2-18-03 - Pepsi Center, Denver, CO

ate: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 12:42:46 -0600
From: Justin Hydrick jushyd@hotmail.com
Subject: denver show review


Phish Show in Denver 2-18-03

I was glad to hear the boys play a lot of old songs and not too many news 
songs because I still can't get into their new album. A few songs are 
growing on me but overall it's too damn mellow. Just my opinion of course. 
The Pepsi Center is a great place to watch hockey but not a very good venue 
for bands. I don't think it sounds very good in there. My seat was at the 
bottom of the first "upper tier". We had a good view of the guys but you 
could barely hear them. Trey and Fishman were the loudest. I couldn't hear 
Mike or Page at all and that sucks because it looked like they were ripping 
it up. As for the songs; I thought they played them all well but they never 
really reached that one high point, where they just hold out a jam for a 
very intense amount of time. Maybe it's because of their time off or because 
they are almost 40 but I remember the jams of the early 90's and back then I 
remember thinking I was going to loose my mind because the jams were so 
intense. I didn't feel any of that at this show. With the exception of a 
couple of beers, this was also my first sober show so maybe that had 
something to do with it. I almost wish they had played the Filmore instead 
of the Pepsi Center. Maybe the statue of limitations will expire their being 
banned from Red Rocks. After all, that was a kick ass place to see any band, 
especially Phish. But my friends and I had a great time. The crowd was cool 
and respectful. Overall I give the show a B-. I noticed there are no other 
reviews on Phish.net for the Denver show and I wish I could include the 
setlist. I remembered it that night but that was last week. Sorry. So Mike, 
if you're reading this, have Paul turn up the volume for you and Page and 
quit charging so damn much for tickets. Even at $20 a pop, you would still 
make a bundle. Peace.   Justin

Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:56:24 -0700
From: abjerke abjerke@du.edu
Subject: Denver Review

I'm am complete accordance with anyone who believes our crowd is being too 
critical.  If we could just take our minds off which notes are flubbed, or if 
there is a "weak" setlist, then we might be more engrossed by the music.  
PHISH IS BACK!!!! What else matters, and who else is better?  Compared to any 
other jam shows I've seen this year, everyone makes mistakes or plays songs 
that you might not want to hear.  Just keep in mind, you're hearing them live, 
and not on released shows from past years to try to hold you over during a 
hiatus.  This is the best band around right now, so just sit back and take it 
in.  How would you like it if you had a fan base going around critiquing your 
life?  You'd be pissed to hear about all the boring shit that goes on and 
imperfections you have, just like they when people are soo fucking critical.
  This show was awesome!!  
Runaway Jim - was amazing, to say the least.  Definitely didn't wee that 
coming!  A tight jam indeed, welcome back boys!!
Water in the Sky - is always a good song and I liked the jam and what Fish was 
doing on the drums.  A nice way to take it down before bringing back up 
with...
Twist - an absolutely sick version with some nice funk and well correlated 
jam.
The Squirming Coil - One of my all time favorites, another that I was just 
blown away by.  A very tight version with an awesome jam at the end by Page, 
though a little hard to hear b/c of the crowd.  I guess they're a part of the 
song,, so the sheer energy was actually pleasing to me.
Brian and Robert - A nice come down and segueing into this one when Trey 
sustained that note to start it off and the end of Page's solo.  This is a 
very touching song and holds a place in my heart.  Thanks guys!
Stash - Fucking rocking!!!  Awesome lights to match a raging jam.  This is one 
of the better versions I've heard, Trey was just on fire, bringing back 
memories of the older days.
The Wedge - Who doesn't want to hear this.  Nice for anyone who crossed the 
Great Divide to get here, or crosses it every weekend to ski here.  Very well 
placed.
Birds of a Feather - This was a very unique and rockin' jam.  It surely 
brought the energy up yet another level, and brought a face-wide grin to me!
Lawn Boy - Awesome!  Page you sexy bitch!
Walls of the Cave - My favorite off the new album and they gave me a very nice 
version.  Great set closer!

Set 2

Moma Dance - Great set starter and the first time I've heard this, a great one 
off of Ghost.  Everyone around me was groovin' to this tune.
Limb by Limb - A great rendition.  Nice funky jam that took off into a 
spectrum off differnt areas and moods, awesome lights!
Thunderheads - Another one of my better liked off the new album.  A really 
cool jam on this one. Threw me off for the upcoming...
Divided Sky! - This is possibly my favorite Phish song, if it's possible to 
have only one.  The long break set the crowd wild and the jam was just 
awesome.  the band was jumping up and down, dancing with the crowd.  Very 
touching and brought a tear to my eye.  This is such a beautiful song!  I 
don't see how anyone could think this version sucked.  Pull your head out of 
your ass, this song fucking rocks!!  Thanks again Phish!
Carini - Where did that come from?!  An erie jam with some crazy stop/go 
jamming and down tuning by Gordon that rumbled the whole arena.  One of the 
longer versions I've heard, absolutely raucous!!
YEM - Fucking awesome!  The band was really into it on this one with the 
trampolines and Trey little jig across the stage during his section on the 
jam.  Then he busts it out and fucking rocks the place.  didn't expect the 
vacuum to come out, but low and behold there is came.  A very unique vocal 
improv and smooth segue into "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."  Really awesome 
version guys!!

Encore

NICU - Awesome!
Mexican Cousin - Nice end to "all the good times and the sad" throughout the 
show.  I'm sure plenty of people were going to be kissing him after the show, 
nice placement, and a really cool jam.

I hate to cause tension in the community, but quit being so overly critical.  
This is the band that has made our lives have a higher meaning and provided 
assurance that we can be crazy and they'll be here to see us through.  
Remember they love us dearly as we do them and to be so critical is just 
killing the good vibe from their ended hiatus.  PHISH IS THE BEST, and they 
surely proved it to me tenfold on this night.  Hats off to the start of 
another 17 years (or more hopefully)!!!

Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 07:53:02 -0800 (PST)
From: Jammin Jim jamminjimshow@yahoo.com
Subject: Denver Review

Critical Energy Patrol

by Jammin Jim

I am writing this review to get a message accross to all of us kids who
consider ourselves to be Phans of Phish. People are being way to critical
and that Sucks. Period! We should be recognizing the good and lightening
up on the minor.

After reading reviews people just talk about how they made a mistake in
this song, or they played too many new songs. Pardon me, but Who the Fuck
Cares. Little mistakes do happen, but Phish has the skill to beef it up
the next precession. I see Phish so I can absorb the energy and music
through the undescribable moments they create. You know the feeling,
where you are dancing and you think to yourself "Can life get any better
right now?" Let go, Enjoy what is in front of you, and Have fun. That is
what Phish is all about.

The new Phish is so enjoyable and fresh. There has been nothing
repetitive in the jams that have ever been done in the past. To say the
least, the way they are playing older material is some of the best
versions of the songs that I have ever heard. So I ask the question to
our phans, "What are you listening to?" All I keep hearing is negative
comments about the band, instead of a couple of positive notes to add
into a review. Please, Lower your expectations of wanting to hear kick
down songs. People felt Vegas Sucked for that reason. I look at it this
way. It was 2 years 5 months and 11 days since I saw the last show at
Shorline. It brought so much joy to my heart, seeing these four great
musicians on stage for my hiatus ending show in Denver. Seeing Phish is
an absolute pleasure and something we have all taken for granted over
time. So, now they are back performing again. It just baffles me why
people reacting critical instead of appreciative.

The Denver Show was awesome. The scene was something that I was proud of.
I'm sure as things head out East they will get more Schwilly. Tickets for
this show were plentiful. It was actually hard to sell a ticket at face
value. This made me happy seeing everyone get into the show with no
problem.

Okay! The Show. 1st Set was EPIC to say the least. Some of my favorite
songs thrown in the typical Phish curve-ball-fashion. The energy was up
and down in very neat ways. Water in the Sky reached to me in ways that
it has never done before. It sounded very good. The band appears to be
having so much Fun together. Their new stage set-up is more effective and
very unified. Trey does not even have his keyboard on the set anymore. It
is all business now folks. Twist was super nasty. Squirming Coil and
Brian and Robert were great. Stash is always sick and was definately
bumpin. Living in Colorado is magical, and Phish probably embarked on
those aspects from travelling experiences earlier on in their career. It
is always a highlight seeing them play The Wedge. That song does a great
job of simplifying things in life and providing a great feeling for all
of humankind. Oh yeah Phish crossed the Great Divide to get here. Next we
see that Trey gives the signal for Birds. I really thought that the set
was done after a fatty outro from Birds of a Feather. I thought wrong.
They are not even close to done yet. mmmm. Lawnboy! Page is such a Pimp.
We all know how that one makes us feel. Then one song I have been really
itchin to see was Walls of the Cave. The jam of B-D-Db-C is so cool. Of
the new material, this song is probably my favorite. It covers so many
aspects of a Jam, Super-Spacey (but not over doing it) and up-beat Rock N
Roll power chords. This was one of my favorite sets Phish has played in a
long time.

2nd Set. Well 1st set was very long, I knew that second set was the Jam
set, and it was just that. Moma Dance was soo sick, as always. I was
really surprised that Phish didn't bust that out in earlier shows. Just
happy I got to see it. Limb By Limb had some of the greatest moments in
the entire show. I have to go back to my comment earlier. "Everything
phish is playing is very enjoyable and fresh." This was one of the best
versions I have ever heard. Then they busted out Thunderhead. I really
like this song, as well. I can not emphasize this enough. "The new
material is being performed very well." I think there is a lot of truth
to Page's comment about them getting so much new energy from the new
material. He added, before the tours began, that they have not practiced
older songs. Lets face it, Phish has been doing this for over 20years. It
is just going to get better and better. New songs and of course the old
favorites. Divided Sky. Not much to say about this. It is always awesome.
The end of it was so hot. Wait!!! Get ready cause here comes Carini. I
was scared from this one. It got so erie I almost lost my mind. Very hard
and something you are just going to have to listen to for yourself. This
Carini ranks up there. Trey did a lot of effects for this one. His
tube-screamers rule. Phish's communication is like I have never seen.
They are not over-doing anything. When things get dull or repitative they
move on. This was an aspect that I really compliment them on, as a band.
Then the ever so famous YEM. I listened to Trey get pissed at himself
from the Hampton show. See that is funny to me. We seem to forget that
they are performing live. They are not digital like Britney Spears and
other people in that Pop image. This YEM was solid. It seemed like they
got back to the end of the black eyed katy jam from the set opening Moma
Dance. Im gonna have to listen to that again, but they ended the music on
such a higer note than most YEMs. The highlight of the Lion Speaks
Tonight was such a heart warmer for the entire crowd. Doing it in the
vocal jam was such a neat surprise.

Encore: NICU!! I was at the first show when Phish opened with NICU. "This
is Fun," I said to myself for an encore." Mexican Cousin. I listened to
the entire albulm in one sitting the first time I ever heard the new
material. I thought that this was such a lyrically creative song. Mexican
Cousin is a Fun and definatley has space for improv. Everything about
this show was great. Can't wait til the next time. Thanks for kickin it
down in Colorado.

Not to try and portray a negative image, but I do need to express this in
open fashion reguarding people's attitudes about what they think they
know so much about.

Critics!! God knows the world already has enough of them. So why be
critical in Life? www.livephish.com can provide you with the opportunity
to purchase the shows, instead of needing to go to them. If you are
coming to the show with this critical energy, please do the Phans a favor
and stay home. Phish is becoming a lot harder to see. Increased ticket
prices and small venues make it difficult for appreciative people to be
in the show. Take this as you will. I am just blowing off some steam
about Critical Energy. Let us try to Bury the critical attitudes and
blanket the less Evolved with Positive Energy. Yeah, There are so many
people who haven't even read the Book yet. Pass the great knowledge on.

A phan's perspective.

Increase the Peace!!

jamminjimshow@yahoo.com

www.juggletime.com

Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 13:03:27 EST
From: Jek8@aol.com
Subject: denver

this show was unbelievable in my viewpoint.  thats right unbelievable. this was my
first phish show, but ive been listening to them religiously for the past two years,
and prayed every day that they would play again.  the show was sick..i havent really
heard runaway jim, but after this show it is one of my favorite. i enjoyed the rest
of the first set a lot because i know what they played this year, and it was toatally
different..a bunch of songs from story of the ghost, one of my favorite phish albums.
i thought stash, the wedge, squriming coil and walls were all dope.  the second set
was everything i could ask for..the moma opening was really well played. limb by limb
was easily the best song of the show. it blew everything they played earlier out of
the water. next thunderhead..i enjoy this song, and i think trey played it really
well..it was a good pace setter for what was to come...divided sky..my favorite
song..i thought it was played great..i practically crapped myself. carini was kick
ass..props to mike on this one..YEM was perfect.nothing else to say..i liked how they
went into lion sleeps tonight, because i have never heard anything like it live. the
encore was dope too. no complaints whatsoever...so now i have something to say about
all those negative reviews.i know this is my opinion so you dont have to listen. for
all those bashing phish, saying they;re no good anymore. fuck you..if you want to cry
like little bitches do so at home listening to the studio versions, while lamenting
on what was. if you come to a show, come with an open mind. i know this is my first
show so i cant really say anything, but i cant wait till they tour again..hopefully
soon.

Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:33:12 -0600
From: Sara & Scott Eidam SEIDAM@mn.rr.com
Subject: my 2 cents about Denver and Phish...

Denver was the first Phish show I've seen since October 99, and in my opinion the
boys are hotter than ever!  Denver was such a sweet show, the energy within and
between the band was so visible.  I have to say two things...the new songs are
fantastic and were such a joy to hear "for real" after having been "introduced" to
them on the album.  Also, Chris K is as hot as ever, the light show is always
amazing...but I was really moved by the intensity- he was the fifth member to the
most serious degree. 
Yep, hooked again...and so happy to be!  Welcome back, everyone...see you this
summer!
Peace,
Sara
phishhead@mn.rr.com

Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 16:10:11 -0800 (PST)
From: Robbie Lefebvre bleachersfan@yahoo.com
Subject: Pepsi Review

This was my first show, so I will not go review the
songs because I do not feel I could do a decent job.
The atmosphere is where I will spend my time.  I got
to the parking lot later then I wanted do to Denver
Light Rail Problems.  Getting off the train and seeing
all the Phans that were there to see Phish was
unbelivable.  Everyone was calling their picks for
songs and talking pure phish.  I was in awe, I have
read about the phan base but finally seeing it made me
realize how great the boys from vermort truly are.  We
were all there for one reason, to see a band that is
unmatched. I have been  reading reviews and some of
you really need to calm down, who cares if Trey drops
a pick, or Page hits the wrong key, they are still
playing fucking awesome music, nobody is perfect, give
them a break.  The show itself was unbelivable. From
first set to encore I was into the show.  I thank all
that attended the show because you make Colorado
Colorado.  I must say that my first show will be a
tough one to beat, but i have faith in the boys.  See
you all on the summer tour.
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 16:42:05 -0700
From: "King, Ryan" Rking@pilbal.com
Subject: Pepsi Center Show Review

Got back from the Phish show.  Mixed feelings.  First of all, like the
hockey team that plays at the Pepsi center, the sound sucks ass well.  I
think there's a small sweet spot on the floor, but although we though we 
had
decent tix the sound was very muddled although for some reason it did seem
to improve as the show went on.  Here's the setlist:

        Runaway Jim (very cool opener, and a song I hold dear to my heart.
It was tough to hear Trey's solo though at this point in the show), 
        Water in the Sky (nice job on the song, pretty standard.  I still
like the less busy version of the song, without Fishman's crazy drum 
part), 
        Twist Around (very well done! cool song) > 
        Squirming Coil (cool song to hear live, of course.  Page's solo at
the end was drowned out by a lot of crowd noise, and this stupid chick
sitting next to me kept going SHHHhhhh to the crowd, which kind of annoyed
me), 
        Brian and Robert (nice work on the vocals on this one), 
        Stash (completely badass...flawlessly done) 
        The Wedge (I almost shit my pants when they played this song.
Definitely one of my favorite Phish songs, although Trey seemed very
ackward, as if he forgot how to solo to this song.  He ended up playing 
the
solo a lot like it sounds on the album, but didn't do a very good job at 
it.
I heard them play this song at the Great Went, and it was fucking sick, 
and
I've also heard them change the songs up a lot with different chord
progressions between the verses, which they didn't do this time.  This 
could
be the first time they played it since the hiatus, which would explain why
it was ackward.  Still sounded really cool, though), 
        Birds of a Feather(nice jam, cool song), Lawn Boy (standard, cool
bass solo by Gordon), 
        Walls of the Cave (awesome jam!!! this was a cool song to hear 
live,
and had a ton of energy.  off the new album)
        2: Moma Dance (pretty good, although I liked the version we heard 
at
Great Woods a lot better.  I attribute it to the sound, cuz the part where
Trey explodes into a solo at the end wasn't as dramatic as it sounded at
Great Woods) , 
        Limb by Limb (all I have to say is that Fishman is the man.  That
drum part makes me feel like a kindergartner), 
        Thunderhead(another cool song off the new album that had a great 
jam
live...it was apparent that the new songs have been played a lot this 
tour,
and they had them fresh in their minds and jammed them well), 
        Divided Sky(sucked....it was really a bad version of the song.  
Trey
was all over the place, and it lacked that "holy shit" you get when you
usually hear this song live.  just pretty sloppy in the
transitions...showing that they are still not sharp from their hiatus) , 
        Carini (dragged on a bit, although the stop/go jams were very 
cool;
they were more like changes in dynamics rather than stop/go, but still a
cool, ominous song), 
        You Enjoy Myself  (this song is really sweet, and the vocal jam at
the end was sweet.  light show during the vocal jam was amazing)
        E: NICU (standard, and very well done) 
        Mexican Cousin (actually a cool closer.  i like this song, cuz 
it's
funny and the jam was pretty cool. again, the 3 songs they played from the
new album were pretty cool jams cuz they were fresh and practiced, i 
think)

Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 22:57:39 -0700
From: jeff lemire jeffl51@cox.net
Subject: Denver Show

Malinda
Phoenix, Arizona
3rd show (in person)
 
I've never done a review before and I'm trying to figure out where to
start. The whole evening was filled with so many little nuances and
synchronisities, I'll try to keep this to the most impressive stuff our
posse' noticed. My apologies in advance if this gets long.  
 
First of all, what a venue! I do like a well built ship, the whole
structure with its ovular shapes set in steel gave the sensation of of it
being streamlined, overhauled, with bigger engines, better skill and
plenty of new road. And all that glass... Crystal. The rainbows cast by
hanging prisms in the window at the entrance would set the visual tone
for the night. I was particularly impressed with the all the color in
the t-shirt choices of the crowd. All the hues were completely
represented and so delicately dispersed it seemed as though we were in
the prism itself. Nice work everyone!
 
I loved the lighting, as always. Color in all shapes, sizes directions,
and speeds. The rig looks great, upgraded but still simple, with this
portal like screen in the middle. Nice touch. The light totally filled
the room. Especially nice was that cue shift in Thunderhead on
..."dissipate". But our favorite was the white light tickling fingers
during the accapela Lion Sleeps Tonight. Totally made us giddy
and giggly. The lighting on the crowd was prime. For those of you behind
the stage, the neatest things we noticed that you probably couldn't see
was the shifting colors on the portal and Mike's spotlight was shaped
like big white square. Wonderful use of the conventional washes to create
the mood.
 
The crowd was definitely excited, waves of cheers rolled through sounding
like a friendly welcome before, acknowledgement in the middle, and a
cheerful C-ya after.
 
I too had some issues with the sound but attributed it to the number of
people there who seemed to have some pretty good head colds. Catching a
collective "lumpy head"? And along those lines the crowd truly was kind
of loud, though I couldn't help but wonder if their extra loud voices
stemmed from hearing loss by being at the last two or three nights.
Many in the crowd had been to Vegas and a brave few at L.A. too.
Earplugs???? Though I too can be shamefully accused with hindsight.
 
The first set rolled on like a dream, the songs just kept coming. We got
to hear it all. I'm not going to go through the whole set list, there are
many things I'd like to hear again, thank you for downloads!, but Runaway
Jim was spectacular, Squirming Coil a gift (that would have made my night
right there), but there's more. The people behind us changed Birds of a
Feather around for me forever. I wasn't sure how I felt about it's
appearance in the set so sitting it out seemed like a good idea. I was in
my seat for just a few seconds when I started to feel something raining
down on me, I got up to find out what it was and pulled something out of
my hair. That's when I noticed what it was, shells from the sunflower
seeds the people behind us were eating. Laughter took over the moment,
the groove seeped in and I now have a new affinnity for the song. Lawn
Boy was a dream come true, need I say more? And then the something new.
Our wish was granted. Walls of the Cave. Looking forward to getting more
of that. We really like it's potential to be split up.
 
Set break was filled with cat naps to the sounds of Beck which seemed
appropriate to us only because it was at a Flaming Lips/Beck show that
our friend Nan decided to come see Phish in Denver in the first place.
Real glad she did. After all the napping some calenstenithcs were
needed which prompted a slow stretchy wave session. And just as that
moment ended...click...Moma Dance. Yeeeaaaah!
 
It just kept getting better from there. >From those in our group that
were there in L.A. the concensus was thankfulness for the opportunity to
repair some damage done to Limb by Limb and Carini. I guess some
distractions and weirdness that night caused a derailment of these loved
tunes. The second chance was rockingly flawless. The bass in Carini
brought that feeling of bringing the house down. Nice work Mike. We loved
every resonance. Divided Sky was another wish come true, the sustain was
lovely though I personally could have done with a little silence from the
crowd there. No love lost though. Just wasn't the way it was going. Then
an epic YEM which eventually just took off into a sweet vocal jam of The
Lion Sleeps Tonight. Our posse' connetion... Jeremiah's dad would sing
him to sleep with this song as a child.
 
The enchore was two. WOW! Needless to say NICU rocked. An all time
favorite of mine. Thinking it was the last song I was suprised when they
started Mexican Cousin, mostly because I thought I had gotten through the
show unscathed. Admittidly I hadn't seen the potential here at all, being
so close to the border here this song had since been too silly for me.
But the band has done good with this one, just like on the Homer
Simpson's opinion during the film festival showing of "Man gets hit in
groin with football", Mexican Cousin works on so many different levels.
Muchas Gracias Senors!
 
Totally excellent. In one word? That was the SHIZNAT!
 
Last I'd like to acknowledge the bravery and efforts of those who were
caught in Utah with things better left unsaid. Careful vigilance when you
are out there. We'd like everyone to be able to keep seeing shows. Thanks
for taking one for the team.
 
Peace and Love,
Malinda


Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 18:09:00 -0500
From: RipJr0808@aol.com
Subject: DENVER SHOW

Greg Zaranski
Denver, CO
25th show??(lost track)  Can you say BURNOUT?

The Pepsi Center show to me, blew the Vegas shows out of the water.  The
vibe in Vegas will always be electric no matter how Phish plays but to me
they were flat in Vegas.  Sin City got the best of them in my opinion.  
But this is about Denver....

Walking in to the show was great.  To hear the screaming phans and see the
smiling faces made me feel like this was going to be the night they made
up for some bumps in the road during the Vegas stint....

Runaway Jim- To start with an old favorite like Jim made me almost too
excited to hear what was coming next , so I don't even think I paid too
much attention.

Water in the Sky- Love this song.  It is such a happy flowing song and
they played it perfectly.

Twist-  SOLID!!!!

Squirming Coil-  Haven't heard this in a while.  Made me smile :)

Brian and Robert- A nice change of pace....for now!

STASH!!!!-  They rocked this out.  Great song!

The Wedge-  Absolutely awesome.  Across the GREAT DIVIDE!!!

Birds- I personally didn't like this song a few years back but in the
latter part of "Phish the first 17 years", I really started to enjoy this
jam.  Sounded great!

Lawnboy- Mike's solo with Page coming out front to use Trey's mic and to
just see them all smiling from ear to ear was a great moment.  End of
first set?  No, No, no...

Walls of the Cave- When Round Room came out, I was very dissapointed with
the end result but I made myself listen to it all the time and I grew to
enjoy MOST of it.  The way they are playing these songs live is
incredible.  Walls was perfect for the first set closer.  Good Jam.

Set II

Moma Dance- Uh Oh!  What an awesome start to the second set.  Sounded
great and they were sooooo tight!

Limb by Limb-  Another fabulous jam.  This is starting to become a dream 
show!

Thunderhead- I always enjoy hearing new stuff for the first time.  Not bad
at all.  They will fine tune this in the months to come and should be an
enjoyable song.

Divided Sky- Holy SH!T!!!  From the Thunderhead to the Divided Sky.  They
sounded so tight throughout this song.  Only gripe I have is the extended
"statue" pause.  How bad do we have to jerk you fellas off?  Just play the
music white boys!  But if it is between Phish not playing Divided and the
long pause?  Take as much time as you would like guys.

Carini-  Great suprise!  Enjoyed the devilish sound.

YEM- It has been soooo long since I've heard YEM.  They always play it the
night before or after I see them.  They were right on every single part
from the lead in, to Kuroda's lights, to the vocal jam, and through the
Lion King song.  FANDILLYASTIC! Thank You, Thank you, Thank you!!!

Encore(s)

NICU- One of my favorite Phish tunes in 95/96.  They did not dissapoint.  
Very happy with that encore as compared to Vegas 2nd night Friday encore.

Oh, Wait!  They are doing a second encore!

Mexican Cousin- Last song I listened to before I left my house for the
Pepsi Center.  Not my favorite song but it has definitely grown on me!

All in all...  This was my favorite out of the 3 shows I saw between Vegas
and Denver.  Don't get me wrong, Vegas was FUUUUNNN!  Hell, it's Vegas!  
Great weekend culminated by a great show in my hometown of Denver!- See ya
all REALLLL soon!

Anyone ever in Denver and want to see a show at a beautiful theatre.  
Gothic Theatre in Englewood Co.  3263 South Broadway.  Great jam bands.  
Check it out at WWW.NIPP.com!!! :) 

Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 18:34:38 -0500
From: Mrkious@aol.com
Subject: 2-18-02 review

LA>Vegas>Denver (or how I learned to stop worrying and love the Phish) 
by M. Ryan Kious

Part IV. 2-18-03
Denver (getting off the road and back on the train.)

I must admit I thought they would play Tweezer in Denver. After all, the
drive there from Vegas was filled with more snow than Robert Downey
Juniorâ^À^Ùs trailer.  The lot in Denver seemed like a cold
idea, and a bit of overkill considering the over the top lots in Sin City.
Instead we did most of our pre-partying at a bar in Denver called
Sanchoâ^À^Ùs Broken Arrow.  There are three our four Dead bars in Denver,
all owned by the same guy, and all Don Quixote themed. I highly recommend
them to any and all. When we finally got the lot it was, as advertised,
nipple erector cold. Not Denver 97 cold, but cold nonetheless. The Pepsi
center is a very cool looking venue and I was glad to finally have an
excuse to see a show there.

The Runaway Jim opener told me this might be the hot show many predicted.  
It was a good version, nothing like Worcester 97, but what is? Water in
The Sky seemed like an apt choice for anyone who did the tour thus far as
there was a lot of water in the sky throughout the trip. Ever since BC the
kids seem to like this song, I personally miss the old bluegrass-ier
version. The Twist was good but too short, it reminded me of the Vegas 00
version. The Squirming Coil is great as a set closer; it really
doesnâ^À^Ùt seem to fit anywhere else quite as well. I still love this bad
boy though. Brian and Robert is such an interesting song, so slow and
funky and weird. This seemed like another misplaced song, but the band was
probably more tired than I, so who was I to bitch. Stash is a very special
to me, the first song I ever heard, and always a favorite. This was a
great version with Trey playing some interesting licks and a great segue
into the Wedge. Considering I had crossed the Continental Divide twice
this trip, this song also seemed very well placed. Birds of a Feather
seemed well received, though people were probably hoping for one of the
groundbreaking versions of this song. Instead this version was rather
short but there was an interesting jam in the middle. Lawn Boy is always
great, and this one even had a little mic mix up at the end. Walls of the
Cave had to be the end of this very long set. The LA WOTC was better,
though this was still a good version. Again, even though this song
isnâ^À^Ùt my favorite, itâ^À^Ùs definitely original, and is slowly finding
its groove among fans.

 The BEK segment before Moma Dance is one of my favorite pieces of music
and Moma itself was jammed out nicely. I was hoping for a funk jam in Moma
but got it instead in Limb by Limb. Having heard only five days ago I
found myself complaining a bit, but I hate to act like a little bitch so I
snapped myself out of it and remembered that Phish was back. Thunderhead,
again, seemed appropriate because of the Thunderheads that followed during
this very wet trip. This song isnâ^À^Ùt one of the best and I predict that
it will go the way of the Fikus after one or two more tours. If
Thunderhead sucked the energy from the room (as one jaded â^À^Üoldbieâ^À^Ý
next to me suggested, then Divided Sky put it right back in. The pause was
probably the longest Iâ^À^Ùve seen and, despite a few flubs, it was great
to hear this old gem again. I had already heard Carini in LA and was about
to make a break for the bathrooms when I remembered just how sick the LA
Carini was. This one was, in fact, even better. Very dark, start stop
jamming, the works. YEM!!!! Enough said! Whatever mistakes Trey made in
Divided Sky he made up for in YEM. It sounded absolutely beautiful. The
jam was also very jammed out and included some good Page and Mike moments.
The vocal jam afterward was the best vocal jam Iâ^À^Ùve ever heard. It
started out very groovy, got very dark, and then went into the lion sleeps
tonight. Are you kidding me? This was the perfect ending to a long four
shows for me and other west coasters not going to Chi town. The lights
during the lion sleeps tonight portion of the vocal jam reaffirmed
Kurodaâ^À^Ùs place as member #5. The NICU encore was pretty standard but
nice to hear, and I felt the Mexican Cousin encore was played on behalf of
my Albuquerque tour posse, your New Mexican Cousins. This Denver show was
the sleeper show of the tour but it wasnâ^À^Ùt an â^À^Üin betweenâ^À^Ý
show either. Instead it was, in my long-winded opinion, an above average
example of Phishâ^À^Ùs new sound and direction.

7 Days, 2500 miles, 6 states, 4 shows, 8 sets, and 1 YEM. So how was it?  
It was Phish, pure and simple. Will they get tighter? No doubt about it.
Are they phoning it in? Not on your life! Theyâ^À^Ùre playing like a band
reborn, flubs, off nights, and all. I have a hard time picturing Phish
plotting their return saying â^À^Üyou know what guys, itâ^À^Ùs too bad we
canâ^À^Ùt return to 1993 so we can keep our music in the same place and be
able to fulfill peopleâ^À^Ùs expectations of us.â^À^Ý Phish obviously has
a new direction, and the further it leads from the Hiatus, the better.

 
Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 13:50:53 -0800 (PST) 
From: Matt Kochman kochmamss@yahoo.com 
Subject: Denver Show

Matt Kochman
Vail,CO
My 18th Show

Well I got back from Vegas a little disappointed by the song selection of
the shows.  The energy was great and of course you want to hear the songs
you never get to hear, but heh, you can't have everything.

So, I had really high expectations going into the Denver show.  I felt
like they left out a lot in Vegas that they were going to pour out in
Denver.

Overall, the first set was longer than normal. The Wedge was truly the
highlight, but I have to say the sound quality for the set was not as good
as usual.  That final stretch of Stash, Wedge, Birds, and Lawn Boy were
great though.  In the second set I don't think I could have asked for
anything better.  A Moma Dance opener, which I was waiting forever to
hear; a Divided Sky, my first and favorite Phish song, and then a sick YEM
closer with the Lion King theme song or whatever it is called.  I loved
the second set and thought it was one of the best I had ever seen in my
lengthy 18 show career. (Peanuts compared to most).

NICU encore was the shit, but a Mexican Cousin finale was definitely a
bummer.  I think that song sucks and it is definitely my least favorite on
the new album. I had been joking all tour that they were going to encore
with that song and sure enough my nightmare became true.  I don't
understand why Trey insists on playing the slowest songs from the new
album as the finale.  I got a Friday the last day of Hampton and Vegas,
and then a Mexican Cousin yesterday.  Come on Trey, send me home with
something to remember? Overall though I was really happy with the show.  
I have to rank it top three for me because I heard Divided and some of my
other favorites.

On another note, I have beef to pick with the crowd at the Denver show
especially.  I agree with the previous review by Ben.  There was
definitely no vacuum played at all in the Denver show.  As for the segue,
who knows?  But what did bother me was the crowd.  It was so LOUD during
the first set especially.  I had some idiot standing behind yelling to his
buddies the entire show.  I mean what is the point of going to a Phish
show if you're going to talk the whole time.  Go to a bar across the
street and talk there.  A Phish show is for listening and listening only.  
All you talkers please shut the hell up during shows. It is like talking
during a movie, a definite pet peeve of mine.

However, part of the problem was that the sound was not loud enough.  I
shouldn't be able to hear anyone else talking because the music should be
loud enough to drown it out. The Pepsi Center is enormous though and that
probably had something to do with it.

The last part of my review deals with the lot.  One, there were more drugs
available then I have ever seen in my life.  You could find anything you
wanted.  Which is good if you want any, but bad because I think a lot of
the stuff was junk.  There nothing like paying good money before a show
and getting screwed in return.  Two, I felt like the lot in Denver was run
by the Pepsi Center.  There is so much merchandise and food/drinks in the
lot that it has turned into a business.  I'm all for people making money
and selling stuff, but at what point does it go to far to say that people
aren't there for the music and experience but instead there to make dough
off the most loyal fans in the world.  I saw too many $5 burritos when the
cost for a pound of chicken is only $3.

The Phish scene has definitely changed a lot since they got back together.  
Which is good and bad.  They have more publicity and respect now from
maintstream America which is great. But you pay a price of selling out a
little for fame.  How many more magazine covers can they do?  I guess not
enough.  In the end, since this is suppposed to be a Denver review and not
an editorial piece, I gave the show a 9 out of 10.  The scene at Vegas was
twenty times better but the show in Denver was better, except for those
assholes behind me.  The sound quality could have been better, but I have
a good feeling I'll probably go to another show.

Thanks and keep rocking,
Matt

Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 09:52:03 -0700
From: "Sommers, Eric" Sommers.Eric@tchden.org
Subject: Pepsi Center - 2/18/03

Since I haven't seen a review for the Denver show yet I'll post one for
the interested fans out there.  First of all, coming off the monster 2
night run in Vegas I think it's hard to capture the energy and excitement
that one typically finds at shows in Sin City.  With that said there were
many huge tunes left on the table to play in Denver, so expectations were
high for the band's first show at "the can."  Overall the playing I felt
was very good but the energy was up and down, particularly set 1.  
Runaway Jim is a terrific opener and it was solid if not great, but
following up with a clean Water in the Sky brought the room back down.  
The Twist was standard but picked everyone up and then the bounce left us
with a Coil > Brian and Robert combo.  Thankfully after that the rest of
the set really took off. Stash was tight...tighter than I remember it
being in Hampton, so the familiarity of playing together after the hiatus
is clearly evident.  Then the Denver crowd got it's real treat of the
night with a very well played and groovy Wedge.  The band was obviously
having fun with the crowd giving us a "Mountain" theme.  Trey must have
felt great after making turns all day in Vail.  Birds was also very well
played and kept the crowd moving.  It was not an epic Birds so we knew the
set was not yet finished.  Page actually came out to the front of the
stage, used Trey's mike and sang Lawn Boy directly to the adoring crowd.  
After a huge ovation Page made his way back to the keys and started Walls
of the Cave.  Even though they played it in LA I was glad they finished
the set with it here.  Set 2 opened with the first Moma Dance since
pre-hiatus and it was welcomed with some serious grooving by the ecstatic
crowd.  I think we all anticipated a monster set, possibly a Mike's Groove
to follow or perhaps a 2001.  But this is the magic of our "new" Phish.  
They can play anything these days and it's going to be good, so just sit
back and enjoy.  Limb By Limb did not disappoint too many people and then
Thunderhead gave us the only breather of the set.  Divided Sky got
everyone in a craze after the cool-down and then the momentum just carried
forward with Carini.  I haven't heard the LA version yet, but I'm told it
was slow and meandering.  This was your typical hard-rocking Carini and
Denver loved it.  I figured we had one more big jam left and it came with
YEM.  No stopping and re-starting this one...it was tight and it was ON!  
The band locked in and played it as well as ever, albeit not experimental.  
Still, it was the best way to close out the set, and the vocal jam was
very well done, culminating in a Lion Sleeps Tonight chorus.  After
hearing that the Loving Cup encore in LA was sub-par I thought they might
hit the mountain town with a repeat, but I was wrong (again).  NICU was a
really nice surprise encore and instead of rushing off the stage to catch
a plane to Chicago they followed with (the growing in poplularity) Mexican
Cousin.  I don't know about you, but I wanted a shot of Tequila after
that!  I am looking forward to hearing this show again on CD, but I also
don't think it will make my top 5 of the tour when it's all said and
done....but hey...I could be wrong.  You are free to disagree....E


Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 12:56:52 -0700 (MST)
From: Ben Knowles knowles@kestrel.ciclops.swri.edu
Subject: denver review

question: who are the people writing these setlists, and what are they on?
i don't remember anything coming close to a legitimate segue in this show, 
no start/stop jam, and if there was a vacuum solo i must have missed it. 
am i going insane? anyway.

lots: pretty shitty. very spread out, fucking ridiculous bastard fee of 
$15 for parking. energy seemed high though, lots of spontaneous screaming, 
much more than vegas. pretty easy to find beer and food, but very few dry 
goods venders that i saw.

crowd: very different than vegas - much more colorado-ish, more fratboys 
and older couples and less of the headier-than-thou crowd. people were 
also really LOUD for some reason, which will become apparent in my 
song-by-song breakdown. oh yeah, and i caught trey's grandparents sitting  
near us, directly to the left (page side) of the stage. they were at 
last summer's TAB shows at red rocks too, i guess they live in colorado...

venue: meh. it's huge, and the sound was only decent. i was behind the 
stage and to the page side, which was actually a really good angle for 
seeing everyone in the band, particularly fish and page. bad place for 
lights.

song-by-song:

Runaway Jim - i would like to give a favorable review of this song, 
because it's one of my favorites and i semi-called it as an opener, but i 
can't because SOME FUCKING ASSHOLES BEHIND ME WERE LAUGHING AND YELLING 
LIKE DRUNK MORONS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE THING. what i heard seemed like 
good jim though.

Water in the Sky - assholes still talking, can't concentrate...

Twist Around - assholes left, thank GOD. okay, this was a quality version. 
pretty good vocals, nice wandering jam that rocked out a little and 
floated nicely back into the vocals.

Squirming Coil - SUHWEET. good coil, not too many flubs. i was 
super-psyched for the page outro, but was chagrined to find that i COULD 
BARELY HEAR IT BECAUSE PEOPLE WOULD NOT STOP SCREAMING. what the hell is 
going on here? i hope this trend of "ooh, mike/page is doing something, 
let's scream at the top of our lungs!" doesn't last long, because it's 
unbelievably obnoxious.

Brian and Robert - not much of an opinion. bad placement.

Stash - shit yeah. this was pretty good stash, although i thought the 
ending didn't peak as hard as it could have. so far, this show was all 
about the hard-rockin', raging minor-key jams. the spacey, melodic 
ambience of vegas was nowhere to be found. it was like watching a 
completely different band.

The Wedge - KICKASS VERSION! again, i thought trey kinda flubbed one of 
the peaks, but other than that it was pretty much nailed. i was dancing my 
ass off.

Birds of a Feather - normally i'm not a huge fan of this song, but i dug 
this one. they took it way out into some interesting territory before 
bringing it back somewhat mundanely to where they started.

Lawn Boy - mike solo. holy jebus. i got a little choked up.
Walls of the Cave - damn this set is long! well, this version was good, 
not great. much like the album version, if i remember correctly. i won't 
compare it to hampton or anything, because i think it's still a bit early 
in this song's development. side note: some guy in front of me REFUSED to 
do anything during this song except scowl, because "third time since new 
year's - this is bullshit!" boo-friggin'-hoo. the entitlement some people 
feel towards phish never ceases to amaze me.

setbreak - show discussion in the bathroom, water refill.

Moma Dance - nice and long. funkay. actually, i take it back - much more
rock than funk, like everything else in this show. also like everything
else in this show, it fit the same standard formula of jam it out for
awhile, bring back the vocal segment, end.

Limb by Limb - NIIIICE. great, gorgeous version. the newbies i went with 
really liked this. fishman was on. trey wailed. for awhile they went into 
this really bass-heavy (i mean everyone was playing the low notes) funk 
jam that was pretty sweet, before bringing it back to the melody like 
usual.

Thunderhead - uhhhh.... why? bleah. i thought i liked this song on the 
album, but now i'm not so sure. either way, this was definitely another 
case of piss-poor placement.

Divided Sky - okay, here's where i might get some flak. i thought 
everything up to the pause was fantastic, they sounded really on, trey was 
nailing most of the parts. quality. then the pause (which seemed to go on 
longer than usual, but don't they always?), and then.... train wreck. trey 
just fell apart. at least from where i was, it was like he just couldn't 
get out the notes he wanted to play, and just kept slopping his way 
through. the band seemed to sense it too - like they were all waiting for 
him to get his shit together, but it wasn't happening. i found it almost 
painful to listen to, and it went on forever, just a barrage of uninspired 
muck. i'm curious to hear if anyone else agrees with me, but man, i 
thought this part of the show was a huge downer. i hate to be so negative 
- especially after criticizing others' negativity, but this is a critical 
analysis, and that's how it seemed to me.

Carini - i think the reasoning behind this one was trey needed something 
he couldn't fuck up. good god was this jam dark. just evil, hard, 
thrashing metal. for awhile it got a little spacey (but dark-spacey, mind 
you), before going back to the main carini riff.

You Enjoy Myself - they started the arpeggios, and i'm thinking "oh shit, 
i hope trey knows what he's getting into." well, wonder of wonders, this 
is one of the most flawless YEM composed sections i've ever heard. 
absolutely nailed. i was fuckin' impressed. way to recover, trey! tramps 
were great - trey managed to do the 360s and stay on this time. jam was 
good, but by no means epic - more of a group-jamming vibe than a 
trey-ripping vibe. the B&D segment was interesting, because it was really 
just B - mike ripped up a ridiculous funkified solo, before the WUDMTF 
came back in. damn solid YEM.

Vocal jam - okay, i liked this a LOT. maybe i'm a sucker for the cheesy 
stuff, but how can you go wrong with "the lion sleeps tonight"? it maybe 
went on a little longer than it should have, but i was really impressed 
with a) the band-kuroda interplay, b) the rhythmic stuff that was going 
on, and c) the harmonic stuff going on. the ending especially was just 
really well done - they brought it back exactly where it needed to be, and 
kept it harmonized almost perfectly. very, very solid and enjoyable way to 
end the set.

E: NICU - i love this song. it was well-played, "play it leo" and all.
you'll get no complaints from me.

Mexican Cousin - i was just psyched to get a 2-song encore. i like this 
song on the album, and i liked it here. a fine ending.

general comments: i found this to be a very odd show for some reason, 
difficult to wrap my head around. i came out feeling slightly 
disappointed, but i'm not entirely sure why, since a lot of it was really 
quite good. maybe it was the botched divided sky. maybe it was that i 
didn't get a mike's. who knows, but the bottom line is i definitely 
preferred both of the vegas shows to this one. this one just seemed really 
formulaic in a lot of ways - most of the jams were structured somewhat 
similarly, and there wasn't the daring, melodic exploration i was hoping 
for (and got, in vegas). denver was more about straightforward rocking 
out, but without the huge trey-led peaks that really make it work.

ah well, that's my take on it. i still had a lot of fun, and my 
vegas->denver run will always be warmly remembered. looking forward to 
seeing how the rest of the tour goes...


Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 11:01:43 -0700
From: David Katzberg DKatzberg@fischerimaging.com
Subject: 2-18-03, Denver

I was at the first four nights of Winter Tour.  Denver is the last show I
will see this tour, my 71st show overall, and they left me with a great
feeling about the future of the band. 

When Phish went on Hiatus, it should have been clear to their fans that
they needed it badly- if it was not, seeing them on this tour should
clear things up quite a bit.  There is a renewed enthusiasm, they seem
very relaxed, and musically they are very sharp.  There was almost none
of this in the years right before the hiatus.  Also, there seems to be a
renewed zest for the songs on the bands part, and for me as a fan as
well.  I will say honestly that songs like Disease had become tiresome
after seeing it so many times in the past, but hearing Disease in Vegas
played with renewed energy was special a experience.  That goes for just
about everything they played.  The difference between this run and New
Years is the quality of their play, everything was very technically tight
and strong.

Here are some specific comments about last night's show, with some
reflections on the entire West Coast run:

02/18/03 - Pepsi Arena, Denver, CO
1: Runaway Jim, Water in the Sky, Twist Around > Squirming Coil, Brian
and Robert, Stash> The Wedge, Birds of a Feather, Lawn Boy, Walls of the
Cave

2: Moma Dance, Limb by Limb, Thunderhead, Divided Sky, Carini *, You
Enjoy Myself **
E: NICU, Mexican Cousin

    After such a long time off, you have to love a classic opener like
    Runaway, it was nicely played in general with good energy.

    Water in the Sky is not my favorite song, but it was the first of the
    tour, and they carried the theme of renewed enthusiasm as they seemed
    to be really into it.

    Twist was solid, I prefer the way they played this in 96/97, but this
    was a good version of the new slower Twist.
    First Coil of the tour, technically nice, solid energy, very pleasing
    as usual.
    Brian and Robert, another song I don't love, but it is nice live and
    this was a good, crisp version
    STASH, here we go, first of the tour (like everything else so far)
    this is where things really began to take of, nice technically with a
    typically strong Stash jam, although the mood of the jamming this
    tour was fairly mellow, they did it with a power and skill that was
    lacking from the mellow jams of the late nineties.  Although they
    stayed fairly mellow throughout their jamming so far, nothing was too
    slow, the perfect balance of light and heavy in my opinion.  This is
    a good Stash for sure.

    Wedge, yes!  Keep it coming.  Solid technically, crowd pleaser, it is
    hard to beat Wedge, especially in Colorado (The Great Divide).  I
    thought this might be the set closer, all of the sets have been
    relatively shorter so far this tour, but they were not done.


    Birds, very nice upbeat jamming, not my favorite song, but I love
    songs that set up powerful jams.  Again I thought the set was over as
    they built up the end a few times, but they came out of the jam
    fairly mellowly before the chorus, and indication they were not done.

    And they were not, Lawnboy, crowd pleaser, great Mike bass solo.  On
    an unusual note, although Page always sings the last verse out in
    front of the crowd, last night was the first time I ever saw him walk
    over and sing the last verse at Trey's mic, Mike, Trey and Page were
    standing right next to each other, smiling very big, it was a nice
    moment.

    Set Closer-  Walls of the Cave, the first tour repeat-  The thing is
    that this song has evolved a lot over the first three live versions,
    and I thought that last night was the best so far.  Not that
    different in structure, but crisper, the vocals were better (more
    pleasing), and the transitions were nice.  I was not disappointed to
    see this again, it was nice to see it played better than MSG or LA. 

    This was a solid first set, a few very enjoyable older tunes, good
    energy, and it was about 1 hour and twenty minutes.  Certainly not as
    good as the first Vegas set, but very good.

    However this show was really about the second set as you can tell
    from the setlist.
    Moma is a good second set opener, it sets a nice funky tone, they
    were tight and they did a typical second set opener jam out of Moma
    which is a little unusual for this song.  It definitely got everyone
    in the right mood.

    Limb by Limb was another repeat from LA, but this version was tighter
    and very nice, again not an overly disappointing repeat.  Notice that
    Fishman no longer plays an ending solo while singing at the end (at
    least in the three post hiatus versions).

    Thunderhead was a very pleasing slower song, I figured they would
    slow it down plus I wanted to see this live.  It is very mellow and
    has a nice mood.  Trey's riffs are nice.  The best thing though is
    the transition from a mellow, slower Thunderhead, to the storm
    clearing...

    Divided Sky.  Again very good technically which matters with Divided,
    typical as far as the usual tricks, the bouncing up and down, as well
    as "statues" at the usual time, for the usual long time.  What else
    can you say about the first Divided of the tour, it speaks for
    itself.  Great!

    Carini was the third LA repeat, but it is always enjoyable, rocking,
    and creates good energy, especially before...
    The tours first YEM!  First Yem and Divided of the tour in one set,
    plus Stash, Wedge and Coil earlier?  Wow.  This version was
    technically much better than the New Years run, they were great, the
    vocal jam was great (in the jungle).  Very good version!  Again, what
    else can you say, they made everyone very happy for sure.  Classic
    Phish second set closer as well.

    Encore:  The first two song encore of the run, NICU was typically
    nice and uplifting, Mexican Cousin was placed nicely and gave
    everyone the right energy for the last song, plus it was also the
    first of the run.

    So, if you were disappointed by what you heard on the New Years run,
    or you thought that Phish was second rate in 99/00, this is a
    practiced, strong, tight, grooving band that is coming through the
    Midwest next week.  The jamming has been great!  Enjoy, I certainly
    did!  Musically one of the best runs I have ever seen.  As far as
    live Phish, get all of the first night of Vegas, the second set of
    the second night of Vegas, and Denver's second set as well. 
    Although, if you have the means, I truly recommend all of the sets so
    far.  They are off to a good start.

    David K.


Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 11:11:48 -0700
From: Brian Warden
Subject: Review: 2/18/03

so this was about my 15th show, first was red rocks 95....i don't mean to
rip the show overall, but i was disappointed. please, no email reference, 
i
don't need to fill my inbox...

Set One (8:05-9:20):  "The trainwreck...."

-Runaway Jim: typical opener, we thought we were in for the old school....

-Water in the Sky: boring sotg song, so much for old school

-Twist Around: the first of my top two most hated phish songs...total
throw-away...piss and beer break

-Squirming Coil: nice, but seemed weird in the middle of a set.  low to no
energy

-Brian and Robert: i have no recollection of this song... i was sober

-Stash: the only highlight of the set

-The Wedge: i usually like this song even though i never remember what it 
is
called.  this one was horrible

-Birds of a Feather: do i really need to say anything...number one most
hated phish song

-Lawn Boy: see squirming coil

-Walls of the Cave:  round room number 1, i thought this song had
promise....wrong...boring as hell.

Set Two (10:05-11:25):  "So was the first set some sh***y opening act?"

-Moma Dance:  cool enough, but i was worried...

-Limb by Limb:  holy s**t, phish has finally entered the building...my
favorite story of the ghost song..included a jam that actually had energy.

-Thunderhead:  and they leave again....rr number 2.  i could actually hear
collective snoring

-Divided Sky:  there is a god.  very tight and well played....worth 
sitting
through the first set.

-Carini*:  cool led zeppelin rip off, but good energy, nice jam

-You Enjoy Myself**:  Probably don't need to comment here, this was real
deal, i am now glad i came.

Encore (11:30-?):

-NICU:  perfect choice, nice short encore song, gave us a good last 
dose...

-Mexican Cousin:  named this song in two notes and was in stairwell on 
note
three.

Notes: * - with start/stop jamming ** - vocal jam ended with a vacuum solo
which segued into a short rendition of The Lion Sleeps Tonight

why so many sotg songs, 5 total?  i guess i am just one of those who feel
the band quit writing good songs after billy breathes...i know plenty of
folks disagree, but....

So, I suppose when it was great it was really great and when it was
bad....whew, really bad.  If they had come out in the second like the 
first,
I may have seen my last phish show.  As it stands, I will have to give 
them
another chance if fiddler's happens in the summer, not really worth
travelling.

Later....

brian


Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 10:50:39 -0700
From: Ryan Allen Ryan_Allen@ceo.cudenver.edu
Subject: The Pepsi Can and Did!!

What an amazing show!!
My first in over 2 years and it didn't fail to blow me away.
I could feel the energy and atmosphere of the "family" from the 
second we pulled into down town Denver.  I could tell it was going
to be special from the cheers of anticipation and excitment leading
to the doors.  Nothing was going to let this crowd down even if Phish
decided to cover Barry Mantelow's latest album.  But you could sense 
in the air it was going to be a "sick show bro"!!
If you were there or you've seen the setlist you can see that the band was
not holding back anything on this night.  Sometimes the lack of oxygen in
the
mountain altitude gives you a euphoric or even energizing feeling rather
than fatige, 
and that's how many of us were feeling last night.
Great choice for song line-up. Phish truely loves Colorado--their western
home away, ever
since making their first trip out of the North East to Telluride. They
really show their
appreciation for their wide ranging fan base. 
 Only complaint: Pepsi Center??  Soooooo many better places to see a
show!!! I know they're BIG now,
        but... wouldn't 3000 people having an incredible time be cooler 
than
30,000 people having a 
        good time???
Last comment:  Divided Sky, unreal!!!
gr8fulcolorado

Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 08:31:04 -0800 (PST)
From: Phish Phan smellslikephish2002@yahoo.com
Subject: 2/18/2003 Review

Wow!  My first show ever, and boy was it a great one!

The setlist -

1: Runaway Jim, Water in the Sky, Twist Around > Squirming Coil, Brian
and Robert, Stash > The Wedge, Birds of a Feather, Lawn Boy, Walls of the
Cave 2: Moma Dance, Limb by Limb, Thunderhead, Divided Sky, Carini*, You
Enjoy Myself** E: NICU, Mexican Cousin

Notes: * - with start/stop jamming; ** - vocal jam ended with a vacuum
solo which segued into a short rendition of The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Wow!  I've been listening to Phish and collecting shows since 2001, and
well, the show was all I had hoped it would be and more.  I was a little
loaded, and didn't know a few of the songs, but I loved every one of
them!   I was really psyched to hear Thunderhead and of course, the epic
You Enjoy Myself.  I was loving every second of that.  My first show and
a YEM!  How fucking cool is that?  Great version, by the way - the intro
was so fucking tight!  I don't know what the hell Fishman was doing with
that vaccuum cleaner at the end of it though.  That was just weird.  It
was funny, though.  Twist Around was good, too.  The Wedge was a nice
treat, not as good as the album version, but OK.  Mexican COusin was a
nice treat, too, since I had snuck some tequila in with me, and took a
couple of shots while they played it.  I had been hoping for that!

Well, like I said, it was a great show.  It was certainly better than I
had hoped, and better than most of the shows I have on disc.  I had a
blast, and the lot scene outside the venue was unreal.  Unlike anyhting
I've ever experieinced.  It made me feel like I was on the corner of
Haight-Ashbury.  I really loved my phirst show, and rest assured, I'll be
back for more.  I hope you liked my review.

Take it easy, everyone, and be kind to one another!

smellslikephish2002@yahoo.com

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