Relistening to this performance (which I
downloaded the night after the show) reminded me of
the value the original commercial Live Phish series and
official sets like Hampton Comes Alive had back when
there weren't many recent Phish boards around. I'm not
one to turn a nose up at audience tapes, but 'tis
awfully nice to have an intimate glimpse of the
musical conversations between these four. 'Tis also
nice that they provided a few samples for the
download-phobes (which I was for a few years).
File this show alongside November 27, 1998 and a few
others as examples of a mixed-blessing phenomenon: as
much as Phish may have matured (and/or "matured") in
recent years, fans tend to gravitate towards those
shows that recapture the early-90's spirit. Disc one
of 07-15-03 is a well-played, pleasantly-setlisted
(gotta love that "Saw It Again"), "Mike's-Groove"d first
set; disc three is an equally acceptable conclusion.
Disc two, though, is what prompted my download, and
has been the only disc of the three to see the light
of my laser frequently. I suspect I'm not alone in
this.
It's nice to reconfirm, a few months down the
road, that this disc is still as appealing in practice
as on paper. In these 50-or-so minutes, one can find
good songs ("Mr. Completely"), cool improvised
ensemble riffs, long transitions towards those cool
riffs, humor, successful chances taken ("Buried Alive"
sandwiched inside "Big Black Furry Creature From Mars"), unsuccessful
chances
taken ("Ha Ha Ha"), and a fitting final prank ("Spread
It Round," the "(Keep Your) Day Job" of Phish's
repertoire, tacked onto this sure-to-be-celebrated
jam).
There you have it — a close view of one notable
hour and two engaging (if run-of-the-mill) hours of
Phish. You could do worse.
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