09/17/00 Phish @ Merriweather Post Pavillion, Columbia, MD -
Click For Setlist
Traffic.
Merriweather traffic.
Sometimes we encounter doubts about how much we really want to be somewhere. This usually occurs as you approach the stopped traffic 100 yards before the off-ramp. You wonder if sitting in your car for an extra hour is worth what you drove so far for already. And when what should have been 20 minutes of traffic turns into an hour and a half, you re-assess why you are here, in this car, in the sun to begin with.
I knew the answer and kept chanting it to myself in my mind.
"I'm going to a Phish show." I thought this repeatedly, endlessly as we inched along the highway, slowly onto and along the off-ramp and onto the surface street approaching the lots. When someone - including myself - complained about the waiting I though about New Years in the everglades and the traffic there. My second mantra of the day: "This ain't nothing!", was grammatically nightmarish but true. If I could sit in twelve hours of traffic...
We got off the highway and found that the lots were full. That is, certain authorities had decided that they were full despite the presence of wide-open spaces in the fields which we discovered later on. We found ourselves directed to a shopping mall for parking which did at least provide restroom facilities but left us with a bit of a hike into the show. We stocked up with everything we needed and headed over to the venue.
Entering Merriweather Post Pavilion was a hassle on par with parking. All of the lines to which most folks had been directed were not, in fact lines but slow moving mobs. Like trying to push a pound of play-doh through a four-holed sieve, we moved quite slowly but finally got inside. We made out way to the seats and got settled just before the set began.
Set one began at seven thirty-five with Guyute. Playing strong and long, the band stepped out and showed us that they were ready to play. Guyute was standard (read: awesome) and followed by the groovy cow funk of Get Back On The Train. Neatly following this up came a show highlight for many; Bathtub Gin. Page stood out here as he often does but not just on the intro. The 'faucet' section soared with Page's keys and several nice jams bubbled to the surface during this seventeen-minute treat.
Limb By Limb came next and while not a particularly outstanding version it was solid and an excellent example of this fine song. Earlier in the day I had been hammering away on it on my guitar and broke a string. I figured this boded well for the evening's show and noted Limb as a prediction for the set. After a bit of on-target and tight jamming, they paused briefly before laying into Moma Dance.
Moma rocked. They did not extend it but everybody gave in to its steady groove and Trey laid down the cow funk; wailing the leads which echoed outwards into the trees. Mike and Fishman locked up tight and Page spread keyboards all over the jam. Next came another chance for Page to shine: Lawnboy.
Page got up from his bench and made his way to the edge of the stage; eloquently crooning all the way. This came as a good break but things didn't exactly stop. Mike stepped up for his solo during Lawnboy and gave us a beautiful couple of choruses of melodies which danced sweetly on the cool evening air. Ten out of ten for the solo and song overall.
Lately it seems that each Fluffhead I see tries to be bigger than the last. This one may have tried and I'd say it succeeded over the one I saw in Camden this summer. The audience was clearly fired up and did the big sing-along well (though not as well as some shows). The real highlight of this song was the excellent "Bundle of Joy" jam. Well executed and on-the-money is how I'd describe it. This is a tightly composed segment that I've seen suffer from in recent years as the overall jamming of Phish opened up. Last night they hit it right.
Next came my personal highlight of the night. The Curtain With has only made one appearance since July 23, 1988. Beginning with what is now usually performed as simple The Curtain the song includes an instrumental coda which was dropped and later sped up to form the song Rift. This slow Rift jam also includes a Rebaish jam and is truly a treat. Many people did not know what they were witnessing but they surely saw me jumping up and down, giddy and with an ear to ear grin. Not only did they play it; they played it very, very well. This is why I wait in traffic. This is why I park at shopping malls, abandoning my thoughts of casual tailgating in camp chairs and stuff my pockets and hike into the show. Nothing else matters on a show night. That other stuff is all just there to keep it interesting. Experiencing moments like these make it all worthwhile.
A typical, rocking Chalkdust Torture closed the one hundred minute set in a solid fashion and left us beat and ready for a break. This set rates as one of my favorites which I've seen. Everything was good, several songs were outstanding (Gin, Moma, Curtain With, Mike's Solo on Lawnboy) and we could really feel the band giving it up for us.
Set two began at nine fifty-two (after nearly forty minutes) with the Velvet Underground's Rock & Roll. Instantly, my thought went to New Year's Eve's version and I had to force the thought from my head. Expectations like that lead to serious disappointments. They did not, however, disappoint. After about twelve minutes of straight-ahead jamming the jam settled into a nice mellow-yet-tight groove which undulated for several minutes before bubbling into Theme From The Bottom. Another highlight in a set that contains nothing but highlights, Theme roiled and simmered with Fishman clearly showing who's who on the drums. This bled into a quiet, super-tight funk jam. They worked this for a couple minutes and, after dropping what one friend described as a "...monster break...", pulled out Dog Log. Another old-school treat, Dog Log was typical (read: awesome) and a tremendous pleasure to witness. This somehow broke right into Mango Song to the delight of the crowd who gave up a huge response.
Mango is usually a joy and this one came as no exception. Playing beautifully, Trey tickled the strings and drew out delightful melodies as the entire band rose to it again for the umpteenth time of the night. After ten minutes, no noticeable sign of Mango remained and the band had worked into a full on jam. Trey moved over to his keyboard and he and Page entered into a duel of sorts as Mike and Fish held the bottom together. Mike's bass got deeper and heavier. The jam took on shades of Pink Floyd's On The Run before giving way to Free.
While not exactly the thirty-to-forty-minute type-II jam-fest of Cap. Center '95 (USAir Arena actually. Old habits are hard to break), this version of Free had a lot to offer and we gladly accepted every bit of it. Good rock and roll to finish out the evening; slightly stretched out and excellently played; this made for a solid closer. Again, a solid group effort; this is not a song for "tightness". In fact, its casual, southern-rock style groove feeds on loose-yet-skilled performances like the one in this show. The glow rings also made an appearance during this jam but remained primarily on the lawn with only a few being tossed around the pavilion.
Nothing like an appropriately selected encore to please the masses. Contact came as just such a selection. Resonating the traffic troubles getting in (and possibly foreshadowing the mass exodus from the lots) the catchy ditty had been in my mind lately as I watched the reports on the massive tire recall. Kuroda lit up audience on the lawn and in the pavilion as we waved our arms along with Mike and Trey as the song wrapped up. Rocky Top followed on its heels and sent us home with a hillbilly stomp in our ears.
Loaded with sweet jams and choice song selections, this show rates quite highly on the pleasure scale. While on-stage antics were few (none in fact) the band played at the top of their game all night. I found it interesting that my notes didn't include many notes as to individual stand out moments for the players. This, I've concluded, is due to the fact that the band stepped up as a band and performed as a united whole. This is something that I've always hoped to see from Phish and, aside from NYE '99, I have not seen so consistently in the past. If this is a sign of things to come then I say its a shame that I'm not seeing more shows this tour and a crime that they are headed into an indefinite hiatus.
©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.