Got to get this one going folks. Been getting pumped ever since I ordered tix and somehow snagged the 1st row after the pit. 35+ Dead shows, P&F 3 times before, heard tapes of different lineups, and this is far and away the best one of all. Sounds like the "Friends" have really come into their own and I thank God for Phil's continued health with every new tour.

Besides the material traditionally identified with the individuals in P&F (i.e. Soulshine, Unbroken Chain), this band has a real gift for reinterpreting and improving upon classics that we all know and love. Knowing I would never again be present when Jerry or Brent pulled out the stops was heartbreaking - until a P&F show in Baltimore 2 years ago which included Dew, Just a Little Light, and the Wheel. Brought me back to my fist show in Maine '88. Even though I can't tour any more (wife and baby take priority these days), I can still gather with all of you fine people when the bus stops here in town.

The BIG bonus I'm waiting for this time around is a Lennon tune. Thank you to Phil and Friends for making it possible to hear live Beatles in the midst of your mind blowing jams. You sure know how to pick 'em. My wish for 7/31 - fat and round, heavy on the Jerry songs, a couple of new ones, and a surprise bust-out (e: So Many Roads or the Weight??) Imagine Warren on Roads - or the harmonies on "the Weight" - with everyone taking a verse. Just dreaming out loud. See you all there.

HE WAS A FRIEND OF MINE!!!! Outta China Cat!.. I have an old '68 Florida Seminole Indian Res (or something...I haven't seen it in awhile...may have lost it) tape with a China->He Was that is just sooooo beautiful...and I think highly appropriate these days ;o)!

A warning for everyone going to Merriweather. Be very careful while in the lot. They now have a lot of police presence. Was there this past weekend to see widespread panic and there was a shit load of cops busting people. A lot of undercover cops. They even have a police station now set up on the lot. I am just writing to people to be very careful and watch each others back. peace out.

I'll second that warning. Growing up in Columbia and seeing a ton of Shows at Merriweather over the years, I can tell you the scene in the lot is VERY differnt this year. The Cops are everywhere and they are looking for drinking, and other parking lot fetsivities. They aren't playing around, the Police Sub station in the lot gets a workout. Be smart.

Otherwsie I can't wait to see Phil at Home (MPP) I just back from the Red Rocks shows, which have set my expectations very high. I can't wait to hear more and thanks to a killer score in mail order I'll be groovin 4th row center. Somtimes ya gotta love GDTOO ts.

Cheers!

I'll triple that emotion re: cops at Merriweather. It was already getting bad last year at Phish...otherwise a great venue!

Are the cops busting the scalper scum that last year were slowing down the already miles long line to get into the parking lot? That's the real problem - why don't they just direct traffic like they're really qualified to do?

I'll second that one, too, but still a great venue! So basically the lot can be a little stressful, but inside is very nice, especially with all of the trees around...plus it's my hometown show, so...never had any hassles w/security inside/getting inside.

Generally these days, my lady and I don't travel to the East coast anymore because the cops suck so bad, especially around the MD, NY, PA areas...what's the reason that these venues are so gestapo-like? (It's hard enough getting through Missouri or Oklahoma without getting pulled over and hassled, let alone deal with all the fuzz once you get there in Philly or MD.) We always really loved the east coast vibe at the dead shows, lots of energy and wild folks, but the whole parking lot/cop substations is kinda freaky.

I hear that about freaky...just gotta stay two steps ahead of 'em...and I imagine that's why our energy's always high...and we're so wild so that they don't know what the HELL is going on...cuz in order to bust you've gotta know what you're bustin' 'em for...we can use all the help and love we can get so come on along, you won't be alone...we'll get them goddam cops to come home!

where is a good place to park? is there only one lot? help please? thank you

There are a few lots, with one main one right out in front of the gates. For convience for partying I would say that the main lot is best/easiest to stay low =/;o)

I hope they use Candace's lighting and the Allmans liquid lights in tandem! Wouldn't THAT be the shit? I hope the Phil PA is the one used, though.

OOPS --thought i was a-postin to va beach

EAST COAST ROCKS!!! hehehe
Masses of squirming hairy bodies, clouds of exhaled smoke...confusing the cops is pretty damn natural to us.
Semper Fi...PHIL OR DIE!

the cops in the east are pretty fuckin dumb, just dont speed, hide your weed, and you'll have a kind time indeed

yeah, the cops definately suck at Merriweather. It is a great venue, though, and bands play great when they are there. Just watch the cops, put your beer in a coca cola can, and watch out for your phellow phans. Don't let the piggies bring you down and spoil a show day!

Anyone Know what time Phil has been Hitting the stage for a starting time nightly? 7Ish??? Thanks...

Since they have to be done by 11:00, if you work backwards they should start around 7:00

If anyone wants a place to chill before or after, we are only 10 minutes away and there are no cops here.

Were do you think Phil will play Wednesday... Wolf Trap with Bruce Aug 1, or Trey at Merriweather Aug 1? Just an idea.. I'll be seeing Bruce, and hopefully seeing Phil 2 days in Row.

Brian

Merriweather is in for a Help->Slip->?->Frank's, a 'Gator and a Hard2Handle. PHIL: Don't turn anybody down, but TURN JIMMY UP. Have fun.

Charlies - you beat me to the punch...I definitely call an Alligator. Would love to hear a H2H, too. They've been RIPPIN' Slipknot...would be hard to beat the one I saw at Hartford, though...
I would also think it's time for some Beatles...maybe Revolution or Walrus.
Lovin' this tour!!!! Too bad this is my last show on it... :(

trey played at merriwhether saturday, both bands are off on Jerry''s B-day and in the same general area. Maybe Bruce Hornsby and Friends could be the showstopper!!!!TOUR!

About parking: The pre- and post-concert scene IS in the parking lots for Merriweather, but, parking and hanging in the Columbia Mall parking lot works too, and is a very short walk. I say that particularly for getting out after the show. No unseen bottles to run over, and if it rains, no mud to go sliding around in. Last year, cups worked for beer and other libations, just no "obvious" open containers.

Phil and Bruce at Wolf Trap on Wednesday would be phine!

IT SEEMS THAT THE COPS ARE WORSE!!! PLEASE BE AWARE THAT IT WILL NOT BE LIKE HARTFORD, PNC, OR EVEN CAMDEN IN THE LOTS. TREY WAS A DISASTER. NO VENDING, FOOD, POURING OUT OF PLASTIC CUPS. BE CAREFUL. Beltway politics in dc seem to have reached good ol' maryland..the cops seem to be relentless. Much love, a sober brother looking out for the good of the scene, Ben.

Here are some of my predictions for tomorrow's merriweather show:

Help>>
Slip>>
Franklins
Terrapin
Built to Last

Scarlet>>
Fire
Low Spark
Lay of the Sunflower.

Those are some of the songs i think and would love to hear them play. I hope i get a few of those. See you tomorrow at merriweather. peace out jim

we are definately going to hear an alligator tonite. was anyone sitting in the front 2 rows center at hershey? if so, you probably heard me and one of my brothers yelling for an alligator. a low spark would be cool. i think a help>slip is a good call as well Jim. see yall at the show tonite.
It is so on!

tonite is going to rock. we are definately going to hear an alligator. anyone that was at hershey in the front 2 rows center probably heard me and my bro yelling for an alligator. it is so on tonite.

Jim, a help>slip is a good call man.
see yall tonite, and watch those cops.

Terrapin!!!!

Jerryland Terrapins call out!

Alligator would be real cool. I'm wondering if maybe a Lady with a Fan>Sugaree>Terrapin might work. This is Terrapin country.

The news this morning reported that the International Space Station will be visible tonight in the Baltimore/Columbia area starting around 21:49. If you're on the lawn tonight, look up around quarter 'till 10!! How about an ISS Jam to round out the planet jams.

Can anyone tell me if cameras will be allowed at Merriweather????

No cameras at Merriweather..Unless you sneak it past the gurillas!!!

It's pretty funny...If cops had a clue, they would know that we are the most harmless people in the world, yet they waste all that manpower...

Unfortunately not everyone is harmless on the lot...but I'd wager 95% of everyone is there just to get their groove on...
The cops would have fun, too, if they could comprehend what's actually going on...but to most of them I figure it's just another opportunity to prove their manhood and throw their weight around. Well, we're going to rock MW to the best of our ability today, regardless...I'll be in my Flying Burrito Bros. shirt...come say hi if you see me.
Have a GREAT show everybody! And watch your ass as well as your neighbors'!!
-Ras Crispy

Tank Top with Big Dragon Tattoo on left arm, and GD tattoo on right...Enjoy the Show, and Be safe!

Here's a link for info on where the space station is visible:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/SSapplications/Post/SightingData/sighting_index.html

maybe a little cloudy tonight though ):

Positive thoughts all, and how 'bout a bunch of decoys in the lots. Bring a red plastic cup and fill with water and wander about. If 5-0 comes along, offer him some.

I work about a mile from Merriweather, I'll go by at lunch and give a pre-lim report

I like the red cup Idea...I'm in

anyone want two 3 row seats. I've got more than we are going to use tonight.

Man...I'm glad another Phil show is up on my plate tonight! Unfortunately I'm now sick with a cold and general exhaustion...oh well...I will be rockin' my ass off tonight! For once, though, I'm grateful for the 11:00 curfew...Hope to see some of ya'll there!

How much for the tickets???

If your interested in tickets e-mail me. I'm looking for face or a good trade. I have four others row Q RC. I'll will be back around 2 this afternoon.

Went by the venue and saw very little activity. Just heard that they opened the parking lot gates though. (I stress - heard).

The sunshine is out and it's not supposed to get to hot, red cups for all.

Thanks for the update Vincent.

Well, I'm off to the show...Everyone Be safe, and most of all have fun...

if everyone watches each other's backs, the five-oh won't be a problem. keep it somewhat low key and we will all be golden.

To all at Merriweather, I hope you see a PHAT show full of mint treats. I won't be able to see another til November, So I live off of the reviews. Enjoy and be safe
Whitey

Phil Rocks!

I LIKE MUSIC!

Set1:
Jam>
Dancin' In the Streets>
Soulshine,
FOTD>
Midnight Train>
Jam>
Eleven>
UJB

Set II:
Jam>
Terrapin>
Wharf Rat>
1000 Stars>
Mountains of the Moon>
St. Stephen>
Mtn. Jam>
Comes A Time>
Mtn. Jam>
St.Stephen>
Golden Road

Enc: Walrus

Thank you Brian Shupe, for another amazing night, also thanks to TC.

Great show.......ok it was a good show.... where was everyone? I wouldn't have come here either but I live right down the street. The band was very good but when you can't fill the seats something is missing!

Tour rats were missing! They went off to find Trey, perhaps? Good riddance to bad rubbish. Yeah, if it's not a sellout, how good can it be? Golden Road, Walrus encore, and the ST made an appearance (twice), along with the 11 in the first set. I saw the dead play worse versions of UJB than the one tonight. Look me up at the beach, Bali! Ramada Towers ;-)

I don't know if it the influence of the unseemly crowd (the daily massive smoker or drinker/ the young riff-raff/ and the dirty, poor quasi-hippie type) or that people just don't know or aren't that cool anymore- because if this was going on in the 60's or 70's there would be a definate cross-over hip element there...

yes it is quite amazing when some of the best shows ever are happening right now with phil + friends and many venues are 1/2 empty or not close to sold out- i'm sure there are people who like this but it's odd that so many don't come to participate in our scene anymore- yet other jam-band scenes are complete sell-outs...

the wheel is turning and when have we ever been treated to setlists as phil + boys are laying down lately?

i've searched hundreds of my dead tapes and even though they are the kind, phil's setlists are way more expanded and not so repetitive.. and they play the songs with way more energy now.. plus the fact the dead never played many songs of their own songs phil has dusted off and brought back to life- you guys are missing it.. keep the scene alive and support our community. "love is real - not fade away"

You never see those people anyways... The band is gunna play some places in Fall.. I guess, & as long as I can catch it while it spins, let me have another intimate encounter with PLQ! P:)M

This show, except for the Stephen looks very sleepy, was it?

It does nto look too upbeat. Anyone..how was the energy by Phil and the boys at this show. I bet they are happy to be opening for the Almans.

Fall tour will rock- Phil has mentioned November at the Beacon in NYC...smaller venues are better

It wasn't a sleeper, but you're right...very laid back. But they meant every note of it. Tear Jerker is perhaps better than sleeper...I'll post a review later today.

Sleeper's not a great way to describe it, but.....the highs were very high, but the lows (for lack of a better term) were low. I know Phil emphasizes the improvisational, free music flow, but I heard someone near me describe the show as lacking Any structure. A proper term, maybe, but the idea was right. But, then again, that's a large reason why we love much of what they do(:

The first set was better. Very spacy throughout. Set 1: Soulshine was very good, FOTD was good, and Uncle John's was nice. 2: Terrapin and Wharf Rat were good, but sound-wise, Stars and Moon were very average, St. Stephen drifted, Golden Road was very good and the Walrus encore was dynamite.

I agree, the band played with their hearts, certainly no drawbacks there, but again, (and for Me personnally) I walked away saying, "Hummm, nice show."

From what I saw of the parking lot, etc, there was a 5-0 presence, but I did not see a lot a problems and I bought/bartered for a few lovely baubles(:

Terrapin was amazing...Wharf Rat caused a tear, and Walrus wrapped it up perfectly...I thought it was an amazing show...The upbeat STephen rocked.

greetings all-

The only thing sleepy about this show was the lame-ass crowd. I'd rather see a show with a couple thousand interested fans of any age or hygenic quality than with several thousand stand-around-and-drink-and-talk-ers... but obviously, if you're reading this you're not one of them- so enough bitchin'...

Soulshine- sweet reggae vamp by Rob- let it shine

Friend of the Devil- good, upbeat, especially appropriate considering Warren was introduced as "Satan" (complete with horns) when he sat in with Les Claypool's Frog Brigade.

UJB was good but the crowd didn't seem to respond- didn't seem to applaud much until they realized the set was over (some apparently thought the show was over and kept cheering for an encore as the band hugged out the end of the set- but Phil was just gettin started)

Warf Rat was great- especially the harmonies- the boys have been puttin' in some time on vocals and it shows!

1000 stars- my favorite of the new tunes! scorchin'

St. Steve brought the crowd to life- Phil was flyin in doubledy-doubledy-doubledy time

I was knocked out by the Comes a Time which absolutely jammed at the end...

The Golden Road- kazowee- I loved it- I loved it- I loved it!

There were some terrific close-ups on the screen following Phil's hands as he jammed- great stuff.

what else can I say? I was lifted- got what I came for...

for those who didn't all I can say is:

"all lost souls will be found and returned to their rightful owners, but only if they can accurately describe the contents."

-ron 3:16

Merriweather holds about 15000. How many tix do yall say were sold?
Ive also heard that there are plenty of tix still available for the Charlotte show . Whats going on. Do people now hop on the responsibility train and have jobs or what?
Im a little worried because we are going to Charlotte for our first and only show this tour>(and yes ppl, I do have a job. But atleast im supporting them with one show)< //getting back to the pnt// I know thats got to be a little disappointing for Phil to come out on stage and see a venue half empty. Theres nobody on this forum that cant tell me that the more ppl the better.
Phil,to me, has the best music out today. But he's just like any other entertainer out there<<<< he feeds off the crowd.
PHIL, Dont fade away!!!!!
And ppl, Dont let him fade away.
Atleast hit one show and and support the music

The 2 far left and far right pavillion sections were almost empty. This amazed me. But then again, not one of my old Tour friends could make it...work, kids, can't afford it. I will say that this is my first "Dead" show since the last RFK in 95, but now that I'm back on track, I won't miss another (at least locally). I didn't know what to expect, and was NOT disappointed! We had a great time, and now we wait for Ratdog (9/28) at the 9:30, and more Phil in the Fall.
BTW...Is anyone doing Hornsby at Wolf Trap Tonight?

The crowd definetly didn't phil the pavillion, which was beat, but everyone around us was up with us dancin' all night. The lawn looked to have a good crowd. Don't get me wrong, it was an enjoyable show, but more spacy than I expected/hoped, that's all.

We're going to Hornsby tonight, and Wolf Trap is a great venue. Sprinsteen showed up for Hornsby's encore last night, come on, Phil, show up tonight(:

Phil gave the crowd a gold star- which was a bit generous in my opinion- and he didn't show any signs of letting up or being let down. (During the organ donor rap, Phil got lost in thought and just laughed at himself- "what I'm trying to say is be an organ donor" then he introduced "Rob Barroco on guitar* and vocals" then realizing his mistake he laughed again, "god-damm I've got guitar on the brain" So, I'd say he's havin' a good time.)

These are some of the biggest venues he's played since the return, so what can you expect on a Tuesday night with an almost unknown opening act? The crowd at Hershey, which is much smaller, was much more into the pudding. Charlotte will be rockin' - Sat. night in the Queen City w/the Allmans and Susan Tedeschi! SAY NO MORE!

Have fun!

One good thing about a not full pavillion...Between my wife and I, we had 8 seats open, for us to groove. Lots of dancin room!!!

All, I can say is Ive been on the bus since the beginning, That was my 5th Phil Show and It is only getting better. I dont feel sorry for the Souls who dont make the Phil show cuz of whatever reason(s) I found my ole groove and Im staying with it. Peace, and Love,
Brett

Yeah the crowd was small and a tad mellow.
But I don't think you need to scream and dance the whole time to enjoy the show,that was my case in the first set(too much too fast)glued to my chair,but still loving every minute.
After a fairly mellow first set we knew the secong set would cook and it did.
Comes a Time was one of my highlights,totally enjoyable,with Jimmy FINALLY showing some of his stuff.
The show was good but Phil has us spoiled on the small venues imho.

More Space..The MOre Grace!!!

I'll Be In Va Beach Tomorrow Shakin my bones!!

Greetings from DC. Claypool is funked out. Warren came out and did the last tune with them wearing devil's ears. . . . . which alluded to the FOTD we got in the first set->nice touch. Some thoughts on the show: Don't know what show some of the other posters experienced last night, but the show was tight from start to finish, with not too much noodling, but tight jams that had direction. The song selection may not have been what I had hoped for for my only show of the tour, but essentially every tune was solid. A great show from start to finish. The only negative about last night's show was the five repeats from the DC show this Spring (Walrus, Golden Road, 11, Mountains and 1000 Stars). The positive is that, except for the Walrus, each of the tunes (from my initial recollection) blew the Sping versions away. I guess if you don't like ballads, this show probably wasn't for you, but even the ballads got down right jammin'. First set: Dancin' was great and Rob really bellowed out the "DC" line. . . . adding to the local flavor .. . . Molo and Rob were locked in for a while, requiring Rob to even move some of his equipment so they could see each other better. You could hear the UJB from very early in the set and, sure enough, it made its appearance to close the set. The arrangement of the UJB these guys did is great--you almost think they've morphed it into a different tune until they change tempo/beat at the last second and jump into the intro to the respective verses of the tune. FOTD generally is not one of my favorites, but this one was very up-beat, refeshing and enjoyable--better than many version I have seen by another band. As for the second set, the Terrapin call by the pre-show posters was great. I love Terrapin, but saw too many by the fat man. So, to start the second set with it, I had my apprehensions. After the intro jam, after they had begun the slower/Lady portion of the tune, I found myself thinking of J, and how his blow-out/peak-out/explosion at the end of the tune was what made the slower portions of the tune even greater. . . . you could enjoy them, relish them, because you knew that a storm was looming . . . and that neither this nor any band should even try to cover it because the end could never be so climactic. To my pleasure, the band did a very good job at ROCKING this tune out and, what started out for me as an iffy beginning to the set, became oneof the highlights. This version is a must get for the Terrapin fans out there. . . .and then Wharf Rat??? Wow. Warren's vocals were great. . . .and another great version. Beautiful 1000 Stars and Mountains followed. . . . and then came the St. Stephen sandwich, which was very tight. Golden Road blew the Spring DC version out. and a nice Walrus to finish. Didn't get any of the untes I was hoping for, but tight show. My only pre-show request that was fulfilled was to TURN JIMMY UP. Although Warren wouldn't let him steal the show, JIMMY WAS ON FIRE LOUD AND CLEAR. He had some sick solos, and at one point at least, Phil was just cracking up, mouth agape, watching Jimmy rip. Hope everyone has some good shows to end the tour and look forward to the review.

whats up pholks? the show last night rocked, i must say. as far as the lack of people, what can you do. they missed out. the first set was short, and a little spacey, but they sounded so good. warren was on time with everything, and he sang a good portion of the show. second set- terrapin was sweet. i was getting off to that. st. stephen was also very good. did anyone here them go into an eleven jam after comes a time? then back into st. i have heard two golden rds this tour, and this one was definately the best. i was groovin so hard i thought me head would fall off. my second walrus- first one was at DAR in april (followed by golden rd.). they really play that well.
i was happy and sad at the end- it was a great show, but it was over...i might be treking down to charlotte on sat just to see him one more time this summer.
Warren ROCKS!

This was a fine, solid show and the outside scene was much better than the disaster at Camden. Although the police were a heavy presence so long as you drank your beers out of a cup they seemed to leave you alone. A nice little Shakedown area too.

A mellow show, although more engaging than Camden I thought. I was on the lawn again for this one and the vibe was like that of an "old-school" Dead show - in other words it seemed like most people were deadicated souls into the music and family vibe, less so the get all sorts of fucked up and puke everywhere trip. Epic amounts of people getting baked too.

Highlights for me were Uncle John's Band, a Wharf Rat that gave me chills for minutes at a time, a wonderful Comes A Time and a kick-ass Golden Road. I was hoping Dancin' would have rocked harder, but it was the opener afterall. The PA should have been louder too, but oh well. I give this show a B+.

Onward to North Carolina....

Did you notice that Jimmy's back on his Paul Reed Smith? I think that had a lot to do with the fact that, as you say, he was ripping it up...

Also, did you catch Rob singing 'everybody smoke pot' at the end of Walrus? Is this a first, or have they always done that? I don't remember it happening in the spring

He sang it in the Spring at DAR, just like on Magical Mystery Tour. Parents should be outraged!!! I think they should have a spaghetti dinner after a show. Who would serve with the shovel??? ;-)

KEEP THE DOGS AT HOME. A SHOW IS NO PLACE FOR THEM.TOO MANY PEOPLE,OTHER DOGS,AND FOOD FLYING AROUND FOR DOGS TO GET INTO.THE FACT IS HOWEVER MOST OF THESE PEOPLE DON'T EVER GET INTO A SHOW, POSSIBLE BECAUSE THEY ARE LOOKING FOR FREE TICKETS,FREE FOOD,FREE ANYTHING. HOW ABOUT A FREE BATH FOR THEM. SO SAD THAT THE OUTSIDE SCENE HAS BECOME A GRUNGE FEST,WITH ALOT OF DERELICTS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING FOR NOTHING. I FIND THE TYPE AND NATURE OF THE PEOPLE IN THE SHOW SO MUCH MORE TOGETHER THEN THE HOMELESS DOWN ON SHAKEDOWN ST. OF COURSE NOT ALL BUT MOST. ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH A FINGER IN THE AIR AND A DOG ON A LEASH. THEY NEED A MIRICLE ALRIGHT AND IT ISN'T A TICKET!!!!!

LG

>THE FACT IS HOWEVER MOST OF THESE PEOPLE DON'T EVER GET INTO A SHOW

Wrong. Everyone I know who wanted to get in the show got in (especially in the mid west). My friend got in several on crystals (as in pretty little rocks, not drugs). When we got to Camden, he had no tickets but by noon had 2 for camden and 2 for hershey. All the cute tour rat chicks always get in for free. Sorry Jeff, but you are wrong.

Careful, or we'll be debating the concept of "entitlement" again!

And I did a portion of this tour with 3 dogs. I wasn't too happy about that ( I think the dogs should be left at home, but the people I was with don't really have homes). If I wouldn't have taken them, someone else would have, someone who may not care for the dogs welfare as I do, not to mention my friends welfare. He got robbed several times while hitching on tour. He probably would have been robbed more if he didn't have a dog for protection.

Alot of people bitch about the homeless tour rats but you yuppies sure are happy to buy your pot and acid from them.

OK FINE GET INTO THE SHOW, ENJOY. BUT KEEP THE DOGS AT HOME!!!!!

LG

Where was that homeless tour rat when I needed him?

Merriweather parking lot scene:

Strong police presence in the lot. No nitrous. I saw no problems with police.
Decent shopping on Shakedown Street. Generally a well-behaved crowd.

It’s amazing how many people at this scene are begging for anything and everything; Free tickets, money, drugs. One girl was advertising that she will do cartwheels, sing songs etc for a buck. At least she was willing to try to earn her money. And its amazing to me how many people follow the tour from venue to venue with no $$ and no tickets.

We (me, Ed, LG, Frank, Wil and Duck) set up chairs, tunes and a table between our two vehicles to form our outdoor living room for our preshow meal and happy hour. Again, we heard from more people begging for cups.

And then our little excitement: 2 unleashed dogs dashed through our little area knocking over a few things. I asked the dog owner to lease their dogs. She didn’t. When the dogs tried to run through again my friend Ed stuck hit leg out to prevent the dogs from passing through. Next thing the dog owner calls Ed an old man and starts screaming that Ed kicked her dog. Ed calls the girl a bitch. Then the girls’ hyped-up (and fairly large) boyfriend gets right in Ed’s face and starts screaming at the top of his lungs about calling his girl a bitch. He wasn’t backing down and he was looking for a fight. Ed told the dude to layoff, but the girlfriend and some other lost child jumped in and were egging him on. LG jumps in between, I get up and mention this is not what this scene is all about. Frank, Duck, Wil were up. If the boyfriend dude tried to throw a punch, I don’t think he would have connected. I think he would have been subdued expediently. Boyfriend, seeing that throwing a punch would probably be hazardous to his health, reconsiders and saves face in front of his girl by calling Ed a bitch. Girlfriend shrieks something. Boyfriend vows this is not over, but is was. Ed was a little too vocal, but these doggone people were total idiots. Kind of ruined my nice pres-how karma, but during times like that you know your alive. (kind of gets your heat pumping) I’d rather the music performed that function.

If you are unthinking enough to come to a show with your dogs, at least keep them leashed. And if are looking for a fight, stay away from this scene!

Lastly Wil’s friend Craig cops 4 front and center seats in the parking lot for $55 each; the bargain of the century…as the show was a definite A.

My rave review of this show is coming soon

>Alot of people bitch about the homeless tour rats but you yuppies sure are happy to buy your
pot and acid from them.


Supply and demand my friend.

:^)

Muad, those aren't the homeless ones without tickets. The guys selling drugs HAVE money which usually means they've got tickets and a place to stay too. Panhandlers have nothing to offer and should be discouraged appropriately.

Don

Don, wrong again. I already declared myself the tour rat authority of this board. Dude, I am right in between them and you. I fit in both worlds.

You, don, probably don't know any of those people personally. Never lived or toured with them. Just because you have no money doesn't mean you are begging. All it takes is a couple bucks to turn around into enough money to get to the next show, which is what many do. I agree the beggars have to go, but what do you do when you are on tour with only a couple bucks and you get robbed and are now in the middle of the country, miles from home, with no money, no car, no drugs? You beg to get up 5 bucks to turn that into 10.

I think the free trade and barter that goes down at the shows is great. As long as everyone there is into the music, the scene should be a relatively good one. The problem is the people who are ONLY there for the party. I love to party.

PEOPLE!! Merry fits 14k+ and about 9-10k were JAMMING. That is a large amount for them. Cops were A OK @ this one way laid back from previous times I have been there. The show was upbeat and a Tear Jerker(well put who ever said that)The Turtle Rocked and so did Stephen and Whafrat was NICEEEEE and OO the Walrus. 2nd set to me was better as you can tell. Most songs were real tight
and they really had a good time. You could tell.
Till next Time PEACE !! PS golden road nice and fast. Not sure what other people were listing tooo.;)
Z

Great inside scene. No hassles at all. Lots of room. Great venue. Site lines and sound both very good.
Opening Jam was very nice, but was not improvised. I’ve definitely heard Phil do it before, but can’t place the show.

Dancin – good opener. Rob’s mic was turned down as the vocals were tough to make out.

Soulshine – Sung well, nice reggae beat

FOTD – cookin version, great harmonies, very well played. This was the point that Jimmy took over the show.

Midnight Train – Best version of this song yet. The end had a great jam

Eleven – WOW! Very explosive and joyous

Uncle John’s – Another great performance of this song that has become a PLQ masterpiece.

All and all a very flowing and happy set.

Set 2 was a gem!

Terrapin – THE SHOW HIGHLIGHT! I’ve seen the Dead do this many times in the 70’s and on and this was the best version I’ve heard anywhere

Wharf Rat – Fit nicely. Slowest version ever, but very soulful and hot.

Night of 1000 Stars – hot song getting hotter everytime it’s played.

Mts of the Moon – Phil teased Low Spark until this developed into Mountains. Great version. Phil can sing this one well.

Hey Dewitt, there was NO Mt jam. It could have developed, but it was never played.

Comes a Time. ANOTHER MAJOR HIGHLIGHT! Beautiful long version with a very hot jam to end it and merge in to a screaming….

St Stephen – Explosive extended version, great jamming in between. It sounded like they wanted to go in to the 11, but they already played it, so they went back into St Stephen

Golden Road – great set ender. Kept the place rockin.

Walrus: Perfect encore. Grat job Rob! Put any Beatles version to shame.

The show gets an A from me. A MUST listen on disc.

Kudos to the dancer on the stage (stage right). She was in front of me at the soundboard at Camden and did one of the hottest dances to the Saturn Jam > Mr Fantasy. Now she’s on stage. I’m in lust! Does anyone know her?

Onward to Raleigh!

What gets me is...You *miracle* a younger homeless-looking dude outside a show as an act of kindness, only to see him buying $7 beers and acting like an idiot and not even caring about Phil's band with his gang inside. You can't put 100% of the blame for this *element* on Phish; this started to become acceptable behavior in a big way during summer tour 1987.

I'm not preaching from an ivory tower. I was a younger idiot 20 years ago when I discovered the Grateful Dead, but I always showed respect for all in attendance and I eminently cared about the music. The pre and post show bartering was a cool part of the overall experience. Now that I'm an older idiot, I simply ask of you...Please respect the scene!

Oh yeah...I didn't forget.

HAPPY JERRY DAY!!!

AL, BETTER THAN ANY VERSION THE DEAD PLAYED. BIT OF AN OVERSTATEMENT. BUT IT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT, THEY PUT EVERYTHING THEY HAD INTO IT! NICE RAMBLIN MAN BACKSEAT SHOTGUN, COULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN HOME WITHOUT YOU!!!

LG

JJJJJEEEEEERRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYY!

LG

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JERRY!
You live in our hearts, minds and souls

Your friend and bass player, Phil is doing a marvelous job in keeping your music alive!

>What gets me is...You *miracle* a younger homeless-looking dude outside a show as an act of
kindness, only to see him buying $7 beers and acting like an idiot and not even caring about
Phil's band with his gang inside. You can't put 100% of the blame for this *element* on Phish;
this started to become acceptable behavior in a big way during summer tour 1987.

How about this:


Lot rat: You have an extra beer we (2 of them) can have?

Us: Yeah, sure help yourself to in there. (point to a cooler of Bud cans)

Lot rat: I want one of those (points to the Molson XXX in my hand, 1 of only 24 smuggled home from Canada)

Us: Excuse me?

TERRAPIN!!!!!!!

HappY b-day Jerry. Whats up GOOP!!!
Take a beer a and be happy right...

Merriweather sucks...flat out. The cops were assholes: searching cars, chasing kids into the woods, making ME dump my beer out of my plastic cup, helicopter surveillance, nagging my friends for hanging out at my car during the show, sweeping/clearing the lot ten minutes after the show...Now, granted I don't know exactly what preceded the chase and search scenes, but we were all mellow in the lot and even so there's these bassackwards Maryland fuckheads with badges hassling people seemingly at random. All you can do is rely on the buddy system: You watch out while I hit the bowl and vice versa.
Almost as soon as I showed up this dude on K was hangin' around breathin' hard and wild-eyed...I gotta wonder what the fuck is wrong with some people...I saw some schmoes cuttin' up lines on the lawn...I stick to beers, bowls and acronyms that were around twenty years ago. Fuck all the rest of that garbage. How can people enjoy the music when they're gasping for air or grinding their teeth? Glad I learned from others' experiences...[end rant]
The show itself was great! The band is tighter and tighter every time I see them. More of a group sound now...at least to me. And yes, Herring was rippin' and easily heard...and I got my wish of more chordwork from the guitarists. The mix was unsatisfactory to me: too goddamn quiet and the vocals were muffled. I was in the lawn for the first set (met Tapecat finally!) Noticed the empty seats in the pavilion and watched how lax the ticket checkers were, so I wandered in nonchalantly holding my ticket with my fresh $10 24 oz. Corona...ended up about 20th row center. Nobody showed up to hassle me about my "seat" until St. Stephen. You know, there should be such a thing as losing your "seat" if you aren't even there for over half a set...why not just stand somewhere else? In a crowded show, I can easily see the need to claim what you've paid for, but when there's empty seats all around...why mess with someone who's obviously just enjoying the show? So some dude starts to physically MOVE me over...I just hopped down to the next row to an empty right in front of me...fuck him...I was CLOSER to Phil after dude messed with me...and to top it all off, a taper down there is puffin' all by his lonesome, and a phriendly tap on the shoulder was all the prompting I needed for the guy to share with me...I was spooked by the bullshit I witnessed in the lot, my grrl had underwear with holes in it, so I left my shit in the car.
Highlights: UJB!! and another 11! Soulshine was my first, and I really dug it. I kept thinking they were teasing China Cat but I guess it was the UJB...Wharf Rat was slow, indeed, but great to hear...didn't really get misty for me, though. Mountains of the Moon was a treat. Hell, Phil's whole thing is a treat for me!
My two cents about "lot rats": nothing wrong with being broke and on tour...lots of cool stuff happens when that cup is empty (think of the potential, as compared to a full cup which can ONLY be emptied...huh? ;) ) So I don't get red when someone bums something off me...I'm happy to give if I have it. I guess the line is crossed when the same person keeps bumming the same stuff off me over and over. FZ: "Freedom is when you don't have to do nothing or pay for nothing...we want to be FREE! Free as the wind!" yuk yuk
I say good luck to all the "rats" and others alike...we all serve somebody sometime.
Rob Barraco is my new favorite guitar player.

>>"You *miracle* a younger homeless-looking dude outside a show as an act of kindness, only to see him buying $7 beers and acting like an idiot and not even caring about Phil's band with his gang inside."


A gift not freely given is no gift at all. You are disappointed because you have conditions set for the gift. Just because someone wants a miracle doesn't mean they have no money. And just because you give a ticket away doesn't mean you can expect this reaction or that. Be happy to give and don't worry about it.

OK, Hmmm…Merriweather. Thank God I finally got a show there that ripped my skull open. I’ve seen a couple of Phish shows there and was far more blown away by the scenery than the music. Well, Phil and Friends took care of that streak for me. The only reason that I enjoyed Hartford more is because out-of-town shows get automatic bonus points for me.

So anyway, I showed up as Les ended (bummed about that) cause I had to work (bummed about that, too) and went to the taper’s section and set up my rig. I ran into a couple of old friends from high school (one bonus for hometown shows), so that was cool, and then I made my way down to my seats in the pavilion. The jam started off hot to get the show off the ground. They were movin’ pretty good, IMO, and I couldn’t tell at first what they were singing, but realized pretty quickly that it was dancin’…Well, I’m not the biggest fan of this song, but I still enjoyed it, especially the Baltimore and DC! That was nice…

The jam outta dancin’ was terrific and bade well in my mind for the night to come. This led into Soulshine, which I actually like better with the Allmans, although I did enjoy this version quite a bit, which says a lot since I’m not huge into raggae…the Friend of the Devil was nice, and I enjoyed hearing the up-tempo version for once (not that I ever had ANY problems with the slow versions)…I liked how Phil queued them all for another go ‘round. Midnight Train is a song that I’ve never heard before tonight, and wasn’t floored by, but the jam following, and the 11!!!!!!! Wow…this was really nice in the first set…and then the UJB. I never got to hear the GD do this one, or anyone else, now that I think about it, and so this was really a treat. The jams went way WAY out there and I thought for sure they’d leave a fragment for the end of second set, but nope, they finished it, which I was glad about.

Second Set was a trip down sentimental lane, busting out Terrapin, which was incredible! I heard Ratdog do this at Saratoga Springs, and both versions had me on the verge of tears at completely different points…The new treatment of Terrapin Station (InspirATION!) was awesome with the band playing double time and Phil singing it regularly…it gave the mind a workout trying to dance and sing it at the same time…
And into Wharf Rat! This is a buddy of mine’s all time favorite song…and I was sitting with him and another friend, and the three of us hadn’t seen a show together since RFK ’95. It was quite a reunion…and to be able to see him see that song was a treat. Plus, well, you know, I love it to! So yeah, Warren’s vocals were EXCELLENT for that one, and the slowed down treatment of it was nice as well.

I’m not too familiar with Night of 1000 Stars, either, but I enjoyed this version, but it was kind of eclipsed by the Mountains of the Moon (in my own little insignificant mind)…I love this tune and could listen to it many times over for a long time (I saw RH do this at Deer Creek at ’97 Futhur…best I’ve ever heard it done). At this point I was loving just sitting there in my chair (this started back at Wharf Rat) and relaxing, being very glad at my company and the smile on my face!

And then I had to go change my discs and 15 seconds after I hit record, what do I hear???
STEPHEN!!!!

Nice…suddenly I was no longer half asleep and grinning…I was fully up and beaming…I thought for sure we would wind up spiraling down and down into oblivion and they’d have to mop us up with the smashed French fries on the ground…but Phil would have NONE of that…So jam and jam and jam we did and they did, winding up and up an up and finally coming back around and landing beautifully in Comes a Time. Warren’s vocals, in my opinion, have not been featured so well by any other song (I still haven’t heard him on Stella, though). It was beautiful…truly a pensive moment in Dead land…and the jam stayed down there, as pretty as could be with lots of nice interplay…and then BOOM!...St. Stephen once again…that unmistakable riff…mmm,mmm…tasty stuff…

But for me, the Golden Road stole the show this night…I was floored. I remember thinking that the show was beautiful and thought provoking and all, but I was tired and needed some uppity stuff to keep me going…well, I’ll tell you something…I think Phil planned the whole show around the Golden Road…setting us into a hypnotic state for an hour and a half…lulling us…singing from the moon and sounding far far away…just so that when Golden Road came up we would be utterly floored…I know I was…Even St. Stephen paled in comparison to it…I mean they were MEAN on this sucker…and nice and concise, too. Here the show ended, and we got Phil’s donor rap and an introduction…the usual, except that he announced Rob as guitars and vocals and then said “I must have guitar on the BRAIN” and then corrected himself…

The I am the Walrus was a great closer…I was hoping for a She Said on this tour, but oh well…that was definitely a good one…Oh, and the crowd interaction on Golden Road and Walrus was great…On my discs it sounds like they’re playing with an 11,000 person choir…without ruining the quality of the band’s sound…go figure…Oh, and given the song selection, it seems that Phil all but out and out said Happy Birthday, Jer!

Have a great day

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JERRY

See everyone in the fall…

Ha, Chris, quoting "Teenage Wind", very nice!

"Oh, I'm so lonely! It's a miserable Friday night and no one will give me a ride to the Grateful Dead concert! Oh, Rats!"

"Nothin' left to do, but get out the old glue!"

or how 'bout:

"I could tighten my headband during Jerry's solo for an extra RUSH!"

Hahah!

"The glue, the glue! I can't find the glue!"

Classic!

Have you ever heard "Who Needs the Peace Crops"...Yet another of Franks Rants on the Hipsters...Done in 67 (I think). He rips on Owsley, the Fillmore and the entire SF scene in general...

Anyone buying from a true tour rat deserves the plain paper or parsley they get. This is not your parking lot from days of old.

Rev-
Naw...haven't heard that one yet. FZ just comes to mind sometimes...hehehe...scary how he's so dead-on 99% of the time.

Nice Rap up on the show. I was in the parking lot drinking moonshine smokin up and all inall the heat was fine. Maybe you were in a bad area. who knows.Well anyway ERIC can I get in touch with you(HOW) to see if I can get a recording of this from you?? When I was inside The show was Crancking! I would to get ASAP.
Thanks in advance,
Z

Everbodys wrong about everything except for the nice reviews by Krazykat, Ron316, Chuck, Al, Raskrispy and others. Thanks.

By the way every year Wilmers Park has a show for
the man on July31st Thats where I would have been but Phill was in TOWN!! So that show @ Wilmers could have taken some people away from Phil. About 3k people goto Wilmers. It goes on fro 2 days and Camping is great there!

the show started with the jam into the eleven. the music and the crowd played the band for an *energetic* uncle johns. ditto on folks comments about the turtle. i wish phil would sing more. warren vocals on wharf rat - comes a time - well... it definately was a reflective show - and jerry was on a lot of our minds. I really like Herring's presence/energey on the stage - he really stepped up.
psyched for tomorrow night.
THANKS PHIL!

Hey, I only post what I am told, sorry, but as I have openly said, if I am not there, I do only as told. Phil gave that particular jam yet another name, hell, me, still trying to get my own name straight.

Look, we all seem to agree about the "Leftover Phish Brigade" being a source of shitty behavior, and I have not held any bones about that, but can we attempt to do something about it, rather than just complain about it. Everyone here bitches incessantly about security, cops, lots etc, but if the element that is providing the bad behavior isn't dealt with this is going to get so out of hand 1995 will begin to look like a slice of heaven. I, for one, am not willing to relinquish this music again, and I don't doubt that Phil will pull the plug in a heartbeat if the scene turns into a monster. Most of us in here appear to be established older "heads", with a life, a car and a plan, and have aged to a point where we cannot stand this crap, so why not take a stand with the little kids and teach them what is "appropriate" behavior. Screw with their heads, beat the crap out of them, who cares, but let's collectively do something. It will only remain a free society if we all have the same agendas. Awesome music, and a cool scene to enjoy it in, right.

I am off my soapbox for now. Sad that this crap keeps coming up.

Dewit: right on. i've tried to say the same thing much less directly. i'm not standing by this time. i handed out 500 garbage bags this tour. that was popular. at Alpine i alerted a security guard that a guy had just jumped the gate. unpopular.

did i give a crap? no..i've realized some people just don't understand what ruined the scene the last time and i'll do everything i can to prevent what i see as a black cloud on the horizon of this scene, even if people see it as being a downer. too bad.

nothing could be more down than for Phil to stop touring..

When i saw people near me cheer wildly as security chased a another gatecrasher at SPAC (even as Phil played his heart out) i asked them why. we had a good, quick conversation and they understood where i was coming from.

i'm also stepping off the box but i'll just say education, action, and reaction while we're boogieing and having a blast can only help, if only a little...

This is the first parking lot scene I've checked out and can say people are right. Leave your dogs at home or at least put them on a leash and the people begging get old. I didn't buy anything but should have. There was one person selling buritos that were huge and only 4 bucks. I'll probably buy something at Virg. Beach tomorrow. The show was great but the security, one persone in particular was a jerk. He was also at the Allman Bros. show in June and was a jerk there too. Can't wait for Virg. Beach. See everyone there.

I think maybe I was at a different show because I'm confused about all the messages about the small, mellow, sleeping crowd. When the band left the stage after the UJB the crowd was absolutely roaring and continued through the hugs until the last band member was out of sight without letting up AT ALL. Ditto at the end of the show when it lasted until Phil had to quiet them with his donor rap. It's no wonder he flubbed all the words and had to restart the rap, then called Rob the guitarist. He was overwhelmed by the energy from the crowd! It was clear just looking at him that he was about to explode from the feedback. At Hershey the crowd could barely summon the energy to ask for encore.

Of course, the fact the end of the two sets were the killer parts of the show has something to do with it. The 11->UJB and the ComesATime>Stephen>GRTUD were truly beyond belief.

Irisguy,
You seem to know a little about respect>>
This oldhead likes that.
You going to Charlotte? If you are, Look me up> Hell ,Ill hand out 250 of the 500 bags for you>
And by the way everybody. Is WARREN playing both sets with the Bros and Phil? Or is that a rumor?
And will phil play more than 2 hrs on the 4 show mini-tour coming up? God, I hope so!!!
ANYBODY KNOW?

This tour may be over for me, but there are alot of you out there with a few more to go. Hand out garbage bags, spank the rats, and preach respect. Really, it is the cool thing to do, and who cares if the buggers don't get that you are on the side of the "true scene". Thanks IrisGuy, it is nice to get some support on this, and I spoke to some others that agree too. You don't let your kids act like this, why do we have to pay money to be around it? Happy Birthday Jer Bear. Keep watch over those guys, and us. We need all the angels we can get.

Your an angel also Dewit!!
I have a teenage daughter who loves the Dead, And Im glad to see her act like she got some sense. I only wished she couldve been her to see the real scene with Jerry!!
But that was my fault because I never took her.

Jerry>>> You are sadly missed <<<<
We still love you!! And I know that there will still be a few tears that will fall this Saturday night for my one and only show this tour. But I know you will still be there in spirit. And I will be very Thankful for that!!!
I just wish these Phisheads knew what I am talking about!!!

Have funya ya all. I saw 2 dogs (1 pit) locked in a car with 2 widows cracked what a shame. Next time lock them up in a closet with a bowl of water ( better than a 100 degree car (idoits)))I can say the tickets prices are ridiculous after you add all the shit into it 37 bucks total for lawn come on a $8 dollar service charge COME ON.!!. AGAIN HAPPY B-DAY and everyone keep Shakin on shakedown street.LONG LIVE THIS VIBE

Ps Operator soon???

PHISH fans are TRUST FUND BABIES and the band also.Went to a New Years show in Bean Town to see Phish Long TIme ago Needless to say never saw them again. The scene sucked and the people were rude. I mean look @ the band they cannot even work things out.

Philnatic...i'm off the bus for the rest of this tour, thanks for the input. i'd like to head down there for the Spring if Phil does a similar tour to this years, so hopefully we can meet and hang then..I think its a combo thing..some of it is no Phish tour. some of it, a sign of the times. some of it, the drugs people do these days. some of it downright lack of direction and no motivatin. And yep, Warren will be with both bands. NYE he played solo acoustic, then over 5 hours with Phil, so double duty is nothing new to him..

Zambo...i will never feel the same about dogs on tour after the Polaris show in Ohio. check out my review of that show if you have the time and you'll see why.

Dewit, i also spoke to many other who felt the same..let's give it our best shot..i love the music enough to do anything..and was that you that mentioned feeling dosed at these shows? i felt that at every show this tour. damn if i don't still feel like i'm coming down after 8 shows. somewhat broken open and reassembeled. in a good way.

One more thing...i just wanted to say one of my favorite things to do this tour was help non-show people with my tye-dye on and make sure they knew i was seeing Phil...i would have done it anyway but it seemed like good pr for our overall image..examples: i helped an elderly couple in a campground roll their overloaded camper into the right spot. i was just passing by. people in the campgrounds right next to them just sat and watched..i also helped a young couple in Ohio who had their car stuck in a ditch for quite awhile near Lake Eerie even though i was running way late to the show. must've helped my road Karma, there was no traffic and i made it there in plenty of time......Peace

Well, yeah, I'm a younger head (24) and am deeply concered about the environment and also about having the pleasure of meeting some of you older heads on the lot and hearing the wonderful (if sometimes somewhat confusing) stories of the old days. I don't hand out trash bags but I come home with between 5 and 15 cigarette butts in my pocket (a habit I picked up at Soldier Field '95), along with about 5 or 6 beer bottle caps. I don't like dogs in the lot and I have a hard time feeling bad for people who run around saying "WHO THE F*CK STOLE MY DOG!!!! WHERE'S MY F*CKIN' DOG" and whatever.

Now, I've seen Phish around 20 times, and I never got the feeling on those lots that I got at Dead shows from '93 until '95. I only saw 9, and even so I could see the degredation...but it was still always a kinder place than Phish. Even in the summer of '95

This is one thing to take into consideration. Phish lot, in my experience, is a much more dog eat dog, make your own way, have your own fun kind of place...SO...the kids coming from Phish to Phil/Ratdog/OtherOnes/etc. are coming off of that vibe and haven't found quite the same counter-culture that I love and you older folks know so well. Essentially they've learned and therefore hold a different set of values.

SO...what I propose is...use extreme discretion when deciding to alert security to gate hopping, etc...I don't say this because I condone it...I think its AWFUL...but it's a great way to get the crashers upset and give them fuel for the mindset of ME v. THE WORLD and I WIN because all values are SUBJECTIVE so I CAN'T be wrong. Plus, if you are older and "clean-cut" (and this is unfortunate) you are already something of a target for their sarcastic, holier than thou attitude (you don't GET the new way, old hippie...or whatever form it takes).

I think pulling folks aside that are cheering the crashers on is far more productive because most likely most of them wouldn't do it if they didn't have a crowd showing them how much they approve. And pulling the crashers aside is even better if they will listen, because most of them have probably never done it before and never thought it may hurt things...they may not even know what the hell Deer Creek/Highgate/etc is.

There were beautiful things about the Phish scene. Sometimes you had to look a little harder but when you found it it was extra special because it was that much more rare. But still, for me, nothing compares to the Dead or subsequent bands' scenes.

Two more things and I'm done...sorry folks...

First of all, I've heard a lot of my younger friends (a year or two younger) who never saw the Dead come to Phil and Futhur lots and come away saying...shit...this lot is DEEP...so old and friendly...I LOVE it...and some of these have been hard core Phish heads.

Second of all, be careful slinging around terms like "trust-fund kids" or whatever. My parents aren't rich, by any means, but they provided for me well...and I still feel as though I've learned the core values of the scene as well as the next guy...I kind of take offense to that...and lets not pretend that most of the people in this scene, including members of the band, didn't grow up in a middle class environment.

Sorry, that comment up there made me feel weird.

Peace and Love to you all...and with the deepest respect...I hope I haven't offended anyone. For those of you older folk...thanks for paving a truly golden road...

Oh, and sorry so long and off topic

sjf (didn't I meet you at the soundcheck in december??) Dewit and Chuck, those of us who care enough to speak up are few, but I do believe if we keep up trying to teach and show that respect & kindness to others is necessary to keep this train a rollin, are numbers will increase. Keep up the good work ya'll!!

I too bashed Phish for many years. But to blame them all the way back to 1987 as was done several posts ago is inaccurate. Somebody is forgetting about the success of "Touch of Grey." I believe that has generally been considered the reason for the explosion in crowds and venue size, which inevitably brings in some bad stuff too. To say the band can't even work things out is also a bit narrowminded. The Dead also took a bit of a hiatus in the mid-70s. I think most of you know this stuff. BE POSITIVE...LET THE NEGATIVITY JUST FLOAT AWAY...HAVE A BALL IN NC!

You are more concise than I am, Nathan...

Anywhere you go, shows or other places, you are going to run into people that don't share the same views as anyone else. this is true especially at shows. you have a diverse crowd coming together- the hope is that they are all there to enjoy the music, the people, and the scene in general. I am a big phish phan, and i have nver experienced any problems at any shows i have been at. of course there are going to be those kids that are "tour rats," as was mentioned above, but that is part of the experience. The older heads that go to shows are a great part of it, and i love talking to them because they were there with the Dead back in the day, and they know so much. but we have to accept everyone that comes to our scene. it does not mean we have to hang around those that might cause trouble-but they are going to be there. One thing that i loved about my first show was the level of tolerance there was for everyone. i was just an average kid, not a big hippie (then, anyway), and i was welcomed into the culture that i now love to death. And i would never sacrifice going and seeing phil or trey or phish or whoever play because i might run into some tour rats or cops, or whoever.
Let us enjoy the experiences we have at these shows as a whole- yeah, the cops suck, but they are there, and will continue to be. adjust the things you do to avoid trouble. don't let a few bad or potentially bad situations ruin your good time.
let us sit back, get our grooves on, and enjoy what we can while it is still here...

Well said.

Now , This is what Im talking about!!!!
Everybody is being so understanding and peaceful today___ this is Grate!!!
There are some beautiful young people out there and I think maybe we (older heads ) should be a little more patient!!
This is so Irontic because Im fukin rockin to "Feel like a Stranger " right now!
You guys are making the music much stronger today!!
Thank You! JERRY< PIG< KIETH< DONNA< BOB <BILL< MICKEY< BRENT< ROBERT < VINCE < BRUCE<<<<<<<<<
Oh and some guy name PHILLLLL******

God save the child that rings that bell
Have a good ring baby, You can tell
One watch by night
One watch by day
If you get confused, Listen to the music PLAY!!!

Damn, I started dancing as I read Franklin's in your post Chuck...the good feeling shines through...we need more of this in the Philzone...it's been ugly at points...

Oh, and I just reread what I wrote (ooops...again, sorry so long :^O) and I hope that people realize that I meant it's unfortunate that older "clean-cut" heads get targeted, not that they are older and clean-cut...

KAT My Bean Town experience was just one so sorry to offend you in anyway. But the band or the guy who is taking off two years did not need to announce it like he did. Could have just let it fade into play. Meaning some other people good have filled in for a tour or 2. He made it sound like I am the man. Well maybe he is but i spoke to some Phishh heads who and every one of them did not have good things to say about the way it was handeled. I live and learn but the Trust Fund thing was meant for the people who know they are just that, but still walk around begging instead of helping out the people who really are begging. I have seen the DEAD many times and we will never have a scene(LOVE RESPECT) like that again(Cant always get what you want) But lets make the best of what we got and try to make it better. What do I Know anyway. All I know my favorite Dead song wis ALTHEA and I hope to hear it again sometime. I was just venting last night.

I am 31 with 2 kids a wife and the whole shabang, but still toke the KIND and love to ROOM a DOOM DOOM once in awhile. SO sorry for offending anyone. Also Irish I hear ya. KRAZYKAT PLease let me know if I can Get a copy and how brother.


KRAZYKAT can I get a copy of Merry from you and How.?????
Regards,
Zambo

Howdy folks:

All this talk is making me feel a bit philosophical...As a teacher and a deadhead, I know from experience that when people do things together in an open and positive environment, incredible, beautiful, unimaginable, and magical things happen! So let's keep our minds tuned to the wonderful aspects of this music and this world... they will carry us as far as we'll let them... remember, only love can PHIL...

Happy Birthday Jerry- thanks for everything!


Hey PeteDC: We weren't at different shows; we just had different takes on the same show. From where I was standing on the lower right lawn, a majority of the crowd wasn't even listening to Uncle John's, but when they realized the music had stopped, they started cheering like mad. Some of them apparently were waiting for an encore (which isn't all that strange considering how long Phil & Co. spend standing around on stage "hugging it out"- not the cut and run exit like the end of a Dead set). St. Steve really seemed to get the crowd going more than anything- of course, lots of folks were going strong for the whole show- including myself- I haven't been that close to cardiac arrest in a long time!

have fun

Zambo...

First of all, I would LOVE an althea...that would be so sweet...

Second of all, no bad blood towards you, just the senitment...I don't know why I took it personally. I didn't even know or care who said it...it's just something I've heard and even SAID myself, and for me, I know I don't take advantage of the scene like that, and I have undying respect for you who have brought the scene up from the 60's, 70's and 80's...but remember, weir gonna be bringing it up from the 90's and the 00's, and while some of us suck, some of us only love and I'm sure you've met some...just be sure to focus on the good of the youngins, too...but those with gripes are right about one thing...we need to do what we can to try and prevent anything CLOSE to a summer '95 repeat...that was so sad (not pathetic sad, but really just sorrowful...so many deaths)

Re: Merriweather tapes...Only two of the three discs came out...You are more than welcome to get copies, but I need b&p...Check back in here soon and I'll post when I'm ready to burn and email me then and I'll give you my address.

the one that didn't come out is Terrapin -> Mts. I know...I know...sorry...but the rest sounds REALLY good.

Sounds Great KAT. Thanks... Will this board still be going or should we all make one up that will keep this flow the way it has been going???Hey, How about Next show we all bring those leashes that make you look like you are walkin a invisable dog. We will all just have imaginary dogs . Remember those:);). Oh well Justa walkin the dog.....

Keep on keepin on ,
Zambo

..if you don't know how to do it, i'll show you how to walk the dog....great idea

awesome comments, people..

Dave, we did meet n greet...how is your knee? are you on your feet yet?

i was thinking its a careful balancing act..on one hand i sure don't want to be anyone's policeman and i was thinking if you come on too hard and heavy people won't listen..they'll just say "man, he's a bummer". and if you just look the other way when obnoxious stuff goes down you're not part of any solution, either..so i propose we boogie while we can and help things a bit in any way possible, too..

Its tempting to nutshell people into groups, simpler for our reasoning..i've got very short hair now and i definitely felt some strange vibes from some of the ragged tour folk but it just cracked me up to think "if they only knew" and i smiled a cheshire grin..its just so easy to dismiss people these days but hey, thats their loss to not meet me..

i was with another shorthair friend walking from the Hartford show and suddenly i was walking alone..i looked back and i see him nose to nose with this wild eyed kid..i asked whats going on..my friend says "he just called me an asshole". i see this kid is all screwed up, dirty, and his girlfriend is also looped..i pushed my friend back on the trail and we walked away and i gave him a piece of my mind..he asked "why are you mad at me, not that tourrat?" i said "you know better, you're his teacher in that situation, that kid was just plain angry and looking for someone to rumble with and you were an easy target."

some of the ragged hipster types seemed surprised a shorthair would give out bags. In Deer Creek i went to the top of the grass during Scarlet Begonias and danced like i haven't in years..during that i overheard someone passing by say to another "hey, its that garbage bag guy..wow". he sounded shocked..that felt great.

"you know this space is getting hot"

ps: i met some unbelieveably cool people at Lemonwheel...we are everywhere

hmmm, just stopped in to check the recent setlist, found myself somewhere else a second and apparently its now uncool according to some Zoners to say you give a crap about the scene..is that self-righteous?

how long will the Zone be around if the scene crumbles? Dewit is right, if it gets too ugly, Phils outtahere and its all over.. we need Phil to feel welcome to play as long as he wants. there's no way thats yadayada bs bitching, get real..if you don't like it too bad because its your loss in the end if it goes down the tubes and you did nothing positive to maintain an acceptable situation for Phil to play in...

the shakedown st. element was extra sleazy this tour as opposed to last summer didn't you notice? it was an em-bare-ass-ment and that sort of dragass energy is what ruined it the last time..don't make Hunter write us again!

thanks for chiming in folks! Peace

I noticed some good and some bad stuff about the scene. The nitrous scene, at the shows I saw, was not nearly so bad. But there were definately some people who couldn't handle themselves or the drugs they took...

Irisguy, where'd you see people say it isn't cool to care after the scene, or even imply that. I think this discussion going on here is great. I think it's important to brainstorm this type of thing for the exact reason that you cited...if people continue to act stupid, it will stop again, and even more obviously because of us and not because of an untimely death...

Oh, Zambo, that's probably a good idea...maybe we should start a thread about caring for the scene...we've definately moved off of the "merriweather review" topic =|;^)

Eric...i was thinking the same thing about creating a topic about this...let's go for it..if you want to email me, i could point the way to the conversation...its clear that when folks say they care or defend others its seen as not being able to take a joke or overly serious or hypersensative and very unwelcome to some...

hey, i love a good joke but i balance that with care about others and peace and believe its important to speak about this stuff..so sue me..i also danced my ass at Nuclear Disarmement benefits right after having some very serious discussions...no way i judged the Disarment people as people who just liked to bitch, thats just lame, i gave them respect even though they were very intense and i wanted to have some fun those nites, too..

what up pholks? i would like to share an experience from last night (8/2) that i had- now no one get all upset about the subject, because the point is related to the recent discussions...
i saw trey last night in philly at the Mann theater. an interesting venue for those of you who have never been there...anyway, i noticed the number of people that were not there to hear the music, and there may have been people there who did not even know who was playing. during some of the jams they did, it seemed like every single person within a 10 row radius of me was talking. not listening, not dancing, just talking about bs. now i am all for that, but it was so noticeable that i even mentioned it to one of my brothers, who then yelled, Too much Chatter!!!
it just goes with what everyone was saying...you get people who are there just for the scene. now don't get me wrong-i love the scene and meeting new kids and all that, but when it comes down to it, i want to hear the music, not some dude talking about the new lights he got put under his car.
now for the point- these are the things we deal with. the show smoked, and it was different for the trey show at merriweather. but it wasn't phil. there were a ton of teeners there (not that that is a bad thing), but they couldn't have cared less about the music. it annoyed me because i was so into it and you have people that aren't. at phil, everyone is into it. you don't deal with the closest 100 people near you talking during a sweet jam.
anyway, sorry for running on, but i thought that it was in keeping with what everyone was talking about earlier. i think last night made my decision to drive to charlotte for saturdays show. i need to see PHIL ine more time before the fall. PEACE

Wow, I didn't come in yesterday for fear of embarressment and there are a whole bunch on the bus. The trust fund thing isn't really too fair. I admit I was one, not huge, and we were forced to work summers from age 15 on, but I grew up hurting for nothing. Of course the family money is so old it's gone, so don't be thinking anything here, but in a way you can tell.
I met a guy last summer who I despised at first glance, truly. Lotrat, Kurt Cobain hair, speech impediment (the mumbles) etc and a huge Phish advocate. Did I mention proud that he had never worked a day in his life, at age 18, and yet managed to fly all over the country to see his girlfriend and Phish. A year later, and I wasn't looking forward to meeting up with him again, and he is a completely different person. Summer internship in NYC, transferred schools, Deans List, no more Lotrat, and he has consistently been there for his girlfriend who has some serious family issues. We talked for about an hour in Hartford, and it gave me hope. Mostly we talked about the scene, and my concerns for it, and he agreed. Don't know why he changed, maybe P&F. Got an email that he is sold on Phil, gonna trade in those Phish shows, and really, nothing would make me happier than to see some new blood carry the torch. My sister is one of them, there for the music only, so protecting the scene is very important to her. The scene was only about providing the optimum environment to enjoy the music at all levels, right...
There is alot to be said for basic human kindness, manners and consideration. A please, a thank you, an excuse me work so well in molding someone's opinion of you. Most of us older folks have the life experience to know the difference between being polite, and kissing up to someones butt, and we have all learned you get so much farther in life by being polite, maybe that is where we start...I don't know, but I can't let this music go because of bad behavior...that is just too pathetic to imagine, and I think we are all finding that we need this kind of music in our lives, because it goes so much farther than the music, to the point where it isn't music anymore...Phil calls it alchemy. I don't think it has a name yet.

i like that Dewit...right on

Right on Dewitt!..

I think sometimes people need to go through hell to realize who they are...sometimes it takes being a down-and-out tourrat, being an asshole and holier-than-thou to really realize that's not a sustaining way to live.

i think a lot of the people on this site give phish a bad rap....they are a fantastic band and i have the time of my life at their shows...the scene does suck though....crackheads, beggars, etc....and i think that is one reason they took a break...i just don't think it's fair to give such a talented group of guys shit for the refugees that piss everyone off at phil shows....it's so easy to just ignore them, even though they think they have the right to do what they do. i guess some people just let their drugs consume them rather than enhance them. phil has been amazing, hershey and merriweather were incredible, cathartic at certian points....didn't touch 4-25-01 Pittsburgh though, in my opinion....does anyone have that show yet, would do just about anything for it.....thanks and everyone enjoy themselves down south!!!:)

phish rocks. they are talented and no one can dispute that. they are also repected among the music community- look at who they have played with. paige and trey played 3 show sith phil in april'99 that were unbelievable. Bob Weir has played with them- mike has played with the mule...it goes on. but they are nto touring and phil is, so i am still happy,.

phish rocks. they are talented and no one can dispute that. they are also repected among the music community- look at who they have played with. paige and trey played 3 shows with phil in april'99 that were unbelievable. Bob Weir has played with them- mike has played with the mule...it goes on. but they are not touring and phil is, so i am still happy,.

I repeat, NO PHISHING ZONE, especially not here. Unfortunately for you all that really like them, there are too many here who don't care for them. It isn't an argument worth starting, although I am sure the attempt at conversion is appreciated. And, yes, we know that Phil likes playing with Mike...yadda yadda.

I repeat, NO PHISHING ZONE, especially not here. Unfortunately for you all that really like them, there are too many here who don't care for them. It isn't an argument worth starting, although I am sure the attempt at conversion is appreciated. And, yes, we know that Phil likes playing with Mike...yadda yadda.

hey man, relax. just making a point. i am just as big a phil head.

Sorry, zone is duping mails. JW, no offense to your personal opinions or anyone elses; whether or not a band is rocking or talented is really a matter of personal opinion. Please don't try and sell Phish to me. Like the Dead, they are history. While the music lives on, the band doesn't.

i am not selling anything. i don't need to. you like phil, i like phil. lets leave it at that.

A new discussion at the bottom of Reviews has been created so we can talk about these concers..........Peace

sick show, shitty scene!!

Did anyone at the show hear a spanish jam? I though the 2nd set should have been posted like this: Jam > Lady With A Fan > Spanish Jam > Terrapin.