hello

Hey, now sitting in cafe.com next to the Wharfield. The energy is high and we are expecting a TIGHT SHOW!!!

People arriving from all over the country...should be fun, see the rest of you on down the road! Peace, all

Just got home. Still too hazy to give the entire rundown. Here's a few off the top of my head:

Opened with a nice jam into Celebration, another nice jam into 'Til the Morning Comes (don't think they've played it before). The rest is in no particular order and there will be quite a few ommissions.

Night of 1000 Stars, Eyes of the World, Midnight Train, The Real Thing (first time), Standing on the Moon (I think first time), Cryptical> Other One, Good Lovin> something> Good Lovin'. Encore was Cosmic Charlie. I've left a bunch out but please remember when you see the official list that the jams were incredible all night. Over and out. Oh yeah, also a nice Wheel. Later

Peter

4 bust-outs!?!!?! Somebody pleeeeeeze give us poor east coasters sum detailz (like Real Thing)

Where are the reviews!!!!!!!

very quick rundown

Set 1:
Celebration>
*Til the Morning Comes>
Favorite Things Tease>
Eyes of the World>
^The Real Thing>
The Wheel>
Passenger


Til the Morning Comes way unexpected

My Favorite Things had some Milestons teases and was played jazzy

The Real Thing - straight up rendition, lots of Hunter lyrics, played without any major jams

The Wheel had some bombs or phil rumbles and this weird vocal thing done by Phil and then picked up by Rob - mimicing electronic sounds???

Passenger typical Phil rendition


Set 2: Jam>
Midnight Train (WH)>
New Potato Caboose>
Night of 1000 Stars>
*Sittin' on Top
of the World (RB)>
*Standin' on the Moon
Cryptical Envelopment>
Other One>
Good Lovin'
E: Cosmic Charlie

New Potato was really well played. I was on the infmaous drink rail and it was a very San Francisco moment

Sittin on Top of the World - totally caught me by surprise and was a highlight of the evening

Warren did a good job of singing Standing on the Moon. Noticed lots of people singing along (including the ushers where I was) and some couples at the front of the balcony holding each other in a slow dance embrace. Was a special moment I think because the lyrics are so attached to Jerry, and it was SF and now its Phil and everyone were lost in their own memories.

Cryptical> TOO > Good Lovin - lots of rumbles, very well played, got the whole place standing and moving

Cosmic - standard encore

Lots of the jams broke into spacey dissonant abstract musical themes tonight.

I ran into Schnee taking some photos. So we finally met!

Visual lights way minimal (Candace not there??)Just some spots, back drops sheet

Connected with the tapers (Bodenzord) and the tapes are good (they have listened to them already)

Have to go for a familiy easter weekend so can't say any more.

MATT!! WELL DONE..............

thanks Matt!

We were blown away in the chatroom by Til the Morning Comes and Sitting on Top of the World>SOTM as well! I thought I felt a couple of those Wheel bombs out here in Oklahoma! b-)

peace...

how did you get into the chatroom last night? I couldn't get the main page to come up at all last night.

Sounds GREAT!!! Thanks Matt

http://www.astralplane.ws/philzone/chat.html

Thanks for the review, Matt. Sounds like lots of warm fuzzy vibes connecting all. Go, Phil, Go!!

I guess Matt was the only one at the Warfield last night. Are there rolling blackouts keeping the computers off out in Californai? b-)

I was there- it was beautiful, The Standin was wonderful- Passenger ripped! The intro into Eyes! OUTSTANDING- Til the Morning Comes very very nice- the band was clickign on full cylinders at the beginning of a very long tour- there will be more 1st time played tonight- Scarlet>Fire Will be played tonight. The Warfield is worth 2 shows for the price of 1.

I've been waiting for SOTM to be busted out. Rumors of that one have been floating around for a few tours now. Glad it finally happened.

And I think Phil read our "What should we bust out" thread for 'Till the Morning Comes...Who was it groveling for that one? Well, it happend! Woo-Hoo!

I was there both nights and I ask for a TTMC + an ALTHEA and HighTime on my wish list. This first night was absolutely spectacular. From the opening jam notes to the final notes of Cosmic Charlie were all fluid, tight, and improvised enough to take us to some great places. Almost cried during SOTM --WH boy can that guy SING or WHAT??? I can't get Till the morning comes out of my head now for 2 days. Passenger was more than just standard it infact smoked!
This band without question has spent several months playing together in the studio rehearsing. From new tunes to old ones not played since the late sixties ---> were all really well played renditions. They are so tight now that I can appreciate almost all transitional jams between songs. In the past it such sounded like noodling! This is certainly not the case these days. Sitting was played as well as any I have heard on my old vintage CDR' and TAPES. New Potatoe sung by phil nearly flawless. Cryptical > Other one had tons of phil bombs and rolls. Old school style GOOD LOVIN intro played by Phil and then Rob did a great job. Again Cudos to Jimmy who is the quiet hero of this Band. He ripped everything up tonight especially Eyes, New Potatoe, TTMC, and My Favorite Things.
The more I see this band the better they seem to get with every show. God Bless Phil, Jon (Gorbachev)Molo, Jimmy, Rob and SOUL Man- Warren.
One more note: Jerome's spirit and presence could be felt all over the theater among so many like minded people who miss so much. Weird feelings during SOTM. The Good ole Warfield Theater(like church) Home Again! Peace and Light JR

Four Winds Tour, first show
by Steve Silberman

OK, confession time. Two years ago, I walked out of a Phil and Friends show at the Beacon Theater feeling about 80 years old, leaving the show in the middle of the second set as I thought I'd never do, because I was sad and weary about hearing my favorite songs reduced to
permission to wank. I've always hated the word "noodling" applied to the melodic explorations I love, but that seemed to be what was going on onstage -- *despite* the fact that every player was clearly into it and trying their best, *despite* the fact that Phil was having the time of his life and grinning all the time, *despite* the fact that the kids around me, many of them too young to have ever seen Jerry up here onstage, were honestly and earnestly and beautifully caught up in the waves of supposed psychedelia pouring out of the speakers. Culturally, I "got" it -- this was Phil himself, with a group of hardworking young musicians, up there, making the heroic excursions into Parts Unknown -- of *course* the kids were loving it. But musically, I had to admit in the secret lonely caverns of my heart, it wasn't coming together for me. What was the use of playing "New Speedway Boogie" -- a tune with a great hook and irresistible rhythm -- if the hook and rhythm was all subsumed into a collective desire to reach one jambandy easy climax after another? The version of Phil and Friends with Trey and Page, it seemed to me, had aimed higher, and hit the mark. Warren and Jimmy seemed to be playing over each other -- noodling -- and though I appreciated the fact that Warren had a soulful voice, I resigned myself to not being enthusiastic about the latest platform that Phil had designed for his magnificent playing. I knew it was My Loss, but that didn't help. I didn't go to 20 years of Dead shows to be satisfied with anything less than Terrifying Beauty. That's what I wanted. I wasn't hearing it.

Then all the stupid debates about the Vault and the guitars -- debates which I knew non-public secrets about, knew that there was More Going On behind the scenes than most Deadheads knew, knew that no one's hands were totally clean, that it wasn't some war of good vs. evil but dreadful politics on every side -- kept churning out more distracting bullshit to get sadder and sadder about. It seemed like some sort of Bad Karma Factory had installed itself right in the middle of formerly sacred ground, like a McDonald's in a rainforest.

I held to my memories and my secrets. I didn't let the ugly present tarnish the golden past -- but that didn't seem like much of a Future, especially for the young Deadheads who kept being born, arriving in the universe to look with new eager eyes -- eyes that deserve their own newly-minted beauty.

continued....


That Beauty arrived last night on the stage of the Warfield Theater. Within a minute or so of the jamming that inaugurated the first show of the Four Winds Tour, I knew that I'd been small-minded, too cynical: that the band I saw two years ago was just the first chaotic signs of life in the laboratory of Dr. Lesh's new experiment, and that Phil and Friends now is a full-on fucking monster, totally focused, nimble, fleet and sure, with all telepathy channels at full blast and Everything New to say. Warren and Jimmy have become One Mind; Rob is as Ready and Agile as you please, poised to deliver on any potential that emerges from the boiling stew; and that the greatest electric bass player of our time had forged a new platform for his statements worthy of his past and muscular enough to define a new glorious present. I know I'm late on this, and I'm sorry. I've been hearing for months now that P&F had gotten *there*. But I had to hear it for myself, because this music is too important to me to rely on rumors.
The "Passenger" last night was easily the best version I've ever heard, snapping and popping in all the right places that the Dead never reached, *tight* in both the old jazz sense and the way kids say now: hella tight. "Till the Morning Comes" featured both powerful jamming and a sleek arrangement, and "My Favorite Things" was ecstasy, even after listening to maybe 10 versions by the Coltrane band that inspired Phil so many roads ago. The "Cryptical" parts of the show were not just tasty words to appear on some setlist in your in-box, but the Real Thing, the evolution of Phil's original vision. And Warren's humble, burnished vocal evoked the original voice that sang "Standing on the Moon" without making you miss that voice -- everything you needed to feel the song was right there, in front of your ears. And "Sittin' On Top of the World"! This band finds stretching-out-room even in tunes you thought had been stretched to the max. It was the kind of rollicking, punchy, razorsharp performance that would jolt any teenage rocker out of his tattooed daydream that Professor Lesh & Co. are about anything but kicking your ass. This music is old school, new school, take-you-to-school -- you don't have to frill it up with apologetic nostalgias, it's just the Shit.

The new songs: I liked "Night of A Thousand Stars" a lot right away, and I'm holding off my judgement on the others until I can really hear Hunter's lyrics by listening to the new album, and have them sink in; I imagine they're as relevant and wise about Right Now, and any number of possible futures, as ever. Hearing "Standing on the Moon" as Israeli tanks demolish the offices of the Palestinian authority, and our own democracy is further infiltrated by "anti-terrorist" terrorists, remind me how well-made Hunter's lyrics are, to stand the test of time, eternally returning as Medicine just the right moment as the big wheels turn, and the wise angel in the lyric seemed to weep in the dust of Ground Zero. (My buddy for the night, 21 year old poet/journalist Adam Perry who got turned on to the Dead after years of digging post-Iggy punk when I sent him the "So Many Roads" box, heard 9/11 resonances in "Passenger" -- "terrible, the only game in town" -- I didn't, but that goes to show: these songs are copious and wide, offering their wisdom to the ready mind in thousands of unanticipated contexts. That's what good songs do.)

And O, how good it was to be back at the Warfield! I forgot (not really) how fun and essential it is to be part of that dancing mob, to retune one's Inner Compass periodically to that particular magnetic field. I haven't been surrounded by so many bright sexy spirits since -- well, since. I feel 100 years younger. I'm going tonight. Sorry I'm too enthusiastic to wax critical or exact about this line of Jimmy's or that chord of Warren's. It all seemed pretty damn good at worst, and at best, the Living Mystery itself (as in, "time is a stripper, doing it just for you," as a wonderful man sang once.) And Phil -- he simply can't be appreciated on tape or MP3 or shn or whatever-the-fuck -- I mean, we all know this, he's an Air Sculptor, a massage therapist -- you need to FEEL the man's music in your bones. Phil seems as necessary for me as Yosemite, and as much of a living global treasure.

Don't trust me on this, friends. Go and hear this incarnation of the miracle for yourself, even if you think you're too old or cranky or cynical or simply tired.

Well everybody's dancin' in a ring around the sun
Nobody's finished, we ain't even begun.
So take off your shoes, child, and take off your hat. Try on your wings and find out where it's at.

It's still true. Or rather, it's true *again,* in a whole new way. We needed this, and it's here.

Thanks, Boys!

Steve Silberman

a sort of homecoming. welcome back steve. nice words.

reposted:

from: Greg Schwartz
Subject: Warfield Kicks 2002 Off w/ a Bang

pretty stellar show last for 1st show of the year... caught em soundchecking
Til the Morning Comes, very pleasing since I voted for that at Philzone.com
as the song they should bring back... when they busted it out, there was a
great vibe that shot through the place... it totally rocked too! The guitars
had just a little crunch, it sounded great.... into Favorite things tease,
very appropo after such a bustout... bout 30 years or so?

there was a jam into Celebration that hinted at the Wheel, so it was cool to
see them go back to the Wheel later... the Eyes was stellar, had the whole
place groovin, i figured they would play it since it was anniv of Eyes w/
Branford... Passenger just ripped, as always... love that song!

2nd set - Caboose was sweet, 1000 Stars rocked out, set really took off w/
Sitting on Top of the World though, they jammed that out hardcore hoe-down
style, high energy... and then SOTM bustout, very well received.. been 7
years for that I believe... Other One was large, Good Lovin totally rocked
out, I had not caught P&F play that before, really high energy, everyone was
dancing, what a fun show!

Cosmic Charlie encore was a great topper... very pleasing show...

Siriusly,
Stardog
http://www.stardog2012.net/

here was my response to the Silberman essay

________________
1st off very well written.
2ndly keep it down a little if you could...I like the small theater
runs.....
3rd I would suggest the word Especially in place of EVEN...It makes for a
so much better experience with the first guard on watch too....

Welcome back...
___________________________________

I think we are going to get alot of these wayward shepherds this year. Be on the look out for em at your local show.They did alot for us...time to return the favor.

LessThan is way kinder than I. I just love the reference to the Real Thing...dropped...what is that?

Secondly, I deeply resent that he insinuates that the last two years have been a waste...and that we didn't know the difference between noodling and Beauty.

Thirdly, there go the small theatres...and here come all the DNCers who have been naysaying Phil from the beginning.

This is it folks, grab your security blanket.

Steve, if it was two years ago you were seeing the Herring/Pevar lineup, which had it's moments but never reached the peaks these guys scale on a regluar basis with seemingly no effort whatsoever. Were you referring to the Fall 2000 tour, which was the first for this lineup? I missed that entire tour but was told that some of the shows at the Beacon were not as good as had been expected. By Spring 2001 this band had jelled considerably and it's been a pretty exciting ride ever since, welcome back. I've been seeing shows since March 1973 and each time with these guys is a gift that I never expected to have. Can't wait until Denver!

Damn Dewit who shit on your cereal bro? LOL..The bands "Message" through music is clear...Silberman had a realization albeit rather slow, but it won't be his words that bring on the masses..It will be the "Message"..and together it will be good!IMHO.

Til The Morning Comes! WOW!!!!!!!! Was Phil on vocals? P&F is seriously about bringin life back the oldies. Those of us who weren't fortunate to catch those 60's & 70's shows are able to get a taste of it now. We're so lucky, & this tour looks like it's gonna be HOT, HOT HOT!!

Welcome back JC. It's good to see another veteran come out of the woodwork. You're here now, that's all that matters. :*)

It's not that I was kind it is just how I felt.
I love the fact that after years of being a "touch-head" I am now going to be looked upon as one of the fogies. I will always welcome the first generation of heads into our little party. Let's face it. PLF's style of "noodling" works really well at keeping people away. I like that and really enjoy the people that stick it out to see the domino effects that are going on inside the music and the crowd. PLF is pulling in a crowd that respects the music/scene/and headspace that has built up around this band.

I don't talk about PLF anymore. I try not to buy tickets for other people. It was a discovery for me and I got so much out of it and I probably wouldn't have if someone was telling me how great it was. I am looking foreward to seeing the first gaurd take their rightful post again.
I am sure that they will see things are the same yet different this time around.

Hell it's a blast!

>>>>It was a discovery for me and I got so much out of it and I probably wouldn't have if someone was telling me how great it was.

Well said, LT. I completely relate to the discover theory. If I had based my assumptions about the future of P&F on the TOO shows I saw, I wouldn't be here now. My first TOO at Hartford,(1st show after Jerry)China Doll made me want to cry. Not because I was moved, but because it sounded like shit. I'm happy I stuck it out though.

Hopefully we'll see more & more of the "old timers", since it's not as commercial as the Dead in later years.

The "tease" on the setlist after My Favorite Things is a bit inaccurate. That was no tease, it was a full-blown version.

Steve Silberman: Your review is dead-on, I hardly need say any more. Thank you.

Steve's comments about his 2 year old experiences included the caveat "it wasn't coming together for me." I don't think he was insiuating that any of it was a waste. He makes a great point that someting magic happened at the Warfield on Friday - for him and for most everybody else there. We all walked out of there with our hair standing on end.
"It's the Real Thing. No Doubt About it!"

Sittin' on Top of the World>Standing on the Moon... what's next? Jumping Jacks on Mars?

IMO the warfield shows were a let down. there were too many jams that went nowhere....just fizzled out. bust outs are cool, I know they are working on new stuff too, but new years/warfield were nothing compared to Berkeley, Red Rocks, or Maritime last year..or the wiltern run of 00. The second show picked up a bunch, but it still lacked some of the tightness we are now used to. They needed more songs back to back, like a slip>frank. Waiting so long to see phil back at the warfield, I think they could have come harder.
I've still got Devner/Vail coming and I'm just prayin' this tour is not just a warm up for summer.

Come on Jimmy Ray, a let down?
Are you sure you made it into the Warfield Theater and not the peep-show theater next door?
The first P&F show of this year was...(I'm still unable to attach words to the over-the-top jams, beautiful songs, and Phil's band's vibe; like I'm glowing inward and it's still sinking in.)...Possibly tomorrow?

Hey Now,
I first saw Phil w/Dylan at Shoreline in '99 but didn't quite get "it". I totally got it when I saw them again at the Maritime last year, and then caught the Berkeley Greek, Eugene, and NYE shows. I have to say that the Phil Warfield shows this weekend were the best I've seen.
It's hard to use words to describe the magic that I felt this night. The first set was absolutely fabulous. I was out of synch on Celebration and didn't really get it, but once TTMC kicked on, I was square in the zone. The Favorite Things Tease was great, Eyes was beautiful. Someone posted on RMGD a while back that Phil shouldn't sing Eyes, well they can go stick it up their patooie! Phil rocks Eyes, I was so glad to hear that song. The Real Thing was incredibly heartfelt, beautiful song. Thanks Warren. The Wheel was _immense_. Just blew my mind, the energy was just coursing through the crowd. By the time Passenger kicked on, the place was ready to explode. This wasn't just a great Passenger, this thing KICKED ASS!!!! By the end of the first set, I could have gone home and wouldn't have been let down at all.
Then second set came on. Midnight Train was a great way to start things off nice and spacey. New Potato Caboose was more than I could ever have dreamed of hearing live. I had that song in my head all week and for Phil to play it....well....damn Night of 1000 Stars was a great follow up, nice to get the energy rolling with a song that seems to perfectly capture the PLQ Sound. Sitting on top of the World, they played Sitting on top of the World! My God, Barracco hit those lyrics wonderfully. They were jamming to no end and I literally felt myself disintegrating into the astral plane when they hit the first chord of Standing on the Moon. I thought I just was gonna lose it. Warren sung that tune with so much heart and soul, it was just beautiful. You couldn't help but miss Jer, but you couldn't remember him and honor him any better. When Warren sang the lines "Somewhere in San Francisco..." I just melted. Absolutely melted. I thought the show was basically over after that one, and then they come out with Cryptical, nothing short of excellent. The Other Ones was a raging beast! Phil Bombs and Rolls all over the place, I was literally running for cover. There were moments when I was sitting with my back glued to the wall, holding on for dear life. Good Loving was a perfect closer and Charlie, the perfect Encore.
This show was just exactly perfect, the next night was also. I'm so glad to have been able to see the new Just Exactly Perfect Brothers Band.

P.S. After reading the other reviews, I should note that I was expecting these shows and this whole tour to be rife with bust-outs. I was really looking forward to hearing a lot of stuff I hadn't heard before. All the new tunes do make it a bit more difficult to "find the groove," especially during transitions, and may give the impression that this tour is a "warm up" to the late spring/early summer tour. For me, these shows were a chance to get a preview of the New Album and a head start on this summer. IMO, this is going to be a pivotal tour in the development of this band, where they make the jump from playing mostly Dead tunes to playing mostly PLQ tunes.

gosh you guys have a lot to say.....what an incredibale weekend it was.......i'm tooooo lazy to put my thoughts in i will do so tomorrow......

I really liked Friday night's show. We had great balcony seats and there was a nice couple sitting next to us jamming out, even worked out a trade. I said to Gina the day before the show that I bet they'll open with "Celebration", after which I said that would bum me out. It's not a bad song, and has actually gotten much better than the first time I heard it from the FL show, but there are too many sing songy words. Plus, it seems as though I've seen "Celebration" alot, but whatever, its just one song and my opinion, and it actually sounded better than ever on Friday.

Til the Morning Comes was a great surprise, and lots of fun, hell, I'd forgotten all about that one. The jam out of that was probably my favorite part of the show, and into "Favorite Things" was right on. There were great great guitars on friday. Lots of jamming going on, some of it not as great as some, but some of it incredible.

Wheel>Passenger was good, but once again, it seems as though I've seen those quite a few times. We've been to every Cali Phil show since the Wiltern run in 2000 (which to me, were the greatest 2 shows I have ever attended), and we've never seen a "Crazy Fingers", although they play it once in awhile. At one point in the show, they continually teased on "Cumberland", which would have sounded great...we were like "come on and play it", but then they kept switching into other shit. They went back into some kind of weird cumberland thing and then again it was never realized. Now I like some of the teasing stuff, but if the song is never realized, its kind of a letdown for me. anyway, that happenned at one point...another thing on the teases, it gets kinda goofy for me when I hear a santana lick or some kind of classic rock deal in the middle of a jam. yeah, goofy. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the show, sittin on top of the world was cool, what a great song. on the flip, good lovin i definitely could pass on, so many other good uns to unleash at the end.

comment on the scene outside: san francisco is fucking weird! and i love it, but there were lots of obnoxious young drunk kids singing really loud at the coffee shop/bar nearby, the people behind the counter kept playing the same dead songs all night long. ugh. at one point, there was a blind dude who came up and sang all of "new speedway", which was fucking sweet, because he KNEW ALL THE WORDS. The moral: drunk kids, if you dont know the words to the songs, dont scream them in my face.

Preface: EVERY Phil show with this line-up is very good - I haven't heard an off-night with this line-up and I've heard every show at least 2-3 times in my search for good source tapes. My own personal song preferences determine to a great extent which shows I rank higher than others.

That said, I agree with what James Ray said in comparing at least Fridays's show (the one I attended) with the Maritime (I attended 2/16/01) and Berkeley Greek shows (I attended all 3) last summer. If I was to describe my personal response to Friday's show that ranked it lower from the other Bay Area comparison shows it would be that many of the jams became "spacey" in the SAME way [Warren doing a little too much of the "boing" sounds] which didn't connect with what came before or after it. I thought that many of these were teasing Blues for Allah themes but they never went there, so I found it hard to follow what they were doing. I would find my concentration wandering as I tried to understand what they were "up to".

Warning - I have changed the initial impression I had after attending a show upon hearing it on tape later. The PLQ shows can be like a cd that takes several listens to really appreciate all that is happening, so I reserve the right to change my opinion after more careful listenings.

I thought that the PLQ played as an "ensemble" incredibly well for New Potato Caboose and the Cryptical > .. > Good Lovin segment. New Potato struck me as nearly perfect - watching them and hearing the various themes and seeing them all contribute to the whole without having to solo was quite enjoyable to put it mildly!

To summarize my viewpoint: Phil shows get a high ranking for ME when
a). the songs knock me out WITHOUT relying on killer solos (although they are fun too!)
b). they play sets where I get caught up with the song flow.

The "New Potato Caboose" on 3/29/02 was a great example of a type "a" tune for ME.

Some type "b" shows for ME that I can think off off the cuff are 2/16/01 (almost same as 4/20/01), 4/27/01, 7/20/02, and 10/24/00.

Also - all the shows I attended were aided only by a few beers.

I wasn't there but I would say from the setlists I'd rather have Dark Stars, Violas, St. Stephens, Help > Slip > Frank's etc etc as opposed to a whole slew of bust outs ... maybe the tapes will prove me wrong

I hate feeling like the negative one, but sometimes it feels like some people think everything done is this space is great - it's not.

Maybe it's just me, but the Friday Warfield show lacked the magic. Phil started the show with Celebration. Crowd wasn't into it so the show didn't start strong - I think Phil shot himself in the foot with that one. The jams between tunes lacked direction. Too many times when a song ended the bottom dropped out and there was just nowhere to go, just random noodling. Then the random noodling would end with a short, forced transition to a new song. There wasn't anything linking the two songs together in the jam, it was just there between the songs because that's how Phil's band plays.

I really enjoy the ballads that Warren sings, but, Standing on the Moon? Not for me, thank you. I hoped Phil would have the good taste to ban that one - I don't believe for a second that Warren would really rather be with me. Phil's music is a departure for Warren and he does a great job but without Phil, Warren would be playing straight ahead rock and roll.

Please don't suggest that I stop going to all Phil shows. Thanks!

The reputable Matthew Vernon said:
>>>>I would find my concentration wandering as I tried to understand what they were "up to".

You know those little things you used to get at the movies. The little brown rings that used to come stuck to a card in two rows of 5, before they started wrapping them in celophene? You know the chewy golden rings with the white dots of creme filling? That creme filling is alot like what you are describing in the above quote.

>>I hate feeling like the negative one, but sometimes it feels like some people think everything done is this space is great - it's not.

>>Phil's music is a departure for Warren and he does a great job but without Phil, Warren would be playing straight ahead rock and roll.

>>Please don't suggest that I stop going to all Phil shows. Thanks!

well spoken statements by the "reputable" King88uy7...You are definitely not the "negative one", dude. Finally, someone says something that isn't total gush. the gushing on this board gets borderline embarrassing at times.
I agree with your sentiments about "standing on the moon", "celebration", and your warren comments. very legitimate points regarding the transitions too, and the comment at the end was right on!

i love the warfield. what a great place with a great vibe and the venue crew did an outstanding job in limiting the number of stub-downs onto the floor so that we actually had a bit of breathing room.

from the get go on friday it was pretty apparent that the band had been in the studio together for a while. this is both good and bad. the good was the obvious sense of confidence in playing together, the bad (if you can call it that) was a bit of hesitancy, a kind of tentativeness in playing some of the tunes live. the opening jam was very nice and went into a celebration that didn't really capture the crowd. how many damn verses does that song have anyway? till the morning comes, however, broke that rather lethargic spell with great, great vocals and a rocking, rollicking groove that was totally not what i'd expected. good stuff. you could definitely feel the tease of favorite things before they went into the full version...warren definitely played the verses on slide, albeit a bit tentatively. nice, though not incredible, melt into eyes. a pretty strong version. wonderful wheel and the all powerful passenger to end the set.

set two opens with incredible jamming. it felt like we just jumped right into the middle of a slipknot jam...very intense. midnight train is growing on me but the new potato caboose was definitely the song of the night for me..even with all of the breakouts....wellll...sitting on top of the world was smokin' and loads of fun. with the full moon rising in the fog, i was so stoked to have standing on the moon next. wow. warren can sing and it just so clearly felt like a solid statement to/for jerry and about our current times. extremely powerful. of course, cryptical and the other one were too. man...we could actually feel the phil bombs through the floor. love that. great show, though definitely not on par with some of those most magical shows out there (2/18/00, 4/20, etc.)

I was not infering that anyone elses opinion was not reputable by my post.

Just to make the "feeling" of my post clear I was using it as you would when sidling up to your local bar and saying hi to the guy you drink with all night but don't really know....you know just kinda goofin...

As for people waxing poetic about this band...FULL SPEED AHEAD!!!!! I wouldn't want it any other way. Why waste time talking about someones faults when quite possible it is mearly a matter of personal taste...I would rather talk about the things I like about shows rather then pull out the one or two things I didn't like and put them under a microscope. I have listened to lots of DEAD/PHIL/ETC and know that I pale in comparison to other people here and elswhere but I, too, can pick out miscues and dead ends, but it is how the band picks up from them and takes it from there to here (and back again)that I want to talk about.

No biggie whatever floats your boat.

This is special...How is it hard to believe that a whole bunch of people can feel the same joy triggered by someone elses inspiration be gushing?..POSITIVE!..Keep Rock'n'Rollin'!!

I value both the positive & the skeptical reviews. Every show is not going to be the bomb, there's so many variables to each individual's opinions.(the song selection, scene, state of mind)
It's great to hear both sides because I can then evaluate the show even though I wasn't there. When I listen to the show, I can come to my own conslusions. It's so sweet!

The statements folks here make about the shows & song selection makes it easy to decipher how you would have felt in that show. Example, reactions of SOTM, Celebration, TTMC, Eyes, & more.

Sometimes a show will live up to your expectations, sometimes it won't. It's o.k. though, I'd still like to hear about it. :*)

I sent the following thought to Phil, but he didn't take my advice.

"Phil, you've got a new P&F album coming out next month. Why don't you attempt to promote it by NOT playing any of your new tunes at shows this year. By doing this, you'll force people to buy your CD if they want to hear any of your new stuff."

Let's face it, the golden oldies provide the highest moments at his shows. While the new tunes tend to bring the vibe down a bit. Oh well, I guess the golden oldies were new tunes at some point, so a similar development is inevitable. I'll support his new CD regardless.

Did anyone notice the almost violent "mosh pit" scene on the Rob side of the floor at the Warfield shows? It was way beyond kind crazy dancing. A lot of people did not like getting banged around, myself included. Has a violent mosh pit always existed at Phil shows or has Warren's hardcore jamming taken the phans to this new level?

no...hard core mosh pits are really quite the norm...you didn't see that one naked hippy guy stage diving, then crowd surfing around? just be careful with those naked crowd surfing hippies...you never know what the fingers may slip into...

>Did anyone notice the almost violent "mosh pit" scene on the Rob side of the floor at the Warfield shows? It was way beyond kind
crazy dancing. A lot of people did not like getting banged around, myself included. Has a violent mosh pit always existed at Phil
shows or has Warren's hardcore jamming taken the phans to this new level?

nope. that's a news to me. yuck. i don't think it's because of warren. i've seen that at other shows were folks on lots of "e" think they're being cool.

I have returned home a little north of Beantown where the weather is not even close to how nice it was out in SF. What a great weekend! We myself and 2 priends arrived around 5pm Thursday. Checked in to The Allison Hotel (not recomended) and walked down to Market St. Had dinner at a nice restaurant and went back to the hotel to get a good nights sleep before the big day Phil and Friends at The Warfield (Yahtzee!) Little did we know that they were remodeling the building right next door approx 5 feet from our window was the construction workers staging and they were up and working at 3:45 am. Needless to say we did not get much sleep but that really did not matter because the 3 of us were on a mission to have the best weekend possible so far in 2002. And The people in line and everywhere just about, made that possible. California is a beautiful place I mean to have the mountians and the ocean all on one that is pretty sweet. The people out in CA are in my opinion some of the most laid back and comforting people. This is coming from a New Englander and I know we can be a bit edgey(sp). Anyway enough of that. The Warfield has to have some of the best sound that I have ever heard. Both nights we were about 2 to 3 people from the center drink rail and what a sound you get being about 30 feet from the band. On with the show. The vibes were well hard to explain I just was so pumped to be in SF at The Warfield about to see Phil and Friends I mean WOW! Great opening Jam which got the crowd going and then CELEBRATION which is growing on me each time I hear it. And I remember wondering what is next and I hear the beginning of it and was like are they really going to do this and sure as shit Till The AM Comes which was done so well I thought it was better than the dead studio version. Next was Favorite Things tease which I was in a great place at this point because see Phil and the boys are one of my favorite things and then Eyes which was done very well and then Warrens new tune The Real Thing which was very mellow and I didn't get all the words but it was very deep. The Wheel was the first time I heard that with it not going in and out of a tune and it was smoking and to end this unbelievable 1st set Passenger which was on fire. 2nd Set Midnight Trian 1st time for me and I liked it. What is there not to like of Warren? New Potato was the best version I have seen so far out of 4 and it just keeps getting better. Night of 1000 Stars was jamming and the boys were on. Then another Holyshit! Sittin on top of the World which I thought they did a great job with and I can't wait to see again (knock on wood). Then the next tune, I agree with a few reviews I read earlier Jerry was in the house Standing on The Moon with nothing left to do, A lovely view of heaven but I'd rather be with you. I was it the best space and just feeling the love. Cryptical>Other One>Good Lovin to end this already amazing show was Just what the Doctor ordered. Cosmic Charlie encore I mean come on, Thank you PHIL! Even If I flew out and saw just that 1 show it would have been worth the trip.

Am I the only one who thought that Molo was freakin' unbelievable? Our view of him from the first row balcony enabled us to really see his interaction with Phil and Rob. What a monster!
As he was coming on for the second set, we could see him take a HUGE hit behind Phil's speaker stack, go sit down at the drums, exhale quite a cloud, and dive right in.

You're not the only one! I saw the "mighty white cloud" too...classic!

I'll add one more nay sayer report.
the first show of the tour was the weakest. I saw four more shows at the warfield, phillmore and the first vail show. they were far more superior. why?
the playing in between songs was much more together than on 03/29. precise noodling vs. aimless noodling. best example: new potato caboose. the whole melody structure was only there during the vocals. but what would have been really interesting is the melody jammed out. immediately after the vocals they strayed away into aimless noodling. they should have jammed more within the songs melody (like on unbroken chain at the phillmore).

besides: there were strong parts of the show. I agree to steve who praised passenger. that one was a revelation. the second set started to be great with SOTM.

hope I am not to late with this and some lost soul will still read it. I will post more about the other shows soon.

marc (just got back from my US trip)

san fransisco rocks
killer shows...met lord henry,rev bue e greene and his buddy fred,bordenzord (this dude knows taping and the little bride...all very cool

i always bitch about not seeing old phriends at shows...in s.f. i saw around 60 phriends that i hadn't seen since '93-'95!

old phriends!!!new phriends!!!phil and phriends!!!

looking for phil shows in 2002 especially the verizon wireless shows in noblesville indiana. I will send tapes or blank cds if anyone is willing to make me copies. I will also pay for postage