9-22-00 -- Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois

Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 15:14:56 CDT
From: Erik Pedersen [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 9/22 Allstate review
 
Ok to give a little history, this was my 10th show, and this is my first
review. But I don't feel like going into a song by song as others have. I
thought the show was great, I'd rank it in the top three shows I have seen.
I say this cause I got to hear songs I have never heard before live, and I
got to hear awesome versions of songs I have heard before live. The energy
of the show was phenomenal and  we got nice and close to the stage.  So I am
going to talk about the lots/scene, and the disrepectful on the main
floor.....
 
The thing that bothers me the most about the lot was the fact that when
trying to park we got bombarded by people looking for tickets, I mean they
literally just stood in front of my truck with their finger in the air. I
had to actually pull around them cause they wouldn't move. Then when pulling
into our parking spot, again more people just standing in the way, I had to
wait to fully pull into our parking spot cause the guy just stood there
looking at us.  Maybe this is normal, but none of the other shows I have
gone to have we had to deal with this, I thought it was really annoying. We
enjoyed the lots otherwise, but we didn't get rained on at all so that could
have helped our lot experience. Plus we got in and out relatively easy, so
that helped also.
 
OK, as for being on the main floor. I have never actually been on the floor
to see Phish, we have always had seats in the back of a pavilion or on the
lawn. At the beginning of set break all the people around us  just sat down
right away and so we followed suit, we found out this was to save our spots.
But then all these people just started filing in and standing wherever there
was open floor space around us. This translated to about 20 more people in
the area directly around us. When the second set started we ended up behind
these people and I got totally boxed in, I could barely dance, plus I was
getting bumped again and again by the guy next to me.  At least the person I
was 4 inches behind was my friend not some stranger I was bumping
practically every time I moved.  It wasn't until Antelope that I really got
to dance and only because the people that moved in at set break finally
moved back a couple of steps. I don't know if this is how it is all the
time, but damn people have some respect for your phellow phans! I would
never think of just barging in front of someone if there wasn't any room.
 
OH yea Hi to Dennis the Big Guy and the guy from Madison (sorry I don't
remember your name) from the Cow Pant guys!  Mooooooo

Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 23:30:03 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: friday night rosemont
 
I cannot believe Phish is playing here again.  There are three simple letters
for Phish to play at when they tour again, UIC.  With that aside, the lot was
very cold and rainy which seems to be a reocurring theme at the Horizon.
There were tons of cops, and there was not a huge scene.  Also, there weren't
enough doors for all of the people to enter.  Onto the show:
 
DWD:  Nice way to open the show.  Nice and funky with a nice jam at the end.
Tons of fun.
 
Meat:  My first.  To be honest I have never really liked this song.  For some
reason I enjoyed the song very much.  It wasn't finished.  It went straight
into Poor Heart.
 
Poor Heart:  Yes!  Tons of fun.  Its great to know Mike was at the show.
Fishman didn't yell "You're going to jail."  Fun song, nice bluegrass.
 
Wilson:  Hell yeah.  It was not as good as Alpine 98, but it had a nice
little heavy metal jam.  The crowd was really into this one.
 
Slave:  My first.  This is when the set began to explode.  The Slave was
incredible.  I would highly recommend getting the tape to hear it.
 
Dogs Stole Things:  They played it last year.  I liked it then.  I liked it
friday.  Nice blusy tune.
 
Gin:  YES!!  Nice Page entrance.  The jam during this one was incredible.
Totally ragining jam.
 
Heavy Things:  I knew it was time for a farmhouse song.  All the newbies I'm
sure were ecstatic.  I like the song but it is very over played in Chicago.
 
YEM:  WOW!!  Nice jamming.  Trampolines and all.  Crowd was going nuts.  Then
the glowsticks came and the vocal jam began.  NICE JOB CHRIS!!!  Nice way to
end the set.
 
Set II
 
Tube:  Yes.  My first and it was nice and funky.  Nice job Page with your
solo.  No space jam.  :(
 
Reba:  Very exciting.  Whistling, and nice jamming.  The show was going very
well right now.  It was tons of fun.  Very comparable to UIC 98.
 
Ghost:Funky like no other.  Very good.  Nothing else to say.
 
Wedge:  This song seems to follow me around everywhere I go.  UIC 98, Alpine
99.  It was a standard short and sweet Wedge.
 
Circus:  YES!  This was on my must see list.  Very happy.
 
Meatstick:  No way!  In Japanese none the less.  Mike and Trey also taught us
the dance with Fishman singing.  Tons of fun.
 
Antelope:  With Meatstick teases all through out the song.  Totally raging
and you knew the set was coming to an end.  What a night though.
 
Bold as Love:  No better way to end the first night of the two night run.
Everyone seemed to be having tons of fun and were in good spirits for
saturday night.
 
David.

Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2000 11:59:36 -0500
From: Michael Gagliano [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: rosemont 9/22
 
Rosemont Horizon or Allstate Arena.  Call it what you want, the sound at this
place sucks.
It was raining when we went in and was raining when we came out.  This was no
indication of the show, however.
 
Smoking Disease with an unusual jam to start the set off.  Very muddy vocals
at this point.  I can live without Meat as well Poor Heart although the
energy level was good.  Wilson was pretty skinny as far as Wilson's go, but
the Slave was FAT!  Trey beautifully led them into the climactic ending.
Rare 1st set treat.  Dogs was only filler until the monster Bathtub. They
really jammed this one out.  Page lead this jam for the most part until it
snaked back into the refrain.  Well Done.  I like Heavy Things although it is
a little overplayed.  Trey let loose at the end as usual.   YEM was killer.
Trey nailed his two big early solos and the vocal jam was pretty tame as was
the 1st set in general.
 
The second set ripped!!!!  The Tube was so funky with Page cranking on the
Moog and Trey laying down that sweet rhythm.  You get the picture.  AWESOME!
Reba started off pretty slow, but by the jam section Trey went off.  He
really held this solo close to the vest, not straying to far from the theme.
My favorite Reba of all time!  My brother and I had been hoping for Ghost and
we were not disappointed.  The spooky jam that ensued was great.  Not heavy,
yet not ambient.  This jam went on for about 15 min(should read
"Ghost>Jam").  Wedge and Circus were very well played.  Trey's solo at the
end of Circus was right on.  Say what you want about Meatstick - I love the
riff!  Forget the dancing and this song could be great.  Now to describe the
liftoff during Antelope is impossible.  Talk about building up to peak levels
- check out the perfect jam ending on this.  LIFTOFF!
 
The encore, Axis was simply an afterthought, still reeling from the
Antelope.  Have to say this was one of my favorite sets off all time.  The
Tube>Reba>Ghost>Jam made this night!
 
Gags

Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 10:48:07 CDT
From: J Shepard [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Rosemont Review
 
Here's my reviews for Rosemont.  ~Spaceman Spiff
 
9/22/00 Rosemont Horizon
 
Friday was awesome, although the weather and the cops sucked.  DWD opener
was not a great DWD, but not bad, and cool to get everyone charged up and
dancing right away.  Then Meat, I was psyched, 1st time in 2000 I heard this
song, I love this tune.  At the end, after 2 fake endings, they paused for
about 2-3 minutes, I said to my friend Jason,  "They're going back into
Meat, one more time."  But as I waited longer and longer, I wondered.  Of
course they did, and then quickly went into Poor Heart.  Poor Heart rocked,
the place was going wild at this point.  The crowd at Rosemont was WAY
excited.  A pretty rockin Wilson followed, then a nice Slave.  The lights
during slave were bad ass.  Real slow and melty.  Dogs Stole Things, I don't
know what the appeal is to so many people that love this song, but I was
dancin.  Page had been ON FIRE the whole set, and they played Bathtub Gin
next.  Better than average, I'd say.  Rain-drenched crowd cheers for "we're
all in this together, and we love to take a bath."  Cool Page jamming
throughout, and the end "Daaaaa, da da da da da...." part seems pretty
short.  Heavy Things.  It sounded like Page was playing something a little
different, "plink-a plink-a plink-a" instead of the usual "plink, plink,
plink" but it could have just been the shitty sound in Rosemont.  For the
first set I was way up top, above all the seats, dancing in the top aisle.
After Heavy Things I knew something good was coming, and it was YEM.  An
average YEM, I thought, cool jam toward the end of the instumental part,
after the tramps and before the vocal jam.  Best part of the vocal jam was
the lights in my opinion.  At setbreak we moved down to the railing, so we
were in the very front row of the balcony, not far from Trey.  Great 2nd set
seats.  Great view, great sound.  And what a 2nd set it was...
 
1st 4 songs, Tube, Reba, Ghost, Wedge.  You can't really beat that.  Reba as
always had a cool floating, soaring jam.  Ghost was insane!!!  Maybe the
best Ghost I've ever heard.  Definitely the highlight of the weekend for me.
  The jam was just so sick, rockin and tripped out,  with the delay loop
going on.  Page playing some real funky cool shit.  A short pause, then
Wedge.  What can I say?  Wedge is a great song, and it's been a while since
I heard it live.  The crowd went from dancing like crazy to smoking bowls
when they played Circus.  Trey was getting some cool sounding tones and
voicings out of his guitar at the end of Circus though, using lots of
pedals, letting each note develop and fill the room with sound.  Still, I
could have done without it.  My friend Josh asked me, what now?  I said
antelope, but they played Meatstick instead. I was psyched, after the first
verse Trey told us something like, "This is the only song that has its own
dance, and also has a Japanese part.  We were in Japan about... oh... 6 or 8
years ago, and the streets were full of these kids doing the meatstick, it
was a national craze over there, the Meatstick had taken over the
country......"  They sung it in Japanese, which was hilarious, everyone in
the place was smiling and laughing.  Trey and Mike put their instuments down
and Paul looped the Japanese part and they did the dance to that.  Happy,
fun shit.  Then they picked up their guitars again and finished the song,
and kind of faded slowly with Trey playing small variations on the chorus,
softer and softer, and the crowd started singing (in English) the chorus as
Trey played around with it.  As the band got quieter and quieter, the crowd
got louder and louder til the band wasn't playing anymore, and the whole
crowd sang the chorus of Meatstick back to the band for a couple minutes.
The band looked stunned, they were just standing there.  Then everyone
cheered and Trey started playing antelope right away.  CONSTANT Meatstick
teases in the intro.  Trey would play the chorus melody of meatstick, real
fast, and the crowd would clap in the correct spot.  He did it maybe 10
times just in the intro to Antelope.  The antelope RAGED.  A crazy, intense
antelope.  The lights were great here too.  I knew the set was over after
antelope, I was hoping for a roses are free encore, I saw that coming.  But,
maybe because Page had such a great night he got to sing.  Bold As Love.  It
was cool, I've never heard it live before and I enjoyed it.

Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2000 16:55:42 -0500
From: Peter Norman [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review of 9/22/00
 
I cannot stress how much I hate this arena.  I wish Phish would go back to
playing Tinley Park in the summer.  Also, I thought Redbird Arena last year
was great!!!  Allstate Arena sux, plain and simple.  Also, I think god hates
Phish to play at Allstate because it's rained for all 4 Phish shows here.
This was only my 4th show, but it was my dad's 1st.  I was a little
comprehensive about how he'd feel about a Phish show.  We arrived at the
arena at about 7:00.  We couldn't believe the lines to get into the arena!!!
Allstate has really got to get their act together.  They were trying to
cram, like 5000 people into 2 sets of double doors.  This was a crime!!!
Thanks to Allstates shitty entrance system I missed the first half of Down
with Disease.  Last year, I missed the first three songs due to the shitty
parking lot.  Phish, if you happen to read this, please never play at
Allstate again, I'm begging you!!!  I'll do a short run-down of the setlist:
 
Down w/ Disease:  Only got to hear the jam and chorus reprise to this one.
What I heard sounded really cool.  My dad was REALLY pissed about missing
the beginning of the show.
 
Meat:  Didn't get to pay much attention to this one.  Was trying to find our
seats.  The search was hopeless.  We ended up just standing where there was
room.  What I heard of this song was very funky.
 
Poor Heart:  I was dancing to this one quite a lot.  The bluegrass songs are
always fun, even though this isn't one of my favorites.
 
Slave:  This, I liked.  This was when the set really took off.  This song is
so beautiful.  The jam during this song was simply breathtaking.  This was
one of the highlights of the set.  After this song my dad leaned over to me
and said, "You were right, this really is un-fucking-believable."  I felt
very content at that point.
 
Dogs Stole Things:  I missed the one they did last year at Allstate and I
REALLY love this song so I was happy to hear it.  They seem to love to do
this song in Chicago.  It was pretty standard, but it seemed like Trey
jammed it out a little longer than most I've heard on tape.  It was very
cool.
 
Bathtub Gin:  I couldn't hear Trey's signature guitar riff at the beginning
of this one, so I couldn't tell what it was until Page came in bagging the
piano (another problem with Allstate is the acoustics really suck).  Page
totally ripped this one up.  Very cool jam at the end.  I was psyched at
this point.
 
Heavy Things:  Saw it last year at Allstate, was never one of my favorites,
and Trey's solo seemed a little bit unenthusiastic during this one.  Was one
of the low points of the show for me.
 
YEM:  YES!!!  I can finally cross this one off my MUST SEE list.  Very
beautiful composed parts.  Absolutely brutal glowstick war during Nirvana
section.  I could barely hear Mike's bass solo.  Trey's first shot at the
note was thwarted by him catching a glowstick (duh, lets throw glowsticks at
 
the band and see if they like it, duh) and there was a glowstick on Mike's
Trampoline which he promptly kicked off.  Still, I was psyched to hear this
one.  The vocal jam was scary and the lights were sick.  I was in heaven.
 
Setbreak:  A wave started going around the arena.  Even though the arena
sucked, the crowd was top notch.  Everyone was friendly and willing to
participate.  When I saw the wave I was thinking, " what would be a good
crowd participation song?"  Meatstick instantly jumped to mind.
 
Tube:  Way cool.  Trey's keyboard work had a very techno sound to it.  It
was very funky and I loved it.  Another great jamming song.
 
Reba:  The audience seemed really ripped to see this one.  Everyone
(including me) sang along during the chorus.  The jam after this one was one
of the highlights of the show.  Absolutely mellow and beautiful, brought a
tear to my eye.  I never wanted this song to end, but it did and the
whistling was a welcome treat.
 
Ghost:  There was something about this Ghost that I just didn't like.  Maybe
it was because I could barely hear Mike's slap bass lines.  This Ghost just
wasn't very funky.  It had more of a rock vibe to it, which is ok, but last
years Redbird Ghost whipped this one's ass.  Still was grooving to this one.
 
The Wedge:  Rift is probably my favorite Phish album.  I love this song.  My
second time hearing it.  Pretty standard.  Needed something to cool down and
this song did it rather splendidly.
 
When the Circus Comes:  Wow, I'm pretty sure this one's kinda rare.  Plus I
love it.  I'd gone to see a circus just last Monday, so I was psyched to
hear this one.  Los Lobos are awesome and this song is beautiful.
 
Meatstick:  My prediction came true.  This is a really fun song that's great
to dance to (prearranged or not). The Japanese chorus was hilarious.  The
Meatstick dance ruled.  I think just about everyone in the place was doing
it.  The ending of this song was such a climax with the band quieting down
and leaving us singing the chorus.
 
Antelope:  People were still clapping to that beat in Meatstick (yeah, you
know the one) through the beginning of Antelope.  Trey's Meatstick teases
just reinforced how break-through that song was.  This Antelope was very
high energy.  Totally brought the house down.  I knew this would end the
set.
 
Encore:
    Bold as Love:  Some people sitting by me seemed disappointed at this
song.  I loved it.  Page sings this song so well.  I called something Page
after set 2, Squirming Coil, Rock n' Roll, but Bold as Love was just as
good.  Great encore.  Left the stage smoking.  This show was just bliss.
Another Phish experience that I will never forget as long as I live
(especially if I get the tapes).  My dad was really impressed by them and
this probably won't be his last show.  As I always say, "Phish didn't change
my life, they just made it a hell of a lot more interesting."  See my review
of the next nights show.  Keep the phaith!
  ________________________________________________
Erik Norman
mailto:[email protected]
http://www.prairienet.com/banjo

Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 12:43:16 CDT
From: Anderson S. Andrew [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: review of 9-22-2000
 
22 Sept., 2000  Allstate Amp, Rosemont, Illinois
 
Okay guys, how about trying the United Center next year?  This place just
gets worse and worse every time I come here!
 
That's enough bitching, though.
 
Set I
I walked into the middle of what I guessed immediately to be Down With
Disease....and I was no longer disappointed to be a little late.  Am I the
only one who is getting a little tired of these standard, 15 minute DWD's?
I like the song when it goes somewhere, but the last six or seven times I've
heard this song, it's just been standard-length, nothing-too-unusual DWD.
Meat made me feel much better...this is one of the most underplayed songs
they have.  It was cool to hear them turn that deep funk into bluegrass for
Poor Heart.  It was pretty cool, a lot like 7-8-2000 (minus Fishman).
Again, though, the boys took this bluegrass number and brought it around to
Wilson, and took that into one of the only first set Slave's I have ever
seen.  Just an amazing jam, keeping the continuation through four songs of
different genres (I guess...you know what I mean).  Dogs Stole Things was
nice to hear.  Bathtub just took me by surprise.  I love this song for the
sheer fun of watching Page go nuts in the intro.  It had a nice funk feel
and lasted about 16 minutes or so. Then came Heavy Things, which I still
like because of Trey's solo.  And then came You Enjoy Myself.  I was very
pumped because this is one of my favorite songs.  It is definatly my
favorite set closer, just as Punch You in the Eye is my favorite opener.
 
I guess the 45-50 minute set break is getting pretty standard.  It's cool
though, because if you hustle, you have enough time to hit the head, grab a
beer (or water), find a friend, and get back to the floor (except at THIS
piece of shit).
 
I had just spilt my beer when Trey started Tube, so I was slow in reacting
to it.  Finally, Reba.  Everytime they want to play Guyute, they should stop
and consider Reba...I think that's what they did tonight.  The Ghost->Wedge
was pretty cool.  I really like Fishman's little solo in the begining.  When
The Circus Comes was a very nice selection.  Meatstick made the show for me.
  This is close to my 70th show, but only my second Meatstick...so I get
more excited that some people I know about this song.  I get even more
excited about Antelope.  This is a classic in-concert song, and they usually
reserve it for outside crowds, so I was pumped to see it here.
 
Bold As Love is such a great encore.  Leo just belted this one out there.
 
All in all a great show.  This weekend stay in Chicago is already living up
to all it was billed to be.

Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2000 20:06:09 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 9/22 allstate
 
I don't really have time to talk about the show.  but i figured that i'd
write to point out a fact that no one seemed to realize about the axis bold
as love encore.  phish did a very good version of it.  a hendrix tune is
always good to hear.  after they finished bold as love and went into the
outro jam, the band stopped the jam, fishman started it up again, then they
proceeded to play a "farmhouse" jam, which was not bold as love.  i'd like
some feedback from this.
 
ric

Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2000 20:40:30 -0500
From: Michael Cory Victor [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: the 9-22 allstate wave
 
All I want to do was give proper credit to the man who brought the crowd
together for an amazing extended wave during the setbreak at the friday
Allstate show:
    The one, the only, the great, the special, the man who sat behind me
in section 208 row E....Dennis ("as in Dennis the menace") Tyler.
 
I think every phan there should give thanks to Mr. Dennis Tyler for
uniting the crowd in joy just before the amazing 2nd set that we all
experienced.
 
rock on everybody,
cory

Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2000 14:12:19 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 9-22-00 Allstate Review
 
Set I (1:27): Down with Disease, Meat* > Poor Heart > Wilson > Slave to the
Traffic Light, Dogs Stole Things, Bathtub Gin, Heavy Things, You Enjoy
Myself**
 
 
Set II (1:06): Tube***, Reba, Ghost > Wedge, When the Circus Comes,
Meatstick****, Run Like an Antelope#
 
 
Encore (0:06) Bold as Love<
 
I am going to start off by saying that this was on of the most solid shows I
have ever seen.  Outside in the lot however, was a different story.  First
off the rain had many in ponchos, or just sitting in their cars.  Second,
there were only two aisles that I could  find something to eat or drink.  The
cops shut down a lot of vending last night, and it kind of killed the
atmosphere.
 
Anyway, I was on the floor, about fifteen rows back, if there were actually
rows.  When they first came out, the first thing I noticed was Mike's shirt.
It was all black with a glow in the dark orange stripe going down each
sleeve!  The first few chords of DWD were hit, and we were on our way.  This
song has been heard by many, many times.  Even though, it's a good
pick-me-upper.
 
 Meat was next. Not a bad choice for a second song.
 Next came Poor Heart.  This song is always fun, but it was missing Fish's
"NoOoOoOoo"!!
 Then came a solid Wilson.
 Slave was unbelievable!  I always love to hear this one.  I think it is one
of Phish's best jams.  And last night it was one of the best jams of the
night.
I thought that they could have held Dogs Stole Things for the second set, but
I'll take it anyway.
And then there was Bathtub Gin.  This too is one of my all time favs to hear
live.  This was a hell of a jam at the end, and the tapes are worth getting
for this alone.
Heavy Things was played and blah blah blah, and then You Enjoy Myself became
the set closer with one hell of a glow stick war.  This was another well
played song of the night.
 
During setbreak, I went to talk with my buddies wod had seats.  I called for
a Divided Sky in the second set, and my buddy called for a Reba and ghost!
Well what do I know?!  Anyway, I ended up about fifth row Trey side for set
II.
 
Tube started it off and got everyone going again.  Then came Reba which is
always a nice jam to groove to.  Ghost was next and it was so laid back! I
loved it!  I haven't heard Wedge in a long time, so it was a treat for me.
But I love When the Circus Comes To Town!  I think that I was the only guy in
my area loving the hell out of this.
 
In the middle of Meatstick, Trey started talking about how popular the dance
was in Japan.  So Page and Fish sang it in Japanese, while Mike and Trey
performed the dance front stage.  After the song was over the crowd kept
singing without help of the band.  I could see it in Treys face that he was
loving it!  Next came Antelope.  This is also one of my all time favorite
live songs.  In the beginning of this one, Try kept teasing with the chords
from Meatstick, while the crowd continued to clap as if they were still
playing Meatstick.  Antelope went on to be a great jam, and the show ended
with Bold as Love, which is always a cool jam to hear.
 
I had to drive back to Wisconsin after the show, and the weather was the
worst I had ever driven in.  I went about 35mph the whole ride cause I
couldn't see a thing.  But anything was worth the show I saw last night!
Peace...Fred

Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2000 11:51:01 CDT
From: Alex Mack [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 9/22 review
 
Well after a day of driving through nothing but hard & heavy rain from Iowa,
we arrived eventually in chicago, really stoked to see the greatest band of
today. Not a super-hopping lot or anything, but everything that we needed
was acquired. Went in right as doors were opening late about 10 after 6. Got
in front about 20 feet parallel to Page. Found our 2 stranded friends from
St. Paul at about 7, spotted them coming down the floor from all the way
back, got them up front right before the show started. Really psyched when
the lights went down, the boys started into their noise wall, I told my
group I was thinking it was DwD time, and we got:
DwD!: Really rocking & jammed out long. After a while it went down real low
& got spacy & psychadelic, then after like 15 minutes back into DwD. My
first DwD since my first show 11/16/96
Meat: Awesome & funky: love it when mike sings.
Poor Heart: I always get this bluegrass tune but it rules!
Wilson: Yeah! First wildon. This was real rocking. Great work here (and
everywhere) by Kuroda. The sound was starting to round out real well. Then,
from the depths of Wilson we heard, was it?
SLAVE! I couldn't believe we were getting a slave in the middle of the first
set! Just beautifully done with amazing lights and a great buildup. This is
what hooking up is. My first
Dogs Stole: my first. Real cool & rocking.
Gin: Now we're talking! I love the funky bass and the whole vibe during this
song. I can take a gin every show.
Heavy things: Got this at alpine & could pick better, but it was enjoyable
despite. Then, the one song I've been dying to hear tonight & at every show
I've seen:
YEM!!!!!!! This was so amazing, it was real well played & down on the floor
this was one of the most special moments (literally) of my life. This had an
awesome tramps section, way to go Mike. Page was going off, Mike was
dropping subatomic bombs on his bass left and right, Trey was jamming like a
madman, and fishman was doing his thing, solid as usual. One of my live
highlights. I want to see YEM every single show! ;-)
40-45 minute setbreak, got H2O and pizza. tried to recoup, but before I knew
it the lights went out again. WHOO HOO!
Tube: Yeah! Tightly jammed version, seemed stretched out somewhat.
Reba: This was awesome. Saw trey flub some stuff in the beginning but it
didn't fall apart or anything like that. I'd flub the hell out of it so I
can't call the kettle black (BTW YEM was all on with Trey, I think he missed
zero notes the whole composed section). Great jam, love the whistling.
Ghost: yeah! This is like 11/7/98 reversed here, when we had Ghost>Reba.
Made me wish my brother was at the show because at this point I was
seriously rocking! Great jam faded into...
Wedge: I see this a lot it seems but I still like it lots. Great tune.
Circus: Good tune, nothing else.
Meatstick: All the japaneese stuff was hilarious, seeing mike & trey do the
dance was the bomb. I thought the crowd singing the chorus 4 or so times was
so cool: I think tonight is going to get something seriously amazing (ala
harpua/tela/forbins) partially due to that crowd response.
Antelope: This was last nights thank you for singing to the band without
backing. Meatstick teases all over, at least 4 or 5. completely rocking, you
know how antelopes are! I just about collapsed when the chaos had its
'breakoff'. Pre-rocco secion was one of the funkiest things I've ever seen
phish do, and finally came that aweome chorus that everybody loves so much.
I was expecting a cool original for an encore, maybe guyute. My buddy & I
had listened to Jimi for a while coming in and I missed the Ames show w/ the
jimi encore, so I was way stoked for
Axis: Bold as Love: Yeah Jimi Hendrix! I was starting to get a bit gassed so
this was a great choice for an encore. I love how phish always seems to make
my evening perfect. I always forget, then remember when I realize how
wonderful it is. Look for the hombre w/ huge sideburns close on the floor,
say hey. Be wearing a U of Iowa shirt, kicking it old school.
Final thoughts: awesome show, seeing YEM was just the greatest. Real solid.
Seeing the setlist alone may not give you a good representation of the show
at all, so get the discs (insert pathetic grovel here! ;-)) See you at the
Allstate tonight!

Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2000 06:55:24 GMT
From: Kevin Liska [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: Allstate Arena show review 9/22/00
 
Kevin Liska
Allstate Arena (Show 1)
9/22/00
 
I HATE the new "ALLstate Arena!"
The parking is terrible!
they cut down all the entrences, from 7 to 3!!! WTF!!!?!!
Well, i didn't get in until 8:15, so here's my review from there:
 
Set I:
 
DWD (??:??)- how the fuck would i know, i was getting in?
 
Meat (5:??)- heard it going up the stars.  Hey, it's Meat!
 
Poor Heart (??:??)- finding my  seats (which wre already taken, plus it was
too dark to really locate them), so we were on the concourse the whole show
looking into Page.  I do remember dancing to this, but still not settled in
yet.
 
Wilson (6:00)- Here we go!  A pretty average Wilson, nothing too special.
Very loud crowd tonight!
 
Slave (11:45)- mid set Slave? sure! got us all movin in sync!
 
Dogs Stole Thins (4:??)- U can't have an indoor show in Chicago without Dogs
Stole Things.  A nice breather after Slave.  Very nice.
 
Bathtub Gin (15:40)- I love all Gin jams lately!  May have even been better
than my last Gin (7/10/00)! Wowwy some nice stuff going on in this one.  And
everything was on!
 
Heavy Things (5:30)- Not bad, Not bad. another nice breather after a big
jam.  Nice.
 
YEM (19:40)- allright!! Great stuff! A HUGE glowstick war at snoopy. Trey
even caught one! great jamming all around.  Very good Mike.  Some nice
texture by all, including Fish w/ cowbell during the phunk.  Nice vocal jam.
  Reminiscent of 11/9/98 YEM.  very good set (from what i heard)
 
40-45 min setbreak.  Geez, these things don't even bother me anymore!
 
Set II:
 
Tube (8:55)- Nothing like a nice long, cosmic Tube to open things up!
Raging!
 
Reba (16:17)- Hello!? Nicelest live Reba i've ever heard.  Relentless great
jamming.  The composed was a lil' sloppy in the beginning, but it held.  We
get a reprise.  And all in all nice.  Not quite sure which Reba to compare
it to, but get the tapes and u make a call!
 
Ghost (11:40)- I got my Ghost!!! aww ya! Bring on the psycho-delic funk!
perfectly jammed for a while.  Great stuff. Only 11 min? seemed longer, oh
well.
 
Wedge (5:15)- Can u believe this is the first Wedge of the year? A nice
short/sweet Wedge which kept us moving.
 
Circus (4:50)- OK, why not.  Very well done, they ended it early.
 
Meatstick (9:30) here we go! Great stuff.  Then, during the jam, Trey starts
talking about Japan, and then they do the japanese Meatstick!! Wonderful!!
Of course Mike and Trey dance for us.  The ending is great!! They bring it
down slowly to absolute silence.  But the crowd still chants the
melody/clapping for a couple minutes!  Wonderful!!
 
Antelope (11:40)- Lots of fast Meatstick teases and the crowd got all the
clapping!  I love Phish crowds! We're so awesome!  A raging Antelope that
hit peak after peak.  A good way to close us.
 
long wait...
 
Enchore:
Bold As Love (6:45)- sing for us Page! a wonderful enchore!
 
well, since we were on the concourse the whole show, we got out fast.
Sincw we were parked way the hell out, we got out first and partyed in
Tinley Park!
 
seeya'll tomarrow night!
 
-I'm definately leaving earlier tomarrow! :)

Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2000 05:02:27 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: Phish 9-22-2000 Allstate Arena, Chicago, IL Review
 
Set I (1:27): Down with Disease, Meat* > Poor Heart > Wilson > Slave to the
Traffic Light, Dogs Stole Things, Bathtub Gin, Heavy Things, You Enjoy
Myself**
 
Set II (1:06): Tube***, Reba, Ghost > Wedge, When the Circus Comes,
Meatstick****, Run Like an Antelope#
 
Encore (0:06) Bold as Love
 
   * - unfinished
   ** - with glowsticks
   *** - with Trey on keys
   **** - with japanese lyrics; towards the end of the song, the band started
playing the chorus over and over, gradually lowering the volume as the crowd
sang the chorus, finally ending with the crowd singing the chorus 3 or 4
times with no accompaniment from the band
   # - with "Meatstick" teases during the intro
 
    First, let me say that this was only my second Phish concert ever! (The
first was 7-8-2000, at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin. See my review at
http://www.phish.net/reviews/shows/7-8-00.html )
 
    The whole day was rainy in Chicago. This must've had some effect on the
pre-show lot scene, as it was pretty non-existant. I arrived at about 5:00,
and immediately got in line for the doors to be opened at 6:00. Passed the
time, and finally we were let in at about 6:10. People in front, like me,
were rushing inside, trying to grab a great spot in the general admission
seating floor section. I ended up with a very nice place, slightly to the
left of where Trey would stand, and about 15 feet back from the stage. When
7:55 rolled around finally, I was hardly ready for the show to start! I'd
been on my feet waiting for almost three hours, and it hadn't set in that I
was about to see three hours of Phish!!!
 
The lights went down, the band took stage, and all hell broke loose...
 
Down With Disease: Started out the the usual spacey intro, and everyone was
very excited to see such an awesome song open the show. Mike dropped the
opening bass lines, and the crowd was pumped! This was a great Disease, not
extra long, but long enough, and very high energy. As the opening jam died
down, I heard someone say "Oh -- so that's how it's gonna be tonight..." We
expected big things...
 
Meat: This excited the crowd a lot. I went wild for Mike when he sang the
opening line! Who doesn't love to see Mike singing? This song had that
wonderful stop-start jamming that gets the crowd very happy. On the last
stop, it went into...
 
Poor Heart: Very fun to hear, and more Mike on the mic! Good, fast jamming in
the middle, and then the slow down, and then...
 
Wilson: WILLLLLLL-SOOONNNNNN!!! I called this one for set I, and I went nuts
hearing the opening licks. After I believe 4 crowd chants, they busted into
it. Always a great, rocking song, it's one of my favorites. Nothing really
out of the ordinary, but very pleasing to the whole crowd. After Wilson came
a little.... surprise....
 
Slave to the Traffic Light: NO WAY they are playing this now, in the middle
of the first set!!! We all couldn't believe our ears as the beautiful
composition began. I was just buzzing inside; if they could play Slave now,
what else was in store for me?? This Slave was wonderful. We were pretty
speechless after the song. I didn't know what they were going to play next,
but after a short pause came...
 
Dogs Stole Things: This is not one of my favorite songs that Phish plays, but
tonight it wasn't bad, and I knew the words, so I sang along happily. I knew
there had to be some kind of a letdown after the awe-inspiring Slave we just
saw, and Dogs was it.
 
Bathtub Gin: Woo hoo!!! This ignited the crowd instantly. Started nicely,
with Page crashing in on the piano to our delight. The composed section was
great, and singing along to this song is a lot of fun. When the jam section
started, it wasn't anything special. It went on fairly uneventfully for a few
minutes, but things then started to pick up, and Trey took control. He had
some awesome stuff going on in this jam; this turned out to be a very solid
Bathtub. I didn't think that was going to be the end of the set (though I'd
lost track of time so I didn't really even know), but I didn't know what
would come next. After an extended interval, the next song began...
 
Heavy Things: The crowd kind of laughed at this when it started. People still
grooved to it though, including myself. I enjoy the song, and Trey certainly
seems to! He couldn't stop smiling and nodding his head soloing around during
Heavy Things. A solid, standard version of the song. Now, there was no way
that that could close the set, so we all now were really wondering what would
come next. We waited, and waited, and finally, I was caught VERY off-guard by
the magnificent opening sounds of...
 
You Enjoy Myself: Wow!!! Is this still set I? What was going on?? This was my
first YEM, and it was pure bliss. Words can't describe the grandeur of this
masterpiece. The crowd was really, really pumping as the big build up was
happening and then finally finally the floor exploded as we all yelled
"Ahhhhhh!!!!!" and then "Boy!!!!!!!!" This was the most excited the crowd had
been all night. The YEM jam was excellent, full of trampolines, a great
glowstick war (featuring Trey catching one, to the absolute delight of the
crowd), and an awesome vocal jam. The lights were amazing during the vocal
jam. What a way to close the first set!!
 
-Setbreak-
 
I just stood there wondering how in the world they were going to follow that
set I. I was baffled. The break was about 35 or 40 minutes, and allowed me
rest a little bit from that action-packed set I. Soon, the lights came down
again, and the band emerged, immediately coming out and dropping on us a
huge...
 
Tube: Yes!!! I always love hearing Tube on CD, and getting my first one live
was great. This was rocking hard, with a nice short section on keys by Trey.
There were some really funky sounds in this jam. Awesome way to get the show
going again, and then...
 
Reba: Double-Yes!!! Everyone got really excited hearing this. I sang along to
all of the fast paced intro, and was dancing hard. Then the quieter jam
section came on, and it was great. It was a really awesome version of Reba. I
can't wait to hear this again on CD. All the time I was hoping they'd
whistle, and my prayers were answered. The whistling sounded quite shrieky at
first, but the sound finally settled down, and I enjoyed the conclusion of
that wonderful jam, before...
 
Ghost: I couldn't believe they were playing yet another jam! Very nice to get
this, awesome bass work my Mike, and a great jam all-around to follow. Out of
Ghost, came...
 
The Wedge: I love Wedge, and I knew that they hadn't played it in all of 2000
(12-10-99 was the last one). I had sort of been predicting its return for
Allstate, and I got it. It was awesome, I was dancing a lot, and singing
along. Everyone loved it, and after that we heard Trey's opening licks to...
 
When the Circus Comes: A good slower song. I chilled out from my wild dancing
and just watched Trey. He played very nicely, and then I knew something
bigger would come, which was...
 
The Meatstick: I was thrilled, along with all the other fans, to hear this.
Normal start, and good spacey stuff by Page. Singing along to this was
basically a requirement. Then some real fun began. Trey started to talk about
how they played in Japan "about 6 or 8 weeks ago", and they showed the
Japanese fans a dance called The Meatstick, and the craze was taking over the
entire country! I got all wound up hearing this, since I heard the very
entertaining rendition of Meatstick in Japanese from 6-9-2000 on CD. Sure
enough, the band started to sing away in Japanese!! I actually sang along to
some of the foreign lyrics that I remembered, to the amusement and wonder of
the people around me. The whole thing was just very funny, singing in
Japanese, and attempting to keep up with Mike and Trey in the dance! After a
while, the band started to die down, but the crowd kept singing away! We
spontaneously sang the Meatstick chorus about 4 times without any playing
from the band. It was very, very cool how it all just happened, and then
Phish dropped the last of the atomic bombs of the night...
 
Run Like An Antelope: I was elated to hear this, since it'd been one of the
best parts of my first show ever, back on July 8th. This no ordinary Antelope
though; Trey was still getting off on spreading the Japanese dance craze even
more, so this turned into Meatstick-alope! It was full of Trey's Meatstick
teases over the rest of the band's normal playing. It was hilarious, but also
a very good jam, as it built up very nicely, and I was jumping around out of
control, dripping in sweat from the wild night. The band closed the second
set after finishing Antelope with the triumphant "You've got to run like an
antelope, out of control" part. What a set it had been.
 
-Encore-
 
The band came back out after about 5 minutes of crowd mayhem, demanding more
on this awesome night.
 
Bold as Love: A nice song, gave Page a chance to be in the spotlight, and a
decent encore choice. But they could've played just about anything, since it
wouldn't at all ruin what an amazing show we'd just seen.
 
 
After the encore, I was just trying to find my friend Matt, who, I am sure,
must have had a few cows throughout the night! No luck finding him though, so
I talked to a bunch of other phans and shared in the delight of the moment.
 
I can't wait to see what Phish has to offer tommorrow night at Allstate!
They've got a lot to live up to after tonight's monster performance!
 
John Riordan
[email protected]


Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2000 02:43:13 CDT
From: Bryan Deziel [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review 9.22.00 Rosemont, IL
 
    This was an amzing show.  After watching setlist after setlist get
better and better, the show was more than could even be expected.  The sound
was great, and it was great to hear Trey's tone reverberate through the
indoor hall.  The jams on Bathtub Gin, YEM, and Ghost, were like nothing
I've ever seen before, especially YEM, with it ending in an acapella chant.
The final jam of Meatstick --> Run Like an Antelope was one of their
greatest.  The crowd was so full of energy you could feel the energy
interaction between the crowd and the band.  They spared nothing this show,
bringing out the trampolines, Trey on the keys, japanese lyrics and the
meatstick dance.  Everything was beautifully topped off with their encore.
All in all I loved the show, and it only leaves me to wonder how great
Shoreline will be...
 
-Bryan Deziel

Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2000 17:30:05 CDT
From: Michael Shearer [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Review of 9-22-2000
 
This is a good show.  Although it has not happened, you and I both know, this
is a good show.
 
A saying on the ground reads,
Rearrange me for I change ideas,
Recite me because I invent beliefs,
Teach me for the future shall be told,
Define me to testify my meaning,
Circulate me, allowing others to reason,
Erase me for I am only words.


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