9-17-99 Shoreline Amphitheater
Phish w/ guest appearances by Phil Lesh and Warren Haynes                      

Phil & Warren w/ Phish! -- The Rollin' Rider, 12:08:43 09/21/99 Tue

September 17, Mountain View, CA. Well, well, well. Who would have thought…. As my loyal compatriot said best, Tonight, "these guys took 'taking it to the point' to the point". Those not already familiar with the set list should now get out and just take in all the twists and turns there, before you try to digest the scope of the music that was played. For starters, last night's Phish show and tonight's are right away the two most incredible phish-stravaganzas I've heard to date, but that was probably a given knowing the Lesh storm that was soon to come. Phish played a first set that was one of the finest moments in musical history. Each jam seemed tainted with just a little of the previous song's jams, and so forth. Almost like a meta-jam, this cloudy figure, perhaps this ghost was around some every corner n the songs, able to be accessed from other points.. it was strange, twisted, beautiful. At many points, slipknot-ey, poised, crouching, serpentine, at times light, benevolent, all-knowing. During "Piper", this persevering Buddha-thing with the arms was screaming through as the lights ripped colors not unlike Candace's finest moments… 

And what to do faced with all of this in our faces?? If, as Robert Hunter once said, the
proper response (to it) is art, well I cannot eloquently dance to you the beauty of what
took place during the David Bowie, the Roggae. I wasn't surprised at all when I heard
from Steve Silberman that the late Dick Latvala thought that these guys were the shit.
Ah, but then we get to the Lesh. 

Right off, you could take this meeting to a lot of different "points" if you will. We all
heard just how fantastic the combination of Anastasio-Lesh has been in the past, for
those of you new, refer to my last column, but many feared that the simple logistics of
having two bass players on stage would render a Lesh sit-in impossible. True, though
many in the jam-band scene wanted this second meeting to happen in return in a
political sense, being the right thing to do sort of sit in, there was the issue of just how
would double bass come through in a song in a mechanical fashion. Then, of course,
there were those of us who hoped for a little more than just a "mechanical" success,
who realized the musical potential "…if, just if… " They could all come together for a
groove. 

Well, I'm here to tell you folks, that they pulled it off. Big Time. In talking to a sparkle
eyed pixie after the show, she remarked " Phil's just not afraid to put himself out there,
outside of any musical safety zone, and just play, and he always comes out of it even
better than before" Phil doesn't just walk out, he gets on the fucking trampolines with
Trey and mike during the deepest end-zone of the You Enjoy Myself. Phil gets up to
the mike and sings the "Shirley Temple" for the 45 minute Wolfman's brother that at
we were just inquiring about. (not actual time) Oh, and in Spades, by the way. Oh,
and did I mention the cold rain and snow? I mean, the VIOLA LEE BLUES?!?!?!? 
But I get ahead of myself. The feeling of "big time" was apparent as soon as the
house lights went down for the start of set two. During the "Piper" some of the
heavies came out with the stacks, and some confusion arose, someone I was with
thought that Lesh was onstage, but the "stack in the back" was a sign of some sheer
excellence to follow. Sure enough, Phil was there hearing what we were all hearing -
Phish create some of the best music made this or any year, …and then during the
throes of a raging version of the Phish crowd-favorite "You Enjoy Myself", Phil
appears bouncing up and down with bass on a trampoline…as if he dropped into one
of the best jam moments of the year, and then helped sculpt the story 

He laid low at first, finding his groove, facing his cabinet, then fell into place along side
Mike Gordon, Phish bassist extraordinaire, and before you know it, the band came to
silence, with only the precious sound of two basses pulsating into the night time
skies…the skies of shoreline, for some reason which have helped channel the most
special of "happenings"…. the solo was like everything you thought it couldn't be -
because Phil has never "really did it" with another bass player, but here Mike was
willing to let Phil sit in with his band…now it was his turn to play with the maestro,            
and Trey and Page knew back in April that this day would come…..they must have waited gleefully, we all did. 

Phil and Mike tried each other's groove's on for size, and those same doors that were
cracked open in April were now immediate portals into this "new sound". The best
way I found myself describing it at the time was "parallel processing", remembering
vaguely about hearing something about how the speed of computer servers
exponentially increase as you add another processor. I don't know, but the "many as
one" theme, when it finally took hold, let them take us right to the fucking point. Who
else? What did we really expect? The ending of that song was a bit of a blur. 

When we heard Page hit the opening chords of the Wolfman's Brother, we knew we
were in for a treat. The first verse was actually a little tenuous, I caught myself
smirking, and trying to think of the last time I remember wishing that they would throw
another guitar in the mix. Those of you at recent Furthur Festivals can smirk along
with me, but thankfully Trey, musical genius that he is, found a way to glide in and out
of each of the bass player's notes, weaving the threads together into thick rope, as
this six-pointed shimmering star formed by the lights organically morphed into shapes
yet unseen. The sounds Phil and Mike made, did what trey and Steve at Round One
(a/k/a the April Warfield shows), managed to do. They engulfed each other, becoming
one BASS…one gigantic line of thunder…chasing each other dancing around each
note…. perfect harmony. 

And then they land on planet Cold Rain and Snow. One visited often by Starship
Shoreline, the hills themselves seemed like they joined the many deadheads in the
crowd tonight singing along during the chorus. And Phil sung the lead, not Trey or
Page, and for those of you who don't like Phil's singing, sorry, but when he belts one
out, well, I am reminded of the "Touch Of Grey" video skeleton-Lesh, it just sounds
THAT MUCH like the Grateful Dead. So he doesn't sound like Eddie Vedder. Believe
me, we all can't. But he can do these songs justice, if not grace. 

That song, that jam, was gigantic in its own right. Tapers, quick, get out your 5 best
versions of the Cold Rain And Snow, because they'll have to earn their place again
alongside this gem. Words truly fail. When the last ringing note of the final
reverberation of the Cold Rain silenced, a truly grateful cheer arose from the crowd,
signaling that yet again, a momentous occasion was allowed to be witnessed, dare
enjoyed by those so ready and willing to revisit ecstasy. Immediately thoughts turned
to the encore; if Mountain View had their way, I'm sure the concert would have already
been over, but do the boys let a moment like this end just yet? 

"THE JUDGE DECREED IT! THE CLERK HE WROTE IT DOWN!!!!

Fresh from last night's too-short encore, Warren Haynes joined up with Phil and his
new "best phriends" and they proceeded to rip open another Viola Lee Blues. This
one was everything that Aprils was not. Where April's was jazzy, introspective and
melodic, this was angular and screaming distortion loops of fury, but always soooo
Grateful Dead, and oh how Jerry would have loved it. Waves upon waves of sound,
another peak and another, I was beginning to get a little seasick, to tell you the truth,
but then they pull it back in for one more rousing Viola Lee Coda, and we all were
thinking the same thing when they sang "I've got a friend somewhere. " 

Ah, but as any epic show must, this one two comes to a close after 34545 minutes
(approx) of beautiful precision-cut cast-in-digital-stone sickness, but it leaves many
questions shimmering for the near future. With Phil not yet stating what his new years
plans are, The Rolling Rider would not blame you if you headed on out to the
Seminole lands of Big Cypress Florida to ring in the new with the Phishy Vermont
boys. Hell, our crew was considering packing it all in to follow Phish after tonight, but
we too have treats in store for us this fall, with GDTS announcing Phall Phil Tour for
REAL this time. With Bob and Mickey around the Bay Area for Y2K, you can't count
Phil staying close-to-home out. And isn't that the beauty of it all folks? There's more
Phil to follow… 

 Till then, 
 Yours truly 

Phil on a trampoline -- Mike, 12:06:39 09/21/99 Tue
At 04:03 PM 9/18/99 -0700, MICHAEL LYALL wrote:

Phish just finished a 2-night run at Shoreline and Phil sat in with them
the second night. Phil made his appearance during the second set, shortly
after the crew put out 3 trampolines (the other 2 were for Trey and
Gordon), and sat in for the rest of the show. Phil was actually bouncing
on the trampoline, but bailed out after a short while. First he joined in
for a couple of Phish tunes, which included a real nice bass duet with
Gordon. Then they broke into Cold Rain and Snow, with Phil on vocals.
Encore was Viola Lee Blues, with Warren Hayes of Allman Bros and now
Government Mule fame joining in as well.

One thing that really struck me was watching Gordon's and Phil's playing
styles standing right next to each other. Gordon plays like a bassist,
but Phil definitely plays like a lead guitarist. Not just musically, but
also with his fingering. I had listened to people saying for years that Phil
plays like this, and you can definitely hear it in the music, but last
night it just hit me like a thunderclap how special Phil's style is.

As for a detailed show review, I'll leave that for the Phish discussion
circles.

Mike
mjl@xxx.com