can anyone help me out? I'm sitting in the Lawn this go around at Deer creek & am curious where the best area to sit is for the best sound & view? Anyone have any experience with this place?

Also, anyone camping at Dead Creek want to raise a bottle o' beer to Summer?
Happy Solstice!!

anywhere in the center of the lawn is great for dear creek....see you at dead creek to toast summmer, i've got the orange/yellow 77 VW camper...have a safe trip down..chad

i've been to Deer Creek many times. If you have lawn seats, the closer the better! The times i've ended up high up, the sound is a little quiet for my taste. Nothing beats the pavillion, though! I'll see you at the campgrounds. I'll be in a white pick-up with a red camper on the back.

If you are facing the lawn, you best bet is to sit left center. I have always had good luck there. Be careful this year around the venue. I am from Indianapolis and read in the paper they intend on beefing up security for these types of shows because some idiot Over Dosed on herion in the parking lot and died at the Trey show this year. I dont think it will be any big deal though. Besides we all know that Phil brings a good crowd. I will be camping at dead creek also, it is definitly the best place to be. look for me I will be driving a Silver Pontiac Firebird, there will be a bunch of us. Have a good show. I know I will I am sitting front row, anybody want to come. Pete

Left Center Lawn... sounds good! i guess I gotta get in early so I can get up close.

any of you tapers need help? I can get waters or beers for consideration of helping seed your recordings

I'll see you campers at Dead Creek... I'll be with my girl with the White 1998 Toyota Camry & grey tent.

safe trips everyone!!

Who is ready to party down at Deer Creek. I have a feeling this is going to be one of the better shows of the tour. Lets hope for an eyes of the world, I dont belive it has ever been played at deer creek. See you all at dead creek.

hey now!

doubt we will get an eyes...came last nite. I am super stoked for this one. Deer Creek is one of my favorite outdoor venues. Right or Left of the lawn doesn't matter as much anymore. Just make sure that a column is not in your view and you will do fine. The closer half of the pavilion sounds the best, but there is pretty poor sound in general towards the back of the pavilion. Combination of reflections off of the ceiling and bleed through from the repeaters pointed at the lawn. if you are in the back 10-20 rows or so...move to the lawn and it will sound punchier, and the vocals will be much easier to understand.

Hoping for my wife's first St Stephen...each show she has missed that I went to, he played it. It is getting to be a joke amongst us. She is coming, so I have a sneaking feeling he won't again ;^) Regardless, it will be hard to top the one I saw in Denver in the spring.

peace,
Chris Mescia

ps. here's hoping also that they will be open about the fob stands like last time...that was a big help.

Chris... they played St. Stephen last nite too! Looks like yu wife just missed it again.. hoepfully there will be a Dark Star out tonight!!

Deer Creek is going to be one HOT show!! Two nights of warm up, & you all will be styled w/ 2 fatty sets! Have a great time! (wish I were there)
:*)

where is a setlist.. did this show happen???

please disregard last post folks!!!!!!

two sets????
there only playing one set on shows with allmans

we have a set yet?

Set 1: Jam > Cryptical Envelopment > Midnight Train > The Wheel > ? I'VE COME A LONG WAY WITH YOU (or Leave Me Out of This ?) > Sugaree, Terrapin Station > Mountains Of The Moon > Terrapin Station > Not Fade Away > Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad Jam > Not Fade Away, The Real Thing
This from setlist.com

Just got back from Deer Creek. The boys rocked tonight. Awesome jams and great songs. My feet really hurt from dancing so much.

Again and Again...perhaps.

Well if it's (Ive come along way with you?)...it is Again and Again

One set shows I`m not sure I would like....
I love festivals and all the things that go with it but one set from Phil NO!

The set list on philzone is wrong! First of all the ABB did not close! Phil did. Here is the real setlist.

Jam>Cryptical>Midnight Train>The Other One>The Wheel>Again and Again, Sugaree>Terrapin Station>Mountains of the Moon>Terrapin Station>Not Fade Away>GDTRFB jam>NFA,
encore: excellent donor rap about snakes, The Real Thing

How in the hell do you forget The Other One? let alone who closed the show! Plus they stopped before sugaree, not after.

It was incredible by the way. I too was hesitant about the one set but with a huge allman brothers set (complete w/ guest appearances by all of mule and separatly w/ herring, barraco, and apts) And then a huge long super set by phil. It felt like one huge show w/ mule oppening and two monster sets from the allman's and phil. And when would we ever get a cryptical opener out of a two set show?

Who do we write to to get the set lists fixed? That kind of spooks me, i've always trusted those lists after all.

>>>Who do we write to to get the set lists fixed? >>>That kind of spooks me, i've always trusted those lists after all.

bret@philzone.org

>>>Terrapin Station>Mountains of the
Moon>Terrapin Station>

My question is how do you split Terrapin in half?
Are you sure it wasn't Lady with a Fan>Mountains of the Moon>Terrapin?

Terrapin>Mtns>Terrapin or Lady w/a fan>Mtns>Terrapin, its all semantics. Good show nonetheless, my only gripe, if there is one, is if Phil was the closing act, why did the Allman Brothers play longer? Phil clocked in just a little over two hours while the Allman's played over 2 1/2. I figured if you were the main act you get a longer time slot.

But the show was a smoker, knew we were in for a treat when you see Phil in his red, white, and blue sweat bands. The opening jam was mesmerizing and then to slide into the Cryptical was delight, with an extra emphasis on the line, " He had to die!" in honor of John Entwistle, but no Borris the Spider.

The highlight had to be the rendition that Phil put together for The Wheel; what a journey! Moving in and out of familiar phrases only to drop it back on the dime he left sitting there. Truly wonderful. And to give us a Mountains of the Moon, thanks Phil

P.S. They did stop after the Sugaree Chris, for a moment, before ripping into the opening jam for the Terrapin that had a lot of Watchtower jam in it.

See you at the next show

Donor rap about snakes?? Please elaborate.

i can't remember much about the Snakes rap except that phil said the music was like a snake wrapping itself around the place (or something to that extent)... kinda funny, the Summerfest show was the "Infinite Adventure; DC was the "Snake Adventure"...? like a snake eating its tail?

Anybody else catch the Watchtower jam before they went into Terrapin? I though it was pretty distinct, not just a tease. There was definetly a stop both before and after Sugaree, then started up the Watchtower jam, then Terrapin. That GDTRFB jam in NFA was great, just wish they sang it. Felt like Dark Star was all over the place last night as well.

this is my first post ever on here...just signed up...anyway, does anyone recall the "You Can't Always Get What You Want" quote by Herring during "Sugaree"?...it was super cool...!

Sounds like a great show. Someone asked though, when we will get a Cryptical from a two show set -- and I just wanted to mention that with Phil, anything is possible -- things show up where you least expect them.

Believe two sets will again be the norm after the ABB segment of the tour.

I also thought they were going into watchtower and not terrapin. But was pleased with the "smokin" terrapin. I was also "dismayed" that as the "opener" the Allmans played 2.5 hours and phil as the "headline" played 2 hours. Dont get me wrong, I LOVE the allmans, and thought their set was GREAT! Especially when Jimmy herring, and rob barraco and mat abbs joined them. But phil was the headliner this nite and I would have rather seen his regular 2 sets or even just one 2.5-3 hr set.

Also, to me, while he is definetly a "workhorse", I thought warren was showing signs of fatigue by the PLQ set. I am not sure I like these shows where he plays for 5-6 hours. he is only human. The opening jam was HOT and so was the cryptical, But i thought the band kinda of struggled for the first 45 minutes or so, and I noticed Phil spent more time then usual talking to the other band members through his mike then usual. But from sugaree on the show was "blistering" hot.

While I havent confirmed it, I am wondering if the reason for all of the above is that Phil got there late. Jimmy, Warren and Rob were all there early and you can see them all side stage enjoying the allmans. But you didnt see phil hanging out side stage till almost the end of the allmans set. I think he got there late.

The rap about the snakes included statements about getting lost in the "country roads". So maybe thats what happened and explains the extended allmans set. Country roads in IN kinda of "snake" thru the country side. Plus, there are also lots of native snakes in the area that you can regularly run into in the back roads.

One last note, Phil says his shows always contain a hidden message. to me, it sounded like tonite had to do with the the fact that the re-union of the dead was passed and will happen. The set seemed to have a little histroy of the dead moving forward to the now. They started with cryptical, representing the beginning times of the dead, then played some great and rare early tunes (mountains, other ones) then the "wheel" about the circle of life and things going on, then "suagaree" about, things dying and problems, then the 1st part of terrapin, (moving forward) into Mountains(more ealry stuff and/or revival) then the 2nd part of terrapin including...

" and I know we'll be there soon.... TERRAPIN STATION! (just getting approved the day before)...

Into...

Not Fade Away (speaks for itself, (I Hope).

Into...

the "going down the road" jam (Speaks for itself)

Back into...

Not fade away...

Encore

this is "the REAL thing" (!!!!!!).

Anwyay, perhaps it is just my perception.

It was a great day and a great show. Deercreek will always rock.

See ya on tour

Enjoy the shows
Jeff

Just wanted to mention this, Phil clearly had the time of his life at the show. At the end of the set he was dancing, spinnig around, waving his arms all over. During the Organ Donor Rap Phil said "Donate your organs and you could save the life of someone even weirder than me." Pretty funny.

>>>At the end of the set he was dancing, spinnig
around, waving his arms all over.

Wow. I've seen him in high spirits, but never that animated.

Deer Creek - 6.29.02

We got up to the campgrounds early. I was a bit bummed about Phil only getting one set, but when Mule started at about 4:20 and was off the stage a little after 5:00 I kept doing the math and was really hoping for 2 sets. I'll have to say that I was not impressed with the Allman's set. Except for the end of their set when Herring and Barroco joined, nothing really got me moving. Then it was almost Phil & Friends w/ the Allmans. The ABB left the stage around 8:10 and it became clear that we would indeed only get 1 set from Phil. They came out shortly after 9:00. (special thanks to the taper with a bald head who gave me some nice fungus to help me with Phil's set!) They started out with a very intense high speed jam that was longer than the typical intro jam, although nothing seems typical with this band. They pull out stops that I didn't expect at every show. Cryptical was a nice selection with nice vocals from Phil. After a long Cryptical jam led into Midnight Train. Not one of my favorite new songs, but nicely played. A jam out of Midnight train led to a long intro to The Other One. Phil's bass seemed louder tonight as he laid out the bass line for quite some time before finally leading into Spanish Lady... No Bomb intro though. I wrote down a Space Jam in the middle of O1, but it is not recognized on the official set list, but then again neither is the Other One. I was pretty deep into a mistic haze by this point in the evening, but I'm sure I did hear this song! The Wheel was next with Phil leading the band for a while before actually making it into the song. Very nice jams with some Dark Star tease/theme in both The Wheel and O1. Again & Again is a song I absoultly hated the first time I listened to it, but then it started to grow on me and it was one of the new songs I was kind of hoping to hear. Barroco's voice is very tender with Warren's belting in both on vocals and with his guitar. After Again & Again the music took a brief pause for the first time. Sugaree emerged with Warren and Jimmy's guitars sounding almost like a cat fight durring some long solos. Lady with a Fan followed, again with a long intro with a very heavy Watchtower feel. Mountains of the Moon was sandwiched between Lady and Terrapin. Very soulful lyrics sung by Phil durring Mountains and then absoultly exploding into Terrapin. NFA closed with a very distinct GDTRFB jam in the middle. Phil came out and did his usuall Donor rap and they encored with The Real Thing. Not the strongest encore, but after the set they just played, there was not much of a need for a power house encore. This is not one of my favorite new songs, but I thought Warren did it justice as the band left the stage for good a little past the 11:00 curfew. Went back to the campsite, took a nap until morning and drove home. Overall, this band keeps getting better each time I've seen them. The jams get more structed while keeping the improvisional aspect. Even though I would have loved 2 Phil sets, they still managed to give us one monster set that leaves me satified today! Looking forward to hopefully catching 1 more on this tour and whatever else I can in the future. Here's to the Quintet!

I can't believe no one is talking about Dark Star last night...it was all over the place. For the first hour, it felt like every jam came back to DS and then off to the next tune.

Also, my impression of the snake rap was that the music was snakelike and when he talked about "getting lost a few times" he was referring to the music....Anyway, one of the best shows I've seen this year!! Hope I can manage to see more. -Brian

Lady with a Fan> Mountains of the Moon>Terrapin Station....nice

Let me preface by saying I believe an off night by Phil is better than the best night of others, but I think I need to hear the tapes of this one, because I apparently didn't hear the show the same way everyone else did.
Cryptical was fine, but the cut to Midnight Train was odd and ruined the Other One for me. The band appeared disjointed throughout this transition. (Phil's comment about getting lost?)
I enjoyed the wheel, but as others have noted, Warren seemed to be out of gas (who can blame him?) This, I believe, led to an average sugaree that seemed more like the band going through the motions than anything inspiring.

Just when they started to get going, the show was over. Its almost like Phil was asked to fill-in at an all day festival, rather than be the closing act on the ticket I bought. (Did it even go two hours? Seemed closer to 1.45 to me)

And even the most rabid of fan couldn't have been pleased with the encore of "The Real Thing."
Again, still better than most bands out there, but this was not one of the Phil shows I will remember in several years. But, maybe the recording of this show will be better than I recall it.
(I miss the two set Phil shows!)

>>>Terrapin>Mtns>Terrapin or Lady w/a fan>Mtns>Terrapin, its all semantics.

Well see the thing is it's more then just semantics because it is two different songs. I've seen PLQ do the Terrapin Station without Lady with a Fan, and I've seen them do the sandwich too. I don't think I've seen them do just a Lady with a Fan by itself, but anyway...the fact that PLQ doesn't always interpret Dead tunes in the same form made me genuinely wonder if they had split the song Terrapin Station. I thought it might of been a new twist. If your gonna keep track of set lists might as well be specific as you can.

I would agree with Bear -- this was the weakest PLF set I've seen out of a dozen. I saw 3 of the 4 dual ABB/Phil shows last summer and thought PLF outplayed the ABB all three nights. Tonight, I thought the ABB played a better set other than the out of place, lackluster drum solo in the middle of their new instrumental.

Warren was definitely tired early into the PLF set and the band just didn't seem to capitalize on the opportunities they had created. One instance was the beautiful jam coming out of the Other One that was almost fully realized but crushed too soon by an early entry into the Wheel.

The Watchtower Jam started with a Les Brers tease with both Warren and Jimmy quoting the melody from that song -- I almost lost it when I thought they might tackle the ABB's Les Brers.

I, too, was disappointed by the set length but that may have been due to Warren's fatigue. I'm not saying this was a bad show -- it was very well-played just not fully realized like the other PLF shows I've been fortunate enough to see . . .

Apparently this guy from the Indy Star was not too enthralled by the show. It is irritating when a paper sends a reviewer who is obviously clueless.

http://www.indystar.com/entertainment/

the snake comment was in reference to the NFA
clapping. it was weaving it's way around the theater. it never really came together.
I thought this show too was great. anyone who may think it was a bad show is probably seeing too many shows. this band jams every nite !

The guy who wrote the review for the Indy paper has his phone # at the end of the article. So tempting. He's clueless, but what do you expect from a guy who is the music critic for an Indy paper?

Hmmm...here's the "meat" of the article...

Still, Haynes asserted himself as a decisive force through the Gov't. Mule and Allman sets. It was disappointing to see him regress to aimless noodler with Phil Lesh & Friends.

Lesh, the Grateful Dead's iconic bass player, is now responsible for two of the worst headlining performances in the past five seasons of Verizon/Deer Creek history.

Even with his solo project's dismal showing in 2000, a repeat failure seemed unlikely. For starters, Haynes wasn't a member of that lineup. Even better, Lesh released an album of new material this spring.

Unfortunately, the show again had all the sophistication of five pals rehearsing in a basement after not playing music together for 20 years.

As a vocalist, Lesh offers no inflection or character. He merely shouts out lyrics from Dead chestnuts that, every 20 minutes or so, provide relief from cul-de-sac jams.

Keyboard player Rob Barraco sang Lesh & Friends original "Again and Again," which could have been a watered-down '80s outtake from Kansas or Starship.

Thank goodness for hero of the day Haynes, who poured himself into a monumental version of "Sugaree."

The attendance figure for the triple-bill was 12,000. Only masochists subjected themselves to the entire Lesh performance.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Call David Lindquist at 1-317-444-6404.

this was only my 5th Phil show, after "getting it" at L'ville last November (then NYE,Vail,N.O.). I made up some floppy hats, with a very understated PLF - Summer 2002 inscription to try to generate some cash on Shakedown Street. Maybe y'all will blast me for even doing that, but I wanted to hear if anyone could relate to what happened to me last night.
I'm standing there holding up my hats, not squaking or anything, and these two security dicks come up and say "hand 'em over". When i say i'll put back in the car they say "hand 'em over or we're calling the sheriff". In shock I hand them my bag with 30 hats. Stupid of me to take all along with me, I was hoping to sell some at Riverbend. So, I figure, shit luck, put it behind and have a good show. ten minutes later this chick stops me and says "I saw what happened to you, and you're not gonna believe this I just saw the fat security guy trade one of your hats for a t-shirt at the other end of the street!"
I thought it had to be a cruel joke or mistake, but she was serious. Sure enough, I walk to the end of the street and see one of my hats laying at some girls' feet as she's hawking t-shirts. She was cool, apologized for being a part of it, but didn't know what had happened UNTIL she traded, and the first chick told her about it and confronted the asshole security guy in the golf cart (Mike Rose).
Anyway, I've read y'all's thought for several months. If some of the real followers tell me I NEVER shoulda tried to sell anything with Phil's name on it, I'll accept bad fate as it was and shut up. If you think I really got screwed though, I'd like to hear.
For the show, I thought they took way to long to get going, but from Sugaree on was excellent. I'm convinced the reference to snakes was somewhat of an apology from Phil, because I don't think he would chalk it up as a cohesive effort, all in all. The night ended well for me, with a couple from row 5 leaving right after Sugaree, and handing me their stubs. Thanks.

My thoughts on the show started at the camp site...

>>>$45 dollars for camping and the area had not been mowed for weeks (at least since I was there 3 weeks ago for Trey)

>>>$10 for parking (I remember when it was $3 back when it was Deer Creek...which reminds me)

>>>It will always be Deer Creek to me...had some guy tell me that there are now 31 Verizon Wireless Music Centers in the U.S.

>>>ATM next to the food lines to pay $4 for a slice of pizza, $4 for a Powerade, $7 for a 20 oz beer.

>>>Lawn tickets, and then having the best part of the lawn (the area the tapers would usually set up in) roped off so the grass could grow after damage from a concert earlier in the week.

>>>No pass outs...I know a lot of places do not do this either, but this is just icing on the cake.

>>>The worst part is musicians always seem to have a good time here, not to mention great shows, so we continue to buy the tickets and put up with this crap.

Here are my ENDING thoughts as each band left the stage.

Mule>>> Great set, just getting warmed up. Too bad there won't be a second.

ABB>>> So much better that last year. They seemed to be going though the motions last year and also blown away by Phil last year at Virginia Beach, Raleigh, Charlotte, and Atlanta. No way were they going to let that happen this year. Great new songs.

Phil>>> Jammy...that's the word my wife used and I would have to agree. I really enjoyed Terrapin> Mts.> Terrapin. I knew we were in for something unique with Cryptical in the open jam. The band took us to some great places tonight. Too bad there was 20 min left before curfew and the show was over.

The guy who wrote the review doesnt even have his facts straight, let alone his assessment of the show.

Last year, phil played deer creek as the headliner, and it was a really hot show with the same PLQ lineup....

7/15/01
Phil Lesh And Friends
Deer Creek
Noblesville, IN
(total time: ~3:00)

Set 1: Jam> Soulshine> China Cat Sunflower> Bird Song> Blue Sky, Scarlet Begonias
Set 2: Jam> Morning Dew> She Said, She Said> Stronger Than Dirt> King Solomon's Marbles> Sugaree> Terrapin Station> I Know Rider
E: Stella Blue
Warren Haynes Solo Acoustic opened
String Cheese Incident Co-headlined
Phil & Friends closed

The YEAR Before, phil played and it was with a different band and not such a great show....

7/9/00
Phil Lesh And Friends
Deer Creek Ampitheater
Noblesville, IN
(total time: ~1:45)

Jam> Viola Lee Blues> Jam> Friend of the Devil (PB)> Darkstar Tease> Broken Arrow> Dixie Chicken (PB)> Other One Tease> Help (RF)> Slipknot!> Fire on the Mtn> Scarlet-ish Finish
E: I Know U Rider> Viola Lee Reprise
The Band: Phil Lesh, John Molo, Robben Ford (g), Paul Barrere (g), Bill Payne (k)
Bob Dylan Band opened- setlist

Better yet, here's David's page to submit questions/comments. Purhaps he could sift through a "few" of ours...

http://www.indystar.com/entertainment/columnists/dlindquist/

Give the guy a break. He did give props to trucks and warren. the 2000 show was the worst phil show i've ever seen and the worst deercreek headline i've seen. Admittedly I did miss Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth, but still. And you have to admit Phil's voice is an aquired taste, those always being the best kind (hmmm, beer).

Like Jerry said, The Grateful Dead are like liquorice. Most people don't like liquorice, but those that do really like liquorice.

I for one am one of those proud massochist that stayed for the whole show crying for more. What was up with that stream of people leaving early?

I just signed up, because I was at the show and wanted to comment on the snake rap. He said that it was a "snakelike evening" because songs kindof "slither their way into the music", reffering to the huge jams and teases. At least that was my impression, but as soon as I hear the tapes..

It was a fantastic show, and even though they seemed directionless a couple of times, it just made it more fun to hear certain songs pop out of nowhere.

"Finally.....The Rev gets back to The Zone...

ok..I wasn't at the Creek but I am glad to see that we are getting different perspectives on the show. One begins to wonder when people all agree that the show was "Phat". I realize that there are those moments and shows that transcend the limits of the venue and even the songs. But all too often we, being the ever positive and delightfully cheery bunch that we are, tend to dilute the reviews and make them seem as though all shows are TREMENDOUS. While everyone gets their groove on in different ways..some go for the songs, others the jams, others the noodling, others the space between....there are surely different points of view. I enjoy reading what each of you have to say. As a full time teacher and coach, I am unable to travel about like I did in the Deads later years when I was in college. I rely on you guys to keep me up to date as to the shows quality, setlist, jams, and hi-lights. I appreciate what you guys do and use your info to seek out the shows I wish to have in my posession.

I am going to the Fox in St. Louis for certain and hopefully more.

As for the negative review, I do realize that the guy deff. praised Warren and Derek. But the truth is that most of these critics grow bored and generally disallusioned after several hours. The fact of the matter is that they don't get it. They rarely come from any creative background. They rarely give positive reviews. As a St. Louis resident, several shows come to mind. I believe the ABB show at Riverport in the summer of 2000 are a good example. I loved the show. I was blown away by the jams and the apparant new life that many of the new songs had pumped into the rotation. The St. Louis Post Dispatch is notorious for negative reviews of Jambands and related music. If it isn't a Top 40 band or some forgotten Rock Dinosaur from the 80's (see St. Louis infatuation with Sammy Hagar), they rip it to shreds. In this particular review they sighted the smelly hippies in the crowd and the bands long and mindless jams. They also bashed the Allmans for not playing enough hits.

More recently, I went to the SCI shows at the Fox in St. Louis. The same reviewer mentioned the same negatives in his column the next day. Once more citing the "smelly hippies" and the long jams. Only this time he mocked the size of the crowd and blamed the bands mgmt for being presumtuous in their estimation that the band would draw well over three evenings. He of course made mention of the ever-obvious comparrisons to the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers. He does this with every Jamband show. It is really one of those things you must take with a grain of salt. I realize that Phils voice, much like Dylans and to a certain extent Jerry's, is an aquired taste. But to rip the whole show based upon one reviewers inability to think outside the box seems terribly shallow and thoughtless.

Until next time....keep me updated and we'll see you at The Fabulous FOX for Jerry's B-Day Bash.

MJ,

I have not been an active vendor since ’94, but prior to that I use to vend on spring and summer tour from 88 – 94. (Rick was GD head of Security). Hey it’s a great way to see more shows than you normally could afford. Anytime you vend without a license it’s a risk, which for me was every time. You have to keep this in mind before you take on the investment. Vending is like gambling, never go to the table with more than you can afford to lose. I take it from your earlier statement that you realize your first mistake. There are a couple of things to prevent that one from happening again.

One: take out a few at a time and do not vend near your car, if that’s where you are keeping the other ones.
Or two: if you have a friend with you, have them carry the bag and you vend one or two at a time.

The closer you get to the venue the more risk you have of losing your merchandise.
If you have T’ shirts with Tour Dates or the Bands name on it will increase your risk of losing your merchandise. (Phil Lesh and Friends 2002 would apply).

Some venues are worse than others…

In 93 my friend Mike lost all of his shirts at Deer Creek. His shirts had very blatant copy write infringement issues. In ‘92 I lost a couple of shirts at Star Lake, and Soldier Field, and 93 I lost 6 or 7 shirts in Atlanta. The shirts that I lost in Atlanta were purchased from a wholesaler that had an official license from GDM, but I was: A.vending without a license and B too close to the venue.

I think the biggest complaint that you could and should have is that the guy took you stuff and then traded it for his own personal gain. If he had taken your hats and given them to the homeless then that would be a different story and you probably would have to chalk it up as a lesson learned…

I hope you found this somewhat helpful

wow, what a mixed review of what I thought was a great show:

missed mule, damn.

ABB: I'm a huge ABB fan, (being from the peach state originally there are/were many more oportunities to see ABB than Phil/GD). Besides, how can you not like a band that brought up the likes of Jimmy Harring and Warren Haynes, not to mention Dereck Trucks. But this is philzone, not ABB.com. with that said, let me just state that Dereck Trucks playing slide during Dreams might have just stole the show. Anyway back to Phil

did anyone else hear a bird song like tease in the opening jam???

CRPYTICAL TO START THE SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

loved it, what a way to start, I was completly and immediatly envoloped in the show right from the first note. I thought Phil really got into this one, "YOU KNOW HE HAD TOOOOOOO DIEEEEEE....."

Midnight Train, ouch. Not my favorite and a thought a little rough on the transition...

back to TOO, how could this be forgotten from the setlist???? I thought the transition from Midnight Train into TOO was great, I thought I heard about three other teases here before those first TOO notes appeared but couldn't tell you right now what I thought I heard. Wheel was fun, but in retrospect maybe they were giving Warren a little break. Nice version, good jams in between chorus' but nothing exceptional. Again & Again is one of those songs that tends to grow on you. although I must admit it could be an 80's rock tune. Nice vocals from the whole band "I'VE COME A LONG WAY WITH YOU..." still ringing in my ears like I was still there...

If Warren was holding back during Wheel/ Again&Again it was worth it to hear the incredible Sugaree. got to disagree with you here Bear, I'm really interested to know how long Sugaree was, there were some incredible jams with Jimmy and Warren playing off each other and they didn't let anybody stop shakin' it, must have been 30 repeats.."SHAKE IT, SHAKE IT, SUGAREE..." each one faster than the first.

Lady with a fan was beautiful and I'm sure was in response to Terrapin being back on at Alpine. Nice call to John on the Les Bres in A Minor opening before a full blown Watchtower Jam. Phil's voice is simply haunting on Mountain's and I would have bet the farm that this would lead into Darkstar, but that just goes to show that you never know what to expect with P&F. Terrapin was smokin at 200 miles an hour and led right into NFA. NFA was great but they kinda ended it, didn't really let the crowd continue the chant.

My guess is that since the whole night could have been called Warren & Friends they wanted to showcase Warren in the final encore with The Real Thing but I think just about everyone left a bit confused after that. Nice song, Warrens voice sounding great, but certainly not my choice encore.

a few other notes:
That reviewer doesn't know his ass from ass from his elbow and no I won't give him a break. He may not like P&F or liquorice and thats fine, but as journalist and music reviewer he should be able to objectively review the show. I'll admit that I probably can't do it, but I'm not writing this review in the local paper. 12,000??? I don't know how you can say that that was a disappointing show. Also, I thought Deercreek capicity was 24,000??? I thought they had sold out? the whole venue was pretty booked all the way to the back of the lawn?

All and all a great night, and a great show. Yes we all would like 2 sets, but I'm thankful for what I got. Other than a few rough transitions and a confusing encore, top notch show.

peace

Man, what trip. For some reason I have bad karma with Indiana shows. First I was a busted back in '91 at Mounds State Park where the "ranger" sniffed out everyone's site with a drug dog during the show, then proceeded to bust everyone in the park after they fell asleep (luckily I made bail in time to see the next night's show). Next it was the police gauntlet thrown down at the Dead's '95 show which culminated in a riot and canceled 2nd show. Later that summer we got a speeding ticket driving to see the ABs.

So 7 years later it was with great trepidation that I planned another road trip to Deer Creek. Love the venue, hate its location.

Unfortunately for me the bad trips continue. Upon leaving our hotel in Indy my car's shifter cable broke leaving me stuck in 1st gear. UGH! Of course, there wasn't a mechanic working in all of Indy this weekend. Today Im home but my car is 200 miles north.

So I rented a car and make it to the show during the ABs set. We decided we needed to eat more than see the ABs for umpteenth time so we chose to grill out and try to relax from the day from hell. As much as I needed to eat I still hated missing the tailgating and first two shows. :-(

At least we were able to see Phil. I had mixed opinions about the single set. I too miss the two full sets from Phil. The group did seem to be rambling at times with little focus and little chemistry. Reminded me some of the old group with Robin Ford. I had not considered that Warren might have been tired, maybe this was the problem.

Watchtower was definitely hinted, but alas, no Watchtower.

Some moments in the show had the intensity of a Cream jam, but they were too few and far between. Even with all the incredible guitar work and bass playing, I came away somewhat disapppointed, I may change my opinion after hearing a tape. Last time I saw them was at the Louisville Palace (11/01) and thought the chemistry was much stronger there.

One thing I definitely respect about Phil is that he is willing to risk a "bad" performance here and there for the sake of pushing the envelope of his group's play in an effort to create transcending/spiritual music. There were moments like that last night but not enough.

>First I was a busted back in '91 at Mounds State Park where the "ranger" sniffed out everyone's site with a drug dog during the show,

The new program now of IN State parks is Rangers with excellent night vision glasses crsuing one park at a time. They look for multiple lighter strikes, beyond the norm for lighting a cigarette and then observe long enough to determine what is going on.

A friend of a friend and his companions was busted sitiing around their campfire by thismethond and the Rangers told them the program. They make their way from park to park and that's just the way it is in IN these daze.

They give tickets and confiscate Bud, but imagine if there were other drugs involved, they might be a little harsher.

Brief review of Phil's set. Show pace started slow and didn't really hit stride until Sugaree. Picked up speed from then on and was over all too soon.

Nice meeting you Tonto! Gald you made it home safe Rev. Sorry for your detour to Ft. Wayne.

Tell Fred I said hello.

Had great seats so I could see a lot of the
interaction between band members. The band
was out of synch alot during this show. Phil
had to count out changes more than normal and
was talking into his mic giving directions
alot. It just seemed like they were struggling
at times. BTW-they were letting people upgrade
their lawn tix to pavilion for $10. During
PLQ, there were still many empty upper pavilion
seats. Shakedown was 1 side of the main drag
before you get to the pond, and heavily
patrolled. Weather was hot, typical Deer
Creek sunshiny! Caught Mule and ABB-Both had
their moments. The sound was LOUD!! We were
sitting 10-15 feet from stage on left side
right in front of the stacks. Phil's set as
I saw it...

JAM> (Nice! hard & loud then softening)

CRYPTICAL> (unfinished but welcomed)

OTHER ONE> (segue and TOO most entertaining
part of the show for me)

MIDNIGHT TRAIN> (odd placement-bored me)

THE WHEEL> (not fond of the way they break
song's momentum with redundant
jams)

AGAIN & AGAIN (bought the new discs but the
new songs don't do it for me)

SUGAREE (now is where I am hoping for a
Shakedown, H>S>Frank, Viola,etc.
and we get overplayed sugaree)

LADY W/ A FAN> (knew we were gonna get it
but another song where the
build-up to "Inspiration"
is lost when the speed metal
jam kicks in)

MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON> (Always a treat but not
the bands best effort)

TERRAPIN STATION> (too fast for me, it's a
beautiful song in it's original
state)

NOT FADE AWAY> (biggest crowd reaction of the
night. A lot of phun but didn't
anyone notice how no one was on
the same page to begin? reminds me
of the H>S>Fire 2 years ago)

GDTRFB JAM?> (more like a tease)

NOT FADE AWAY (didn't anybody notice the very
noticeable LACK of applause?)

DONOR RAP (SNAKE) (you could tell by the look on
phil's face he was saying "with
the type of music we play, there
will be times when we get lost &
things don't come together" somewhat apologetic.

E: THE REAL THING (I can think of at least 100
songs that I would rather get for
the encore @ a deer creek show.
This sent me packin' early)


Overall, the weekend was fun but I was disapponted
that ABB played so long, their was an LONG break between ABB & Phil and I looked at the Pine Knob setlist and it looks like they got my show. It's the nature of the beast and the only way to beat the system is go on tour and take the bad w/ the good and great. But when you go to one show, you take your chances and I would say that I left a
little unfulphilled. Alpine will make up for it and the next time (Oh, and don't get me wrong, there will be a next time) I see PLQ, I'll probably get a 1st set that is worth the price of admission! Take Care!!!

>>>>I looked at the Pine Knob setlist and it looks like they got my show.

I'll second that. Of the 4 shows, that looks to be the best setlist so far. Sounds like there's an overwhelming feeling of rough transitions & jams not taking off like they're known too. I'm wondering if the new tunes are causing them to struggle w/ flow of the sets & interweaving them into the old tunes. Personally, I could live w/o some of the new stuff. Although the lyrics are nice, I feel some of it's just too slow & bland.
IMO, this may be detering the band from it's full potential. This tour is practice from the new album, & I'm hoping pushing sales of the album hasn't forced P&F to play so many of the new tunes.

Warren IS the shit... But the show I just saw left me wondering if Kimock wouldn't be a nice addition. :*)

Sorry you guys had such a bad time and thought the music was bad, other that the disappointment of one set, i thought the show was superb. yes, it was not as high powered as others, but when Warren is on stage for every song from 4:20 to 11:00, that will happen. as far as the indi star guy, who cares? i think that is the same review he has given P&F for the last 3 years (inc. this year).

here's a good Indiana review on the Creek show:
much better than that asss David Linquist @ the Indy Star ( I live in Indy and I've written him nasty e mails on more than one occasion ) this one is from Bloomington (IU country!): although he (the bloomington author) made a mistake in saying that Allman sang "I've been loving you too long"...Haynes sang it didn't he?!?!

http://www.idsnews.com/story.php?id=10628

The PLQ just continues to amaze me,and I must say that I was not disappointed at all this year at Deer Creek. Although it seems that many people have taken notice of "strained transitions" and "unrealized jams" there was much, much more going on than just song selection or Warren being too tired. We all need to understand that every part of ANY Phil show is something special and it is our privilege to be able to experience it. I get kind of tired of people criticizing the band as if they owe them something. If anything it is us who owe Phil and his band our gratitude for giving us such an incredible gift. I will never be disappointed with a Phil show because it is all a treat. A friend of mine said today that new song that Warren wrote - The Real Thing- is worthy of a grammy. I agree. It nearly brought tears to my eyes and that's how my show ended. I was speechless. Warren is simply incredible. He has so much soul. That whole new album is awesome and I'm glad they are doing some of it live. The highlight for me was Terrapin Station. Everyone was just going crazy and we were right smack in the middle of eat a peach land down around the 10th row. Anyway- enough said. Man I can't wait to see Phil at the Fox in St. Louis again.

This is the VERY BS that I was talking about in my review of Bonnarro

>>>We all need to understand that every part of ANY Phil show is something special and it is our privilege to be able to experience it. I get kind of tired of people criticizing the band as if they owe them something. If anything it is us who owe Phil and his band our gratitude for giving us such an incredible gift. I will never be disappointed with a Phil show because it is all a treat.

BS, as i said in the earlier post...

"What is more ridiculous then this misinterpreted bobby bashing (or the criticism of a phil show in this case) is this complete blind allegiance to anything that came out of or was associated with the dead without discernment. The fact is, the dead had some pretty bad years and some prettty bad shows. Anyone who thinks everything they did or played or anything that has come out of the scene is beyond judgement, is delusional."

If interested you can read the complete post and thread and discussion in the reviews section under the bonnarro show.

Peace

Hey bobfan-I understand what you are saying, but there's no blind alegiance here. Just a realization of the musicians and what's going on as they play. I am thankful for it all and by the way, I am an extremely critical and discerning listener and musician and that's why I dig Phil and his band. They are incredible.

Whillard, I see where you're coming from. Every moment with Phil is a gift & I believe we all feel that. P&F's music is the bomb, & I believe we all feel that as well.. P&F are capable of reaching amazing depths. When those depths aren't reached, we do take notice. Perhaps we're spoiled... But, because someone feels the band didn't take them to where they want to go doesn't mean they don't appreciate or love the band.

The problem here is one set shows. PERIOD... Just when they get warmed up & start to flow smooth, it's over. I walked away from the Target Ctr. show wanting more, because I know they'll kick down, but what I got was the ultimate warm up show. I still walked away happy, but not completly satisfied. The show had it's moments, but few & far between. And, I love Phil just as much as I did before. I will continue to go to shows because I know what they're capable of.

Alpine Valley here I come! And I know they're gonna kick down!! :*)

Yea, but the point here, it is unfair to assume that those of us who are critical of a paticular night show are somehow anti-phil. Look, Phil, like every band, is gonna have great nights, bad nights, and so-so nights. I am the first to admit that his bad nights are better than most other bands' great nights, but to suggest we are somehow not as mighty as you because we believe we have the ability to discertain the great from the not so great is silly.

If you thought Phil at Deer Creek was the greatest thing since sliced cheese, more power to you. But, based upon the ten shows I've seen, it was by far the weakest. Like someone said earlier, "if you are complaining, you've seen too many shows." He's absolutely right. But, its because he hasn't seen enough shows, that he doesn't know how good Phil can sound.

Being an "extremely critical and discerning listener" (your words) does not go hand in hand with one who also stated:

"We all need to understand that every part of ANY Phil show is something special and it is our priveledge to be able to experience it." (emphasis NOT added)

If you go into a show believing that, you have no chance of being an unbiased critic. I don't fault you for disagreeing with those of us who thought Phil dropped bombs of a different sort on Saturday, but please don't suggest that we are anti-Phil or that we have to realize that every Phil show is great----- because that simply isn't true. Are you telling me that when you sit down at your stereo there aren't certain Phil or Dead shows you prefer over others? According to your posts herein, I suppose not....You don't prefer any Phil show over any other, they are all the same to you. That is just, again, plain silly...

Hell, even if we all agreed the playing was the greatest we had ever heard, I thing there could be legitimate criticism on the length of the set alone. But again, according to you, if Phil comes out and pulls his bass string one time, we are all suppossed to bow down to Allah and thank him for letting us live to hear that....PLEASE!

I NEVER said that anyone who complains about Phil is anti-Phil! I never said Deer Creek was the best show I've ever seen either. And I've also never said that all Phil shows are the same to me no matter what- but thanks for trying to read my mind. All I'm saying is there is a basic difference in being glad for what you get, or moaning because you didn't get what you wanted. It's just an attitude and my life is much better without complainers around period.
Wow- isn't it fun trying to understand each other?

Agreed.

I agree that it is somewhat "Unbiased" to assume that if Mollo Farts on a snare drum (name the movie?) it would be a gift. I agree. Phil, like the Dead before PLQ and every band before, after, during, or since will have good nights, bad nights, and nights that leave your jaw sliding across the floor out of sheer amazement, and nights that will leave you running to the door early out of sheer horror. There were nights, where Bobby (and no I am not Bobby bashing) sent me to the back of the venue during songs.

Like I said during my earlier post. I am all in favor of an unbiased review and I really think you to the educated listener a disservice when you write a glowing review of each show. Thats why I have a hard time finding new bands that I enjoy. I used to rely on Relix and other Dead related publications to shed light on up and coming bands that were improv oriented. The problem was that they always wrote positive reviews. Not every band that noodles for 20 mins during a song is inspired and creative. I, like many others who love this scene, am looking for an honest review. Just because Phil is a near Demi-god to all of us, doesn't mean that there aren't nights where it doesn't click. I will always go back. ALWAYS. But I need honesty in the reviews. Like I said before, it helps in tape searches. Keep the honest reviews coming. Thanks.

Deer Creek this year was weak.
The groove was disjointed.
Nothing clicked on stage, and
all the smiling Phil was doing
on stage was in response to them
screwing something up. Not from
some great musical interaction
that's for damn sure. I can't wait
to listen to this show again, hoping
it turns out better the 2nd time
around.
Helplessly Hoping

The deer creek show was amazing. I enjoyed the fact that it was basically a Jazzy Jam Fest. Some Phil shows are bout the songs.....some are bout the jams. This one I felt had a nice mix.