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

review submisions to me at dws@netspace.org, dws@gadiel.com, reviews@walfredo.com

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: EBellaff@aol.com 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: EnigmaKing88@aol.com 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: Smooth09@aol.com 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: adamudel@optonline.net 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 Adamudel@optonline.net
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 16:36:46 EDT From: Edgolfterp@aol.com 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: Thomas55shannon@aol.com 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: RockyRaccoon26@aol.com 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^Òll get to the show in a sec), and I^Òll 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^Òt 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^Òs 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^Òm 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, ^ÓDamn.^Ô 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^Òs it. Oh well^Å 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^Òve decided I^Òll take an indoor arena to shed/lawn shows any day. I^Òve 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^Òs 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^Òt be choosers. It was good, but not great. The pause was not that long (thank Buddha), but the jam wasn^Òt 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^Òll 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^ÒS BROTHER- This was the prelude to the second set. It raged- the intensity just kept building and building. Not like Phish ^Ò96, 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^Òs theme, but Trey was able to bring it back. Still, I^Òve seen many Wolfman^Òs, and I^Òve never seen one end so strong. I thought this would have closed the set, but^Å POSSUM- I was not too impressed with this Possum. It was short, and sweet, but not overly original in jamming. But hey, the set^Òs 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^Òve seen. The operative word is ^Óraging^Ô. 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^Òs 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^ÒS 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^Òt 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^Òs 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^Òt given Fishman his propers yet, but he was on this song, and never relaxed the beat. Like Piper, this song abandoned it^Òs chord structure pretty early on, and went way out there, never losing it^Òs cohesiveness or intensity. Somehow, Trey was able to bring it back to the Weekapaug Theme. They did the closing vocals, but after they didn^Òt stop playing. Instead, they went into a pretty heavy jam, that at thought at first was going to be Can^Òt Hear You Knockin^Ò, 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^Å 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^Å 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^Òve seen this at every post hiatus show I^Òve been at, but this wasn^Òt your grandma^Òs Harry Hood. I haven^Òt 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^Òs piano started to prevail in the mix, and it was the return to the ending section of the song. I^Òm 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^Òt wait to hear it again. E: FRANKENSTEIN- At this point the band must have been dancing on their curfew, and I^Òm 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: NazarianD@aol.com 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: Edee815@aol.com 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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