I've gotta disagree with the earlier reviewer's C+ rating - this is a strong show in the middle of a superb tour.

Seven Below gets an intricate funk workout that keeps referring to the song's original pulse and comes smartly back to the song after 21:00 or so. Tweezer is a monstrous roaring creature that gets as deep as 2/28 (but nowhere near as high). Simple is delicate, then spacey, and lovely throughout. And you even get canonical takes on Pebbles and (ugh) Jibboo to close the two sets!

If you don't like the 'Phish 2.0' style - those long hazy hypnagogic uptempo noise-jams, the intricate unresolved experimentation, the relative sonic homogeneity - you won't like 2/20/03. That's OK. But while this show is less of a crowd-pleaser than the 2/26 party or the 2/28 church service, it's a nocturnal preview of the chemical carousel ride that would take place in Limestone less than six months later. Well-chosen songs, shadowy ocean-floor jams, and collective creativity as yet undulled by rock'n'roll excess...what more could you want?

This one's as strong as 2/16 but in a very different register. Get it.

What’s to be said about this show? How about 5 fucking songs clocking in at 20minutes! I think this is the first time I ever heard this show. I don’t remember it....ANYWAY, yeah, great show! I’m still digesting this, there’s A LOT to digest. Still listening too...there’s A LOT to listen to.

For the record, I am not a 2.0 hater. At the time, yeah, I wasn’t into the sound. I’m starting to realize now that it wasn’t ALL Phish’s fault, I think I may have just burned out on Phish. Just like every other super Phish fan, I listened to WAY too much Phish for my own good for about ...oh...almost 10 years when 2003 rolled around. They were changing and I just wasn’t into it. I can see how fucking up the arranged sections of songs would piss me off. I mean, that’s half of what Phish is about right? Long intricate composed prog-rock pieces that were PERFECTLY played, every time. The other half of Phish is the improvisational part. I’ve always liked equal parts of both, and I still do! If Phish was flubbing through the composed sections today I don’t know if I would be as into them. Something else I wasn’t that into back then were the new songs. Waves, Jibboo, Seven Below, Pebbles...didn’t really care for any of them. I know...me, right? Totally me. I’m thrilled to hear ANY of those songs now. Except maybe Jibboo, seriously...sorry.
Now when I listen back to 2.0 Phish, I can appreciate it. Mainly because I can skip through the composed section and get to the K-rispy space jamz. My all time favorite effect that Trey uses is that DIRTY flanged distortion shit. LOVE IT. I always lose it when he turns that hot mess on...2.0 is FULL of this effect, maybe ALMOST too much. That’s why I love it all the more in 3.0. You’re not gonna hear it every night, and when you do... it’s a dirty, dirty treat from Papa Trey.

So...Chicago. Great all-around playing. I’ve only done one listen through the composed parts and everything sounds awesome...but who gives a fuck....the jams are fucking sick. I’m honestly really digging this show and I think it’s going to be put into steady rotation over the next couple of weeks.

I haven’t listened to a ton of 2.0. I’m saving it for retirement. I like that I have a WHOLE era of Phish that I haven’t killed yet. I’ve heard a lot of 1.0, just about all of 3.0 and not so much of 2.0. When I’m old and more gray I’ll be able to slice into some choice Phish cuts from the K-rispy Space Ox Jamz era. You know what else I haven’t listened to? The Storage Jam. That’s right....saving it.

BB

Jibboo Crew

Phish is back! Last pre-hiatus show was 9/24/2000 in Minneapolis. @MrsRowsdower, myself, and an old college / phish buddy jump in the car and head to Chicago in February.

We checked in at the Sheraton O'Hare and slammed a few mini bottles of Jack Daniels from the mini bar. We quickly headed out in search of food and drink. After a burger and a few beers we dropped L in the parking lot of the Rosemont as planes flew overhead.

The show itself was different than any other show I'd seen or heard before. Long, exploratory jamming all over the place. The Tweezer explored many themes but wouldn't fully develop until 8 days later. 7 Below is a monster that must be heard.

After having our faces melted we found a bar playing Phish and closed out the night there. When we got back to our hotel we found the pool was open 24 hours for hotel guests. So we went down and went for a swim at 3:00 am. It was the craziest scene with a bunch of spun Phish heads jumping in the pool at 3:00 am.

Finally we went back to up to room to crash only to find the horrible news story of the Great White fire at The Station in Rhode Island. It was such a crash back to reality from the great night we'd had with friends.

Quite the roller coaster of a day.

A show with epic moments, that almost hits legendary status, but not quite.

I enjoy the 1-2 punch of Rift>R&R although Page seems a little out of sink in his singing and things feel a little off in general. Waves is very strong and well played. Simple starts very sloppy but the jam after is very tranquil and pleasant. It's a very ambient and psychedelic jam. Jibboo has a fantastic hose jam to start and has some fantastic peaks.

Tweezer to start a 2nd set almost always means a jam. The jam starts kind of floating around. Trey eventually turns on his super mucky tone and just riffs around for a little bit. It grows darker and darker and is peaky as hell at the end. PYITE crashes in after in the best possible way. Excellent placement midset for Fast Enough For You, it's well played too. This is followed by IMO the best Seven Below ever. The song itself is played perfect The jam starts with some hose and it just seamlessly flows from idea to idea. Sometimes this annoys and bores me but it all works very well to me. They nail the song again at the ending just a magical version. Pebbles and Marbles goes deep into chaos to close the set and has a very long peak (as if this set didn't melt your face enough) just a great high note to end the set.

The encore has a great Anything But Me likely the best version ever.

Overall a fantastic show just great. But It's not flawless and doesn't quite have enough for a 5 star rating in my book.

Five out of FIFTEEN TOTAL SONGS played this night exceeded 18 minutes in length. Let that sink in for a second.
[Spoiler]

Yeah huh. Okay let's do this thing.

Continuing the trend of purely seismic show opening sequences, Rift > Rock and Roll explodes out of the gates. Short term memory loss, in some cases, is a good thing, and it feels as though the band as already light years past their rather "normal" 2.18.03 Denver show. Rift itself is punctuated by its placement in the opening slot, deliver frenetic energy from the opening guitar trill. It is additionally highlighted by a smoldering 10-minute straight f*** your face type 1 Rock and Roll. This combo blitzes the arena with energy, and those of you lucky to have brought a change of pants, well, well I've said too much. Moving on. Guyute continues yet another Winter 03 trend of placing highly compositional songs early on in the set. Personally, not a big Guyute fan, but this one really carries on the energy created by the 1-2 opening segment and finds a superb home in the #3 slot. Driver comes next and those of you who are familiar with me on this board or in real life know the personal connections I have to Driver. It makes me smile and think of my brother whenever I hear it. It is always most welcomed. Waves in the 5 spot in the first set?! Don't mind if I do. Listening to the AUD, it was clear that Phish meant business the way they were piecing together this show. Waves delivers as Waves always delivers: dreamy ripples at first, frothing double-overheads at the peak. Ebbing and flowing through the jam, Trey jumps on his short board and rips this Waves up and down - if it had barreled, it could have fit both Mike and Trey in it, easily. Waves recedes into Simple and here we are, the beginning, of the jaw-dropping highlight sequence of the evening. Simple breaks into a muted, cotton-ball-y jam right out of the gates. Whatever tone/pedal combo Trey is using, I DIG it. This is one of those jams that I can't quite describe the music with words - the jam has more of a *feel* than anything else. It feels airy, but heavy. It feels like it is played on a backdrop of tropical colors, but also midnight ones. It fades into deep space after it takes us for a walk on the beach. It is fantastic. Jibboo comes in next, and if your jaw isn't on the floor at this point in the set, there is a strong likelihood the volume on your receiver or computer says "MUTE." This Jibboo is indisputably in the top-3 ever played, alongside 7.4.99 and 8.14.04. The initial jam segment is blistering. Mike had more bounce in his line, Fish has more groove in his rhythm, and Page has more texture in his layers. Now, by reading some of these 2003 reviews you might be saying, "Man, that Funky is really a Trey guy." No, I am not. I am a Mike guy all the way - but I gotta give credit where credit is due - Trey steals the show. He catches fire during the first jam segment and I am convinced 100% that is what led to the second jam segment out of the back-end of the song. Right when you think Jibboo is winding down back into the refrain, Trey lifts it right back up. I mean blastoff! The WHOLE band starts to swing. The swanky groove that follows is must-hear material. A+, 10/10, holy crap improvisation. Fraught with energy, lock-step timing, and grooooooviness, this Jibboo (and its second jam) ends of the highest of highs.

What better way to start Set 2 than Tweezer. It always sets a tone, some sort of tone: rocking, funky, groovy, or sultry, you can tell what Tweezer will deliver, usually, by the tempo and swagger of the first 90 seconds. This one goes into the depths of the musical sea. The first three minutes of the jam produce a tone-down funk aspect that is quite engaging. The band then dissolves into quintessential 2003 murk for the majority of the jam before returning to a spirited and arousing climax! For me personally, I can do without the middle portion of the jam, but the first segment and final segment are killer. PYITE comes next and finds a PERFECT home batting behind Tweezer. Love this 1-2 combo. It is short but fills a nice spot in the setlist. Well done. Fast Enough for You again maintains the no-hitter of setlist construction. A+ job, Phish. Pretty sparkles from Page and yawning echoes from Trey hallmark this eerily beautiful rendition of the song. A perfect execution in jam and placement. Seven Below continues all aforementioned trends. Phish is on fire. Wasting little time, this jam shifts into the Page McConnell show. Starting off with crazy fingers piano work and morphing between Clav and (Honner?) Page is the ALL STAR of this version's first 11 minutes... and that only brings us halfway home. The final 11 minutes return to that full band swing we heard in Jibboo. Really, really good stuff rhythmically, melodically, and spiritually. They are locked in. No one takes the reigns in these minutes, it is truly a full-band dynamic. An 18 minute Pebbles closes the set, and for me personally, this is the lowlight of the show... well, lowlight is bad term, as it does not suck... but it does kinda just meanders in some uptempo, distorted noise for a majority of the jam. I never really got into it. Still, the show crushed.

A totally acceptable and fun Golgi starts off the three song encore with a very pretty, very (again) well placed Anything But Me sandwiched in between two high energy crowd favorites... Tweezer Reprise being the other. What a show! Wow!

Must-hear jams: Simple, Gotta Jibboo, Seven Below
Probably-should-listen-to-jams: Rock and Roll, Waves, Tweezer, Fast Enough for You

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

The day was abnormally warm for the 20th of February in the Midwest. It couldn't have been any better: my first show after the Hiatus, and the excitement was intense on the drive down to Chicago from Milwaukee. This was hindered only for a short period when we were pulled over by an evil cop who gave me a severe scolding and a ticket by the Wisconsin/Illinois border. As we pulled off onto the O'Hare exit right by the Allstate Arena and saw the line of fans, the excitement built again.
We checked into the hotel right next to the arena and went directly to the liquor store across the street to purchase our pre-show brew. The obscene lines coming out of the store had the employees in a panic as all of their booze quickly depleted. After cruising the lot for awhile, we decided to head in after dark as the temperature was steadily dropping from the mild temperatures earlier in the day. While entering the arena, the fans roared at every plane that flew overhead.
I was lucky to score a general admission mail-order ticket, so I was
finally going to be able to see a Phish show indoors at ground level. Me and my friend made our way down to the floor and, amazingly, got to the front of the stage with ease. I couldn't believe I was actually going to see a show from the front row! As the crowd grew bigger my anticipation grew. The feeling going through my body could have been described as similar to what Tony Montana felt in Scarface... and I was cold sober.
When the lights went down and I saw the guys walk onstage I was overcome with excitement. I remember shaking during “Rift” because I was so pumped. “Rock and Roll” kept the energy high and I finally caught my composure during “Driver”. “Waves” was a good new tune to hear and although the jam was short, it was sweet. This song definitely has some good potential.
“Simple” was rather upsetting, as it got to be too sloppy and dark for my taste. I never was a big fan of “Jibboo” until about eight minutes into this one. This is by far the best version ever, with a stunning peak and then a breakdown into a nice grooving riff that picked up and raged out of control to end the set.
The “Tweezer” that started the second set had me frustrated for awhile, but it picked up nicely toward the end. It was nowhere near the monster that was produced at Nassau a week later, but was still decent. “PYITE” got the place raging. The crowd didn't really seem into it that much until then. The “7 Below” that followed was
probably the most underrated version of the song so far. People seem to favor the Gorge version from the summer, but this has a great build-up and the closest to what you can call funk for Phish nowadays. I thought the “Pebbles and Marbles” was not the best way to end the set, and the jam was definitely not one to write home about, but all around I enjoyed myself.
Now that I look back at it, I think this show has two of the best versions of the two new age jam vehicles (“ Jibbo” and “7 Below” ).
Although the rest of the show was sloppy at points, I was just happy to see my favorite band once again.

As of this writing, I'm still fairly new to Phish. I've only been to one show in-person, but—since that transformative experience (August 1st, 2015... I was lucky to see that 26-minute "Tweezer" and I haven't looked back since!)—I've spent a number of months listening to show after show to experience their evolution. This has mostly come in the form of the LivePhish Plus catalog, as I've been listening to SBDs and studio releases in chronological order.

I reveal my listening methodology because this was the first show I seriously consider rating lower than three stars.

To my ears, it has an awkward, sloppy start. I don't think you can call this show's "Guyute" the song's tightest performance, and—while some may dig this and I appreciate how atypical it is—"Rock and Roll" as the second song of the first set is a really strange choice to me given its (in my mind, near-absolute) status as an encore (or otherwise late) tune.

But, as has often been the case for shows I've been down on early, Phish turned it around somehow.

When "Waves" began, I began to warm up to the show just because I like the song so much.

Come the "Simple" jam, it's obvious that this show has some real merit to it.

I'm guessing the early sloppiness I perceived was primarily indicative of a looseness the band was feeling, because the jams in this show really go places. They have some really huge, textural (almost noisy) moments but also some distinct grooves they lock into at other points.

But it's still a somewhat sloppy performance and—even in my young Phish-listening (Phishstening? ugh, sorry) career—this seems like one for experienced and generous ears only (which I suspect may be the case for much of 2.0). The various missteps through composed sections and the experimental character of some of the improvised moments probably preclude a recommendation to beginners.

Ultimately, it's a strong four-star show for me. Almost a five.

Looking forward to seeing what else 2003 has to offer!

My first show. Was a long time coming as I was "too young" to hit any shows in the 90s or 2000. It was a Thursday night show so I recruited a friend to make the 4 hour trip down from college to a "hometown" show, stay the night, head back north to work Friday night. We ended up making it to lot late. We walked around for a few minutes and had to head in. First memory was the heat coming out of a venue I've passed by 1000s of times. The seats I pulled were 1st row balcony, around mid court.

Set I:
Lights went down and Rift kicks up, took me a while to soak it all in, after years of wondering it was finally happening, I was THERE. Rock and Roll has always put a smile on my face and it is probably due to this show, the lyrics, significance. After casually and eventually religous listening over the better part of a decade the moment was not lost on me. Guyute next, at this point I was starting to focus solely on the music after taking in the atmosphere. Driver was nice, not the best execution but has some decent work by Trey. As a Round Room fan I enjoyed Waves, but nothing too special compared to what came next.

The highlights of the first set are without a doubt Simple and Jibboo. Jibboo gets a lot of love but don't sleep on the Simple. It starts patiently and keeps that element throughout. Delicate interplay, especially between Trey and Page on the grand. The middle section picks up some steam but keeps the theme of the initial part of the jam. The final segment opens up with deep growls from Trey and takes on a more electronic feel. There really isn't much to subtract or add to make it better, quality version all around. The floorplan was set with the Simple as it carries over into Jibboo. They quickly drop in and again the interplay between Trey and Page stands out (something present throughout this show). It has high energy and multiple peaks even before it gets a dose of funk around the 12:30 mark. From 14 - 17 minutes you can still hear the Jibboo but it almost sounds like it is being mixed with some other composed riffs, not saying it is but it definitely has that feel to it. The final minute or two before the return Jibboo is splattered with peaks. A perfect song for any high energy activities or long drives.

Set II:
A Feb '03 Tweezer, drops into funk early on with Trey and Mike taking charge. A few "bahwow" freakout moments from Trey reminiscent of Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun that pop up a few times after. Trey keeps the lead which include several minutes of running up and down chords where I imagine he carried out his "scan the crowd intently" look with a mild head bob/groove. Some wandering but a quality version overall that grinds to a halt. PYITE had a heavier intro/build up from Trey and has a nice way of falling into Fast Enough for You. Nothing too noteworthy about this version.

Much like the first set, the last two songs shine. Seven Below enters with a slow build and quality interplay between the band. I love Seven Below in general but it always gives Page a nice song to step forward. Halfway through you get some notes from Page that remind me of early Vida Blue material and in comes the funk exchange followed by a few "pindrop" electronic notes heard in Simple before completely returning to Seven Below. Pebbles and Marbles closed out the set getting some distortion from Trey halfway thru venturing away from the song as Page and Fishman maintain the Pebbles feel. Encore lacked after how they closed out the second set, the reprise had a little heavier feel but that's about it.

Overall, a show with some quality jams and highlights from Feb 2003.

There are other reviews on this one so I will be brief. I’m not a huge fan of 2003 shows so far and this one does have some warts, but there is something about this show and the jams that warmed my soul up a bit.

Rift has timing problems from Fishman, Rock and Roll is a nice jam, Guyute is pretty good, Driver had some warts, but was a nice cool down song. Waves was good, Simple had some lyric problems again, but had a good jam, as did a lengthy Jibboo to close up a pretty good first set.

Ok folks, here’s where the meat is…Tweezer’s jam is just filthy, nasty tonight and they bring it all back around to end it, which was great to hear instead of a rip-cord move. Punch was ok, but the Landlady portion was an uncertain mess. Fast Enough was also kind of a mess before a very lengthy Seven Below. And this one should be considered a double Seven Below because they do the lyric part twice sandwiching the jam in between. Pebbles also rocked really hard tonight, though there were a few off parts at times.

After all that jamming you technically get a triple encore besides? Yup! Though you get a standard Golgi, a loose Anything But Me, with disjointed vocal phrasing, and a rocking, expected Tweeprise to close up. Not too bad, but not overly great either.

Very good, exploratory jamming tonight! Tweezer’s jam and the Seven Below put this one in four-star territory for me. A few less warts in playing and lyric delivery, and a better encore, would’ve easily put this show in five-star range to my ears.

I only write about shows, if they move me. The entire second set 2/20/03 is mind blowing, trippy, psychedelic deep Phish as good as it comes in 2003. The Tweezer goes wah wah funk way out for a good infinity and when Fast Enough For You is sung, ground is lifted spirits awakened in Chicagoland. The Sevel Below here is my favorite version ever. The Pebbles and Marbles stopps me in my tracks to chin up, eyes wide open high at the sun and clouds luminous creatures. Oh yes - and the Tweezer is one of the top three of 2003. This PHISH will never die. Thank you Jon, Page, Mike and Trey..........brand sands you, too.

Rift starts out a bit rough and doesn't really recover until half way through the song. But it's not terrible, in fact it gets pretty good after the initial shakiness. Rock and Roll comes in hot with steamy type 1 scorcher that just about feels like it's going further but Trey pulls it back to end the song. Ah well, very good none the less. Guyute is the composition heavy selection for tonight like Divided Sky and Guyute itself were at the previous two nights. Driver is next and I guess it's appropriate to get a quick breather in after the last tunes but I'm not a fan of this one. Waves begins the second half the set with some deft, artful playing from Trey during the jam. Man, I love Waves. It's my favorite 2.0 song and it fits perfectly with that sound. Fitting that Phish sounds so good among the Waves. Simple lifts off into a top tier jam that morphs and sways in the breeze. This is stuff dreams are made of. Fantastic work from the band. This Gotta Jibboo is one of the best out there. It's essentially a big fireworks display that just won't let up. Starting out as a quick type 1 jam it builds into legendary status when it peaks and instead of taking the off ramp, Phish forges ahead in to type 1.75 territory. Not fully breaking away from the song structure but an eyelash away from doing so. Once again, fantastic work from the band.

Tweezer is always a welcome set 2 opener and this one is no slouch. It lifts off with a spirited jam of funky goodness before transitioning to that sludgy 2.0 noise jamming. You either love or hate this sound and I love it. The noise eventually gives way to a huge peak and rousing conclusion! PYITE is a great follow up to the big Tweezer and gets the crowd dancing again. I'm really feeling the energy on this one. Trey sounds almost giddy. FEFY finally gives us a break after the jammy dance-fest of the last tunes. Seven Below gets going right away with ANOTHER 20 minute jam! This one picks up right where Jibboo left off. Moving as one organism, full band interplay. Honestly this reminds of some the best moments from Fall '97. Pebbles closes out the set with more of that noisy roaring but idk this time it didn't work for me like it did with Tweezer. Still, it is the melt-your-face set closer they were hoping for. Three song encore is a rarity for this era but that's pretty much all there is to say.

This is a pretty representative embodiment of a strong 2.0 Phish if you ask me: compositional imprecisions are atoned for through multiple big-bodied jams which find their distinction in long, sometimes droning and dissonant, but always patient grooves. The first set takes a bit to warm up, with Rift and Guyute struggling a bit in the more technical sections. Rock and Roll allows the band to shake out some jitters with a straightforward Type I jam, but doesn't hit any particular high points (though Fishman is certainly in touch with his inner Keith Moon by the end). Things pick up a bit after a nice breath on Driver, and the band begins to sound a little more cohesive and confident on the short Waves jam.

Simple marks the real inflection point of the show. This one admittedly bears some warts in the composed section, but the jam is considered the best Simple by a meaningful few. After a typical moment's worth of Trey solos, the jam recedes to a peaceful, piano-centric and rhythmic groove. If you can hang on through stagnant dynamics for a while, you're sure to appreciate the depth of beauty present in the evolving soundscape through minute 12-ish. At this point, Trey's distorted swells signal that it's time to shift into a darker, though still restrained, drone. Much like many of the heralded Japan 2000 jams, this one is an exercise in patience and is greatly rewarding as a beautifully unique and serene piece of improvisation. In an excellent setlist choice, Trey takes us into a MONSTER Jibboo to close out Set 1. As others have said in their reviews, this isn't always my favorite Phish tune. But this one is fantastically celebratory and showcases each of the band members in a tremendous dance party that avoids feeling stale. Especially noteworthy are the few minutes of riff-based jamming Trey leads around 14:30, and the subsequent ascent back to the song's second peak (what Phish Just Jams calls a "Victory Lap"). Phish stock is way up by set break.

Set 2 succeeds in keeping the torch alight, opening with a killer Tweezer. Like Simple, this one is for the patient Phans who love the subtle evolution present in a jam that is all about the groove. If you're looking for crazy improvisation, Type 2 shenanigans, or a massive hose peak, this isn't for you. Instead, this one remains interesting because of the minor details like Fishman's drum patterns, Page's carefully selected color chords, Trey's low droning guitar effects, and Mike's more active basslines that take command when Trey is in the backseat. PYITE and FEFY serve as two excellent follow up crowd pleasers. Though the first isn't perfectly executed, it's a better effort than that reflected in S1 Rift/Guyute. As the jam charts note, we next get our first true taste of Seven Below. This one builds beautifully to a sweet peak (with really excellent piano work from Page) before ebbing into a cool and quiet funky jam, which morphs shapes coolly for a while and features some sweet Mike and, later, some speedy low-treble Trey. The little rhythmic section around 18:00 is a great segment before heading back to -7 proper. Set 2 closes with one more monster jam, as Pebbles and Marbles really pushes the envelope and tests the boundaries of Type I classification. Trey's play with feedback and delay here is almost as incredible as the work that his bandmates put in underneath it (again, major props to Page). For a bit toward the end, it sounds like Trey is going for a segue into Sample in a Jar as he introduces the opening chord change, but the band remains ripping to a nice Pebbles finish.

Encore is a long one and features fairly standard renditions of Golgi, Anything But Me (beautifully played, though), and Tweeprise (big bass bomb from Mike). On the whole, it's a damn good show in the middle of a really strong month for the band.

PHISH, THURSDAY 02/20/2003
ALLSTATE ARENA
Rosemont, IL
SET 1: Rift: The place was just as electric as the Vegas shows leading up the first notes. Every bit as electric as 9.22.00 and 9.23.00, the joint was hopping. We all collectively exploded hearing that Rift was the opener. This Rift was far from perfect, but not sure many cared. >
Rock and Roll: Never saw this coming in the two slot. I was floored thinking this was a harbinger of an amazing show to come. This one is pretty standard, felt like everyone but Trey wanted to take this for a ride. But alas, he wasn’t feeling it I guess.
Guyute: Actually, quite solid!
Driver: Good stuff, everyone needed a breather or risk spontaneous combustion.
Waves: Most standard version ever? >
Simple: Lyrical f ups in multiple places. No worries, Trey sounds like 12.11.97 in all the key parts you can imagine from Bittersweet Motel during the composed section. Just sick. That signature 03 sound is realized in the late 9’s – can still see that chick spinning hard down in the front row in front of Page, saw her all tour – had to be next to or close to Lope G. Things take a turn for the dark and crunchy in the mid 12’s. IT’s on. Trey is conjuring Hendrix a couple minutes later. Heavy on the effects. Very dark, very 03. It doesn’t do much out of this headspace but it is still very sick and an absolute microcosm of what a nasty 2003 jam is/was.
Gotta Jibboo: Ahhh, those familiar loops to kick the jam. Trey lights the world on fire in the late 8’s and beyond. Rock star. Things finally start settling into a groove in the mid 12’s with Page getting very funky. Even though this jam gets into groove, Trey never truly gets out of attack mode. He stays aggressive throughout, Fishman drives this behavior. Listen to Mike in the early 15’s, an absolute rock. Check out the theme Trey creates starting at 16:10. This just grows and evolves. Trey is picking and grinning. NASTY. Just completely aggressive and in attack mode. As the kid in the taper section on the aud says after this monster ends, Best Jibboo ever, EVER!!!
SET 2: Tweezer: Will never be able to accurately describe how great it was to hear this slowly open up the second set. We were throwing elbows and getting down hard to this intro! Trey really drops out of the intro to the jam and Mike and Page rule, but he is back in the mix in the early 6’s. Cannot remember what the big crowd cheer was for around 6:20? But it is prominent. Trey is very dark and nasty in the early 10’s and things get repetitive and more sinister from there with Mike laying it down. This really starts devolving in the 14’s, getting very ugly – Fish just crashing cymbals over and over. Aggressive – in your face. Blissy 3.0 crap, this is not. This would wreck 3.0 kids. Trey starts WAILING in the early 15’s. Listen to Fishman in the 16:20 range, so talented. Trey crushes rock star riffs and peaks this hard in the late 18’s. Late 19’s they opt for the traditional ending – just an incredible Tweezer >
Punch You in the Eye: Never, ever saw this coming in a million years. Absolutely awesome. >
Fast Enough for You: Nice! Only my 4th time and last time seeing this epic tune. Just stood there in awe and appreciated the respite. >

Seven Below: I adore how this one melts into almost nothing around 11 with Page leading and then Trey comes out of the ether to share the spotlight with Page and they create the coolest groove. I love how sparse this one gets in the late 16’s and Mike is echoing and out of this world in the early 17’s. Ethereal. This just gets incredible in the mid 19’s briefly and then back into the song proper. A bit choppy and raw, but who cares? It’s amazing.
Pebbles and Marbles: Intro is a mess. Beginning of the jam is dissonant with Trey busting out that 99 sound and Page pounding the baby grand and not always quite in sync with Trey. Tremendous wall of sound so reminiscent of 99 is forged in the early 10’s and goes from there. Trey channeling Jimi. Just incredible. The last few minutes the band really does struggle to connect with each other, it’s not that great. The effort is there, the connection is not. The crowd as you can tell is kind of like, um – that’s it?
ENCORE: Golgi Apparatus: Remember clearly being very meh about this being the encore, especially thinking this might be the last song of the night.
Anything But Me: Swaying back and forth… >
Tweezer Reprise: Yesssssssssssssss. Elbows flying, look out below. Got to get nasty one more time before the drive to Cincy. Major bombs being dropped.
Let me be completely honest with you. I loved the first set. I love how the second set started. At the show I did not love the back half of the second set. I wanted and was begging for old school Phish. I got lost in the jams and was very spun out and couldn’t completely appreciate it in the moment. Looking back and listening back, I love this show. Funny how this show was universally hated but grew into a show that was sought out much like 7.30.03. Aged like fine wine. Show is pretty damn sick! 4.3 out of 5.

My first show. Rift was missed. Heard a bit of it but my buddy was tripping for his first time at phish he bailed quickly, his hand was going to explode i decided he would be fine. He was kind of a huge asshole so it was fitting in retrospect. Rift was mainly missed due to the horrible management at the venue. There was a herd of people waiting to get in. It was choatic. I met a kazoo playing dude named Matt whom i work at dominos with years later and became brief roller hockey buddies. Matt was also an ass.

No Ck for this show but its wasn't noticed i liked it.I was treated well by the ladies that evening. Plenty of grass. Chillums and js i remember feeling like it was planned or something it was so surreal. My cooler friends were in the nose bleeds second row far away. But a searing Rock and Roll which remain one of my favorite songs I've ever heard them play. This song had it all. Trey was wailing away the crowd was really into it. Page and the boys had me in awe right away. But i was in for a lot more. Guyute was my favorite song at the time. Hearing it as my second second song or third depending on perspective blew my mind i almost started tearing up but all these beautiful girls were around me. Just smoking and dancing i was having a hard time focusing i mean in a good way. Plus i hadnt grooved before. So i kinda learned how to dance with them. Which in retrospect was really unique. Driver ! you know this show is special. Its highly highly underrated to me. Not because its the first for me but there really is a chance this is one of the best shows they ever played. Its my number one out of twenty and if you look at “my shows” thats saying a lot. Driver just melted me. Vocally Trey nailed it. The band really absorb into my soul at this point. I have always been mystified by consciousness and how life goes by. So this song really brought me home. Waves kinda freaked me out i couldnt figure out what song it was , i was pretty baked by then. But listening to it as im writing this i can remember being like what is this lol. Simple. Now 18 mins of phish just nailing a trademark song just setting it into orbit for 18 min was amazing for a first timer i really got into the lights. I starting noticing the sync. The band had me in their grips. I still was dancing in the aisle not in my seat. I was gordo side about 25 rows from stage left. Gotta Jibber was perfect. Almost 40 minutes of jamming in a row. I was amped. Set break.

Found my buddies at set break. They were wondering were ass hat was. He was somewhere outside i said. They thought i should of gone with him. I said , “and miss this? hell no!” They went back to their seats. I went to my seat finally. There was a hot chick there. I Alone. I was a scared little boy then. Never got past second base. She fed me popcorn sprite and one bats. We danced. I didnt talk though i was scared to speak. Tweezer had me up and dancing l. This tweezer is up there in the top ten tweezers easily. Easily. It goes into a pyite. Which explodes into Fast Enough For You. If i had a time machine man. God i should of at least been pen pals lol. Seven Below from this show was paramount. I haven't heard it sense that day. I know most phish phans want this song back into the rotation asap. Its an amazing melody. It was played perfectly just like this whole show. Its flawless. Pebbles at a first show is amazing. But another 40 mins of jamming had me just lost in where time was. But the encore reminded me of how time had slipped by i need to speak to her. I thanked he for everything. She was really easy on the eyes. She handed me the rest of the popcorn and asked what id like to see for encore. I don't remember what i said or what we did next but i ask that question before every show. Some of my buddies ask before me when I'm fortunate enough to see them. The Encore was awesome beyond my one song expectation at the time. Golgi. Was perfect. Its a classic encore. Maybe the most classic Phish encore ever. Some left some stayed. The crowed was very happy with golgi. Anything but me is a rare song. I mean rare in 3.0. Which to me takes a 9.4 show to a 10. Tweezer Reprise cements this show as my
favorite.

Trey was really fascinated with an octave-down effect produced by his Digitech Whammy II unit during 2.0 (and to some extent still is.) I think it's detrimental to his strong suits as a lead guitarist, and that it is overused especially in this show, where Simple, Gotta Jibboo, and Tweezer (3 out of the 4 ~20-min. jams in the show) all get kind of muddied by its murky tones. The jams are adventurous, but Seven Below is probably the most successful and that only because of the song's relative novelty at the time. Simple is pretty but colours pretty much inside the lines, Jibboo has two distinct peaks but they meander quite a bit between them, and Tweezer is just so 2.0-sludgy with that aforementioned guitar tone that it's hard to distinguish any particular arc to the jam. I still rate this show highly on merit of the tendency towards 4 20-min. jams, but I'm very glad this Whammy thing doesn't show up as often anymore as it did throughout 2.0.

I remember this night being very chilly, but the excitement of having the boys back in Chicago was palpable. The first set was very good IMO. The waves through jiboo segment felt very inspired.

Tweezer opens the second set in fine form. A little sloppy, but another standard great Feb 03 tweezer. FEFY was really great as they had played it here before the hiatus as well. The 7 below was the highlight for me. This show gets a bad rap, but I think it's one of the more inspired shows of 2003. Great show

A really good Winter 03 show, of which there is no shortage. For me, the first set kicks into gear with Waves, and it falls into a Simple that, while I might fault it for getting just a touch too long, is nothing if not a creature of 2.0. Speaking of, the Jibboo that follows is magic. Cards on the table, I don't have a problem with Jibboo, and I love the tone and tenor of 2003, so this Jibboo is a jam I can listen to on repeat. The Tweezer that opens the second set gets deep and, though it doesn't reach the majestic peaks of its 2/28 cousin, rips really nicely for the last five minutes or so. The Seven Below doesn't do much for me, in honesty, but the Pebbles gets nasty and grinds before returning nicely at the end. A standout version.

This show reminds me of that familiar Phish saying - "Come for the Tweezer, stay for the Jibboo."

Stop #4 of the Winter Tour and show #5 overall.

Rift gets the show rolling, a pretty rare opener, I think. Straight forward but well played version, minus a lyrical flub towards the end. Rock & Roll also takes a weird spot in the 2 slot for the night. I actually don't mind it being played in this spot because it sorta sets the tone for the night. As soon as the jam takes off here you can tell the band is on tonight. Just a tight, type I jam - no one sticks out in particular here, everyone sounds really good.

Guyute comes next. This is one of my favorite compositions by Phish and they do it justice here, like in R&R, all band members are on point. Not much else to say about this one. Driver comes next and seems to be played with a little more gusto than normal. I really like this song played electric as opposed to acoustic & wish they would play this song again.

Waves bats 5th & is a fast paced, up tempo rendition of this favorite Round Room song. A really soaring rendition, sparse on the spaciness, this one has a real hair raising peak to it. I wish they had let this jam go on for a bit more because the transition back into the song proper is a bit rushed, in my humble opinion. Still, this one is well worth a listen.

Simple comes up out of the water and what a glorious simple it is. The jam features some really nice, nimble & soft guitar work by trey, with a strong beat held down by Mike & Fish. Around 12 minutes in this one goes to deep space. Trey and Page add some really nice layers in this spaced-out segment that really keeps the jam interesting. Sometimes, for me, Simple jams can get kinda boring but this one definitely is not in that category. It sort of dissolves towards the end into a swirly mass of sound. This is the high point of the set so far & is must listen material.

Gotta Jibboo closes the set out in fine form. This song gets a bad rap sometimes, but I personally love the open endedness of the song. It reminds me a lot of Runaway Jim in the the jam segment is basically a repeating bass line and drum beat while page and trey add in noise at will. More nimble guitar work from trey here while Page adds some real nice splashes over top of everyone. This jam here has some real direction at about 7:30 in. Trey steps up to lead this one to the heavens and the peak here is sublime.It really picks up into full on rock star mode after 10 minutes or so. Fishman has some really sweet fills here and trey is just going off. Page switches over to a much more funky sound and switching the jam into a full on funk fest. I don't even know what else to say about this song. It's beautiful, funky & rocking. Just do yourself a favor and check it out.

Well that was a pretty incredible first set. Despite the seeming randomness of set list during this tour, this first set delivers. The R&R is a tight ass jam and Simple goes to deep space while Jibboo just tears the house down going into set break. The last two songs are simply A+ Phish.

Set 2 kicks off with a 20 minute, super dark Tweezer. This one doesn't go through too many changes in the jam. Trey has a nice moment around 15 minutes in with his wah pedal. Gordo really stands out towards this section of the jam as well. Trey goes into full on hose mode towards the end and the song peaks very nicely. There's not much particularly amazing or unique about this jam, it's just a really well played, tight and dark Tweezer. Nothing wrong with that.

PYITE is next. At first I thought it seemed like an odd song placement, but then I remembered its Punch & Punch at any point in a show is always welcome. Halfway through the song I changed my mind and decided that I actually really like the 1-2 punch (pun not intended) of these two songs. Well played rendition.

FEFY cools things down after that heater of a half hour to open the set. This is another song I wish they would play more these days, I really do love pretty much all Phish ballads.

Seven Below is the penultimate song of the set, and what a Seven Below it is. The tempo quickly builds up in the jam and there's some fine, full band communication going on here. It stays type I until about 11 minutes in, where it sounds like Mike tries bringing them back into the song but Trey resists a little and then Page, once again, takes the jam in a more funky direction, with Trey adding some real nice rhythmic work here.Page continues to be the MVP of this song as he adds some real nice piano work while

Trey keeps the jam moving in an upward trajectory towards the sky. 17 minutes in or so Trey and Page start to recede into the background a bit as Mike & Fish keep the beat rolling. There's some more nice, nimble guitar work by Trey in this section. The funk picks back up as the tempo continues to increase. Trey shines in this section. Gordon once again begins to reign the jam back into the song proper and this time the rest of the band obliges. This is easily, far and away, the best Seven Below up to this point.

Pebbles & Marbles delivers as the set closer. This is easily my favorite song from Round Room & has some of my favorite lyrics of any Phish song. It's both delicately beautiful & rocking. There's some real nice group interplay here, and while it's a long jam and is pretty strong, I wouldn't say it's overly interesting. A good rendition, for sure, but I'm a bit surprised this got a notation here and the Tweezer didn't. Either way, what an incredible set that was...

Golgi, Anything But Me & Tweeprise close the show out in fine form. You can never go wrong with a triple encore!

Overall, it seem's I chose a great show to write my first review for. From an unexpected Rift/R&R opener, to the spacey Simple & all time Jibboo, through the dark Tweezer and ridiculously funky & exploratory Seven Below, this show is straight A++ material & an easy 5/5 stars in my book.

Do yourself the favor and check out the Jibboo & -7 if nothing else.

(Published in the second edition of The Phish Companion...)

The first set was pretty good. I thought that “Rock and Roll” was pretty "on" for a first set song. The “Simple” jam was long, but kind of repetitive at points. There were also many vocal flubs during this song. The jam had some beautiful parts, but it always seemed as though Trey was trying to get a sound out of his guitar that he couldn't achieve.
The highlight of the first set was “Gotta Jiboo”. I am not really a huge fan of this song, as it is usually a really long Type 1 jam, but this was really good. The jam started off in usual Trey Anastasio Band style, but about ten minutes before the end, things really started to happen. Trey got a really sick guitar lick going on and exploded from there. It was very high energy.
The second set was good, but not great. “Tweezer” started off with oomph, but it really petered out. It was long, but much of the jam involved Trey playing with his pedals and trying to adjust his tone. No melodic jamming whatsoever. It was very similar to a Sonic Youth distortion jam.
The crowd went nuts over “Punch You in the Eye” and so did the band. Easily the best performed song of the night. “7 Below” was very experimental, and there were parts that were interesting, groovy, and melodic — just never at once, which I find is the best part of Phish when it happens.
People seemed surprised by the “Tweezer Reprise”. It really seemed as though the crowd has changed to a beer drinking crowd that is more interested on getting on stage to tackle Trey and throwing lightsticks at the equipment and band than to hear the music. Overall I would give this show a C+.