05/19/99 Fillmore, Denver, CO
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 14:14:17 -0600
From: CFP Front Desk
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: Review for Filmore 5/19
I felt compelled to comment after reading the other reviews. I must admit
that my consciousness was chemically altered during the show, but the other
reviews reaffirmed what I felt during the show- incredibly BAD VIBES. I
just recently moved to the mountains of Colorado from Burlington, VT and
have seen Phish all over the country since 1991. Out of all the times I've
seen Phish I've never ran across audiences so out of touch with what Phish
is all about than in Colorado. The audience at the Filmore show in
particular was especially offensive. I'm not going to go off about exactly
what was wrong because I think the other reviews summed it up quite well. I
was hanging near the back of the joint and had trouble hearing anything
over the constant noise of the shwilly ass crowd- I can't imagine how
dissappointed Trey must have been with this lack of respect on this night
that was supposed to be special- this whole solo tour was supposed to be
his way of saying thanks by kicking down some "once in a lifetime" shit. He
even commented before he started the first set how everyone always talk
about how special the old Filmore shows were (NY, SF) and how we can tell
people years from now that we were at THIS Filmore show. The audience just
wasn't able to appreciate what was happening in the NOW- sure these drunk
punks will look back and tell each other how sick the show was bro- but
they really didn't EXPERIENCE it. Don't get me wrong there were some
enlightened souls around- but they were heavily outnumbered. I was
especially pissed because the acoustic set was what I was really looking
forward to because it was so different from anything Trey had done before.
But halfway through the set I realized that it was a waste and was just
eager to get to the electric set so that atleast I could hear the music. I
felt that the second set rocked and I could finally tap into the music by
closing my eyes and not paying attention to all the shitbirds around me.
Don't get me wrong, I love when new schoolers come to shows and get turned
on to Phish- but this crowd just seemed utterly hopeless. I really can't
fathom what most of the people were doing there. Unfortunately the only
people who might read this are most likely going to be true Phish fans and
all of this babble doesn't even apply to them- but help spread the word
telling people not to go to Phish shows if they aren't into it- they are
just bringing everyone else down and ruining the entire scene. I couldn't
help but notice Trey put some extra emphasis on the lyrics in the Voodoo
Child encore- "I didn't mean to take up all your sweet time...I'll give
it back to you one of these days!!!!" Quite appropriate.
Jared Proctor
Breckenridge, CO
Miles@mountainmax
Date: Tue, 01 Jun 1999 09:17:35 PDT
From: jayson may jayson_may@hotmail.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: fillmore review
After having seen this show and experienced what I did, I felt that I should
produce a review. First, this night turned out to be less than I had
expected. It just wasn't that great of a show for me. It had its moments,
but overall, the experience wasn't outstanding. The problem with this show
was, simply: the crowd. The crowd sucked. Right from the start of the first
set there were bad vibes. Really, it was even apparent before Trey started
to play. It was strange to me because the Fillmore is an incredible place
and it was a rather historic event, and I thought that it would be filled
with die-hard Phish fans who were excited about this rare and fortunate
occasion. However, you could feel right away that it was not a solid crowd.
After Trey came out I began to question the integrity of the crowd.
First, there didn^Òt seem to exist a complete enthusiasm for the occasion.
It
seemed to me that as Trey came out on stage the Fillmore crowd didn^Òt
receive him with the kind of enthusiasm that I think he deserved. At least,
it didn^Òt equal the kind of enthusiasm that I was having for the event.
After Trey began to play, I quickly became very annoyed with the crowd. A
couple of songs in I mentioned to my brother about how chatty, loud and
irritating some of the crowd was. On the fringes of the floor, people were
seated at tables and otherwise were just hanging out and talking, and paying
little or no attention to what Trey was doing on stage, often with their
backs to him. This activity combined to create quite a disturbance. It was
loud and distracting, and totally interfered with the music. I couldn't seem
to get it out of my mind how totally rude these people were being, how I
couldn't concentrate on the music and how it must be affecting Trey. I
thought that I could feel Trey's annoyance in his playing and a couple of
songs in I learned that I was right. He made some subtle comment early on
about how he appreciated people being so quiet, or something. It was an
obvious hint, to me at least, that the chatter was affecting him and that he
hoped for a quite audience, because up until this point the chattering was
obviously loud and distracting. It went on this way for a couple of more
songs until Trey very coolly addressed the problem. Trey was totally nice
about it and said something to the effect of, "I understand that you're out
there partying and drinking and having a good time, and that's cool. But,
give me a quiet room for one song, and I'll play a real Country song and
then you can make as much noise as you want", and he also said something
about "ROCKOUS MAYHEM" to come later in the second set. At this point, he
went into what might have been the highlight of the night for me: "When the
Circus Comes to Town". After Trey^Òs soliciting a quiet room, the Fillmore
got pretty quiet for a short moment and then got slightly louder, but it was
more quiet than it had been, so far, and pretty acceptable. Anyway, this was
a beautiful rendering of this tune. Trey's singing was really moving and it
revealed the amazing acoustics of the venue. It became totally apparent to
me, after having heard a song with a relatively quiet audience, that this
was how the acoustic set was intended to be. "When the Circus Comes to Town"
was probably the most intimate and satisfying moment of the night. And after
all, wasn't that partially the intention of the solo tour? That Trey and we
could have a more personal interaction with one another, different from what
happens with him in regard to Phish? It also seems to me that the acoustic
set was to be considered much like one would consider a play or maybe some
kind of classical musical event, that you observed it in silence, or in this
case, at least very quietly, that incessant talking would generally be
perceived as rude. At least, if this would have been the case, I'm quite
sure that the first set would have been incredible.
--I must quickly state here, while it's on my mind, that I think that
many (I think that I can say, many) Phish fans have little clue about
anything. These fans are merely looking for a good party and little else,
and it was clear that much of the audience at the Fillmore that night was
after little more than this. There are too many pot-smoking, slacker,
hippies that go to see Phish and Phish related things, and at the root of
what these people are, is a basic lack of respect for anything. In this, how
could these people possibly appreciate a band like Phish? Phish essentially
represents the total opposite of this mentality. They work very hard and are
so dedicated to their art. Essentially, they strive to be their very best.
These pot-smoking slackers strive at nothing. It seems to me that most of
what Phish does just goes over their head. Case in point: some guy in front
of me and my bother actually turned around at the beginning of the electric
set and told my brother that Tony Markellis was Phil! Fucking scary! (Let me
also clarify here that I'm basically for pot-smoking and essentially, the
hippie ideal, but my problem lie with those burnt-out, lazy, spaced-out,
dull-brained, hippie-types, those who seem to maybe be estranged Dead Heads,
who didn't really know why they were going to Dead shows either, and have
just jumped on to the next thing- also, I think that most real Dead Heads
don't like Phish, although I do not fall into that category)-- Getting back
to the point....
In spite of all this, I enjoyed much of the first set. It was still
cool in terms of Trey being on stage with just an acoustic guitar and there
was some really cool stuff that Trey played. I remember the instrumental I
liked a lot and I think there were a couple of new ones that had some really
nice lyrics, and Trey playing piano for "Billy Breathes" was very cool, and
of course, you can't forget, "Guyute". And something that I noticed
throughout was that Trey's voice sounded great. Not only much improved, but
truly beautiful sounding. I thought that this was significant. While I was
never one to care much about Trey^Òs singing, I never perceived his singing
as being anything necessarily noteworthy. But, this night his voice sounded
beautiful (It seems that he's taken an interest in his singing and I'm
anxious to hear him sing with Phish!). After ^ÓWhen the Circus Comes to
Town^Ô, the crowd returned to being loud- although never totally honoring
Trey^Òs request for a quiet room, in the first place- so, the entire
acoustic
set was played under basically irritating conditions. And I felt that Trey's
song selection and length of set, and general enthusiasm for his playing,
was much less than it would have been had those chatty, disrespectful and
obviously uninterested members of the audience been absent. Overall, the
first set was pretty enjoyable, but, ultimately, it didn't leave me feeling
very good. I really felt angry about how shitty the audience was and the
thought of how the first set could have gone just left me frustrated.
Set Two: By this point, I had really developed significant contempt
for
the chatty members of the audience. After having had forty-five minutes or
so to brood about this, I was pretty irritated. This really didn't improve
after Trey, Russ and Tony came out on stage, either. The overall enthusiasm
from the crowd just wasn't there. I will speculate, as did a previous
reviewer of this show, that the crowd was anticipating special guests. I
thought about this possibility, but I would have been satisfied, either way.
I heard the Phil rumor during set break and in this, I think quite a few
people who don't really get into Phish but love the Dead were enticed to
this show, and were anticipating some Phish/Dead/Bill Graham Presents kind
of thing, that would end up being a pretty decent thing for them since they
can't go see the Dead anymore. Also, I saw many who were yuppyish and
probably there only to celebrate the opening of the Fillmore. I guess maybe
it turns out that the crowd was a just a bad mixture of people, I'm not
sure. Anyway, there wasn't the kind of enthusiasm from the crowd that I was
anticipating there being for the electric set and the set never really
seemed to get going. There were some great moments throughout the set where
Trey took me to someplace Grand, but Trey never really seemed to get that
into it. I^Òm not familiar enough with the songs that were played to provide
any kind of specifics about which songs might have been noteworthy or which
songs had some of those transcendent moments that I mentioned earlier, but
overall it was a rather tepid performance throughout. I know that some
reviewers have claimed that Trey let out his anger about the crowd at times
during this set. I wouldn't be surprised if he did. There was some
particularly abrasive playing during one of the songs that one might
perceive as communicating something like anger. Regardless, Trey's playing
during the whole set seemed pretty uninspired and I couldn't help but relate
that to the shitty crowd. It was really disappointing for me. Maybe one
thing that I can specifically comment on as being noteworthy or at least
positive was the drum dual, or whatever you might want to call it. I thought
that this was pretty cool. I was often fond of the drums/space thing that
the Dead would do and at times this held that flavor for me. Mostly, though,
Trey and Russ seemed to be really enjoying themselves and that was probably
the best part about it.
In the end, the opening night at the Fillmore was basically a
disappointment. Although I didn^Òt have a bad time, I didn^Òt necessarily
have
a good time either, and ultimately, I^Òm left with a bad feeling about the
show. In fact, this show is undeniably the worst Phish related experience
that I^Òve ever had, and as is the case with any less-than-great experience
that I have regarding Phish, the disappointment stems from a lame crowd. I
know that people have bitched about how it ain^Òt what it used to be, but it
ain^Òt. The small theater crowds back in ^Ò91 and ^Ò92, when I first started
seeing Phish, were so much better, as was the overall experience. I don^Òt
claim to have any solid answers as to what is happening in this regard, but
it starts to become quite a bummer. I hope that this changes, because this
situation essentially ruined what could have been a momentous night at the
opening of the Fillmore. Thanks for hanging on and reading my review.
Jayson May
Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 17:03:00 -0600
From: Bill Joyce joyce@nvmedia.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: Denver Fillmore show
I had to chime in with a good review. All these so-called phans are
bringing me down. Why are they still bothering with seeing phish related
shows? If you like WP, go write reviews on the WP page, but don't bother
to tell us what to go see. How does it go? DARE to think for yourself.
This is the same kind of people who stand at airports and hand out
religious brochures. If you don't like it, turn it off, right? (Or in
this case, just go home)
Anyways, the 3600 capacity of the Fillmore is a very large
problem. There's supposed to be a curtain that would make the place half
the size, it would be best if they made it a wall. It would have been nice
to put all the boozers and talkative folks (I'm sure there was a coffee
house nearby they could have had their conversations at) on the other side
of the wall, and gave them a big screen to watch the show on, so the rest
of us could have enjoyed a fine fine musical performance by all 3
musicians. Don't get me wrong, the venue is beautiful and all, and I
appreciate all that BGP did to make it better than it used to be,
but it's still too big. I mean, it's either intimate, or it's a
stadium. This in the middle stuff didn't work that night. I would have
hated to be dosie dohing that night. Bad vibes all around.
I can't believe that these people believed those show rumors, and
were hoping for guest musicians. Don't you think that would have been a
big insult to trey and Tony and Russ? It wasn't headlined as Trey and
Friends. If it was, then I might have believed those rumors myself, but I
laughed them all off. If any of those people were there, they
were there to see one hell of a guitarist. Trey could make the devil
cry he plays guitar so awesome (listen to those Phil and Friends shows
from Apr15-17), and you'll know what i'm talkin' about.
Musically...........The taste;farmhouse opening was great, but then
all those chatty ken and barbie dolls started talkin' bout uncle fred,
aunt jane, world politics, gun control, sports, etc.,etc.,etc. And the
set took a bad turn. If I were Trey, I would have walked
off the stage like Hornsby did when he played here in denver. But,
unlike how some others who see trey as egotistical, he tried his hardest
to get the people to calm down. Not bloody likely in Denver. Most of the
people here are the worst concertgoers I've ever seen, and I've been a lot
of places. A lot of places, alot of shows!
So, trey did his best to please those that were there to see him
play, and then finished with a fantastic version of guyute.
Second set was a mind blower. Yep, when Trey's pissed, he makes all
of us pay! It was my first First Tube and all I can say is
yeeeehahhh....what a ride! Reminded me of Piper. What I remember in the
middle is jam jam jam! Yesssss!!!!!! Ooh Child was a nice vocal treat,
and the drum jam sand tune was excellent. Just like the dead shows (and
Dark Star Orchestra shows too ---- www.darkstarorchestra.net ), people
were bailing all over, and I finally got some groovin room. So it just
got better and better as it went on. I can see clearly now alot of smiles
in the room.
Windora bug is a perfect phish tune, very funny and happy. 1st time
hearing that one too, and I enjoyed every minute of it, and the incredible
voodoo child finish capped it all off.
Now, if I want to get depressed, i'll go see Counting Crows, but if
I want to be in a good mood, I'll see phish for as long as they keep
playin.
Let there be songs..........to fill the air!
On that note, see y'all on tour
Peace Love and Happiness
Bill Joyce (joyce@nvmedia.com)
Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 12:25:23 -0600
From: nwarner nwarner@tonti.com
To: dws@archive.phish.net
Subject: May 19 Fillmore Show.
You know, back in the day I really loved Phish, but I'll tell you what...
they have really declined in quality. Trey must be a very egotistical man,
because I would just like to know who the hell told him he was good enough
to tour "solo". His lame-ass set list speaks for itself. He never "gave
it up", so to speak. He was edging on something good at times, but never
hit the mark. Yes, the Fillmore is an incredible venue, but Trey really
wasn't worth the honor of playing opening night. Rumors were flying around
that there had been a Phil (Lesh) sighting at DIA, and after everyone heard
that, I think that is what the crowd was looking forward to, which could
have something to do with all the dissapointment. To say that this show
was at all good is an affirmation to anyone who believes that, that they
have absolutely no taste in music and are "Phish-heads" convinced that this
is the best band on the planet! WRONG! Don't give these sell-outs too
much credit. Since 1997 they have continuously let EVERYONE down. They
get the most applause when playing other's songs. Their new stuff leaves
so much to be desired. What ever happened to the funkiness of "Picture of
Nectar" or the creativeness of "Rift"? I just don't get it, but be assured
that good music is still out there. Widespread Panic is my band of
choice. You can be garunteed that you WILL NOT be disappointed at ANY of
their shows! And just a quick P.S... Why was Trey getting so upset at the
noise from the audience at his shows? Seems to me he should have gotten
the hint a little bit earlier on!
Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 17:35:54 EDT
From: ToneClone@aol.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: Denver Review
Frist Set: After seeing some good and bad acoustis set list my hopes were to
at least see one or two quality songs. Gyutte was it ! The rest of it was
stuff if I could sing I could of played on the guitar ! Easy stuf totaly cord
based no picking or soloing at all. And for you Taste fans don't sweat
missing this one no jammingat all just cords! I also was offended by Trey
dissapointment at the croud. Screw that it was much more quiet than I'd
exspect 3,000 people to be especially with no seats to sit down in when the
Cheese was being played. I don't understand the need for that set it did'nt
seem musicly chalanging to him and nobody realy care about 3/4 of the songs
he played. Throw in a Jim, Chalkdust or a Alumni and I'll shut up all night
but play a Country tune as a reward No THANKS Country sucks! I would of
played Jump Monk . Thats a Thank You the Country Song was a punishment! This
was a waste of time. I admit Gyutte was awesome to see acoustic I just wish
the rest of the set was half as inspiring.
Set 2: As disapointing as set one was set two was As Awesome!!!!! I wish
Trey would quit phish and just solo cause this band knew what to do , sit
back and groove and let the best Guitar player ever do his stuff. With the
Exception of "I can See Clearly" , "Oh Child" and "Winora Bug" which were
rest type tunes. All out ferocious jamming by Trey. Will Go Round in Circles,
Sand, and VoooDooo Child were my favorites. I would agree with the complaint
about Treys Vocals during the VooDoo Child but I believed it because his
guitar was so loud! I'll take that trade off. As for the Jamming it was sick.
I wish I lived on the east coast and had no life so I could of toured this
band cause every moment must of been awesome!
Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 22:03:25 -0600
From: modelt modelt@gateway.net
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: review of the fillmore show
well, my thoughts on the show, for what it's worth. in an interview with
the denver paper, trey talked about playing with phish for 16 years, and
how when you paly with people for that long, you learn to compensate for
each other's weaknesses within the band, and then when you play with other
people, you have to face them again.
first set was good, but trey was obviously annoyed with the crowd, who had
a good 2 and 1/2 hours of drinking prior to showtime. first, he hinted
"thanks for being so quiet" type of comments. then he pleaded "if you'll
just let me play one song in a quiet room, i'll play you the drunken
mayhem
country song". contrary to other reviews, it didn't work. there was
whooping and howling all through circus comes to town. it was
disrespctful, imho. still, it was a real treat to see just trey making
music. the highlight for me.
second set, well, it fulfilled trey's own prophecy. it really showed his
weaknesses. russ and tony laid down a highly repetetive and pretty boring
groove for the entire set. trey's real weakness is self indulgence and
this set was a shining example. two hours of wanking.
two cents.
Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 10:52:35 -0600
From: esommers@pbt.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: Trey 5/19 - Fillmore, Denver
Let me first say that it was a pleasure and an honor to be a part of a
"historic" event in Denver last night.....the grand opening (re-opening)
of
the Fillmore Auditorium by the most generous performer in the
biz...TREY!!!
The Fillmore has immediately laid the claim as the best indoor venue in
Denver, without a doubt! The crowd arrived early and was treated to a
first-class facility and staff, highlighted by the array of concert photos
and artwork from venues in Denver, plus the Fillmore in SF. The
chandeliers are beatiful, the lighting excellent, and the sound.....OH
YEAH, there was a show there last night TOO!!!!
Trey's acoustic set opened with the first and only version of "Taste" on
the tour, and what a treat! The crowd was dizzy in anticipation and
"Taste" reeled everybody right in. The remainder of the acoustic set
featured a number of Trey's favorites on the acoustic tour, including
"Farmhouse", "Brian and Robert", "Mountains in the Mist", and "Billy
Breathes" with Trey on piano. Trey took a couple opportunities to
acknowledge the new auditorium, saying, "Just breaking it in," with a
grin.
He also was having a slightly difficult time keeping the crowd as quiet as
he would like, but promised that the mayhem would be coming in the second
set. He then made a deal with the crowd that if they could stay extra
quiet for a really great song, "When the Circus Comes," we could all get
loud again for "The Real Country Song." It worked...."Circus" sounded
great and "Country Song" has everyone yelling and laughing. After that,
Trey closed the acoustic set with a perfect choice, "Guyute."
Everyone who's seen this tour or has heard anything about it knows that
the
electric set is something special....just a complete sound emporium. The
setlist for the Fillmore was similar to the previous shows, but the energy
and sound quality that this band in this room produced was unquestionably
some of the best I have ever heard. I think just about anyone who was in
the Fillmore last night would agree with me. It was a hot and sweaty
groove factory down near the stage, but the groove kept coming, starting
with "First Tube," then with "Jiboo" and later with "Circles" and
"Mozambique." Everyone is wondering whether or not Phish will incorporate
some of these tunes this summer, and I certainly hope they do. "Ooh
Child"
by the Delfonics, is one of my all-time favorite Mo-Town tunes and Trey
sings it so beautifully it would be a treat to hear it again with the
boys.
For the encore we were not surprised as the Burlington crew was with any
guest appearances, but the crowd was yelling out requests for "Row Jimmy."
That certainly would have been a treat, but the new Windora Bug was quite
nice as well, with Tony handling the lead vocals and some good jamming.
Personally, I got the treat I was looking for when Trey decided to finish
the tour with "Voodoo Child." WOW! Relentless, flawless,
fierce....mind-blowing. Any questions? When he finally finished blowing
our minds for the last 15 minutes of jam, Trey thanked the crowd, the
band,
and promised that he would be back to play this room once again. My only
question is... WHEN?!?!?!?!
Thank you Trey!
Eric Sommers
Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 11:29:50 -0700
From: Umar Ahmad uahmad@du.edu
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: review of the Fillmore in Denver
I couldn't be more disapointed. The worst Phish related show or show
period that I have ever been to. First set had no highlights except for
the Taste opener. Crowd was not that bad, only heard about three song
requests. I was twenty feet from stage though, and sound in back may
have been worse. Trey talked about mayhm and us being the first there.
We were breaking in the Fillmore. He talked about how in the year 2020
people would talk about this show, and guess what? You're here trey
tells us. He then proceeded to play a shitty set one and overall song
selection on the night sucked. Trey's real drunken country song is
good, but not that good. The crowd didn't enjoy it enough. Get Back on
the Train was kind of funky but nothing much more. Billy Breathes on
piano was not that good at all, Page needs to never let Trey touch his
piano again, it definately needs a tuneup now. Guyute to end was good
except for the fact that it has been played in Denver far too often.
Set 2 started out nicely, then the highlight of the entire night. The
best Jiboo I have heard. It seemed to go on forever. Lasted about
twenty or more minutes. Trey was playing his guitar nicely, and magic
could have been present, but just never got to that level. No offense
to anyone, but the drumming duel was horrible. Trey and Russ couldn't
match anything I've heard from Mickey and Bill. Give Fishman a shot at
it Trey, he's the sickest drummer alive. Nothing else this set caught
my eye. Ooh Child and I can se Clearly should never ever be played
again by Trey, unless he's playing with DMB at one of their shows.
Their crowd may like it!! The encore was even weaker, because I was
almost dreading hearing Trey play Voodoo Chile. I knew it was coming,
considering it has been played at almost every show this tour. A song
like this should only be broken out once in a blue moon. And sadly,
Trey did it no justice. His voice was too weak, and his soul wasn't
present. To those who disagree, I suggest checking out Stevie Ray's
version, possibly the one live from Austin Texas 1983 on video. Windora
Bug would have been sick if Mike was singing, but its a pretty average
song. For a second I had thought they were blessing us with a surprise
Makisupa, but no just a shotty Windora Bug.
Overall: This venue is absolutely sick. Holds about 3,500. I see a
great future for the Denver Fillmore, but as of now it still has no
history.
Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 10:46:55 -0600
From: Shawna and Robert Margesson marges@lanminds.net
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: A fillmore Review
First, the new venue is absolutely incredible. It is very plush, has a
killer sound system, and is staffed by friendly folk. No doubt in my
mind that I'll make a point of catching more shows there.
As for last night show, it was definitely an exercise in contrast. I
really thought the acoustic set opened on a high note with "taste"
followed by "farmhouse". These are two songs I was hoping to see, so to
get them right out the gate was a treat. But, it was painfully obvious
from the first note that the crowd was not going to allow the acoustic
music be heard. Trey implored the crowd to keep quiet, but it was a
wasted effort. After a few more tunes, Trey begged the crowd for silence
for at least one tune and played a beautiful version of "When the circus
comes to town". Oddly enough, for this one tune the crowd piped down and
you realized how perfect the acoustics in that venue really are, and
what a fantastic experience the acoustic set could have been had people
let it be hear. Anyway, Trey busts out a few more tunes and wraps it up
with a (from what I could hear) rockin good Guyute.
All in all, the acoustic set was disappointing both in length and song
selection. Honestly, I attribute both to the crowd. Maybe had a little
respect been shown Trey might have given us a few nuggets. Instead he
played some standards and ran backstage.
In between sets I heard some many "special guest" rumors that it became
humorous. To name a few, Phish, Neil Young, Bruce Hornsby, Carlos
Santana, Phil Lesh, and so on. Right before the set started I mentioned
to my friend that I had the feeling that Trey was gonna punish us,
attempt to kill us with his guitar, for being so rude during the
acoustic set. I was right.
Set two opened with a mean, mean, mean "First tube". Trey played some of
the most aggressive guitar imaginable. Any anger or frustration he had
coming out of set one, he took it out on his electric guitar. Highlights
include and absolutely out-of-control "Will it go round in circles" and
a drawn out and powerful "sand". After the "circles", I turned to my
friend who is not a jambands fan and had never seen Trey play and asked
what he thought. His response, "He is God!" Couldn't agree more.
The only downer in set two was the close. After an overly-long drum
break, the band picked up "I can see clearly now". I love that tune, but
they played it for about 2 minutes, Trey introduced his bandmates, and
they left the stage. It was a rather weak way to wrap up the set. The
encore more than made up for it. I am a sap for catchy pop melodies, so
"Windora Bug", with its poppy chorus appeals to me. Follow that up with
a jammed out "Voodoo Child", and you have a nice, solid conclusion.
Overall, a show with its ups and downs. But, the ups clearly outweighed
the downs. Get set two on tape, but, unless you are a completist, you
can skip the acoustic set.
A-man
Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 17:03:38 -0400
From: jfialky@carat-na.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: Fillmore Review
Hey Andy,
Can someone please tell that guy to shut the fusk up and get some taste.
I saw the Portland show... and have never heard such bitter and negative
people in my life. I saw Voodoo Chile...and you know what? It answered
all of my Phish dreams. Bottom line, Trey could blow Jimi away in every
way (except for LSD use).
Sorry, but I had vent. People like this make Phish shows a negative place.
They should go listen to the BackStreet Boys or some other band that does
not have the balls to try new things and play different instruments tyhan
we are used to them playing.
Thanks Man,
Josh Fialky
Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 23:47:08 -0000
From: Mark Maynard moemaynard@bemail.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Hey everybody, Andy-
Just got back from the Fillmore show in Denver. Parking is a bitch but
as soon as you get in the front door, you forget all your worries. Paid
40 bucks for a ticket at about 7:50 pm, about 15 minutes or so before
showtime. As I stepped through the newest Fillmore, owned by whoever
owns the others, I realized that this was not just a typical Denver
theatre, this place is awesome! The venue held probably 4,000 people
easy. Beers were hard to get at first in line but waitrasses(?) were
easily bribed. Anyhow, I'm drunk, on too the show
The acoustic set was highlighted by a sweet Guyute at the end of the
set. Trey played a bunch of phish tunes that were good but the sound was
too low for such a large auditorium.
The second set was goddam incredible! Every song was jammed out big
time, ; especially by Trey. No phish songs at all which was very nice; a
tribute I think to the great players, trey was playing with. Trey WAS
the highlight however, he played some great hard blues, jammy, ala'
hendrix and santana style, All night! Just can't explain it good enough
now, have to get some sleep! This show was better than a good many
phish shows I have seen, easily. Maybe I can describe better
manana......................Trey was goddamn fuckin incredible
tonight............goodnight all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Maynard
return me to the trey solo page