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PholkTales: Miscellaneous

Yeah Alliecat, yeah. I had a great time and I thought the second set jamming was pretty damn innovative in spite of the set list. The jams out of Halleys and Harry were definitely atypical for those songs, and the minute they started the Twist, I scribbled the word "evil" on the notes I half-heartedly attempted to take, whadda laugh. Twist was dark from the very beginning and it spiraled into a deconstructive jamming that the band was hard put to return from. Actually, my only objection to the song was the way they returned to the Twist theme. They were so far out of it that all they could do was just stop, and then pick up the theme again cold. They should have just segued into the next song.

As far as those crap songs on Monday night's set list, I find the majority of Phish songs to be silly crap songs, frankly. But Trey and the band get into some of those songs, and most times you can really tell when the emotional and energy levels of the playing are high enough to compensate for the cheesiness of the song. I mean Heavy Things, All Of My Dreams, Sample, Chalk dust and Farmhouse, oiy! The cheese couldn't get any thicker. But outside of AOMD which I thought was a little lackluster, the remaining songs were executed with high interest and intensity, especially the Chalk dust which broke the typical tension/release cycle of most versions of this song. Smatter of fact, they almost lost the handle on Chalk dust, the way they lost it on Twist, because the jamming was so out there.

So I guess I'm not the guy to come to for an objective analysis of the music, which is what I warned everyone about last week. I normally have really low expectations of Phish when I walk into a show, and I'm not overly concerned by what songs will be chosen for play. I'm looking for a coordinated effort by the band with interest, energy and innovation. If I understand that they seem to be striving for these things, I'll believe the show to be decent.

The BB King show went on too long and kind of reminded me of the Ken Keasy fiasco at Darien Lakes in '97. Sure it was cool and had a certain entertainment value, but it went on too long and nearly killed whatever musical momentum the band had going for it that night. Monday night the audience boo'd the band when everyone left the stage at the end of BB, I guess because it was a helluva poor way to end the set, and rightly so.

On the other hand, I enjoyed the effort on their part to bring something new into the show for, as Steve puts it, nostalgia value. There's risks involved with trying anything new like this because sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I still applaud them for trying, and allow them some slack for not knowing when to cut it off.

In other matters, sorry I didn't connect with you folks Monday. I tried dialing Tiffany and Todd Nathan during set break, but got no answer. Overall, though, I found the crowd pretty nice in spite of the unaccommodating attitude of the Continental Arena management philosophy. The lines getting into the arena were brutal, but everyone was pretty calm and happy to be sharing the usual abuse which surrounds the process.

We had ghastly seats also gemma, next to last row from the topity top, just over Page's head. But it was kind of nice because Fred the DJ and I had four seats apiece with plenty of room to breath and move about at will. And the sound wasn't that bad at all. All the instruments seemed pretty balanced, with only the drums a little underneath. Maybe it was a lucky spot. Judging by my complete enjoyment of the evening, I'm more convinced now that it was.

A quick homage to my Monday night show partner, Fred the DJ who I hadn't spoken to since 6/29/00 at PNC. Fred was the DJ who worked my daughter's wedding in Fall of '98, and who became one of my local Phish trading friends when we both found out we were into Phish. I still am, (even though he's not in the DJ business anymore, but attends business school at Flaggler College in St. Augustine), the only guest to ever request a Phish song at any reception or party he's worked. Marie and I danced to Julius the night of Roni's wedding, and Fred still considers that one of the best parties he's ever seen.

Anyway, when I was cleaning out my email filing cabinet two weeks ago, I came across an old message from him and decided to give it a try. We connected and coordinated a cell phone meeting on Monday night in the lot. He, his brother and tour buddies had done Ohio, and were doing Philly before driving back for a test on Friday, and then driving back to SC on Saturday. Hardcore I'd say.

I hung with him in the lot as he sold some Magic Hat to help defer his expenses. But before I could leave to go sell my extra, he offered to switch his seat in a decidedly better section to come and share the show with me over Page's head. I was seriously pleased and majorly honored by his suggestion. Needless to say we had a great concert experience drinking Magic Hat and vodka in the lot and on line getting through the gates. We had just climbed all those many stairs to get to the topity top when the lights went out and the show started, almost automatically. All night long we boogied to some great music together and critiqued the boys throughout the night along with some very friendly folks around us.

Fred and I have little in common, and I'm more than twice his age. But when it comes to Phish and our enjoyment of all those crappy little songs, he and I are old friends with psychological and emotional bonds that will last through any hiatus Phish can throw at us in the future. With a little luck, Marie and I will be dancing to Julius at his wedding whenever it happens.

On to Nassau. Snow storms notwithstanding (6-10 inches now predicted for LI and NJ), the boys and I plan to get into town a little early and hang at the Marriott bar for a while before staggering over to the lots. We've got really decent seats, section 210 seven rows up. That's directly opposite and stage high (woot woot, what a term). Hope to see some of you there. If you're interested in exchanging cell phone numbers, feel free to contact me. btw, do they ever cancel a show because of the weather? What do they do if that happens, reschedule or refund?

Anyway, thanks again Allie for those tickets. Great music, great friends, great time overall.

- Bill