Red Rocks notes
DownerMan
as "Desire". Please make the necessary changes.
And now, some babble about my Red Rocks experience (or, "How I Spent My
Weekend"):
1. Shorter setlists than previous tours (all sets weighing in at <70 min),
but there are far fewer throwaway tunes - in other words, where they're
not jamming their testes off, Phish is putting out exceedingly complex
and competently-played music. For instance, I ignored nature's call
during the Friday Cavern, something I never do - and it was great!
2. Note to the tripping guy in the taper pit: You arrived late. You took
my digital input for yourself, and put me third in an analog chain.
You also set my deck to Extended Play. You were belligerent and hard
to communicate with, so let's try this one on: FUCK YOU. Oops, just
got my AOL account revoked...
3. Three new songs in the first set, Friday - Desire, Theme from the Bottom,
and Taste. I like Desire, although its tempo can be a buzzkill if placed
in the wrong position in the set. Theme from the Bottom is developing
nicely, as Charlie Dirksen had predicted. Taste was really good too,
although clearly new to the band - it's got a lot of odd signatures
which still sound strange. I was slightly disturbed by the lyrics,
but I won't comment further until I find out who wrote them.
4. Friday's Acoustic Army was REALLY impressive - the band was very lightly
mic'd, but still managed to hold the audience rapt for several minutes
in complete silence.
5. Saturday's show was high energy from top to bottom. The Makisupa opener
was mellow (with the same 4:20/dank line from San Diego), but exploded
into Llama and never really let up.
6. Prince Caspian... if ever there was a Phish song that MTV could latch onto
and push heavily, it's this one - it's got that Bush/Live/Oasis/Buzzclip
Bullshit Band sound. I thought it could have ended about 12 "Whooooooaah
Prince Caspian"'s sooner. Don't have much hope for this one...
7. The Wedge is back and it's been modified nicely - basically, no outtro
jam, which I think was too noodly anyway. Of all the songs I heard this
weekend, this one sounded the most like the Greatful Dead, particularly
Fish's beat.
8. General comment about Trey's playing - in a word, ambient. In two words,
ambient feedback. He's using feedback as a musical tool, but not in the
brain-assaulting style that Hendrix was fond of. Rather, Trey will get
a series of tones going, then massage them gently to produce a mellow
wall of sound (a hedge, if you will) which backs up Page and Mike. Makes
for different sounds for familiar tunes.
9. Mike's Song was nuts! Someone timed the Groove at about 35 minutes,
although it seemed both longer and shorter. Hell, it was worth the
price of admission.
10.YEM vocal jam was a great change from the grunts'n'groans we'd gotten
in the past couple of tours. This one had about six different sections,
almost like a medley. Lots of harmonizing over bucal syncopation.
11.A Day in the Life... OUCH! Flawless - if you ever thought that Trey
could hold his own against George Martin's orchestra, here's proof.
12. Ticketless hordes trying to crash fences and being Maced? Good! One
demoralizing aspect of the "scene" is the apparent lack of responsibility
demonstrated by an increasing number of tourheads - I mean, spanging
at the third show of the tour? Crashing fences? Urinating on the
steps inside the show? This ridiculous behavior is going to ruin it
for the rest of us. Maybe I'm being too dark and rigid about the whole
thing, but then my moniker isn't HappySunshineMan.
OK, that's enough of that. Great shows, if they were the last Red Rocks shows
then I'll be happy to say that I saw all five, but I'd much rather say, "See
you next time on the Rocks!"
DownerMan
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Certain streets have certain corners, sooner or later we'll turn yours"
'The True Wheel', Brian Eno
Kristin Balleisen
> 12. Ticketless hordes trying to crash fences and being Maced? Good! One
> demoralizing aspect of the "scene" is the apparent lack of responsibility
> demonstrated by an increasing number of tourheads - I mean, spanging
> at the third show of the tour? Crashing fences? Urinating on the
> steps inside the show? This ridiculous behavior is going to ruin it
> for the rest of us. Maybe I'm being too dark and rigid about the whole
> thing, but then my moniker isn't HappySunshineMan.
>
> OK, that's enough of that. Great shows, if they were the last Red Rocks shows
> then I'll be happy to say that I saw all five, but I'd much rather say, "See
> you next time on the Rocks!"
>
> DownerMan
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> "Certain streets have certain corners, sooner or later we'll turn yours"
> 'The True Wheel', Brian Eno
I came to the shows with my husband, who's a rabid fan (in fact, he's
probably reading this right now), and I had a great time. But I totally
agree about the masses of people wandering around doing the "I need a
miracle" crap. I'm a relative newcomer, and I'll probably get flamed for
this, but if you don't have a ticket, STAY HOME. Those of us who traveled
vast distances to be there have very little sympathy for those who snuck
in, or crashed the fences. I had a blast, and I hope Phish can play that
venue again, but it sure seems as though there were people there who had
very little foresight.
My 2 cents.
Kristin Balleisen
michael cater
who is your husband?????????????????
michael cater
talk to me ...i dont think my modem is working
Genix
experience some of the broader viewpoints of life besides white bread and
mayo america. i really feel that a good number of the people that are
being so righteously persecuted are an integral aspect of the tapestry of
humankind, and while i'm disappointed in those who commit acts of violence
and drunkenness at phish shows, couldn't it be said that these losers can
be found in every walk of life, showing their true colors not only in "i
need a miracle" signs, but also in gap clothing and pinstriped suits?
i've been going to large gatherings at assorted venues for 17 years, and
whether or not i was at an upscale convention, a rock show, or even a
billy graham crusade, i can see these folks a comin' a mile away. still
and all, let's keep looking at what we have that is good and fun and right
about the shows, and tone down the negative dwelling. i doubt most of the
people we speak of have access to this technology or will ever read
firsthand of fellow concertgoers disgruntlement, which means their garbage
is being laid out for only our absorption, and i don't want it! I enjoy
reading reviews of the music, the interesting people met, the wonderful
attributes of nature we shared at the red rocks shows, and oh so much
more, and that's the part i want to carry with me...
hope you understand where i'm coming from on this-
Tessa
Skoalter
can go and enjoy the atmosphere of the parking lot, & if they're lucky, &
if they hold their index finger up long enough, they can get a ticket
(hopefully a real one...what kind of person would sell fake tickets?
ugh..) but I have to agree that crashing fences and urinating on
stairwells is not cool...