seen many Wolfman^�s, and I^�ve never seen one 
end so strong.  I thought this would have closed the set, but^�

POSSUM- I was not too impressed with this Possum.  It was short, and sweet, 
but not overly original in jamming.  But hey, the set^�s end was the road.

I met up with my brother during set break, and got into the pavilion.  I had 
a great seat overlooking Kuroda (BTW, when did the lighting staff go down to 
two people, and where do they get those wonderful toys?)

Set II was as good as any Phish set I^�ve seen.  The operative word is 
^�raging^�.  It was one of those sets where it did not matter what song they 
played, as all composed sections served as filler between jamming.  However, 
there were no bad song selections this set.

PIPER- I miss when Piper was a young song, and they would spend a while 
building up the intensity before getting to the vocals.  However, this was 
not your momma^�s Piper.  After the first vocal section, Trey ditched the 
Piper theme, and the band just started jamming.  Call it Type II, Type III; 
Type Pi; it was jamming.  It was heavy, and everyone was coming through in 
the mix loud and clear.  Page used every keyboard in his arsenal, and Mike 
was thumping.  It became pretty clear that this jam went past the point of 
no return rather quickly, though the Piper was over 20 minutes long (I 
think).  At one point towards the end of the jam, Trey struck a chord that 
the band started to stew on, and one could tell that they were going to play 
the next song.

MIKE^�S SONG- Boo-yah!  Viva la song de Mike.  I thought the verses were 
played slower than usual, but once they hit the F# chord that comes after 
the second chorus, the rage was back on.  Even though it hasn^�t happened in 
a few years, I still expect to see the stage go dark and completely covered 
with fog at that point (no knock on Kuroda though; bro was on.)  The jam 
structure of this song was the same as any vintage Mike^�s Song, just a few 
levels more intense.  Page was doing some great stuff on the organ.  My 
guess is that it was near 10 minutes before they hit the outro chords and 
went straight into

I AM HYDROGEN- It be what it be.  It did seem to me like Trey was playing 
his notes with a sense of urgency, like his wanted to get to

WEEKAPAUG GROOVE- A great groove.  I haven^�t given Fishman his propers yet, 
but he was on this song, and never relaxed the beat.  Like Piper, this song 
abandoned it^�s chord structure pretty early on, and went way out there, 
never losing it^�s cohesiveness or intensity.  Somehow, Trey was able to 
bring it back to the Weekapaug Theme.  They did the closing vocals, but
after they didn^�t stop playing.  Instead, they went into a pretty heavy jam, 
that at thought at first was going to be Can^�t Hear You Knockin^�, but they 
just kept playing.  There was definitely an Inna Gadda Da Vida tease (a nod 
to the late Eric Braunn I imagine) in this jam before it lead perfectly into 
the D chord signaling the beginning of^�

FREE- Talk about a song that has gone through a lot since it was first 
introduced over eight years ago.  Free was intense; Mike did his bass thing, 
and Trey was a guitar rock god for parts of it.  This was brought into^�

FRIDAY- What a great song.  The vocals were great, and the guitar solo was 
very emotional.  Today, as I write this review, it is Friday, though I wish 
last night was Friday, as I have to get through the rest of work today.

HARRY HOOD- I^�ve seen this at every post hiatus show I^�ve been at, but this 
wasn^�t your grandma^�s Harry Hood.  I haven^�t heard the Hood from NC, but I 
remember reading that Hood had become a different type of jam vehicle.  That 
comment was dead on- this Hood went many, many places- most of them intense. 
  Again, I thought that the song was past the point of no return, but at one 
point Page^�s piano started to prevail in the mix, and it was the return to 
the ending section of the song.  I^�m not sure how long this Hood was- my 
guess is between 20 and 25 minutes, and it is definitely worth hearing.  
This whole set was worth hearing.  I can^�t wait to hear it again.

E:
FRANKENSTEIN- At this point the band must have been dancing on their curfew, 
and I^�m sure they were thinking that they needed to give us a rocker that 
was under four minutes.  Mission successful.

All in all, get the second set of this show, and never go to Crackden, NJ 
unless you need, well, crack.

Sincerely,
Andrew J. Hollander

Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 08:13:13 -0700 (PDT)
From: Josh Pechar 
Subject: Review of 7/31/03

16th show.  And a great one.  The boys' always seem to put together a nice run
in Philly/Camden.  (See 12/10/99 and 12/11/99 and/or 7/3/00 and 7/4/00).

7/30 was ok.  Obviously, some question marks.  

But last night was full of everything that makes Phish who they are today.

So here I go:

Set 1:

-Llama:  Very hard, tight, and crisp.  Great way to open things up.

-Moma Dance:  I like this song.  I do.  But the lyrics are fucking horrible.  
For all the Moma's I've heard, definitely a good one.

-Divided Sky:  Tight.  Textbook.  Long break in the middle made it interesting.  
Even Trey was laughing and into it.

-Dirt:  Well played.  Well done.  I could do without this one at a show,
however.  Let it sit beneath the ground for concerts.

-Seven Below:  Not the hugest "Round Room" fan, but this got the set pumping.  
I prefer this much more than WOTC.  What the hell is up with everyone and WOTC?

-The Sloth:  What a surprise!!!  My buddies and I digged it.  The set was
picking up momentum without a doubt!

-Water in the Sky:  Appropriate for the night, as we were soaked and a bit
chilly by now due to pre-show and first set rains.  One of my favorites from
"Ghost."

-Wolfman's Brother:  I used to hate this song live until 2/24/03.  The 7/31
version continues to amaze!

-Possum:  Great way to end.  Fish really up and charged for the beginning.  Jam
could have gone a bit longer to make this go from good to perfect.  Still a
decent set.

Set 2:

-Piper:  Not a favorite...but a fantastic version.  For all of you "Piper"
haters out there, give this one a shot from the phish.com downloads.  Crazy jam.

-Mike's:  A personal favorite.  And a HEAVY jam, as has been the case with
several of the jams this tour.  (Maybe something to do with Trey's Iron Maiden
T-Shirt - HA!)

-Hydrogen:  Slows it down and is perfect!

-Weekapaug Groove:  Now we are are making this show a classic.  (Oh, if we could
have brought the YEM in from 7/30 into this 2nd set!!!)  Mike executed his parts
perfectly, as did the others.  I liked the teases.  Solid version.

-Free:  Tight.  Crisp.  Nothing really special about the version.  My buddies
and I really wanted a "Free", so we were quite happy at this point.

-Friday:  Another Round Room deal, and I enjoyed it.  Vocals much better than
7/30 made this a great way to slow down the set.  Personally, I'm getting turned
onto Round Room bit by bit here.

-Hood:  Crazy, insane version.  Loved how they played it differently (see the
Chalkdust from 7/30, as well). A shame that phans still don't understand when to
throw the fucking glowsticks.  And speaking of some of the phans, the younger
ones need to learn how to control the alcohol.  Dumbasses.

E-Frankenstein:  Perfect way to end an awesome show.  I think they take the
Edgar Winter version to such higher levels.

All in all, a fantastic show that ranks right up there.  Anyone who says
otherwise is obviously mistaken.  It was a show to make everyone happy.  Old
stuff and new stuff.  All songs well done.

After the winter tour, I wasn't so sure.  But now I can easily say, "The boys'
are back!!!"

-Josh (Philly)

Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 10:53:50 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: 7-31-03 Tweeter Center @ Camden

Twas a dreary day at the Camden waterfront. Steady misting rain started up
around 6 and didn't stop until part way through Piper. Luckily, this may be the
easiest pavillion to hop into.

I usually don't complain about Philly crowds, but this one was YOUNG. Ugh...
too many tube-tops. I wondered where their parents were... Waiting in the car
perhaps?

And the show... excellent. Llama, Moma set the mood for the first set. Back to
back James Taylor covers couldn't have brought me down. Another Divided... but
Trey was on point, so it was worth hearing. Oh, that Sloth was dope. Say word.
It rocked. Wolfman's into Possum was too much... I almost threw my back out.

Did someone steal Trey's wa-wa pedal? Because I don't think he has one anymore.
Maybe if we all chip in and buy him one, he'll give us some FUNK. The Wolfmans,
Mikes, Weekapaug, and Free all desired a taste of the funk guitar. It's like
musical crack for me.... makes me want to throw down. What these four did
consist of... no, no, what they were heavily laden with... was ROCK. Yes, sir.
Where there was no wa-wa pedal, there was a distortion pedal.

Second set, obviously, was huge. I might have enjoyed a Simple in there
somewhere, but now we'll never know. That's not a complaint, though. But this
is: Friday! This is normally where I start talking trash about song placement
and making fun of the band members' children... and then dozens of you take the
time to write me back and threaten my life (in many creative ways!) BUT not
this time. This Friday actually went someplace ("It takes you to that place."�
"What place?" "You know, that place... ") No, seriously, it was good. It had a
pretty little climactic jam. AND... in my opinion, that setlist should read
Hood>Jam>Hood. Not an ordinary Hood.

ENCORE:� did it make me cry like last night? No. Did I boo the band like I did
last night? No. Did I get so pumped up that I started sucker-punching anyone
who entered into my "groove zone"? Yes. It was such a great show, I assumed we
were bound to get a real winner like Thunderhead or Farmhouse or maybe a hymn.
Nay. Rocking encore for a rocking show.

Long live rock!

-david

Date: Fri, 01 Aug 2003 03:21:33 -0400
From: Brian Hamer 
Subject: 07-31-03 Review

Set I
Llama-Awesome way to jumpstart the set imo. I thought they did a good job 
with it. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Moma Dance-I noticed the second song with a water reference and wondered if 
they'd do it the whole set...They almost did kinda. I remember enjoying this 
hardcore, but don't remember anythign specific about it. Definitely awesome 
though.
Divided Sky-Wow! I didn't see this coming at all! It was my second Sky, and 
I enjoyed it thoroughly. The composed section was absolutely nailed from 
what I heard. The jam at the end seemed really good too. Loved it.
Dirt-PERFECT PLACEMENT! Not only is this one of my favorite slower songs, 
but after a start like that, this one hit the spot. They played it 
absolutely gorgeously. Had a good jam out of it for Dirt too.
Seven Below-Highlight of the 1st set in my opinion. They just tore shit up. 
All night I noticed how perfect Page sounded behind Trey. You never really 
notice it, but the fills he does are fucking great...I noticed it alot in 
seven below.
The Sloth-I was psyched to hear this. Played well. Nothing to really comment 
on.
WITS-I thought this was great. They had such a sick jam out of it. It made 
me think of 07/10/99 when they did another nice WITS jam.
Wolfman's-I don't remember much of this,except that it was sick as hell.
Possum-I couldn't believe they played another song, i thought the set would 
be over. Aweosme Possum...great climax.I really appreciated tension/release 
here, or maybe it was in Wolfmans.

Set II
Piper-I was in the pav. when this started, and the sound was pretty boomy, 
so I went to the lawn, but realized I was too hungry so I got a pretzel. If 
this show had any low point, I'd say that before the last 6 or so minutes 
were it. I think that the slower spacier jam would've fit in better after 
some more energetic jamming. I couldn't really get into the beginning of 
this jam either...It was just noisy and cluttered in a way...I'll have to 
listen again. Ending was real good though.
Mikes Song-HOLY SHIT! I was so happy...I thought this was a good Mikes, 
nothing too out there, just great playing and lots of fun.
I am Hydrogen-So beautiful, I was staring at the red sky and enjoying every 
second.
Weekapaug-Mike's opening was pretty standard (does he ever go off like he 
used to in early 90s anymore) but the jam was fucking awesome! Great 
jamming, then dropped into this funkier jam, awesome shit!
FREE!!!-This was the one song that I was hoping for all summer, and i got 
it! I flipped out when I heard Trey messing with the chords, said "free" to 
my neighbor, then they busted full on into it...Mike laid down shit 
HARDCORE! Mike was on fire! SO GREAT! CANT SAY ENOUGH! I LOVE THIS SONG! I 
actually got chills during the opening solo.Not the chords, the little 
solo...Great!
Friday-Awesome placement. I love this song. huge finish...Why don't people 
like this? I loved it! Very emotional.
Harry Hood-You've gotta be kidding me! I was really happy that they played 
this. They jammed it standardly for a while before getting into a 
reallllllly weird, techno-ish, trancy jam that was just sick as hell. I 
couldn't even try to pick out one instrument and listen, the group jamming 
was unmatched. Not sure if they've been doing all Hoods like this, but I 
sure as hell don't remember NYE or NJ being like that. Totally awesome!

Encore:
Frankenstein-I was thrilled to hear this. I would've been thrilled with 
anything at this point (I called Contact and still think it would have been 
the most fitting with the MAine trip coming up for many, but o well). 
Awesome Page here.

Tonight's show was absolutely amazing imo...The crowd was really into it, 
the playing was great. I thought it was much much better than last night. 
Page really impressed me tonight.

-Brian Hamer

Date: Fri, 01 Aug 2003 10:21:51 -0400
From: [email protected]
Subject: 7/31 Camden review

This was my 24th show, 4th since hiatus, and my first review. Last night at
Camden was one of the best shows I have ever seen. Everything, everything raged,
even the frickin Friday was rocking by the end.  The Sloth came out of nowhere,
Water in the Sky was jammed beautifully, one of the best Wolfman's I've ever
heard.  Piper was ridiculous, wonderful Mikes Groove, Weekapaug into Free was
beautiful.  Hood is following me (last 4 shows), and this was easily the best of
the bunch. I never stopped smiling. This was a great, great show. Have fun in
Maine everybody, I can't make it but dam I'm satisfied.

-Ed


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