This venue on these two nights was a complete mad-house. There was no semblance of order whatsoever. I saw zero security and the crowd took full advantage. At one time during the Meatstick I thought the T&M was a drillbit tunneling towards the center of the earth and the harder we danced- the faster we tunneled!! Yeah... THAT fuckin crazy

"This is Cock Rock" - Jon Fishman 9/29/00
Indeed. The band really revved up their Rock n’ Roll engines for this show. Was it because it was the opening night of Phish's last Vegas Run before the Hiatus, the frenzied Friday Night crowd, the knowledge that Kid Rock would be sharing the stage later, or perhaps all three? I like to think it was just in the air.
Besides a “Bathtub Gin “ that slowly opened like a flower (reminiscent if my all-time favorite played on 6/28/00) and a short two minute Siket Disc-like meander between “Fluffhead” and “Meatstick”, the Grand Funk Railroad impersonators onstage seemed to skip any real jamming. In fact, a standard version of “Meatstick” might have been the only other tune The Kid might have deemed a "Hippie Song". “Moma Dance” and “Fluffhead” were tight and all business. Nearly flawless. Even “Chalk Dust Torture” failed to show any glimpses of the jam vehicle it sometimes has been since the Hiatus (and occasionally before). Only pure adrenaline here.
From the grinding “Carini” opener to the arena rock of "Frankenstein" and the punk "Dinner and a Movie", all through Kid Rock's lengthy appearance; both band and audience never let up on the fury. During "Rapper's Delight" Fishman rapped and danced a Joe C. imitation while those in attendance waved their arms in the air and sang along. The lack of apology for "supposedly" offending vocal improvisations was, for me, woven into the ferocity of the music that night. Whether or not the audience was tired of his posturing and screeching; the momentum was just too much not to bring Kid Rock out for the encore. The ovation after, while the lights came up, left me with visions of The Boys smiling tired smiles while wiping the sweat from their hair with towels backstage. After all, this was "Cock Rock".

I still don't know which was more heart-breaking for me, the announcement of the Hiatus on Night 2 or the inclusion of the Ass-Clown Kid Rock in such a major portion of set 2 on Night 1. While I have never re-listened to this show, I remember it being really great until Kid Rock walked out. I clearly remember thinking "how does this guy deserve to be anywhere near that stage with those 4 musicians?"

FRIDAY NIGHT PARTY IN VEGAS. By the third song of the show, Thomas and Mack was on fire.

Musically, Wilson>Spock's Brain>Bathtub Gin and Set II Moma Dance>2001>Fluffhead>Meatstick are all worth the download. That is some really solid Phish.

The Kid Rock tunes? To each their own, right?

Living large in the land of sin.

We went to this Kid Rock show and the opening band was pretty good.....

We left the always classy Stardust in two taxis from two separate companies, and pretty sure we started a taxi war. The lot was happening and on our way in we saw Kid Rock. Initially cool, there is Kid Rock. Then, what is he doing here? Then NO! Please NO!

Enjoyed the Mellow Mood and Spock's Brain. Gin was great and the second set opener of Dinner and a Movie is always enjoyed. Loved the Moma Dance and 2001. Things were building nicely, it was a madhouse inside and...

Then the headliner appeared. At first it was funny, especially the Rapper's delight. Then it just became tedious. We kept thinking he would leave, and he kept coming back....Not my favorite Phish moment.

Afterwards we were released into the madness of Vegas including the Hard Rock Casino Cafe where we didn't fit in, but we certainly had fun.

SET 1: Carini: Energy pre-show was super intense. People were ready to get down and thoroughly prepared to do so. The opening notes of Carini shook Thomas & Mack, fans were in full throat, yours truly included these being my first Phish shows in Sin City. Fish straight up SCREAMING Carini Had a Lumpy Head at the end. Nuts.

Rift: Not perfect by any stretch, but the effort and energy are all there.

Frankenstein: Awesome in the three hole, just ratchets up the energy that much more if that was even possible. Scrambled my eggs BIG TIME.

Mellow Mood: The irony of this being played at one of the bands more rock and roll shows of all time is not lost on me. Good stuff. Probably good they gave us a breather because folks were bouncing off the walls.

Wilson[1] 4.5 minutes in and this one is just…different than most versions. Gets ugly and sinister, absolutely brilliant! Has such an edge to it, evil Phish. >

Spock's Brain: Way, way, way out of left field. Took me a good minute to figure it out. Huge bust out. >

Bathtub Gin: Out of the composed section the jam is speedy and upbeat. A slower pace is recognized around 9 minutes and the Chicagoans in attendance get the rest of us to clap along and band obliges. Mike is owning faces in this segment and beyond. The peak is incredible, not sure why this version has generated a bit more love over the years. If I could bottle the feeling I had during this and sold it, I would be a billionaire. Cloud nine >

Character Zero: Rock stars, arena rock stars. Just crushed.

First set summary: I was floored! Regarding replay value, I would definitely advise anyone reading to checkout Wilson and Gin. Both are fantastic. But I had a ton of fun relistening to the whole thing just now remembering so much of what happened from 22 years ago. At set break, spirits were soaring. The wave got going and a frisbee was being tossed for the narrow side of the second deck, across the floor and over to the other side of the arena in the second deck. Ever seen that happen? Nuts!

SET 2: Dinner and a Movie: Another epic bust out, last played was the Slip, Stich and Pass show first since March 1, 1997, or 242 shows. What a way to come out of the set break swinging a very heavy bat!

The Moma Dance: This Moma rages in a way that few ever have or will. It is just incredibly fierce. Words won’t do it justice, but you listening to it will. Little space jam tacked on to the ending >

Also Sprach Zarathustra: The place is melting at this point and grooving as one. Super cool to be a part of this. Walk this Way tease early on. >

Fluffhead: Pretty well played and big, ol’ end shred has the arena on fire. Cool little space jam into… >

Meatstick: Standard >

Walk This Way[2] When Kid came out, I was disappointed. I felt like the show was on its way to all timer type territory if they played a couple more bangers. But oh well. Screechy screech time.

Rapper's Delight[2] Fishman antics were funny

You Shook Me All Night Long[3] Screeeeech

ENCORE: We're an American Band[4] I had badly wanted to see this since hearing the tapes from 11.16.96. The alternate lyrics were…eye opening.

Second set summary: Moma, whew buddy, so much replay value there and really through Meatstick is just a ball. So much fun and the band and the fans are intimately connected throughout. The Kid Rock stuff has kind of grown on me over the years, it is what it is. I love this show, always will and likely have severe attendance bias. With the Wilson, Gin and Moma standouts I would rate this a strong 4.1 out of 5.

[1] Heavy metal jam.
[2] Phish debut, Kid Rock on guest vocals.
[3] First Phish performance in its entirety, Kid Rock on guest vocals.
[4] Kid Rock on guest vocals.

Wilson included a heavy metal jam, complete with Trey waving his guitar in the air. Kid Rock provided guest vocals from Walk This Way through the encore. Walk This Way and Rapper’s Delight (with funny stage antics from Fish, who danced on his knees like Kid’s sidekick Joe C.) were Phish debuts. You Shook Me (All Night Long) was played in its entirety by Phish for the first time, although it had been jammed on other occasions. Walk This Way was also teased during 2001. Spock’s Brain (first since June 24, 1995, or 391 shows), Dinner and a Movie (first since March 1, 1997, or 242 shows), and American Band (first since November 16, 1996, or 271 shows) returned after long absences. The Carini opener was preceded by a Wilson tease and saw Trey have several problems with his guitar. Meatstick featured Mike and Trey doing the Meatstick dance.

Kiiiiiiid Rock

Carini, Rift, and Frankenstein open the show in great, energetic fashion. Mellow Mood once again this tour is a bit of a breather. I love this song. Wilson really gets the crowd moving and has a fiery little metal jam. Really nice stuff. I wish they played Spock’s Brain more. It’s got such a cool groove. Gin is another rocking upbeat version but it’s got some real nice intensity that the others on this tour have been lacking. Mike is the star here pushing the jam higher and higher. Zero closes a great first set!

Dinner and a Movie is busted out to open the 2nd set. I have to wonder if the bust outs tonight and the next night are intentional book ends from the band celebrating the end of (what would later be known as) 1.0. Moma screams in again with another big, loud, and rocking version. I wish they still played Moma this way. 2001 sets the stage for some space funk. It seems like Fish really wanted this one to go big. He keeps layering beat variations and adapting to Trey’s licks but alas the final refrain comes and they transition to the last Fluffhead until 2009. This last version is very “standard good” and gets no complaints from me. It has a little ambient jam afterwards that almost feels like an epilogue to Fluff. Trey then starts up Meatstick for some silliness and type 1 goodies. Then we come to the infamous part of the show. Over the Meatstick solo Trey introduces Kid Rock to the stage. I’m not sure how out of left field this decision was. I also can’t not draw comparison to their other “last tour” in 2004 when they brought out Jay-Z to do some songs. However, Jay-Z didn’t take over the rest of the set like Kid Rock. The result is comical which I assume is the intention. Fish rapping the second verse on Rapper’s Delight had me laughing along. The whole segment left me wondering why they only did covers and not a Kid Rock song. Would them stumbling their way through Bawitdaba really have been that much worse?

Good first set and a promising 3rd quarter is blocked by the Kid. Wilson, Gin, and Moma are all worth your time.