Phish 12/15/99
MCI Center - Washington, D.C.
Click For SetlistOriginally Submitted To Phish.Net Reviews
Ugh.
I knew MCI would not be all its cracked up to be. This place is supposedly great for ball games but shows are a different beast altogether. Certainly, there would be no real lot scene as parking in DC is ridiculous so, I rode the train in and out with no problems.
But lets focus on the show...
Set one started with the oft played Down With Disease (7:37-7:52). It was solid, and as this was my first show since Summer, I enjoyed it. A nice jam developed in the middle but it was short and wound itself back in to close the song.
Farmhouse (7:53-7:58) followed sweetly. I have a feeling that if this song had been released in 1976 by Skynyrd it could've been bigger than Freebird. Great song but it seemed awfully early for it in the show.
Next, Bathtub Gin (7:59-8:15) came on strong. (You had to know this was coming, Susannah Goodman seems to live in the area and Trey likes to play her song for her.) After 5 minutes, the band stepped into the jam which was sweet but not exactly uncharted territory. After a while I even heard hints of The Real Me but as I'm not that lucky and as I've heard hints of it in other versions, I didn't get my hopes up. Good thing too. After about 10 minutes of jamming the wrapped up the Gin.
Wolfman's Brother (8:15-8:27) made the next slot, fulfilling one of my picks for the night. It too had a nice jam segment, Funky and driven by Mike's bass. However, before they strayed too far, as would be the case all night, they ended it.
Guyute (8:28-8:34) was short. Not shortened or missing anything, just short, compact and, to the point. I dug it. It definitely seemed to fit the kind of show we were having although I hadn't yet figured out what kind of show it was.
A short but sweet Trainsong (8:34-8:40) followed Guyute just as that song follows me. Everywhere I go, I see Guyute and Trainsong. (No complaints, though!)
Then, YEM (8:40-9:00) came up and bit us. Nice intro, Mike's early, short solo was quite sweet. After a near miss,Trey's second attempt at The Note was perfect: long and dead on. The "Tramps" segment was highlighted by Page's solo and some nicely synchronized turns on the trampolines. After the tramps, Trey moved over to his keyboard and got down for a few as the Bass & Drums segment took off. Then came the vocal jam. A real nice one, too. I'd call this a jam of 5 performers as Kuroda locked in with the guys towards the end of the jam and they all tried to give the effect of the entire arena spinning end over end... Crazy!
Set one ended there at 82 minutes.
Set two after a 48 minute break kicked off with Sample In A Jar (9:48-9:52). What can I say? It was Sample. Short, well played and, over.
Fishman then cued up Maze (9:52-10:04) with his high-hat. This was tight, well played/jammed but nothing exceptional. A good Maze.
Free (10:04-10:20) was very good. After the verses, as they moved toward a jam, Trey moved over to the keys again and basically setup camp for more than 5 minutes. The reprise came up after that and was really cool. Nice vocal harmonies throughout from all.
After a (very) brief pause, Dirt (10:20-10:25). I'm undecided as to whether I like the vocals from Mike in the beginning now but, I do like this song; always have. Dirt was then followed by a strong and intense, Reba (10:25-10:41). Long and fun, this was a solid version but not anything unusual. The guy standing beside me before the song called it just before they started, and that was kinda cool. They omitted the whistling at the end though, which is a shame. I suppose, however, that they might feel that the whistling segment diminishes the energy at times. I could understand this as a reason to leave it out aside from rare or special occasions.
Halley's Comet (10:41-10:47) drew big cheers and I thought that maybe, at last, they would take us out on an extended jam to wrap up the show. Unfortunately, just as they were getting up a head of steam, they derailed and plowed in Suzy Greenberg (10:47-10:55). This was, however, probably one of the hottest Suzies I'v ever seen. Page took a nice solo towards the end but then that was it!
The set ended after 68 minutes.
I knew this was going to be an early night (the 7 o'clock start time was a hint) as the train stations close just before 12 so I was prepared for a short encore.
I was, however, hoping for Phish songs.
What we got was Frankenstein (10:58-11:02) with some killer lights, a tight performance and a letter perfect drum solo from Fishman. This led into Rocky Top (11:02-11:06) which I usually dig but I was a bit let down by it last night. They played it well but its placement at the end of this show that never got off the ground didn't thrill me.
I really dug this show, contrary to what you might infer from the above review. The truth is, they played good songs, played them well and a good time was had by all (or at least me and my fiance and the kids in front of us). The disappointment factor comes from expecting to see Phish soar and only seeing them hover. This would have to be considered (by me at least) as an average (meaning kick-ass but not kick-you-in-the-ass-and-leave-you-for-dead) Phish show.
What can I say, at least there's Hampton!
©2000- jmh
About the Author jmh is a family man who is thankfull for beer, LPs, and extra guitar strings. Donations of any of these things or cash for their purchase will be happily accepted.