7-12-00 -- Deer Creek - Noblesville, Indiana

Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 22:20:31 EST
From: MIke Flutka [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: deer creek 7-12-00 review
 
I wasn't going to write about this show, but after hearing so many people
say such nasty things about third night.  OK, not the best show I have ever
seen but much highlights to mention.  The whole show seemed to have a
chilled, more emotional vibe than most I've seen.  Which I thought was kind
of appropriate considering the fact that alot of folks there had been
camping since Sat or Sun-going to Dylan/lesh and all three shows.  I only
went to this show, missed the second show because I was getting evicted from
my apartment, so I was expecting alot. Anyhoo...
Set I
MFMF-great opener, but strangely unfinished
Curtain With-long, subtley jammy
Tube-chilled to the max, good dancing
Heavy things, Billy Breathes- bad placement next to one another, but
chill-out-sing-a-longs
BOMD-got the energy of the place back up to par
Free-nice version (first of tour), fantastic glow stick war, kept sending
the energy level up
Axilla-short, but groovin with a sinster outro
Squirming Coil-I love this song. Again, not the best version I've ever
heard, but the Page ending solo was beautiful, no one else onstage and Page
speaks!
 
Set II
BOAF-good 2d set opener, good length, nothing crazy but a rollicking first
song>
Piper-a fantastic Piper if I may say so>
Crosseyed&Painless-ohmigod! My highlight of the evening. They haven't played
it in forever.  Fish did a great job of the lyrics.  Nice funky mid-section
and the outro was the trippiest thing I heard all summer.>
Prince Caspian-a good follow up to C&P, slow and powerful
Meatstick-a special thank you to all the people who couldn't get in but
could hear the music from the back of the venue and could participate in the
meatstick dance.  I thought that was really nice of em.  Mike & Trey both
did a bitchin robot.
 
Encore
Wading-I heard nothing but complaints about this, but I thought it was
perfect. 2d set energy peaked during Piper.  Tapered off, they played
Caspian and a totally relaxed Meatstick.  Wading was the perfect encore,
emotional, intense, and doesn't follow or precede anything without sounding
out of place.
 
Long story short, a good time was had by all except a) those who expected
them to top second night (not possible) b) all the phonies who enjoyed HT
then went to the concession stands c)the guy next to me who had a great time
the whole show then became totally bitter when they encored with "Wading in
the Velvet Crap" as he called it.

Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2000 08:36:24 -0500
From: Eric Zielinski [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 07/12/00 Deer Creek Amp. review
 
Unfortunately I was unable to make it to the first 2 nights of the Deer
Creek stand which really bums me out that I missed night 2.  Anyhow when I
got to the scene it started to bring back memories when I there in 96', man
those were the days.  As I passed through the lots I was amazed at all the
vendors like usual.  I decided to go into the venue about 6:30 I hung out
at the Waterwheel tent for a few, and those cats are just so much phun.
Then it was about showtime.
 
My Friend My Friend started things off on the right foot.  It was not as
intense as it can be but it really hit home.  When Phish plays anything
from Rift they have my attention.  Great opener!!
 
Curtain With? Well I thought the tune was always called The Curtain but
this choice has a small story behind it.  When I woke the morning of this
show the only Phish song I had in my mind was The Curtain, I kept thinking
that they would play this one.  Anyhow my wish came true I was dancing about.
 
Tube - Yes!! My first Tube, standard but very great choice by this time if
you walked through the walkway in the amp the section before the lawn and
before the seats there was tons of colorful chalk drawings on the ground
pretty hip!
 
Heavy Things (please see my review on the 07/14/00 Polaris Amp show under
Bouncing)
 
Billy Breathes - They really chilled out for this one very standard and
very settled
 
BOMD - I love this song no matter how many times they play they had me a
grooving!!!
 
Free - The first Free of the tour great choice although last summer I was
extremely tired of this tune, however since it only debuted here I was
accepting it and enjoying it.
 
Axilla I : Never seen this one I have seen Axilla II, this had some taste
that Axilla II has but I do enjoy this version.
 
Squirming Coil - This piece was brilliant!  They glow'd Page really should
his talent the rest if the band must have been bored by the time his solo
came about cause they were no where to be found!  When Page was done he
said we'll be right back yet he did look a little distorted as to where
everyone was.  This song might have been better if it replaced Heavy Things
and Billy Breathes. Great version I can't wait to here this one!!
 
Set break no complaints on the venue or security here I had a blast meeting
a lot of new faces, the bathrooms were not bad, the food was good.
 
Set II: BOAF - Great opener yet I am a bit tired of this one. However when
it went into Piper I started shaking this Piper was one of the sickest
yet!! Damn right, on target, lights were spectacular! Then they go into
Crosseyed & Painless, never seen this one live and they really carried it
out for a long while, no Fishman flubs...
 
Prince Caspian definately not there most talented song but you could since
that they were trying to relay some emotion in this show which is very good
cause Phish rarely plays the sentimentle songs.
 
Also a side note, I am not exactly sure when this occured but it really
disturbed me and I think it diturbed the band.  Someone inside the
Pavillion let of a blazing firecracker, how dumb can you be people, lets
light this cracker off and hopefully it hits the band or really hurts
someone, yeah that would be cool..  Very dissapointing..
 
Meatstick - Typical Meatstick I actually had the chance to learn the
Meatstick very similar to the Macarena..  He he.  Good closer!!
 
E: Velvet Sea - Wow what a surprise!! They really tried to get some
emotional feelings out through this show, you can since it in a lot of
songs.  I was shocked that this was there only song for the encore, it did
give us all a pretty peaceful vibe..  Oh well it was then on to Polaris!!
The fireworks in the lot were just fantastic!!  Keep them in the lots folks!
 
Eric Zielinski
http://www.ericz.org

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 19:23:55 -0400
From: "Ballard, Mark" [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'" [email protected]
Subject: deer creek night 3 review
 
Death to the Meatstick.

Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2000 19:12:36 -0400
From: Dan Rapp [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Top line review:  7.12.00
 
With this post you'll get only the highest highlights of the show -- the kind
of stuff that makes you "need that tape."
 
SHOW HIGHLIGHT:

I'm not quite sure what "THE CURTIAN WITH" refers to, but here's my guess:  
The curtian -- with a big fat crazy-ass jam.  With nearly 99% confidence, I'll
say that the jam started as a slow RIFT JAM, then proceeded into a REBA JAM.  
(It was the back half of Reba, starting slow and quiet and building into
craziness.)
 
Other hot spots:  MY FRIEND was awesome, as were FREE, PIPER (as always), and
CROSSEYED AND PAINLESS:  Get your groove out!  And maybe I'm just a sucker for
this song, but I love the MEATSTICK.  Shock my brain all you'd like, boys.


Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2000 12:55:04 -0400
From: Andrey [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: review 7/12/00
 
Got to the lots at about 5pm. Vending in the lots was already in full
swing. At about 6:30 pm I decided to head into the venue. Took my spot
on lower left side of the lawn and started waiting. The band came out
and went into:
My Friend My Friend - I love all Rift tunes. This was my second My
Friend My Friend. Good powerful jam at the end but kind of short.
Curtain With - My first Curtain. Really fun. Nice work by Trey. Standart
Curtain jam. Nice and solid version.
Tube - Awesome. One of my favorite tunes. I really enjoyed it even
though it was a pretty standard version.
Heavy Things - Sat down for this one. Standart Heavy Things.
Billy Breathes - At this time I thought that this set lacked direction
and energy.
BOMD- OK version. I like bluegrass, but honestly I was waiting for a
powerful jam at this point.
Free - First Free of the Tour. I enjoyed this standart version. It was a
very low key version though, nothing like Free that I saw at MCI in
December.
Axilla- Here is where I thought I would get my Stash next. But oh what a
let down when they went into
Squirming Coil - Great version, but a very bad placement.
First set left me wondering what will they do to upgrade the energy
level of this show. During the setbreak and throughout the show on lower
left side of the lawn I saw this beautiful girl in a wheelchair. What a
piece of art work by mother Nature.
Second set:
BOAF - Great Tune. I loved this jam monster. Great way to start a set,
just like Hampton first night.
Piper-Highlight of the show for me. Jammed out.
C&P - Another monster jam.
Caspian - Great powerful version. Definetely 2nd set material.
Meatstick - bummer. Bad set closer.
Velvet Sea - cool version. Nice work by Trey.
Overall this show had low energy, lacked direction and was short.
Definetely an off night for Phish. Two previous nights though more than
made up for it though.

Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 22:41:47 PDT
From: Kevin Liska [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: Deer Creek (show 3) review
 
Kevin Liska (PhreePhish)
7/12/00 Deer Creek (show 3) review
 
 
We come to the end of the Deer Creek run...
after last night's insanity, we are treated to...
 
 
My Friend (6:20)- A statement of my former life.  A nice opener indeedy.
 
Curtain (16:20)- Your standard exciting Curtain followed by the old slow
Rift section and then into what i believe to be as one of there finest jams
ever! It went on for a while, slightly reminiscent of a reaally great Reba
jam! Wow did this float my boat! I need these tapes! Holy wowness was this
jam awesome!  Get It! (and then trade it to me!) (along w/ last nights
show!)
 
Tube (7:35)- oh did this rock the crowd after those to great jams! great
psycho-delic funk at it's phinest! What a way to start off! We then make way
for,
 
Heavy Things (5:30)- It is due of course, but gladly welcomed.  Very nice.
 
Billy Brethes (7:20)- 3 nights, and finally a slow one.  Beautifullness.
Pure Beautifullness.
 
Beauty Of My Dreams (3:00)- ..and to the beauty of my dreams.  More great
set I bluegrass.  I great Page and Mike solo in there!
 
Free (10:50)- finally they pull this one out too! great jamming, ads they
get to the jamming chord changes signalling the end pretty soon in... and
then jam those out for a while! Very nice indeedy.
 
Axilla (5:50)- a Great adrenalin rush! the ending faded out a bit further
than usual. We then get a
 
Coil (10:15)- and a great one at that! the song is wonderful topped off by a
rather lengthy and (as always) dazzling Page solo.  Wow is he wonderful.
Page then wishes us off to the next set.
 
 
Boy, these set breaks seem like nothing now! I could do 40 min. on my head!
 
 
Birds (11:20)- Great jamming throughout.  The standard 11 min Birds with
surprisingly no glowsticks.... until of course...
 
Piper (13:30)- Aww ya. Classic.
PiperPipertheredwormwokeuplastnighttothesoundofthestorm
wordsarewordsIsailedupon... great jamming and energy in this. The end jam
had some nice sounds to it too, but as usual they ended it early and of all
things, we got,
things, we got,
 
Crosseyed & Painless (14:10)- YES! Some great jamming for minutes on end
before completely spacing out for a few minutes and then leading us too....>
 
Prince Caspian (11:50)- Long and heartwarming, that's all i gotta say. As it
ends, we are treated to...>
 
the Meatstick (9:00)- A wonderful way to end with Mike and Trey doing the
Meatstick.  some jamming, some trey talking more, and we end a nice short
set.
 
hmmm, long enchore probably....
 
Enchore:
Wading (7:00)- oh how sweet.  This one I love so much, and as an enchore it
is just breath-taking.
what no more? well we'll probably get a second enchore
(the house lights go up)
what!?? that's it! oh well, a short, but wonderful show.
 
 
Obviously the second night takes the cake, but the 3rd night has some nice
stuff to contend with (Curtain!!!!!!!!!), and the first night was rather
grand also.
 
..and thus ends my Deer Creek excursion.
 
I would like to thank James, Mossy, the wonderful people at Camp TimberHo
and Dead Creek, Phish (Duh!), Uncle Willey (you're the man!) and all the
heads who joined us.  You are all my phriends.
 
see ya there next year!!
 
 (what, no MOBY DICK????????)

Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2000 12:30:17 EDT
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: 7-12 review
 
This was my 21st show overall and it was made humorous by the
security-guard-lady at the edge of the page-side lower pavilion.  To make
many long stories short, she was very serious about people being good.
 
*NOTE* Take this review with a grain of salt because I thought the first
night was much better than the second night.  Not as much fun but the playing
was on a higher level.
 
Set I
My Friend My Friend: Nice opener.  I guess "pretty standard" is the way to
put it since it's always the same, but it's still fun to watch Trey rub the
'doc on the microphone stand.
 
The Curtain With: WOW!!!  I didn't even know what this was.  I figured they
were playing some slow version of Rift (which they were) but I had no idea
this had a name.  The jam segment (which could not be composed and if it is
Trey needs to be in some sort of hall of fame) sounded to me just like a Reba
jam.  In my mind this was definitely the jam of the night and maybe the
run...flames welcome!!!
 
Tube: I am definitely some sort of Tube magnet.  This one was funk as usual;
nothing long or extremely special.  On a side note, Tube is one indicator of
the shift in Phish's style.  Yeah, yeah, everyone knows they've gone to the
more groove-oriented stuff, but at my first show on 8/13/96 at the Creek lots
of people around me scrawling down the lists had no idea what Tube was, and
now I can't get away from it for more than two or three shows.  No complaints
though!
 
Heavy Things: I think by now the HT bashing is over right?  Anyway, I really
like this song and for some reason when I hear the lyrics I just think
old-school nonsense Phish.  Better than the one on Farmhouse.
 
Billy Breathes: A nice mellow tune and I was very impressed that Trey did not
botch it in some spot.  Better than the one on BB.
 
Beauty of my Dreams: Yep.
 
Free: Nice.  This jam rocked pretty freaking hard.  Some guy in a NASCAR
shirt standing right in front of me decided to jam along with
Phish...ummm...yeah...I should have labeled this Free -> Conversation with
wife jam -> Free.  Anyway, I was able to block them out most of the time and
it was definitely the best Free I've seen (but nowhere near the quality of
11/22/95.)
 
Axilla: I was happy to hear that Trey dropped the buzzard in the sand.
Axilla is Axilla.  Rocking, people jumping, etc.  Very nice.
 
Squirming Coil: AHHA!!! I don't care what others say.  This song has been
avoiding me for way too long and it was good to finally catch another one.
Page solo was good stuff and I was happy to see everyone else leave the stage
so's Page would actually say something.  When he got done with his solo he
just stood up for about 20 seconds or so with this sheepish grin on his face
like the kid who just saved somebody from drowning but feels really modest
about it.  Priceless stuff.
 
Set II
Birds of a Feather: Not the biggest fan of this song, but this one smoked.
It was definitely the best one I've seen live.  I am still of the opinion
that this song needs to return to it's Island Tour format.
 
Piper: Umm...I don't care what you say...this song is too fast now.  Give me
12/6/97 over any Piper.  They have sped it up too much and it consequently
sucks the life out of me to dance to it.  Not good to be ready for bed after
the second song in a set, but they slowed it down nicely with...
 
Crosseyed and Painless: Nice grooves, but I don't remember much more about it
than that.  Some guys in front of me were dancing like David Byrne and it was
hilarious.  It looked great!
 
Prince Caspian: This Caspian was the real deal.  There was a jam of a couple
of minutes between Xeyed and Caspian, and it sounded quite a bit like Caspian
during that part of the jam so I will say that the segue was more Caspian
than Xeyed.  The jam at the end smoked.  Plenty of nice trills, etc.  I
always said this song had jamming potential.  The only other Caspian I've
heard on tape that compares to this one is 7/20/98.  If someone wants to
prove me wrong I'm more than happy to let you burn some shows for me :)
 
Meatstick: Never seen it, never heard it.  (These three shows were my first
since the new year's run in 98-99.)  It was pretty cool.  Until the next day
when it would not leave my head.  But I certainly enjoyed it while I was
there and it was cool to see Mike and Trey interact with the crowd during the
dance.
 
Encore
Wading in the Velvet Sea: OH MY.  They had a good 25 minutes before curfew
and I was dead set that they were going to encore with Divided Sky.  Yeah,
they didn't.  So then they go off with 15 minutes before curfew and I figured
we'd get two encores.  Yeah, we didn't.  Velvet Sea was well played but
encoring with it after three smoking nights at the Creek is just going to add
fuel to the fires that blaze against this song.
 
Right after the show I heard some girl complain that this show was "Nothing
but Billy Breathes crap."   My Friend, Curtain With, XEyed?  Give me a break.
 I thought each of these shows were decidedly above par.  In my mind this was
probably the "worst" show of the three nights, but I wouldn't have been
anywhere else.
 
jason

 
Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 17:47:57 -0500
From: Michael Gagliano [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: deer creek 7/12
 
After 2 great deer creek shows, one would expect a letdown.  Wrong!  The My
Friend was perfect. The slow build up was sick.  The Curtain was also
perfectly played.  Both these songs deserve more rotation in the set lists.
Now I'm confused about the next song.  Folks, it simply was a Reba jam with
no lyrics or whistling.  Some mentioned Rift or Curtain With.  Whatever.  It
was about a 10 min Reba jam.  While I'm at it, I'd like to comment on when to
put "Jam" after a song(i.e. Downed>Jam vs Drowned).  I believe if the
key/tone/time signature changes from the actual song then its a "Jam".  More
on this later.  Tube was slow and snaky, with Page taking all the leads
here.  Heavy Things just gets better everytime.  I can't help but think of
Jerry playing El Paso on this one.  Billy Breathes was extended a little
thanks to a nice slow solo by Trey.  Beauty sucks.  Axilla>Coil was a great
closer with Page saying his familiar "stick around" as he walked off the
stage alone.
 
The second set raged!  The Birds was pure power.  Trey went on and on!  He
took this song to new levels not seen since last years Birds(which is my
fav).  Piper - what can you say.  This song is there best new song.  This
song has completely turned into a masterpiece.  This went into a JAM.  Slow
and moody, this was not part of Piper.  This jam stopped, Trey looked at
Fishman, spoke to Gordo and Cross-eyed was off an running.  WOW!  This song
also led into a separate jam.  Slow like the Piper jam, this then came to a
complete stop before the dreaded Caspian.  Knew it was coming.  Oh well.
Meatstick was great without going on too long for the set closer.  Wading is
a beautiful song that capped a wonderful 3 night run at my favorite venue.
 
Best Deer Creek run I've seen out of the 4 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111
 
Gags

Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 01:17:27 EDT
From: Kevin Janes [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: deer creek 7/12/00
 
Well, Deer Creek was a blast once again this summer. That makes numbers 8,
9, and 10 for me, and I must say that tuesday night was the best, though the
other two had their shining moments for sure, My Friend My Friend,
Crosseyed, Meatstick, Fee, The Curtain, and on and on... You've seen the
setlists, so I won't go into them all. The lot scene was pretty cool aside
from the men in blue swarming the place. What was up with the cops this
week? I heard there were some 4000+ arrests that filled the county jail and
half of the high school gym!!!! I camped in Anderson at Mounds State Park
off exit 26. Monday night I gave a girl in the lot (Becky from Chicago, hey
girl!) a ride to the campground off exit 19. There were dozens of cop cars
all over the place searching cars left and right. Kids in hand cuffs on the
side of the highway with all their belongings spread all over the ground!!!
They stopped me too, asked for my ID, registratin and all. I gave him my ID,
and was searching for my reg. when he rudely said, "Aw screw it, I don't
need that, get out of here!" Then on tuesday I was talking to a guy who got
in the show free when a cop handed him a ticket they had confiscated from
someone they arrested! What the hell's that about? Stealing our tickets?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that was illegal, not to mention
shady as hell!!! Noblesville's "so-called" finest were nothing but the
opposite of fine it seemed to me, anyone else agree? Anyone out there
remember that old N.W.A song about the police? I wish I had a copy of that
to blast in the lots. Yeah, maybe that would have been harsh, but they
weren't exactly friendly themselves. Sorry this review was more of a rant
than a review, but I just believe this sort of stuff needs to be told and
exposed because it was all totally uncalled for. Just be careful out there
fellow phriends. We've got to watch out for each other cause God knows the
PD won't. Peace everyone, see ya in the phall!!! Kevin

click here to return to the 2000 reviews page


hits (many)