Great move to hold this show at the Hult! The pranksters will be out in force.

Predictions?

The Hult should be a decent step up in the sound department over the Mac. Would have been nice to wander campus before the show, but.... I'm sure we'll all thrive in the bread basket confines of the Hult once the ticket shuffle gets sorted out and the music starts to play.... then its on to the Roseland!

stoked!

Arrrgh!
They never play Help on the way in Oregon!
#@$%&*#@!
Guess we'll hafta wait another year,

Oh well, could be worse, I could have not found out about the ticket swap until it was too late, and been forced to trade my 7th row mac cort tik for 30th row Hult instead of FRONT ROW CENTER!!!!!!

Here's a Thanks for the heads up to the brother who called me the night befor the swap, I'll wave back at ya!

Unbroken Chain & Just a Little Light would go a long way toward easing my pain!
Peace,
Fingr

a set list please. atleast the first set by now. we are patiently waiting in the chat room. here us

Set 1

Celebration >
Pride of Cucamonga
Beautifully Broken
Doin that Rag
Rock and Roll Blues >
Mason's Children

Did I miss something other than the lack of jams? Hope the second set is sounding good. . . .

Set 2

Leave Me Out Of This
Scarlet Begonias
Fire On The Mountain
Tons Of Steel
St. Stephen
Bertha
Golden Road

E: Night Of A Thousand Stars

Great Show, I thought the Jams were tight, although relatively brief. Seemed like Kind of a "song" night. Jimmy was LOUUUUDDDD!!!!
Pride, doin that rag and Masons were 1st set highlights, all of set 2 was a highlight for me!

Rob did the band intro, look for Warren tonight. Hult Center is a fantastic venue, many a cut above Mac court, brought back memories of the Dead there in 83 & 84.

No mention at all of Kesey, I thought Phil would salute his fallen brother in his hometown....well I guess his salute was through the music.

I'm not a very prolific writer or reviewer, so I apologize if this was less than enlightening for those that weren't there. Was my first show of the tour, so I don't know how it compared to those before it, but I had a damn fine time!

Hey Fingr - thanks for the info - no need for apologies - we'll take what we can get!!

Mini-Review:

Set One:

Celebration: Performed as expertly as on the album, perhaps a bit underwhelming, but certainly showing a hint of chops...

Pride of Cucamonga: Very well done. The bluesy jam in the middle of the song was as long and steamy as it has ever been. A strong highlight!

Beautifully Broken: Warren didn't seem to take flight on this one, adding to the uneven nature of the set.

Doin that Rag: Strong, fierce and hot. A fiery glimpse into the Phil Zone. One of the evening's highlights.

Rock and Roll Blues: This one is very reminiscent of Pride of Cucamonga, and since they played that one too, it was fine - a little bland, maybe.

Spanish Jam: No name for this one...yet!?!?

Mason's Children: Building, powerful, exquisite. The boys make a statement that good tunes are sure to be arriving in the next set.

Set 2:

Leave Me Out Of This: The last of the new tunes for the evening. Strong but uneven.

Scarlet Begonias: Warren begins to build a little momentum, and the band starts to extend a bit. Not the best ever, but long and sweet.

Fire On The Mountain: The first Fire of 2002 caps off the traditional Scarlet > Fire pairing. The audience is poised for good things to follow.

Tons Of Steel: A slight break in the action, but not a new tune. A trip to the 80s, and a remembrance of fallen brother Brent. Nice.

St. Stephen: A highlight of the gig. Long, powerful, with the whole band chiming in - heavy leads, great vocals, volcanic jams - oh, and by the way, it was quite good. :-)

Bertha: Phil bombs aplenty! A nice way to end the set, unless you want to pull out...

Golden Road: They ain't finished? They ain't even begun? That's right; that's why it's off to Portland today. This cut was a smoker, and ended the hot second set in fine form.

Encore:

Night Of A Thousand Stars: Unhooked from the spirally-sweet stuff that preceded it, this number was a great choice to send the Hult crowd home happy. Warren hit all of the leads, and the band left the stage, but not before Rob leaned into his mic and said slyly, "See ya in Portland..."

Unfortuantely I couldn't swing being there for both sets (kids and babysitter and all), but despite the short jams and a songy 1st set, hearing Phil live is a precious experience. His style is so unique and imaginative, he is reason enough to catch a show if you like truly original and creative music.

House lights were still on when the band took the stage and tuning turned into a loose jam for about 1 minute before going right into Celebration. This isn't my favorite of the new songs and it didn't really open anything new for me. Jam into Pride of Cucamonga (1 of 2 in the first set! Too few and too short.) was oneof the highlights, offering some of the potential this bandd has to spontaneously create very interesting collaborations. Pride of Cucamonga came next and was pretty standard. Phil sounded good on the vocals and the token Oregon lyric was noticed by the crowd. This came to a full stop and then Warren started the guitar for Beautifully Broken. I never heard this but it was OK. Rob and Warren have a nice vocal blend on this tune. Tasty organ solo by Rob before handing over the solo duties to the two guitars. This came to a full stop after a scorching (screeching?) solo by Warren and then they started Doin that Rag from a cold start. All song, no jamming, until the minor groove part where the guitars gave some depth. Again a full stop after the a capella harmony ending (which sounded real good by the way). Next up Rock n Roll Blues. By this time I could have really used a more sonically expansive tune which we didn't get. The jam out had a nice Crazy Fingersish sound (which I would hgave really enjoyed, but it turned out to be nothing mroe than a nicely jammed out ending of Rock n Roll Blues (a highlight of the night). After the second actual jam of the first set they eased into Mason's Children, which seems to becoming an almost predictable set closer. In both jams when things started developing, it was Jimmy breaking loose and stretching out. If only there would have ben more.

Got out at about 9:50 to pick up the little ones and head home. Set 2 looks like some of the good stuff, but based on the band's energy I don't think this show will ever be one of the hotly traded ones. Looking forward to other reviews and hearing the second set at home.

NOte: Highlight of the night was when Warren joined Galactic for the last song of their set. I sometimes am a little hard on Warren in the context of Phil and Friends, but what he did for Galactic was huge. When he started playing with them his touch, soul, taste, and sound brought tears to my eyes. Up until that time, Galactic sounded pretty uninspired to me. Maybe it was that the auditorium never got more than a third full during their set, but I had higher expectations based on CDs I've heard of Galactic. When Warren joined them, they all seemed to be paying attention a bit more and they were all focused on Warren's playing. The boost in energy to the room was palpable in the audience's reaction. That was an unexpected highlight of the night for me.

Just a quick setlist correction. In the 2nd set, the Bertha came out of the Tons of Steel. They then stopped and held a pretty rousing conversation during which both Warran and Rob noodled a bit of Hendrix while. They then hit the Stephen>Golden Road for a rousing finish for a great night of music.

John, I think if you review the tapes, you'll find that the Bertha was sandwiched between St. Stephen and Golden Road.

Hey Rev.,

Pride... that's what you get for going home when there were 2 shows during the week. Have fun at the Greek. Don't rule out seeing me there just yet. Either way, make sure Nurse Tom sends home some treats. I could sure use a good desert right about now.

I had front row, center, right between Jimmy and Phil, Molo right in front of me. Incredible show, especially the second set. This night it was all about Jimmy and Molo.

One footnote: I saw John Barlow (Weir's lyricist) numerous times last night at The Hult Center, inside and out. Thought that was interesting.

See you all at The Roseland!

thankyou so much for reviews and setlists. i too thought kesey would be mentioned.the music sounds like it was sounding good. i would love a tape. st stephen is one of my favs. hope to see you all in alpine valley. love

What a beautiful venue. Sound was define. Sat two rows behind Candice. Chill scene of course. Room to boogie.

Highlights for me; Pride of Cucamonga was as good as the one at Cuthbert Amp. summer '01. Crazy jams in the middle. Doin' That Rag; nice to hear it. Mason's was epic, my how they can harmonize.

2nd Set: Scarlet>Fire>Tons Of Steel>Fire Coda
What sandwhich that was!!!! Fire was incredible, very long and very island/ steel drum flavored. Tons Of Steel...Hot Damn, finally a Brent cover for a Brent freak. Was really hoping Phil would back Warren on vocals like he did Brent circa '85 ....
..."She Wasn't Built To Travel At The Speed A Rumour Flies" !!!!! Then from the ending of Tons Of Steel into a Fire coda jam. Thank You!!!
This is where I seem to differ on the list, like J.Siegel above. Tons Of Steel then Bertha, stop. Then..Hendrix's Wind Cries Mary tease before ST. STEPHEN>Golden Road. Nuff said. Setlist disclaimer: admittedly while at the show I'm just another guinea pig subject to the experiment, later when I listen to the recording, then I will be a statistician. Imaginig a tip of the hat to Kesey...Other One encore? No, not tonight, must be saving that for the late summer Oregon show(s).

Killer show for my first of the rest of the west. Out the door and on the highway to Portland fifteen minutes after show. Gotta love the small scenes. -Peace and safe travels.....

I didn't make it to this show, but I've experienced 5 other P&F shows this year. More than ever before with this band, many of the HUGE moments evolve "outside" the context of any given song. What reads as an average set list could have resulted in pure magic, as Phil and his group of hardcore sicko musicians continue to raise the bar and delight the faithful, show after show. Lately, I've imagined Phil as the mad scientist who creates this magical potion of musical bliss to which words cannot do justice.

"It doesn't matter what you wear..."

Terrapin,

I Don't mean to be a stick in the mud, but I am listening to the tape right now that I recorded at the show and its as Pokearound indicated. Not a biggie, just makes it easier for those keeping track.

Looking for that big Caution tonight.

Don't sweat it - no biggie. Looks like there was a collective whoopsie. Coupla folks got these two dizzied...

This is exactly how the second set happened. The band started out in a brisk jam that lasted for a few minutes and went into a frenetic LMOOT which then led into Scarlet. At the end of Scarlet Phil starts playing the familiar rythym that drives Fire On The Mountain. And what a version this is. Majestic and very jammed out with occasional Scarlet teases. This eventually led into Tons of Steel...what can I say - Driving. A short jam led out of this, then another Scarlet Coda, THEN into a jubilant Bertha with a perfect sounding ending - stop. After a short break Warren plays a Little Wing tease
Bling.
Bling
Bling
Then Phil, then Rob, then Jimmy, they are all laughing and giving each other funny looks. Then Phil goes around to every band memeber excitedly talking to them. Everyone is nodding and grinning. We think we are going to get a Little Wing. Holy cow! Then...they break into...St. Stephen! No complaints here. A truly raucous version with booming guitars and vocals. Beautiful harmonies! They end St. Stephen with an extended jam then go straight into Golden Road. I almost missed the transition. Amazing show. Especially Set 2. I had front row and was blown away, so many smiles among band members and audience alike.

See you back in Oregon in August!

Actually, I think that taste of Hendrix was "The Wind Cries Mary."

Great show - except I went from 5th row at Mac Court to the back center of the mezzzz balcony. Those ticket exchanges went both ways, see!?

Nice to see y'all again.

You're exactly right db. It was "The Wind Cries Mary". That's what I meant, I just wasn't thinking straight.