The First Moment of Tour
5.31.09 Fenway Park (P.Harrington)
Thinking back over the highlights of this tour- and there are many- it all started back in May in that rainy little stadium in Boston. Excitement overflowed for the first show of the first tour in years. People milled about around the stadium long before the show began, on what started as a sunny afternoon. Friends kept arriving, one after another, meeting up for the first time since March- or before- ready for some stadium-sized Phish.
5.31.09 (C.Taylor Crothers)
After a pre-show rain storm, a disjointed first set came together with a smoking “Disease,” “Destiny,” “Zero” ending. Phish took the massive outfield stage in the dark, following the first shortened summer setbreak- leaving many scrambling for their seats. Knowing what would start would be huge, it was a total freak scene when the opening notes of “Tweezer” bellowed from the outfield. “Fenway Tweezer”- Welcome to Tour! The slow, open-air playing covered the field like a blanket- it was on; 2009 style!
5.31.09 (C.Taylor Crothers)
The drop into the jam saw Trey begin the with song’s actual lick, before Page added some wah-effects that immediately loosened things up. The pace, the size, the stadium- surfing “Tweezer’s” liquid wave- all on a fresh head; it was all too much in the best way possible!! Transforming into an immediate peak Phish experience, the jam had hardly begun! Trey took command right away, playing a nasty lead that climbed slowly around Page’s clav patterns. The pocket was deep as the band welcomed everyone to summer with some dirty and heavy “Tweezer” grooves. Clicking as a whole, Trey’s lines become more and more creative as Mike’s centerfield bass bombs backed everything like a Green Monster of rubber jelly. Shredding a mini composed jam before making a shift into another plane, the band entered a territory focused on melody and harmony as much as rhythm, and the results were other-wordly.
5.31.09 (C.Taylor Crothers)
Trey continued to improvise an incredibly emotive melody that peaked with fifteen seconds of sustained musical bliss while the band crushed stadium-sized grooves behind him. This was one of those transcendent moments that I’ll savor forever- timeless, spaceless, egoless- this is why we go. Playing like he freed himself of any mental or metaphorical cages, this was Trey again; this was happiness. Playing with far more emotion and heart than at Hampton, he continued to annihilate the jam, along with his mates, for some time before the music made a subtle shift, signifying what was to come. Trey echoed some familiar melodies while Mike and Page played heavily-effected lines, building down into a melodic ambiance that provided a canvas for Trey to paint a psychedelic solo.
5.31.09 (P.Harrington)
Soon Page shifted back from piano to heavy effects, and Fishman subtly altered his beat, riding a cymbal- a transition was coming- what was it? Was it…”Light!?” “Really!?” Emotionally shot through the heart, I had wanted this to happen since I heard Trey play the only other versions of the song. It was supposed to happen- “Tweezer > Light”- and it did. Stunned, ecstatic.
Merging one of their oldest and newest epics, Phish launched into their second debut of the evening out of the deepest part of the show. And symbolically, the band brought us from the past into the future- all right 
there in the present. And when the time to launch came, Trey hit a geyser-like melody that reached for the stars, leading the band forth into a new spiritual playground. Used as a landing pad for the set opening sequence, the band played only the song’s template- one that would be considerably extended a week later at Bonnaroo. After a soaring, yet short, jam to end the song, the band began a layered vocal round that added a Phishy twist to its ending.
Fenway was one of those special Phish shows that we will all remember forever. Strewn with cross-cultural mythology, the show was a spectacle and Phish certainly responded. But when looking back to Fenway, my mind, heart and soul will always jump back into that “Tweezer” jam ending the first-ever “Light,” defining a most magical night.
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LISTEN TO “TWEEZER > LIGHT” NOW!
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DOWNLOAD OF THE DAY:
6.09.2009 Asheville Civic Center < TORRENT LINK
6.09.2009 Asheville Civic Center < SENDSPACE LINK
Official Asheville Poster
Perhaps the most intimate show of tour, with a friendly vibe far outweighing any other, Phish treated the “heady” crowd to some treats. The high point of the show- and one of the entire tour- came in the creative second set “Ghost” which peaked endlessly and bled perfectly into “Fast Enough For You.” ‘Twas certainly a night to remember.
I: Kill Devil Falls, The Moma Dance, Sample in a Jar, Stash, Dog Faced Boy, Gumbo, Tube, Lengthwise, The Divided Sky, When the Cactus is in Bloom*, Bold as Love
II: Backwards Down the Number Line, Ghost > Fast Enough for You, Halley’s Comet > Maze, Alaska**, Theme from the Bottom, Golgi Apparatus, Possum
E: Loving Cup
*debut, by Bill Monroe, **debut
Source: Schoeps mk41v(AB) > kc5 > m222 > nt222 + mk21(nos) > kcy > vms5u > 744t + Neumann ak40(xy) > lc3 > km100 > v3 > 722 {C-Link} (24/48) – Tapers: Charles Fox and James Scott
(Note: Sendspace link added for those who can’t torrent!)
@CJ,
I’m not sure Asheville is underrated. It was lauded in the days following, and still stands up as a top 3-4 show from the early summer run. Only the DC>Alpine give it a run, IMO….
My ranking of the first leg of the summer tour:
1. Deer Creek
2. Camden
3. Knoxville / Alpine (2)
4. Asheville
5. Alpine (1)
6. Bonnaroo (1)
7. JB 3
8. Great Woods
9. JB 1
10. Bonnaroo (2)
11. Burgettstown
12. JB 2
13. Fenway
14. Fox
just my personal taste so far. Ranking might change in a while…
Hey Al
You have mentioned some Pat Metheny occaisionally. What albums of his would you recommend?
^Alpine (2) way up there because of set 2, which is musically on place two of the tour…
@halicyon – Well, I have “Secret story” from 1992 and “Speaking of now” 2002, and the “Live in Europe 1993″. All of these albums are quite “easy to listen to”. If I had to choose one, I’d definitely choose “Speaking of now” from 2002. Awesome.
I can’t believe you remember me mentioning that! wow!
Colonel’s Short Bio
Age: 36
Grew Up: Maine
First Show: 12-30-93
#shows: 71
Occupation: US Army Officer (can retire in 7 years!)
Whole tours completed: FEB 97′ Europe tour, sans Paris.
First good tapes: Either Bomb Factory or Clifford Ball
Show when I really got it: 10-2-95 Seattle
Fav Jam: 7-2-97 Stash
Songs I could see go away: Rock N’ Roll, Possum, Suzy Greenberg….any number of Trey balads….
Songs I’d like to see: Green Sparrow tunes
Worst show attended: Munich 97′
Fests attended: Great Went, Big Cypress
NYEs: 1998, Big Cypress, 2002, 2003
Halloweens: 1998
Oh yeah, “aimless” jamming isn’t that bad, really, and in retrospect, while 3.0 songwriting is good, it isn’t better or worse than 2.0 writing, just different…and not as good as 89-97 writing by any stretch….hoping for more extended jamming in late summer tour.
@halcyon:
http://www.amazon.com/Speaking-Now-Pat-Metheny-Group/dp/B00005V6IF
Hey Mitch, for good aud. sources, you were on the right track with bt.etree. They always run different anniversaries of classic tours. I got all of summer 97 two years ago for my personal archives. For the matrix of the recent tour, check out yesterday’s thread, i believe the link to piratebay.org was posted. There are some on demonoid also but they haven’t impressed me with their quality. For the random show, phishows.com is another great resource… (11.23.94, 6.30.99).
Hope that helps!
@Al,
Your Metheny suggestions need augmentation, IMO.
@Halcyon
Start with “Offramp” (from 82′)…first album where the band really solidified their sound, IMO. The Song “Are You Going With Me”…is just phat, great for late night in the car
“First Circle”, the album after Offramp (84′) is also good, and then there’s “Still Life Talking”…..Still Life, from 87′ is a great record, but it is where Metheny begins veering into smooth Jazz, considering it is smooth Jazz, I highly recomend Still Life Talking. Secret Story is pretty cheesy, IMO.
For 90s stuff, check out “Imaginary Day”….that is a sick album, and quite divergent from other Metheny Group stuff stylisticly.
They last Metheny Group record, “The Way Up” is quite stellar, too…a 70 minute song!!
Metheny’s best album, IMO, is not a group album, but a Guitar/Bass duet album he did in 96′ with Charlie Hadden called “Beyond the Missouri Sky”….the album is mostly acoustic. His acoustic stuff is just over the top goodness..
Everybody here….listen to Beyond the Missouri Sky!!
Hi there all. I have a completely unrelated question about the taping policy.
I am trying to find an AUD of 12-31-95 and am having trouble finding it. Is it not available because it is a LivePhish release? I know, I sound like a Noob not being able to locate this widely circulated show.
So, my bio:
31 yo, work as a physician in a suburb of Chicago.
My 1st show was 11/9/98 at UIC Pavillion and I was hooked after that. I have seen 11 total shows, the last being Alpine 2 from this tour.
Adam
@Colonel
No wonder you expect a lot of Phish having your first show being 12/30/93 and having witnessed that 7/2/97 Stash madness… Wow!
I remember listening to that Stash in Maxell XL-II’s on the bus while reading the liner notes on group improvisation by Miles Davis behind the vinyl of Kind of Blue… i was like, yeah! This is it!!!
Age: 36
Grew Up: Maine
First Show: 12-30-93
^^ EPIC first show!!
@Adam – http://www.phishows.com ; I’m at work right now, so I can’t listen and check the quality of the recording (MSG AUD’s in my experience tend to suck), but it is at least there.
@Ocelot42- Thanks so much, I appreciate the help.
Just a few comments,
First of all, I really thought the Fenway show was easily one of the weakest of the whole tour, besides the Fox. They were just getting their momentum back and I don’t think that happened until Jones Beach. The Tweezer was pretty good, I guess, but its nowhere near epic and is Light really that good of a song? I mean, c’mon….”And the light is getting brighter now” What a cheeseball lyric….I think this is another example of Miner being bias and not realistic….this was an AVERAGE tweezer….The ballad of curtis lowe is not well-played or sung, by page, but it was an interesting bust-out….and TTE has been botched everytime I’ve heard it live….it will NEVER be a good song live and I don’t think they will ever be able to play it well live…i mean, it took them 278 takes in the studio to get it right! They will never be able to play it will live. In my opinion, from this tour, there were some bright spots, but I hope they practice A LOT over the next 5 weeks because they are gonna need it….at times, I think they sounded really sloppy or flat….I just hope they iron those wrinkles out. I would say that Knoxville, DC, and Bonnaroo Late Night were the best shows of the tour.
Short Bio:
Age 34
First show: 6-19-95 Deer Creek
Shows seen: Somewhere around 70
Shows seen this tour: 3 (Deer Creek and Bonnaroo)
Most shows seen in a year: 18 (1998)
NYE shows seen: 1997, 1998, Big Cypress
Fests: Lemonwheel, Oswego, Big Cypress
Best Weekend Run: 12-5, 12-6, 12-7-97 -> That weekend was the bomb!
Runnerup For Best Run: 8-8, 8-9, 8-11-98 -> skipped Pittsburgh to party in NYC, 8-11-98 is one of the most underrated shows of all time. Just a great, great show heading up to Lemonwheel
Most shows seen at one venue: 17, Deer Creek, hey I grew up in Noblesville and still call it home, so what did you expect?
Other impertinent info: I’m obsessed with sound quality and regularly download 3, 4, or more sources from a show to get the best possible recording, oh and divorce was the best thing to happen to me, now I get to see more than 10 Phish shows this year (lottery willing!)
One more comment about the quality of the SBD’s…
The SBD’s are terrible because thats how it actually sounds live!! I wish yall would realize that….I went to both Bonnaroo shows and Star Lake this tour and for all of those shows, the bass was very low in the mix and the sound was “dry.” I had listened to all the soundboards before those shows and wondered why the quality was bad, but then as I sat at the actual shows and listened intently (sober) to the sound, I realized that was how the band ACTUALLY sounded. Lets face it, if the SBD quality is bad, then the show quality was bad (at least in the sound quality maybe not the actual playing). Lets not forget that Languedoc is not running the boards anymore, and that makes a huge difference….I mean, there is no use trying to get an audience recording to mend the inadequacies of the SBD. I understand liking AUD recordings more as a matter of taste and adding the energy of the crowd to the recording, but its not gonna make up for the problems of how the actual sound was live, which this tour has been low bass and an overall “flat” sound….
Let me know what you guys think about this….
@adam – nugs.net has an AUD if you’re looking for a quick DL. not sure how good the quality is though.
Quick Bio – (using the Colonel’s template)
Age:32
Grew Up: MA (live in RI)
First Show: 8-16-96
#shows: 24
Occupation: Corporate Accountant
First good tapes: 5/9/89, 3/20/92
Show when I really got it: 7-21-97
Fav Jam: 11/29/97 Runaway
Songs I could see go away: Brian and Robert if I had to pick one
Songs I’d like to see: Corrina
Worst show attended: musically – Coventry / personally – Hartford ’99 (I swore off geltabs after that show).
Fests attended: All but Oswego
No ‘ween shows.
The Trenchtown Rock show! Love the Jim to start the second set… really exploratory with the West Side Story jam… Love this show! The whole ’98 run to Lemonwheel is great! 8.8 to 8.14. Every show has something special… Hell the whole summer has something special!!
@ Mike- just opinions, man- just opinions.
your average stadium Tweezer was the best one played in 5 years
Sometimes, context matters…. 
Thanks Colonel & Al. I will start looking into some of these tonite!
@ miner – Well, in that context, I agree….AND you were there and I wasn’t, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt on that…..but, for me, best in five years isn’t enough…I always compare to the best of the best….doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it though, just always trying to be realistic…
If anyone receives any error messages when trying to load the site today, could you please copy / paste the error message in an email to me (with time stamp if possible). It will be a big help in getting everything stablized
@ Mike- definitely meant to be an experiential memoir today….